First off, before I get verbally raped on here for saying anything bad about Nintendo, let me first say that I'm a HUGE Nintendo fan, and I've owned everything from the original NES and Super Nintendo, to a DS Lite and Gamecube.
I love what they do and I'm a huge Mario fan, but I really can't help but express how I feel about the Wii and Nintendo's future. I personally don't own a Wii, but I've played games on it at a couple of friends houses and I've seen what it does and can do...honestly I'm not that impressed compared to what the 360 and PS3 are churning out (I'm really not that impressed with the PS3 either).
First of all, they are VERY lucky that the Wii "hit". In the last console generation war they lost BIG TIME!
The Gamecube was a solid gaming unit and had some very interesting titles (The Resident Evil series was a huge hit with me), but it suffered from the "kiddie" syndrome. Most gamers felt it was for kids and most of the "cutesy" graphics, games, and box artwork, drove most teenage and adult gamers away.
There is no question that they have a strong trend of appealing to handheld gamers, and the GameBoy/Advance/DS/DS Lite sales have been strong FOREVER, but their consoles lately have suffered in my opinion.
The NES, Super NES, and 64 were influential, popular, and strong consoles. "Back in the day" the only real competition they had was with Sega (and the endless Sega "mutations") which they pretty much blew them out of the water.
When the PS1 hit, it almost killed the 64, but it held its own and continued to release great games.
When the whole Xbox/PS2 war began, the Gamecube was basically an option. If you HAD to play RE games, Smash Bros., anything Mario, and the like, you could choose to buy a GC (which was very affordable throughout its run, especially at the end of its life).
They struggled and if you remember reading game magazines at that time, the GC was almost an afterthought compared to PS2 and Xbox reviews, previews, games, etc...
When news about the Wii surfaced (before its release), most of the magazines and online info made it sound quirky and interesting, but they painted a picture as if it would be fun at first, and then get old really fast (especially with the dumbed-down graphics and "simple" game designs).
The shining light in their corner was the controller, which works well, but it really is just a gimmic.
It's obvious that the graphics and features of the Wii are really just slightly "beefed up" Gamecube ideas, and they probably didn't change that much going into the Wii's design compared to what they were using with the Gamecube. I feel that they thought they had a great system with the Gamecube, they spent some money, tried to milk it for what they could, and it bombed BAD, and they scrambled to find an alternate route to reach an audience.
They got the idea for a cool controller (to hopefully distract people enough to not notice that they were basically playing an "iPod" version of a Gamecube) and hoped that it would be a success. It was a gamble, to say the least.
I feel that the Wii allows players to play games in a different manner, compared to "normal" controllers, but overall their catalog of games doesn't appeal to me. I've seen some "cool" Wii games, but nothing I've seen makes me want to buy a Wii.
I'm not mad at Nintendo, I'm just saying that I'm not that impressed with the "Tickle Me Elmo" of video consoles, and I'm more into REAL gameplay and interesting storytelling than quirky controllers and tons of kid games.
If you need proof, look at what they're releasing compared to their current gen rivals. The exclusive games are one thing, but the other games are usually released on Wii and the PS2 side-by-side (PS2?). Doesn't that make you feel like you're buying something "new", but it's really "old"?
If the Wii can really only produce graphics and new titles alongside the PS2, and the "new" titles that are recreated for the Wii that have also appeared on the 360 or PS3 are dumbed-down versions of the prettier and better games.
So...what the heck? Isn't this unit technically "last gen"?
The only ace in Nintendo's sleeve is the fact that they have sucessfully appealed to a broader audience, and have safely won the hearts and minds of parents all over the world. I think that moms and dads feel that this console is "safe" for their kids and the 360 or PS3 is too violent or realistic compared to the Wii. They also created a "shortage" to drive the demand through the roof.
I know that the Wii is popular with adults and not everyone buying this system is buying for a child or relative or whatever, but all-in-all it is a "safe" console for kids and parents. That is what they've tried (and succeeded) as far as marketing and creating a unit that appeals to non-gamers with the all-important parental market in mind.
If you think that parents dont help drive the market of entertainment (music, movies, tv, video games), you're kidding yourself. I know that adults without kids buy things, but there are millions (if not billions) of children out there that want to be entertained. Just like the millions of children that love Hannah Montana or whatever. If ma and pa are putting their hard-earned money toward something for their kids, they'll decide what they'll buy for them, regardless of what they actually ask for or want. They wont buy Jackass:The Movie for them, they'll buy something "safe".
You don't believe me? Sit any parent or grandparent down, put on COD4 or Gears Of War or Dead Rising or Bioshock or any great current gen game that is violent or dark and then play Wii Sports or some other cute Wii game for them and they will hands down pick the Wii, since it seems "safe" and not violent.
If they can save money in doing so, they'll try to find a savings somewhere. The Wii's price point is another saving grace for this console, because if it cost as much as a 360 or PS3, I think it would be considered yeterday's trash instead of today's hottest console.
Most "gamers" I know, really dont have much to say about the Wii that is good. They only gamers I know that talk about the Wii in a positive light are fans of Nintendo in general, and will boast that anything Nintendo makes is GREAT!
So, you can go ahead and say that I'm a 360 fanboy or whatever, but I feel that the appeal for the Wii will die very quickly, and its only a matter of time before people get tired of playing another rehashed Mario or Zelda game with the "controller", and will look to another console for a bigger and better VG fix.
Most Wii fans I know seem overly jealous when they see gameplay or screenshots of games that will never grace the Wii (such as Bioshock, Halo3, COD4, Oblivion, etc...). They know deep inside that they are holding onto a "lesser" console, they just can't admit that they REALLY would rather be playing those games instead of Mario Kart 9, Monkey Ball, or something with Donkey Kong in it.
I think Nintendo will milk the Wii for what it is worth (which right now, is quite alot), but as soon as they can they'll abandon this console (it's already made them a bunch of money) and they'll move into trying to create a next-gen console to catch up with the 360 or PS3, but by that time there could be a Xbox3 or PS4.
The have a lot of catching up to do (in my opinion), and I think they'll basically be left behind in the console wars (which I think they already have been left behind).
It happened to Sega, it happened to Atari, its now happening to the Playstation. If you would have told PS2 owners that the next Playstation console would suffer compared to what Microsoft and Nintendo were going to release, they would have laughed in your face. Well, who's laughing now? Nintendo is, because they know that they were able to make a huge profit on something that isn't that much different than what they toted in the last console war.
No thanks Nintendo...I'm happy with what I have...and I even had the Red Rings Of Death last year, and I still love my 360. I'll put Bioshock, COD4, Oblivion, Dead Rising, Halo3, or any of my titles up against anything Wii and just laugh at the difference.
Wii doesn't fit for Mii and I'd rather play my 360 or PC.
