Anyone else flippity flopping on Wii?

[iNoV]

I think wii will be a very interesting machine to watch over the next couple of years. Despite all the negatives and potential, like every other console it's going to come down to publisher and developer support.

But the alarming thing i'm seeing is that for the most part publishers and developers have potentialy missed the boat. I mean i can understand how they can be turned off by the hardware but from a business perspective how can you not take a chance on the wii?? The lower costs should really have been all that it took for them to give it a closer look.

But it seems a lot have passed on the console and those that are taking a chance for the most part seem to be treating it as they did the gamecube. PS2 ports, yet they still fail to realize that the nintendo fanbase for whatever reason seem to steer clear of sloppy ports, yet this is what appears to be being delivered for an initial userbase that is going to be made of the same type of gamers.

The impression i get from Wii and nintendo is that this time round nintendo better understands the market they are aiming for (and it does include hardcore gamers despite what people seem to think) and has done what they feel they need to to appeal to those markets from a hardware and first party software perspective. Where the real weakness of the console lies is that apparently publishers still don't understand nintendo's loyal userbase, and if the wii does take off most of them will arrive too late to truly benefit from it.

I mean maybe i need to look harder but beyond the launch period im not really seeing a lot of appealing games outside of nintendo's line up.

Maybe im being a little too general bu tthats how im seeing things, as to my opinion on the machine.
Im hoping ill have the money to pick one up with a couple games over the christmas period.

 

[fearsomepirate]

I am getting progressively more and more disinterested in console gaming. I feel like I have a huge backlog of current-gen games that I want to play that will be a fraction of the cost of new games, and that once I've played these games, the next-gen games will seem pretty dull. If there's anything that bores me to tears, it's franchise updates and "me-too" games. Like, I'm glad Saints' Row has better graphics, but I can play GTA:SA on a PS2 for a lot less, and I wasn't interested in that game to begin with. As far as I'm concerned, most genres and game styles got pretty played out this gen. There are a few that could be done a lot better. Star Wars: Battlefront was an awesome concept (but there was a similar WWII game on PC a while back that also sucked), but nearly unplayable just due to framerate and control. We still don't see too many dogfighting flyers a la Rogue Squadron, Ace Combat, Crimson Skies. Battalion Wars was a great first entry, but that kind of game clearly can be matured quite a bit (suppose it can be classified with Kingdom Under Fire?). The sequel is the only Wii game I'm really excited about. The Wii previews have me worried; it sounds like programming for this controller is a lot tougher than Nintendo had bargained for. I think after I play Splinter Cell 4, I'll be sick of the series. And finally, as good as Nintendo games are, does anyone else remember those olden-time days when you were actually worried about dying in a Nintendo game? I guess if owning the game doesn't automatically guarantee you'll win, no one will buy it. And no, it's not just my perception as I get older. I tried to play Mega Man the other day, and it's still flippin' hard.

So I'm disinterested. The DS is far more interesting to me right now. I recently picked up Advance Wars again, and it's great. There are a lot of other games I'd like to play, too.

 

[skilzygw]

I am getting progressively more and more disinterested in console gaming. I feel like I have a huge backlog of current-gen games that I want to play that will be a fraction of the cost of new games, and that once I've played these games, the next-gen games will seem pretty dull. If there's anything that bores me to tears, it's franchise updates and "me-too" games. Like, I'm glad Saints' Row has better graphics, but I can play GTA:SA on a PS2 for a lot less, and I wasn't interested in that game to begin with. As far as I'm concerned, most genres and game styles got pretty played out this gen. There are a few that could be done a lot better. Star Wars: Battlefront was an awesome concept (but there was a similar WWII game on PC a while back that also sucked), but nearly unplayable just due to framerate and control. We still don't see too many dogfighting flyers a la Rogue Squadron, Ace Combat, Crimson Skies. Battalion Wars was a great first entry, but that kind of game clearly can be matured quite a bit (suppose it can be classified with Kingdom Under Fire?). The sequel is the only Wii game I'm really excited about. The Wii previews have me worried; it sounds like programming for this controller is a lot tougher than Nintendo had bargained for. I think after I play Splinter Cell 4, I'll be sick of the series. And finally, as good as Nintendo games are, does anyone else remember those olden-time days when you were actually worried about dying in a Nintendo game? I guess if owning the game doesn't automatically guarantee you'll win, no one will buy it. And no, it's not just my perception as I get older. I tried to play Mega Man the other day, and it's still flippin' hard.

So I'm disinterested. The DS is far more interesting to me right now. I recently picked up Advance Wars again, and it's great. There are a lot of other games I'd like to play, too.

