I am a person who believes that graphics don't make a game great; that it's the gameplay that truly makes a game stand out. Okami, Jet Set Radio, and Viewtiful Joe, for example, all have distinct visual styles that aren't graphicaly superior to other games in conventional terms. For this reason, I had embraced the Wii, and was very excited about it's possibilities.

However, what I think does matter in a next gen system, is said system's power. The system's power, especially in the past few months, has led to the creation of game engines that depict a realistic world. Source's physics are incredible, and Source is home to Garry's Mod, one of the most fun sandbox tools I've ever played. I can entertain myself for hours with this mod. UE3's texture work and lighting are astounding, and CryEngine 2 is the most impressive visual feat I've ever seen. These engines create game worlds where it is possible to emulate reality physically and visually. But the catch is...they require power to run correctly.

After seeing, (and playing) the first batch of Wii titles, I am extremely dissapointed. When the 360 came out, I was astounded by Condemned's atmosphere, Call of Duty's intensity, and PGR3's attention to detail and simulation. These games reduced the gap between fake and real.

The Wiimote, for me, does not do this. I love the idea, however the game worlds that I am "in" are laughable, at best. I began to wonder, why, oh why, in 2006, a next-gen console would do this. I feel that the Wii is a regression in terms of gameplay. The Wii does not allow for new gameplay innovation, it allows for old games to be played in a new way.

Before you say, "But, these are launch titles, just wait until developers unlock the power of the system" I will make some comparison. These data are taken from an article written in March of '06, and because Nintendo has not released final specs, this is all we have. Original article found here.

"Revolution's ATI-provided "Hollywood" GPU clocks in at 243MHz. By
comparison, GameCube's GPU ran at 162MHz, while the GPU on the original
Xbox was clocked at 233MHz. Sources we spoke with suggest that it is
unlikely the GPU will feature any added shaders, as has been speculated."

An incremental GPU upgrade from the original Xbox. The lack of added shaders, however, is the kicker. We can expect Wii titles to look slightly better than the Xbox, however the Xbox had the shaders, making stunning games like Chronicles of Riddick, Halo 2, and Far Cry looks fantastic.

"IBM's "Broadway" CPU is clocked at 729MHz, according to updated
Nintendo documentation. By comparison, GameCube's Gekko CPU ran at
485MHz. The original Xbox's CPU, admittedly a different architecture
altogether, was clocked at 733MHz."

This is my biggest dissapointment. While it's important to note that the difference in CPU architecture will most likely allow for better performance, I am underwhelmed by this number. Expect little AI advancements with the Wii, and physics require a good amount of CPU power.

"Revolution will operate using 24MBs of "main" 1T-SRAM. It will
additionally boast 64MBs of "external" 1T-SRAM. That brings the total
number of system RAM up to 88MBs, not including the 3MB texture buffer
on the GPU. By comparison, GameCube featured 40MBs of RAM not counting
the GPU's on-board 3MBs. The original Xbox included 64MBs total RAM."

Virtual Memory is extremely important. It allows for Physics, AI, and graphical processes to be run, and the Wii is staggeringly lacking in this department.

Basically, what I'm saying is, the Wii does not seem like it has the tools and the ability to advance gameplay in the direction of creating more realistic worlds, and isn't that the goal of a video game? What made Half-life 2 so great for me was how physics played such and important role in gameplay, when it came to solving puzzles or defeating enemies. I believe that the Wii will be a fun system, but I think it could have been so much more. As I see it, the Wii will allow me to play in the same worlds I was playing on the Xbox, but now with a motion sensing controller, but will it last 5 years? In the next 5 years, Crysis will nearly destroy the barrier between fake and real, and then who knows after that.

Hopefully some developers will prove me wrong, but I stand by my conviction. The Wii does not propel gameplay and gaming forward, it simply sidesteps and takes it into a different, extremely limited direction.