Gaming Nexus's resident Nintendo fan Sean Colleli takes Nintendo to task for failing to live up to most of the expectations they set before the Wii's launch:

Where are Wii going?


Nintendo is not infallible. An obvious truth, it would seem at first, but a disturbing trend is emerging among certain industry professionals and Nintendo fans, a train of thought that places the Kyoto based company upon an untouchable pillar. The Wii is a runaway hit, it sells out as soon as new stock arrives, and it is the current game industry media darling. Wii Sports is becoming a pop culture icon, and once again non-gamers are coming out of their GTA stereotype induced fear and trying something new.

So what’s the problem?

The recent Game Developer’s Conference made me realize three things: Playstation Home is a very, very cool idea. Little Big Planet is more than a cool idea. And, Nintendo is disturbingly silent in the face of such opposition. Sure they were in a silent period but they could have at least given us something small. These are the types of innovations that Nintendo has been bragging about since the Wii was unveiled as the Revolution, and once again Sony is upstaging them. It’s no secret that Sony makes a habit of ripping off competing ideas and improving upon then, and there’s no real shame in it either—it’s been a legitimate business practice in capitalism since the beginning. Sony has gone to ludicrous speed in terms of PR nonsense, and they’ve gone plaid and overshot Nintendo by a week in the foolish boasting department. But they’re turning around, understanding their follies and repairing the bridges they damaged with their fans. Nintendo only continues to brag about its past accomplishments.

Nintendo doesn’t necessarily need to compete with Sony to succeed. Playstation Home looks to be a cleaner, more organized Second Life. I’m sure sooner than later it will fall prey to the same aristocratic caste system that plagues Linden’s attempted metaverse, and it’ll be interesting to see how Sony feigns fairness and equality in their virtual world. But Nintendo doesn’t need to build their own digital metropolis to stay afloat, they just need to maintain quality.

Nintendo continued to stress that they are not competing with Sony or Microsoft anymore, and gamers are finally coming to terms with that. The Wii is far and away different, the inexpensive “and”console that truly offers something gamers can’t get anywhere else. What Nintendo has to sustain, is that “different” aspect. They have to make sure that the Wii stays enticing and viable years down the road, so that the people who pick up a PS3 for Home, or a 360 for Live, will spend the extra cash on a Wii for the controller. And right now Nintendo is doing a piss poor job of that.

Nintendo speaks of simplicity as a way to reach the casual crowd, but where they indicate simplicity, I see laziness. They talk of uncluttered interfaces, of a console that is attractive to non-gamers. I see PR doubletalk and a company that is ignoring its core audience. In all honesty it’s a smart, proven business decision, to give as little as possible and get as much money for it as you can. The Wii is doing this beautifully right now and unlike Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo is actually making a profit on every console sold and bringing in cash hand over fist.

But it can’t last. The novelty will fade, the public adoration will fade and consumers will realize that their shiny white box is filled with half-baked features and watered down ideas. It’s time for Nintendo to step up to plate and cut through on the PR smoke-blowing they’ve been doing for the past year. It’ll take time and a lot of money, but considering the Wii’s strong launch and the DS’s continued success, I’m sure Nintendo can spare a good amount of both. It’s time to go the extra mile. Nintendo has to make the Wii a quality, option rich product that stands on its own and uses its abilities to the fullest. Its various features must be capitalized on so that gamers and non gamers alike feel comfortable with them, but also feel that they’re getting their money’s worth.

You may recall an editorial I did last year about the Wii’s possible failure. Well, I’m back to gripe some more, to call out Nintendo on their inconsistencies, take them to task on their promises and offer some constructive (if surly) criticism. I’ve outlined below several areas that require drastic improvement.

Now, let’s make the Wii a real new generation game console.

Problem #1: Online service....


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Well personally i love the wii, so much FUN which other consoles lack and the games are awesome such as RedSteel, Zelda: Twilight Princess and SSM:Brawl, SO much fun just for £180 what could be better?? I agree though, there should be online play rather than just the internet browser channel and other channels such as News, Weather and Everybody Votes.

not SSM i meant SSB - Super Smash Bro's

Topic: it depends on your perspective.

Sales-wise, it has exceeded expectations... but...

Agreed, as much as I love my Wii - Nintendo is at a break point here right now. These 'casual' games are not cutting it long term. I have Wario and the Wii Play and Sports titles...that's all I want in the casual department. I do believe that some games worthy of MY money are on the way - those titles aren't the same ones I thought they would be 6 months ago...example would be the RE for wii, once a highly anticipated title now has fallen to the bottom due to the formula change..and I'm not into buying RE4 again. Manhunt 2 is top of my list now.

