Originally Posted by Gizmo1990 You're kidding right?
In terms market niche, he is quite correct (budget console). The only difference this generation is that the Wii has the potential to top the ps3/360 in terms of sales, profits and game originality/quality.
As well, the audience they are aiming for (non-tech enthusiasts especially) will most likely not own HD capable televisions. (In response to Nature's question)
Personally I am kinda looking forward to the wii.
Imagine instead of a playstation sneaking up to a guard, pushing a button and slitting his throat. You could actually use the Wii controller as a knife, sneak up to him and learn how to properly slit someones throat, if you get it in the wrong position then the guard turns around and angrly shoots you. The Wii can finally teach us how to authentically stab people and slit peoples throats with realistic movements. If they release a shock vibrating version then you would be able to feel resistance as the controller digs into peoples guts and scrapes pasts their ribs straight into their heart.
Family games are fun.
Originally Posted by DriftCarl If they release a shock vibrating version then you would be able to feel resistance as the controller digs into peoples guts and scrapes pasts their ribs straight into their heart.
Family games are fun.
Ha! So what you are saying then, is Nintendo is unique in being able to do family games AND violent games well on this platform?
Originally Posted by DriftCarl Personally I am kinda looking forward to the wii.
Imagine instead of a playstation sneaking up to a guard, pushing a button and slitting his throat. You could actually use the Wii controller as a knife, sneak up to him and learn how to properly slit someones throat, if you get it in the wrong position then the guard turns around and angrly shoots you. The Wii can finally teach us how to authentically stab people and slit peoples throats with realistic movements. If they release a shock vibrating version then you would be able to feel resistance as the controller digs into peoples guts and scrapes pasts their ribs straight into their heart.
Family games are fun.
I find this train of thought disturbing........
Back on topic
I own both a ps2 and a xbox. Tbh I havent played on my PS2 in years, and the xbox is used as media centre rig. I had pretty much decided I wouldnt buy another console. However having read about the Wii, I'll be most definitly getting one. Zelda sounds amazing.
I've had a PS2, Xbox and Gamecube. Both the PS2 and Xbox have moved on to pastures new but the Gamecube has remained.
Why, its not the graphics as both the xbox and PS2 were better. It was the games. The Gamecube has a load of family orientated games. My son and daughter are loving playing super monkey ball, mario party, dora and the purple planet and many others.
Both MS and Sony have primarily aimed their console at male audience and although there are 'kids' games out for the consoles its not been marketed that way.
I dont know when Wii is coming out, but thats the console I will be choosing. Shiny graphics are great but I will take gameplay over visuals.
I think anyone looking at spending £400+ on a console is insane? How much are the games going to cost on Blue-Ray, certainly more than the £50 currently being spent on DVD games.
This is a format war that Sony is going to lose. The discs are expensive to make, and it will be the consumer who will have to pay the extra. What is the point of buying a console if you're only going to be able to afford 1 or 2 games a year. If that is the case you best make sure you pick some real good ones and not just Ridge Racer 12!
"The first GTA was edgy and incredibly creative. But the fourth, now? And how many times will Lara Croft's breasts continue to take our $50, when the best thing that can be said about her latest outing is that it's "much more like the first game than the last 3 or 4 were"?"
I agree with this partially, but how many incarnations of Mario, Zelda and Metroid have there been?
Originally Posted by DriftCarl Personally I am kinda looking forward to the wii.
Imagine instead of a playstation sneaking up to a guard, pushing a button and slitting his throat. You could actually use the Wii controller as a knife, sneak up to him and learn how to properly slit someones throat, if you get it in the wrong position then the guard turns around and angrly shoots you. The Wii can finally teach us how to authentically stab people and slit peoples throats with realistic movements. If they release a shock vibrating version then you would be able to feel resistance as the controller digs into peoples guts and scrapes pasts their ribs straight into their heart.
Family games are fun.
