Two Weeks with the Wii

In the 80s, kids of my generation cut their teeth on Super Mario Bros.. They went through high school with Mario Kart, and bonded with college friends playing Super Smash Bros. By 1999, though, the N64 had long since proven that Nintendo's dominance in American videogaming was over. The GameCube that followed was largely a disappointment. Nintendo failed to interest third party developers, and frustrated fans with long-delayed chapters of the Mario, Zelda, and Metroid franchises. Coming into this no-longer-next generation of consoles, Nintendo announced they were aiming for a Revolution, and then confused everyone by renaming it Wii. Their actions left a lot of people wondering if the company still had what it took to compete with committed powerhouses like Microsoft and Sony. The launch lineup is kind of tepid, and the controls really do take some getting used to. We've already established that they're not aiming to compete in the graphics race. So what is the console really like? Why is it selling so quickly? What does it have to offer? I've had two weeks to find out. Read on, so that you can get a feel for the system you'll definitely be playing (if not owning) at some point in the future.

My somewhat bold claim is not based in any sort of fanboi favoritism. It's a simple reality of Nintendo's console; the Wii begs to be played by lots of people. Unlike the solitary games that are popular on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Nintendo's scrappy fighter is at its fullest potential when you've got four people armed with Wiimotes. Four players on a Wii title is like nothing you have ever experienced in gaming before. For some people the Wii's demand that you be physically proximate to your fellow gamer will be a mark against it. For many people, though, I think the need to get together in one space will cut through the confusion and misunderstanding this hobby has always suffered from.

The reason for this is that it is easy: It just works. The first time you hand a Wiimote to someone and they point it at the screen, they know what to do. There's a little hand, representing where you're pointing, and each Wiimote has a different colored hand. Navigating menus is actually ... fun, in an odd sort of way. Moving over UI elements with the little hand representing your controller causes a very slight rumble. The controller shakes just enough to give the entire experience a tactile element that, again, I've never seen in gaming before. It's the little things like this that really makes the Wii experience. Turning the Wiimote upside down inverts the hand. They didn't have to do it that way, but they did. Navigating menus is, mildly, fun. One of the first games my cousins played after they'd picked up the controllers was the "duel with their icon-hands" challenge. Odd, yes, but entirely understandable. The Wiimote, and the completely natural movements you make when using the device, require no explanation. When Nintendo went to the AARP event earlier this year, they knew what they were doing; this is the console your grandmother can use as easily as you can.

UI

Graphically, the system's UI is a clean mixture of greys and whites. The Channel selection screen is the first thing you see on booting the system, and stands out well against the system's default imagery. From left to right on the top row, you're going to find the games channel, the Mii channel, the photo channel, and Wii Store channel. Though I'm not sure why the somewhat anemic photo functionality gets to rank so highly, they've organized your primary Wii elements together on one screen. On the bottom of the screen there's an unobtrusive options button, and a button to take you to your Wii's address book functionality. As you purchase things from the Virtual console (the primary online capability of the console right now) they'll fill in additional windows on the console's launch page. This is also where the news and weather features are accessible, with promises of more services further on in the Wii's lifetime.

To start addressing the channels in order, the games channel is where you'll access your currently-loaded disc. The system has a little splash screen there on your Wii frontpage illustrating what you have loaded. Just to reiterate something you've probably already heard, GameCube titles are 100% backwards compatible with the system. The Wavebird controllers are too, and nicely slot into the ports for them on the top of the console. If you're planning on playing a lot of Virtual Console titles, I recommend that you make sure to hang onto your Wavebird; they'll play almost every game the download service can offer up, and your Cube games to boot.

Mii

The Mii channel may just be the hidden gem for this system. If Nintendo plays things right, the Mii may become as much a part of your online identity as Microsoft's gamertag. Miis, to explain, are little virtual people. Using a canned set of features (hair, eyes, mouths), you can combine facial elements to great a little 'you'. Or a mini-Lincoln. Or Jesus. If you've always wanted to school the King of Kings in tennis, the Wii is the system for you. As innocuous a feature as this sounds, it's impossible not to find yourself wrapped up in possibilities once you sit down to play with it. At the very least, you're going to have to make you. And your S.O. And your family, and all of your friends, and your favorite movie star ... it's just too bad they don't have ears and you can't make pets.

Once you've made your Mii-version of former child star Gary Coleman, you can actually compete with him or against him in Wii Sports. At the moment, the games on the pack-in disc (and those on the upcoming Wii Play disc) are the only places you can make use of your strange little people. Even with that limited scope, Nintendo is already showing their intent to make the most of this feature. Your capabilities in Wii Tennis, for example, are tracked via intuitive charts. Someday down the line, when more titles take your Mii into account, you'll hopefully be able to import more interesting stats (frags and such) into your Mii's pockets. You can already take your Mii with you; up to 8 Miis can be loaded onto a single Wiimote for easy toting to another person's house. You can send them away, too; after you exchange friend codes with someone, you can trade Miis. They'll go wandering, too, if you let them. Heading off into the great Wii beyond, they'll wander across the Mii Parades of consoles across the nation, just begging to be included in that owner's personal Mii Plaza. Reggie Fils Aime has already hinted at the eventual addition of more facial features, and it is little wonder why. With the ease of making a little 'you' so tantalizing, it's easy to see why Nintendo is taking this 'uber-cutesy' feature very seriously.

Photos

The system's photo feature/mp3 player is something of a forgettable tack-on. Photos and music can be uploaded to the system, or played directly from, SD memory cards. They slot right into the front, and featured photos are very lovingly displayed by the UI. Music can be played behind the photos; it's essentially the only way to just listen to music on the system. Uploaded tunes can be played during select Wii titles (like ExciteTruck), which is very nice, but otherwise the media capabilities of the Wii are fairly forgettable. Given Nintendo's drum-beating about the Wii being 'focused on games', I'm kind of surprised they even bothered. Just the same, the utility of these features can't be denied, and they certainly don't get in the way.

Virtual Console

The Virtual Console, then, is the final default offering you'll find on loading the system. Nintendo's answer to Microsoft's Xbox Live and Sony's E-Distribution model, it currently only offers downloadable retro titles. The Wii Shop will eventually be where you pick up additional services as well, but for now games are all this service has to offer. While the launch list for the U.S. market has some much appreciated classics included, overall the titles are downright disappointing compared to other regions. I'm not complaining about what we have gotten, to be sure. Bonk, the original Sonic, the SNES version of Sim City, and the original Legend of Zelda are all titles still well worth your time in 2006. It's hard not to look at the Virtual Console list from Japan and other sectors, though, and not be a little jealous. Castlevania IV and A Link to the Past? Why don't we deserve Link to the Past? Recent events has also hinted that Nintendo has no plans to offer games via the Virtual Console if they were not originally released in that market. If that turns out to be true, terrific JP-only NES and SNES games will never reach our virtual shores. A serious oversight on the company's part.

The Virtual Console itself has proven to be less enjoyable for me to use than other parts of the Wii interface. Out of the box, the only way you'll be connecting with the Internet is via a WiFi connection. Even with a solid WiFi setup, it's inevitable that your connection will flake out. The console seems intent on blaming 'firewalls' for its woes, but some days I know everything is working fine; the problem lies with a cranky Wii. Once you're online you may run into difficulties there as well. The interest level in the Virtual Console must be higher than Nintendo expected, because I've found the service absolutely hammered and essentially unusable several times since the system launched. All that said, this is exactly what you'd expect from Nintendo: a solid retro-delivery system, straight from your childhood. I spent many, many, many hours playing the SNES version of Sim City. I gave myself an allowance of three games from the launch lineup. Along with that early Will Wright title, I snagged the original Zelda (my wife had never played it) and Sonic, as we were Sega-less in my formative years. All three play as smoothly as silk. No hiccups, no quirky controls, just unadulterated blasts from the past. Of course, my three titles will soon have friends. Even with Nintendo's odd reluctance to give us the good stuff, they'll be releasing a least one new title every Monday for the foreseeable future. Emulator fans may scoff, but it's hard to look down your nose at a legal way to enjoy retro classics in relatively high definition. The Wii even does game suspension, so you don't have to play games straight through. Despite some petty annoyances, they've got a great channel here for future content (including the much vaunted indie gaming scene), and it only looks to be getting better in the future. At the end of the day, even if it can be annoying to use, at least the Wii Shop music is soothing.

