This came to me while we where discussing it in the shoutbox. What do you think the quality of the Wii, and its games are like? I think some of the games are great and really stand out from all the other games, but mostly the others are horrible looking third party pieces of junk. I've seen my mum play games on it, and I can barely see anything because the graphics are so horrible. Believe me when I say that I am not trying to down the Wii, but I am speaking my honest opinion about games. I mean, they look horrible, but you never know, it might just be the TV.
I think the Wii was exactly what Nintendo needed after slumping behind with the Gamecube last generation. It's a solid console with games for all, but I think the shift in target audience for a large portion of the Wii's early years has hurt the overall quality of the Nintendo brand. While E3 this year managed to recapture the hearts of nostalgic gamers such as myself, nostalgia and casual motion games are the only audience Nintendo can seem to bank on at this point. They've seemingly abandoned the "core" audience, and for good reason. That target audience is fixated on the "Modern Warfare"s and "Halo"s of today, and the thought of an actual good, solid Wii game seems out of the question. When titles like No More Heroes, No More Heroes 2 and Madworld go highly unnoticed by the general public, games that were designed specifically to bring the "hardcore" audience to the Wii (and are actually good), there's a problem. Had Nintendo advertised them better and had gamers actually given them a chance without prejudice, the question of the Wii's quality probably wouldn't come up as much as it does nowadays. Overall I think the Wii's quality is still pretty good, but for a different purpose. Gamers who didn't grow up with Mario, Samus, Link, etc. probably don't care about the Wii the same way the nostalgic gamers do and certainly the "core" gamers won't care about motion controls or the games based around it and vice-versa. At the same time, the potential reach the Wii has is something that can't be denied and has helped flourish the gaming industry as a whole. Personally, while I think perhaps companies are wasting too much time and money on "casual" cash-ins of the Wii, if that means funding more titles that appeal to me in the near future, I'm willing to compromise as long as those two paths never, ever intersect. To touch on your point regarding graphics... Graphics aren't everything and they are hardly the biggest issue with the Wii's appeal. While it's not the most powerful console visually, games like Madworld and the Okami port show that stylized graphics are just as good (if not better) than realistic. Hell, Resident Evil 4 and Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess looked really great for Wii games. It just depends on how a developer goes about utilizing the hardware, and unfortunately with an oversaturated market based on "shovelware" and half-assed ports (made to make a quick buck above all else, mind you), it happens. Even the PS2 had "shovelware" and terrible ports that looked butt-ugly, but that didn't stop it from having some really good and memorable titles that pushed graphical limitations.
The problem with Madworld is it could have been an AMAZING game if it didn't have that stupid black and white thing. For colorblind people like me, it's utter hell. I couldn't see a damn thing I was doing. Other than that, I loved my Wii for it's generation-long games. Zelda, Mario, Smash Bros, those kinds. The original titles that weren't involved in a franchise were more or less meh, and the classic games were fun when I felt a craving for some 8-bit tastiness. After a while though I just got bored of it and I ended up getting my Xbox. Not saying I regret that trade but sometimes I do miss the Wii games. Now that the price has dropped to a good level I might go and get a new one eventually, and rebuild my franchise/downloadable game collection again.
I'm a pretty hardcore gamer, and I definitely prefer the Wii over the 360 or PS3. I like the Wii because I enjoy not having to send my console in to be replaced every 3 months. Also, I like having a console that doesn't break my discs. I had written a long diatribe going point by point over why I think this, but I can sum it up into these questions: How many PS1 games would you play without question right now if offered? How many SNES games would you play without question right now if offered? PS2? X-Box? N64? Gamecube? In 5 years, can you see yourself going back to play CoD: MW2 when CoD: blabla is out on [insert future console here]? In 5 years, can you see yourself going back to play Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess when Legend of Zelda: Insert Title here comes out on [insert future console here]? All in all, I like the Wii because of these words: gameplay, gameplay, gameplay. While indeed each console has their come-to games, Nintendo has it in abundance. I think it's that focus on gameplay, not graphics, that has me coming back to Nintendo (although I do love my share of PS3 and 360 games).
