Wii Q&A Thread

[schild]

Just to put it out there, I don't like Ratchet & Clank either. I liked Metal Arms, but that's as close as I've gotten to that sort of genre. There's no denying that the new game is utterly gorgeous.

[Strazos]

Seconded, though I've never played Metal Arms either. I can't think of something I've liked that's close to those type of games.

[Roac]

And the original point was : Microsoft is offering this hardware in a SKU that's priced at $299. I don't care about the other models, or whatever shit Haemish would like to derail this towards. I don't give a fuck whether he wants the core or not. Or that it doesn't have a hard drive (as if it'd matter anyways, seeing as he's fine without one on the Wii). The only point is that the core system has an Xenon processor included in it, and that it plays games.

Whether the 360 has a Xenon in it is no more relevant than what type of core the Wii has in it.  Even if the consumer is literate enough to even discuss it, they mostly don't care.  People buy systems because of fun games, and they are speaking very clearly that they like the games on the Wii.  It doesn't matter if there was a monkey working an abbacus in the Wii, the games are fun.  Gripes about how it only has the Wiimote going for it are likewise lost; that has a lot to do with why it's fun.  It doesn't matter that it's a fairly simple idea, it's still fun.  Expensive doesn't mean fun.  I don't care if a port looks better on the PS3 than on the Wii; that doesn't make it more fun either.  Looking better is certainly a plus, but I am in the market for fun first, looks a distant second.  I buy art for looks, and games for fun. 

[Merusk]

Hey look, there's that line again. Funny.

for all the stuff I'm missing out on with the current gen, it's not that interesting to me. I'm sure something wil turn up eventually, but there's no rush.

I don't see how people can be so cavalier about online play, which the Wii almost completely lacks.  Really, the only reason it even has internet access is so they can sell you overpriced retro titles.

Because
1) I have a PC if I want online play. PCs do it far, far better, IMO.
2) If I want to play a console game with more than one person, I want those people to be there.  I have no interest in gaming against the 14 year old shit 3000 miles away from me who masturbates into the mic when he pwns me.
3) If a game focuses on online play, it's really no fucking use to those of us who'd rather game by themselves, eh.  That's why I have my consoles, for the games I want to play to kill an hour or two by myself.

But then I'm not a "Gamer" since I don't have an HDTV, or some bullshit. 

[sigil]

Well if it makes you feel more at ease,Stray ,I can call you a raging cockgobbler. :-D

 I see exactly what ninty was looking to do with the Wii now. And you guys are right, the PS3 and 360 are superior systems in terms of hardware, networking and all in one capability, particularly the ps3. But it's inconsequential to the wii, unless you're wanting to make the wii something it's not. That may be the rub with some people.  That will probably be what does the Wii in at some future point.

[stray]

And the original point was : Microsoft is offering this hardware in a SKU that's priced at $299. I don't care about the other models, or whatever shit Haemish would like to derail this towards. I don't give a fuck whether he wants the core or not. Or that it doesn't have a hard drive (as if it'd matter anyways, seeing as he's fine without one on the Wii). The only point is that the core system has an Xenon processor included in it, and that it plays games.

Whether the 360 has a Xenon in it is no more relevant than what type of core the Wii has in it.  Even if the consumer is literate enough to even discuss it, they mostly don't care.  People buy systems because of fun games, and they are speaking very clearly that they like the games on the Wii.  It doesn't matter if there was a monkey working an abbacus in the Wii, the games are fun.  Gripes about how it only has the Wiimote going for it are likewise lost; that has a lot to do with why it's fun.  It doesn't matter that it's a fairly simple idea, it's still fun.  Expensive doesn't mean fun.  I don't care if a port looks better on the PS3 than on the Wii; that doesn't make it more fun either.  Looking better is certainly a plus, but I am in the market for fun first, looks a distant second.  I buy art for looks, and games for fun. 

That's fine if you think that way, but what does it have to do with what I said?

I'm addressing the accusation that the 360 and PS3 are overpriced, and how the Wii relates to that. I'm saying that if you consider the main downsides of those two systems to be their price, and want to resort to that argument, then you're a hypocrite. Because the same dismay about pricing should be used against the Wii too. The pricing for the Wii is even more punitive to the consumer.

