1UP staff distance selves from Wii Music review

Garnett = Garnett Lee (host)

John = John Davison

Shane = Shane Bettenhausen

David = David Ellis

Here's a partial transcript (I omit interjected "exactly"s and "right"s) from 1UP Yours 11/07/08 podcast:

Shane: You were hopeful and optimistic about having a family-bonding experience.

Garnett: And a mere five seconds before we started it you said what about Wii Music?

John: Miyamoto has jumped the shark ... it's official. He's gone beyond appealing to the casual and has just dipped into the inane.

Shane: But you have the target market.

John: I have the target market. I wrote about this in the new EGM as well. I have a three year old and five year old. They lasted 15 minutes.

Garnett: Well that's good value right there.

John: After 15 minutes, my 5 year old asked me if he could play Madden again because he was bored, and my 3 year old wasn't interested in anything other than the drums and he didn't really understand it. I mean it's just inane. It's boring. What the **** were you guys thinking giving it an A?!

Garnett: What do you mean "what the *** were you GUYS"? Did any of us review that?

John: 1UP gave it an A, or an A minus or something!

Garnett: So former editorial director of 1UP who is all about personalities and said people should speak their voices, now you're making us an institutional voice?

John: Well I think you guys made yourselves into an institutional voice. It has nothing to do with me.

Garnett: How did we make ourselves into— well that's a long story we won't even go into, but, I'm not taking any credit for that review.

Shane: I will say that was among the highest reviews.

John: It was WAAAAAY higher than everybody else ...Next highest score is 80 and that was kind.

Shane: If you look at the meta {Metacritic} it runs the gamut from 2 to 9.

Garnett: Well I just withheld THREE lines that went through my head in the back of my head.

John: It's ****ing garbage. (others laughing) They should be ashamed of it.

Shane: But okay. Isn't it kind of fun for a little bit?

John: NOOO!! It's not kind of fun for anybody. Based purely on reputation and to some extent, you got that review, before I showed it to kids, I sat down with my wife and said, "this would probably be the kind of game you like. It's like not really game-y, it's just sort of like an interactive toy."

Shane: Okay how quickly did you feel like an idiot?

John: So two minutes after we started playing it, she looked at me and said, "are you calling me an idiot?" (everyone laughs hysterically)

Shane: She's like, is this what you think of me?!

John: Exactly. It's like, "what are you saying about me that you think— this is boring!" So like, a non-gamer found it boring, a 5 year old found it boring, I found it boring, a 3 year old found it boring.

David (I think): But it's got some real toe-tappin' tunes in it!

Shane: Is it because the music selection is public domain, or is it because—

David: —the MIDI files?

Shane: There's no winning or losing really.

John: Well there's no winning or losing, but I think the other problem is it's inside out in the way that you play it because in every other music game, you press a button and it makes a note. In this, when you press a button, it's like you're opening a hole in a wall behind which the song is playing. (others laugh) And if you happen to open the hole at the wrong time, you don't hear it right. It's like the song is playing whether you do anything or not.

Shane: Right. You're just kinda making it better.

John: And you are opening up the opportunity to hear it. You're not playing the notes necessarily. And that's why a 3 year old can't understand it, because to him, he thought: "two drumsticks, drumkit, bang bang bang bang bang. Okay why didn't it do it that time?" Oh well you weren't doing it on the beat. How how do you explain that to somebody? Because you have to play along with it correctly

Shane: So you don't get the wrong notes, you only get the right notes when you do them at the right time.

John: Ya, or you get the right extra notes if you activate them correctly. So the only song the kids really knew was Twinkle Twinkle and... if you know Twinkle Twinkle, and you tap it out in time with the music, you get the tune. And if you start introducing eighths and sixteenths, then you get the flourishes. But if you just do it randomly, you get this cacophonous garbage noise coming out.

Shane: What we heard at E3 when they played the Mario theme and it sounded like garbage.

John: But then the conducting doesn't work like conducting, because conducting is standing in front of the orchestra and providing the time for them.

