Wii launch wrap-up
By Paul Miller 
posted November 19th 2006 3:40AM
posted November 19th 2006 3:40AM
Crap, I know I've got my wallet somewhere.
"Reggie says after all you guys leave he's going to sign my chest, I'm so stoked."
How's it feel to be #2?
And that's it! Thanks for sticking around... we'd also like to thank the whole Nintendo staff for pulling off a drive-by-shooting-free event.
what in the hell do "non-adult" games vs. "adult" games (by whatever definition it is... which is completely subjective) have to do with chess OR checkers? it's apples and oranges!
if you are worried about the presentation of the game is not adult for you, you have certainly not allowed youself a full range of interactive entertainment.
halo is good
KOTOR is good
Mario 64 is good
Zelda in it's MANY forms are good
Guitar Hero is good
Monkey ball is good
TETRIS is good
Half-Life 2 is good
DDR is good
Fallout is good
however i can think of just as many games that are horrid, regalrdless of the "adult" / "non-adult" peudo-non-existent-genre you propose (unless you mean games that are rated T and above - and that's just a rating)
it's all good... a game is good based on it's entertainment value, not if it "adult" enough or not. in fact, there are a whole class of games where the concept of "adult" or "non-adult" does not apply.
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"jack" is, IMNHO, short-sighted and represents a short list of gamers. I know a couple people just like him (as far as gaming goes) and I know numerous more people that like good digital entertainment, regarldess of its form.
A deathmatch? A little SSBM? Or maybe a multiplayer game of DEFCON? A good RPG? Yeah I like it all... as long as it is good. The Wii will deliver. So will the XBox360. In time - if the software and supply meets demand before developers abandon the system - the PS3 will hold it's own, even if it is first in sales or not.
Oh yeah, I'm getting a Wii... XBox360 :) The PS3 is just way too expensive for a single purchase right now (and I have no use for BluRay and most of the reviews, while not bad, are a bit lack-luster)
If anything, Jack, Wii is the Chess game and you're lucky if you can even get a tic-tac-toe game going.
Hrmm... let's see... do I want to play a FPS where I have to move teh control stick in order to aim, or do I want the full immersion of actually aiming my controller and shooting him in the head? Do I want to have to randomly hit buttons in order to get my swordsman to do a overhand slash followed by a thrust, or do I actually want to just do it myself?
Face it, Jack. You can have the best graphics in the world, to the point that you actually think you're watching it live, but you'll never get rid of that controller. You'll never really be the one swinging the sword, aiming the gun, flying the plane, or any one of a thousand different possibilities.
You aren't a serious gamer, you're just a seriously bitter guy who knows that he spent or will spend $600 for an overhyped HD-DVD player with net access and will eventually die out and become obsolete anyway, forcing you to shell out even more money for a gaming system that will probably belong to Nintendo anyway.
This is 100% true. PS3, and xox360 are just the same sh*t, different day just as xobx1 was as well as ps2. Wii is the first innovative console in a LONG time. Whether or not its successful long term will not be known....well for a while. But no one in their right mind should discredit Nintendo for trying something new. I have one, i have zelda, and its tons of fun, and very intuitive. Jack's comparison to checkers and chess is...well lets just say, 'go fish'.
I got to Costco at 8:30am and walked away with a Wii, Zelda:TP, and Excite Truck at 8:45am. They were very organized and prepared. Also, there was a *much* smaller crowd waiting since Costco gets overlooked and many people don't have a membership there.
So where in NYC is the best place to try and score a Wii on monday
Mike Street, Just picked one up at the Toys R Us in downtown Brooklyn.
