The Nintendo Wii is the Celine Dion of this generation of consoles.

The Game Room
81

[QUOTE=Justin_Bailey]
But the criticisms are a joke.

Nintendo creating new games in their core franchises (that have scored off the charts in reviews) is a strength, not a weakness.

Nintendo (like Sony and Microsoft) exerts very little control over the quality of the third-party games that appear on their system. If you take a look at the budget catalog of the PS1 and PS2 you’d find equally offensive games. This is not Nintendo’s fault, this is something that befalls every console that has the largest userbase.

Online play. Yeah, it could be better. But Nintendo doesn’t really give a shit about online play. The Wii is designed for people to play together in their living rooms. You can say it’s not as good as Xbox Live or the PSN, but it is functional, and that’s really all that matters.

DS connectivity is a bonus that I don’t particularly care about (and I don’t know many gamers who do either). Would it be nice if Nintendo gave the Wii something extra? Sure. But to say it’s a flaw is ridiculous.

As for the Virtual Console, I’ve already talked about how the OP is completely wrong about that. Most of the classics are there. It’s a simple fact.

Finally, it looks like there’s nothing on the horizon for two reasons:

  1. Nintendo always keeps their cards close to their chest. Big announcements will come at E3, it’s their way. Faulting a company for business practices they’ve employed since before most of us were born is stupid.

  2. Nintendo’s slate looks empty compared to Sony (who has been very open about ALL of their upcoming releases). Sony has been talking about PS3 games like Metal Gear Solid 4, Getaway 3, Gran Turismo 5 and Final Fantasy XIII since the PS3 was first announced in 2005. MGS4 is coming in June, but those other three are still a minimum of a year away.

For comparison’s sake, Mario Kart Wii went from announcement to release date in 10 months.

The OP is wrong, plain and simple.
[/QUOTE]

You tend to talk away any and all criticism of Nintendo. Every single discussion that has the word “Nintendo” in it we can count on you to wave your finger and tell those of us that are dissatisfied with the way Nintendo has handled the Wii why we are wrong on a sentence by sentence refute.

This is not a personal attack. Just an observation as you are respectful when you do so. It just feels like talking to a wall when talking Nintendo with you.

82

[QUOTE=Cubsfan]
You tend to talk away any and all criticism of Nintendo. Every single discussion that has the word “Nintendo” in it we can count on you to wave your finger and tell those of us that are dissatisfied with the way Nintendo has handled the Wii why we are wrong on a sentence by sentence refute.

This is not a personal attack. Just an observation as you are respectful when you do so. It just feels like talking to a wall when talking Nintendo with you.
[/QUOTE]
I agree with you 100%…but that doesn’t make him wrong.

83

The fact of the matter is that Nintendo could have released the Wii controller for the Gamecube and we could have played the exact same games there but for way cheaper. What do you get with the Wii that you wouldn’t get with a Gamecube with the Wii controller? VC games? You could easily get those games on a PC if you wanted them and N could have set up an online store there for legal purchases. Online? It’s barely there on the Wii and could have been done with the ethernet add-on for the GC if they ever would have really supported it.

Hand helds are really the only systems that N has handled correctly since the SNES came out. Every console since then has been mismanaged. The Wii is flying high now but I don’t think it will be for long once the 360 and PS3 come out with there Wii ripoff controllers (which you know are coming).

84

[QUOTE=Intravenus De Milo]
One major difference is that, with the Wii port, the entire game is a mirror image of the GC version. This is because, although Link is a left-handed character, Nintendo assumed that the majority of Wii users are right-handed, and thus flipped around the interface to match Link’s motion with the typical player using the Wiimote.

Aside from fan complaints of “LINK IS RIGHT-HANDED IN THE WII VERSION OH NOES”, I’m not sure how the GC version would be significantly better than its Wii counterpart. FWIW, I thought the Wii port made great use of the Wiimote, especially WRT archery.
[/QUOTE]

I thought that the GC version did a much better job of explaining how to do Link’s moves than the Wii did. The Wii version just told you to do XYZ, and didn’t break the fourth wall like the GC version did to explain how to wave the wiimote around. That was my biggest beef with the Wii version since I found it frustrating trying to guess what arcane motion was required to do, say, a side roll then leap up and STAB.

