Wii Divide: Is the Wii Friend or Fad?

[Kordmalgemar]

So you probably just read "The Wii-Cap" and came here to have your say. Or you totally didn't read "The Wii-Cap," but already have a lot to say about this topic--although you should still read the article because it looks, reads, and smells all beautiful like.

The point is though, I want to hear how other gamers feel about the Wii. In general, it seems pretty much everyone is investing in the 360 more than any other system because the PS3 is stupid and the Wii Remote is rapidly losing steam--and, sadly, that's all the Wii seems to be. With Nintendo focusing on games like Wii Fit, which is basically an exercise program with a new Power Pad, I've gotta wonder if Nintendo will fail because they're pushing the hardcore gaming community away, or if they'll survive by creating a new type of gaming that will attract a totally addicted audience all Nintendo's own. Will Nintendo die because of the divide in gaming that it's causing, or will it prosper by creating a Nintendo-exclusive audience of many, many casual gamers?

Casual gamers, by the way, that are looking forward to Wii Fit because they care about working out and not getting two Crissaegrim's to defeat Dracula in ten seconds with.

[arthurcross]

I think the Wii is a friend. It has its the potential of being a fad, but I think the company is doing a good job in making games--like Zelda--that transcend the fad-like gimmick of the wii's motion-sensitive controllers. I guess it depends on how you use it. If you only use it for the sports games or something like that, then the excitment of it will probably die out, but if you look for quality games--that are out there--then the wii will be a solid game system for you.

[Kordmalgemar]

Alright. I hear ya. I just hope though that Nintendo doesn't decide making it a gimmick for casual gamers is where they want to go with it.

Like, Nintendo's formula has always been New System+Old Titles=Profit. I always just thought they worked really hard on those old titles... But I'll be kinda pissed if now it becomes New System+Old Titles+Tons of Gimmicky Titles=Tons of Profit. Cause for me... I mean, I am really tired of Mario. There's a newer generation now who didn't meet Mario when he was born, but seriously, I just want a new protagonist--especially if suddenly Nintendo can produce a crapload of games for casual gamers. Why not use that time and effort to produce more hardcore games then? Like, honestly, it seems like Nintendo is putting tons of time into making lots of games to people that would be content with only a few a year and no games for an audience that would easily buy tons a month.

Seriously, I love Mario and Link. But why can't Nintendo put work into something new for hardcore gamers with this incredibly new system?

[shananigan]

I actually enjoy the Wii immensely. I'm not a casual gamer, but I am also not a hardcore gamer. Time issues keep me from playing games all the time. If I had all the time in the world, I would never leave my computer. I am probably in the middle of the two, but more toward the hardcore side. That said, I think each system knows its target audience. Most XBOX owners have it for LIVE. Most PS owners have it for their proprietary titles, like GTA (before it crossed over) and Final Fantasy. And most Nintendo owners have it for Mario and Link. Microsoft has been targeting the online games more as of late. Sony, well, they've been trying to dig themselves out of the massive hole they fell into. Nintendo has been offering, not only a new way to play games like Resident Evil, but also the ability to download old titles from back in the day. Gotta love the originals.

At first, I thought the Wii was dumb, just another gimmick. Then I grabbed a hold of one of the remotes at a friend's house and have wanted one ever since. I can't even see myself getting a game that's on the Wii on any other system. It's just too fun with the remote. Nintendo really knocked one out of the park with that. It's such a different experience, and more of a virtual feel than anything else. More than likely, this is where we are headed. So I don't really think the remote is a gimmick.

I do think that Nintendo had to make some choices at launch though. Who do we market this system to? They knew they couldn't take the XBOX crowd, but they sure as heck outsold the PS crowd. So what did they do? They offered online downloads of old games. They offered Mario and Link, but they also offered a lot of new titles to showcase their remote. Personally, those sports games and Rayman with the remote are too much fun. They realized that the market they had to reach was the CASUAL gamer, because XBOX has the reigns on the HARDCORE gamer right now. Do I think that will change? Not really. I think there will be some titles that will be for hardcore gamers, but I think Nintendo's target audience is the casual gamer. And most times, especially with the types of games Nintendo has historically put out, the casual gamer is a force to be reckoned with. That's just who Nintendo has always been. They are Mario and why bite the hand that feeds you?

[Kordmalgemar]

Yeah, I hear ya Shananigan. And Nintendo's actually doing what they've always done; they're producing a lot of spin-offs like Mario Strikers and Mario Party 8 (and it being part 8 is a testament to Nintendo's thing for producing a ton of spin-offs).

