I'm sad people. I'm sad because I bought a wii expecting exactly what I had seen from it - motion control, decent graphics, old games, and a lot of fun - but yet half of everybody else who bought the wii seems to have expected it to support titles that were created specifically for other consoles. That would be all well if there wasn't one convenient truth for us to realize...the wii was not made to compete graphically with any other next-gen platform. These other guys were built specifically to advance visual output this generation. PCs are custom built just for the visual edge that can be gained from a state-of-the-art system. The wii, while comparable in terms of fun and overall experience, was not made to compete in the looks department with the top-tier games of these other platforms. It's even noticeable on the multi-platform games, so why would we expect a version of other systems' exclusives to show up on wii?

Now before you start whining, complaining, and backlashing, let me make a few things clear. I am not saying that the wii can't be visually pleasing. It can provide visuals that are nice, even impressive in some cases. The sharp look of the wii's stylized graphics in 480p is something that I enjoy, and while I haven't seen it yet, I can't wait to give Mario Galaxy a spin on my HDTV because I know it's going to look awesome. However, there's a reason that Nintendo can profit off of a console that's priced at $250. Lot's of accessories, yes, but it's also because its processor, while fully capable, is not pushing the envelope like the other platforms' are. It takes a concentrated amount of time and effort for the developers making wii games to pull of an impressive visual display. And as we've seen from the overhaul of junk released on the system in its first year (Jenga anyone?), that's not something a lot of people are willing to do.

Perhaps the most important thing to note is that while you feel you're missing out on some epic games as a wii owner (and you probably are if you're just a wii owner), you're in on some of the most monumental games as well. Platforming isn't the main genre anymore, so they often get overlooked by other companies. But Nintendo just released Mario Galaxy, a game that will go down in history as one of, if not the best, platformer of all time. You've got Metroid Prime 3 and Medal Of Honor: Heroes 2 that not only show quality graphics on the wii, but change the face of FPS altogether. The way I see it, wii owners who enjoy FPS probably won't be able to go back to just a controller ever again. You've got the amazing possibilites with sports games that can be, if utilized correctly during this generation, a revolution in sports games until VR comes out. And while there are more party games than needed, a good one will have you and a couple of friends looking forward to playing wii every time you're together. You can virtually be a surgeon in Trauma Center, literally hack n slash your way through a game, drive through racing games with no extra peripherals, and even wield a light saber and yet we're complaining?

What you don't see, however, is PC/360/PS3 owners posting threads titled "Mario Galaxy for 360, IT'S POSSIBLE!" or "They should let the sixaxis be a gun that you can point at the screen." Why? Because they knew what they were getting when they chose their platform. They bought into their next-gen choice for what it offered them and decided that they were happy with those offerings. It's about time for us wii owners to do the same. Forget about high-end graphics and blood & guts titles. Forget about loads of FPS that feature online play that is expansive and intuitive. Your system doesn't have them. Your system is fun, inventive, innovative and cheap. Your system gives you access to exclusive titles from gaming history that you will never find on any other platform. If you want your system to do what other system's do, you might want to buy another system. Nobody ever said that you had to own only one console.

Then again, I'll have to check my wii handbook. There might have been something in there about owing allegiance to 'Mighty N'

Alright people, here we go. The tournament will officially start today ( Tuesday 12/18 ). black_ice was the only person who didn't post his friend code, but we'll assume he still wants to be in. If he doesn't report to the blog or contact his opponent in a week, he'll be replaced by a sub (bak knows somebody who wants in, I believe). Remember to check my last blog to get everybody's friend code and be sure to add everybody, not just your first round opponent. I'll PM everybody to tell them their first round opponent so you can start scheduling your matches. Remember that all the rules are in my last blog. The seeding is as follows:

And the winner is...

Me. Santos wins an NES VC title as promised and I guess I should buy myself a game I've been wanting. I should be starting another tournament before the month is over, so keep an eye on your inboxes.