FTR, I’m lefthanded and didn’t care much about the left/right handedness of Link, but I did care when I’d played through to the water temple in the Wii version, then switched to GC when I had to give my brother’s Wii back. That seriously screwed me up until I got used to the idea that the maps were flipped. :smiley:

85

[QUOTE=Cubsfan]
You tend to talk away any and all criticism of Nintendo. Every single discussion that has the word “Nintendo” in it we can count on you to wave your finger and tell those of us that are dissatisfied with the way Nintendo has handled the Wii why we are wrong on a sentence by sentence refute.

This is not a personal attack. Just an observation as you are respectful when you do so. It just feels like talking to a wall when talking Nintendo with you.
[/QUOTE]

I’m sorry you feel that I all I do is defend the Wii, but I think there is a lot of misinformation out there about the Wii and I have the facts to prove this misinformation wrong, I think I should.

The OP in this thread is wrong on nearly every count. I’ve shown that with proof and facts. There’s no fanboy opinion or bias there. The Wii can easily stand up as a great achievement, using any metric you want to use.

86

In my opinion:

The Wii is a stupid novelty system. It has a dumb name, bad graphics, an unnecessary “reinventing the wheel” control scheme that I find horribly unintuitive and annoying, and its games are all lame.

GTA IV. Metal Gear Solid 4. Resident Evil 5. These are the real gamers’ games that are actually going to be the meat and potatoes on the plate. The stuff offered by the Wii is like shots of Bailey’s.

87

[QUOTE=Argent Towers]
In my opinion:

The Wii is a stupid novelty system. It has a dumb name, bad graphics, an unnecessary “reinventing the wheel” control scheme that I find horribly unintuitive and annoying, and its games are all lame.

GTA IV. Metal Gear Solid 4. Resident Evil 5. These are the real gamers’ games that are actually going to be the meat and potatoes on the plate. The stuff offered by the Wii is like shots of Bailey’s.
[/QUOTE]

This is exactly the kind of misinformation I’m talking about. The Wii is a video game console. None of the three consoles can be considered inferior to any of the others because they all have their own unique strengths and weaknesses.

If the Wii is a novelty then so is the Xbox 1, PS2, GameCube, PS1, Dreamcast, etc, etc, etc because it doesn’t do anything radically different from previous game consoles.

The Wiimote is unique, yes, but that doesn’t mean the Wii is all of a sudden too different to compare to other game consoles.

88

Well, the Wii does do HD. Not 1080, but 720. And widescreen. It’s more powerful than the Gamecube by a long shot. It also draws less power, and has built in wifi. Smash Brothers Brawl would not have looked the same on the Gamecube. The characters are considerably more detailed.
Also, there’s the question of attachment and penetration. Now, everyone who has a Wii has these controllers. With an aftermarket device, the penetration is always limited.

… frankly, considering the Wii sells and the Gamecube did not means that the Wii must be doing something right.

89

[QUOTE=Justin_Bailey]
This is exactly the kind of misinformation I’m talking about. The Wii is a video game console. None of the three consoles can be considered inferior to any of the others because they all have their own unique strengths and weaknesses.

If the Wii is a novelty then so is the Xbox 1, PS2, GameCube, PS1, Dreamcast, etc, etc, etc because it doesn’t do anything radically different from previous game consoles.
[/QUOTE]

None of what you said addresses anything I’ve said. Of course any of the consoles can be considered inferior. And I am saying that I consider the Wii to be inferior. Because the graphics and the games on it suck, in my opinion. I don’t give a shit if the Wii has sold five hundred billion systems. Since when the hell is high sales a measure of quality? By this same standard, Coca-Cola is ambrosia and McDonald’s hamburgers are equal to a porterhouse from Morton’s.

