Are you Happy with Nintendo, and your Wii?
The Wii has certainly been a console that's caused a lot of debate over the last few years. "It's a fad" "It's ruined gaming" "3rd parties can't sell on it" "The line up is nothing but casual, party games"......yadda yadda yadda! We've heard it all. Positive, negative. Opinions from analysts, companies, and even Nintendo themselves. Hell, we've even heard the ocassional goof ball on here spillin' their thoughts onto our eyes! Again, it's been a crazy past few years!
So, are you happy with what Nintendo has been doing, is doing? Are you actually happy with your purchase? Do you feel satisfied with the experiences that have been offered so far (from everyone, not just Nintendo)?
Here, if desired... is a place for you to spill your thoughts on what's been going on. If you want to rant, feel free. If you want to praise, and debate why it's the coolest console on the face of the planet, feel free! I'll start off with my thoughts/beefs, and explain my overall experience. I'm sure some of you will say this should've been on a blog, but I wanted everyone to be able to join in if they want! Nothing wrong with getting people involved right?
The Good
I'm currently a student in a game design program, and when I first witnessed what the Wii was all about.... My jaw dropped. I was pumped to say the least. The controller blew my mind! I could imagine being Luke Skywalker and slicing people left and right. I could imagine being Link, and taking on enemies with the sword actually in my hand, not pressing a button. I felt it was the best thing to happen to gaming that I'd ever seen since my introduction intothis hobby(with the NES). Zelda was even a launch title!!! How could it get any better!? The user interface is extremely easy to use, and my "not so great at technology" mother can navigate with easy.
Software
The Wii has had a decent line up since it's came out in my opinion. I haven't been able to afford everything that I've wanted, but it's been pretty nice having a nice selection of games. Nintendo always releases a quality product, and the system seemed to be getting pretty good support here and there. We finally started getting some mature titles. We started getting titles from companies that said they weren't interested in developing for the Wii orginally. A nice steady flow of games to keep everyone entertained just kept rolling, at least to me. I never imagined in playing a Metroid Prime game with such fluid controls, it was just awesome to say the least. There have been droughts here and there, but meh... what console doesn't have at least one drought?
Teh Aewsumnizz!
The biggest thing that I loved about it is everyone wanted a Wii. I never imagined playing games with my daughter on a normal complex game controller with the analog sticks, tons of buttons, and sophisticated camera requirements. Hell, I even played a few games of bowling with my mom, and golf with my dad. Both who haven't gamed since the original Mario Bros/Duck Hunt catridge. They were entertained, could actually play the game, and wanted to. Grandmas/Grandpas were gaming in the old folks home. Gaming, was accepted by millions of people who probably thought that it was a waste of time when they saw us sitting there mashing buttons. All this was solved by introducing Wii Sports. It was brillant!
The Bad
The controller
Ever since I saw the Wii remote, again... I was blown away. Along with being blown away, I expected the controller to do exactly what it was said to be able to do. Unfortunately, it didn't (at least right of the box). I wanted that light saber game, I wanted to be able to control Link's sword. Red Steel was a game that I was very pumped for, and with the original tech, the experience just wasn't there because of the controllers faults. I'm not trying to be a nit-picker, but I guess maybe I expectedmore from the little wand type object.Of course there's M+ that's been released, but I think that is rather unfair for others that might not play games as much as some of us might. Nintendo's been known to release peripherals in the past, but I would say they're mimicking what they were doing with the NES.
Software
When it comes to software,I've been rather disappointed. I think some of the problem comes from the controller, andcompanies not understanding how to utilize it properly. My biggest issue with the software lies withinthe quality of the titles. Not just Nintendo titles, but there have been a ton of titles that I've purchased that arejust bogus when it comes to the controller. I've also been disappointed with Nintendo's titles as well. Like I said somewhere before, Nintendo releases quality products. They always have, probably always will. They make games for everyone, or at least try to. Well, I ask... make them for everyone. Create difficulty levels on the main menu, it's not that hard to do so. Remember entering "Zelda" for a 2nd quest that was harder? What happened to games that had replayability, and were actually difficult. Being a long drawn out game is one thing, but it doesn't make up for difficulty. Some Nintendo games even just seem to be $50 updates of games released on either the DS, or Gamecube.
Online
Online is just terrible, terrible, terrible! This issue is actually the reason I started the thread for. Nintendo is treating online gaming like it's an issue they just really have to deal with, but hate it. I'm not sure if it's because they don't want to spend the time/resources on it or if it's just because they don't see the need for it. Whether they like it or not, online gaming is huge (and imo, they are nuts if they don't see that). Mario Kart was/is hacked to a riduclous amount, Brawl online was horrible (from what I heard) with the amount of lag, and 3rd parties have to basically beg to update their online modes. I ask myself, two of Nintendo's biggest games that supposedly take full advantage of the Wii's online, offer horrible online experiences, and that's ok? It's completely disgraceful, and if it's that easy to hack the game... don't add online. According to your own employees words (Miyamoto), it takes away from the experience of what you were trying to do, and why in the world would anyone want to play a game online if it's full of cheaters, or a laggy experience? I also find it disgusting that an Activision ported title offers the best experience so far when it comes to the Wii. I'm also sure Capcom's MH3 will also blow Nintendo out of the water when it comes to online.
The Wii's interface (home menu) is meant to be extremely user friendly, which in my opinion is. Everyone is supposed to have a hassle free time when accessing games, which again, I believe they most likely do. Why in the world is the online such a pain in the rear? Nintendo can say what they want about they don't want children being involved with people, bla bla bla... but why in the world would they be involved with people they don't want to be friends with? One friend code is understandable, but having one for each game is just above and beyond a headache. It's frustrating, and annoying. If they are actually interested in online gaming, why in the world is it so annoying to add a friend? You can't even invite people by some sort of menu option, unless you're playing that particular game, and they just happen to be on.
3rd party support
This is obviously debateable depending on how many titles you've picked up, which is fine. I'm not saying their support has been horrible, there's been quite a few games that I loved playing. My gripe with them is the idiodic choices of games developed, and their concerns with sales. Make games people want to play. People whining about M-rated games doesn't mean people will buy over the top-violent games just because blood squirts every where. You've yet to give us what we actually want, and say... "buy this, and you'll get more" or "the Wii couldn't do that." Well the latter is understandable, but give us something the Wii can do. It doesn't have to be HD, just a solid full length game, that we want. Not a cop-out, not a niche title, not a on-rails shooter that pushes Wii's graphics, a normal game. Not to mention, for the love of god, advertise your product!!!!! I'm not sure if Nintendo needs to sit down, and say "this is what's selling, this is what isn't... here's some ideas for you guys" or whatever. I almost sometimes think that since the console is a little outdated in the graphics department, companies don't even want to work with it with motion controllers or not.
Over all, I'm happy with my purchase. There's things that need to change, at least to me. Even though I have my gripes, I think they outweigh the negatives (even though I wrote more) lol. Nintendo has provided entertainment to me, and millionsof others. Agree if you like, or disagree. Again, this a place where people can complain if they desire, or just praise the Wii.
Let it begin!
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