Is The Wii A Console Made For Rich People?

I've been giving this more and more thought and I've come to the conclusion that the Wii is made for rich people (as in people who can regularly afford games)

The Wii is something completely new and that means there's a lot of software you've never seen before or been able to play a certain way before. If someone is limited to a few games they don't get a good idea of what the Wii can do.

You see threads about the "Wii is collecting dust" or "there's no good games" and you have to wonder if that's a direct result of people not being able to properly support the Wii financially.

Users that are limited to one game every few months are only doing one new thing the Wii offers every few months.

Here's a few examples....

When the Wii launched the only racing games were GT Pro Series, Excite Truck and Need For Speed Carbon. Now here's a game in GT Pro Series that does not look good by today's standards, I'd say it looks like an early Gamecube game BUT it controls very well. So people who have a steady flow of money could buy the game because it was one third of the racing library of the Wii and enjoy it for what it was and still pick up whatever other title they wanted in the future.

On the other hand if someone only had a certain amount of money to spend they couldn't spend it on GT Pro because if they did they wouldn't be able to afford the next game they were looking forwards to.

Another game is Elebits/Eledees. A fun game that does a great job of showing users what the Wiimote can do. Only problem is that it was a great game when released but now it's been surpassed by other games. Now if you couldn't get it at launch for 50 dollars and had to wait until now when it's a 20 dollar game someone may think that it's not that great. So because the user had financial limitations they're getting the wrong idea about the current ability of the hardware and the software.

Then you have the games that don't use motion controls at all. Again, if financial constraints are in play someone who is looking for the "Wii Experience" wants motion games and when they get a game that doesn't have motion controls they feel they're missing out. Games like Smash Bros, Mario Galaxy, and MLB Power Pros have been a source of complaints since they don't have complete motion controls.

Lastly, financial concerns make some users not able to try new software genres they may not normally play. If you only have a certain amount of money you can't take a chance on a Trauma Center because if it's not a genre you like you wont be getting another game in place of it. The same goes for updated genres. Fishing Master is a great game to play but it's a fishing game, that means that anyone will probably like it but if someone needs them a game to hold themselves over for a few months until they can afford a new game many wont be buying it whereas someone who gets a few games will be happy putting it in for an hour here and there between other games.

What do you think? Do you think that to fully experience the Wii you need a variety of titles just to see everything the Wii can do?

No. I think all consoles are like that. Not too many ones will be able to try all what a console offers, due to costs and/or lack of time to play. Sure, the Wii makes this more noticeable, since it has many innovative games, but all consoles are like that. It's almost impossible to experience everything a console has to offer.

That's why developers should consider releasing their simple games for the Wii Ware or just not at full price, so more people get to try them.

I understand all consoles have this problem but the Wii is doing something that nothing else ever has.

If you played a shooter last gen with a standard controller you played a shooter this gen with a standard controller even if you haven't bought it yet because it's basically the same.

If you played a racing game last gen with a standard controller you played a racing game this gen with a standard controller even if you haven't bought it yet because it plays the same.

There's so many experiences on the Wii that have never been done before that unless you personally own them you have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to games because you don't have any reference at all about it

On the contrary, I spend as little as possible with the Wii thanks to the virtual console. I only have 5 Wii games and I downloaded 15 VC games. It's a steal to buy classic games for $10 or less.

Okay, I'm confused. You talk about people not being able to purchase the Wii do to lack of money, yet it's the cheapest of the current-gen systems. You'll pay $300-$500 dollars for any other system while the Wii is $250. Then, there's the fact that even the Wii's biggest games like Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess, and Mario Kart are all $50 and even terrible games for the 360 and PS3 like Denied Ops and Blue Dragon are $60. Then, you have the Wii's online play. Sure there might not be many games with online playability, but Super Smash Bros.' and Mario Kart's online is just as fun a Gears of War and Halo, and it's FREE. So really, why are you questioning the price of the Wii?rockwii13

MSRP is $250, but the Wii is being resold so quickly that it's price to consumers is more in line with the other consoles or above. The "Wii sells because it's cheap" arguement has been debunked multiple times.

The idea that Jayson is putting forth is that since the Wii is uncharted territory, the previous standard of controls is no longer existant. As such, everyone is going about the development a little bit different. In essence not only are we seeing a new level of control, but we're opening up the range of possibilities and seeing entirely new subgenres.

So you may be able to see more or less what the 360 or PS3 has to offer with a purchase of a dozen games (helped largely by the amount of multiplats and the standardized controls), but in order to full experience the Wii you'll need to by 2 dozen games. The difference in quantity causes a greater expenditure of funds. This is only further complicated by the wide range of peripherals offered for the Wii.

For example, Endless Ocean is a new subgenre. In order to gain the entire Wii experience, you have to own this game. There isn't really a good equivilant for the PS3 or 360, ergo this is one game more than the number of 360/PS3 games that would be sold. At the $10 difference, you essentially negate a 5 game price difference with this type of game. With enough of these new subgenres (Trauma Center, Boom Blox, Zak and Wiki, etc.) It doesn't take long for the expenditure of Wii titles to outvalue the 360 and PS3 titles.

