Wiimorse

[Adam LaMosca]

Wiimorse

I bought a Wii on release day, seduced by its reasonable price, magical controllers and family-friendliness. General tech lust and the promise of a new Zelda title didn't hurt, either. Now it sits atop my entertainment center, blanketed in a layer of dust. Cold, unplayed and unloved. I haven't switched it on in weeks.

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[hasam]

well said Adam, I too bought my ill fated Wii on launch and it's been quite a disappointing run, the titles i thought I would really enjoy have come and gone and I'm finding myself with nothing to look forward to any more, that amazement I had with the concept's possibilities in the beginning never quite managed to justify itself.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility looks promising? If it ever gets released?

It really is a shame...

 

[teknohed]

While I assume this thread will soon be filled with fan boy flame war vitriol, I will still put in my $0.02.

I totally agree with you on all but on point. I too am an older gamer. Who lives with "non-me"'s (all of whom also LOVE their DS games). In my case the game I was suprised my wife didn't like was Mario Galaxy...but it was for the reason you stated...she couldn't get into the control and it was frustrating just watching her. She quickly went back to Puzzle Quest on the DS and Oblivion on the 360.

The only point with which I disagree is the virtual console. I love that system. Its the ONLY thing I use my Wii for. Well, that's not true. I also play compilations like House of hte Dead 2 & 3 and Metal Slug Anthology...but those are sort of the same.

I think the emulation on VC is really precise and the "low rez" capabilites of the Wii's emulators make some of these games look excellent. I like Game Tap as well, but I'd a lot rather play Phantasy STar II from the comfort of my couch on a nice big HD TV than in my computer chair with a 21" Monitor (maybe someday if I have a 32" computer monitor that'd change...)

Still I thought this was a reasonable article. Nice work.

 

[Eagle Est1986]

The exact reason that I have yet to buy a Wii. I really want one too, there's just not a game that can warrant my money..... this is coming from the guy that bought a PS3 a year ago just for MGS4.

 

[mwhite67]

I have a Wii and other than the big nintendo titles which are pretty fun everything else is crap. My biggest dissapointment is the poor online features. If I'm playing a 4 player game of Smash brothers but I can't communicate with anyone I might as well just play the computer, and friend codes, what kind of archaic system is that?

 

[TheLostSkeleton]

Donate your Wii to me. I will give it a good home.

 

[L.B. Jeffries]

I'm terrible at Dual Analog so I kinda enjoy FPS games on the Wii (the few that do exist). As for online networks:

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18255

I'm pretty pumped about WiiWare right now. World of Goo, Strongbad, a hefty indie base, and an excellent ROM catalog are what keeps me happy about the purchase.

 

[Ranzel]

So, basically, you did no research on the Wii before you bought it, and now you realize you should have. Thats unfortunate. Then again, your article does do a swell job of informing people who have yet to buy a Wii, so at least the purchase was a success in some sense.

But really, the Wii is amazingly fun if you have friends playing right next to you. That includes Mario Party, Wii Sports, Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros Brawl. The fact that you aren't bringing your friends to your house doesn't make it a bad console.

 

[Carbon016]

I got Wiimorse too.

So I sold it.

Problem solved - I can buy another one when there's some deep games. Sure, I miss playing GH3, but I can play it on my PC with the Wii controller, Trauma Center was fun but not _that_ replayable, and I was late to the Melee party a few years ago so I figure I can get Brawl later.

 

[Credge]

I play my Wii almost as much as my PC and I'm a PC gamer. The wiimote, for me, plays more like a mouse than anything else and it's very familiar to me.

I'd regret my Wii choice if I wasn't interested in a lot of the games it had. Brawl, Mario, the various Golf games, the few RPG's... all golden for me.

 

[Clownilingus]

Two words:
E and Bay. You'll get more than you paid for it on launch day.

Makes me glad I waited in line for a PS3 instead of a Wii that week. I was pretty excited for both. I was imagining the awesome possibilities of kick-ass online FPS on the Wii. The PSN isn't great, but friend codes, seriously?
I'm still holding out hope they'll figure out how to not make online retarded. I mean it only took Sony a year and a half to start get their online act together. Nintendo can't be far behind.