So, that's what the machine itself is like. The Wii's control scheme is what has people sitting up and taking notice though, and it's hard to judge that on menus alone. As a study in comparisons, I offer you the Good, the Bad, and the Awesome: Wii Sports, Red Steel, and Rayman Raving Rabbids.

Wii Sports

In the U.S., our consoles were $40 more expensive than in Japan. This was the reason - the Wii Sports pack-in. I've been lamenting the loss of the pack-in for years now, though, so I begrudge them nothing. It would be one thing if Wii Sports was a waste, a Luigi's Mansion for the next-gen era, but thankfully this mini-game game holds its own and encourages your aging relatives to make fools of themselves. Wii Sports consists of five simple games which ... kind of ... resemble actual sports. There's tennis, golf, bowling, boxing, and baseball. Controls for each of the five pastimes are the definition of simplicity. Each only requires a very simple motion with the Wiimote, mimicking actual movements you'd make while participating in the sport. Tennis is probably the one that's been seen the most at press events, and all it requires is a quick flick of the wrist to get the ball moving to the other end of the court. It's also one of the most enjoyable of the offerings, and supports up to four players for some hi-larious doubles action. Bowling is likewise enjoyable in multiplayer mode, and requires only that you know how to make the bowling motion with your arm in order to strike. Golf and baseball are less enjoyable, as built-in sensitivities to the mini-games lend themselves to confusion and mistrust of your capabilities. In reality, it's not you, it's the game. Golf is particularly bad, as even the slightest swing will have the game registering 'too much force' on the ball. The final game, boxing, is much the same. Using the Wiimote and the nunchuck, you can deliver one-two punches to your opponent's Mii ... if you can get your flailing arms to work right. I've personally found boxing to be highly enjoyable, despite its lack of precision. Two people really into the game results in an air-slapping girly-fight scene like something out of "Revenge of the Nerds". Nintendo made an excellent choice including this as a pack-in, and Wii Sports will continue to be the social game console owners reach for until the likes of Wario Ware or Mario Party make it to store shelves. (Just make sure to use the wrist strap.)

Red Steel

On the opposite end of the hardcore scale, we have Red Steel. Along with Call of Duty 3, this is one of the more 'adult' offerings accompanying the Wii at launch. It concerns the battles of a gentleman who has come to a fancy restaurant to have dinner with his girlfriend's father. As sometimes happens, the Yakuza assault the building and an epic fight ensues. While the title does an admirable job of convincing the player that FPS controls are completely enjoyable on the Wii, the title fails to deliver in almost any other way. The reason has nothing to do with the Wii; Red Steel is just not a very good game. Unlike Yakuza , which manages to weave a tale of Japanese crime with a straight face and get away with it, here the attempts at gritty criminality come off as hokey and poorly thought-out. The hero is utterly forgettable, and the noble quest to protect friends and family from the vicious crime syndicate is one John Woo flick short of a film festival. The only thing it gets (mostly) right is the control scheme, which is just as you'd imagine it. The Wiimote directs your point of view, while the stick on the nunchuck moves you forward. This is the schema that were' going to (hopefully) see a lot of over the Wii's lifespan. It's the way we'll be playing Metroid down the line, and can also be seen one door over in Call of Duty 3. Red Steel chooses to make the protagonist's arm flex and bend in inhuman ways as you turn, fouling up the game's one solid feature. His long, seemingly jointless arm is very disconcerting, and only serves to remove you from the action. Embarrassingly, the control scheme breaks down during sword fights. Those gooshy, confusing fight sequences are not quite as disconnected from reality as Wii Boxing, but it's fairly close. Even when poor reactions began leaking out of the enthusiast press, I maintained a guarded enthusiasm for this title. Guns and swords for the win, right? In the end, though, there's just not enough 'there' there. As much as it makes me want to play Metroid Prime, it makes me want to shut off the console more. You need not suffer from the launch-day enthusiasm that carried this into my cart; you can definitely give this one a pass.

Rayman Raving Rabbids

From the inane to the insane, we move on to Rayman Raving Rabbids. I've never really liked Rayman in his previous platform title outings; he's always been something of a forgettable character. Here, though, Ubisoft has offered up a crack-addled assortment of mini-games, and hung them very loosely around Rayman's neck. He's the central character of the game only insomuch as the little guy on screen has his name. Otherwise, you'll be concerning yourself more with the Rabbids: evil, stupid, ugly, bunnies from hell. The outline of the game is fairly simple. Ray competes in various events, spread out over a period of about thirteen days. Every day, there are four events to participate in. Completing three events unlocks a 'boss' event, which when cleared allows Ray to move on to the next day. Completing all four events during each day unlocks (on alternating days) new outfits for Ray to wear, and new music for you to listen to. Multiplayer play focuses on several people competing in individual events, with an option to string some of them together to make fairly anemic storylines for your adventures.

The beauty of this game, though, is that it's a.) absolutely crack-addled b.) hilarious and c.) completely addicting. Just a few of my favorite examples from the game include:

• "Bunnies Don't Like Bats" - Direct Rayman as he mounts a giant bat, collecting piggies and dropping them into a pigpen before the time runs out. "Bunnies Don't Like Bats 2" adds the complexity of fending off a Bunny raiding party while you collect the piggies.
• "Bunnies Don't Know What to do with Cows" - Whirl the Wiimote over your head, as Ray does the same with a chain attached to a cow's collar. Hit a button on the Wiimote to send the cow flying while it's facing away from you. You get more points the further the cow flies; the cow flies further by whipping that Wiimote as fast as you can above your head.
• "Bunnies Don't Use Toothpaste" - Grab horrible grimacing worms with the Wiimote as they emerge from the rotten teeth of a Bunny, and flick them away. They come slowly at first, but emerge faster and faster as you play. Allowing a worm to emerge and then disappear ruins a tooth. Allowing two worms to reenter a single tooth sends the worm borrowing up into the Bunny's soft palate and ends the game. Hilariously, the mini-game is backed by an homage to the the theme from "Brazil".
• "Bunnies Can Only Fly Downward" - This wonderful bunny-filled version of the parachuting level from PilotWings has you directing Ray down through smoke rings with your Wiimote. You speed up by pushing on the nunchuck's stick, but you lose control that way too. Your aim is to get to the ground before a set time has passed. (Hint to Nintendo: PilotWings for the Virtual Console. Get on it.)
• "Bunnies Are Addicted to Carrot Juice" - While pumping the nunchuck with your left hand up and down, aim the Wiimote at the oncoming diver-Bunnies to fill their dive masks with carrot juice. Filling them up causes them to fall over. You lose if the ever-increasing wave of bunnies reaches your bar.

Beyond these, there are rhythm games, races, and a slew of FPS-style bunny shoot-em-ups. This last genre is usually the 'boss' event for any given day, and actually gives me even more hope for First Person Shooter titles on the Wii than Red Steel does. The controls are tight and responsive, and a ridiculous amount of fun. Zelda may be the reason that everyone bought a Wii, but Rayman should be the game you break out at Christmas parties this year. It's gloriously unhinged to play with four players, and is guaranteed to be better while drunk. Most enjoyably, there are several games that can be played by two players, one holding the Wiimote and the other the nunchuck. It's a wonderfully cheaty form of co-op play, and I highly recommend it as an excuse to get your wife, boyfriend, or girlfriend interested in the Wii's unique control scheme. The only problem here is the game's brevity; beatable in just a day or two, Rayman really only has legs as a party game. For a party game, though, and one made up so defiantly of mini-games, its well worth at least a look. Ubi has a winner with this ... this grotesque mockery of Bunniedom. I hope there's room in Ubisoft's budget down the line for a sequel. My suggestion for a mini-game: "Bunnies Avoid Corporate Takeovers."