I'm undecided on this. I don't think that this was the intended result so technically, it's not made FOR rich people, but having a lot of extra income certainly helps, especially when you consider the interconnectivity of the DS in the picture. All in all, though, I'm gonna have to stick with no.

No. I don't feel that I have to play every type of game to fully experience the Wii.

The motion controls are fun, but I don't find them to be so utterly revolutionary that had I not played a racer on the Wii, I would have no concept of what it was or how it would work.

... but the Wii definately lacks the ability for a person to buy only three games and play them for a year.raahsnavj

I don't know if I'd say that

If you bought....

Mario Kart (unlimited single player experince online)

Smash Bros (unlocking all the stupid boxes)

MLB Power Pros (takes 810 hours of play to complete one game mode one time, that's 67.5 days if you played 12 hours a day nonstop)

So no, there's a lot of titles that will keep you playing to finish the game completely.

No, the Wii is not a console made for rich people. I am a younger person, basically living cheque to cheque, and I am still able to afford Wii games regularly. The only time this isn't the case is when games are bundled with peripherals, such as Wii Fit and Guitar Hero. Those titles are much more expensive and therefore more difficult to purchase, and of course, such games are not limited only to Wii.

The Wii is definitely the most affordable console. All you need to do is look at the prices of new games for the other consoles out there.

I disagree. The Wii is by far the cheapest system. Games are $10 cheaper. Online multiplayer is free. MK Wii comes with the wheel. GH3 is $10 cheaper than the other ports.

Everyone is restricted financially at some point. I am by no means rich (poor college student), and I just choose to save my money for the games that will maximize my replayability and experience on the Wii (Galaxy, MK, Zelda, SSBB, and a few others). The wonderful thing about Nintendo is that I can play their games forever. I haven't touched Gears of War in a year, but I can still put in Zelda from time to time. People just have to make thier own economic decisions, but Nintendo is by far the most economical console.

Here is another thing.. you talk of people having to wait til an old game is in the bargin bin to be able to buy it. This is assuming they have the older titles and wait till they are in the bargin bin. Now this type of person will buy the game and though outdated, it is more advanced than the last bargin game they bought. I was like this. Getting back into consoles I got the Wii. Now it had the weak graphics potential compared to the other systems and many feel it was only a little better than the Gamecube. I skipped Gamecube, so my graphics were compared to the N64. So for me the Wii was awesome in graphics. Each "new" game a bargin bin shopper gets is an improvement to that person if they don't have any of the fully priced new games. If they have to buy old games then my guess is this person would have one console and not multiple.

maybe people say their wii is collecting dust simply because none of the games don't interest them? Maybe they have a point when they say it doesn't have enough quality games?

no, can't be that. :roll:

[QUOTE="raahsnavj"]... but the Wii definately lacks the ability for a person to buy only three games and play them for a year.Jaysonguy

I don't know if I'd say that

If you bought....

Mario Kart (unlimited single player experince online)

Smash Bros (unlocking all the stupid boxes)

MLB Power Pros (takes 810 hours of play to complete one game mode one time, that's 67.5 days if you played 12 hours a day nonstop)

So no, there's a lot of titles that will keep you playing to finish the game completely.

well wi games dont cost 59 to 69 dollars cough cough 360

I think the title is just a little off. I by no means am "rich" but I do buy games quite regularly. If there is a game I want, I usually have the extra cash to get it. But I agree, most people who say the Wii has no games just don't own many. I recently bought One Piece: Unlimited Adventure and I'm loving it. I just went into a store saw it and bought it. Now someone who has to manage there money better would have passed it up and that's perfectly understandable. But there are plenty of good games that get passed up because of personal budget constraints. This of course applies to all consoles but you do see the threads "teh Wii has no gamez" more often than the others.remblade

Thats all there is to say.....

I think the title is just a little off. I by no means am "rich" but I do buy games quite regularly. If there is a game I want, I usually have the extra cash to get it. But I agree, most people who say the Wii has no games just don't own many. I recently bought One Piece: Unlimited Adventure and I'm loving it. I just went into a store saw it and bought it. Now someone who has to manage there money better would have passed it up and that's perfectly understandable. But there are plenty of good games that get passed up because of personal budget constraints. This of course applies to all consoles but you do see the threads "teh Wii has no gamez" more often than the others.remblade

Thats all there is to say.....

i think its for anyone but poor people are poor due to many reasons but if the poor ppl make $1000 - 2000 a month then they should save extra money for something they want

JasonGuy, up until now, I've surprisingly agreed with everything you have said. But this just isn't true.

Want to know who the Wii is for? I've been doing the same thing that you did, and I came to the conclusion that the Wii is for SMART people. You see, there's a flaw in your reasoning: most people who say their Wii is collecting dust have another next-gen console, like a 360 or a PS3. If someone can afford one of those and a Wii, they are pretty much considered rich. I know someone who has had their Wii for a couple weeks after launch, only has about 6-8 games for it, and still loves it and plays it regularly. One of my reletives also has a Wii, and hasn't used to actively for a year, even though he has like 12 games for it (that he bought in a period of 6 months >_>), I have come to the conclusion that only smart people understand the greatness that is the Wii. Close to the Wii's launch, I spent a lot of time aurguing with people that hate the Wii, and they all had the dumbest reasons for doing so. "No shooters". "You look stupid playing it". "Zelda is t3h suxorz". I even heard one person say "it doesn't have Sonic '06. Instead, it has some cruddy Secret Rings game were you run in a forest". No joke. People that don't understand what makes good games good cannot like the Wii. And a lot of mainsteam gamers just don't understand what makes a good game good.

