I managed to get my hands on the Wii at E3 last week, and it’s just not for me. Let me start by making it very clear that I’m a complete and total cynic. And my cynicism screams “gimmick” loud and clear about the Wii remote. With that said, I’m also what one might call a hard-core gamer, and therefore not really the target market for the Wii.
On Day 3 of E3, I stood in the Wii line with one of my co-workers first thing in the morning. In typical Nintendo fashion, the entire booth was super cool, with giant screens set up along the wall of the line. There were people on these screens, and they were actually talking to us, through the magic of a video camera and microphone aimed at the line. It was really cool, for some reason.
Then we got inside, and there were some guys demonstrating the Wii controller as drum. It was neat, and they were able to make some cool percussion, but it wasn’t really a game, more a nifty party trick.
Got my hands on with a Duck Hunt-type tech demo. The Wii controller can also be used like a light gun, you put an infrared receiver strip onto your display and point at it, and blam-o, instant gun action! It was nifty, but as I was shooting at ducks and such with another random stranger, my fellow demo-er said “This is pretty awkward”, to which I agreed. We were sort of holding our arms out and pointing at the screen. I guess it’s pretty standard for a shooting game, but it wasn’t very comfortable or something I’d want to do for more than a few minutes.
Next, I walked by the sports games, such as Golf, where people where swinging full out, and my first thought was “There’s a lawsuit waiting to happen!” (I told you I’m a cynic) I just pictured some idiot throwing out their back or hurting their shoulder and suing Nintendo for damages.
Further down the line lead me to a Tony Hawk game, which I got to play. You held the remote in both hands, sideways, and tilted the whole thing to turn your skater. The position leaves your right thumb near the 1 and 2 buttons and your left thumb near the D-pad. I really wanted to just use the D-pad to control the movement! I understand that’s just years and years of ingrained habit, and something that could be learned out of me. But it was rather frustrating to go against years of training, essentially.
That’s all for the hands on. Saw a bit of Zelda, Warioware, and Mario. Warioware looks pretty neat, like the DS version, it’s full of minigames that give the player a chance to utilize the unique control opportunities afforded by the system. Games asked you to shake, rotate, balance or click on the controller. That seems like it’ll be a must-buy for those with the system. But for the rest, I’d rather use traditional controls.
I see the Wii as being a great way to pull in the non-gamer. Mom walks by and asks, “what’s this?” and immediately understands the waving and swinging ideas. But if I’m sitting down for a 3 hour gaming session of an adventure or RPG, I don’t wanna stand there and swing away everytime I attack. I get enough repetitive stress strain from working on a computer all day. I don’t want to worry about my gaming console hurting my shoulders, back, or whatever.
I think the Wii will be great fun at a party for 10 minute play sessions where everyone switches off and does different things. But for my serious gaming needs, I’ll stick with my Xbox 360 and the PS3 when it arrives.
I am a cynic.
8 Responses to “Wii not for me”
I totally agree with you about the Wii. I just don’t see it becoming a long-term, “I use this every day” kind of console. The games being made for it and the examples Nintendo use to explain the potential of the Wii just seem to be small, impractical games, or collections of small, impractical games. I mean, they’ve mentioned that the controller can be used to simulate open heart surgery, but how many games are actually going to do that?
My other beef with the console is that I don’t even see the POINT in half of these innovations. In a game like Indigo Prophecy, you press the left and right arrows in rapid succession when you have to perform some sort of physical exertion. With the Wii, you’ll just shake the controller from left to right as you mentioned. Is there really a difference in terms of gameplay? I can’t imagine I’m going to play those games and think “WOW! This really is the future of gaming! I can’t believe I spent so many years pressing buttons instead of shaking a hunk of plastic!”
Of course I was not at E3 and have yet to touch the Wii, but I couldn’t disagree more with you.