I gotta be honest I feel the exact same way. I just dont have that much time for games I guess. And the free time I do get I play World Of Warcraft. Really I dont see any other game interesting me as much as WOW. The games I am highly interested in are: WOW chich I have. Oblivion, Gothic III, Age of games, Lord of the rings RTS. I know I sound like a big pc gamer which I am. However the one thing that pulls me to console gaming is I am a HUGE sports game fan. I have to have my baseball,basketball, football and hockey games. Tennis etc... are also fun.

Man what I would give to have more sports franchises on the pc. I dont know why Madden was the only one brought to PC and live for a little bit.

I am hoping Vista improves things on the PC gaming side. I feel we need a little variety. I dont get the people that want just FPS, RTS, RPG's etc... only on their pc. I say even if it is a port of a 360 game bring it over. Gives PC gamers variety.

Maybe I am just more of a PC gamer now. There is something to be said for gaming on my 47" HDTV. Even though it is CRT Rear projection games still look great if not as sharp as a digital tech like dlp rear or lcd.

I def would buy a Wii and a 360 or PS3 if I wanted to spend that much and if i in reality had that much time. And hidden answer C) if my GF would allow it!


Im kinda holding out hope for VISTA. I really hope it brings more genres to PC gaming. More the ease of 360/PC cross development. It will have a standard controller which is the Xbox360 one.

Maybe I'm too high on Vista. Not as an OS with no bugs but as an actual platform. I sould like Intel with Viiv or Centrino.

 

[Rolf N]

I am really pumped up for the Wii. I just wanted to say that off the bat, but I just keep flipping and flopping between spending a bit mroe for the 360 and getting true next gen tech. Really what I like about Wii initially is backwards compatiblity with all the GameCube games I didnt play.

Those Gamecube game serieses will be continued on the Wii, if at all. Eventually you'll find something where you're interested in playing the sequel, or the next game by the same dev or whatever, and that won't be possible on the Gamecube.

There'll be games on the Wii that I want to play, so I'll get it. Metroid Prime 3 alone could make me buy the machine, but then there's Super Smash Brothers: Brawl and Mario Galaxy coming.

I think it's fine to hold off a while until the price comes down to a sensible level, but choosing the Gamecube over the Wii categorically won't be as much fun in the long run.

 

[Fox5]

I'm flip flopping a bit. The potential difficulties in getting a wii at launch, along with the negative impressions of control in games now is really making me a little meh about it. I could get 360 and gears of war, get an impressive visual experience and probably a fun game too, rather than waving a wand around and being like "eh, hope this is fun." Based on what I've read in early wii games, I don't think I'd be interested in any wii game that didn't use the wiimote as a lightgun. The shaking stuff just doesn't seem anything other than replacing a button press with a shake, it's not new and innovative, and certainly not better. What's up with Wii sports requiring you to press buttons to determine what type of pitches you want to do, and Wii tennis only giving you flaky control over the tennis racket? So it's just timing a "button press" as you character moves in to hit the ball? If they could think of no other way to do the controls, that's a game I could have permitted using a joystick add on for, but things like pitching styles are a no brainer for the motion sensors to do, and if they can't handle that type of thing then the entire controller is a gimmick outside of the laser pointing.

Anyhow, yeah, a 360 with gears of war could be in my home this holiday instead, especially if microsoft has a nice price drop or bundles, but not really sure what in the 360s future would attract me. Not that big of a Halo fan, and I'd prefer to get most pc games for the pc where I can play them on awesome hardware and power my e-penis. I'd trust PS3 to have some games that interest me based on some of the surprises that came out late in the ps2's life, but it's too expensive for my tastes. I'd like the wii if it truly offers some new gameplay styles and what not, but early impressions seem to indicate it's just ending up with shaking replacing button presses with no additional precision. Right, I can move my controller while I press a button on a 360 and still get just as much of a "woohoo" feeling out of it.

 

[Blade]

The truth is that Nintendo really needs to iron out the chinks in the Wii's armor before it will truly blossom. Just like the DS before it.

For example, the controls. The hardware is there, the software isn't... yet. With LiveMove and other development suites geared towards 100% control of the Wii-mote, it's a matter of time before you see what the thing can really do. All of these issues that Casamassina has with Wii Sports and inaccuracy could easily be fixed with time.

It's just like the DS. There were a few first-gen beauties, but a lot of the best implementations of the touch-screen have come in second and third gen titles.

As of now, I would not argue that the Wii is a better choice than Xbox 360. Ask me again a year from now.

 

[iNoV]

I think you need to read Matt's issue with wii sports again. It's not that the wiimote isn't capable of the level of motion sensing he desires. As he points out that the level of motion sensing is available in the bowling game, he was just disappointed that it wasn't available in the tennis and baseball games.

