I’ve recently been trying Nintendo’s Wii console (I know I’m a bit late on this). A few comments.
First, the motion-sensitive controller is stunning, really well done. It is genuinely a new dimension in gaming. Even people who wouldn’t normally play on a console will pick up the Wii controller and have a go.
Second. the only game I’ve seen so far that really shows off the Wii is the one that comes bundled – Wii Sports. The bowling, tennis and golf are fantastic, though perhaps a tad too easy.
When you try games that don’t take much advantage from the motion-sensitive controller – Zelda Twilight Princess, for example – the Wii becomes poor and dated in comparison to the XBox 360 or even the original XBox; I’m sure the PS3 will easily outshine it as well.
The Wii remains in high demand, but there seem to be few games worth getting. No doubt the games companies have taken note and we will see some more sports simulations or other innovations that use the controller properly.
I still see XBox 360 and PS3 as more in competition with each other than with the Wii. Hardcore gamers will not be satisfied with Nintendo’s console. The Wii is physically so small that many families will pick up both the Wii and one of the other this-gen consoles.
Incidentally, sites like Amazon.co.uk are still reporting PS3 consoles available for launch day (March 23, just 12 days away). Either Sony has promised delivery of an extraordinarily large number, or (more likely) demand is a little muted. These things are relative, it is still Amazon’s No. 1 seller. The Wii on the other hand still seems to be permanently out of stock and apparently still commands a premium of £100 over its full retail price, at least that’s what the third-parties are asking.
I agree totally. Some friends of ours bought one recently. They have a HUGE plasma screen and we were playing tennis and boxing. I used to box when I was younger, so I beat the crap out of my opponents.
The best game, in my opinion, is the baseball. Baseball is a really difficult game for real, and the Nintendo captures the need to for skill involved superbly. By the time the games had finished I felt like my arms were coming out of their sockets.
Certainly it’s only the Nintendo-written games that come close to grasping the possibilities of *moving* a controller as a direct simulation of what happens on screen. (Sega’s ones, by comparison, are rubbish; clearly just handheld console rewrites.)
But compare even the golf game, and how satisfying that is, with any other of the other console games’ versions of golf. How do you swing the club on the PS2/Xbox? By batting a button? How realistic is that??
I can play tennis – and the Wii version is actually a bit like playing tennis, where nothing on any other console is.
I suspect it needs a serious adjustment on the part of games writers used to writing for a sedentary audience whose only moving parts are their fingers. The Wiimote is another dimension. It’s sort of Gaming 2.0 vs Gaming 1.0.
Clyde: how can you suggest that wii boxing has anything remotely to do with real boxing? Your friends probably are bad gamers, that’s all.
Agree with Charles – Wii takes gaming to an entirely new dimension.
Although PS2 made serious inroads with Singstar, DanceXL, Eyetoy and Guitar Hero.
You were right with your ‘sports simulations’ prediction. One year on and the Wii Fit has just been launched. This is great bit of kit that goes one step further than the ‘Wii Sports’ games. For those that haven’t yet seen this unit, it has sensors built into the board that can calculate and work out exactly how you are stood on the board, and where you are leaning towards. I agree with you, although the sales for the Wii has been tremendous, I don’t think it is in direct competition with the Xbox 360 and PS3. The Wii wasn’t built for the serious gamer, but to be an all round enertainment system for the whole family, with people of all ages.
They must have got something right! Although, with the Wii Fit board… this could be replicated for the 360 and PS3 with many of the relevent ‘wii fit’ games transfered over from the Wii platform.
All in all good fun though.
Andy
Hello,
Last year, I took a trip to visit my little brother out in Burbank, CA. What happens while I am there visiting? He gets my addicted to playing Wii and the bowling version.
I must say, both the graphics and sound make it seem for real. The only down fall to playing is your wrist hurts. Well, of course I did play 15 games in a row 🙂 I could not help myself, LOL.
Wii takes gaming to an entirely new dimension!
I agree, the Wii is amazing. My fav game so far has to be Guitar Hero, even though I just got my hands on Force Unleashed, which as a Star Wars fan I love