Alright people, the time has come. I know you've all forgotten about poor old Mario Strikers because you've got newer games like Battallion Wars 2 and Mario Galaxy, but I'm reviving the love of strikers with a tournament; partly because I'm too broke to buy anymore games and partly because I've got a really good idea for a first and second place prizes.

The tournament will consist of 8 players that will be matched up randomly. We've got approximately 5 entrants right now including me, bak1234..., duckman, santos, and black_ice23. musicman and 1 other person have failed to respond to invitations yet. Once all 8 are official, I'll match everybody up by drawing. From there, win three series and you'll claim the first place prize:

(drum roll)

A VC GAME OF YOUR CHOICE VIA THE GIFT SERVICE ON THE WII SHOP CHANNEL!!! You can choose any game you like, so the maximumcash valueof winning the tournament is $12 (Sin & Punishment, 1200 wii points). The second place prize will be any NES VC game priced at 500 wii points ($5). In order to send and receive VC games via the gift feature of the wii shop channel, the sender and receiver must be registered in each other's console address book. In order to verify your slot in the tournament, you will need to PM me your wii friend code. If we're already friends and your name is listed above, don't worry about it. Once I'm in your address book, come to this blog and post your Strikers friend code and your 1st and 2nd choice for character. Again, once all 8 players have accepted a slot, seeding will take place and first round opponents will be announced.

RULES:

This should be all about fun...and fairness. One reason I'd like the tournament to stay small is because the 5-6 people I know that want to be in it are honest people. I don't want people lying for the sake of a free VC game. That's always a risk when you make the prize worthwhile, but hopefully it'll just make the tournament that much more of a priority. Once everybody is paired up for the first round, it's your job to add everybody's friend code and PM your opponent to set up a time and date to play. As I learned when trying to schedule matches for bak's tourney, it works much better to set particulars instead of general times ("tuesday at 7PM EST" instead of "anytime between 4 and 8"). Come to this blog or bak's blog to post scheduled matches and match results. NO LYING PLEASE! Above all else, it's just a game, so we should just be enjoying some really good competition.

1st round series will be a best of 5 series with 3 min games. 2nd and final rounds will be best of 7 (Don't want there to be any question of who was better). No cheats enabled. CPU level can be set at whatever you're comfortable with. ARENAS ARE RESTRICTED TO THOSE WITHOUT ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS. This means no Thunder Island, Lava Pit, Wasteland, Sand...box...thing, Crystal Canyon, Dump, or Stormship. Neutral stages are preferred, i.e. Classroom, Konga Colliseum, Galactic Stadium, etc. It's your job to make sure that the match specs are in order. Whoever is first to challenge will have the settings chosen, so if you don't want the CPU level to be at All-Star, reject their settings and challenge them with the proper settings, stage, etc.

Regarding extenuating circumstances - Network Disconnects, Controller malfunctions, missed matches ------>

It should be pretty apparent if the network is just acting up. If it's dead even at 4-4 with 20 secs left and somebody loses a connection, it's obvious it wasn't intentional. If that's the case, the disconnected match is thrown out and however many matches remaining will be played out. Whatever matches had already been played will still be in effect. For example, if Bak and I are playing a best of 5 series, we both win 1 match apiece, and during the third game my connection goes haywire, the third game doesn't count. We're still tied 1-1 and we would have to schedule a best of 3 series to finish out the remainder of our games. Get it? Though it shouldn't really have to be stated, intentional disconnects will result in IMMEDIATE DISQUALIFICATION. It's tricky, because a Network disconnect could occur while one person is getting murdered. In such a case, the person who was winning will just have to make a judgement call on whether or not they felt it was intentional (i.e. if the disconnect occured in the final seconds after the leading player had just gone up by an insurmountable lead).