I should really buckle down and specify that although I've been throwing around the name Nintendo a lot, I haven't actually been thinking of the company; I've been thinking of the entity, encompassing all of its third parties, which is incorrect. Nintendo does not control these third parties after all; Nintendo doesn't tell them what to produce. Furthermore, Nintendo is the only producer for the Wii that's really trying to do something dangerous with the hardware.

So with that cleared up, it bothers me that third party developers have only been testing the waters and not jumping in. And not that I'm not grateful for Metroid Prime 3 and Mario Galaxy, but now, when the possibility for something mind-blowing and brand-spanking-new to come along is so great, when Sony is suffering so badly, when Final Fantasy or Castlevania or Star Wars or--especially--something not even yet released, like the mythical, canceled RPG Ravenblade that Retro Studios dropped to give more attention to Prime, at a time when these franchises could come to the Wii and keep people from deciding to blow $500 dollars on a discounted PS3 after all, no one is doing anything aside from Nintendo, who's sticking to their guns and doing what they've always done and what they should do.

And so far, although I have hopes with great third party games like Zack and Wiki finally coming to light, talks of secret projects being worked on for the Wii, and with only nearly a year having passed since the Wii's release, it still feels like Nintendo's success with the Wii may not last. Or, much more likely, it feels like the Wii will go into a direction I can't abide. A direction that leads to a bunch of Naruto games for kids, a bunch of Wii Fit and Cooking Mama games for casual players, and just good ol' Mario, Samus, Link, and Captain Falcon for me, all of whom, if history holds up, I'll only be seeing once on this console.

[Kordmalgemar]

So, I thought I'd return to add some news about upcoming Wii titles for hardcore gamers to look forward to. The climate's changing, people--my worries from months ago are slowly but steadily passing; third parties are definitely starting to give the Wii the attention it deserves, and although there still doesn't appear to be any news of a possible USB Graphics Upgrade for the Wii, Nintendo's powerhouse is still joining the hardcore fray one way or another. Here's how:

Battalion Wars 2
Release Date: It's totally already out, champ.
Did you play a lot of Star Wars: Battlefront? Are you impatiently awaiting the next installment, hoping that it's going to be released on the Wii because you only own a Wii? Do you wish there was a game out there to help with the Battlefront cravings that keep you awake 4 nights out of 5? A game that's not for the PSP? Then you should be totally excited for Battalion Wars 2. No, there won't be Jedi randomly appearing in battle, or Jedi for you to control randomly in battle. There won't be any TIE Fighters either. But there will be free on-line multi-player. And there'll be all of the hectic in-battle action you get from Battlefront on your Wii.

Check it out here: www.gametrailers.com/player/26456.html


Medal of Honor: Heroes 2
Release Date: 11/6/07
I know this is not the Orange Box. I also know that it's not Halo 3. What I do know though is that it's a pretty good looking FPS for the Wii (possibly the first one to be worth anything) and it's also the Wii's first on-line FPS. Yeah, sure, you won't have an awesome story and I know you've already killed millions of Nazis in your gaming experience, but this game appears to have legitimately awesome Wii controls and the graphics at least aren't too shabby. Also, 32-person on-line multi-player? Kind of crazy. Apparently, these on-line sessions will be huge death matches that can be joined and left at any time. I hope you get to set at least some rules. But regardless, couple all of this with a pretty clever on rails Arcade Mode and compatibility with the Wii Zapper, and you've got a pretty interesting situation on your hands and yet another reason to shoot Nazis.

Check it out here: www.gametrailers.com/player/24951.html


Geometry Wars: Galaxies
Release Date: 11/6/07
No, this won't be a truly hardcore experience--there won't be any story, for example--but Geometry Wars: Retro Evolvedis one of the hottest downloads on the 360's Virtual Arcade, and now, it's on the Wii and DS with a chock full of exclusive features (like multi-player, lots of different game worlds, and added gameplay elements [like a helper drone]). In the mood for some old school arcade action? Then you're in the mood for Geometry Wars: Galaxies on the Wii.

Check it out here: www.gametrailers.com/player/25863.html


NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams
Release Date: 11/13/07
Any hardcore gamer with experience should have fond memories of NiGHTS. The game was ridiculously fun for all those who played it, and seeing as the only thing fans got that was anywhere close to a sequel was Christmas NiGHTS--a free Sega Saturn revamp of the game that wasn't... actually a sequel--I can't imagine original fans scoffing at this surprising sequel any more than clueless noobs should.