That set off a ping on my sarcasm detector, but he brings up a going point. The Wii controllers could indeed be used that way, and force feedback technology exists and could be implemented in the next generation of games. We always talk about games becoming more immersive, isn't this another step in that direction?
Last year while I was in Mississippi with FEMA I went to the State Fair. One of the exhibits was a combat simulator that the Army brought as a recruiting tool. You entered into a semi-trailer and were handed a weapo The weapon in this case was the body of an actual M4 carbine that had been modified internally with an air cylinder and a weight to simulate recoil. The inside of the trailer was filled with projectors and the "game" simulated a moving firefight through the streets of Baghdad. When you fired the weapon it actually recoiled in addition to the sound and effects on the screen.
My point is that the future that DriftCarl describes is here, or at least possible today.
One final thought...
The first time I played the HL2 demo, the zombies scared the hell out of me, and setting them on fire was a pretty disgusting, if compelling, expierience. Just how immersive do we want to be?
wow food for thought, great column, tbh I think Sony are setting themselves up for a major fall, and the next console (if I do buy one) will most probably be an xbox 360 ... ouch the name is now hurting my head with its spikyness!
Originally Posted by kergareth In terms market niche, he is quite correct (budget console). The only difference this generation is that the Wii has the potential to top the ps3/360 in terms of sales, profits and game originality/quality.
As well, the audience they are aiming for (non-tech enthusiasts especially) will most likely not own HD capable televisions. (In response to Nature's question)
Oh please, you are totally wrong.
Nintendo are not aiming for a 'niche' market at all with the Wii. They have already stated countless times they are trying to encompass a far broader share of the market as well as actively bring new people into games.
Saying the Wii is just like a GC is plain daft. Maybe you didn't notice the whole controller thing...
Originally Posted by ben_j_davis "The first GTA was edgy and incredibly creative. But the fourth, now? And how many times will Lara Croft's breasts continue to take our $50, when the best thing that can be said about her latest outing is that it's "much more like the first game than the last 3 or 4 were"?"
I agree with this partially, but how many incarnations of Mario, Zelda and Metroid have there been?
Agree totally. I do like Nintendo and am getting the Wii when its launched, but I hate this attitude so many seem to hold that Nintendo can do no wrong.
I'm really looking forward to the Wii. I love the D3 budget titles that Midas and 505 Street are bringing to the European (and therefore Australian) market for PS1 and PS2. I much prefer paying AU$20 for 3-4 hours of sweet yet plain-looking gameplay than AU$80-100 for 20 hours of generic mush wrapped in a candy shell of pretty graphics, so if Nintendo plans to go that way on the Wii, I'm all for it. The whole concept of the controller looks great, too; I can't wait to try one out "in the flesh", so to speak. The console's small size and elegant lines are the icing on the cake.
The thing with the Nintendo series' of Zelda and Mario is that they all add something new.
Zelda is the best demonstration of this, different weapons, different storylines, then they had the time travel, they have music, they had the masks, they experimented with cell shading, etc...
I've never owned a console, not one. I'm a PC fan and if there's a game i like on a console theres always ways round it to be able to play it on pc.
But I will be buying the Wii, i want something fun, something i can turn-on with some mates and then just have a good laught with. The Wii fits this beautifully, it's not trying to be the most powerful realistic gaming machine, blah blah blah, it's trying to be fun! and damn it looks like its gunna make a good job of it.
great article, tbh consoles dont do it for me at all - i have a pc for games, any game on a console feels restrictive and unnatural. All games i have played on consoles are better on pc.
However, the Wii has the capability to change this, from what ive read it will be a totally diff playing experience so for a pc gamer it actually seems quite an attractive buy as an alternative gaming system in the lounge
The Wii actually looks worth it, I have all the violent games I ever want on my PC and my other games I have my NES and 64 for them. The whole thing about the Wii for me is the controller, it just looks fun to use.