Controller malfunctions have plagued me for the last two months or so, but they seemed to have evened out. If you see a player stop for a prolonged amount of time (not guarding you, not moving when they've got the ball, no hands show up when they're defending mega strike) be courteous and try not to murder them. If you feel like waiting for them to start moving again and then continuing your match, that's fine. But if it's a persisting problem and the match can't be played fairly, either party has the right to terminate the connection, BUT BOTH PARTIES MUST NOTE ON THE BLOG IN AGREEANCE THAT THE MATCH WAS TERMINATED DUE TO CONTROLLER ISSUES. One person can't be getting murdered, take the batteries out of their controller, and turn off their console. This qualifies as an intentional disconnect. Likewise with serious lag issues. If the game is unplayable, then either party has the right to terminate the connection, BUT BOTH PARTIES MUST NOTE ON THE BLOG IN AGREEANCE THAT THE MATCH WAS TERMINATED DUE TO LAG. To combat laggy matches, try to make sure that the connection quality is of at least 3 stars before beginning. If the initial connection quality is low, you would do well to reschedule your match.

When matches are missed, there is no penalty. Make sure to report to the blog to reschedule the match ASAP. If one party doesn't correspond with their opponent or with the blog for a week after the first scheduled match, they are automatically disqualified. If someone doesn't accept the scheduled match invitation for whatever reason, no penalty is imposed as long as its reported on the blog and immediately rescheduled.

Wow...that's alot of rules for a video game tournament. I think it's best though to make sure everything's fair and timely...whoever is gonna win the tournament isn't going to want to wait three months to win a VC game. I'm trying to have this first one wrapped up by the new year. Let's get it going people. Hopefully the first round can begin this Saturday, December 15.

Well, the time has come for me to make a very important decision in my gaming future: whether or not the PS3 is worth my $500. I'll soon be out of school and working (not to be confused with graduating and working), giving me the definite time and money to enjoy the PS3. The 360 was never a legitimate option for me since I really don't enjoy FPS or realistic sports sims. It took a very brief trial of Madden 08 for the wii and a less than impressive run of Halo 3 for me to realize that these genres just have no draw for me. PS3 was, of course, my definite choice since it will offer the greatest number of action/adventure games (DMC4, GoW3, Assassin's Creed, R&C, other action/adventure games I'm sure) and RPGs. PS has always done a good job of securing the best RPGs, and even though I don't expect the run of games to be as exclusive this time around, I do expect PS3 to still get a hefty selection of Square-Enix's best and some other random Grade-A games. Combine that with the step up in media proficiency that the PS3 provides - some sort of PS2 playback, DVD player, Blu-ray player - and I've got the only anything-player that I'll need for at least 6-7 years (I hope).

However, I'm still left at an impass for one main reason:

The PS3 still may not be worth the asking price.

My gripe with the PS3 (as has been noted in my first blog) is that the price isn't worth what you're getting. It's not that I don't want a high-definition movie player, because I do. I just didn't want that to drive the price of a gaming machine to $600. The question is, what is a gaming machine and a next-gen media player worth? Given that I still have 10-15 PS2 games that I'd like to play for the first time, backward compatibility is a big deal for me, so that only leaves me with the 80GB unit. I've checked all the PS2 games I want for compatibility issues and they're only minor. That's not as comforting as a console with full backwards-compatibility, but I'll have to take what I can get since I can't be guaranteed that such a console will ever exist again.

Blu ray is actually a bonus since my moderate-severe techie nature warrants that I have the best and most recent technology simply for my own satisfaction (yes, a TV of at least 40" and 1080p resolution is on my list of priorities). But I'm not looking to get every movie I buy on blu ray. Let's face it, Spiderman 3 has more draw at 1080p than The Shawshank Redemption does. And since movies released before 2007 weren't filmed in high-def, I wouldn't be taking full advantage of the next gen until I start buying current and future action/adventure movies. That aspect is moreso an investment in the future, and I'm fine with that. The PS3 has a DVD player which serves my current collection of movies and my future collection of movies that don't make sense to own in HD (comedies, dramas, TV shows, pretty much anything without murders or explosions) until HD becomes the only option for home movie viewing. The upscaling isn't bad either. And consideringwhat a blu ray player, a PS2, and an upscaling DVD player combine for, this doesn't seem like such a bad deal.

