What's up with the Wii?

I have a 360 and a Wii (and PC) and I'm really happy I have both. To me they serve different functions. They each have their own vibe and unique stuff that I can't come close to doing on the other.

Video games have really taken a split in two generally different directions and I'm ok with it since I haven't had to choose between one or the other. From a money standpoint it would be nice to have only one platform, but in the grand cost tallying of gaming entertainment, another couple hundred bucks isn't the end of the world.

I agree though that Nintendo for the last few consoles has really just been a showcase for mind blowing first party titles while either PS or now 360 has been the place to go for most non-Nintendo stuff.

I'm hopeful for Red Steel 2, but fuck, the first one was utter trash that only sold any copies because it was a launch title.

MattLoter wrote:

I have a 360 and a Wii (and PC) and I'm really happy I have both. To me they serve different functions. They each have their own vibe and unique stuff that I can't come close to doing on the other.

There's no doubt about that, which is why I wish I had both. Wii is great for playing with the wife, and the sisters-in-law and their husbands and friends and we all have a good time playing WarioWare, Boom Blox, Mario Party 8 and whatnot. But when it comes to games I'm interested playing solo, it doesn't deliver much.

My wife really got excited by the 360 two weeks ago when we visited my brother and we bought Lips (a karaoke game) for my sister-in-law as an early birthday present. I gotta say, it was the funnest karaoke game I've ever played. We had a blast. Then we played Scene-It and watched a movie via the Netflix service.

What do you guys think of Microsoft's Project Natal and Sony's motion controller thing announced yesterday and today, respectively? What place does that leave Nintendo, if Microsoft and Sony manage to pull it off (I mean besides a health care product manufacturer)?

See, I went with Wii specifically because I wanted Nintendo titles. I don't really give a flying fuck about ASSASSIN'S CREED 2, BOOBANETTA, SABOTEUR, METAL GEAR CUTSCENE 5, or any of that stuff any more. Thinking back, all of that kind of stuff is an extension of things that I got really, really burned out on with Xbox.

The _only_ non-mulitplat game I've played in this generation that made me really wish I went with another system was LITTLE BIG PLANET. And it looks like NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. WII may redress that.

But all that being said, it's disappointing to not see more support from Nintendo. At this point, I only own two third-party games (RE4 and WILLIAMS PINBALL), everything else I have is Nintendo titles.

I'm just annoyed by Nintendo not following up on any stuff they (kind of) showed last year. They said they were working on Pikmin 3, the Zelda team was working on stuff, Sin & Punishment 2, etc. Wii Fit plus was new, but we saw Wii Sports Resort last year. Then at the end they were like "Hey, here's three great third-party games coming - Conduit, Dead Space: Extraction, and RE: Darkside Chronicles." Yeah, we've been hearing about those for months.

Meanwhile at MS and Sony's keynotes it was like "Oh, here's 500 games coming to our systems."

Well, I do believe the Tokyo Game Conference is coming up this summer. Nintendo has often waited to reveal stuff until that show, so we may yet get some news.

Well, there's still several third-party press events, too. We'll see what Square-Enix, Capcom, Sega, and others have in store.

What place does that leave Nintendo, if Microsoft and Sony manage to pull it off (I mean besides a health care product manufacturer)?

Huh...I wonder if you could buy the Vitality Monitor and claim it on your insurance?

Thinking about it objectively, it's actually a brilliant idea at a very base level. They're trying to put the console in the center of the lives of people for whom video games are not a central focus. It's a lifestyle tool more than a gaming peripheral, and it extends the concept that Wii is a "healthy" system. It further removes gaming from the fat, scumbag teenager on the couch stereotype.

However, it's a novelty. I'm sure there's little or no clinical utility for it and what's more it's something that's of practically zero interest to video game hobbyists. I could see it being used in interesting ways like, say, an ETERNAL DARKNESS sequel but knowing Nintendo, that'll never happen and they'll squander whatever potential it has. Maybe it'll tell you how much your heart rate increses while you're waggling.

It's doomed from the start, I don't think that the casual crowd will even want it. Definitely this year's WII MUSIC.

Hey, didn't Steve bring up EXCITEBOTS a while back? I played it with Branham last week...I thought it sucked. It's pretty much EXCITETRUCK with added waggle bullshit and stupid "minigames" (read: waggle opportunities). When my bat-bot picked up a tamborine, I was pretty much done with it.

I've been thinking about picking up a used copy of MADWORLD, anybody played it?

Hey, didn't Steve bring up EXCITEBOTS a while back? I played it with Branham last week...I thought it sucked. It's pretty much EXCITETRUCK with added waggle bullshit and stupid "minigames" (read: waggle opportunities). When my bat-bot picked up a tamborine, I was pretty much done with it.

A robotic praying mantis playing a tambourine!

It doesn't get any better!

IGN gives Excitebots 8.4, I would go 8.5

Current top game until Ghostbusters comes out! I have great hopes for great "waggle" with the proton packs!

Michael Barnes wrote:

I've been thinking about picking up a used copy of MADWORLD, anybody played it?

No, but you can get it at Best Buy online today for $20.

MadWorld is great for 30 minute spurts of ultra-violence. I don't think I'd stay interested in it if I played it for a long time, but picking it up every few days to complete a level has been very entertaining. There's something innately satisfying about impaling a guy through the head with a road sign and shoving him into a burning trash can.


Re: motion control - both 360's and PS3's motion control systems look interesting, but unless they are packaged with an absolutely killer game they won't ever take-off. They will only penetrate a fraction of their systems' respective markets, so any developer will assume that games made for the motion control systems will only be purchased by a fraction of that fraction. Not a high incentive - though it DOES mean that Microsoft and Sony can start leeching off of games currently made for the Wii that could potentially be ported over on the cheap.

-MMM

I'm finding that most games hold my attention for about 30 minutes anymore. Which is OK, since I'm not really down for all-day-long video gaming any more. Some strategy games that have a lot of play depth, like DISGAEA DS, I can go longer on and sometimes terrifying longer at that. But most action games get kind of dull to me after half an hour.

Although I think I played MIGHTY FLIP CHAMPS for about three hours last night.