If you think the Wii isn’t built for the core gamers out there then you are wrong. Maybe you aren’t at the same point I am at or the point that most of my friends are at, but we want something new. Gameplay is flat played out on the old control schemes. I think as you start paying $60-$80 for next gen games and realize you are playing the same thing you played two generations ago you may look more favorably on the Wii. Gamers are sick of same ole… we want new.
You are one of a very few that did not fall in love with the Wii controller. I can agree with some of what you said, but again I thought the DS was a gimick. I own a DS now… and gimick it isn’t
Nintendo has NEVER been wrong with their controllers… so I am not doubting them now.
Heartless, I hear what you’re saying. But I can’t see what you mean about being sick of the same old. I’ve been playing games since … probably the late 80s. I played RPGs on the original Sega Master System (go Phantasy Star!), the NES (yay, original Final Fantasy), the Genesis (Phantasy Star 2 is my hero), all the way up through my most recent console RPG, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne on the PS2. The controller didn’t need to change for the game to become new and interesting. If people think there’s nothing new to be done with a d-pad and a set of 2-6 buttons, they’re not thinking creatively. What about Katamari (ok, you can use some analog sticks too)? That was truly new.
I’m going to agree with you on the DS being surprisingly nifty. But I don’t own one, and I don’t really have plans to buy one. Plenty of games hardly use the touch-screen or microphone functionality at all. The Wii seems to be all about the controller, and that’s where it loses me. You cannot base all games on a control scheme. Games need to come from cool ideas, not cool controls.
It may be possible to create some game experiences that weren’t possible before the Wiimote. But I expect to continue to have great gaming without the need for a tilt sensor.
Just curious… For a game like duck hunt, couldn’t you just sit on a couch and rest your arm on your leg while you aim? I noticed people doing this with Metroid Prime.
I suppose you could. I did what was natural and held me arm out straight, since that seems like what you do to aim…
The games being made for it and the examples Nintendo use to explain the potential of the Wii just seem to be small, impractical games, or collections of small, impractical games.
Since when did games have to be “practical”? And since when did games necessarily have a “point”? The Wii is about exploring new ways of control and it’s about having fun.
Tara: I understand where you’re coming from. The Wii, though marketed towards “everyone” won’t appeal to everyone because some people are perfectly happy with the current way we control/play games.
At the moment, the only Wii game I’m remotely interested in is Metroid Prime 3. I could care less about anything Mario or Zelda related. As cool as the Wii seems to be, I can’t justify buying a console for one game. PS3 has Metal Gear Solid 4. Great, but I can’t buy a PS3 for that game. Xbox 360 has Viva Pinata. Again, I can’t buy a 360 just for that.
Admittedly, Heavy Rain (PS3) and Sadness (Wii) look interesting, but I wouldn’t be guaranteed to buy those, since there isn’t much information about them yet. Until the next-gen consoles have a more varied and larger library of games that I want to play, I’m not going to buy any of them. I’ll happily play on my PC, DS, and the rest of my “old generation” systems.
“Since when did games have to be “practical”? And since when did games necessarily have a “point”? The Wii is about exploring new ways of control and it’s about having fun.”
I think games have always had to be practical, and usually have some sort of point. The problem is you’re misinterpreting what I’m saying. The Wii might be about having fun, but there’s a practicality to having fun. You can make a game about using the Wiimote to darn socks if you want to, but it’s not going to be a success and it’ll be a waste of your time. That’s not a practical game, for multiple reasons. As for having a point, I think it’s fair to say that even the most open-ended sandbox games have a point to them. Some of the stuff Nintendo have been talking about though, seems much more like a tech demo to me. Stuff that won’t ever be used in a game. Ergo, it’s pointless.
Just my opinion, of course. I’m not saying that nobody should be aiming for new ways of playing games. I’m the biggest advocate of innovation in gaming, I really am. But I don’t see the point in games that aren’t going to be much fun, and whose only virtue is that they use the controller in a new way.
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