Shane: But it's just like tempo. I've played that. If you continue at the right the tempo it happens and it's not fun, really.

John: But you are instructing the musicians specifically. So it kind of breaks its own gameplay in the conducting because you think, okay it's conducting... So you should be doing the gestures and they should be playing along with them. You're not. You are waving almost specific notes. In Vivaldi's Four Seaons, by the time it gets to the violin solo in the middle, you have to shake the controller really hard to get him to do it and it's just uncomfortable and it's boring and it sounds like ****. At what point did they all sit around and go, "ya, people are going to have a great time with this!"

Shane:... well you know, we haven't seen the US sales yet but we have seen the Japanese sales. After two weeks, it's like 120K, which is pretty good but nothing compared to Wii Fit, Wii Sports, Wii Play. So it's kinda being seen as a misstep.

David: For me, the game's called Wii Music - it's using MIDI files and the music, even when it's playing, doesn't sound good. That makes no sense to me.

Garnett: And you can't blame the Wii for that because the Wii can do good sound.

John: Certain instruments sound good, like the piano sounds good, but the guitar sounds like ass, the drums are okay, the handbells are okay.

Shane: And it's not as if Wii players aren't buying real music games because I saw Titillo's blog, he had a big post about how Rock Band on Wii has actually become one of the best-selling games.

Wii Music: boring children to tears and ruining marriages since October 20, 2008!

What was the whole point of this again?SSBFan12

1UP gave it the highest score of all the media outlets. Some thought this review meant that 1UP agreed with this score because they thought that before reviews are posted, they are affirmed and agreed on by the other reviewers.

Well it turns out that only one person at 1UP liked the game, and that this score did not reflect how 1UP felt about it. Not even close. It's pretty rare to hear any staffers distance themselves from their coworkers' reviews. I've heard them disagree before, but never to such an extent.

[QUOTE="SSBFan12"]What was the whole point of this again?clicketyclick

1UP gave it the highest score of all the media outlets. Some thought this review meant that 1UP agreed with this score because they thought that before reviews are posted, they are affirmed and agreed on by the other reviewers.

Well it turns out that only one person at 1UP liked the game, and that this score did not reflect how 1UP felt about it. Not even close. It's pretty rare to hear any staffers distance themselves from their coworkers' reviews. I've heard them disagree before, but never to such an extent.

Good thing nobody listens to 1UP's review

Good thing nobody listens to 1UP's review

sman3579

Well apparently one of the 1UP staffers did, and now his wife resents him. :lol:

It seems everywhere I turn there's some controversy surrounding this game. Who would've thought one of Nintendo's nontraditional games would cause such a fuss? I literally just finished reading another article about this whole Wii Music thing when I stumbled upon this transcript. Good find._Enemac_

Thanks, and you're right. I wonder what the sales are in the USA. I know someone who just bought it with a Wii for her two girls, who are in their teens. I think I had better advise her that her teenage daughters might not appreciate waggling in time to a Twinkle Twinkle MIDI file.

[QUOTE="sman3579"]

Good thing nobody listens to 1UP's review

clicketyclick

Well apparently one of the 1UP staffers did, and now his wife resents him. :lol:

It seems everywhere I turn there's some controversy surrounding this game. Who would've thought one of Nintendo's nontraditional games would cause such a fuss? I literally just finished reading another article about this whole Wii Music thing when I stumbled upon this transcript. Good find._Enemac_

Thanks, and you're right. I wonder what the sales are in the USA. I know someone who just bought it with a Wii for her two girls, who are in their teens. I think I had better advise her that her teenage daughters might not appreciate waggling in time to a Twinkle Twinkle MIDI file.

That must suck for him

John: NOOO!! It's not kind of fun for anybody.clicketyclick

So because his family didn't have fun, then it's not fun for anybody? I understand he was just giving an example, but I could also give an example of my friends who had a blast with it.