The Wii is a novelty because it appeals to people who want a toy as opposed to a video game system. Like I said, the graphics suck compared to the other “seventh generation” systems. The games tend to be kiddy and “fun” as opposed to intense, deep games like what the 360 and PS3 have. The people who play it tend to be people who are just looking for a quick, fun experience, like a shot of Bailey’s or some other sweet liquor compared to the big, heaping plate of roasted meat and potatoes that amazing, graphically-stunning games with deep gameplay and plots represent.

90

Can you not just say that the Wii isn’t the console for you? Do you have to say it sucks, that it’s inferior? It doesn’t match your tastes in gaming, and that’s fine, but it clearly matches a lot of other peoples’.

It doesn’t suck, you just don’t like it, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Please don’t confuse the two.

91

The Wii is not the console for me. Because I like games that don’t suck.

92

[QUOTE=Argent Towers]

The Wii is a novelty because it appeals to people who want a toy as opposed to a video game system. Like I said, the graphics suck compared to the other “seventh generation” systems. The games tend to be kiddy and “fun” as opposed to intense, deep games like what the 360 and PS3 have. The people who play it tend to be people who are just looking for a quick, fun experience, like a shot of Bailey’s or some other sweet liquor compared to the big, heaping plate of roasted meat and potatoes that amazing, graphically-stunning games with deep gameplay and plots represent.
[/QUOTE]

Video games systems aren’t toys? And you get to define gamers?

Gee, next thing you’ll be telling me is that people who don’t read the classics like Hardy, Austen, Nabokov, Tolstoy, et. al. and only read SF and Fantasy don’t read “books” and aren’t “readers.” Barely literate. Compared to Ada, everything Tolkien wrote is like a shot of Baileys.

Then again, we started out comparing the Wii to Celine Dion, so we’ve come full circle on “my snobbery is better than yours.”

93

Well, whatever.

94

[QUOTE=Intravenus De Milo]
One major difference is that, with the Wii port, the entire game is a mirror image of the GC version. This is because, although Link is a left-handed character, Nintendo assumed that the majority of Wii users are right-handed, and thus flipped around the interface to match Link’s motion with the typical player using the Wiimote.
[/QUOTE]

Yeah, but this seems pretty superficial.

[QUOTE=Intravenus De Milo]
Aside from fan complaints of “LINK IS RIGHT-HANDED IN THE WII VERSION OH NOES”, I’m not sure how the GC version would be significantly better than its Wii counterpart. FWIW, I thought the Wii port made great use of the Wiimote, especially WRT archery.
[/QUOTE]

Right. This would seem to trump the handedness issue (which I would never have noticed if people hadn’t complained about it).

95

[QUOTE=Dangerosa]
Video games systems aren’t toys? And you get to define gamers?

Gee, next thing you’ll be telling me is that people who don’t read the classics like Hardy, Austen, Nabokov, Tolstoy, et. al. and only read SF and Fantasy don’t read “books” and aren’t “readers.” Barely literate. Compared to Ada, everything Tolkien wrote is like a shot of Baileys.

Then again, we started out comparing the Wii to Celine Dion, so we’ve come full circle on “my snobbery is better than yours.”
[/QUOTE]

Fine, show me a Wii game that has any kind of gameplay on the level of Grand Theft Auto IV, and I’ll stop bashing it. Compared to the PS3, the Wii is a toy, the same way a pellet gun is a toy compared to an M-16. Its graphics are beneath mediocre by today’s standards, and none of its games approach anything like what the 360 and PS3 can offer in terms of depth and graphics. This is an unwinnable argument so I’m just going to shut up and hold firm to that position. I hate the Wii, and nothing is going to change that. Nothing whatsoever.

96

Since you clearly place so much emphasis on graphics, it’s no real surprise. De gustibus non est disputandum and all that.

97

Graphics, and, like, having realistic gameplay that isn’t sci-fi or fantasy. Like GTA IV. Or Metal Gear Solid. Or Resident Evil.

