So nobody really expected Call of Duty to look as good as the PS3 or 360 versions, but come on… didn't some Wii fanboys reach for the panic button when Little Big Planet came down the pipe, and it dawned on them that someone had out-nintendoed Nintendo?

I've owned every system Nintendo has ever made… and for the second time in my life I've bought a gaming console NOT made by The big N, ending a streak that's been alive since the SNES debuted in the summer of '91 (stealing a good amount of Sonic The Hedgehog's thunder) and put my Genesis into semi-retirement. I got into the high-def world of Playstation 3 a few weeks ago, but before I wrote about it I wanted to, at the very least, familiarize myself with the core titles and exclusives. Now, having stepped out of the bubble, I think I better understand what the Wii is and what it's not. And I'm compelled to talk about how the experience has changed me as a Nintendo fanboy.

I like HD Graphics—a lot

The most obvious difference is graphics. PS3 hardware is capable of rendering graphics at true 1080p and at 60 frames per second (the holy grail of HD game development) and even though it's actually 720p at 30fps most of the time, visuals on PS3 are better than those on the Wii—that's putting it diplomatically.To put it bluntly, when placed side-by-side with PS3 graphics, Wii graphics blow. In terms of enjoyment of games, good graphics matter. More than I previously cared to acknowledge. Games with good graphics are just really impressive to people.

Whether it's the way the Helghast jump over the railings in the opening level of Killzone 2, or the fact that you can see the stitching on the cloth building blocks in LittleBigPlanet,or a straight-up comparison of Call of Duty versions, the PS3 tends to stop people in their tracks. I had one of those moments, pretty rare for someone in my age group, where "I couldn't believe how good it was" when I loaded up KZ2, which offers arguably the best looking FPS graphics in any game on any platform… and it's not even 1080p.

Trophies

With the obvious success of the the Xbox 360's Achievement leader boards and PS3's trophy comparison systems, and legions of gamers participating in the trophy hunt with the same or even more fervor than they generate for any individual game, why the heck doesn't the Wii have something comparable? And before you say anything: no, becoming a 5-star Mii Artisan with a good "judging eye" just isn't the same.

Experienced gamers want more game

In addition to those who want to be wowed by displays of raw power, there are those seasoned gamers who want deep, detailed adventures that fill up most or all of the PS3's whopping 50GB Blu-ray disc capacity. FIFTY Gigs. By comparison, Super Smash Bros. Brawl was the first Wii game to use 9 gig dual-layer DVDs, all earlier games (may I remind you that this includes Super Mario Galaxy and Zelda: Twilight Princess) fit onto 4.7GB media. You may argue that few PS3 games will make use of all of that capacity, but Metal Gear Solid 4 already has, and not frivolously—it was, by most accounts, the best video game of 2008.

The LittleBigPlanet Factor

You're no doubt becoming aware that a tiny studio called Media Molecule and publishing giant Sony teamed up at the end of last year to bring the gaming world LittleBigPlanet, which has, with its level editor, thriving community, and smiling creatures, hit a monster home run. The "play, create, share" concept isn't new, but one can argue that it's never been done this well before, and few if any video games in the past 20 years have been as absorbing or as magical (or as destined to inspire ripoffs) as LBP. It's sold over 2 million copies, too, and a sequel is in the works; Nintendo does NOT have a monopoly on wares for the "non-traditional gamer" or games for kids, or even for whimsy! Not any longer. LittleBigPlanet is just a huge amount of game, and while the level-creation side of things isn't perfect, and it requires a good helping of geekiness (and maybe a dash of obsessiveness) to fully appreciate it and to build anything good, you don't need a computer science degree in order to get started; it's actually quite intuitive. As I sat surrounded by highly-rated, barely touched game discs, level-creation in LittleBigPlanet was ALL of my gaming for the better part of a week and a half, and I'm by no means done with it.

What does this all mean?