Games aren't the biggest selling point for the PS3, but that's definitely not a problem for me. The games that are good on the console - Drake's fortune, Assassin's Creed, Heavenly Sword, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, R&C - are all of the kind I like: short to semi-short & sweet action adventure games. The RPGs haven't been rolling in, but I'm not worried. I'm sure SquareEnix will have the titles coming in eventually. Plus, my wii is still my mainstay as far as gaming goes, so I'll probably be bolstering my wii collection before I even make the decision to buy a PS3. There are a few games that will undoubtedly take up quite a bit of my time like BWii or MLB Power Pros. Unlike other gamers, I don't buy consoles only for platformers or action/adventure titles that will render my purchase worthless after I rush through the game at a junkie's pace. I like to spread it out. Some LoZ:OoT here, some Mario Strikers online there, a little Paper Mario here, some competitive Wii Sports there...you get the idea. That way I don't tire of any one game and every game stays fresh. This will especially be the case once I get my PS2 RPG collection up to par. So a lack of games on the PS3 won't really bother me. I'll carefully spend the money on a used PS3 title here and there and play it at my leisure. I'll probably end up buying another game before I finish the first one I buy. So gaming selection isn't a minus for me...it's actually somewhat of a plus. I don't need more decisions to make when buying games.

Another selling point (as far as Sony's concerned) would probably be the online evironment (HOME) or the PSN. This is more of a miss with me because the games I like for the console aren't for multiple players. That's what I've got my wii for. Plus, I've got enough of a life that I'm not looking to supplement it with a virtual life. GS is enough for me thank you. Plus, I just don't want to buy into the online media marketplace that Sony and Microsoft are trying to bait you into. First you're playing games online, then this is the only place you go to buy music or movies. They just want to get deeper into your pockets. Online gaming is just the gateway drug. Not to say that I wouldn't download some original gaming content off of PSN, but I definitely won't be one to download demos, movie clips, or albums. And extra downloadable content for a game? I'm paying more money to play a game that I've already got? I've got the game! Call me old fashioned, but an extra outfit, selectable car, or selectable stage doesn't do much for me. I'd rather beat a game fair and square...no matter what my character is wearing.

So I guess my decision comes down to this:

• A formidable media unit whose tech options will keep me satisfied for years to come +
• Backwards selection is top-notch; Limited selection of quality games, but it's not my only gaming option +
• Big time gaming potential that is sure to be realized in the coming year(s) +
• 5 free Blu ray movies...pretty much a free $100 +
• Too much hoo-ha overPSN and HOME -
• Small PS3 game cases don't fit into by DVD rack - (just kidding...kinda)
• Price: $500 -
• Price: $500 -

Whadya think?

EDIT: I've found one ebay seller that's a company selling used 60GB PS3s for $400 ($435 with shipping). This may be a better deal since some of the other PS2 titles I've added to my wishlist are not compatible with the 80GB emulation, or are ruined by it. I don't get 5 or 10 Blu Ray movies, but I get a system that I know will keep me playing long before I get a PS3 game.

Alright just got strikers yesterday and put in about 5 good hours on it. It's ridiculously fun against a friend and the single player ain't nothing to spit at either. I'm extremely pleased with my purchase, especially since this will be the last purchase I make for a while. I'm still getting the hang of the strategy involved in the sidekicks and power-ups, but a few more days of practice should get me online battling the entire lot of you!

EDIT: Alright, I've been playing for about six weeks now and my overall record is 402-201, an exact 2/1 ratio or 66% win percentage. I'd like to think I've actually fared a little better, though, seeing as how the inital weeks of a faulty Nintendo Wi-Fi system gave me at least 30 disconnects for error code 98020 or whatever it was. Couple that with the countless number of times I was murdering some poor fool so badly that he disconnected, and I'd like to think I'd have something like a 71% win percentage.

It's apparent, though, that the days of 50-10 seasons are behind me since the competition has stiffened up quite a bit over the last couple of weeks. I guess all the people who sucked have pretty much written the game off as bad or just about luck (it's funny how people make excuses for sucking). These days, you're mostly gonna find real players online. Everyone pretty much knows how to utilize the lob pass, everyone has their captain's sweet spot memorized, and everyone knows how to use thier captain's special to their full advantage. There have even been a couple of new techniques that seem to get passed around once people start using them.

