IF the Wii wins the console war..

[SuperDanX]

If Nintendo's Wii wins the console 'war' this time around, as most industry anaylists are predicting, then what will this mean for the next generations of video game consoles? Kudos to Nintendo for having the balls to take a chance with the wii but being the staunch traditionalist i am when it comes to console design it dosent intrest me, even the Ps3's minimal motion control controller puts me off, alas (or possibly not, depending on your pov) as in every industry immitation is the sincerest form of flatery and i fully expect Microsoft and Sony's next generation machines to move yet further away from the traditional video game console as weve known and loved it. The question is though how? The Wii seems to be showing that consumers want to interact more with there games than ever before so whats the next step? Vitual reality? Two words i havnt typed since the early 90's, or what? Whats the next step on from the Wii? (for Nintendo or whomever?)

[sj33]

Y'know, I love the Wii as a console, I really do. But if the Wii wins on the back of these goddamn casual and party games, I want no part of it.
Wii Sports was a curiosity on release, but certainly far too shallow and limited to interest me long term.

[Razz]

Y'know, I love the Wii as a console, I really do. But if the Wii wins on the back of these goddamn casual and party games, I want no part of it.
Wii Sports was a curiosity on release, but certainly far too shallow and limited to interest me long term.

Agreed. One thing which really pisses me off about the Wii is how they butchered games that were just fine on other consoles for the sake of the nunchuk function. Examples: Bleach, Naruto.

The controller is good for SOME genres, but on the whole it'd be ridiculous for it to be used universally. Imagine next next-gen DMC and Ninja Gaiden being toned down so that your mum can shake her mote at. No thanks. Hopefully Sony and MS aren't stupid enough to jump on the gimmicky bandwagon.

[MikeRox]

Y'know, I love the Wii as a console, I really do. But if the Wii wins on the back of these goddamn casual and party games, I want no part of it.
Wii Sports was a curiosity on release, but certainly far too shallow and limited to interest me long term.

Wasn't it stuff like Singstar, Eyetoy etc that also helped the PS2 create a huge market that kept it a more mainstream console than it's rivals?

Wii Sports has far more depth than people give it credit for. I'm assuming you're top rank on every sport if your going to call it shallow, though it could just be how crap I am, but it takes quite alot to master every sport in the package even in single player. Add multiplayer to the mix and it's a title I would have happily forked out full RRP for.

Theres always going to be traditional games. Even on Wii, they just might take a back seat, much like 2D did, though I think in time it'll also feel alot more "normal" playing games how the Wii is designed. I remember people who used to moan 2 analogue sticks had ruined gaming, and now they've become a staple.

[merf]

its an interesting situation as what is happening in this current iteration of hardware is similar to lots of other industries.

all big corps are aiming for mass market penetration and to flog as much gear and make as much cash as possible, what Nintendo have cleverly realised in my view is that these huge piles of cash are not controlled by selling to the 'hardcore' who frequent forums like these but in aiming for the masses.

you can argue the 'rights and wrongs' of it in a way music fans and film fans have for years but you see it time and time again, all the big companies will follow the last hit (boy bands, girls bands, super hero comic book movies, party games, pet sims).

this is the way things will be, if Nintendo have hit the magic fomula then watch the me toos follow.

[SuperDanX]

Im not saying the wii's innavations have ruined things for me just that it dosnt appeal, the point is where will it go next? How far away will video gaming move away from what we know? And how?

[MikeRox]

isn't that just progress though? the markets (particularly in Japan) were declining so something had to change.

[sj33]

all big corps are aiming for mass market penetration and to flog as much gear and make as much cash as possible, what Nintendo have cleverly realised in my view is that these huge piles of cash are not controlled by selling to the 'hardcore' who frequent forums like these but in aiming for the masses.

See I've often wondered about that. Would the masses ever spend the kind of money on games as the gamer? These are people who grudgingly pay £15 for a DVD, let alone £35 for a Wii game.
I certainly think there's money to be had with that audience, but I can't see attach ratios being very high, more likely they just buy a game now and again.

[MikeRox]

I think you just need to look at the games selling on DS in Japan. Hardcore gamers probably make what? 5-10% (complete guess) of a consoles overall userbase once its well into it's life cycle? so they need to buy between 10 and 20 games each year to shift as much software as the "casual audience" need to do if they buy just 1 game.

[lostn]

If Wii wins, people can stop bitching about Sony's online service. Wii didn't need one to win. Where is online gaming on Wii? Is it as good as Xbox Live? Is it even as good as PSN? But no one seems to raise any questions about that.

[J0e Musashi]

If the Wii wins the console war...

...I shall eat my hat.

[Supergoal]

I'm still playing Wii Sports every now and again. Just have to reach pro in Golf and Baseball then that's me done.

[peeveen]

I sorta agree with those of you who say that the Wii has (so far) "dumbed down" gaming. The sports are OK for a while, but the actual game mechanics are too limited to appeal long-term. Zelda is obviously great, but I doubt that much of the "untapped target market" are bothering with that title ... and say what you like, if I had the option to play it with my 360 controller, I would ... waving that thing about adds NOTHING to the game.

A few guys in this here office were playing Wii Sports at the weekend at a friends house. Good fun was had, but I asked them if they didn't think that the games were just a bit limited ... to which they responded "yeah, but you're not really playing it for the game", presumably meaning that it's just something funny to do when you're half-drunk.

From that, I'd say that Nintendo are onto a real winner.

But as a "real" gamer, I have two complaints at the moment:
(1) I want some Wiimote-based games that require actual skill, dedication and practice to become really good at, and don't just require some vague waving and larking around.
(2) I want some games that can ACCURATELY detect the Wiimote movements, because at the moment I just don't think it's good enough, which will probably make (1) never happen.

[MikeRox]

But as a "real" gamer, I have two complaints at the moment:
(1) I want some Wiimote-based games that require actual skill, dedication and practice to become really good at, and don't just require some vague waving and larking around.

Sadly, that approach actually isolates the core demographic Nintendo are aiming for, I do reckon we'll start to see some proper stuff soon though once developers get used to what the controller is actually capable of. I think we just need to remember that it's very early days for the controller and just like the DS it's going to take time to realise the full potential.

But when you look at the best sellers generally, they aren't the toughest of games. Need for Speed Carbon can be completed practically first attempt, thats probably part of the reason why it's so successful. Chuck in a higher difficulty, and it alienates alot of people who aren't as good at gaming which in turn reduces the number of people the game appeals to.

[sj33]

But as a "real" gamer, I have two complaints at the moment:
(1) I want some Wiimote-based games that require actual skill, dedication and practice to become really good at, and don't just require some vague waving and larking around.
(2) I want some games that can ACCURATELY detect the Wiimote movements, because at the moment I just don't think it's good enough, which will probably make (1) never happen.

See, when the Wii was first revealed, I was excited at how the Wii controls could enhanced experiences in games... such as a Resident Evil where the player has complete control, for example. So far, I've not seen anything that does this, which I think is why I'm disappointed.

Even the new Sonic on Wii, which I really like, could be done on the traditional controller probably better, with the player actually having more control.