WiiFit: The Most Important Game Ever Made

Well I'm going to take another kick at the can here. This thread is not about WiiFit in a literal sense. It's not about whether or not WiiFit is a game, or worth the money, or whether you can get fit playing WiiFit (although I would say it is pretty evident that in WiiFit you can, in fact, get fit). The reason WiiFit is so important is that it is going to be the starting point for a new era of gaming. WiiFit is gaming's Napster, it's going to turn the industry on its head and completely shift the gaming paradigm. Much like Napster there will probably be some growing pains, WiiFit will no doubt lead to a number of imitators and knock offs. But when all is said and done, WiiFit will change the gaming landscape for the better. It will force the industry to innovate and move forward, rather than pumping out sequel after sequel, knock off after knock off, update after update. That is why it is so important.PBSnipes

That is the truth brother. People are so literal in their interpretation of the thread title, it is not WiiFit that is important but the way the game is played and its implications for the future. I'm glad some people here are intelligent enough to look at things from a bigger perspective, instead of reducing everything to a 'hardcore/casual' argument. I see no reason why I cannot enjoy WiiFit and then go and play Okami or No More Heroes or GTAIV the next day.

Gaming is just a load of kiddy nonsense at the moment, as fantastic as GTA is it is also a massive wake-up call as to how far our industry needs to go if this is a flagship title. We still haven't gained full acceptance in the mainstream, nevermind even dreaming about it being regarded as an art-form any time soon.

[QUOTE="PBSnipes"]

[QUOTE="Ibacai"]Why does the industry need this change PB? You say the industry is in rough shape but it's been growing for years. Personally this is as bad as people saying that Wiifit will ruin gaming. And that's coming from someone who holds you in high respect.Bread_or_Decide

That's why I think WiiFit is so important. Economic theory states that the current business model isn't sustainable (due to the law of diminishing returns), and Wii Fit, as far as I'm concerned anyway, will be the catalyst for a dramatic paradigm shift in the gaming industry.

The industry is thriving like never before. The Wii already did its "paradigm shift". I see Wiifit being the kind of game people get tired of really quickly. Where as devs will build on popular franchises, create new franchises, and continue to break new ground in the gaming industry.

The industry is NOT thriving. Quite the opposite, Nintendo has driven nearly all of the growth of this generation. When compared to the last generation, gaming on the PlayStation and Xbox brands has DECLINED.

Of course, this is mostly due to the failure of the PS3 to attract the same broad audience as the PS2, but the 360 has also never achieved more than mediocre adoption rates, and if the core audiences on both the Xbox and PlayStation brands was big enough, then why wouldn't we see at least a matching software growth rate, given that core audiences are the early adopters?

Portal/HalfLife series are the most important because they are utterly groundbreakingly awesome (play them). If people want to excercise, they can ride a bike, go swimming, whatever - games are by their nature meant for entertainment and nothing else. This thing is therefore not important to gaming/games in the slightest as it doesn't even qualify as one - its gimmick for simple people unable to do simple things like maintain their fitness by themselves.darklight86

Portal's not groundbreaking. It's unique, but it's not groundbreaking or innovative except in its storytelling. Unless you're going to tell me we're going to see a slew of portal-based puzzle platformers from now on.

Portal/HalfLife series are the most important because they are utterly groundbreakingly awesome (play them). If people want to excercise, they can ride a bike, go swimming, whatever - games are by their nature meant for entertainment and nothing else. This thing is therefore not important to gaming/games in the slightest as it doesn't even qualify as one - its gimmick for simple people unable to do simple things like maintain their fitness by themselves.darklight86

Those games might be important to you in the little gaming bubble but they mean nothing to most people. Its like me saying Ornette Coleman is the most important musician ever, its a sad state but oftentimes quality or artistic merit does not equal importance.

[QUOTE="darklight86"]Portal/HalfLife series are the most important because they are utterly groundbreakingly awesome (play them). If people want to excercise, they can ride a bike, go swimming, whatever - games are by their nature meant for entertainment and nothing else. This thing is therefore not important to gaming/games in the slightest as it doesn't even qualify as one - its gimmick for simple people unable to do simple things like maintain their fitness by themselves.mjarantilla

Portal's not groundbreaking. It's unique, but it's not groundbreaking or innovative except in its storytelling. Unless you're going to tell me we're going to see a slew of portal-based puzzle platformers from now on.

That is exactly what I mean. I would consider both Half Life 2 and its following episodes along with Portal to be of much higher quality in this regard than most action/sci-fi film releases. Same with Bioshock. These games IMO are far greater quality and show a much larger imaginative background than modern cinema.

[QUOTE="mjarantilla"]

[QUOTE="darklight86"]Portal/HalfLife series are the most important because they are utterly groundbreakingly awesome (play them). If people want to excercise, they can ride a bike, go swimming, whatever - games are by their nature meant for entertainment and nothing else. This thing is therefore not important to gaming/games in the slightest as it doesn't even qualify as one - its gimmick for simple people unable to do simple things like maintain their fitness by themselves.darklight86

Portal's not groundbreaking. It's unique, but it's not groundbreaking or innovative except in its storytelling. Unless you're going to tell me we're going to see a slew of portal-based puzzle platformers from now on.

That is exactly what I mean. I would consider both Half Life 2 and its following episodes along with Portal to be of much higher quality in this regard than most action/sci-fi film releases. Same with Bioshock. These games IMO are far greater quality and show a much larger imaginative background than modern cinema.

No, not really. They're about on par or just below.

TC, Are you going to buy the game?

Honest answer.