Here's the deal.

- There is no shovelware "problem." Shovelware is a state of the industry, it has existed long before the Wii and it will exist long after it. Dominating consoles get it. The Wii's superior hardware and software sales are its "bane," its low development cost and high returns attracts the developers that would put out shovelware. Until console manufacturers start implementing tight quality control, this will continue. But don't expect it to happen anytime soon, if ever, because it will not end well. Nintendo tried to control developers back during the N64 era...for those of you that don't remember or weren't around for the 5th generation, 3rd parties eventually ended up running and screaming.

- Like "casual" and "hardcore" this gen, shovelware is hugely misconstrued (or parhaps more accurately: purposely twisted) to the point now where it's mostly used in circles to represent games people don't like on childish bases such as the concept not appealing to them or an overly large presence in the market and media. When people take its true definition into account, a lot of the complaining about "shovelware" will have to be scaled back under the realization that plenty of the games getting slammed aren't actually shovelware.

- DON'T. BUY. IT. I don't understand why people spend so much time whining about games they have no intention to play. If you don't want to play them, don't buy them. I know someone that rarely touched the PS2 because they, and I quote, said, "90% of the PS2's library is shit." That leaves a supposed 10% left for you to enjoy. I didn't understand it then and I don't understand it now why people choose to make such a fuss over nothing.

I suspect the reason why the Xbox 360 has a lot of low/mid rated games is because of Xbox Live Arcades early years. Now the competition is much tighter I doubt we will see any more red Arcade games released.

Yeah, but...

The huge amount of crappy games killed atari at 1984, and put the game industry in a 2 years hold.

Consumers couldnt find good games for the system, buried inside piles of horrible titles.

They gave up atari and video games overall because of that.

I know the market is a little bit more mature now. But yet, this load of disasterful games can really kill a system.

(to tell you the truth, i think it IS killing the wii as a brand... not just for the obsessive gamers reading blogs and posting on foruns like us, but for the general and innocent public as well.)

The Wii is a shovelware magnet. It's not just the fact that it has a larger consumer base or that the development costs are low. It's that the Wii has attracted a new brand of naive, casual non-gamers. These are people that step into a Gamestop (actually a Wal-Mart) and have no idea what to get, but they like Wii Sports. So it's no suprise that games like Game Party and Deca Sports have sold so well.

Still, I agree that not all of these games should be considered "shovel ware". Just because they don't have guns or hot elven girls doesn't mean they aren't good.

What do you mean? I'm saying that the Wii doesn't have a shovelware problem. It's problem is that it doesn't have much to balance that shovelware with. The 360, PS2, and PS1 has/had something to balance it's shovelware with, unlike the Wii at this point in time. Seeing that about half of the green games on Wii have been released in the last year, I would say that things will change. Especially when there is probably around 5 more guaranteed green games this year(much more than last), and probably around 10-20 next year. The reason why I compared number of games though was because the post I was replying to was comparing such.

I think I have a good explanation why there are so many games with low scores on the Wii compared to PS1/PS2.  Motion controls are something relatively new in the way the Wii uses them.  People who shove out bad games don't take the time to implement those controls in any way that can be considered good.  It was easier for them to make games for PS1/PS2 because the controls have been around for a while.  Therefore it took them less effort to make the games, and they played slightly better.

Also, I doubt shovelware will ever go away.  After all, it crashed the gaming industry after the ATARI.

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I think the shovelware has decreased since the first year or at least we are getting better games idk, its never going to stop

Wii is hardly in the same position as Atari, mostly because it has and is getting worthwhile releases this year and because Nintendo is not preparing to fart out their own version of E.T. Anyone who thinks they are even remotely in the same boat is out of touch with reality.

Also I doubt games like Petz are hurting the Wii as a brand when those same games can be found on practically every platform on the market. If anything they're "hurting" the developers making millions off the people that continue to buy them.

Ah, so now it's not the Wii with a shovelware problem. We've graduated to "stupid casual gamers!"

Fact of the matter is that "new stupid people that don't share my tastes in games" have been around for decades. Who the hell do you think E.T. was marketed to? Fact of the matter is that "teh casuals" were always around and are here to stay. Just about every game type of "casual" games has existed in some form before this generation.

soooo like I was saying the Wii has a shovelware problem.

@OP
I think you embarrass you self more with posting this. Any form of entertainment to embed or become part of society needs to penetrate all levels of age, race, genders. Your display of intolerance towards crap software really shows that you don't want gaming to continue and instead hold it as a perfect gem of memory.

It's like saying that books can only be for 12-24 years old and be written by writers like Rowling, Herbet, King. Truth is books are written for all ages and range in all qaulities, but we don't question anyof this because they are books. Well someday I want to see VG viewed the same way as we see books. How about you?