98

[QUOTE=Argent Towers]
Graphics, and, like, having realistic gameplay that isn’t sci-fi or fantasy. Like GTA IV. Or Metal Gear Solid. Or Resident Evil.
[/QUOTE]
Okay, now that’s funny. You’re having a laugh, aren’t you?

99

[QUOTE=Argent Towers]
In my opinion:

The Wii is a stupid novelty system. It has a dumb name, bad graphics, an unnecessary “reinventing the wheel” control scheme that I find horribly unintuitive and annoying, and its games are all lame.
[/quote]

Dumb Name: Fair enough, it still gets a tad bit of a wtf reaction from me when I think about it, but “playstation” and “xbox 360” (or “Gamecube” for that matter) aren’t any works of poetry either. (Sega probably had the best names in my opinion, but whatever).

Bad Graphics: I think the graphics are fine, noone, including SSBB has really pushed the system yet, and though you’re right they’re not going to be on par with the other two systems at least most developers make their games look nice. Most of the developers for the 360 games I have seem to have forgotten colors other than “black, brown and industrial concrete gray” exist. News flash designers: real actually has quite a robust pallette, and last time I checked the primary colors and their secondary, tirtiary etc bretheren don’t charge for their services. Then again, I still think Wind Waker has one of the best, if not the best use of graphical presentation ever.

Control scheme: Barring games like Wii Sports and Wario Ware, you barely notice it half the time. Zelda Twilight Princess, I barely noticed the controller. I’m not sure what some people I’ve heard about with sore wrists were doing, but to shamelessly borrow a meme, they’re doing it wrong! Tiny, insignificant movements are all thats needed, and when used in moderation can offer many more possibilities than the other controllers. Granted only a handful of games have actually managed recognition correctly so far.

All Games are Lame: Really? REALLY? Okay, I really don’t want to bash opinions here, but you can get no potential joy out of Mario, Zelda, or Metroid? Smash Bros isn’t even fun “now and then with a friend?” I have a feeling you’re exaggerating a bit, or maybe you were so cynical from the start you tried to find everything wrong you could in the games, but whatever your opinion.

Meh, GTA4 doesn’t appeal to me, opinionwise, mainly the gang culture that I dislike Different Strokes and all. But you’re missing one thing: to you. Now you said it was only your opinion but this post:

Makes me think you don’t get it and you’re trying to belittle anyone who disagrees with you. Very few games are bad, and I mean unplayably bad. Sure we can all name a few (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was a first class train wreck). Sure, maybe you don’t like First Person Adventures (Metroid), Platformers(Super Mario Galaxy), or Fantasy Action/Adventures(Zelda), but they’re loved by more than enough people that I don’t think you can fairly say they suck.

Edit: That or this is an elaborate satire and we’ve all been duped.

100

**gonzomax ** was playing the Wii and remarked when we were playing WiiSports: “They don’t have any legs. Why don’t they have any legs?” Further on, when we were playing more baseball and it stopped after 3 innings: “Why does it stop at 3 innings? Baseball is 9 innings.”
He remarked that the bowling stroke was actualy rather reaslistic and not too bad, but his point seemed to be our discussion/argument/debate in a nutshell: “It’s not ‘complete’. Why not?” versus someone that would say “No, it’s not complete, but I still like it anyways.”

Then again, he saw the introduction to Zelda and played various WiiSports games, so I don’t think he had a good representation of what the Wii has possible. But still, compared to, for example, Call of Duty 4, it just seems like “Well, crap. This isn’t bad, and this is fine, but why would you limit yourself when you could do better?”

To sum it up, I think that the main divide that Wii defenders have against Wii bashers and the big criticism that I think I have with the Wii is that it just disappoints. It’s fine. It’s not bad, but I haven’t played a game on the console that I simply must play for hours on end. Mario Kart Wii is about the closest I’ve had to that, and even then, I think it still has fatal flaws that prevent it from being a great game. Hell, I think Nintendo should patch the game and fix them.