Final Thoughts

The reality of the situation is that multiplayer Wii games make you look like an idiot. As strange as it sounds, this is just one mark of a system that has succeeded. For so many people, gaming is either a solitary pastime or one done socially via the cold detachment of a Ventrilo link. I, like many other folks, had the opportunity to introduce the Wii to my family during Thanksgiving, and it was anything but detached. It resulted in several hours of good-natured competition among my cousins, and allowed me the pleasure of watching four individuals north of 40 volley and serve via Wiimote. With the exception of my mother, I believe it may well have been the first time these people had ever played a videogame. It's not Half-Life, sure, but it isn't exactly Tetris either.

Even with a fairly humble collection of launch titles, Nintendo has managed to get gamers and non-gamers alike to drink the kool-aid. The system delivers exactly what the company promised when the 'Revolution' was announced in 2004. It's a system that offers the best of both worlds. Non-gamers have a completely intuitive control scheme that will now allow them to play with their game-loving friends. Hardcore gamers already have more innovative titles to play than they know what to do with. So what if some of them, like Red Steel come up a little short. For every Red Steel, there's a Trauma Center, a Rayman, or a Twilight Princess (whose review grew too large to fit here, and will be addressed tomorrow). Offering the best of new technology and plenty of unearthable retro memories, the Wii is a console that demands attention. I've yet to encounter anyone with a mild opinion of the little white box; you are either going to love this thing, or hate it.

Either way, Nintendo has finally broken free of its 'me too' position, held since the days of the N64. Even if the Wii stays the third-place console, it's no longer possible to think of the company as an also-ran. Sony and Microsoft are in for a hard fight this time around. The only side guaranteed not to lose is our side; whatever happens in this war, it's the gamers who win.

The rest of the launch lineup can go to hell...

The launch lineup is kind of tepid

But it contains Twilight Princess. Sold.

(29 hours to go...)

Re:The rest of the launch lineup can go to hell...

I was kinda shocked by this comment. By all accounts the launch lineup is the best of any of the three systems. Not even counting Zelda or Sports, the games that came out all have something to offer and are all from fan favorite series (like Call of Duty, or Trama Center.)

You have to be on crack to think that the PS3 or the 360 had better launch titles.

Re:The rest of the launch lineup can go to hell...

On which topic, I'm still undecided on what the third game I'll buy should be.

Zelda, obviously. And Wii Play, because of Duck Hunt, and the extra wiimote. But the third? I was thinking Super Monkey Ball, but I'm getting more and more tempted by Rayman, chiefly because of the cow-flinging, and the well-known fact that bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes...

So, guys? Monkey Ball or Rayman? It's now 7.15 on Wednesday evening and I buy just after midnight on Friday morning. Which one shall it be?

Re:The rest of the launch lineup can go to hell...

SMB and Trauma Center

No. Just no.

SMB == Super Mario Bros

Especially in a discussion involving Nintendo. You'll just have to come up with another abbreviation for Super Monkey Ball.

SuMo Ball, anyone?

Re:The rest of the launch lineup can go to hell...

And what's with all the carrots? What do they need such good eyesight for anyway?

Re:The rest of the launch lineup can go to hell...

I absolutely loved Super Monkey Ball 1 for the Gamecube, and so Super Monkey Ball Wii was one of the two games (along with Zelda) I picked up when I first got my Wii. I wanted a decent single-player game along with the joy of multiplayer that Super Monkey Ball had been for my friends and me in the past.

In short, Super Monkey Ball Wii is not even close to as good as Rayman. (More on Rayman later). The reason I know this is that I tried to enjoy it for about a week before trying it with friends, and discovering that it was basically not fun anymore. Even Monkey Target, which was the best of the best back on the 'Cube, isn't any fun on the Wii. It seems like they never thought of the game as an experience, but instead just threw together a bunch of tech demos and put the same interface on each of them. There's no quick way to retry a minigame. There are no settings on minigames. (That means there's also no stage selection on Monkey Target - it's a one-stage wonder.) You have to enter your name using a bizzare wheel of letters instead of the Wii keyboard used in the interface. In short, it's very disappointing in many ways. I even found the single-player game disappointingly difficult to control, and at the same time way too easy (due probably in part to the jumping ability they added). I am planning on trading in Super Monkey Ball to get Trauma Centre this weekend.

Rayman, on the other hand, is so utterly off-the-wall, incredibly funny - and fun, at the same time - that I can without hesitation recommend it to everyone, especially over Super Monkey Ball. I picked it up just before playing Super Monkey Ball in a gathering of friends, and we went to it - and stayed with it - for as long as we could before we had to leave. The controls are great and the minigames are fun, funny and highly varied, so it never gets boring. The only downside is that you have to unlock all the minigames in single-player mode before playing it multiplayer. This is really only a downside if, like me, you play it for the first time in a gathering of friends. Unlock everything, put your saved game on an SD card, and you'll be able to bring your game everywhere with you.

I think I can sum up my feelings on the situation like this: When I started playing Rayman on my own, I said to my fiance "I really like this game." I had to push myself to even play Super Monkey Ball. Don't make the same mistake I did.

Re:The rest of the launch lineup can go to hell...

You have to be on crack to think that the PS3 or the 360 had better launch titles.

Or to think the GameCube was a failure. Everyone I know that has a PS2 or Xbox ALSO has a gamecube. Why? it's cheap and the games were cheap.. Super Mario Karts GC is better than the crap sony had, as well as other GC titles for group play.. And that is missing big time on the other platforms. Group games multiplayer is way more fun than some single player game or online only multiplayer.

Re:The rest of the launch lineup can go to hell...

The GameCube was a failure compared to both previous nintendo consoles and the PS2, it nearly completely bombed in Japan, did horribly in Europe, the only place where it sold some were the USA, and even then it only sold 21 millions worldwide. Just so you know, the PS2's clocking at 110 millions now, the N64 sold more than 30 millions and the SNES/SuperFamicom ended it's life after having sold 49 million consoles.

Re:The rest of the launch lineup can go to hell...

It may have bombed in Europe because of the incompetence of Nintendo Europe.

News has surfaced [mozlapunk.net] that the Wii Virtual Console in Europe will run in 50Hz, (most PAL TVs support 60Hz), which means that games will have borders around them, and the games will be a bit slower. And the chances of seeing previously Japanese-only or American-only games on the VC in Europe are very slim.

Nintendo Europe apparently hasn't learned from their past mistakes

Solved

Madjo - Move to Canada and get NTSC to avoid the black borders on VC.
ratboot - You can move to Europe and play the MULTI versions of all the titles with French language option.
You might even just swap houses. Problem solved. NEXT!

Re:The rest of the launch lineup can go to hell...

If you look at the gamecube as far as profits, it was a stunning success.

If you compare the Gamecube profits to the deficits operated at by Sony and Microsoft's gaming divisions, yes, it was a stunning success.

If you compare the Gamecube profits to the profits earned by the N64, or SNES, or any Gameboy model, then the 'Cube could very well be a disappointment.

Both perspectives are valid.

Re:The rest of the launch lineup can go to hell...

Hell, nothing beats some of the Smash Brother Melee games we had in my dorm. Once we even rented out the campus movie theater (big lecture hall) and had a 32-person tournament. Nothing beats 50-75 folks chanting "Jiggily-PUFF" when the little pink ball gets a baseball bat :D

Conversion

After having a 360, and being impressed with it. I looked at the Wii, and went "annnnddddd......?" I wasn't impressed. but after reading reviews and seeing it in action, I'm considering it. Assuming I can get my hands on it.

I Know Exactly What You Mean

In the 80s, kids of my generation cut their teeth on Super Mario Bros..