I see your points in this argument, but I find the Wii's issue to be more of a replayability/WiFi issue.

Remember Brawl? Not sure about you, but after the first week or two of trying to get on Brawl's WiFi, I gave up after experiencing sub-par connections when I could just play with my friends that were likely of a similar skill level. You may wonder why I'd even bother going on WiFi, and I'd say it's the experience/feel of the moment. Sure Brawl's fun and all of that, but it will eventually fade to a game that sits there.

Onto other games, however. A month ago, I only felt like playing my 360. Yesterday, I got Wii Fit, and I've really just been playing that for a bit instead of the 360. It's more about the uniqueness that the Wii brings and the things that seperate it from the two other consoles. Mario Kart Wii is a bit like this in that it's unique from other racing games on the other consoles.

I'd say it's not really a matter of money when it comes to the Wii, but rather a trial of whether Nintendo can keep spewing out these types of games while still appealing to the casual gamer.

I don't think the Wii is for rich people. Gaming is just an expensive habit. A smoker may tell you that smoking is an expensive habit, but it doesn't mean that smoking is for rich people.

the Wii is rated "E for Everyone"

I guess to get the absolute most out it you would have to be swimming in dough (now there's a delicious visual) but I'm a broke as a joke college student and I find it suits me just fine.

how is a system that was intended for casuals, only for rich ppl. dosent make sence at.mVolta

May I recomend Birdmen and the Casual Falacy to you? Look it up on Google.

I've been giving this more and more thought and I've come to the conclusion that the Wii is made for rich people (as in people who can regularly afford games)

The Wii is something completely new and that means there's a lot of software you've never seen before or been able to play a certain way before. If someone is limited to a few games they don't get a good idea of what the Wii can do.

You see threads about the "Wii is collecting dust" or "there's no good games" and you have to wonder if that's a direct result of people not being able to properly support the Wii financially.

Users that are limited to one game every few months are only doing one new thing the Wii offers every few months.

Here's a few examples....

When the Wii launched the only racing games were GT Pro Series, Excite Truck and Need For Speed Carbon. Now here's a game in GT Pro Series that does not look good by today's standards, I'd say it looks like an early Gamecube game BUT it controls very well. So people who have a steady flow of money could buy the game because it was one third of the racing library of the Wii and enjoy it for what it was and still pick up whatever other title they wanted in the future.

On the other hand if someone only had a certain amount of money to spend they couldn't spend it on GT Pro because if they did they wouldn't be able to afford the next game they were looking forwards to.

Another game is Elebits/Eledees. A fun game that does a great job of showing users what the Wiimote can do. Only problem is that it was a great game when released but now it's been surpassed by other games. Now if you couldn't get it at launch for 50 dollars and had to wait until now when it's a 20 dollar game someone may think that it's not that great. So because the user had financial limitations they're getting the wrong idea about the current ability of the hardware and the software.

Then you have the games that don't use motion controls at all. Again, if financial constraints are in play someone who is looking for the "Wii Experience" wants motion games and when they get a game that doesn't have motion controls they feel they're missing out. Games like Smash Bros, Mario Galaxy, and MLB Power Pros have been a source of complaints since they don't have complete motion controls.

Lastly, financial concerns make some users not able to try new software genres they may not normally play. If you only have a certain amount of money you can't take a chance on a Trauma Center because if it's not a genre you like you wont be getting another game in place of it. The same goes for updated genres. Fishing Master is a great game to play but it's a fishing game, that means that anyone will probably like it but if someone needs them a game to hold themselves over for a few months until they can afford a new game many wont be buying it whereas someone who gets a few games will be happy putting it in for an hour here and there between other games.

What do you think? Do you think that to fully experience the Wii you need a variety of titles just to see everything the Wii can do?

Jaysonguy

Here is an idea... get a job... rent the games... the answer is NO not for the rich. save 10 bucks a week for 52 weeks 520 dollars. income tax returns buy a couple games... If you dont know what type of games that you like and dont have access to a gamesite like game spot. then you deserve to get your money taken by companies that are smarter then you are.

Buying and playing one too many games is like a double-edged sword. In the past month, I've purchased a ton of PS2, Wii, PS3, PSP, and one Xbox 360 game. And let me tell you, I cannot keep up. There's just not enough time left in the day to play all these games. Granted, I'm leaving out a lot of quality titles out there. So what I'm trying to say, it's not weather you're rich or poor, or just flat broke. You have to consider how you game. What's your pace? Do you have a lot of time on your hands. It's senseless to buy games and have them still in their factory wrappers. If you're filthy rich, sure, knock yourself out.