Check it out here: www.gametrailers.com/player/24928.html


No More Heroes
Release Date: February '08
Can you say free roaming with a lightsaber, tons of style, and lots of blood... on the Wii? Well, even if you can't, as Travis Touchdown, you'll have all three of those elements to slaughter the hitmen of Santa Destroy Town with. And chances are, you're going to love every second of it.

Check it out here: www.gametrailers.com/player/25412.html


Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Release Date: 2nd Quarter '08
The first truly hardcore Star Wars experience you're going to get on the Nintendo Wii. Sure, it's coming out for the Xbox 360 and PS3 too, and yeah, it will have much better graphics on both of those systems, but hey, you won't actually get to wield your lightsaber on either of them. No, you'll only get to on the Nintendo Wii, and if it's done right, I wouldn't care if I was controlling stick figures otherwise.

Check it out here: www.gametrailers.com/player/21832.html


De Blob
Release Date: 2nd Quarter '08
Easily one of the coolest and most original looking titles in the works for the Wii. If more games tried to look as original, trendy, and fun as De Blob does, I totally wouldn't mind forking over realistic textures.

Check it out here: www.gametrailers.com/player/22003.html


Worms: A Space Oddity
Release Date: 2nd Quarter '08
I know--I know. Worms is already downloadable on the Xbox 360's Virtual Arcade. But this new title for the Wii incorporates the Wii Remote and boasts all new bonus games and on-line play. So if you've never played with worms before, there's never going to be a better time to start.

Check it out here: www.gametrailers.com/player/26483.html

[Kordmalgemar]

So, more good third party support news for the Wii... and a little not so great news as well.

First off, Okami, one of the PS2's last great games, will be ported over to the Nintendo Wii. Yes, awesome--especially if you're like me and never picked up Okami for the PS2. However, I did say "port" and I totally meant it; there is no added content in the works for the Wii version, and considering that the team in charge of the port is not the same team that created the game, I think we should all be happy with what we're getting. As for controls, according The Magic Box (www.the-magicbox.com), the Wii Remote will be used to make strokes with your paintbrush.

Other great news--it appears that Spore, the massive world creation sim game that's been in development for the PS3 and Xbox 360 (I believe) for some time will also now be released on the Wii as well. Also pretty damn sweet, because this project has been generating tons of heat all over the gaming world and it looks pretty freakin' sweet. This news is pretty big for Wii owners because it's the second of the huge upcoming titles that's going to find it's way onto the Wii (in my eyes, The Force Unleashed is the first). No word yet on how it's going to differ from the other versions. However, the makers of Spore have voiced the opinion that the Wii is the only actual next gen console out there--I would link you to the actual quote or give you a reference right now, but I'm actually typing this out on my Wii right now [oh yeah, USB keyboard, bitches] and it doesn't allow multiple window surfing at once. Considering that that's how they feel over there at their studio (again, sorry but I can't do fact checking just this second) I can't imagine that they wouldn't do something with Spore to make use of the Wii Remote.

Finally, the not so great news. According to Destructoid.com and a gaggle of other sites, Doug Lombardi of Valve has officially denied rumors that Portal will be released on the Nintendo Wii. This isn't to say Valve has no interest in the Wii at all though; Doug says there's nothing in the works... "at least not yet." So yeah, I guess you can keep your fingers crossed for Portal. But me? I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for Half-Life 2 or some other new FPS/project. I mean, we're just now starting to see good FPS's popping up on the Wii, and what with the first console blaster worth anything in ages, the Wii Zapper, revolutionizing the way FPS's are played, I'd rather see a really awesome FPS on my Wii than another really good puzzler. I mean, Portal would definitely be really, really awesome... But I feel the Wii has an FPS deficiency. And I mean, it may seem like the Wii couldn't handle something like Half-Life 2... but the Wii is at least as powerful as the original Xbox, from what I've heard, so if the Xbox can get a sub-par port of Half-Life 2 the Wii can get a sub-par yet Wii Zapper compatible port of Half-Life 2. Or, ya know, something new. Or hey, hopefully all of the above.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'll probably move all of this to a new thread soon so that it doesn't look like I'm still debating whether the Wii is going to fail or not. Also, look forward to a review of Batallion Wars 2 when I can get my hands on it. If you're eager to buy something though and you're waiting for a BWii review here so you can decide, seriously, just wait for Mario Galaxies. It's going to be amazing. Or if you want to blow stuff up and have a more mature experience, there's always Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, which I really should've given a much better score in my review here on the site, in retrospect. Or, hey, if you have BWii or if there's any Wii title you want to chat about (whether you own it or not, or even if it hasn't been released yet), just write a post here. I'd be glad to hear from ya.