Originally Posted by rgkgraphix Hey you guys have the George Foreman grill over there too? :D
Over here, too. But what I really wanted to comment on was:
Quote:
Originally Posted by rgkgraphix's sig line Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of floppies.
This is one of my favourite sayings ever, although I use it as I read it in the prologue of my Networks & Communications textbook at Uni: "Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of video tapes roaring down the highway," which appears after the author gives a brief comparison of a massive, long-distance data transfer between the more usual broadband connection, and the alternative of copying everything onto cheap video tapes, driving them to the client site at the speed limit, and copying the data back from the tapes. I guess that changing it to floppies frees you from having to explain the context. These days, perhaps it should be DVD's.
I do love my manly agressive testostirone games... however I haven't gotten into any game in the last year, simply because there hasnt' been anything absolutly incredible! I'll probebly buy an xbox360 when Halo3 comes out, but Wii will be purchased asap simply because it won't kill my food/rent budget.
Good work Nintendo, I was a skeptic for long time, but now Im excited to get my own.
Originally Posted by speedfreek The Wii actually looks worth it, I have all the violent games I ever want on my PC and my other games I have my NES and 64 for them. The whole thing about the Wii for me is the controller, it just looks fun to use.
Wii will be backwards compatible to those games:
"will be backward compatible with most games from previous Nintendo systems, as well as the Sega Genesis and Turbografx 16 consoles. The GameCube discs can go in the Wii, but older systems' games (NES, SNES and Nintendo 64) and the non-Nintendo ones will be available through download. It has been confirmed that the Wii will also be able to connect to the DS" from Wikipedia.
The games I am looking out for (for my first ever console :) ) are:
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Call of Duty 3
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Trauma Center: Second Opinion (for my med school brother)
Wii Sports
before i rant....
<-------------
ARE YOU KIDDING? four years of woodworking! "whats a dremmel" psht
ANYWHO.....
first ever console, you came at a hell of a time.
its funny, in almost every system Nintendo tried to do something cool, without pulling a sony (to pull a sony: to invent, market, sell and then close opperations, all in the same week, no referal to PS3 intended)
as for Xbox VS PS3... and the "little guy" Wii, its bogus. i created a thread here in [H]ard Forum (great people) which shows that infact, Wii will be the main system, and XBox 360 will be the "second system". and overall, a Wii would be in over 70% of peoples homes, after a few months. of course this poll maybe a little bias, but i would asume it would be toward PS3, as the general age there is between 20-30, PS3's target audiance.
I'm 16, the exact group not sposed to buy a Wii, as some of my peers would call it, the Wii is "gay (meaning i guess it likes other Wiis? its sposed to like Xbox 360s? .... does that make PS3 a hermaphodite? :| )" but im totally pro-Wii. it looks wayy more emmersive then anything ever done before! ok, for sure, gods of war, Halo3, spactacular titles to be sure, but i personally dont think either of them stand to give NEARLY as much satisfaction as a golf game for Wii.
I see the Wii like monkey ball, "oh comon yea like that could possibly be fun"... "holy sh!t this is the most awsome thing iv ever seen". if you havnt played monkey ball, your missing something. it appeals much like a puzzle/adventure game, just.... i donno how to discribe it, dont be diturred by its horrible marketing, it is absolutly worth renting, and worth buying.
as for nintendo always doing something revolutionary, they have. they implemented the first online console (it was for NES. YEA THE NES!). they implemented the first 64 bit system.... well... sorta... ok ok the first dual core system (nintendo64 was sposed to be a 64 bit system.... but it was actually just two 32 bit ones... but still! :D ) uhh lets see, they implemented some of the first at-home lasers, as in duck hunter the game. ummm there are more examples out there.
also dont get the impression Im not all for Halo 3. well i am, but im not. because Halo and Half life are in a constant battle of whos better (.... its half-life ;) ) my point is im into FPS games
Wii F.T.W. its cheap, way more interesting then PS3 or Xbox 360, and it comes from what i would concider to be the most responsable company, and its got games from EVERY genre. whats not to like?