Well give me a break, those plastic cartridges [nintendocity.com] were rock hard but oh so tasty. Plus I herd from someone that if you bit them they would work ... but if that didn't work, just take them out and bite them again. Rinse, wash, repeat like a squirrel with nuts.

They went through high school with Mario Kart...

Listen, my parents didn't have a lot of money so I'd appreciate it if you just let it go that my first car [iastate.edu] failed the safety inspection.

... and bonded with college friends playing Super Smash Bros.

Now there we differ. On the contrary, I bonded in college with my friends, the super smashed brothers. Leinenkugel's [leinie.com] for the win! It was all very similar though--a punch here, a puch there, a flaming Luigi & a princess was an instant party.

By 1999, though, the N64 had long since proven that Nintendo's dominance in American videogaming was over.

Yeah, it sure is going to hurt to have this removed [micromania.fr].

Re:I Know Exactly What You Mean

Well give me a break, those plastic cartridges were rock hard but oh so tasty. Plus I herd from someone that if you bit them they would work ... but if that didn't work, just take them out and bite them again. Rinse, wash, repeat like a squirrel with nuts.

So what do the girl squirrels do?

My Parents

My nephew bought a Wii. I got to play with it for a night soon after. This past weekend he brought it up to my parents house, since I thought they would enjoy playing the bowling game, since they used to bowl a lot when they were younger. I was right, they stayed up until after 11pm playing it. My parents are in their mid-sixties, and they are going to buy one as soon as they become more readily available. Nintendo took this thing in an entirely new direction, and it is going to work for them.

Re:My Parents

Ditto. When I got my Wii, my parents tried it out. It was the first time anyone in the older generation in my family was having fun and excited about playing a video game. In the race to produce mind-blowing graphics, the most important part of the game was neglected - the game. Games should first be a good game with aesthetics coming second. I think Nintendo really got their priorities straight by returning to basics and pushing game play and a intuitive control system. It would seem the DS was the first step towards their revolution, and I personally think we're witnessing a Nintendo renaissance.

Re:My Parents

I cannot wait to hear the geriatric crowd start saying things like, "Your nintendo-fu is wiik, mofo! Now get off my lawn."

Re:My Parents

I took my Wii to my sister's for Thanksgiving and it was a smash hit with my family. My sister plays the occasional video game, but it's usually stuff like The Sims or even sometimes WoW. My parents haven't played video games, on the other hand, since the Atari 2600. We had a ton of fun playing bowling and tennis and, later in the evening, my dad stood there playing golf for a good hour. My sister has already gone out and gotten one (an xmas gift to herself) and I know my dad wants one too. And my mom wouldn't mind, and she's a bit leery of technology--she literally does not know how to use a PC at all, they intimidate her. When my mom, who doesn't understand how to even use a mouse, is playing the Wii and enjoying herself, then Nintendo has done something right.

Re:My Parents

By pricing it reasonably?

Whu-huh? Have you been living under a rock? It's the wiimote dude. More generally, it's a focus on gameplay.

PS3 and 360 are priced very reasonably for what they offer. But let's face it, you have to be a gamer to see the value.

Re:My Parents

I don't think you got the point of the GP post at all. Heck, the GP didn't even mention price. It was more about the fact that someone's parents, aged in the mid-60's, was playing video games with each other until late in the night. Nintendo hit a demographic that includes both genders of a senior age, something that MS and Sony lack in their next-gen offerings.

I have a 360 and picked up a Wii on launch. I tried to get either of my parents to play things on the 360, but they wouldn't even touch it. On Thanksgiving of this year I brought my Wii over and both my mother and father played Wii Sports (bowling mostly) for hours. My mother in particular played Wii bowling with me for nearly 4 hours.. at that point I was too tired to play it any more.

This is the first video game she has played since Frogger on the Atari. She's even tried to borrow mine over the weekend for when she has guests, it's crazy. All because she can easily understand how to play. "It's just like real bowling.. except you don't have to tire yourself out with a heavy ball."

Parents are playing games with their kids again. Parents who don't even care about video games are picking up the Wii and playing it. That is what is meant by Nintendo took this thing in an entirely new direction, and it is going to work for them.

Re:My Parents

The reason Nintendo is succeeding is that they are making a console that everybody can enjoy. Those 40+ year-olds weren't interested in PS2 or Xbox (or GC for that matter). Why would they be interested in PS3 or 360? I mean, both PS3 and 360 are exactly same as their predecessors were, they just have more horsepower. Wii has more horsepower than it's predecessor had, but that's not the point. It's actually different. Not only is it different from it's competition (let's face it, PS3 and 360 are very, very similar. Controls are similar, games are similar, the experience of gaming is similar....), but it's also different from it's predecessors.

I have never been interested in consoles. But I AM interested in the Wii. And the reason for that is that it's DIFFERENT. It offers a whole new approach to gaming. I wasn't interested in PS2 or Xbox. And I'm not interested in 360 or PS3. They are practically indetical to their predecessors. Yes, they are more "powerful", but how much gigaflops or how many pixels the console could pump was not the reason why I wasn't interested in consoles. So increasing the power of the console by an order of magnitude does nothing to make me get interested in it. The power was not the problem, so making it more powerful does not help. Somy and Microsoft basically took their existing consoles, increased the amount of RAM, and put more powerful CPU and GPU in there, and that was it. Nintendo actually did something different. They are basically re-inventing gaming.

If I wanted a gaming-system with lots of RAM and CPU/GPU-power, why should I get a console, when I could get a PC that mops the floor with both PS3 and 360?

What about...

Excite Truck [gamespot.com]? You know, the game that every store I've seen is demoing on their Wii.

And the first time I got my hands on a Wii-mote, I held it backwards & was confused as shiat as to why left was right & right was left.

Rayman is best game, but 4 Wiimotes?

I agree, have a Wii, two nunchuks, one wiimote, three GameCube controllers (see the top slots), but how in the heck do you get four Wiimotes?

One of the good things about Wii Sports is it lets more than one person share the same controller - and quite frankly, I've been dropping by game stores for weeks and still can't get a second wiimote.

But I agree that Rayman's Raving Rabbids is the best game - and yes, we've played many many hours of Zelda.

And, yes, it IS that fun - all ages too. My 15 yo son loves it, as do all his friends (14 to 17). But so does everyone else.

At least you got a Wii...

It's still impossible to get a Wii at MSRP (i.e. you have to buy from eBay scalpers), and I don't see this getting any better before Christmas...

How to get a Wii...

Stores keep getting in shipments and selling them out the same day, usually 20-40 at a time about once a week.

Pick your favorite retailer, and just call them once a day when they open.

This worked for a friend, and I'm trying it now.

EG, for Black Friday after thanksgiving, the local Tarje (thats Target for those not from SoCal) got some 30-40 Wiis (and 3 PS3s that got placed in a corner and nobody cared about).

The 360 is console done right, Wii is console ...

Done better. PS3 is failure of marketing.

The 360 is a really solid, machine, I'm completely impressed by the options they have launched with.

On the other hand though the Wii is a console that is innovative and unique. The big missing point is achievements (yes they are important) but the Wii controller and everything else earned it the center stage in my apartment.

The PS3 on the other hand is so dead to me after all the hype, the failed launch, the lackluster system and so on. I'll pick one up when some amazing rpgs are out but even Metal Gear Solid 4 is not enough. Especially with it's price point.

For the Wii though Avoid red steel, but check out Excite trucks, Zelda (duh), and trauma center (if you don't have it for the DS). And Elebits is sounding to be the Second half of the One two launch combo.

I'm hopeful for the Wii, with talented developers (not EA) we can have some amazing games on an amazing system. Konami is already releasing Elebits and with more attention some really radical games can come out. But that's still not enough for me to discount my 360, which is fun, has better graphics and has achievements (again they are important, don't ask me why). It appeals to me in every way the Wii doesn't and that's fine as well.

