Houston, Wii have a problem. Where did Wii go wrong?

Nintendo WiiThere is something wrong with the Wii?!?

Yes, I know that the Wii is the darling of the video game industry right now, and that people believe that Nintendo can do no wrong, but we are only 20 months (or 8 depending on your perspective) into this generation of gaming. A winner won’t be crowned in this generation for some time to come. The PS2 came out 7 years ago! The Wii isn’t going to have it so easy.

I should mention that I own an Xbox and a 360. However, growing up my family owned literally every system since the Atari 2600 other than 3D0, Neogeo, TurboGraphx 16, and Sega CD (really, we even had a Virtual Boy and 32X). We actually had them all setup on 4 TVs at one point in our game room. Anyway, I don’t think I’m some fanboy who only buys XYZ console because that is what I have always played, but I do like the Xbox.

Good before the Bad

Although the point of this post is to address the glaring weak points in Nintendo’s armor, it isn’t all bad news. Their strategy of using “alternative” game play mechanics to capture/create a larger (non-hardcore gamer) gaming market has worked well for them so far. I have never heard so many wives of friends (some even non-gamer friends) say they wanted a game console. It is also nice to see a console launching at a more affordable price. The Miis are neat and the web browser is something I definitely wish the Xbox 360 had (hint, hint, Microsoft). Nintendo is definitely doing better than they have in a decade with what I call “selling checkers instead of chess”.

Now for the Ugly: the Wii isn’t inexpensive

Let me start with my favorite fallacy, the Wii is inexpensive. I’m sorry but $250 for an overclocked Gamecube that is almost as powerful as an Xbox 1 isn’t really that great of a value in my opinion. Never mind the fact that most Wii titles (the popular ones anyway) are designed around local multi-player like WiiSports, and it can take 8 controllers (4x Wiimotes and 4x Nunchucks) for everyone to play.

It costs $60USD to buy a Wiimote and Nunchuck (they are sold separately). Don’t forget that Nintendo wants to sell classic controllers for the emulator games, a plastic wheel to hold the Wiimote for driving games, a plastic gun to hold the Nunchuck for shooter games, AND a pad to set on the ground for a workout. You could very easily (and probably will) spend more money on controllers and accessories than on the Wii itself.

Cost for Wii: $250. Cost for 3 Wiimotes, 3 Nunchucks, 2 classic controllers: $220; and that is without the recently announced driving wheel, gun, and WiiFit in the mix.

Weak game line-up

This one is inexcusable, the Wii just doesn’t have very many good games coming down the pipe. As people already know how to program for the Gamecube quite well, and it takes less work to develop last-gen graphics, they have the easiest system to program for. Yet, look at their upcoming titles; yeah not many standouts. Microsoft and Sony had a majority of the games people are actually looking forward to at E3. Think about it, Microsoft is touting Halo 3, GTA IV, Call of Duty 4, Assassin’s Creed, Beautiful Katamari, Sony is touting Metal Gear 4, Unreal 3, Grand Turismo 5, Killzone 2, and Nintendo shows us some peripherals?!? Two of which third-parties already produce?? Seriously? Bottom line is Nintendo doesn’t really have a “must-have” game for this holiday season.

The funny thing about the weak game line-up is that many of the non-hardcore gamers (read: wives/girlfriends) that are interested in the Wii could care less. They are content playing “checkers” (WiiSports) over and over and over. When I see many of them play, they can’t even tell which player is theirs, but somehow they are still having a great time. I really think that a lot of these players are more stricken by WiiSports than the Wii in general.

Online gaming is a joke

I occasionally hear people decry that Xbox Live is a pay service for something you get free everywhere else, but there is the old saying, “You get what you pay for.” Well I prefer “You don’t get what you don’t pay for.” Nintendo’s (and to a lesser extent Sony’s) online gaming is ridiculous. Their friend code system is too complicated, and it looks like you’ll have to exchange different codes for every game. Never mind that hardly any games can be played online. Why did they even build in WiFi? Just for the browser and the weather? Local multi-player can be fun, but most of the time I’m not calling over my friends to play for 30 minutes. I don’t think I will ever understand why Nintendo and Sony didn’t just look at what Microsoft was doing with Xbox Live and rip it off copy it.