I just want to see how many emergency room visits result from two guys getting a little too into Super Smash Brothers....
I think it is extremely revolutionary for any console. How many of us actually moved the controller trying to get our guy to move when we were still young and unjaded? My point exactly. It is much more intuitive to make a stabbing motion then to hit A.
It may not be the most powerful out there, but it is at least half the price of the other consoles.
As for Halo 3, just another good reason to upgrade my PC.
Comments 26 to 47 of 47
As well, the audience they are aiming for (non-tech enthusiasts especially) will most likely not own HD capable televisions. (In response to Nature's question)
Imagine instead of a playstation sneaking up to a guard, pushing a button and slitting his throat. You could actually use the Wii controller as a knife, sneak up to him and learn how to properly slit someones throat, if you get it in the wrong position then the guard turns around and angrly shoots you. The Wii can finally teach us how to authentically stab people and slit peoples throats with realistic movements. If they release a shock vibrating version then you would be able to feel resistance as the controller digs into peoples guts and scrapes pasts their ribs straight into their heart.
Family games are fun.
I find this train of thought disturbing........
Back on topic
I own both a ps2 and a xbox. Tbh I havent played on my PS2 in years, and the xbox is used as media centre rig. I had pretty much decided I wouldnt buy another console. However having read about the Wii, I'll be most definitly getting one. Zelda sounds amazing.
Why, its not the graphics as both the xbox and PS2 were better. It was the games. The Gamecube has a load of family orientated games. My son and daughter are loving playing super monkey ball, mario party, dora and the purple planet and many others.
Both MS and Sony have primarily aimed their console at male audience and although there are 'kids' games out for the consoles its not been marketed that way.
I dont know when Wii is coming out, but thats the console I will be choosing. Shiny graphics are great but I will take gameplay over visuals.
I think anyone looking at spending £400+ on a console is insane? How much are the games going to cost on Blue-Ray, certainly more than the £50 currently being spent on DVD games.
This is a format war that Sony is going to lose. The discs are expensive to make, and it will be the consumer who will have to pay the extra. What is the point of buying a console if you're only going to be able to afford 1 or 2 games a year. If that is the case you best make sure you pick some real good ones and not just Ridge Racer 12!
I agree with this partially, but how many incarnations of Mario, Zelda and Metroid have there been?
That set off a ping on my sarcasm detector, but he brings up a going point. The Wii controllers could indeed be used that way, and force feedback technology exists and could be implemented in the next generation of games. We always talk about games becoming more immersive, isn't this another step in that direction?
Last year while I was in Mississippi with FEMA I went to the State Fair. One of the exhibits was a combat simulator that the Army brought as a recruiting tool. You entered into a semi-trailer and were handed a weapo The weapon in this case was the body of an actual M4 carbine that had been modified internally with an air cylinder and a weight to simulate recoil. The inside of the trailer was filled with projectors and the "game" simulated a moving firefight through the streets of Baghdad. When you fired the weapon it actually recoiled in addition to the sound and effects on the screen.
My point is that the future that DriftCarl describes is here, or at least possible today.
One final thought...
The first time I played the HL2 demo, the zombies scared the hell out of me, and setting them on fire was a pretty disgusting, if compelling, expierience. Just how immersive do we want to be?
Nintendo are not aiming for a 'niche' market at all with the Wii. They have already stated countless times they are trying to encompass a far broader share of the market as well as actively bring new people into games.
Saying the Wii is just like a GC is plain daft. Maybe you didn't notice the whole controller thing...
Agree totally. I do like Nintendo and am getting the Wii when its launched, but I hate this attitude so many seem to hold that Nintendo can do no wrong.
But. Wii. Is. Still. A. Dumb. Name.
Nezuji :)
Zelda is the best demonstration of this, different weapons, different storylines, then they had the time travel, they have music, they had the masks, they experimented with cell shading, etc...
