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Five reasons to pass on a Wii
firefly2003
Member UncommonPosts: 2,527
The Nintendo Wii has been a staggering success. Its combination of innovative control,accessible games, and inexpensive hardware colossally broadened the video games market, reaching a new batch of consumers nobody else knew existed.
But its once-proud sales are sagging, its software releases are fewer and further between, and its competitors are closing the price gap. While an expected price cut might have you thinking about finally picking one up, we suggest you reconsider. Here's why.
-- It's technically dated.
By far the biggest criticism levelled at the Wii is in regards to its limited technical capacity. From day one, the system lagged notably behind the visual bar set by the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Nearly five years later, it's practically a fossil. Back in 2006, when high-definition TVs were the domain of home theater nerds and early adopters, it had an easier time getting away with flat, last-gen visuals, but now that big-screen 1080p sets are cheap, convenient, and everywhere, it's just looking a bit silly. And the better the TV, the worse the Wii looks. Set it next to an Xbox 360 -- a machine that's now only $30 or so more expensive than a Wii -- and it's completely outclassed.
-- The game supply is running dry.
The end of 2010 -- which saw top-rated Wii games games like Kirby's Epic Yarn and Donkey Kong Country Returns hit charts -- might well have been the system's last hurrah.
2011's release calendar is depressing reading for Wii fans. Standout The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is likely to be another must-have, but outside of that there's little to get excited about. Most of the year's bigger Wii releases will also be coming to the other consoles, and chances are the Wii version will look worse, play worse, and have fewer features. Nintendo's development efforts are elsewhere, and despite the console's massive sales, Wii games -- outside of a few massive hits like Just Dance and Carnival Games -- have rarely proved big earners for other companies. In other words, hope you like the games that are already out there, because unless things turn around in a big way, that's pretty much your lot.
-- It's no longer the motion control leader.
Innovative, accessible, and simple, the Wii's motion controller was the key to much of its breakout success. For most of the console's life, if you wanted motion control (and just about everyone except the gaming hardcore did) the Wii was the only game in town.
But that was then, and this is now. Recent months have seen both Sony and Microsoft bring their own motion control systems to market, and both are far more advanced. Sony's Move system looks goofy but delivers more accuracy and sensitivity than the Wii, while Microsoft's high-tech Kinect, a huge hit with punters, does away with controllers altogether. If it's motion-controlled gaming you're after, the Wii isn't necessarily your best option.
-- It missed the online boat.
Over the past eight or nine years, we've seen console gaming shift from a solitary pursuit (or one enjoyed with a few friends sitting around the same TV) to an online, social experience. Whether we're playing Farmville or Fable III, we're never alone: games are constantly connecting you with your friends no matter what they're playing.
Except, that is, if they're playing on the Wii.
Why? Much of the problem is down to the Wii's archaic "Friend Code" system -- twelve-digit strings of numbers you need to exchange with your friends in order to play together. They're different in each game, meaning if you have regular online gaming buddies you'll need to re-add each others codes for every new game you tackle. While a few games have found success despite the wonky system -- Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri comes to mind -- most online game experiences on the Wii pale next to the competition.
A tweaked version of the system debuted with Nintendo's new 3DS handheld, but the Wii is still stuck in the past. Friend Codes have never gained much acceptance with gamers, have been poorly supported by publishers, and look preposterously clunky next to Sony and Microsoft's sleek online experiences (when they're not horribly broken, that is).
-- Its days are already numbered.
Nintendo is about to kickstart the next console generation by officially announcing its Wii successor at a June trade show. Details on the new machine are still up the air, but a few oft-repeated rumors are gaining acceptance: it's clear the Wii 2 will be a major hardware step forward over the Wii, and should at least be on a par with the Xbox 360 and PS3. It'll likely be backwards-compatible with Wii games, and is said to sport motion-sensitive controllers with integrated high-definition touchscreens.
In other words, it'll keep the things we loved about the Wii, bring its hardware up to date, and, we expect, keep its price attractive to the casual consumers who made the Wii such a hit. Most predictions indicate buyers should expect to see the new machine sometime around the fall of 2012. If you've held out on buying the Wii thus far, what's another year?
http://blog.games.yahoo.com/blog/641-five-reasons-to-pass-on-a-wii
Comments
lol Thanks.
Wii 2 coming. lol Its gonna be uber 3-d watch!
Jeremiah 8:21 I weep for the hurt of my people; I stand amazed, silent, dumb with grief.
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-- It's technically dated.
I don't think being technically dated means anything. There are a lot of older games that are much more fun to play then what's out now and they are technically dated.