Personally I think it really is a wonderous time to be a gamer. If you have yet to try the system I highly advise you to give it a shot, because it'll revive that kid who shook the controller to make mario jump "Farther".

Roommate picked one up

Wii Sports is fun, for little while. Probably a great "party game".

Zelda never interested me, but it seems like it's well-done.

Basically every other game currently available is just not worth mentioning. There are some *decent* games, but nothing particularly exciting (again, assuming you aren't a big Zelda fan). It's the standard "launch games are kinda lame" syndrome. Personally, I'm holding out for the WarioWare game. That will rock.

Still, the Wiimote works very well, and is fun to use. Nintendo might have a big hit on their hands.

Before you get that Wii

Just remember to invest in a plexiglass TV protector...

http://wiihaveaproblem.com/ [wiihaveaproblem.com]

Wiimote

I'd like to know realistically how long the batteries in those remotes last. Prob too soon to get any good data on that I suppose.

Re:Wiimote

I haven't replaced/recharged mine yet, after an hour or two a day for the past 2 weeks or so. From what I've heard, it takes a marathon all-day session to drain them.

Also, they're just AAs, which are cheap and plentiful.

Re:Wiimote

Something no one seems to mention, there's an actual battery meter in the wiimotes, but you can only access it through the console display itself. Pretty accurate so far.

If the console is off, push any button except power on the Wiimote and the LEDs on the bottom will light up to show you the percentage of power left. Took me forever to realise it too.

I've charged my cheap 1800 mAh batteries (15 bucks for 4 with a charger) twice since launch, but all my friends have been over to Wii Sports things up quite a few times. I might invest in some 2500+ ones once Wiimotes are actually in stores consistantly.

If you are on the fence, read on

Xbox 360 core ($300) + Wii ($250) = the average of the two PS3 options.

You would be a fool to pick the PS3 over the first 2.

360 has the same graphics, a much better game library, and ton better online capability than the PS3. The Wii is that console that changes the way you play games.

Gears of War and Twilight Princess are 2 of the top 5 games I've played since the NES came out. You won't regret the purchase of either console.

Third place ?? Who's in second then?

"Even if the Wii stays the third-place console, it's no longer possible to think of the company as an also-ran."

Has the Wii sold fewer consoles than the PS3?

Thoughts from this Wii owner

I reserved and got a Wii on day 1. It is the first console I've ever bought at launch. I am thoroughly happy with it. Here are my thoughts:

1. Wii Sports is a blast. I like bowling. My daughter likes boxing. My six year old son likes baseball. My teenage son likes all of them...except golf. None of us are very good at golf.
2. Elebits, imho, will be a major seller and I am looking forward to it.
3. There is no fear of losing the remote and busting your TV. I still don't know how the people reporting this problem are making it happen. The only way I can imagine it is if, in your excitement, you just LET GO. Wear your wrist strap and don't flail your arms about like you're trying to throw your shoulder out of socket and you'll be fine.
4. Red Steel is fun. I know it's getting bad reviews but it's enjoyable just to play. I only have one real complaint with it: there are several parts where you are supposed to fight a guy with your sword. But why? If I am walking around with an Uzi in my hand, and round a corner where there's a man standing there brandishing a sword...why in the world would I put my Uzi away and get out a sword to fight the guy close combat like that? Why can't I just shoot him with the Uzi? That makes a whole lot more sense to me. But, no! You HAVE to fight the guy with the sword. And that's just lame.
5. Virtual Console sucks right now. There are no games worth buying, imho. And, at $5-$10 a pop, I am not seeing the value. Maybe after some better titles are available, it'll be worth it. Right now it's a waste.
6. Where is Opera? Where is the Forecast channel? The News channel? Bring on the extra online features NOW NOW NOW!!! I'm sick of waiting already and I've only had the Wii two weeks.
7. Wireless connection troubles...the only way I can get my Wii to connect consistently is to turn off WEP and WPA/WPA2. I have to make my WAP open (and I've tried two different access points/routers) for it to work consistently and reliably...again, that seems just wrong to me.
8. It's only been a few weeks. I am hopeful and optimistic that Nintendo will work this stuff out and this time next year, the Wii will just kick all kinds of ass.

Re:Thoughts from this Wii owner

"I only have one real complaint with it: there are several parts where you are supposed to fight a guy with your sword. But why? If I am walking around with an Uzi in my hand, and round a corner where there's a man standing there brandishing a sword...why in the world would I put my Uzi away and get out a sword to fight the guy close combat like that? Why can't I just shoot him with the Uzi? That makes a whole lot more sense to me. But, no! You HAVE to fight the guy with the sword. And that's just lame."

Have you no honor!? :P

Re:Honor

But haven't you ever heard the saying: "Never bring a knife to a gun fight." ???

The full saying is: "Never bring a knife to a gun fight... bring a katana and wakizashi."

Re:Thoughts from this Wii owner

"Why can't I just shoot him with the Uzi?"

because he'd just block the bullets with his sword, duh.

Back to basics

It really seems like Nintendo managed to latch on to what the other console manufacturers have long lost sight of: Fun. The Wii may not have the most current up-to-date blow-your-mind specs, but the games are simply fun. I lost interest in gaming around the time of the PS1, when graphics and storylines became more important than the actual gaming experience, but the Wii has something going for it that might make me whip out the credit card in the future: it LOOKS like a lot of fun to play. I really can't say that for the other systems.

It's the price stupid.

I'm suprised people are still blah blahing about how the 360 and the PS3's price are accceptable when the Wii is clearly demolishing both of them.

Sure for some people the 360 isn't too much but it's at that point where people really have to think about it before they'll get it.

The Wii on the other hand is almost cheap enough to be an impulse buy. If the 360 can pull off some real japanese RPG's to get some actual sales in japan it might not bust. The PS3 though is doomed though if their exclusve titles don't save it.

Really good review

I really like the review and the family thanksgiving party blog :) (Rayman like Samba Di Amigo!). Although, I don't think Nintendo is third like the reviewer says in conclusion.

Check out the Dragonball Z game for the Wii

I hear a lot of talk about Zelda and Wii Sports. That's cool as they're both fun.

But, I rented Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, and I was thoroughly impressed. The game takes a little while to get used to, but once you get the hang of it, it can get pretty damn crazy. Using the nunchuck and Wiimote, you'll perform a variety of moves that you would normally use a standard controller (WHICH IS AN OPTION). However, the remote adds a bit of depth that just plain excites you.

For example, the way special moves are peformed, it makes it that much more exciting. Not only can you shoot a fireball as if you are really doing it, but you know it's coming when you see your opponent making peculiar moves. Trust me. It's a great joy to execute a combo and end it by actually making the motion for the possible final attack. Plus, other than the remote depth, the game itself is deep with a great assortment of characters from all Dragonball Sagas.. The graphics are crisp and run fluidly like any worthy fighter should.

If you're a Dragonball fan, it's a must buy. For everyone else, it's worth a shot no matter what.

Re:Check out the Dragonball Z game for the Wii

yeah there's a microphone in the controller and you are supposed to groan for 4 hours to build up your power, occasionally making surprised comments about the power level of your opponent.

Golf and Boxing

Golf is particularly bad, as even the slightest swing will have the game registering 'too much force' on the ball.

I admit golf probably has the least pick-up-and-play controls, but it is really true in real life also. The controls reflect the ease of their real life sports. Bowling's controls are easiest because bowling is an easy sport. Tennis is easy to start but hard to master. Golf, however, is very hard to start up in real life...I don't know many people who can pick up and start swinging for 100+ yards without major accuracy problems.

So yes, golf has sensitive controls but if you put in the time you can develop precision with them.

The final game, boxing, is much the same. Using the Wiimote and the nunchuck, you can deliver one-two punches to your opponent's Mii ... if you can get your flailing arms to work right. I've personally found boxing to be highly enjoyable, despite its lack of precision.