The Wii will continue to be the party console, and will continue to help usher in a new era of gesture-based gaming control, will continue to be the top of the heap for the time being, and I will continue to love it. And yes, sales figures for Super Mario Galaxy 2 will probably dwarf those for LBP. But I hope most of Nintendo's R&D dollars and Wii developer efforts are going towards making the controls even cooler (I remain optimistic about Wii MotionPlus), to releasing more exclusives, to focus on stylized games rendered in art genres which are within its limits yet still pleasing to the eye, and to releasing retro stuff on the virtual console... not towards trying to squeeze a few more frames per second out of 480p Call of Duty ports. They can't compete in that battle and shouldn't try; at least not until we see an HD Wii.

I should talk for a minute about on-rails "shooting gallery" type games, and how, for whatever reason (maybe because they're evocative of shooting ranges with pop-up cardboard bad guys), on-rails shooters don't need to have jaw-dropping graphics to be satisfying. As such, these games actually work really well on the Wii, as we've seen with House of the Dead: Overkill and Resident Evil 4, and this is the case with or without the Wii-Zapper. These games play to the Wii's strengths. In theory (and to a degree, demonstrated in practice, with the Wii version of Call of Duty: World at War) the Wii's sensor bar/wiimote combo offers the nicest control setup for shooting games on any of the consoles. The Conduit, due out at the end of this month, may further cement this.

I'm a Nintendo fan… and typically when someone bashes the Wii, Nintendo fans respond as if that person just punched their kitten. Well, I don't think this article is a Wii-bashing piece. Yes, I bought a PS3, and no Ihaven't merely been playing it, I've been caught up in it. But my Nintendo fanboyism is unshaken, just not untested.

Most have summed up the console debate with rhetoric along the lines of, that with the Wii, Nintendo went for a more flexible, friendly and intuitive control scheme, finesse if you will, and Sony (and Microsoft) went for power, and so whichever system you play, you're getting a "Next Gen" experience to a degree. But that's not the whole story any more; in the eyes of adult gamers, and just about everyone else, Nintendo does not currently offer enough.

And yeah, the Wii still has something that the other consoles are hard-pressed to touch; Mario and Link. There is a sizeable contingent whom will follow them religiously, onto whichever platform they leap. And let's not forget that the Wii launch wasn't simply huge, it was culturally significant. However, until we see an HD incarnation, I want more. I want some PS3 with my Nintendo.

So, I was just checking out Wii news and apparently the newest iteration of Tiger Woods is going to feature MotionPlus (read: true 1:1 swing recognition... when did "1:1" become such a buzzword?) and will be joined by a tennis title, also using the improved technology.

This is actually exciting! I can already hear the cynics and the XBOX faithful sneering "gimmick"... but I don't think so. Here's why:

In my mind, this was the purpose of the Wii... to usher in a gaming era with new, more natural motion-based controls (remember the water-cooler comparisons made of the Wii, to the computer interface in Minority Report? I do. I also remember the Power Glove... but that was different, damn it...) and motion-controlled console gaming, while still admittedly experimental, are a big part of why we got excited about the Wii; we bough them to be a part of that.

1:1 swing recognition in 3D space is a far cry from "ok, you need to waggle your right hand to swing a sword instead of mashing the A-button" (and it's also a far cry from Far Cry, and a slew of mediocre ports with tacked-on motion controls). It's what the call a Unique Selling Proposition, it's what the Wii can do that the other consoles can't. And it's not surprising that, along with Nintendo, a giant like EA is the among the first to dive in and putter around with the experimental technology.

I didn't just get a Wii because I'm a life-long Nintendo fanboy, or to get my Mario and Zelda fix.. I got it to be part of something new. This might be a good start.

Hold up Pa, I dropped my DS! -------->

So according to an article published yesterday by GameSpot's Tom Magrino, domestic game sales (hardware, software, accessories) spiked in December as expected (Christmas rush) but then held strong in January. In fact, when final January figures are released later this week, a top analyst predicts a 12% increase for the month for software sales. Wii Fit, he says, will sell 700,000 copies on the month; this figure would be record-setting for single-SKU sales in January.