But I will be buying the Wii, i want something fun, something i can turn-on with some mates and then just have a good laught with. The Wii fits this beautifully, it's not trying to be the most powerful realistic gaming machine, blah blah blah, it's trying to be fun! and damn it looks like its gunna make a good job of it.
However, the Wii has the capability to change this, from what ive read it will be a totally diff playing experience so for a pc gamer it actually seems quite an attractive buy as an alternative gaming system in the lounge
Nezuji :)
I do love my manly agressive testostirone games... however I haven't gotten into any game in the last year, simply because there hasnt' been anything absolutly incredible! I'll probebly buy an xbox360 when Halo3 comes out, but Wii will be purchased asap simply because it won't kill my food/rent budget.
Good work Nintendo, I was a skeptic for long time, but now Im excited to get my own.
"will be backward compatible with most games from previous Nintendo systems, as well as the Sega Genesis and Turbografx 16 consoles. The GameCube discs can go in the Wii, but older systems' games (NES, SNES and Nintendo 64) and the non-Nintendo ones will be available through download. It has been confirmed that the Wii will also be able to connect to the DS" from Wikipedia.
The games I am looking out for (for my first ever console :) ) are:
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Call of Duty 3
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Trauma Center: Second Opinion (for my med school brother)
Wii Sports
<-------------
ARE YOU KIDDING? four years of woodworking! "whats a dremmel" psht
ANYWHO.....
first ever console, you came at a hell of a time.
its funny, in almost every system Nintendo tried to do something cool, without pulling a sony (to pull a sony: to invent, market, sell and then close opperations, all in the same week, no referal to PS3 intended)
as for Xbox VS PS3... and the "little guy" Wii, its bogus. i created a thread here in [H]ard Forum (great people) which shows that infact, Wii will be the main system, and XBox 360 will be the "second system". and overall, a Wii would be in over 70% of peoples homes, after a few months. of course this poll maybe a little bias, but i would asume it would be toward PS3, as the general age there is between 20-30, PS3's target audiance.
I'm 16, the exact group not sposed to buy a Wii, as some of my peers would call it, the Wii is "gay (meaning i guess it likes other Wiis? its sposed to like Xbox 360s? .... does that make PS3 a hermaphodite? :| )" but im totally pro-Wii. it looks wayy more emmersive then anything ever done before! ok, for sure, gods of war, Halo3, spactacular titles to be sure, but i personally dont think either of them stand to give NEARLY as much satisfaction as a golf game for Wii.
I see the Wii like monkey ball, "oh comon yea like that could possibly be fun"... "holy sh!t this is the most awsome thing iv ever seen". if you havnt played monkey ball, your missing something. it appeals much like a puzzle/adventure game, just.... i donno how to discribe it, dont be diturred by its horrible marketing, it is absolutly worth renting, and worth buying.
as for nintendo always doing something revolutionary, they have. they implemented the first online console (it was for NES. YEA THE NES!). they implemented the first 64 bit system.... well... sorta... ok ok the first dual core system (nintendo64 was sposed to be a 64 bit system.... but it was actually just two 32 bit ones... but still! :D ) uhh lets see, they implemented some of the first at-home lasers, as in duck hunter the game. ummm there are more examples out there.
also dont get the impression Im not all for Halo 3. well i am, but im not. because Halo and Half life are in a constant battle of whos better (.... its half-life ;) ) my point is im into FPS games
Wii F.T.W. its cheap, way more interesting then PS3 or Xbox 360, and it comes from what i would concider to be the most responsable company, and its got games from EVERY genre. whats not to like?
I think it is extremely revolutionary for any console. How many of us actually moved the controller trying to get our guy to move when we were still young and unjaded? My point exactly. It is much more intuitive to make a stabbing motion then to hit A.
It may not be the most powerful out there, but it is at least half the price of the other consoles.
As for Halo 3, just another good reason to upgrade my PC.