John: And you are opening up the opportunity to hear it. You're not playing the notes necessarily. And that's why a 3 year old can't understand it, because to him, he thought: "two drumsticks, drumkit, bang bang bang bang bang. Okay why didn't it do it that time?" Oh well you weren't doing it on the beat. How how do you explain that to somebody? Because you have to play along with it correctly

Shane: So you don't get the wrong notes, you only get the right notes when you do them at the right time.

John: Ya, or you get the right extra notes if you activate them correctly. So the only song the kids really knew was Twinkle Twinkle and... if you know Twinkle Twinkle, and you tap it out in time with the music, you get the tune. And if you start introducing eighths and sixteenths, then you get the flourishes. But if you just do it randomly, you get this cacophonous garbage noise coming out.clicketyclick

This guy seems to understand the game and actually gives a great explanation, but doesn't he see that the point is to learn how to keep the music from turning into "cacophonous garbage"? That's how you win or lose. The game doesn't tell you whether you did well or not. You make that decision on your own. If what you just played sounded like garbage, then you lose. Not very complicated.

Also, I have a bit of an issue with his idea that you can't explain to someone how to keep in time with a set rhythm. Again, it's not that complicated. Even little kids can understand the concept, but not if you say "just wave your arms around and it makes noise." The game is set up as a learning experience from the moment you turn it on. It explicitly teaches you that doing certain things in a song will sound good. As you play the game more, it gives you even more good advice about variety and styIe.

The guy and his family can say that they don't like it and that it's boring, but I'm getting tired of people make sweeping generalities and saying that it's a terrible game that no one can enjoy. This just isn't true. We're not getting the other side of the coin from pretty much anyone in the game industry except Miyamoto, and nobody seems to listen to him.

Have you played the game yet clickety?

Have you played the game yet clickety?

JordanElek

Nope, and I don't plan on it. There are too many great things in this world to spend money on to waste it on Wii Music. I've had music education since I was four years old. I don't need basic primers on music, nor overly complicated drum simulators and music creation tools that only serve to impede my creativity and frustrate me. I also don't want to be plonking out Twinkle Twinkle.

The problem with this game, it seems, is that it makes it too difficult to not sound like cacophonous garbage. For the small child or adults perhaps without musical training, it takes a lot of effort to coordinate, because it doesn't provide much in the way of direction, and get it to sound half decent (it can never sound good thanks to the MIDI synthesized sound though.) That'd probably be less of an obstacle to someone who has musical training, but that person is unlikely to enjoy Wii Music because it offers such a basic, restricted, and inaccurate (i.e. the conducting) musical experience. Those kinds of people might like Guitar Hero or Rock Band, or maybe more creative software like Garage Band and Korg DS-10.

The people who want to pick up and play are casual gamers. But they seem to find it boring and it's ironically (for such a simplistic music game) too hard to pick up and play and sound good.The only alternative is core gamers, and the vast majority of them find no appeal in this game. So there's a problem here.

Nope, and I don't plan on it. There are too many great things in this world to spend money on to waste it on Wii Music.clicketyclick

Rent it. We've argued back and forth about this so much that it might be nice for both of us to have at least experienced the game first-hand.

And that goes for pretty much anyone on this forum who has an interest, whether positive or negative, in Wii Music. So many people trash it, but apparently so few have played it. Someone posted a video of a rapper actually playing the game how it was meant to be played, and several people said that they saw the game a bit differently after that. Give the game a fair shake. It might not be the best game ever, but you might find that it's not completely worthless either.

[QUOTE="clicketyclick"]Nope, and I don't plan on it. There are too many great things in this world to spend money on to waste it on Wii Music.JordanElek

Rent it. We've argued back and forth about this so much that it might be nice for both of us to have at least experienced the game first-hand.

And that goes for pretty much anyone on this forum who has an interest, whether positive or negative, in Wii Music. So many people trash it, but apparently so few have played it. Someone posted a video of a rapper actually playing the game how it was meant to be played, and several people said that they saw the game a bit differently after that. Give the game a fair shake. It might not be the best game ever, but you might find that it's not completely worthless either.

The rapper's kids made it obvious that it was scripted. "oh. gee. I'd. like. to. play. that. some. more. cuz. that. is. a. fun. game. and. we're. getting. paid. to. say. this!"