I'm a sporty/girl type of gamer so the Wii I just bought was perfect for me but am kinda disappointed about how many online games it lacks compared to the xbox 360 which is what I'm used to. Also the other features that it lacks like being able to play CDs really dissappointed me.
Get a CD player, maybe? I get a system to play games, not for the other add-on functions. When I play my 360, I don't play because I can use Netflix. I play because I want to run over hookers and commit felonies.
It can't play the simpliest form of digital media...a CD....in order to play a CD you need to mod it with a DVD thingi I read on google. On the upper side of it, it can read sanDisks and memory cards, which could be helpful when I want to show people photos. I heard the first generation of Wiis were able to play CDs because of the older version of the photo channel. But it can play a DVD? A standard DVD player can even play CDs (our DVD player is my partner's 360). I don't have much space in my house that's why the smallness of the Wii is so good, the wireless internet without buying extra gadgets like for xbox. Xbox 360 requires a wireless transmitter or an ethernet cable running from one side of the living room to the other where the modem of the internet is which is plugged into the phone socket. The wireless transmitter sets us back $130 the cheapest in our shit ass town from EB Games so we're not going to bother with it for now, but when bub starts crawling I don't want her to yank the ethernet cable out of the 360 and I am ever so worried about tripping over the cable when it comes to early morning feeds with bub.
Honestly, the PS1 and the N64 are the only consoles out of that list that don't hold up very well. Both console's libraries are chock full of crude, early 3D games with cumbersome controls and unwieldy cameras -- the Resident Evil series, Tomb Raider series, Goldeneye, etc. As for the Wii, yes, Nintendo does have an impressive stable of first-party franchises, but some of their series, like Zelda, have been getting stale. Nintendo houses some of the most creative and talented developers in the world; however, I think they too often rely on tried and true franchises. Why not create some new characters or worlds? Again, The Legend of Zelda, as classic a game series as it is, hasn't changed much gameplay-wise since a Link to the Past, an almost 20-year-old game. I guess some people enjoy that about the series, but to each his own. After seeing some of the games Nintendo showed at E3, though, I think they're getting back on track -- Kirby's Epic Yarn in particular looks phenomenal. I give Nintendo a lot of grief, but that's only because I grew up owning their consoles and want them to make great games that live up to my expectations.
My major complaint with the Wii is the same complaint I've had with Nintendo since the SNES, well built pretty powerful consoles; but you would never guess that. Nintendo in my opinion has a habit of not utilizing it's technology until the next console is out. The nostalgia thing has never been a factor for me since except only a few Zelda games I dislike most of their franchises, except Starfox, which is pretty much dead unless you count the remake of Starfox 64 for the 3DS. In the end result I fall into neither the nostalgic Nintendo gamer nor the casual gamer categories so I ignore the Wii for the most part; but, it is a good machine.
You're talking about support for a piece of media that is slowly being phased out, and more importantly wasn't something promised from the start. The Wii isn't marketed like the PS3 and 360 to be a media center, it's strictly marketed as a motion-controlled gaming device because that's what it does and Nintendo knows this. That's its primary focus and purpose. While it supports Netflix, that's about as far as the console goes in way of media outside of gaming. If one device had to set the standard all devices needed to abide by, that form of logic would mean the 360 and Wii should both be able to play Blu-ray discs because the PS3 does. It doesn't work like that. The other issues you have are trivial at best and shouldn't reflect on the console's quality itself. Hidden fees exist on all three consoles; to what extent you have to go to make the experience better for yourself is strictly your problem. I don't have a lot of room either but I still make due with three consoles and a room full of wires that are no doubt an extremely large fire risk. It's pretty obvious why Nintendo always goes back to these franchises: it's profitable. Nintendo has tried a lot this generation to build new franchises but all of them have done terrible in sales. Fans don't support those games, so developers and Nintendo alike decide to keep it safe and stick to the product they know will sell. Simple as that.
