Forbes: the Wii is indeed a revolution
Uh oh ... snatch up that Ninty stock before all the high rollers do. The Wii's being talked up by Forbes magazine!
By giving players the ability to physically interact with a virtual world, Nintendo has significantly changed the experience of videogaming. It's suddenly more immersive, more compelling and potentially more appealing to consumers who have never considered buying a videogame console before.
It's not like we haven't heard this before -- it's the way every non-gaming publication seems to be describing the Wii. But it seems somehow different coming from Forbes. Somehow ... magical. And this language, this description, this is exactly what Nintendo is aiming for with their marketing initiatives.
Here's what we didn't expect: they reviewed the console at Forbes. That's right, Nintendo sent them a Wii unit and told 'em to get their game on. What happened next is an interesting look at how the rest of the world views the Wii in action.
Unlike many reviews and impressions we've read, David Ewalt doesn't go on about buttons and control schemes. He talks about the simplicity of Wii Sports tennis and how easy it is to apply spin and to control the ball. Just like that game ... what's it called? Oh. Tennis. Yeah, the one on the court.
Soon, he said, the Wii setup in the conference room drew a crowd of onlookers and he passed the Wiimote off to some of the curious. And that's when the whole thing took off. For the first time, he said, since the original NES, gaming felt like a real group experience, comparable to party games like Twister. According to Ewalt, that can be chalked up to the physicality of the controls -- you get in there and actually do it, interacting with the game in new ways that's sure to draw in the nongamers.
Of course, Ewalt does draw differences in his review between the "hard-core gamers" and the rest of the staff at Forbes. He is, after all, their guy with the games, and none of this is a stranger to him -- he's one of us. But he writes for a vastly different market, and his review is tempered by it; he gives a quick cost-benefits rundown on the PS3 versus the Wii and how that will affect consumer decisions this winter.
Because of the market, it's not the longest review we'll see on the Wii and its capabilities (but we have some of those here if you want!). It's not meant for us, but for them, the rest of the world, those who need to be convinced. But after next week, they may just join our happy little family.
[Thanks, Christopher!]