I get the impression that the only reason why people are so insistent that others "give the game a fair shake" is because it has the name Nintendo plastered on it. I think it would be overlooked by everyone had it not.

But then again, there is never universal agreement on bad games. I get what you're saying that they shouldn't say nobody likes it (and conversely, it annoys me in reviews when they say things like "get this or u sux!" or "if u dunt lyk dis ur not a gamer!!!"), but I think in this case, it's an approximation. Balls of Fury, the second-lowest scoring Wii game ever, has a 19% critical average. But it has two 10/10 reviews from users on Metacritic. Says one: "This is the best game EVER, Why did you give it such bad scores? The hilarity of this game never ends and the 3 game modes make it even more fun! This great game deserves a score MUCH better than any other game."

But I'm not going to give that game a "fair shake" by buying it and probably neither are you. I know what I like and after having read every single review of Wii Music, I have ascertained that I will not like Wii Music. Gaming is not about spending money to give things a "fair shake". It's about getting things that appeal to you, and you don't have to play a game to know that.

But I'm not going to give that game a "fair shake" by buying it and probably neither are you. I know what I like and after having read every single review of Wii Music, I have ascertained that I will not like Wii Music. Gaming is not about spending money to give things a "fair shake". It's about getting things that appeal to you, and you don't have to play a game to know that.clicketyclick

No, I won't buy the game for $50. It's not worth that to me. But when the price drops, I'll probably get it. It's the type of game that I know I'll want to come back to again and again, even if it's just for a twenty-minute session a couple times a month.

I said before that giving it a fair shake is to play it. Either rent it, or play it with someone who already owns it, something. You don't need to buy it to play it. I also said that if you have any interest in the game at all, then you should play it. I suggested that to you specifically because you've posted about it quite a bit. It just seems natural to me for you to play the game that you've seemed so interested in, even if that interest is on the negative side.

But that's entirely up to you. If you don't want to play it, you don't have to. ;)

I suggested that to you specifically because you've posted about it quite a bit. It just seems natural to me for you to play the game that you've seemed so interested in, even if that interest is on the negative side.
JordanElek

Ya, it's more of a morbid fascination, like with taxidermy.

I think giving something a fair shake is reading all the reviews. When you consider every reviewer's viewpoint, you've done the game well.

Nintendo's marketing has been extremely confused. On one hand, all the videos have either been about little kids playing it or parents saying "oh ya, this game would be good for my kids". On the other hand, all the photos show teenagers and adults playing the game. The music list also reflects this confusion over its audience by putting nursery rhyme songs together with 80s pop and (butchered) cIassical music. The music training lessons are too boring and long for little kids, but too basic for older people. Playing well is too difficult for little kids, but it's too shallow for older people. Etc.

I think the game would have benefited if they had picked one target audience and gone after them fully, rather than providing an experience that none can really enjoy all the much. Maybe I can't stand rock music and so would never get GH because of the track list, but because it's relatively consistent in music styIe it can really appeal to its target audience. Wii Music is just all over the place and is trying to do too many things at once. Only Jesus could be all things to all people.

John's example is flawed. He showed it to his family, however, this family consists of a wife, and two children, of a video game reviewer. They've played games before. He even said that his kid was wanting to go back to Madden. That is not representitive of the general public.

Nintendo is trying to reach out to those that have never played a game before, not the family of someone in the business.

I actually think that Amazon's Wii Music page, in particular the user review section, is a better gauge than John's first-hand experience.

LINK

The good thing about Amazon is that these reviews are coming from the most ordinary of people. These people don't care about the video game business, or how games are "meant" to be played. They want to have fun with friends. That's what they got out of Wii Music.

Is it a game for Clickety? No (Well, actually, we'll never know, because he hasn't played it and probably won't).

But that's not who the game is for. Clickety will never understand Wii Music because he's on the other end of the situation. Plain and simple. Same with reviewers. They don't want an experience like this. It's not something that appeals to them.

But for the people that are looking for something different, this fits that need.