I'm also tired of the Cube games, SPM is fun...but you KNOW you're playing a last gen console game. It's time to see new stuff for the Wii, I know it takes time - but this should be hitting shelves now, instead we are getting alot of PS2 ports....WTF??

I think online is where they will really gimp it up, I'm expecting the same lame ass online functionality as the DS, f**k friend codes - say what you want to defend them - they suck and there's a whole big free world out there online.

I'm thinking the core audience is going to have to wait for the good stuff to come...I think...I enjoy lots of N games, but I want something more..I'm starting to feel alienated a bit.

VC has pretty much launched everything I want on it, where's the original games for this??? Where's the demos??? Where the DS demo channel??? Why can't I use my TWO USB ports for anything???

So many cards on the table not being played.

You all can see now that Nintendo Wii is so far the winner in the consoles battle between Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Sony and Microsoft are totally losts, because they did everything they wanted. They thought that Nintendo was out of the competition before it started. But Nintendo makes quality products at a low price, even if it lacks great games for their consoles since N64. PS3 is too expensive and XBOX 360 doesn't even works. Nintendo DS sells more than the PSP. Nintendo is back as the dominator.It is too early to talk about the expectations. I just hope that they'll do what they say, but I hope for the gamers something else that e-reader cards and the Gamecube-GBA connection kind of stuff that were expensive and not that useful.

I would give the wii time before you can judge it completely. There are still great games to come.

quote:

XBOX 360 doesn't even works

1. Nice english
2. Totally false statement. I've had mine for more than 8 months and it's great. IMO I am having 10 times more fun on my 360 than on my Wii.
3. (Not attacking you but...) The Wii is in a serious need of some good games.

This article is pretty much nonsense, although I haven't read all 6 pages of it. It seems to have been written by someone who doesn't understand games consoles, and who has been in a coma during the first year of just about every console in recent memory.

Who can judge a console after its first 6 months? The 360 was almost a year old before the first must have game (Ghost Recon) came out. Up to that point there was nothing you couldn't get on the xbox or PS2.

The PS3, as well as being grotesquely priced, also has not one game that I'm prepared to spend £550 to play. The PS2 was the same. The first year of software was atrocious.

So the Wii's software lineup since launch is underwhelming. That's par for the course with a new console. The only difference with the Wii is that it's selling faster than they can manufacture it. And that's BEFORE the great games start to appear. The current software lineup serves to entice a new audience to gaming though, and for that reason it serves a purpose.

So the guy who wrote this article seems to think that Home will sell PS3s. I have to say, it looks interesting, but in all honesty, it'll likely turn out to be more of a novelty than the Wii controller could ever dream of being. I mean, who buys a GAMES CONSOLE (call it an entertainment centre all you like... it's for playing games) so that they can stroll around watching advertisements and chat to people they dont know? I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather be playing a game with my mates than looking at the furniture in someone's virtual loft, and marvelling at how many trophies they've won in Gran Turismo. I can't see how this gimmick will part people from the vast sum of money required to buy a PS3. I could be wrong.

This statement: "The novelty will fade, the public adoration will fade and consumers will realize that their shiny white box is filled with half-baked features and watered down ideas" I find extremely amusing. It's the exact thing, almost to the word, that people like him were saying about the DS. Look how that's turned out.

At the end of the day, no one knows how things are going to turn out over the next 4 or 5 years. Maybe Nintendo will become as arrogant as Sony did and start treating gamers with contempt. Maybe the PS3 will outsell the 360 and Wii by huge numbers. Personally, I don't care as long as I get some great games to play. I've had my 360 for a year now and there are some fantastic games, some of which are now selling at budget prices. When Metroid and Mario and No More Heroes hit, I'm sure my Wii will get similar usage to my 360. Sony needs to do something pretty remarkable to make me buy a PS3. Dropping the price by 200 quid would be a start, but I'm not sure what else it can do, especially since it's lost most of it's exclusives that drove sales of PS2(GTA, MGS, Pro Evo, even Devil May Cry). Maybe Little Big Planet is the killer app. It's certainly the most impressive thing I've seen about PS3.

My point is, only a fool condemns a console after it's only been on the market for 6 months. Let's at least see where we are a year from now.

Your post summed it up most impressively, Borachon.

quote:

1. Nice english

I Tankh you mster for have sayiing that

quote:

2. Totally false statement. I've had mine for more than 8 months and it's great. IMO I am having 10 times more fun on my 360 than on my Wii.

Well you're lucky

quote:

3. (Not attacking you but...) The Wii is in a serious need of some good games.

You're right. But the great games are coming soon.

I don't believe tha console has, but as was the problem with the gamecube the best games are nintendo's with the odd exception. The only games I have bothered with was zelda at release and then paper mario, nothing else so far has really been worth the money imo.
Wii sports is still great to play with friends and beer.