If it's fun and you enjoy using it that's what matters.
Im pretty sure what he is saying is.. dated.. as in watching Netflix on this thing is aweful.. You have to buy an HD adaptor and the highest rez is barely bareable to watch on HD Tvs.. Dated as in the wireless on this ole boy is slow as crap. It is more of a comic book gaming system than anything.. I agree with his outlook.. It has fallen WAY behind in the console race.
The system has been out for 5 years. I think we're past the "on the fence" demographic. Funny list. Would have been relevant maybe in 2007.
If I am correct..Ps3 and Wii released same year and quarter.. your point is?
The wii was built with household demographics that didn't have HD tv's in mind and so cost less....it made tons of profit for Nintendo these past 5 years. Sony opted to make a $600 gaming machine that was HD capable 5 years ago that they lost money on for much of the time and only now is the install number on par (exceeding?) the Wii. I'd say the guys at Nintendo did a brilliant job understanding the target audience they were going after and delivering "just enough" -- now it's time to refresh that with the Wii 2.
I bet this time Wii is HD and wireless is updated.. or do you think AV cables and 802.11b will be just enough for the family? LOL target audience must have been people who used rabbit ears for reception. If the folks at nintendo didn't see HD coming.. then WoW is all I can say. How much do you think its gonna cost Wii this time around.. I bet it is in the 300.00-400.00 range. It doesn't even play DVDs.. how is that family? Poor Forcasting.. That my opinion.. and Im sticking to it.
Until the recent addition to the motion plus being built into a wii-mote the controllers costed me more than my PS3 lol. The base remote was $40 + %20 for the motion plus +$20 for nunchuck. So back when I first bought the Wii it cost me like $80 for each controller where as the PS3 cost me $55. On the up side to the Wii, it tends to be women friendly. My woman used to complain all the time about my videogame habits until I bought the Wii. Now she plays that and leaves me to my PS3 and PC games.
Even though it's not a graphically superior machine, it's worth the $200 for a new one IMO. It's got great games for all ages and it's great for kids to play as well (though I don't completely agree with sitting kids in front of a videogame system unless it's educational games).
It's not that they didn't see HD coming -- the fact was the # of households with HDTVs back then didn't justify paying to put HD technology into the original Wii and then pass the cost off to consumers that mostly wouldn't use it, assuming they would even pay the premium for it. Sony did this with the PS3 and it killed them in terms of profits these past few years. Likewise, you complain that there was no dvd player in the wii. Are you kidding? Who in 2006 didn't have a dvd player already? Why pay to license dvd technology to incorporate it into a gaming system when it would be redundant with devices already saturated in households throughout the country? At this point, with a wii 2 release date for 2012, they can leapfrog dvd and blu-ray technology (for movie playback) outright and just rely on streaming.....but it sounds like you would want to waste money paying for that stuff anyway....
I think it's a bit late to "pass" on the Wii. The vast majority of people already own one. It's still the king of motion control in terms of games that utilize it. It's extremely cheap, backwards compatible, and has a surprisingly deep library of original and well made games, along with the heavy hitters that always make a Nintendo console worth buying. To be honest, it's the only REAL console. The 360 and the PS3 are just poor imitations at PCs, having neither the benefits of a PC, nor the benefits of a console that focuses on local multiplayer. People like to pretend the Wii library is small, but that's merely because the good games that come out for it are usually original titles by smaller companies, not huge corporate titles like Call of Duty that spend 3 months and 10 million on adverts. Sitting on my shelf at home I've got...
A Boy and His Blob
Red Steel 2
Mad World
No More Heroes
Super Smash Brawl
Twilight Princess
Sonic Colors
Donkey Kong Country Returns
The Conduit 2
Raving Rabbids
Wii Sports Resort
Kirby's Epic Yarn
Epic Micky
Mario Galaxy 1&2
Metroid Prime Trilogy
Paper Mario
Okami
Goldeneye Wii
Madden 08
Pokemon Battle Revolution
Animal Crossing
Endless Ocean 1+2
and a few other RPGs and adventure games.
The only ones I regret buying was Goldeneye and Pokemon BR. And I'm missing out on a large chunk of games that people have been recommending to me.
So yeah, you may not have Mass Effect, but you've got a lot of great games.
I'm not a fan of the Wii... there's really nothing on it that makes me want to play it. I love Zelda games and even Mario games, but that's not enough to make me drop money on something I'm only going to buy 2 games for. That, and I'm not one who likes to do those social games. It's great for families, parties, and non-gamers, but for me... no thanks. I like my single-player games
That being said, I do own one. But I won it at a work party :x
So are the PS3 and 360 if you want to get into the hardware that's available today.