And unlike most people on these boards, I'm holding judgement until I actually play the game myself. I think it would be rather illogical of me if I were to judge the proverbial book by its cover.

I just wish more people were like that around here.

EDIT:

Also, this:

Ya, it's more of a morbid fascination, like with taxidermy.

I think giving something a fair shake is reading all the reviews. When you consider every reviewer's viewpoint, you've done the game well.

clicketyclick

Wrong.

Games are meant to be played, not read about.

You can't figure out how the game will feel in your hands until its in your hands. Sorry.

Clickety will never understand Wii Music because he's on the other end of the situation.bob_newman

I understand it just fine. I just don't like it. People who like the game don't have a monopoly on understanding it, such that disliking it signifies a lack of understanding.

And just because I don't like it doesn't mean I'm not "looking for something different". I am. Something unique, and something different from Wii Music.

And unlike most people on these boards, I'm holding judgement until I actually play the game myself. I think it would be rather illogical of me if I were to judge the proverbial book by its cover.

I just wish more people were like that around here.

bob_newman

Oh spare us. You said as much in this very thread. I do recall you posting that it has no appeal to you at all; that it looks unfinished and there's barely anything to enjoy. Really holding your judgment, eh?

You can't even leave me alone when I agree with you.

[QUOTE="bob_newman"]Clickety will never understand Wii Music because he's on the other end of the situation.clicketyclick

I understand it just fine. I just don't like it. People who like the game don't have a monopoly on understanding it, such that disliking it signifies a lack of understanding.

And just because I don't like it doesn't mean I'm not "looking for something different". I am. Something unique, and something different from Wii Music.

And unlike most people on these boards, I'm holding judgement until I actually play the game myself. I think it would be rather illogical of me if I were to judge the proverbial book by its cover.

I just wish more people were like that around here.

bob_newman

Oh spare us. You said as much in this very thread, ifaik. I do recall you posting that it has no appeal to you at all.

It doesn't hold much appeal to me, you're right.

And when I said that it looks unfinished, I mean that there isn't enough in that package for a day-one purchase from me.

But when asked if I will ever play the game or not, I don't respond with "Nope, and I don't plan on it". That's close-minded, any way you look at it.

I want to try it before I say "it's a waste of $50", because you don't know if you don't try.

I'm holding judgement until I play it myself because that's how you actually learn if you like something or not. Reading reviews and watching videos does not show you how much fun youare having.

You are not Matt Cassamassina. You are not Aaron Thomas. You are Clicketyclick, and until you play the game yourself, you can't judge. Just like I can't judge.

But when asked if I will ever play the game or not, I don't respond with "Nope, and I don't plan on it". That's close-minded, any way you look at it.bob_newman

You're right. You simply said "not me" and added that you "might get it if there's a price drop one day." We only differ in that you hold out the remote possibility you'd possibly buy it if it ever drops in price, which it likely won't since it's a Ninty game. But I'm "close-minded" am I?

I'm holding judgement until I play it myself because that's how you actually learn if you like something or not. Reading reviews and watching videos does not show you how much fun youare having.bob_newman

If so, how on earth did you determine that "there's hardly anything there to enjoy"?

You are Clicketyclick, and until you play the game yourself, you can't judge. Just like I can't judge.

bob_newman

But you did judge, and you had every right to do so. And what is good for the goose is good for the gander. And yes, I just called you a goose!

Also, see my edit above.

We only differ in that you hold out the remote possibility you'd possibly buy it if it ever drops in price

clicketyclick

No. I plan on renting it when I'm done with the games I'm playing now (might take a while though, seeing as I just picked up my copy of Banjo from my parent's house). It's just not high up on my list.

how on earth did you determine that "there's hardly anything there to enjoy"?

clicketyclick

It's a music simulator. I'd be happy if they tossed in an animator tool, a minigame where you swat at flies, and...well, basically if they remade Mario Paint.

But as a music simulator by itself, it's not enough for me. I have yet to buy any music games (Rock Band, Guitar Hero, etc) for that same purpose. I'm just not crazy about music simulation. It's not one of my genres of choice. They make good party games though, I'll give them that.

