It's raining Wii's

[Gadfly2317]

I posted this also in a thread in the Wii forum, but as we know, hardly anyone reads any of the forums aside from Sys Wars. Not sure if it deserves its own thread, really, but I don't think I't alone in not having ever seen Wii's in the wild, aside from the one day I got up early and waited in line to get one back in December.

There were a couple of giant stacks of them at Toys r Us in Times Square, NYC. The stack I shot a picture of is 3 deep, and there was another tower of Wii's in the center of the store. . . I'm guessing around 800 or so systems in all piled on the floor--didn't ask if there were more in back. I heard one of the employees say "I'm am so sick of the Wii." They were carrying them up to the counter by the armload.

I was there to get the iSound audio peripheral for watching movies on the PsP. . . but there was no way I was going to wait in that line (they didn't have a separate register for non-wii purchases. I went by the store later in the day and the line was short enough to get the PsP sound system, and there were still a lot of Wii's left. If you live in the NE, hop on Amtrack to Penn Station and you'll be a few blocks walk to the Wii motherload.

And to add the Sys Wars spice, there was also a small stack of Ps3's when I stopped by, but no one was buying it. Everyone was buying Wii's, and when I came back later in the day, over half of the giant pile of Wii's were gone, but the little stack of Ps3's was still the same. The towers of Wii's compared to the Ps3 stack was like looking at the Empire State Building next to a hotdog stand.

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w195/Gadfly2317/PileofWii.jpg

[Dancer O_o]

the Wii Motherload...heh, I like that.

Whole lot of Wii-ing going on

[ThaMaskedGamer]

To me, the picture is not all rosy for Nintendo. Or rather for Nintendo developers. If you look at the NPD data, Nintendo is not where they should be. Remember GC got off to a rosy start too, as well as N64. I have a feeling that the bottom could fall outta this thing in a year or two. Obviously if you are Nintendo you'd rather have this than Sony's situation, but still, Nintendo has the same problem it always seems to have, selling 3rd party software in big numbers. People I work with have Wii, i'm talking old geezers, but they play bowling and stuff, actually have get togethers around it. But that's the Wii sports pak, is anybody buying Excite Truck? Red Steel?

[Glockstar]

The Toys R Us here in metro-Detroit gets 22 Wii's, while a New York City TRU gets 800? I know NY is a lot bigger than D, but come on, is it that much bigger?

And what's with TRU striking it so rich?

[Gadfly2317]

To me, the picture is not all rosy for Nintendo. Or rather for Nintendo developers. If you look at the NPD data, Nintendo is not where they should be. Remember GC got off to a rosy start too, as well as N64. I have a feeling that the bottom could fall outta this thing in a year or two. Obviously if you are Nintendo you'd rather have this than Sony's situation, but still, Nintendo has the same problem it always seems to have, selling 3rd party software in big numbers. People I work with have Wii, i'm talking old geezers, but they play bowling and stuff, actually have get togethers around it. But that's the Wii sports pak, is anybody buying Excite Truck? Red Steel?

Third parties are doing reasonably well on the DS, and the same thing should ultimately happen on the Wii as well. Both systems are expanding beyond the core fanbase/Mario fanatics.

Nintendo will likely be the top seller on its own system because the core is so fantatical and its still there--those will be most of the million sellers. But there is a mint to be made by creative third parties willing enough to bring the system more than just the shovel-ware kids-movie spinoffs.

As for myself, even though I'm a fan of many of Nintendo's first party games, a couple of my most wanted Wii titles this year are third party: Manhunt 2 and No More Heroes.

And rumor has it Wii is going to get Katamari Damacy as well.

[ThaMaskedGamer]

As for myself, even though I'm a fan of many of Nintendo's first party games, a couple of my most wanted Wii titles this year are third party: Manhunt 2 and No More Heroes.

And rumor has it Wii is going to get Katamari Damacy as well.

Ahh see, I'm not thinking big picture. I've really only been thinking about how the failure of the PS3 will benefit the 360, but yes, those kinda low-budget creative games that did well on PS2 will need to find a home as well. The logical place is the Wii, definitely not the 360, well perhaps 360's Live Arcade. But Wii will definitely get some of that PS3 spillage. By going the $600 route Sony all but said F-U to that artsy/niche game genre. Too much money just seems to make people do stupid things, a la Brittainy Spears, I'm tired of being a multi-millionaire pop-idol, i'd rather be a trailer-trash stay-at-home mom! Brilliant. I mean I wonder if she is in rehab sharing a bunk with old Ken Kutagari reminiscing about the good old days when they were on top of the world.