Now this is just plain not true. I've put in probably 40 hours to Wii Boxing, it makes a great workout game. The punches aren't easy to throw accurately, that's true. There are some tricks to the game...like developing rhythm, knowing when you're leaning in the right direction to be able to throw a certain punch, etc. Those are all things that are true to real boxing.

Again, boxing is a sport that it's easy to pick up the gloves and "flail" your arms around, but if you want to be good at it you have to practice and start thinking about your moves. However, the controls in boxing do seem to be the least precise of all the games (though as I said, they aren't bad), and I'd like to see a full fledged boxing game that has a little more time put into it.

Re:Golf and Boxing

Golf: Putting is amazingly hard. The game does not register slight movements consistently, so the easiest putts in real life take the utmost care and effort.

Bowling: Wii sports is the greatest bowling game ever, but bowling on the Wii is much easier than real life. Bowling is not easy in real life. My brother has a ~130 average in real life and can bowl over 200 consistently in Wii sports. I have over a 200 average in real life and I can't break 190, because my skills just don't translate as well.

Redundancy Check

You know, I've read the exact same review for the Wii about eight times already. I fail to see how this is any new contribution to the Wii review that couldn't have been read in a Arstechnica, 1up, IGN, or Gamespot review already. What are they doing? Making you all write a persuasive essay for your high school English class I assume?

GAAAAH!!

A full review inside slashdot and with images! Quick, delete those bits of evil innovation! What have all you done with my good old non-w3c compliant slashdot?

Now, why am I shaking the controller?

I'll admit. If I look in the mirror I might just see a Nintendo flavored Kool-Aid mustache.

But...

I am all for the new innovation the Wiimote offers, but after playing Zelda TP for about 20 hours, I really don't think its integration with the Wii is anything special. I understand it was originally a GameCube game, but even as great as the game is, I think it still is a GameCube game for the Wii. Where with Wii Sports the movements of the players mimic what you do, with Zelda you just shake the Wiimote. I noticed in the E3 vids showing gameplay of Mario Galaxy (or whatever its called) you shake the Wiimote to do a superwarp or superjump. That struck me as weird, like it wasn't an instinctive motion. Why can't you just map that to a button? Did you need to put the motion sensitivity in there somewhere so THERE YOU GO? If the motion can be replaced by a button, I don't see it causing excitement. I see a lot of developers thinking "How can we incorporate the wiggle?" I hope soon enough they figure out how this new interface really works. Hopefully Trauma Center and Elebits can be used for a future template on why there is motion sensitivity in the first place!

FUN!

Navigating menus is, mildly, fun.

Navigating menus is actually ... fun, in an odd sort of way.

But is it FUN?

Say what you want about N64

Say what you want about N64, but Super Mario 64 and both Zelda's still have home at my house. In fact, was practicing new ways to kill dungeon bosses in Majora's Mask just last night. The wide-open aspects of these 3D games were the biggest jump forward since the beautiful scenes of the original Myst, and I've yet to see anything newer with the same Wow! factor over previous games.

Maybe I can get a used Game Cube for cheap now and play Windwalker, before moving to Twilight Princess.

what happened to...

...waiting for the holidays to open our gifts? Call me old fashioned, but I've got a Wii I'm giving my kids but I'm hiding it. I want to see the look on their faces when they open it. I've dying to play it but it seems wrong to open it now and make the holidays a little anti-climactic since the Wii is the big thing they are waiting for.

Arrghh! That *name*!

Where are all the guys who earnestly, self-rightously, haughtily, caustically, pretentiously, dismissively, condescendingly hold forth on how bad it is to name a program The GNU Image Manipulation Program? Have they noticed that this game console ...

a) does not arrive with an intuitively obvious pronounciation?

b) sounds like a word for urine / urination, according to the apparently correct pronounciation?

c) does not convey any information about what the heck it is?

Not that I care about the console per se, because I don't, but this is a name that even *I* hate (and I happen to like The GIMP, and its name).

timothy

Wii-Golf

Am I the only person in the world who likes this game and didn't find the controls impossible?
I'm now actually looking forward to EA Tiger Woods for the Wii (making an assumption here). I'd enjoy swinging my wiimote down Pebble Beach.

Fun

"Navigating menus is actually ... fun, in an odd sort of way."

This is the same thing I said in my own mini-review on the online gaming community I belong to. The Mii Channel in particular is amazing.

I've played video games for a long time, more than 25 years, and the Nintendo Wii is just the most fun platform I've ever played with. I've had some great gaming moments on other platforms in the past, but not one as fun as playing Wii Sports with a friend or two. There really is nothing that compares. The controllers just work. I'm particularly fond of how the Wii Sports Bowling uses the controller.

It's a great machine and it's a BIG mistake to think the graphical advantage the XBox 360 and PS3 have over the Wii has anything to do with how much you actually enjoy playing with the console system. I own an XBox 360 (recently deceased thanks to three red lights) and will most likely get the PS3 as well once they're more readily available, but the Wii has already impressed me.

Rayman

This is the third title I picked up for my Wii. (After Super Monkey Ball and Zelda) Excellent party game. Highly recommended. However, there is one thing about the game that just annoyed the shit out of me.

When you play in score mode, you can actually post your scores to an online leaderboard. Cool huh? All you have to do is write down a code that displays after that particular game, go to your computer, and manually key it into a website.

Good thing the Wii is online enabled, eh?

Hopefully they keep a tight leash on the avatars

I really, really wouldn't want to play online with some fucked up furry bestiality creep getting off on their avatar.

Score 1 for the "Older" crowd

Like many others on Slashdot, I bought my system on release day. I find it to be a blast, but the most surprising thing is that my parents found it to be a blast, too.

I took mine home for Thanksgiving because my little brother had been quite interested in it for a while. I was unable to procure a second Nunchuck (still can't), but I did have two Wiimotes so we could have some multiplayer fun on Wii Sports. Both the brother, one of my sisters, and my other brother loved the system. I decided to call my mom down to at least look at it, just to see what her reaction was.

Now, before I go on, it helps to speak of my parents a bit: They are both very, very conservative, and don't appreciate video games. Even as the main gamer in the house, I was lucky to get any sort of video game as a gift. My parents never had any interest in playing any of my games, even the simpler multi-player ones.

So imagine my surprise when I had my mom play Doubles Tennis with me- and she adored it. Not even one match was over and she said (ad-libbing) "This is so much fun! And it's better than your other systems, because I'm not just sitting around." In fact, she liked it so much that she called my dad (who was at his office next door) to come over and play it- and he did, despite being even more disproving of video games than my mom. In fact, they played three rounds of golf, and then two sets of doubles Tennis. And even he commented on the fun.

The final topping of this delicious cake? The next day, while I was out shopping, my mom called to ask where she might buy a Wii. For the family.

So we have a 12 year old boy, a 15 year old girl (who, by the way, is not a gamer in the least), a 17 year old teenager, a mother and father over the age of 40, and me. Not a single unhappy person in the bunch.

More now than ever, I think Nintendo is going to take this round.

Photo Channel, worth a second look

The oft-ignored Photo Channel deserves a lot more attention. Let me highlight some points that you may have missed while skimming it, or that just seemed inconsequential:

It plays nice with normal digital camera storage. No special computer equipment required. Take the SD card out of your camera and stick it in your Wii and you get big screen views and slideshows of the pictures you just took. I know I will be making use of this functionality when I visit fandom conventions in the future.

It can play videos. Standard (and poorly compressed) MJPEG+PCM, the same thing you get out of most digital (non-video) cameras. Transcoding from xvid+ogg to mjpeg+pcm takes about 20% runtime on my 1.5GHz computer, and the result file is about 6x the size, but now I have a handful of tv show episodes on my 4GB SD card to watch on the Wii. This functionality can only get better in the future.

While viewing individual images, a slideshow, or a video, up to 4 players can enter "Doodle" mode and use paintbrushes and stamps to draw on the screen. This is hilarious fun on some occasions, and I can imagine it actually being useful to someone (sports commentator-ish applications?).

