Ah, a Nintendo thread. OP, you asked a few questions, allow me to answer:
Simple question: Is the Wii a success?
Yes and No.
Take into account the totality of things. Did it succeed financially?
Yes.
Commercially?
Yes and No. The reason is there was much potential room for them to succeed even more, so relative to their potential and easy to achieve success? No. Relative to their previous market position? a big yes.
It begs the question, what could Nintendo have done different? 2 things, one which you came up with first so credit goes to you. 1) They could have surfed the momentum of the NSMB/DKCR craze with updates to those series, as did Sony with most of their IPs this gen (infamous goes to 3, so does Uncharted, and others). 2) They could have better designed their console (given a wiser vision) to allow for HD graphics. At a small cost, but it didn't need to be cutting edge, only may even just under 360 (a console 2 years older than the Wii) would have been enough.
Did it live up to Nintendo's expectations?
Yes and No. Their vision was to capture a large audience, but that audience wasn't totally captured, as you seem to advocate. Success on the other hand that their strategy to market to the blue ocean succeeded powerfully.
DId it provide the type of games that justified its existence?
No. Third parties did not give their top effort to the Wii due to snobbing and the "need" for top graphics.
Is the Wii the underdog console that overcame all odds to become a hit or is the Wii the Tim Tebow of the console world who owns all its (questionable) success to dumb luck and/or divine intervention?
It is the underdog console that overcame ALL odds to become a hit. A return to the cube days will help you remember. Though Nintendo was in the green of profitability, in terms of marketshare it was abysmal... One could claim their survival a divine intervention, however not without some very positively risky and sound decisions.
Consider the Wii's competition. Consider the Wii's legacy. Consider the Wii's obstacles. Consider the Wii's contributions. Consider all of this and tell me if Nintendo and the gaming world are better off with the Wii on the market.
YES. The Wii revolutionized gaming. Not everyone wants to play Call of Duty. When families got together to play Wii Sports, and New Super Mario Bros., it was a revolution. Games have also followed the trend of entertainment within the industry as a whole, including Nintendo, to make electronics more approachable and ergonomic. The iPad and DS are other such example this generation.
Yes, that looks familiar. It was decided that I should make this thread for the Wii, so I did.
Yes, and you did very well.
People who use doublespaces after each sentence should burn in hell, because what they do only leads to other people having more work to do.
;)
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For my dear mystery game lovers:
Rodrigues looked at the VHS label, it had a red text with the movie's filmographic information written with ink. Regardless of that, it was clear that (despite him being 14) the movie was rated 'R', even if not officially (at least that's how he understood it, the ink almost looked like blood). Reluctantly, he placed the casette in the VHS player and sat nervously in his recliner, a Rickards in hand, unsure what he would find in this mysterious tape he found under that park bench. Rather a matter of luck, his parents weren't home that day.
The answer lies in the messages you have witnessed. Visit me with your key to unlock the gate of gold. Within you will find what lies at the end of the road.