Also there is one more obvious counter argument that hasn't been raised.
Some Nintendo fans feel betrayed by Nintendo. They scurried onto the Nintendo bandwagon thinking that there will be an abundance of triple A, 1st party titles that will keep them happy about their purchase. The last truely epic game we had was Super Smash Brothers Brawl and that was a whole year ago.
I am in agreement with the OP but I want to add one more point. S/he expressed how any additional source of income for the gaming industry is good "because it is ensuring growth for our industry". I want to express that the direction the Wii has taken has been a good turn for the gaming community as a whole (more on this later). I think that us older gamers have been far too narrow minded in the way we define gaming. Our kids and our non-gaming friends are playing Crap games (read: badly designed, cash-in's, etc.) which is screwing over the true potential of what the medium has to offer.
theshrike said:
I don't hate the Wii, I just feel it panders to the lowest common denominator. I feel that games can be very intelligent, atmospheric, and engaging. Unfortunately those games are in short supply on the Wii. Most of the people who flock to the wii aren't my kind of gamers or at least I can have the same talks about it.
The fact that it makes more money than god only becomes an issue for me when developers throw all their collective energy making poorly designed games that make money.
Conversely, you would also want to know that a good portion of the non-gaming community thinks of us gamers in a similar fashion: "Gamers are always playing, violent, unproductive, adolescent and most of all incomprehensible games. Why do they enjoy that stuff? It's so low brow." There are people who think our games are kiddy but we think THEIR games are push-over and second rate. Who are we to have the final judgement on what are truely good games and what define real gamers?
"Simple. Because I have better taste than this new, casual crowd." However now we are digging straight to the heart of the problem. Traditional gamers are out-of-touch or self-deluded about gaming and what it really means to the true intended audience of the Wii. Let me illustrate:
There are large volumes of kids (and their grannies) who sit in front of their TV sets, playing these 'badly designed cash-ins' and in fact... having a Blast! They find these games to be perfectly competent and enjoyable. Their lives are not dabbled in, living the best HD gaming experience or finding the most sophisticated SRPG available or the maddest online services. Mum and child go out for a weekend, watch Wall-E, come home with a copy of the Wall-E game on Nintendo Wii, insert disc in and have the best of time of their lives. Consider, a male friend in his 30s, invites mates over for a beer and watch the footy. In between commercial breaks they decide to pull out AMF Bowling World Lanes or Virtua Tennis 09 and have a heap of fun.
How are we to judge that these 'gamers' aren't enjoying gaming to their 'best' potential? I seriously don't get that. So in fact, the hardcore gaming community is saying that the chemicals produced by their brains that propel them into a pleasurable sensation (whilst gaming) is somehow MORE PLEASUREABLE than those experienced by casual gamers? Wtcrap?
Traditional gamers are self-deluded and out-of-touch with this new gaming audience and their understanding of gaming.
There is more than one way to have fun.
