I'll admit, the new name "Wii" makes it a delightful target for jokes, but I strongly feel Nintendo has done things right this time around for a few reasons.
1) The low price point is the best thing the Wii has going for it. Costing about half as much as either of the next gen consoles, parents in particular will be pleased with the lower price point.
2) The whole "controller as an virtual wand" is a bit gimmicky, but I thought the same about the DS at first. While not every DS game makes good use of the dual screen and stylus, the ones that are effective do so in such a way to promote exciting new game design concepts (i.e. Yelling in the DS microphone to activate bombs in Bomberman).
3) A big weakness with the GC and N64 were the "little kid" appeal of it... I mean, I'll always be a Nintendo kid because I was practically raised on the damned thing, but I can see younger teen gamers turning away from a system loaded with Marios and Kirbys. The GC did have some hardcore titles, but the Wii needs to focus on this more to keep more than a cult branch of the hard-core audiences.
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=- Mat Tschirgi =- Armchair Arcade Editor
Hear my gaming podcasts!
I'll admit, the new name "Wii" makes it a delightful target for jokes, but I strongly feel Nintendo has done things right this time around for a few reasons.
1) The low price point is the best thing the Wii has going for it. Costing about half as much as either of the next gen consoles, parents in particular will be pleased with the lower price point.
2) The whole "controller as an virtual wand" is a bit gimmicky, but I thought the same about the DS at first. While not every DS game makes good use of the dual screen and stylus, the ones that are effective do so in such a way to promote exciting new game design concepts (i.e. Yelling in the DS microphone to activate bombs in Bomberman).
3) A big weakness with the GC and N64 were the "little kid" appeal of it... I mean, I'll always be a Nintendo kid because I was practically raised on the damned thing, but I can see younger teen gamers turning away from a system loaded with Marios and Kirbys. The GC did have some hardcore titles, but the Wii needs to focus on this more to keep more than a cult branch of the hard-core audiences.
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=- Mat Tschirgi =- Armchair Arcade Editor
Hear my gaming podcasts!
The Super Koopa Troopa Show
Played to Death