One thing Nintendo has stuck to is having a GAME console. A lot of consoles these days are DVD players, music players, online movie streaming, Facebook and all that but thats not a GAME console in reality. I would be annoying not to be able to watch a DVD on a Wii sometimes but thats because they're not mean't to, they're for games.
The Wii has its fair share of functions and applications that aren't strictly to do with playing games. The Miis, BBC iPlayer, an internet browser... it's not really a problem to me anyway. It's not as though you're bound into using those functions if you don't want to, if anything it's good to have the option there. Besides, plenty of electronic goods have multimedia aspects these days. Games consoles aren't alone in that respect. Anyway, I have a Wii. I rarely use it these days but I'm happy to keep it for the games I do have and the games I'm going to want to play.
1) Who still uses CDs to listen to music? And if you do, why would you bother with a Wii when you can have a dedicated music player? 2) I'm pretty sure the simplest of digital media was the punch card. 3) If you're concerned about space and still want to listen to music, I'm sure there's a product out there for you. 4) Great media center planning involves learning how to set-up wires where tangling and disconnecting can be greatly, if not completely, avoided. In my room I have a high end PC with dual monitors (one being a TV), 5.1 surround, a Wii, 360, PS3, SNES, Genesis, and MacBook (which I guess doesn't count because it is wireless when not charging). The only way you can trip on and disconnect any wires is to purposefully search for the wires, remove the casing to keep them pushed against the wall, pull them out far enough away from the walls to disconnect them (good luck with that), then attempt to trip on a disconnected cable. 5) Also I may be nitpicking but you said the Wii is perfect for you, yet you have complaints. Divide by zero /explode
It's perfect for me in regards of the games it offers, just took me a while to get used to the idea of having a wireless motion detecting software at my hands. You don't have to purposely search for wires to trip over them, it takes one foot underneath the cable and a trip to yank something out, let alone a toddler doing it who doesn't know right from wrong, the xbox is on the other side of the room and I've suggested it many times to get more than one tv stand for one end that's near the tv aerial outlet and the other near the internet connection, but my loungeroom is too small at the moment. In our room, we have a double bed, a cot, a changetable, small plastic set of drawers and an inbuilt cupboard so basically nothing else fits in there, the fan even has trouble fitting in there. There's this massive heater that doesn't work in our lounge room we can't remove it cos it would be breaking the lease, we don't even have room for a second couch so a proper entertainment system couldn't fit, we've tried. And right now we can't afford another place. The laptop sits on the couch, the N64 has to be put away to save room, and the 360 and Wii sit nicely together underneath the tv we have.
I think the Wii is a perfect spot in the market. For players who are slightly interested in this "gaming world" - The type of people who looked over mario, Legend of Zelda, Metroid, etc.. and now are looking back in curiosity. Perhaps part of the coming market haven't a clue on what's good on the market, but want something introductory to the gaming world. The Wii fits into this catagory. It's a small console in comparison. As a gaming console, the variety of gaming from nostalgic series to new and original games. The new market is filled with parents who've played Mario, LoZ, Donkey Kong.. etc. Majority of these parents could only hope to share the same joy they did back then, now. The Wii and Nintendo seems to find it's nitch here. In regards to being fair with all gaming consoles, the Wii does has it's disadvantages. The lack of depth with the amount of Original, and memorable games. For example, Dead Space: Extraction was an awesome game. However, The number of games similar to the DS:E or MadWorld, etc. is few. The selection of high quality games is disappointing. So the quality of Wii games, and as a console is just about right for a broad audience. It just lacks depth within the selection of high quality games. TL;DR... Pro: Overall, good. Con: Not "THE" system to have for a group of buddies to have fun playing together with. (disputable) Not enough "NEED-TO-HAVE" games. Both: Perfect for Casual gamers. How to improve it's standing? More developers taking time to refine and publish a great Wii game. Perferably one with great multiplayer (local) support. If not, then just a game with a good sense of gameplay and a fairly good plot.