Wii (later)

[rubah]

Do you think the Nintendo "Revolution" did?

it seems like it inspired [a short burst of] older people gaming.

[Yeargdribble]

While it definitely brought a lot more people (older people) to gaming, in the same stroke it did nothing other than potentially set back the thinking that games are childish and more for children in general.

[Del Murder]

It caused me to buy a system and I haven't been much into console gaming since the days of FFX.

[Madame Adequate]

A revolution in marketing, sure. Otherwise, hahahahaha no.

There's that phrase again, 'good for a Wii game'.

[Levian]

Not sure I'd call it revolutional, but it was definitely innovative and different from everything that was out there and it still is. I guess the wii is more of a bridge console to a future console that does everything the wii does, only much better. That said, I've never had more multiplayer fun with any other console.

[Old Manus]

Remember back in 2006 when everyone was hating on the PS3 and 360 for being too expensive and not having any INNOVASHUN, and telling everyone to get a Wii instead for the true gaming experience

Those were good times

[NorthernChaosGod]

The Wii is a gimmick. It did nothing revolutionary for gaming; most of the games are shovelware.

It has good games, but they're best played with the NGC controller.

[Psychotic]

All the older people I know have DSes rather than Wiis.

[Breine]

It made people who are normally not that much into gaming more interested in it. It's more accessible than other consoles I think.

I mean, my dad bought a wii, which is totally out of character.

[rubah]

Do you think the Wii would still be seen as a sub-standard current gen system if it had kept the "Revolution" name?

[Ouch!]

I think most everyone has gotten over how silly "Wii" is for a console name. I don't think calling it the Revolution officially would have made much of a difference.

[Yeargdribble]

Do you think the Wii would still be seen as a sub-standard current gen system if it had kept the "Revolution" name?

More so. Sure we all laughed at the Wii title as being a joke, but people quickly got over the d*ck and piss jokes. Revolution is a pretentious title and would've highlighted the fact that it was indeed not a revolution at all. People don't care that it attracts casual gamers (people hate the idea). People don't care about gimmicky controls (usually hate them). People notice processing power. They also notice when the console is the only one without HD in an HD world. They notice a library that has a spare smattering of decent 1st party titles with almost no decent 3rd party titles and a crapload of shovelware.

At least if it's gonna be a silly console, the silly name is fitting and doesn't attract attention to the fact that it aspired to be more.

[KentaRawr!]

I think that if it kept the Revolution name, it would have been viewed very differently. "Wii" is meant to give the consumer an idea of playing together. "Revolution" makes gamers wet their pants in anticipation! The decision to name the console "Wii" doesn't seem like it was their shift of focus, though. I think the shift of focus was after the system was released, and publishers started to take notice that the more "casual" games were selling more. Looking at the earlier commercials for the system, it seems like they were really trying to appeal to gamers. Montages containing Excite Truck, Metroid Prime 3, Zelda: Twilight Princess and others ran rampant. Since then, they've ditched "Wii would like to play", and now go for game-specific commercials, most of which with a strangely light-hearted voice telling the viewer about the product.

I still enjoy the Wii as a console, and if the new controllers for the 360 and PS3 catch on, I guess it will have been revolutionary. However, there are some things Nintendo could have done to appeal to gamers more in just the aesthetics of the system's software. The Nintendo Channel and Wii Shop Channel are both very un-cool in their designs, when they should've been much more "hip" in order to appeal to the gamers who are likely the only people using them!

[Yeargdribble]

I still enjoy the Wii as a console, and if the new controllers for the 360 and PS3 catch on, I guess it will have been revolutionary.

I'm wondering if NATAL is going to negate the impact of the Wiimote. I'm so very skeptical, but I get increasingly curious because basically every review of their progress starts with "I was incredibly skeptical, but was blown away." This seems almost unanimous. I don't think we'll ever get away from hand held controllers, but I think waggle controls will be a gimmick just like blowing into/screaming at a microphone or any other silly crap.

Despite my jarring attacks against the Wii, I still really like it. I'm just trying to give a sober critique of its place in modern gaming and future history. The price point makes it attractive and though it lacks a fantastic library, there are definitely some Wii games are so must-have that they make it worth owning a Wii.

I've never owned either XBox because they had few exclusives that appealed highly to me. I've yet to purchase a PS3 because of a) the price point, b) no backwards compatibility, and c) not a large enough library.

Now the PS3 library has finally added enough titles to get me excited and dropped the price. Now I'm just biding my time until black Friday in hopes of a fantastic bundle or special deal somewhere and I'll finally pick one up.


Despite all the criticism, nobody can attack Nintendo's business model on its face right now. They are being wise about their marketing and understand how to aim at their demographic even if it changes. Sony could learn some things from this and not make laughable hardware like the PSPGo.

[ljkkjlcm9]

considering both Sony and Microsoft are creating motion centered controls for their systems, you can hardly say it wasn't a step forward in gaming.

Fact is, if Nintendo hadn't have done so, the only step in gaming has been graphics. And you can sit there and say the Wii library is full of "shovelware" but how much shovelware was on the PS2. The system leading the generation always has a bunch of trash on it.

Having just bought a PS3 as well, and my roommate having a 360, I must say the most attractive games for me are on the Wii. I bought my PS3 and realized it only had like 2 exclusive games that really meant anything to me, while Nintendo has a bunch. On top of that, Nintendo has tons of great titles coming up, more so than I see on the other systems that I want.

Simply put,
Nintendo did something smart. They widened the gaming market and pushed it out of people's minds that only "certain" people played games. Because of their success, Microsoft and Sony are trying to get some of that market as well. It was definitely a step forward for gaming, whether you like it or not.

Yeargdribble:
NATAL is impacting me the same way as Scribblenauts. Everyone stated how amazing the game was and how awesome it was. In the end, yes the game is fun and cool, but it quickly turns into a useless gimmick. That's what most people feel about the Wii-mote. However, like the Wii-mote, Natal could be awesome for some games, and not so much for others. I saw a picture of someone playing Gears of War, and to chainsaw they did the chopping motion with their arm. That to me is stupid. But for some games, it could be awesome. Other games, it will completely defeat the purpose/fun of the game. (skateboarding? So the guy on screen can only do the tricks I can do?)

THE JACKAL