And even better, there is a Puzzle mode, in which up to 4 players cooperate to solve a puzzle-ified version of the image or video. Yes, you heard me right, video. The movie keeps playing on the puzzle pieces.

The photos, and the results of doodling, can be sent to other Wii users (and email addresses) via the Message Board. This means Joe Sixpack can take a picture, write on it with his wiimote, and send it to his buddy, all without touching a computer.

Where the fuck do I get one?

I've been looking to buy a Wii console for weeks now. It's not available for sale anywhere, unless you want to pay $600 for it or line up in front of the store at 12AM. Is there some sort of availability tracker online that actually shows anything other than "out of stock"?

HD?

Are the new crop of game consoles High Def? I assume they are
backward compatible with current (NTSC) tv sets, but do they also have
a high def mode that looks better on the new sets? What about wide screen
video, or are they just 4x3? Finally would anybody be crazy enough to hook
up a game console to a Plasma TV (would this ruin the screen?). I'm sure
LCD sets would not suffer any damage (aside from the extra use chewing hours
off the life of the backlight bulb).

Mii characters will be in Wii Sims

The Japanese version of Will Wright's Sims - for the Wii - is already up in Japan - and it imports your Mii characters from the Wii to create Sims from.

Yes, they're adorably cute, and very manga or anime influenced.

More info at The Sims [thesims.com] website - follow the Wii link.

Out of the Box Interface

I think Nintendo took a page from Sega. Sega had the cool fishing controller and if you ever played the bass fishing when the controller shook as the fish pulled you from side to side . .it was just a whole different experience. Then they came out with the Samba De Amigo which was a pretty cool maraca game. I know you are thinking, "maracas!??" Yes, it was one of the most entertaining games we ever had. It was a family game, it was fun and again ..a whole different experience. This is what the Wii is selling. A different way to interact. And you see that growing trend with that "heavy metal guitar" controller and some other ones . . like the dance pad . .etc...

One game I have to recommend...

One game I have to recommend for the Wii is Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. It hasn't received a lot of press, but the game is absolutely fun to play on the Wii. You hold the Wii Remote so that the arrows are on your left hand, and the 1 and 2 button are at your right hand. Then, you turn your skater by angling the wiimote. It is extremely intuitive. I have Zelda as well, and I find myself playing Tony Hawk a lot more often.

Has anyone else thought of...

Has anyone else thought of the sexual implications of the wii technology? In terms of sex games with devices attached to sexual organs and such. Or am I the only one with a perverted mind...???

I have both a Wii and a PS3

I personally find myself playing the ps3 more than the wii. Both are incredibly fun systems. My GF loves that she can beat my ass in bowling. My problem is not wanting to actually get off the couch to use the wii and really you are more consistent with the controller movements if you aren't sitting.

projector setup

I have a projector, panasonic somethin 900. It's a 720p projector, excellent image even on my stucco beige wall!
It was a little tough to get the wii hooked up to it and positioned so I don't step in front of the projector, but it's so worth it to play tennis like that. It's like playing in real life man, unfreakinbelievable.

Where are the high-res screenshots?

Those pics only take up a quarter of my monitor. Oh, wait...

If you get Rayman:

If you rent or buy Rayman for the love of God play Bunnies Don't Sleep Well. All you do is point at the screen and avoid ghosts. That's it.

And I'd pay the full US $50 for a game that just has a ton of levels of that. But I'd rather not. *hint hint* Virtual Console. This game is the future of the Wii (or a good chunk anyway. Wii Sports shows promise too)

Seriously, don't return the game until you get that far.

As for the Wii itself, I'll say this. Say you want to play a game with absolutely no motion sensing or pointing. The nunchuck is still by far the best controller ever simply because the two halves are independent. You do lose some buttons but... nothing needed. Play the racing levels in Rayman if you want an example of something that doesn't use the motion sensing (except you shake the nunchuck for nitro). Rayman gets the control just right for most games.

I'm expecting an Xbox 360 controller that splits in two down the center and is connected by a wire. I can't really see myself buying a 360 if they don't do that. Ok maybe, but that's how great I think the nunchuck is.

One more thing, if you want to see the Wii controller done wrong, by all means rent Super Monkey Ball. The party game controls are atrocious IMO for the most part. The main game controls are ok (and the main game levels are generally great, unlike SMB2), but I have a sneaking suspicion the SMB staff are genetic cyborgs that can somehow manipulate their wrist to point the controller straight and 30ish degrees downward without it feeling awkward. Sorry guys, but a slight upward tilt on the controller should equal flat surface in the game. Anyone play SMB and disagree?

Kiss of death quote.

"It just works."
You've done it now, boy-o, sealed the poor Wii's fate on Slashdot.
Utter this phrase about Macs and people get a /. account to just to be able to beat you senseless with a two-button mouse.

I guess I missed the memo

when did /. turn into cNet? If I want staff writers to feed me critiques I go to anandtech.com If i want to discuss with my peers about ongoing stuff that matters, i come to /. :-(

Very simple

Why is it selling so quickly?

Because its fun.

They have a Wii at the local EB Games on display. My friend and I saw some kids playing it, and it had whatever that racing game is. When we got to try it, it was instant fun. The controller is the coolest thing about it. Theres just so much potential, and its so intuitive.

One question

How well do people think the targetting of non-gamers will work out long term? I can see it causing a short term buzz and interest but wonder how many will stay as single game households, treating the console more like an appliance. Its success will likely depend on whether these people turn into regular purchasers of games, which is how you'd probably define current gamers, or if it is seen as a furby style craze that they'll lose interest in after a while. If few people buy anything other than launch titles then you may not find a big Wii games section in shops.

I've seen it with my parents. They may become interested in one game for a short period of time, and play it a lot, but it will be one game and not necessarily lead them into being interested in any other game.

I'm pretty disappointed so far...

Wii Sports was fun for about 10 minutes and then the novelty wore off. The graphics suck and the music sucks. The game seems like its 10 years old. Sure, the controller is cool, but it didn't really strike me as totally groundbreaking. I've been playing the new Zelda game for a couple weeks now, and it suffers from the same controller issues that conventional controllers present. Camera problems, too many buttons, etc.

AND about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: it sucks.
1) The graphics are 10 years old.
2) Where are the voiceovers??? The characters make odd squeaking noises instead.
3) I'm 4 hours into it, and the story is not really there yet.
4) Same camera and movement problems that so many older games have...

It seems like the Wii is just a Gamecube repackaged with a new fancy controller.

I want my money back!!

Re: Think again, fanboi. Real men play PC games.

Think again, botnet mule, Real Men play Nethack.

Re: Think again, fanboi. Real men play PC games.

That's nothing, real men play with their girlfriend.

Oh wait ...

Re: Think again, fanboi. Real men play PC games.

Think again LARPig! Real mean take LSD and just sit on the couch hallucinating that they're running around with armor and weapons!

Re: Think again, fanboi. Real men play PC games.

Fuck, I new I screwed it up! I took LSD and run around with armor and weapons while hallucinating that I was sitting on the couch!

Re:Wii, was the hype worth it?

The bad: Controller eats batteries. Lacks the advanced HD graphics and surround sound found on the Xbox 360 and the PS3. The uggly: It's lights years behind 360 and PS3 in multimedia features and graphics.

Is it just me, or did you say 'inferior graphics and sound' twice?

Re:The Perfect System For A Friend To Have

No this isn't a rip on the Wii, but after you have played through Zelda and your friends have come over for a few gaming sessions the Wii quickly loses its appeal.

It's been not quite three weeks. You've finished Zelda? Bloody hell. Do you even sleep? I just finished playing through Ocarina, and THAT took three weeks, with me knowing pretty well where everything in the game was from the outset. By all accounts Twilight Princess is substantially bigger.