But you did judge, and you had every right to do so. And what is good for the goose is good for the gander. And yes, I just called you a goose!

clicketyclick

I only said that I won't buy it at full price. I will not say "It sucks" or "It's awesome" until I touch the game myself. That's what I mean when I said that too many people judge before playing. They don't know it sucks. You don't know it sucks. I don't know it sucks.

Also, see my edit above.

clicketyclick

I saw it. You should stop creeping on people's previous posts. It weirds me out.

It's like those people on facebook who are like "hey, you were so drunk at Fred's house party on November 17, 2006", and you're like "...you weren't there..." and they're like "yeah, but I saw it on facebook." and you're like "why are you looking at my pictures from 2 years ago?" and they're like "Uhhh, not 2 years ago...1 year, 11 months and 8 days" and you're like "ok...", and then you go home and click the "delete friend" button, and it's like "are you sure?" and you're like "uh, let me think about it...yes."

No. I plan on renting it when I'm done with the games I'm playing now (might take a while though, seeing as I just picked up my copy of Banjo from my parent's house). It's just not high up on my list.

bob_newman

Naw. In another thread, you confirmed the meaning in this one. You said straight out that you will not buy the game, unless the price drops.

And yes, saying something has next to nothing enjoyable to it is a judgment, and you acknowledged that when you said "IMO". If something is an opinion, it is a judgment.

...Not that there's anything wrong with that... Newman...

Look. Can I make medical decisions for you? No. Even if I were your doctor? No. Can I vote for you? No. Even if I were related to you? No. Why? Because (at least in democracies) each individual is considered to be the best judge of their own affairs. You'll not have experienced an operation, a course of treatment, or its aftermath, nor will you have experienced life under the person you vote for at the moment you're making your respective decisions about them. Yet still, you're deemed the best judge of what you want and like. And how could it be otherwise?

You don't need to be hanged to be against capital punishment; you don't need to experience something first-hand to know whether you'll like it or not. Thank goodness for that, or we'd not be able to function, since life requires making for-or-against decisions without having experienced what we're judging. You decide based on anecdotal evidence, visual information, and knowledge of yourself - your own preferences, dislikes, values, and goals. That's why I'm not fit to make personal medical and political decisions for you; you know yourself better than anyone.

If that weren't so, then unless you had every retail object available, you'd be closed-minded; every purchase decision involves the decision whether something is good or bad and whether it's worth your money based on that evaluation. But it's not close-minded to decide you won't like a game and that it's not worth it to buy it then, just as it isn't close-minded to make the hundreds of decisions you make daily about things you haven't experienced.

As for weirding you out. Sorry for that. When I read or hear things, I tend to memorise them accidentally. This is particularly pronounced with CSI episodes. On the second viewing, I can say what the character is going to say before they say it, making everyone think I'm clairvoyant. And I can tell within the first few seconds whether I've seen it and the entire plot. I just remember what people say and where they say it.

[QUOTE="bob_newman"]

No. I plan on renting it when I'm done with the games I'm playing now (might take a while though, seeing as I just picked up my copy of Banjo from my parent's house). It's just not high up on my list.

clicketyclick

Naw. In another thread, you confirmed the meaning in this one. You said straight out that you will not buy the game, unless the price drops.

And yes, saying something has next to nothing enjoyable to it is a judgment, and you acknowledged that when you said "IMO". If something is an opinion, it is a judgment.

...Not that there's anything wrong with that... Newman...

Look. Can I make medical decisions for you? No. Even if I were your doctor? No. Can I vote for you? No. Even if I were related to you? No. Why? Because (at least in democracies) each individual is considered to be the best judge of their own affairs. You'll not have experienced an operation, a course of treatment, or its aftermath, nor will you have experienced life under the person you vote for at the moment you're making your respective decisions about them. Yet still, you're deemed the best judge of what you want and like. And how could it be otherwise?