.... I ended up buying two :-P some guys behind and in the very front of the line went to the back of the line and got two also. The guy next to me got three! One of the units are mine the other is an early christmas present. I went to target in south east brooklyn and they had 200 units so i got units 100 and 101!
ok people we get it, there all good consols. If you like the wii buy a wii if you like ps3 then buy a ps3 and if you like the 360 then good lord just buy one! People are going to buy what there going to buy so let them. They all have good points and bad so if you like the wii don't bash the ps3 and if you like the ps3 don't bash the wii simply as that. Theres no reason for people to get mad at other people just because they like a different console and complening about it over the internet isn't going to change anything. Besides video games are about haveing fun and to me playing the game is a lot more fun then looking for chances to bash another console.
p.s i'm buying the wii, but I also own a playstation 2 and gamecube so i'm not a fanboy (girl) I may even get a ps3 in the future who knows
Jack, you're one of those guys who can win at chess, but get owned in checkers, aren't you? Don't be ashamed, it's not that uncommon.
Fact is, for a non-team sports game, the Wii makes sense. Wii Sports proves that to me beyond a shadow of a doubt. I swing my arm, the racket moves. Backhand, lob, spin, etc all just work. Bowling's probably the best example of this, to be honest. Baseball, which probably requires the most swinging, CAN be played by just moving your wrist.
FPS games make more sense on Wii. Ever seen the CAVE demos? You get a navigation control and a gun. Shockingly enough, people understand this interface, and use it very effectively. By comparison, in a typical PC/console FPS, you're twitching around with a keyboard and mouse, possibly learning new mappings just to make the game work. It's silly, as any arcade shooter can demonstrate.
The Wii works. No other console has ever managed to make that claim, and they certainly haven't done it for less than the competition. I don't learn controls on Wii, I learn the world that I'm exploring.
(Additionally, to call Twilight Princess a kiddie game, sight unseen, is ridiculous. It's absolutely BLEAK. Once you get the plot moving, which doesn't take very long at all, the whole game is just eerie.)
Wii doesn't try to be anything more than you need. Do you need a DVD player, like the XBox 360? Not really, you can buy one at Wal-Mart for under $50. Do you need a music player? Probably not, you've got an iPod, or some MP3 set top box, and you certainly have a CD player, at the very least, in that Wal-Mart DVD player. You just need enough power to make a good looking game, and the Gamecube already had that. Boost it a bit, just in case, and have some CPU power left for added logic/control management, sure, but beyond that? We're done. Realism isn't going to come from what you see on your TV anymore. TV can't handle it, since no matter what, you're looking at a screen, which is only part of your field of vision. Until a console hooks up to your brain, or has a holographic projector, the visuals just don't NEED to be any better. The problem still remains in the control system. Do I want to drive a car with a Dual Shock? No. Do I want to buy yet another wheel controller? Certainly not, I haven't bought one since the Dreamcast, and they're too bulky. However, what if we just put a plastic ring around the default controller? Suddenly, a $2 piece of plastic turns the standard controller into something more appropriate to the task.
Nintendo's got a good idea here for anyone mature enough to be able to sit down and enjoy a game. It's such a good idea that MS admitted it, and Sony copied it (poorly.) Of course, neither of them have been involved in the console industry for as long as Nintendo, so of course they're a few steps behind.
Finally, who's the bigger fool? #500 on line for Wii, who walks away with a console with another 1500 remaining, or #500 on line for the PS3, who finds out that he wasted his time, just like the 495 people ahead of him, when the store only had 4 units? Market saturation's a big deal, and happy customers tend to be return customers. Since everyone makes money off of games, even if the console itself *is* profitable, it's in any manufacturers best interests to have the consoles available for anyone who wants them, so that on launch day, more people buy a launch title, finish it, and buy another one ASAP. The sooner this cycle starts, the faster Sony/MS/Nintendo get their cut of those profits. If Sony ever got their collective heads out of their asses for long enough to realize that, they'd make a hell of a lot more money. Hype might sell a few more $600 consoles, but hype alone doesn't pay the bills.
The UK launch seemed to go pretty well. I got mine this morning at 8am: http://gamepeople.wordpress.com/2006/12/08/life-after-wii/
There's so many Wii's in that place for sale, i wish stores had that many Wii's!