Very.

They reflect the staleness and myopia of the industry. Not to mention the lack of insight over what gaming is.

They narrowly define what a game is and forget that at one time games didn't have stories or complex plots or drawn out scenarios. They can be as simple as a game of marbles or as complex as a game of chess.

From Candy-Land to Unreal Tournament a game is a game is a game.

Those who forget that have fallen into snobbery and elitism.

Judge each game on its own merits and quit getting so caught up in comparing.

This is why Wii Play sells high on the charts consistently and these fools say it's all due to the free controller.

No, the controller is the bonus. It sells because of the game. 

If this is the case, what is the reason behind Nintendo not selling this alone as a game and bundling it with a Wiimote?

Also, what is the reason behind bundling Wii Sports (US and Europe) with the Wii? If this is true.

 Big N. always offers more than everybody else. LOL.

Actually, I agree with most of what JohnLucas has to say except for the why Wii Play sales. True, a lot of people bought the game because they thought it could be interesting, but most people have it because 1) it came with a remote or 2) it came with their console.

Wii Sports (and Wii Play) was packaged with the system because they want to give a good accessible game that embodies the idea of the Wii and, more importantly, sale more remotes.

kber81 said: Gballzack said: kber81 said: Casual gamers don't read reviews so why bother... That's actually very true, I wonder why I hadn't thought of that fact. ... Are you ok?...

POTY 

Wii Play I agree with, Wii Sports I don't. Please remember that at different times, the following games have been bundled with Nintendo systems:

1) Mario Bros.

2) The Legend of Zelda

3) Super Mario World

4) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 

There are probably a couple more, but you get the point. Nintendo doesn't tend to put shovelware in with its systems, and we actually have a great control group for this thinking; Japan. Wii Sports doesn't come with the system in Japan, and it sells extremely well. In fact, it's sold more copies in Japan alone than any PS3 game has sold worldwide.  

But again, I agree with you about Wii Play.  

 Wii Sports is much more appealing as a standalone game in Japan than it is in the US, but we can't compare because it is bundled in one and not the other.

That's a nice hypothesis, but even if we could prove it, it really wouldn't change my point.

I'm just going to go ahead and say that Wii Sports clearly has proven it can be sold on its own and do well. Would it be the best selling game of the year? Probably not, but let's say it only sold to 10 percent of American/European consumers, even though its attach rate in Japan is around 60 percent; this would mean Wii Sports would have sold 2.25 million copies thus far, and that number is still growing quickly (about 40,000 copies per week at that rate). Even being extremely conservative with sales figures, this puts Wii Sports ahead of all 360/PS3 titles released thus far save Gears of War.

Clearly, that's a game that can sell well on its own. Wii Sports isn't shovelware they cram into the Wii Box as a crummy bonus, any more than Resistance: Fall of Man, Elder Scrolls, or Rainbow Six: Vegas would be.

 It's because Nintendo didn't think the rest of the world would embrace Wii Sports or Wii Play if they didn't put the 'added value' marker with it.  The Wii wouldn't be the success that it is now if Wii Sports wasn't bundled with the hardware like Japan... Japan is the only region that 'gets it' and thus the US made the right decision to bundle Wii Sports with the console and Wii Play with the Remote.

Alone - it might seem like these games are shallow and have less value (which is what a consumer might think if it didn't have the added value of the other item) to me I think it's genious, and quite honestly i'm not sure about Wii Play selling because of the game, i think it's 50/50 because everyone wants a second remote to play Wii Sports properly and the best way to get that is with Wii Play which has the extra games for some extra fun for a small amount of money.

Well just look at DS games that have been revolutionary: Nintendogs, Brain Age. These games put the DS on the map, used every single fuction the DS has (Touch screen, duel screen and voice). These games while maybe for the hardcore gamer doesn't give out a ton of replay value, can be enjoyed by anyone.

The reviews for these games were good, not saying they were bashed at all, but I remember reading reviews and then playing the games later and saying to myself that these games just didn't get enough credit. No they're not particularly deep, but at least in the begining they're a ton of fun, and both games were litterally unlike anything that has ever been done before. Now we look at all these cheap ripoff pet similator and mind games coming on the DS and other consoles and that makes me appreciate how well they were done even more. It's funny because it's usually hardcore gamers that complain about the sameness of the industry and how there's not enough revolution. What handheld games in the last 5, maybe 10 years, were more revolutionary than Nintendogs or Brain Age?