Keep it simple. Don't let yourself get sidetracked. The main point is: Complain about prices for all them, or don't complain at all, have fun, and go about your way. Anything else is bullshit.

[Roac]

I'm addressing the accusation that the 360 and PS3 are overpriced, and how the Wii relates to that. I'm saying that if you consider the main downsides of those two systems to be their price, and want to resort to that argument, then you're a hypocrite. Because the same dismay about pricing should be used against the Wii too. The pricing for the Wii is even more punitive to the consumer.

No, you're looking at some sort of vague "dollars/feature" ratio, where you list everything they all have along with their price.  If you could come up with such a number I have no doubt that the PS3 would win hands down.  It's also beside the point, because the idea that most people have in their heads isn't features, but fun.  A "dollars/fun" ratio, if you will.  Now, this is far more subjective because everyone has their own idea of what fun is, but something that has been pushed out very clearly is that HD does not add much to the fun column for most people, and certainly not enough to outweigh the dollar side.  And yes, the Wii does have that controller that adds quite a bit to the fun column for most people, cheap or no.  Of course, when you are looking at it from a "dollars/fun" ratio standpoint, cheap is better.

Maybe this is where you and most of the world aren't seeing eye to eye.  The Wii has about as much (some say more, some less) fun as the other consoles.  It also costs less.  So yes, I do get to complain about the price points of the 360 and PS3 just fine; they don't have anything extra that I do want, and it costs me more to get it.  I can afford either just fine, but that doesn't matter; I don't want to pay more money for what is to me, more or less the same product.  You keep comming back and saying it's punitive because of lower hardware specs or lack of HD; I'm telling you, that's not what I was buying for anyway so you're not even discussing the same thing.  To me, it's the inclusion of HD that's punitive.  Some day, I wouldn't think of buying any media device that lacked HD.  That day is still a fair bit off.

[stray]

[EDIT] Damnit, nevermind.

Raging cockgobbler out. ;)

[schild]

Lifted from NeoGAF.

July 2007: MushiKing Super Collection (Wii, Sega) <- Rock Paper Scissors with Beetles
July 2007: Wii Health Pack (Wii, Nintendo) <- Not a game.
July 2007: Mario Party 8 (Wii, Nintendo) <- MORE MINIGAMES, YAY
October 2007: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) <- Won't be released til Christmas, imo
December 2007: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii/NDS, Sega) <- Not a game. More lols? Made by Sega.
In late 2007: Wii with DVD playback (Nintendo) <- HAHHHOHOHOHo
2008: Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Capcom) <- Yes, please. Also, don't suck.

EVERYONE RUSH OUT AND GET YER WII. I HEAR THEY'RE "IN" THIS SEASON.

Edit: Stuff after titles is mine.

[Velorath]

Lifted from NeoGAF.

July 2007: MushiKing Super Collection (Wii, Sega) <- Rock Paper Scissors with Beetles
July 2007: Wii Health Pack (Wii, Nintendo) <- Not a game.
July 2007: Mario Party 8 (Wii, Nintendo) <- MORE MINIGAMES, YAY
October 2007: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) <- Won't be released til Christmas, imo
December 2007: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii/NDS, Sega) <- Not a game. More lols? Made by Sega.
In late 2007: Wii with DVD playback (Nintendo) <- HAHHHOHOHOHo
2008: Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Capcom) <- Yes, please. Also, don't suck.

EVERYONE RUSH OUT AND GET YER WII. I HEAR THEY'RE "IN" THIS SEASON.

Edit: Stuff after titles is mine.

I don't quite get that list.  Is it just a list of stuff you in particular are interested in, or is it a list of what you think will be the only good Wii games coming out this year?

[stray]

It's a list of "fun".


The raging cockgobbler is back.  So soon too..


No really, I should leave.

[schild]

It's Nintendo's schedule of first party games and meaningful 3rd party games.

[Velorath]

It's Nintendo's schedule of first party games and meaningful 3rd party games.

But meaningful to whom is my question.  There's stuff missing from that list that I think people will be interested in even if it's not to my tastes, like MySims, Treasure Island Z, Mario Strikers, Fire Emblem, and various other games.

[schild]

That's because they're not coming out soon enough to be on the list. This is from Famitsu. That shit is hitting Japan before America.