You don't need to be hanged to be against capital punishment; you don't need to experience something first-hand to know whether you'll like it or not. Thank goodness for that, or we'd not be able to function, since life requires making for-or-against decisions without having experienced what we're judging. You decide based on anecdotal evidence, visual information, and knowledge of yourself - your own preferences, dislikes, values, and goals. That's why I'm not fit to make personal medical and political decisions for you; you know yourself better than anyone.

If that weren't so, then unless you had every retail object available, you'd be closed-minded; every purchase decision involves the decision whether something is good or bad and whether it's worth your money based on that evaluation. But it's not close-minded to decide you won't like a game and that it's not worth it to buy it then, just as it isn't close-minded to make the hundreds of decisions you make daily about things you haven't experienced.

As for weirding you out. Sorry for that. When I read or hear things, I tend to memorise them accidentally. This is particularly pronounced with CSI episodes. On the second viewing, I can say what the character is going to say before they say it, making everyone think I'm clairvoyant. And I can tell within the first few seconds whether I've seen it and the entire plot. I just remember what people say and where they say it.

You have to understand that when I say I'm not "judging" the game, I mean that I'm not saying "it sucks" or "it's awesome".

Sorry for the confusion.

You have no idea how often people say "this game sucks", or "this isn't a game", or something like that, without even touching the game.

When I say that I'm not going to buy it unless it's on sale, I'm not judging the game in terms of "it's bad" or "it's good". Sure, I'm making a decision not to buy the game, but it's not because I think it sucks.

The difference between you and me is that you have already decided that the game sucks.

I have yet to read a review text that wasnt at least a little fanboyish and anti-casual apart from NGamer UK. They game Wii Music 89 out of 100, but their review was actually balanced. Reading their review, it seemed far less shallow than people like to claim. It seems some people cant review games in the most objective way possible. Reviewers are meant to discuss whether the game appeals to the target audience, not to themselves.

I have yet to read the 1up review.

Bearing in mind I am a musician (I can actually PLAY guitar) and this appeals to me more than Rock Band or Guitar Hero. I actually agree with Miyamoto about making your own music being better than playing covers like in Guitar Hero etc. What really puts me off those is that there has been little chance to create music of your own in rhythm games until recently. Wii Music addresses that better. I dont want to play a bunch of songs by bands I don't actually like either. Nirvana? Slipknot? You have to be kidding......

Im actually thinking of getting the game to try out all the instruments - its not like I can afford to buy the real thing!

"Let's jump on the bandwagon and make fun of this game. We're cool."

Pretty much what they just did.

"Let's jump on the bandwagon and make fun of this game. We're cool."

Pretty much what they just did.

jjr10

That's exactly what I think is happening here. They originally saw a casual Nintendo title and assumed it would be as well received as the other "Wii Whatevers." In an effort to appeal to people they jumped the gun and gave it an absurdly high score. Now they look like fools and are pointing fingers. Quit pandering and rate games by your actual experience with them, 1UP!

"Wii Music: boring children to tears and ruining marriages since October 20, 2008!"

I find that sentece friggin hilarious. I never would've thought wii music would've had this much talk around it, i figured ppl would have just said "this game sux" and just leave it at that. I think all this talk stems from miyamoto defending it. idk

I think giving something a fair shake is reading all the reviews. When you consider every reviewer's viewpoint, you've done the game well.clicketyclick

Let me be clear here, because I don't think we're on the same page. I don't think you'll like the game even if you play it. But if I want to talk about a movie with someone, I want to talk to someone who's seen it, not to someone who's read a lot of the reviews. He'd just be parroting what the reviewers have said, and that's not the kind of conversation I'm looking for. I want to know what that person thinks of the movie, certain scenes, certain characters, certain plot twists. That conversation can't happen without both of us having seen it.

I'm not trying to convince you to like it or take back any of the negative things you've said about it. Before the game came out, all we could do was speculate based on previews and videos and such. Now that the game is out, if we really want to give our opinions, it helps just a little bit to have played the game. It gives some credibility to our opinions and makes them our own.