Long-term viability

I mentioned earlier that this generation wasn’t going to be won quickly, and that is the biggest problem I see for the Wii. I know people often say that the graphics don’t matter, but I’ve seen those same people get blown away by the graphics AND the gameplay of a game like Gears of War on my HDTV with surround sound. With the Wii you are getting standard definition picture and stereo sound; presentation comparable to games from four years ago. Will people really be okay with seven year old graphics in 2010? I don’t think so; we won’t be seeing a lot of people buying Wiis then. Remember, by 2010 every TV sold will be an HDTV, and the HD disc wars will be over (hopefully). People will want something better.

The Bottom Line

Without better than last-gen graphics, a legitimate online strategy, a significant library of compelling games, and more notable announcements for an E3 keynote than new peripherals, I don’t see the Wii as a five to seven year console. I stand by my stance that Nintendo should exit the hardware business and do what they do best, create games (see Sega). Any innovation that the Wii has is in the controllers. They could have made Wii for Xbox 360, and/or Wii for PS3, and sold controllers and games for both platforms. When I think Nintendo, I think Zelda and Mario, not N64 and Gamecube. I don’t know why they are insistent on making their fans buy their console just to get their games. How many more copies of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess do you think Nintendo could have moved if it played on the PS2?

Share
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Slashdot
  • N4G
  • SphereIt
  • TwitThis
  • Google
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
Filed In: Gaming
July 17, 2007

Comments

15 Responses to “Houston, Wii have a problem. Where did Wii go wrong?”

  1. jRm03 on July 17th, 2007 8:58 am

    Too biased.

    Go back to your PS3 or Xbox 360 and enjoy their games but stop writing anti-Nintendo articles, thats not what journalism is all about.

  2. Jimmy Carter on July 17th, 2007 9:25 am

    I’m not really sure why people like this are evangeilzing so passionately against a gaming console, especially considering that it isn’t a matter of the product being inherently flawed as it is a matter of taste. If I made the argument that Honeynut Cheerios are not the cereal that you want to buy because they’re just a minor taste bump up from regular Cheerios and, therefore, not a true next-gen cereal worthy of your breakfast dollar, would you take me seriously and alter your plans based on my stunningly perfect rhetoric? Let’s hope not.

    I did like the part, though, where you pretended that the Wii is the only console currently available that doesn’t include 4 controllers and all the peripherals you’ll ever need in the base price.

  3. Jamie Kennedy on July 17th, 2007 9:33 am

    Yea too biased.

    Stop hating on the console already, they have proven to sell and you cant stop it.

  4. 88days on July 17th, 2007 9:36 am

    Hi there,
    I guess that, on a strict comparison exercise, your points are more than fair!! On the other hand, IMHO I believe that the Wii effect is heading another way altogether. Post here http://88days.wordpress.com/2007/07/09/a-game-is-a-game/!
    It is all about very simple fun, no need for faster-than-F16 pilot reactions, no fiddling with more keys than in a church organ keyboard, it is just that, raw fun!!
    I appreciate some of the gaming experience you mentioned are from outer space, compared, and quite truly I have enjoyed Call of Duty 1,2,3 to the utmost, still I think that Wii is doing a nice strategic move: it forces others to compete over its territory, rather than the other way round.
    It may end up in a massive blunder, but would wait and see..

  5. Hans on July 17th, 2007 10:00 am

    I couldn’t agree more with 88days: a game is just a game and it is supposed to be fun. And that’s what all other consoles miss at this point. I hate tenis or baseball, but it’s really funny playing them with the wiimote.
    As you said graphics are really basic, but I don’t care! I can play by moving a stick! I don’t have to remember to press A+B + down and then quickly A+up to jump…
    I have never owned a gaming console before and I was considering buying a PS2, now that the prices are down. Paying more than 300 EUR. for a game, ruins a bit of the fun. Especially considering that at that price you can buy a computer. But after I saw that for the price of a PS2 + 100 EUR I can get a machine that has the power of a PS2 but a lot more potential, I decided it was worth the investment.
    And your argument that you have to buy more wiimotes and nunchucks doesn’t make much sense because I don’t think any controller on the market comes with 2 controllers. But you are right about it: everyone wants a second controller for the Wii. Wii is a bit more social as a console and even people that don’t like “video games” have fun playing with that thing.
    Graphics is not everything!

  6. 88days on July 17th, 2007 10:45 am

    Cheers, mate!! I had a go with Wii at Milan train station, there were three in display for travellers to enjoy, and believe me when your train is freakin’late, smacking a tennis ball with that thing is quite a relief!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now that I come to think about it, did they do on purpose, as to avoid pissed off customers to run after railways attendants??? that’s a thought…
    Good fun nonetheless!