No way MySims or Treasure Island Z was coming here in 07 anyway, they'd have to rush it. Fire Emblem will probably be next Spring. They won't release Mario Strikers until they learn what Netcode is.

[schild]

Oh man. More good stuff, interview with Gamespy:

Falafelkid: I would like to know if I am right in assuming that the features mentioned (friend rosters, advanced matchmaking capabilities and comprehensive rankings data) suggest a single, unified online platform for each console, rather than one which is dependent on individual games (as is the case with the DS).

GameSpy: GameSpy’s technology does allow for features that could span multiple games. With the Nintendo Wii, however, the multiplayer features are title-specific.

Falafelkid: But is that the case for all Wii online titles across the board?

GameSpy: Yes, that is the case for Wii titles.

Falafelkid: Just one last question to make absolutely sure I have got this right, please. If I have a friend roster in one game, that roster will not be available to me in any other game. I have to build up an entirely new list for each title, right?

GameSpy: The answer to your question is yes, for the Wii friend lists are game specific.

I can't wait to play Super Smash Brothers with 00837283912817.

[Yegolev]

But you're taking it too far.

Well, yeah.  It's me.

As for the rest of your comments, I agree with you, I just don't like people thinking it is all about clock speed.  Pet peeve.  Old processor?  I can get behind that gripe and it is more accurate.  I also agree that the Wii is possibly overpriced when you compare it to what you get from the 360 and PS3, but we all know that things are priced according to what people are willing to pay rather than what it costs to make them.  I think it should be $200, considering what you get, but $250 is fine with me, especially with that play-with-my-hands-apart thing.  Question is, should I get mad that Nintendo decided they did not want to lose money on each console?  I can't muster it.

About that software list, I would suggest people not build up Mario Galaxy in their minds too much, just in case it's ass.  I'm leaning towards "ass" or perhaps "dick".  I can only be pleasantly surprised.

Also, didn't we determine that Umbrella Chronicles is a rail shooter?  Well, I guess I don't already own one of those for my home, so there's that.

I am going to try Mario Party 8.  Firstly, I have nongamers that I can play with and I would like to do so, rather than brush them off to go hide in my cave with my precious like I usually do.  Secondly, I am hoping that it will be the Cadillac of mini/party games and basically a true test of whether or not I will like that sort of thing.  I fully expect it to require mixed couples and booze.

I think I hate Sega more than Schild hates Nintendo, so adding an Olympic brand to it means balls to me.

DVD on Wii?  Welcome to 2000, keke.

[Hokers]

December 2007: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii/NDS, Sega) <- Not a game. More lols? Made by Sega.

  Come on, you won't even give this Mini-game status? 

As one of the few that actually own Turino 06 (for the x-box) , I might be over sensitive.

[Big Gulp]

1) I have a PC if I want online play. PCs do it far, far better, IMO.

I'd say that you're wrong on this point, and that Live's system is far more streamlined than any comparable setup in the PC world, but okay, we can agree to disagree on that one.

2) If I want to play a console game with more than one person, I want those people to be there.  I have no interest in gaming against the 14 year old shit 3000 miles away from me who masturbates into the mic when he pwns me.

What the fuck do you think friends lists are for?  I play almost exclusively (and almost always in coop) with either people from this site, old buddies from my Chromehounds squad, or some people I've met over Worms.  If you want to avoid the kiddies, for the most part you can.

But then I'm not a "Gamer" since I don't have an HDTV, or some bullshit. 

I'd just say that you're misinformed as hell, and you bought an overhyped system that you now need to justify your ownership of in order not to feel the crushing letdown.

[Merusk]

I own none of them. PS2 and Gamecube still satisfy my needs.  I've never been one for 'the shiny.'   Hell, I didn't even buy a Super Nintendo until about 3 months before the N64 came out, nor a Playstation until about a year before the PS2.  I only own the PS2 because hit hit that magic $199 price point.

See, I can't stand buying something just to have it now, when I know the price is going to come down later.  The only exception to this is games I know I'll enjoy, and even then if it's over $50 I just wait.   I'm a cheap ass bastard. (Which, again, explains my lack of HDTV.. the prices are still dropping, why waste the $ now.)