Other industry analysts offered slightly different predictions, But bone-picking about numbers aside, all have predicted overall gains in software sales (as well as the continued dominance of the Wii in the realm of console sales).

Why are game sales not evidently affected by the economic crisis which has resulted in record losses for EA, and others? For all intents and purposes we are in a full-fledged recession and possibly, a Depression. And here we are. We game, we shop, we read Gamespot. Elsewhere, President Obama scrambles to finalize an appropriate 'stimulus' plan. The words 'bailout' and 'layoff' are googled a zillion times a day. Starbucks and Subway roll out downturn-friendly 4 dollar combos. And within the industry, EA, THQ, Microsoft and Sega makes rounds of layoffs. So how is it that Joe Public, whose friends are getting laid off, and whose investments and home equity have taken a hit, is still shelling out at EB Games, at record levels, no less? It doesn't add up to me.

I don't have a good answer to this one. The point of this post, I think, is to stimulate some discussion... Do people, falling upon harder times, spend more money (and time) gaming? And, if this is the case, why the reported losses and cuts all over the industry? Did the developers set unreasonably high Q4 targets? Are game sales recession proof or aren't they?

I just started playing Okami for the Wii.. having missed the PS2 version (in '06 I was at the tail end of a hiatus from gaming; I'd sold my Gamecube, and taken a few years off to drink. Then, I bought a Wii) I have no preconceived ideas and am experiencing the game raw: as a gamer, trying out a game which I've heard is good. So far (total gameplay: 3 hours) I'm enjoying it a lot, and I'm noticing a lot of similiarities to games in the Zeldasphere (a good thing) and I'm really impressed with the art direction... Okami is like one big, flowing watercolor painting.

Accomplishment wise, I've traced out constellations in the sky and summoned gods, dug up turnips while avoiding smacks from an angry old lady (I'm a dog, btw), I've lifted curses, fed guinea pigs, stockpiled cabbage, and broken pottery with my head. Yes, this game is cartoony and quirky, and very Japanese. If you don't like that, don't buy it. But you'll be missing out, because if you ask me, it's one of the more breathtaking games around.

No More Heroes has more than a couple of rough corners. There are lag issues (we're talking flicker, dropouts, and Sega Genesis-like slowdowns when the screen fills with enemies). The overworld is a tedious combination of big, and empty. Cheesy dialogue cinematics between the game's protagonist, Travis Touchdown, and Santa Destroy's finest assassins are far too frequent and, given a world rife with long and cheesy cinematics, many 'hilarious one-liner' possibilities were squandered. Not enough thought and planning went into the game's money earning/weapons collecting system. The music is too limited. There are plot holes and implausibilities (Now, why would an Assassin's Association want the country's top assassins to murder each other, instead of working together?? WHY, Travis??) and, to my chagrin, you can't redeem in-game collectible trading cards for anything useful.

But in spite of these shortcomings (and perhaps in part because of them) No More Heroes is terrific, totally worth the money, and probably the best Wii game of 2008. It has so much ****and cool it's just ridiculous. With an art house feel and a foreign action flick vibe through and through, it's quirky and unapologetic and, like a Tarantino movie or Bohachi Busido: Code of the Forgotten Eight, it's at times perfectly content to just get up in your face and insist that you marvel at it. This includes those pointless trading cards—they're just kind of there. But it works.

Suda51, the game's creator, allegedly cites the cultish Mexican film "El Topo" as one of the inspirations for No More Heroes, and I can't help finding it derivative of Kill Bill, as well. The fact the game is a little messy and chaotic enhances its effect. The ridiculously over-the-top blood spew, the toilet jokes and the boob shots have artistic merit. The game just works. Really well. No More Heroes is loud, grusome, funny, unique, and plain satisfying to play through.

And perhaps best of all, it's full of homage to us! Gamers from the golden age. The tributes to 80s gaming are everywhere—in the navigation, in the mini games, in little flourishes of sound and sight.

Still with me? No? That's ok. See for yourself. It's probably one of those ones you just have to experience.