0118 999 881 999 119 725... 3
Echos my thoughts exactly. I like playing Mario Party or Kart with 3 other people, I have to admit it's pretty fun, but I'd rather have an 360 or PS3 *shrugs*
+1 for the green hair if that's actually you in the picture!
Your agruement in petty at best.. So your total defense of Wii is "Why put it on there if Sally is already broke and can't afford it" and "Why add things to a device that can save space on your entertainment center, because most people already have it" both of the arguements fly in the face of technology and progress. The idea is to build something that replace other unit you might have to other wise buy seperatly. For instance I did not have a DVD player on my regular Non HD TV at the time, but as a consumer I wa smart enough to know what my TV would look like in the near future.. So I decided HD+Bluray.. for 100.00-150.00 more.. why not.. its worth it to have in one unit. So I bought a Ps3. Now that I have 4 HD TVs in my home I can put my PS3 on any TV and enjoy QUALITY entertainment. What's the point of buying technology if it isn't newer and improved, which outside of the accelerometers.. Wii fails. Can my 5 year old play it easier than my PS3 maybe that arguement is better suited to the Wii.. but the technology aspect.. Wii is going to lose everytime, reguardless of your said "They couldn't justify building a technological advancement due to cost" argument. If that were the case we would never really advance.
Yawn, considering the Wii outsold PS3 and the 360, I would say that saying the Wii was fail is ridiculous. It may not have been the powerhouse the other two systems were but it definitely did something right. You need look no further than the fact that while Microsoft and Sony are just now releasing motion tracking gaming as a replacement for a new system, Nintendo is looking at their next generation console release. I'm not saying graphically the Wii is close to anything that the Ps3 has, but to slam Nintendo for making a product that was more successful than Sony and Microsoft were almost combined is pretty petty IMO. They accomplished their goal, make something successful, fun and enjoyable. Does it scratch the itch for hardcore gamers? Maybe not, but it scratched something.
When it came out, I only needed one reason to pass on it: the demographic change. You know, when they changed the name from Revolution to Wii, and announced that they were going after the family fun audience. The library since then, with the rare exception of a select few titles, has supported that decision.
You need only one reason to not buy it. And that reason is......it's a Wii
If we're talking about a person that have to choose one of the three consoles available, they need to decide 3 things.
1. What can I afford, how much do I want to spend?
Wii and xbox is pretty much in the same price range (at least here), while ps3's price is a step up.
2. Which games do I want to play?
If this is your most imortant factor, I'm sure you can find a list with exclusive games for each console on the net. Compare the consoles that past the first step.
3. How important is hardware and features?
If you need the blueray and can afford a ps3, compare this to your choice in the second step. Compare the online features and prioritize them against the two earlier steps.
For many, this step is more important than the game library.
Personally I have all three and I use them all. My ps3 is mostly a blueray player though. I had an xbox, wanted a blueray player hence the ps3, and Wii - well .... Zelda and Mario forced my hand, and it is backwards compatilbe with the cube. I don't have the kinect, I've tried it... hated it, but that's just me.
Everyone have different priorities.
Now... if we're talking about who made the best strategic choices for their console, Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo?
Well, that is a much simpler discussion because, unlike the players, these companies all have the same priority and goal. So you just look at the numbers.
One main reason to buy the Wii..."Mario Kart"...
There are some good games out there but I do agree the selection is lacking. However, I do think it is worth it to buy the Wii if you are into games like Mario Kart, or the Wii Sports type stuff along with a few other good titles.
I am entitled to my opinions, misspellings, and grammatical errors.
Surely nobody has a console for anything other then social events? And in this area, Wii is just absolutely awesome.
I have a Wii but I dont like it much...I havent really found much games that I really enjoy aside from umm.. Little Kings Story...Umm...What else..Tales of Symphonia 2 (PET RAISING IS AWESOME) and well...Chocobos Dungeon! I dont have friends though so thats probably why...Im still waiting for wii 2!!
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If i didnt have a Wii yet, i wouldnt advise buying one. Why?? because a next gen model is going to be announced soon.
Honestly i never even turn on my wii anymore. it was fun for a while, but it gets pretty meh fast.
Its fun when you have a lot of people around who arent really gamers. It was fun when I was around my family and friends and like...Wed all play wii.
When my gamer friends are around, we usually play dokapon kingdom (great fun!) or maybe mario kart or w/e. But alone, there arent many games that I personally liked.
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**This bunny was cloned from bunnies belonging to Gobla and is part of the Quizzical Fanclub and the The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club**
Other than the fact that jumping around while playing video games is assenine?