Wii Games Get Better In 2009

John Funk

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Dec 20, 2005
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Wii Games Get Better In 2009



Gamers love to rag on the Wii for its large complement of "shovelware" titles, but the truth is that its games are getting better - as the average review score for the Wii took a large swing upward in 2009.

In case you haven't noticed, the Wii is in the lead this console generation by a pretty wide margin. And as with the PS2 before it, the large number of games developed for the system results in a comparatively large number of crappy games. In 2008, the average Wii game score was 60%, compared with 68% for the PS3 and 66% for the Xbox 360. So is it any wonder that core gamers love to rag on the console with the inferior games?

It might be harder to keep doing that, though. EEDAR's Divnich Debrief [http://www.industrygamers.com/news/the-divnich-debrief-wii-quality-sees-significant-improvement-in-2009/] took a look at the average scores for the three consoles, and found that in 2009, the Wii's average had jumped to 66%, while the 360's moved up to 67% and the PS3 fell a fraction of a percent. A 6% leap might not sound like such a big deal, but in the middle of a console cycle a jump of that magnitude is unprecedented, says Jesse Divnich: "Nevertheless, no console over the last 10 years has ever produced this much of a shift in their aggregated quality score in the middle of a cycle."

So what's the explanation, here? Are reviewers grading Wii games on a curve, now? "Oh, it's good - for a Wii game." Is the Motion-Plus making that big of a difference? Or, as Divnich posits, "it could be possible that developers finally 'get' the Wii." Mandatory waggle segments may be less clunky and more seamlessly integrated as developers get accustomed to the technology.

Whatever the cause, the Wii is finally performing at the rate of its brethren in this iteration of the console wars, though it seems unlikely that core gamers will stop bashing it anytime soon.

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JRCB

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Jan 11, 2009
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Good to see improvement. Hopefully, we get some titles that will actually cause some "hardcore" gamers (who bash the Wii for it's lack of graphics power) to go "Damn, I wish I had a Wii." And maybe I'll finally be able to pull out the Wii in our house and get the layer of dust off it.
 

Heart of Darkness

The final days of His Trolliness
Jul 1, 2009
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Well, that's good to hear. 'Course people are still gonna say that the Wii games are 'worse...' by 2%.
 

Generic_Dave

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Jul 15, 2009
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JRCB said:
And maybe I'll finally be able to pull out the Wii in our house and get the layer of dust off it.
I agree entirely, if girls in the house didn't use the Wii Fit mine would have been a complete waste of money. As it is, it was just a complete waste of my money.

Also the fact that the Wii is so goddamn prevalent in so many homes, probably means that developers are more willing to put enough money into better ports and more intuitive controls for original games. There's a lot of them in homes out there, so a big hit on a Wii can sell more than one on the 360 and PS3 combined. Still, I really can't see my PS3 or 360 being replaced (I only have two sockets spare for consoles) so it will always be a case of extension leads and half-love for my Wii.
 

TheGreenManalishi

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May 22, 2008
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I think it's because the fad of wiggle controls is wearing off, and the only people still playing Wiis are those who either see its' potential as a gaming device and the potential of developers to make decent games.
 

scotth266

Wait when did I get a sub
Jan 10, 2009
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Flying-Emu will be pleased.

It also goes to show you that the average quality of games for each system is relatively the same. Unless that HALF A PERCENTAGE POINT means a whole lot to you, nobody should be able to say anymore: "Yeah man, INSERT SYSTEM HERE totally has the best games!"

I'd still like to see how he accumulated his data, just for curiosity's sake.
 

LaBambaMan

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Jul 13, 2009
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TheGreenManalishi said:
I think it's because the fad of wiggle controls is wearing off, and the only people still playing Wiis are those who either see its' potential as a gaming device and the potential of developers to make decent games.
My buddy and I still play on his Wii fairly often, as it's really good for most sporting games(we play a lot of Tiger Woods because we're both too poor to actually hit the links right now). Sure it's not as good for, say, FPS games, but it's good for having a few people over and just doing something stupid for a hour or so.
 

More Fun To Compute

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Nov 18, 2008
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Little King's Story on Wii is a fantastic game. Much better than it's closest recent equivalent, Overlord on the 360, so a "good for the Wii" bias is total BS in that example at least.
 

DrDeath3191

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I think this is because developers are finally taking the system seriously. It isn't that gimmicky thing with the wiggle-stick any more. This thing is a relevant console, and great games can be made for it. I'm really looking forward to this holiday season, as well as early 2010 for great Wii releases.
 

Sixties Spidey

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Jan 24, 2008
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Awesome. At least its improving now. Last year was a shitty year for the Wii anyway, but at least 2009 is treating the Wii better.
 

midpipps

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Feb 23, 2009
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I am still waiting for a game for the wii that has story. I play mine when my mom or friends or such come over and we want a party game but I have yet to see a wii game with a indepth story. Hopefully when Fragile finally hits the US it will be as good as I have heard on the story front.

I think the Wii does have its uses as a get friends together and play wii sports etc. and it does have some pretty good games for that but otherwise I will stick to playing my ps2, ps3 and xbox 360 games for stories.
 

hansari

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May 31, 2009
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CantFaketheFunk said:
Whatever the cause, the Wii is finally performing at the rate of its brethren in this iteration of the console wars...
Positive reviews for Wii games are worthless if no one is buying Wii games.

Has there been a shift lately about how often the Wii is actually being played? I recall it being the least played console of two generations [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/93807-Wii-Owners-Play-Console-Least-Says-Nielsen]...
 

Asickorphan

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Jun 16, 2009
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Pendragon9 said:
Let's hope this means they're finally making games that don't put me to sleep.
If I did something wrong with the quote I'm sorry but I'm going to say.

I hope they do make those games; cause right now I feel the Wii is just a skinnier lunch box Nintendo made.
 

Proteus214

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Jul 31, 2009
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Predicted timeline of events (this was made just before the launch of the Wii):
-Wii is insanely popular at launch due to innovative titles.
-Wii popularity continues as various classic Nintendo IPs are released.
-Massive lull in new titles due to developers not having a clue what to do with the console. Wii popularity declines.
-Some more decent titles are released that essentially copycat gimmicks. Wii gains some popularity. (this is that spike in popularity)
-More sameyness. Wii popularity declines a lot. (this is where we are right now)
-Developers start to catch on, near miraculous innovation. Wii popularity skyrockets.
-Nintendo rides the gravy train of innovation for a while.
-Wii popularity declines just in time for 8th console generation.


Those last three are purely theoretical. If that first surge in innovation doesn't happen, the Wii will tank entirely.
 

Casual Shinji

Should've gone before we left.
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Jul 18, 2009
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So, they're finally getting rid of the controller.

About time if you ask me.
 

BaldursBananaSoap

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May 20, 2009
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Still not buying one, or playing the dusty one sitting in my living room that my family stopped playing after they realized it's a gimmick that gets old fast. Most of its good games are all remakes.

I'm completely happy with my PC, ps3 combo.