[squirrel]

That's fine if you think that way, but what does it have to do with what I said?

I'm addressing the accusation that the 360 and PS3 are overpriced, and how the Wii relates to that. I'm saying that if you consider the main downsides of those two systems to be their price, and want to resort to that argument, then you're a hypocrite. Because the same dismay about pricing should be used against the Wii too. The pricing for the Wii is even more punitive to the consumer.

Keep it simple. Don't let yourself get sidetracked. The main point is: Complain about prices for all them, or don't complain at all, have fun, and go about your way. Anything else is bullshit.

I've been hanging out here too long. But I have to agree with this. I personally consider the PS3 slightly overpriced at the moment. But not by very much. As an HDTV owner who has the 360 HDVD add-on I will eventually buy the PS3 - it will have a few great games that are only really capable on that platform, blu-ray and I have a PSP so...

Point being that price alone is an irrelevant metric. Value is what's important and typically it's a subjective measure based on what you expect. Neither the 360 nor the PS3 are absolutely 'overpriced'. Argument could be made that the PS3 is priced higher than the general market sees reasonable at the moment based on sales, but that could change very easily without much effort.

Either way price alone is a pretty limited measure - how many of us own $1500+ PC's primarily for gaming?

[naum]

http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/11481/1092/

Putting 259,000 Wii game consoles into North American homes during March stamps Nintendo king of the current generation consoles sales.  Given that Nintendo still struggles to get stock on shelves in the face of demand, this is a great result for the Japanese gaming giant.

The Microsoft Xbox 360 moved 199,000 units and Sony offloaded 130,000 PlayStation 3 entertainment hubs.

[stray]

Except it isn't current generation, and the PS2 still tops it. Keke.



Damnit. Must. Leave. This. Thread. 

[WindupAtheist]

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

Man, I know it's old news, but I still gotta say it's a crazy fucking world we live in where Mario and Sonic are in the same game.    I see them driving to the Olympics together in a little car when Mario cuts loose with this explosive Italian garlic-powered fart and goes "Hey, Sonic, it's-a blast processing!  You like-a that, yeah?" and sneers at him.

[schild]

The fact Nintendo "can't meet demand" is laughable. I'm pretty sure everyone can agree on that. It's not like they haven't had 7 months to get it right. If Sony can pump out as many PS3s as they've had, even with the laser shortages (and Microsoft concurrently getting the same lasers for HDDVD drives), then Nintendo can MORE than find enough accelerometers (hohoho).

Edit: WUA, that was pretty funny. But we all knew the DAY Sega went third party, it was a guarantee. And this was YEARS AGO. I just figured it would be in the Smash bros line rather than this faggy bullshit. If Mario is on Italy, what country does Sonic stack the track team of? Zimbabwe?

[stray]

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

Man, I know it's old news, but I still gotta say it's a crazy fucking world we live in where Mario and Sonic are in the same game.    I see them driving to the Olympics together in a little car when Mario cuts loose with this explosive Italian garlic-powered fart and goes "Hey, Sonic, it's-a blast processing!  You like-a that, yeah?" and sneers at him.

Yeah, that's kind of wacky.

Like I said earlier though: Things like this are meant to sell on kitsch factor alone. And they will sell, unfortunately.

For crissakes, it's a Christmas title too. How pathetic.


---

I'm pretty much not going to leave this thread. It's not possible. Sorry for the false promise. 

[Murgos]

If Mario is on Italy, what country does Sonic stack the track team of? Zimbabwe?

Dude.  Sonic's a hedgehog.

[schild]

If Mario is on Italy, what country does Sonic stack the track team of? Zimbabwe?

Dude.  Sonic's a hedgehog.

Dude. He runs fast. I thought I went for the /obvious too....

[HaemishM]

All Nintendo has going for it - honestly, the only goddamn thing - is that Wiimote. Every other thing about the system is dogshit and I dare anyone to say otherwise.

You are wrong.

[HaemishM]

And the original point was : Microsoft is offering this hardware in a SKU that's priced at $299. I don't care about the other models, or whatever shit Haemish would like to derail this towards. I don't give a fuck whether he wants the core or not. Or that it doesn't have a hard drive (as if it'd matter anyways, seeing as he's fine without one on the Wii). The only point is that the core system has an Xenon processor included in it, and that it plays games.