[Dancer O_o]

i'm talking old geezers, but they play bowling and stuff, actually have get togethers around it. But that's the Wii sports pak, is anybody buying Excite Truck? Red Steel?

the "old geezers" will buy Tiger Woods Golf I bet, EA has committed to doing Wii games right and so far they have mainly. I bet Rockstar will make their table tennis game for Wii and sell a frigates worth. Third party devs. need to realize (and I think they do) that to make Wii games, make them around games that ALL can relate to. Bowling, Tennis, hell even Shuffle Board will have Wiis in every senior citizen community rolling for years. I bet they could make a knitting game for the Wii at this point and it would move Wiis like crack through an inner city. There's a huge difference between the Wii and the GC, that difference is that any fool can play this stuff and be good at it pretty quick, it also gets the "geezers" up off the couch, and the fatties too. You can't pay for this kind of advertising.

Funny thing. Sony likes to say that the Wii does not directly compete with the Wii so all the Wiis flying off shelves means nothing to Sony....yeah right, they are crying a bloody river over this as I type this tripe.

[Gadfly2317]

Too much money just seems to make people do stupid things, a la Brittainy Spears, I'm tired of being a multi-millionaire pop-idol, i'd rather be a trailer-trash stay-at-home mom! Brilliant. I mean I wonder if she is in rehab sharing a bunk with old Ken Kutagari reminiscing about the good old days when they were on top of the world.

Freaking hilarious!

And you know, I've been wondering, what in the hell is Brittany in rehab for, anyway? Alcohol? Cocaine?

Because you know, she just doesn't seem like a druggy. But yet, I know they don't have rehabs to cure people of Stupid, so she must be in there for something.

[ThaMaskedGamer]

the "old geezers" will buy Tiger Woods Golf I bet, EA has committed to doing Wii games right and so far they have mainly. I bet Rockstar will make their table tennis game for Wii and sell a frigates worth. Third party devs. need to realize (and I think they do) that to make Wii games, make them around games that ALL can relate to. Bowling, Tennis, hell even Shuffle Board will have Wiis in every senior citizen community rolling for years. I bet they could make a knitting game for the Wii at this point and it would move Wiis like crack through an inner city. There's a huge difference between the Wii and the GC, that difference is that any fool can play this stuff and be good at it pretty quick, it also gets the "geezers" up off the couch, and the fatties too. You can't pay for this kind of advertising.

Funny thing. Sony likes to say that the Wii does not directly compete with the Wii so all the Wiis flying off shelves means nothing to Sony....yeah right, they are crying a bloody river over this as I type this tripe.

Yeah, you guys are right on this one. That Rockstar game would be perfect for Wii, it failed on 360, but it seems as though the Wii is the perfect place for it. That is the perfect way to utilize the Wii controller, like Tiger Woods Golf, another good example. I guess I'm still thinking about what was there day 1. Even my kids didn't want a Wii for xmas because they didn't like the offerings, they just wanted more DS games. But i'm sure next XMAS it will be the #1 thing they are asking for. Another game, which is just silly, but the more I think about seems like it will do well is Cooking Mama. I know everyone in my house would get a kick outta that(3 girls) and i'd probably just have fun watching them have fun. Still, I wanna see more volume from Wii before I feel completely safe it won't follow GCN. I believe it wont but I won't feel solid till I see a sales surge.

[Glockstar]

Ahh see, I'm not thinking big picture. I've really only been thinking about how the failure of the PS3 will benefit the 360, but yes, those kinda low-budget creative games that did well on PS2 will need to find a home as well. The logical place is the Wii, definitely not the 360, well perhaps 360's Live Arcade. But Wii will definitely get some of that PS3 spillage. ...

Now you're getting it. Coincidentally, I just read that Majesco has just sworn allegiance to Nintendo, and will be shunning Sony's and Microsoft's systems from this point foreward.

[Mochan]

Nintendo has the same problem it always seems to have, selling 3rd party software in big numbers. People I work with have Wii, i'm talking old geezers, but they play bowling and stuff, actually have get togethers around it. But that's the Wii sports pak, is anybody buying Excite Truck? Red Steel?

Like I said, the Wii is really just selling based on two games alone: Wii Play and Wii Sports, and these are to the "new demographic" of girls, women, and old men in retirement homes. None of these "gamers" are very likely to be buying any of the "hard core" games. I mean sure Twilight Princess is selling well but that game isn't what is driving these 5-6Million units or whatever it is the Wii has sold now. The games selling it are Wii Play and Wii Sports, and the ones buying them are these fad bumpkin gamers.