 

[Fox5]

I think you need to read Matt's issue with wii sports again. It's not that the wiimote isn't capable of the level of motion sensing he desires. As he points out that the level of motion sensing is available in the bowling game, he was just disappointed that it wasn't available in the tennis and baseball games.

Even still, out of the launch titles all that really interests me is Zelda, which just isn't worth buying the system for, imo. Red Steel looks cool, but previews haven't been very positive. I'm not completing damning the Wii, just that it may not be worth it for me to get one at launch.

 

[fearsomepirate]

COD3 Wii previews have been surprisingly positive for a series traditionally reviled as shovelware in its non-core versions. The control sounds exactly like what I thought it should be: small bounding box with a gradual increase in turn speed as the reticule moves to the edge of the screen, with the edge being really fast.

 

[Graham]

I'm still on the fence about zee wii. I shall wait till I get the chance to actually try one out before I make a decision.

However, there was something I saw today that seemed odd:

http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/01/wii-unboxing-photos-hit-the-internets/

it would seem the wii has a rather large power brick as well. No doubt smaller than the 360s, but still quite large.

 

[Fox5]

I'm still on the fence about zee wii. I shall wait till I get the chance to actually try one out before I make a decision.

However, there was something I saw today that seemed odd:

http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/01/wii-unboxing-photos-hit-the-internets/

it would seem the wii has a rather large power brick as well. No doubt smaller than the 360s, but still quite large.

Gamecube had an abnormally large one as well. Remember that the 360 had a fair amount of crash reports though, and it is likely to be owned by more high end buyers than wii (and probably more likely to take care of their equipment and put up with such problems), the wii really can't stand to have anywhere near the hardware problems 360 had.

 

[Natoma]

I'm going to get a Wii, but not at first. Surprisingly, the reason is because of all the fun I'm having with my DS Lite.

With the gaming I've been doing on that handheld I just haven't had time for any other gaming.

 

[cafevincent]

I am really pumped up for the Wii. I just wanted to say that off the bat, but I just keep flipping and flopping between spending a bit mroe for the 360 and getting true next gen tech. Really what I like about Wii initially is backwards compatiblity with all the GameCube games I didnt play.

I really think i can wait until the price drops to $149. I look at the games and they look bad. I am not that big a graphics whore I gotta be honest. And i am not hard pressed for money. I dont know what it is I guess I am the type of person that likes to feel like they made a good investment. And i am not so sure at 249 it is a good investment. GC had no 3rd party support which may still be the case and all the great nintendo 1st party well i can buy a GC at $79 used $99 new for that.

Anyone else strongly debating which to get 360/PS3/Wii ?

I think I am leaning towards $360 this winter and a gamecube at $99 new. I get the same cartoony/fun Nintendo games at a cheap price plus I get next gen gaming.

Anyone else think this is the way to go?

Sorry for the obviously useless post. Just needed to get peoples opinions and see where they fall in regards to this question. See if anyone is having as hard a time deciding as I am.

Thanks.

I'm also thinking about buying the Wii at the 100-150€ price range. Altho the only title that I'm currently interested in is Mario Kart Online that may be released around 2008 so I'm sure the price is right by then. Sequel for Pikmin would be nice too. Gamecube compatibility is another big thing I need because my Cube broke and I need to get my monthly Double Dash dose. I think I'll skip Xbox 360 completely (no interesting titles) and I may consider buying PS3 when the price drops to 50-100€ (in 10-12 years) so I can play Gradius VI (I bought a PS2 for 50€ just to play Gradius V). In the meanwhile I suppose I must play GTA IV on my PC.

It's too bad that Wii doesn't have any 'modern retro' tiles coming like a side-scrolling Mario/Metroid or Gradius/Parodius/Contra type shooters. And the thing that I've been waiting for most is a sequel for Zelda II or III. I quess I have to play them on the small screen when the price of DS Lite drops to sub 100€.

 

[GregLee]

it would seem the wii has a rather large power brick as well. No doubt smaller than the 360s, but still quite large.

If you're judging the size of the power brick by comparing it to the Wii in front of it, you ought to bear in mind that the Wii is pretty small.

 

[Graham]

If you're judging the size of the power brick by comparing it to the Wii in front of it, you ought to bear in mind that the Wii is pretty small.

Sorry I didn't mean to sound like I was using the power brick as a reason not to get one, just that I was surprised it had one (and a fairly large one at that, given the system probably has quite a low power draw).

I still don't plan to buy one day 1. The Wii is selling for the equivalent of $US 340 over here, which is too much. Then again in $US the 360 is $480 here with a game (core is $380), and the PS3 will be $810.

I understand prices get bumped up here, but $90us on a system that is already making a profit doesn't sit well with me. Then again I have to remember it's nintendo, over here they sell component cables for the GC for $US $80 (not that you can buy a GC anymore...).