 

[Gildedtongue]

Right now, the Wii's major problem is not only the games, but also the fact that developers have no clue how to really approach the Wii and it's unique play-style, thus we get games that, honestly, seem better suited for the Game Cube Controller than the Wiimote/Nunchuk set up.

Working at a game store, noticing besides major releases, we're seeing lots and lots of "experimental" games coming from larger companies. I might not like EA, but I'm sure they can make a better game than "Ninja Reflex," however, I understand the whole point of the game, not for us to play as much as it is getting their programmers to think physically rather than digitally.

Overall, the Wii is one hell of a gamble, one I hope pays off big for Nintendo, but it's so very different from traditional game styles that it might fall on its face rather hard.

 

[tthor]

im pretty disapointed with the wii too...

i would have loved to get a PS3, but it was a bit out of my price range, so i settled on a Wii, thinking it looked pretty fun. my intire family played it constantly, for the first 2 weeks. after that, it just sits there, gathering dust...

some problems with the Wii:
-Hardly any games out for it, and all the games that ARE out for it are either aimed towards 5 year olds, MARIO, or just plain crappy. i swear, if i ever see that stupid mushroom eating plumber on yet another game title, I'll [-Fill in Random Threat-] !
-my other big problem with the wii are the motion sensers in the controls. there is RARELY any actual USE for it in most games. and the games that do have use for it basicly just require random stick wagging. these wii controllers might actually be FUN to use if they integrated the movements with the games more.EXAMPLE- maybe have something like some sword fighting game, where rather then just -swing left or right- or -swing up or down-, acually have it so your sword moves the same as your wii controller moves.

i think nintendo is just experimenting with new never-done controls to catch ppl's attention,
like the Wii and the NintendoDS, but really don't take their time and think through,"how can we use this in our games to make the controls more enjoyable".



...i wish i had a PS3....

 

[Kemmler0]

Wii was a fad... PS3 will win the console wars. It's inevitable.

The beauty of it is that Sony didn't release a games console. Its a media server.

 

[apemon]

My Wii got some life blown into it now that Mario Kart Wii got released, but I have to say that it's been awhile though.. Last one that did that was Galaxy, but didn't that come out last december? Sad.

Nevertheless, I truly recommend you picking up MKW, I don't think it's just "another mario kart".. Coming from MKDS, I really think they've done an awesome job, especially with online play. The wheel isn't that gimmicky either! Perfect for your wife/girlfriend to play with when you go with the classic pad/gc controller.. But remember to clean that dust off first so your system doesn't overheat!

 

[Cousin_IT]

the Wii always struck me as smething more fun to watch other people play on (some youtube vids are golden ) than play myself. Its innovation seems marred by many games conservative approach to exploiting it. Ill stick to my 360 (Viva Pinata did more to get me & my siblings gathered round the TV than any Wii game)

 

[Aihal]

The Wii hasn't lived up to the hype, but that's to be expected given how massive the hype was.

I'm glad I bought mine. It's had some great games IMHO (Zelda, Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, Metroid Prime 3, Mario Strikers) and plenty of decent games (Excite Truck, Elebits, Battalion Wars, RE4).

I've just bought a PS3, the game selection there is probably a bit worse than the Wii's.

 

[Hendar23]

I always thought the Wiimote was a gimmick. It's fun for a bit, but for extended playing you want to relax your arms. Give me the traditional mouse/keyboard and gamepad.

 

[ingsoc]

This premise of this article is the reason why I went with a 360 over the Wii. Unfortunetely, the 360 also suffers from game issues as well. Yes there are games for it but in all honestly, almost all of the ones worth playing are available for the PC if you have a reasonably capable one (which I have). It was far cheaper for me to upgrade my graphics card and buy most of them on the PC than pay 360 prices for them. Luckily, my 360 RRoDed and I managed to get my money back. Perhaps Nintendo will get its act together but I do not think so. I will probably get a PS3 when MSG4 comes out.