(1) The hard shot from one character followed by the lob shot off of the rebound, only to have kritter crawl helplessly back toward the goal too late to stop the ball.

(2) The steadfast defense of your opponents characters while they pass the ball in so you can get a freebie shot while kritter is helpless.

(3) The intercepting of a lob pass with your own lob pass to your captain in the backfield which almost always results in a goal.

Learning the game has been fun. And with most of the tricks of the trade being common knowledge, it makes the online play all the more satisfying. You may still catch a newbie online who doesn't know how to lob pass or only knows how to do skillshots. Similarly, you may find the poor bastard who's only strategy is hammer bros deking down the field for a goal or diddy kong/toad jumping for his scores. But for the most part, the players are seasoned vets, so you get more of a sense of how good you are versus the rest of the world (region).

My only gripes with the game now that I've had it for a while are the following:

(1) Donkey Kong, Wario, Bowser, and Bowser Jr'sshots are all ridiculous. The probability of them making shots is unrealisticly high, especially when it's their possesion right after a goal. Just shoot after about 1/2 second of charging...ridiculous

(2) The random field selection is understandable, but terribly annoying. Playing in the crystal canyon is a joke, since 2 players can't possibly allow for the strategy allowed for with 4. It's more like a crapshoot than an actual game. The wasteland, for me, has got to be public enemy #2 since the surface keeps you from getting the ball. What's the point of having team speed when you're gonna be first to the loose balls but you slide right past them? The stage completely negates a very important aspect of the game: speed. Speed may have been the key to keeping the ball away from a shot-heavy team, so without it, the playing field seems very uneven. The mud and sand stages run a close 3rd and 4th, but you get the idea.

(3) It seems like certain cheap tactics have been accepted, and for the most part I don't mind; it makes the victories all the more satisfying. One cheap ass trick that I am still very upset about is camping. 3 times I've played people who didn't want to give up a 1 goal lead with over 30 seconds left, so they continuously gave the ball back to Kritter. This is unexcusable and should be punishable by death. It's like not throwing the ball in bounds in basketball so the other team can't score any points. I don't think there's any way to police it, but there should be a way to comment on these players so everybody can know that they do this. (Online features and capabilities by console...the topic of another blog)

I guess that's all my ranting for now. I'll be a regular on strikers, so if you want a good, FAIR game, feel free to add my FC and shoot me yours so I can do the same. I'll be looking forward to another wii game in the next month or so. It's definitely gonna be either MLB Power Pros or Battalion Wars 2. 'Til then...

Wii FC: 5180-8740-0689-6314

Mario Strikers Charged FC: 339409-098987

Console and Mii nickname: B Wil

So the wii is over hyped, huh? It's just a gimmick with no future, huh?

While the skeptical nature of inquiry into the wii's longevity is definitely justified, it's baffling that so many people can be so ridiculously biased in their critique of a gaming system. The dawning of the next-gen era has brought nothing but children and idiots to message boards to say "Mine is better than yours!" And that must make me glue...

The unshakable fact in all the debate is that a plus or minus for a gaming system isn't necessarily an objective judgement. Since the Xbox hit the scene early this decade, FPS and what I consider to be a PC gaming-influenced atmosphere has become the mainstay. And in turn, what determines your "level of gaming" is how into this atmosphere you can get. No, I don't like FPS. No, I don't care for WWII games. No, I don't care if the system has an online community. Online play is a plus, but not with a great deal of communication. I don't care if the graphics are next-gen or if the visuals are cutting edge. In October 2005, PS2 and Xbox were as good as it got. The Xbox 360 drops and has a horrendous start but doesn't catch the flack for it since there's nothing else to compare it to. I guess the games that were fun in October '05 weren't fun in December '05 since there was something better looking out. I guess since Toyota dropped a new model Camry I should go out and buy that. Why? My camry drives fine. The dashboard is cracked, it's got a V4 engine, and the upholstery gives off that unique smell after a couple of years (camry owners know what I'm talking about) but it still gets me from point A to B safely, which is why I bought it in the first place. I didn't buy a gaming system just to say I had the newest one, I bought it to have fun. So when did the standard for fun become defined by cutting edge technology?