  7. Andy on July 17th, 2007 12:14 pm

    I have equal distaste for the Wii and agree with most of the points in the article, but it’s true what has been commented…it all comes down to taste.

    The Wii will cater to those that enjoy those cartoony games with ***** looking animals that bounce around in tree tops and collect gum drops or bananas…**** that…give me a Vertical Tank or a Robar RC50

    I thought the “chess to checkers” analogy was particularly great

  8. alext on July 17th, 2007 12:30 pm

    Apparently the people complaining about bias and this not being “journalism” have never read an opinion column before?

    You bring up some good points and I agree with the one about the Wii just not having the same staying power as the Xbox 360 and PS3. They’re definitely going to suffer in the future with the crowd that likes to have the pretty graphics to look at, but at the moment, they’re succeeding in causing Sony and Microsoft to re-evaluate who is buying their hardware and why.

  9. Nikk Bobo on July 17th, 2007 5:18 pm

    Wii owners and Mac users are a lot alike in that they are so busy enjoying and evangelizing their product that they are often blind to its faults. Being a Wii owner myself I have to fight to maintain an objective opinion. So while it’s tempting to simply refute many of Paul’s comments I have to agree on a few points. First, that it will be difficult for Nintendo to hold on to the hardcore gamers. but that assumes that they ever had them. I think Nintendo gave up trying to hold that crowd long before this next gen war ever started (as their marketing strategy would indicate). The second is that the game lineup really could be better (though this may already be changing as third party developers are taking Wii more seriously now). I feel like most the games, though fun, have a kidish feel to them and I would love some serious online play.

  10. somebody on July 17th, 2007 5:44 pm

    Its stated in the article that Nintendo has no big must-have holiday game. What a piece of BS. Smash Bros. Brawl will be a huge profit maker for Nintendo. Anyone whos owned a Gamecube and now has a Wii (theres alot)will buy this game. Not to mention that they also have Super Mario Galaxy coming out, with the reviews saying it is a great game.

  11. Paul Ellis on July 17th, 2007 6:49 pm

    So, I thought I’d jump in and my $.02 to the comments so far. I am not saying that it is dumb to have a Wii, there are just things that Nintendo is weak on, and I am sick of people acting like they are untouchable. That same kind of attitude got Sony in the PS3 debacle they are now dealing with. To be honest, I like Microsoft’s long-term strategy the most, but Nintendo is doing very well right now, and you can’t count out the biggest name in gaming with the Playstation 3 (220 Million units between PS1 and PS2). I think I am one of a very select few that doesn’t really like the PS3 (mostly because of its price point) that thinks Sony could still win this generation (in spite of it all).

    As for the games, Smash Bros will sell some units, and So will Super Mario Galaxy, but Halo 3 (Xbox 360), GTA IV (PS3 and 360), MGS4 (PS3 for now) will all probably sell more units in the first week or two than those Wii games will sell in their lifetime. “Must-have” is a relative-term and “must-have” is probably a bigger market on the 360 and PS3 still.

    Case in point, the biggest selling 360 game so far is Gears of War at 3.7 million units. The biggest selling Wii game (outside of the included WiiSports) is Zelda at 3.3 million units. They both came out around the same time. A brand new IP game on 360 outsold one of the biggest franchises in gaming history on the Wii. Again, I think much of this can be attributed to the fact that many Wii owners are content with WiiSports.

  12. Leisure: Don’t tell me how to waste my time! | TechConsumer on July 18th, 2007 9:48 am

    [...] after my Wii post from yesterday, I wanted to clear something up. This post really has nothing to do with the Wii, but the response [...]

  13. Nintendo Profit Quadruples, Wii Continues to Outsell Competition | TechConsumer on July 25th, 2007 9:30 am

    [...] will the success last in the long run? Is there more fun to be had by the casual gamer past Wii Sports? Whatever the [...]

  14. micheal on March 13th, 2008 1:14 pm

    the wii may not have good games but at least they got original. what have the changed from the ps2 to the ps3. all they did was add new graphics and features yeah thats really original (360 ok)

  15. Scoota on June 7th, 2008 1:06 am

    I was pissed off because when i compare 360 graphics and wii graphics its just a damn shame

Leave a Reply




© 2008 J. Paul Ellis