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VGPolyglot on 31 July 2016
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BMaker11 said:
VGPolyglot said:

My main problem with this argument is the idea that it was a fluke and Nintendo just somehow lucked out. They knew that if they came up with an innovative idea (motion controls) that they could tap into an audience that wouldn't ordinarily buy consoles. Acting like it was just a fluke/outlier is ignoring the fact they Nintendo also came out with the DS at a similar time, which also had it's own innovative features and sold 50 million more units than even the Wii.

Aren't these console makers coming up with "innovative ideas"....every generation? At least, they are inclined to do so. But there's a difference between an "innovative idea" and a "gimmick". An "innovative idea" sticks; a "gimmick" wears out. 

Also, the second screen on the DS was a supplemental feature of the device. It wasn't the main use of it. You could play every game without that screen, for example. It was a "neat feature" that wasn't necessary for the core enjoyment of the device. The DS sold on its library. If the PSP could sell 80 million (which has a great library on its own), is it really that farfetched that the DS sold loads better, with a library that is unquestionably better? If the "innovative features" the DS had are why it sold so much, then why has the 3DS sold so little by comparison? 

And you obviously don't understand what a fluke/outlier is if you think I'm just picking on the Wii to try and discredit it. 

Outlier: a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample. Is this not true of the Wii, in comparison to the rest of Nintendo's consoles? 

The "gimmick" of motion controls is merely evolving: we are now getting VR games which are basically a more advanced version of it. Also, there do exist games that you need the touchscreen for (like Kirby: Canvas Curse) and there also exist games that you do not need motion controls for on the Wii (Mario Kart Wii). Also, there were many great games on the Wii:

Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2

Twilight Princess + Skyward Sword

Wii Sports

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Mario Kart Wii

Metroid Prime 3

The House of the Dead: Overkill

Xenoblade Chronicles

The Last Story

Okami

The lsit goes on. It does not make sense to say that the Wii had a shortage of good games: the internet makes it very easy to determine whether a game is shovelware or not.

I said that the Wii is not an outlier because the DS was also very successful, and whether we like it or not handhelds are very important to Nintendo.