Now, seeing that Microsoft is pricing something like that for $299, I raise the issue of Nintendo selling a VASTLY inferior system for only $50 less -- How could one piss and moan SO FUCKING MUCH about console prices when Nintendo is bending them over like that? It's hypocrisy. Even counting out the 360's graphics chip (which is a whole other can of worms), a Wii should still be cheaper than just $50 less.

And Microsoft is losing money handily to do so, while Nintendo makes a profit on every system they sell. I have no problems with that. I THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING. I happen to disagree with the "sell hardware for a loss" school of business, because it puts huge pressures on the 3rd party game developers to price all their games higher than normal. 360 games are $10 more than X-Box games and Wii games. I buy more games than I do hardware systems. I'd rather Microsoft have sold the goddamn thing at a profit and not added the research costs to my games. That extra $10 a game over the life of the console costs more to me than an extra $50 on the price of the hardware.

But again, you are talking about Microsoft doing a comparable system for $299, but you are forgetting something. That Core has no hard drive, so to save games, I need to buy memory cards, right? I don't need those on the Wii out of the box, because it has storage (though that storage is not a hard drive). It'll be quite a while before I'd need to buy memory cards for my Wii.

And the galling part about Sony's pricing of the PS3 is that they force Blu-Ray down my throat, when frankly, I DON'T WANT IT. They are forcing it down my throat so they can win the battle in another business segment. Had Sony not put the Blu-Ray drives in the PS3, it would have cost what... $100 cheaper? $150? That would be more reasonable, and if that were the case, I'd be much more inclined to give the PS3 some props. But again, it's that "lose our asses on the hardware" line of thinking, and it costs me more per game.

I look forward to buying the next Nintendo console in 3 years, with HD graphics and more refined used of motion-sensing, while Sony tries to sell me the PS3 still, and the 720 is offering me the set top box experience Microsoft has been trying to put together for 10 years.

[stray]

The higher price of 360 and/or PS3 games has more to do with covering game budgets than it does the price of first party hardware. Microsoft has different ways of recovering from hardware loss. XBox live, Marketplace, coaxing you into accessorizing, and not allowing third party controllers to name a few.

[HaemishM]

The higher price of 360 and/or PS3 games has more to do with covering game budgets than it does the price of first party hardware.

And likely one part of that is higher licensing fees, because that's where Microsoft/Sony recoup money lost on the hardware and make profit (eventually) on the system. The other part is yes, much higher development costs thanks to supporting niche hi-def graphics standards.

[stray]

You made it sound like a quick fix/end all solution, so I wanted to clarify that there are more outlets for revenue than games licensing.


Not meant to derail, but...

In other news, Punch Out has made it to VC (the Mike Tyson version without Mike Tyson though).


But in better news, Virtua Fighter 2 is there too.

I'm pretty sure that's the first Saturn-esque game to make it so far. Cool. Would love to see more pop up.

[EDIT 2]

Boo. It's the Genesis port. Lol.

[stray]

I have something positive to say:

The Classic Controller is probably the best controller out there. Seriously!


For something negative to say:

I haven't gotten any use out of it except in VC games. The Wii needs some D-Padding ports asap -- not just VC titles, I mean (unfortunately, there's only Metal Slug Anthology atm -- and it uses the Wiimote/Chuk of all things).

[schild]

I have something positive to say:

The Classic Controller is probably the best controller out there. Seriously!


For something negative to say:

I haven't gotten any use out of it except in VC games. The Wii needs some D-Padding ports asap -- not just VC titles, I mean (unfortunately, there's only Metal Slug Anthology atm -- and it uses the Wiimote/Chuk of all things).

It's good, but not the best. The Dreamcast, while still my favorite, is hampered by a wire. The 360 one has turned out to be the best controller I've ever used. The analog sticks spank the shit out of every other stick out there, they are tuned to perfection. I wish I was kidding.

[stray]

Yeah, but the D-Pad on the X360 is shit. What the hell is that thing supposed to be?

Also, I don't like the left analog stick being higher than the right.

The basic design does feel good though.


Dreamcast was cool, and probably has the best D-Pad outside of the Wii Classic. But I'm liking what Nintendo did more.