Certainly, the many advancements in gaming over the years help contribute to the depth and intensity present in games today. But why is the Virtual Console so wildly poplular? Nostalgia, yes, but also because fun started in 8-bits and worked its way up. While its obvious that the PS3 and Xbox 360 are far superior to the Wii in visuals, both potentially and realised, that does not equate to either of the systems being worth more than the Wii in terms of fun.

Yea, we've all heard the selling points before...360 has great games (and a year head start) and XBL, PS3 has better peripherals and greater overall value (the value of which will be worth less over the years) and will soon have the Home community, and the wii has motion control. Great. But if the "great" games that line the 360's catalog are primarily FPS and crime/war games, I could care less. Xbox live sounds great, but why am I paying money to play games? I already own this game, right? The person I'm playing already owns it too, right? Am I paying for you to connect us? Well then it's not worth it to me. PS3 sounds great, and since I know it will have some unbelievable games, I will buy it...as soon as it drops to under $450. Why would I buy a $600 system that comes with no games, and every game that is available for it, assuming that it is actually fun, costs $60 ($65 with tax)? Are you serious? Don't you know you can buy up to 13 VC games for that? Do people not know that prices will drop? Doesn't anybody know that in two years time, the PS3 will be selling for under $450 and will have an amazing catalog of games? And yes the wii is fun, and that's pretty much it. Motion control is honestly not a plus. While it makes some games more engaging, it destroys the experience of others. The visuals are slightly better than PS2 games sometimes, and very last-gen others.

The wii is fun. That's it. The motion control is not what's selling the system. The fact that the motion control makes some games easier and a lot more fun is what's selling the system. If motion control was terrible and awkward for every game, it wouldn't be nearly as big a deal. But there's something about holding the remote like a bat and seeing your avatar wave his in sync while waiting for a pitch. Can you imagine Wii Sports as a PS3 demo? The reaction would be WTF, although that would be more than you get with the system right now.

Microsoft and Sony both did what everybody expected them to do. They built bigger, better, stronger systems that give us cooler, sleeker, prettier games and leave us with slimmer, sadder pockets. Unfortunately, that doesn't guarantee us, the consumers, more fun games. And while they butt heads for the next 5-7 years, having alienated their gaming audience with each technological advancement and peripheral attachment, Nintendo will be reaping the seed sewn into a newly tapped market of non-gamers who just wanted to have fun. An audience that didn't care if you had an option of stabbing, choking, smothering, or breaking the neck of a soldier, who have enough going on in their lives that they don't need a gaming system to be a way of life, who don't have the money to keep up with every changing trend in technology, and who don't need a reason to see something, like it, buy it, and enjoy it.

So please, can we get the fanboys outta here? I don't have to be sold on next-gen graphics when there have been more worthwhile 8, 16, and 64-bit games released for the wii than movie-like games for 360 or PS3. I don't have to upgrade when there's a whole slew of incredble games for the PS2 that I haven't played yet. And I don't have satisfy anyone else's reasonings to spend my money and have fun.

Finis

P.S. -- RandyAU93 addressed the VC issue best:

..the Virtual Console games are marketed under the assumption that the players did *not* already own those titles. If you think about it, the $5, $6, $8 or $10 you're paying is a pittance when compared with (a) acquiring a used NES, TG-16, SNES, Genesis or N64 (b) acquiring a used copy of the game in question and (c) claiming still more entertainment cabinet space for your new purchase for a single game (or batch thereof).

I've said it before, and I'll say it again ... if you don't like what's being sold to you, DON'T BUY IT. The easiest way to voice your displeasure with a company's business practices is to simply not buy their products or services. Personally, I think Nintendo hit a chord with consumers with both the DS and the Wii ... that you don't have to be a raving fanboy to enjoy video games.