Re:The Perfect System For A Friend To Have

So Super smash brothers brawl, wario Ware, Wii Play, Super mario galaxy, Super Paper Mario,Metroid Prime 3 are all shovel ware? then you have the vc games like super mario world and oot coming out in 2007 too. How are all those games shovel ware? Thats not including games like animal crossing.

Re:Wii, batteries, and why rechargeables R gud

The bad: Controller eats batteries. Lacks the advanced HD graphics and surround sound found on the Xbox 360 and the PS3

Um, dude, drop by Home Depot and buy a four-battery recharger, and get four rechargeable batteries.

Problem solved.

Seriously, doing that costs less than a new controller combo (wii-mote plus nunchuk).

Re:The Perfect System For A Friend To Have

"Looking at the release schedule for the next year for the Wii it looks like there is a ton of shovelware coming from gaming companies with a few gems."

honestly i think that's been true of literaly every gaming system. looking at both the ps3 and 360 launch scheduals for the next few months i only find i'm interested in maybe 10-20 percent of the games. i think you're asking a bit much from a system if you expect to be interested in even 50 percent of its titles. not only are tastes in games relative to the individual but there are also just alot of crappy games made for every system.

Re:Wii, was the hype worth it?

It has Dolby Pro Logic, I fail to see how that is not good enough

Re:Wii, was the hype worth it?

So "lesser graphics capabilities than its competitors" counts twice -- both as bad, and as ug(g)ly?

Re:Wii, was the hype worth it?

How did this guy get modded +5 interesting? By regurgitating exactly what Nintendo has been marketing? Nintendo has said themselves, they're not competing on pushing polygons, and they're a GAME company first. period.


IMO:

The good: Good controller design. Has a major nostalgia appeal. Compatible with all (?) GameCube games

The bad: Controller eats batteries. Lacks the advanced HD graphics and surround sound found on the Xbox 360 and the PS3

The uggly: It's lights years behind 360 and PS3 in multimedia features and graphics.


Yes, it is your opinion, so I can't argue that. But I can argue that your opinion stinks, and you obviously have zero experience with it. Just took the wii to a friend's place last weekend. Lot of university buddies gathered (along with our wives). Every one of them said they wanted to get a Wii now, and more importantly, every single one of the wives wanted them to get one! If that's not more significant than your perty gfx on your 360, then you my friend, obviously have no friends/lady friends.

This may be anecdotal evidence at best, but it sure sounds like a lot of people have had the same experience with their parents, grandparents etc. And this "evidence" sure beats the snot of of some MS apologist's (Yes, read his post [slashdot.org] history [slashdot.org]) "opinion" about something he knows nothing about.

Eats batteries? Hardly.

The bad: Controller eats batteries.

For those that don't have a Wii yet, don't listen to this guy. The cheap no-name batteries that came with the unit lasted some 20-30 hours for me, and the replacements (rechargable NiMH RULE) haven't worn out yet (past 40 hours now by my best guess).

"Eats batteries" makes people think you'll be replacing them every time you play. Even if you play 5-6 hours every single day (ie: you're unemployed), you're still good for a solid week.

Unless you really hate wireless devices. Then yes, you'll hate the Wii :)

Re:Wii, was the hype worth it?

I'm using 2650mAh rechargeable batteries and they work great. The Wii's surround sound is great if you have a receiver that supports Dolby Pro Logic II. (Notice the "II").

Re:I have an idea...

Youre not familar with the concept of a REVIEW are you?

Re:Wii, was the hype worth it?

My friend said the batteries last like 30-40 hours of playtime. How long did you see them last?

Re:Wii, was the hype worth it?

There are definately more than 2 good games; such as the afformentioned Excite Truck and Trauma Center. While Madden 07 might not look as good on the Wii as it does on the PS3 or XBox360, the controll scheme works great - sure there are a few times where it doesn't seem to register your motion, but if you were just too early or late it actually tells you that, and some of the more obscure commands are easier to remember in the Wii version (ex: Want to call for a fair catch? Wave the wii-mote over your head) Sure there are some stinker games out for it, but the vast majority of them are games based off of kids franchises or movies, like Spongebob, Happy Feet, etc, and those would be bad no matter what system they were on. Of the other launch titles that didn't get great review like Zelda, there are plenty of titles worth trying out, and plenty more on the way. On a side note, avoid Gamespot.com as a place for determining which Wii games to get. I have used them as a review source for years, but they automatically seem to deduct a full point from every Wii game purely for not having HD support; which the majority of people, who don't have HDTVs, doesn't really matter. Any source that gives Twilight Princess below a 9 on a 10 point scale is looking at the wrong criteria to rate a game (their other complaint was that it was too much like the past Zelda's, which is exactly what Zelda fans are actually looking for; you don't need to have crazy innovations in a game that only appears once every 3-4 years, unlike FPSs which are a dime a dozen.)

Re:Wii, was the hype worth it?

The Controller doesn't eat batteries. You can get a decent battery life out of it: 15 hours or so seems to be the norm. Besides Zelda, it is unlikely you'll be going through hardcore gaming sessions after all your friends and family have gotten a chance to try it out.

I do think the advanced graphics can hurt it. When a game is innovative (Wii Sports) it doesn't need it. But some games could've really used some polish and looked worse than some Dreamcast games. Not a big major qualm, but certainly an annoyance.

As far as multimedia features? Sure, the PS3 has a BD player, but otherwise, what can it do? You can't play music while you're playing games, not how you can in the 360. You can't (yet) download and store movies/shows. And I bet the Wii lets you do more with pictures than the PS3 or the 360: doodle on them, turn them into puzzles, mail the doodles to others, etc.

I'd say the 360 is way ahead on music although the PS3 has an edge on HD discs and the Wii has an edge on pictures.

Re:Wii, was the hype worth it?

> The bad: Controller eats batteries.

Isn't that true about all the wireless controllers? Mine lasted over twenty hours of heavy use (that is, the heavy swinging that you do in Wii Sports, as opposed to the probably lighter-use that aiming or steering would take from the batteries in a shooter or a driving game, respectively). And this was with the batteries included with the Wii. Batteries that come with battery-powered devices tend to start with less of a charge than batteries you buy on your own.

So it eats batteries, but not at a rate out of the ordinary for what you'd expect from a remote controller.

That said, I will be looking into that Joytech charger product. :)

Re:Interesting to note...

... that it is the UI that distinguishes this consol the most from others given Nintindo's past failures to do the same on it's original console. Nintindo's ingenuity in this respect is not new--remember the Power Glove? I bought one of those... man that was a waist of a $100.

Well, Nintendo has attempted a lot of different user interfaces ...

The d-pad (game & watch / NES)
Light Gun (NES)
Shoulder Buttons (SNES)
Analogue Stick (N64)
Rumble (N64)
VR (Virtual Boy)
Dual Screen (Nintendo DS)
Touch Screen (Nintendo DS)

Also Mattel produced the Power Glove ...

Nintendo has had some pretty good ideas in the past and the only (real) interface failure they had (the Virtual Boy) was caused more by limitations in technology than that it was a bad idea. In 5-15 years (when small LCD screens are high enough quality and inexpensive enough) I expect to see another major manufacturer attempt a virtual-reality console; this time I expect they will ensure that it is a light weight head set that people wear rather than a porthole people look into which gives them a neckache.

On a side note, I personally think that if you look at the ammount of processing power in the PSP (and how nice the PSP screen is) as a company it would make sense to start R&D on a Virtual Reality console today for it to be ready when the component cost comes down.

Re:I have an idea...

I beg to differ, there was never a real danger of karma loss.

Re:Wii, was the hype worth it?

It features surround sound, Dolby Prologic II 5.1.

Re:No thanks

There's 44 release games (41 third party), another 103 confirmed in development, and another 71 announced projects. Doesn't seem shabby for a system that's less than a month old.

Re:Thank you Zonk.

I own a launch Wii and it's still funny! Zonk honestly made my day.

Re:Wii, was the hype worth it?

Either you haven't rented Rayman, or you have played it and don't like it. I suppose weirder things have happened.