This is the fad status of the Wii at the moment. Will it develop beyond that? I find it unlikely, I mean even on the DS the "new demographic" that got DS handhelds are still playing Nintendogs and Brain games, it's not like these people are going to be buying Metroid or Castlevania. Though the DS is admittedly not doing half bad with the core gaming crowd as well, but at the moment the Wii is not quite on the same level yet.

I don't think the issue is third party, the larger issue is that the core market component is *still* the same segment we had for the GC and N64, the "new market" it has forged is still just a flimsy fad market. I actually feel Nintendo may be doing better with 3rd party this time around, becuase the platform that stole its 3rd parties in the first place -- the Playstation -- is floundering like Happy Feet on burning coals.

Another game, which is just silly, but the more I think about seems like it will do well is Cooking Mama. I know everyone in my house would get a kick outta that(3 girls) and i'd probably just have fun watching them have fun.

Cooking Mama... this game had me interested when I first heard about it, but when I started playing I was like, "WTF is this ****." You can't even call this a game, frankly.

[TPoD]

the "old geezers" will buy Tiger Woods Golf I bet, EA has committed to doing Wii games right and so far they have mainly. I bet Rockstar will make their table tennis game for Wii and sell a frigates worth. Third party devs. need to realize (and I think they do) that to make Wii games, make them around games that ALL can relate to. Bowling, Tennis, hell even Shuffle Board will have Wiis in every senior citizen community rolling for years. I bet they could make a knitting game for the Wii at this point and it would move Wiis like crack through an inner city. There's a huge difference between the Wii and the GC, that difference is that any fool can play this stuff and be good at it pretty quick, it also gets the "geezers" up off the couch, and the fatties too. You can't pay for this kind of advertising.

Funny thing. Sony likes to say that the Wii does not directly compete with the Wii so all the Wiis flying off shelves means nothing to Sony....yeah right, they are crying a bloody river over this as I type this tripe.

Tiger is totally mediocre. The true swing mechanic is so effed up at times that I wish they would have included the old school swing mechanic for the more important shots. Seriously, any shot inside 100 yards is an adventure because your on-screen golfer does not mimic your actual swing the way that it works in WiiSport golf. It does not really matter with your drives and long irons, but when you need some finese it is a crapshoot. All that I can guess is that EA rushed the title(imagine that).

[TPoD]

I mean Nintendo hit the jackpot here didn't they. They are moving all these consoles without even needing a few good games to do so. I keep thinking that they are going to have to produce some good titles soon or the well will surely run dry, and every month the numbers make me a liar. I guess that a good fad is all you need, but as a Wii owner I want some good games. Once you get tired of Zelda it is skin and bones, and btw folks, if any of you are considering Tiger I would play it before buying it.

[Gadfly2317]

Tiger is totally mediocre. The true swing mechanic is so effed up at times that I wish they would have included the old school swing mechanic for the more important shots. Seriously, any shot inside 100 yards is an adventure because your on-screen golfer does not mimic your actual swing the way that it works in WiiSport golf. It does not really matter with your drives and long irons, but when you need some finese it is a crapshoot. All that I can guess is that EA rushed the title(imagine that).

I had pre-ordered Tiger Woods but I'm going to pick up God Father Black Hand instead. It's getting better review scores than the Ps2 and Xbox version of the games, looks great, and I've been itching to use the Wii for some violence. It's rather satisfying to punch people in Wii Sports boxing and to shoot the Rabbids in Rayman, and from what I've read, God Father takes that visceral pleasure to a whole new level.

I like the Tiger Woods franchise a lot, and maybe next years inevitable sequel will work out the bugs in the swing mechanics. But I like a deep but cartoonish golf game, too, like Hot Shots Golf and Mario Golf, and Nintendo has shown it can nail a good golf game. What I can't decide is whether I'd rather have Mario Golf, or a full-fledged golf game featuring the Miis. Hmmmm. . . .. I vote for the Miis.

[Mochan]

Here's one thing I don't like about the current crop of Wii games. They are mostly emphasizing the control mechanic but not really putting that mechanic into a good game experience. I mean sure say Tiger Woods you get to swing your wiimoto to do golf, but if the selling point is the swinging then you're better off going to the driving range and doing the real thing. But I've never been fond of sports games that didn't have a larger encompassing game experience around them (that's why 2K games and the like never interest me) so I never could understand the draw. But I mean, why play a table tennis game where you swing a remote control around like a paddle, when you can go out and swing with a real paddle?

