The Wii - Is the Magic Gone? 492
Computer And Video Games asks the tough question: is the Wii's magic gone? After the flurry of excitement around the launch, lackluster ports and a persistent inability for Nintendo to keep units on the shelves has made it hard for gamers to sustain their enthusiasm for the system. It doesn't help that most of the good games slated for this year won't be out for months. In some cases, there's doubt they'll even make it out this year: Reggie Fils-Aime appears to be backpedaling on Metroid Prime 3 by Christmas, which would be a shame. GigaGamez has additional commentary. Are you still as excited about the Wii as you were when it launched?
Imposter!!! (Score:5, Interesting)
Seriously, even as I like the Wii, I can see some "cracks in the armor". It's missing out on a lot of potential. Here are some things it needs:
a) Real calibration. Actually be able to tell it where your screen boundaries are located so that where you're pointing is a lot closer to where the dot is, enabling shooters that don't show your crosshairs. Preferably in the OS.
b) The Wiisaber. That alone will double sales.
c) Games that involves holstering the wiimote to one or more limbs. E.g. a dancing game or a bounty hunter type game where you have to hit a button on your arm to launch a rope. (I know Konami has a DDR like the former coming up, but sooner would have been nice.)
d) Online play.
Also, Zelda should have required you to pull back to load an arrow, so it's more realistic.
Have we given up on the Wii? (Score:5, Interesting)
I want one as much as I always have, but there is no way in hell I'll get it through walmart.
So I wait.....
Re:Store Shelves (Score:4, Interesting)
Where I live, it's hours after a shipment.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Just launch-year jitters (Score:3, Interesting)
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
All three! (Score:3, Interesting)
The Magic is gone because its sold out (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Store Shelves (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't know if the magic is gone, but the sales are still up (three wal-marts, two targets, a best buy and circuit city in town are all out of wiimote's/nunchucks)
Re:Persistent Inability to Keep Units On the Shelf (Score:3, Interesting)
Then, a few weeks later when the newness had worn off, I realized I really had no interest in the thing and I never got one. Don't regret it, either.
Re:Store Shelves (Score:5, Interesting)
That's true. I was really excited about getting a Wii last November, I've been trying to find one since then with no luck. Let's just say I'm starting to get severely annoyed with the lack of supply, an xbox 360 is looking more and more appealing every day. I am really loosing my patience with Nintendo, I wanted a fucking Wii pretty bad, but now I'm just fed up and annoyed that I can't find one, and that turns me off it altogether. I wonder how many other people will buy another system instead because Wiis are no where to be found.
Why do I want one? (Score:4, Interesting)
What are the "must have" games for the Wii? Seriously. I'm aware of Zelda, but ehh, I don't have much time to actually *play* a lot, so I'd probably get bored of it. My game playing time during the week is limited, and even on the weekends I might not have much time. On IGN half or mor of the reviews were for VC games - reviews of Mario 3 and the like. While that's cool and all, I don't want to spend $250 so I can download my old collection of Nintendo games, and I already know what those old games are like - I played the originals. There are the party games, but I'd only have a use for them maybe once a month or so - whenever we have a bunch of people over. The woman isn't interested in watching me play through a single player game, and she's not much into gaming anyway. Maybe if there were something she'd be interested in....
I could always go with the sports games, but that only lasts awhile, and why get a Wii if I'm just going to get Madden or some NCAA game? I'm interested in the potential of a Wii, but when I got right down to it, I had to ask myself - what would I get it for? Is it just the novelty and then it'd wear off? What are the must-have games everyone is talking about?
Ahhhh, it doesn't matter anyway. In my medium sized city, not one of the area stores has any in stock, let alone knows when more might come in. Bah. Maybe I've outgrown video games - that's depressing...
Re:Store Shelves (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Store Shelves (Score:3, Interesting)
Isn't Nintendo's inability to keep it on the shelf a sign that the excitement is still there? If the excitement were gone, would stores still sell out within days of recieving a shipment?
Yeah. Well, except for the "days" thing, the stores in my area have been telling me minutes. I mean, inability to keep in stock is a bad thing in some ways -- I'm sure Nintendo would love to be able to meet supply right away if only to ramp up game sales faster, but according to the local places I've been asking, (1) they're getting 1-2 shipments a week, (2) these sell out within minutes, and (3) pretty much every person who comes in asks if they have any in stock.
That third one especially seems to dismiss the "Is the magic gone?" question -- or at the very least, if you're more objecting that people who have them aren't that happy with them anymore, it gets rid of the absurd argument that inability to produce sufficient stock is evidence that the magic is gone.
I mean, I'll certainly admit I'm getting frustrated, and would much prefer to actually buy a Wii right now. But I mean, even if there were none in stock for the next six months, worst-case scenario is I get bored of checking around every few days, and just forget about the whole thing until I can just get one on amazon. At the very worst, I'm a deferred happy console owner. So, what's the problem?
Re:That's it! (Score:3, Interesting)
The magic works when you have one (Score:2, Interesting)
I bought it, brought it home, and... well, I LOVE it. It really is an experience-changer for gaming. Out of all the game systems I've had (and I've had many), this is truly the best experience I've had gaming. It's really the closest to VR you can get in a mass gaming system.
Not only that, my kids (5 and 8) can both enjoy it along with me - instead of asking to *watch* me play, they can play! That's a different experience in itself.
But until you actually play the games (at least the ones that take advantage of the wii's 3D controller abilities), you probably won't understand what a difference it can make.
Re:Store Shelves (Score:1, Interesting)
Just out of curiosity I (just now) looked on eBay just now where there are 1533(!) Wii consoles listed. Even on Amazon there are consoles listed (albeit rather expensive)... if you really want one that badly there isn't anything stopping you so quit your bitching. And then if you're going to bitch about games... why not wait? Wait until the prices come down and the games you want are out.
To me, the company that used their thinking cap is Sony. Their high prices did a couple things. Kept them from losing absurd amounts of money on PS3 manufacturing and also kept demand down. I imagine with the current demand Nintendo could have made an extra $100 on each Wii sold and then lowered the prices accordingly for next xmas (which is really when you should buy a console anyway in my experience xmas year 2 and 3 of the current generation when the price wars really get going).
Re:Store Shelves (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:I disagree. (Score:2, Interesting)
My son has a disability affecting his coordination, and finds gamepads hard to use, but he has no problem playing the sports games using the Wiimote.
Yes - because of the games (Score:1, Interesting)