The more I read about Nintendo's beast, the more I feel like it truly is: those with the Xbox 360s and PS3's are enjoying multi-million dollar blockbusters, going blind by staring at the most impressive visuals money can buy, but more importantly, insurance that every month, something good will most likely arrive. And even ahead towards next year, we are all confident about the future, because of the hottest titles we just can't possibly wait any longer for.

So...why no love for the Wii? Nowdays, the Wii is the butt of evey gaming joke. The, "it could be worse, I could only have a Wii" arrogance as millions of people enjoy their high profile games. Now to its credit, Nintendo did claim that people crave innovation rather than the same gameplay we've had for the past fifteen years. And seeing that the Wii is the hottest selling console, Nintendo did deliver on that claim.

But I guess what hurts its image is the massive amounts of awful games that are sneaking onto store shelves. Indeed, Nintendo has become a pawn if they continue to allow such low quality merchandise to tarnish Nintendo's reputation. As popular a brand name as Nintendo can ever be, it can also have the same credibility as seeing a hardened rapper advertising a McDonal's sandwich. Sure, money is made on both sides, but in the eyes of the consumers, both companies now look pathetically desperate for attention.

Much like the ugly girl in high school had a sliver of popularity because she was friends with a hot cheerleader, bad games fly off the shelves because it holds the seal of Nintendo's approval. But just like said cheerleader, her sex appeal will plummet if she's surounded by ugly women. And so will the Wii's image, if it is known that it is the system that carries the most bad games out of the console market.

In a way, I'd like to say that to own a Wii, one must have a vast knowledge of gaming in order to hold one in their house. Because of its direct approach to catering those who don't know how to play a videogame, a lot of developers out there seek the opportunity to exploit that blissfulness. Without question, the Wii's first party titles are the strongest, with a few exceptions regarding third party publishers. But quality is so limited in that department, that if anyone wants to stay current in the gaming trend, they have to own another console.

It's rather heartbreaking...I hear all the time on how kids call themselves gamers just by owning a Wii alone. It breaks my heart because they obviously have no idea how advanced Sony and Microsoft have become while Nintendo is stuck a couple of generations behind. In a way, I feel pity: I'm here, enjoying the newest game I just bought, knowing it's a masterpiece, while they inadvertently bought shovelware disguised as a movie game, or innovative disaster I already knew was horrible just by looking at the box art.

But just like last year's washed up movie star has the potential to rise from the ashes, Nintendo can restore their image to something worthwile in the eyes of gamers. I mean, let's face it: casual gaming is the new trend nowdays, and companies are jumping on that bandwagon. Like it or not, aside from each hardcore game, the systems themselves will cater to people who want their consoles to do more than play videogames. And with the Wii's absence of console capabilities of the last generation, what will it be, another face in the crowd that doesn't keep up with the times?

Alas, I'd like to thank my friends at home on letting me experience first hand just why the faithful Nintendo loyalists are sour about the Wii. Although I don't feel that Nintendo is ruining the gaming industry, rather that the directions Nintendo is going is getting stagnant very quickly. And in the end, what would the majority of non-gamers prefer: a machine that plays a meager selection of worthy titles, or will they stray away from gaming altogether?