I mean sure it's convenient and you can play against the CPU, but that's like melting sugar and milk you have at home and burning it to emulate chocolate to eat instead of going out to the supermarket to buy some real Cadbury chocolate.

I mentioned that I found Guitar Hero to be a bleh game because I just don't see the point of me playing with a crappy piece of plastic trying to be a guitar, and doing junk finger motions that aren't anywhere close to real guitar playing, when I have done the real thing. I guess I can understand that some people who can't play guitars in real life would like the idea of becoming a virtual rock star, but for me the idea doesn't work. Similarly sport games that use the the wiimote don't feel compelling unless they are wrapped around another game experience (like a role-playing experience).


The obvious exception that works seems to be Twilight Princess. I like the idea of games like Red Steel as well; I mean you can't just go out shooting people but here you are given the option to use the wiimoto in a very good simulating fashion, and its' wrapped around a bigger game experience - the story and persona you play the game through. Hopefully the succeeding crop of games like Manhunt and all those stuff work, I want something like Red Steel, but which doesn't suck.

[PapaSmurf]

Mochan, you can't just got out to the driving range and swing. First you have to get to the course or range and that takes time, then you have to pay money to rent balls you're just going to hit. The Wii makes these things simple and you don't have to go chasing balls.

People by sports games for dynasty modes and 2 player modes. If you've even payed NCAA of Madden, hell I think all sports games have it to some extent, you'd know the dynasty mode is where it's at, and there's all sorts of depth to it.

Guitar Hero really is kind of stupid I agree, but that games mean to be played under the influence anyways.

[TPoD]

I like the Tiger Woods franchise a lot, and maybe next years inevitable sequel will work out the bugs in the swing mechanics. But I like a deep but cartoonish golf game, too, like Hot Shots Golf and Mario Golf, and Nintendo has shown it can nail a good golf game. What I can't decide is whether I'd rather have Mario Golf, or a full-fledged golf game featuring the Miis. Hmmmm. . . .. I vote for the Miis.

Well here is what pisses me off most about Tiger Woods. It is the fact that WiiSports golf which is really nothing more than a demo got the most important thing right---the swing. That just shows you that it can be done correctly. All that EA had to do was mimic what Nintendo already implemented for the basics, and then add the depth and presentation to the game.

[Dancer O_o]

Well here is what pisses me off most about Tiger Woods. It is the fact that WiiSports golf which is really nothing more than a demo got the most important thing right---the swing. That just shows you that it can be done correctly. All that EA had to do was mimic what Nintendo already implemented for the basics, and then add the depth and presentation to the game.

Seems like no-freaking-brainer doesn't it?... I'm bummed that the TWG swing mechanic is pooched, I was looking forward to that game. The Wii-Golf is very good except for short putting, it has limited range for that. If they tweaked that and tossed in 5 or 10 more coarses I'd pay real money for it. How hard is it to get Wii motion mechanics working right like Nintendo does?....apparently it's tough as nails to do. There's another golf game that's been out for a while that looked good, but when I read the reviews they said that you had to do this and that and take this and that into account, and even then it really doesn't work like a golf swing, so you have to do....this is where I stopped reading and said "What the hell? Forget it"

This industry is STILL run by people more intrested in money than games, and those that wouldn't know a good game if jumped up and bit them on the ass. This along with the juvenile approach to everything from advertising to story telling nearly has me beating my head against a wall sometimes. The biggest problem today is that most people think that kids are the real gamers so why bother trying real hard because kids don't know what class is or quality most of the time, so just make it sub-par and call it a day. Oddly, Nintendo knows something that most do not...how to make it good, fun and almost always worthwhile games....and they mainly taylor their stuff to kids. Sega used to be the same but has fallen from grace quite a bit as most of their Sonic games in the last decade are terrible. I still bought Sonic Rings for Wii Saturday though, I haven't opened it yet.

[Mochan]

I've seen the Dynasty Modes, but the Wiimoto doesn't exactly lend itself to Dynasty play. And yeah pretty much all the modern sports games have some kind of Dynasty Mode, I see my brother playing those all the time. I guess sports games just aren't my thing.

The only time I can really tolerate a sports game, is when it's wrapped in a grander presentation than just the core game. Take Prince of Tennis: Form the Strongest Team for the PS2. The point is to assemble a tennis team of 5 from a pool of characters, and then when you get them you plan their training regimen per day and you have to go through a renai adventure with all of them. It's a shame English devs never translate the renai components of Japanese games into the English localizations, take Rival Schools they totally took out the renai game from the English version, boo!

And indeed, it's a shame we get too many game devs either catering to kids, or making games that only kids could tolerate.