I've already disagreed with many of the reviewers. Now I want to disagree with you. ;)

I rented it and honestly, game reviewers have no idea how to review the game.

Yeah, its not my thing, but its still fun. I don't ever see myself paying $49.99 for it, but if it was cheaper I'd buy it. Its a game that you can enjoy and pick up and play when you want to take a break from other titles.

Its just fun -- even if its simple.

I rented it and honestly, game reviewers have no idea how to review the game.

Yeah, its not my thing, but its still fun. I don't ever see myself paying $49.99 for it, but if it was cheaper I'd buy it. Its a game that you can enjoy and pick up and play when you want to take a break from other titles.

Its just fun -- even if its simple.

Haziqonfire

im realy starting to love this game. not because i think its a good game. In fact i think its hands down by far THE worst ninty made game iv ever played. and iv played them sence NES. but i love it do to the huge amounts of entertainment iv gotten out of reading these threads. great times lol.Wild_Card

After a song in WII MUSIC, you GRADE YOURSELF!!! *laughs hysterically* :lol:gmc2u_64

Do you really need someone to tell you if you've done a good job or not? :?

The grade is just there for organization. You rate the ones that you like near the top, and you rate the worse ones near the bottom. That way, whenever you want to hear them again, you'll know which ones you liked and which ones you didn't. It's a practical feature.

Quofan, I'm actually with you in your disinterest in RB and GH and their music lists and your desire for something that offers more creative freedom. But I view Wii Music as an Orwellian "freedom is slavery" sort of game; you only have the appearance of being free. You may be playing variations on the theme, but you don't have actual control over the notes you play.

Imagine you have two tape players connected to a wii remote. Whenever you wave it on the beat, the first tape player plays, and it plays the melody. Whenever you wave it between the beats, the second tape player kicks in, and plays notes in the same key. But you're not actually making music. You're just activating tape players.

That's exactly what I think is happening here. They originally saw a casual Nintendo title and assumed it would be as well received as the other "Wii Whatevers." In an effort to appeal to people they jumped the gun and gave it an absurdly high score. Now they look like fools and are pointing fingers. Quit pandering and rate games by your actual experience with them, 1UP!presto7640

Or, one person at 1UP liked it while the others didn't, but the one person who liked it was assigned to review it. A lot of people were down on 1UP afterwards, and they're pointing out that one person's review does not mean all people feel the same way.

I've already disagreed with many of the reviewers. Now I want to disagree with you. ;)JordanElek

And here I was thinking you didn't enjoy our unending arguments! :lol:

Fine fine. As I said, I know someone who's getting it for Christmas, so I'll play it with them then. 

I'm thinking about getting Korg DS-10 for my music creation simulation for it "looks" wayyy more in depth than Wii Music.nini200

That's true, but it's still not the depth you get with a true synthesizer. IGN said that it's limited because you have two synthesizers that are each monophonic, so you can only program one note at a time, plus you have drums. They also said the interface isn't so friendly because the way you build a song is by building patterns that are one measure long and then stringing those measures together. It's a bit of an awkward and restrictive way of making songs. But you also have a keyboard mode in there too. It's more for (as the devs said) just jotting down musical ideas you've had.

To me, it seems like a good buy at maybe $20-25, 30 is pushing it. I think it's at $40-45 right now so I'd wait.

Quofan, I'm actually with you in your disinterest in RB and GH and their music lists and your desire for something that offers more creative freedom. But I view Wii Music as an Orwellian "freedom is slavery" sort of game; you only have the appearance of being free. You may be playing variations on the theme, but you don't have actual control over the notes you play.

Imagine you have two tape players connected to a wii remote. Whenever you wave it on the beat, the first tape player plays, and it plays the melody. Whenever you wave it between the beats, the second tape player kicks in, and plays notes in the same key. But you're not actually making music. You're just activating tape players.

clicketyclick

Perhaps you are correct and it is merely an illusion. However, that is the whole point. Its just mindless fun. Im serious about my music. I work hard to write and create. I feel in all the technical nonsense I lose the sense of fun occasionally and the simplicity of this game again addresses that issue.