Most Nintendo fans will remember a time when Mario & Co ruled all, a world where Playstation's and X-Box's didn't exist. Nintendo had a totally dominant empire- no one could topple them... at least that what we all thought. In a few short years though Nintendo's empire had crumbled away, GameCube was dead in the water and the market seemed too big for three. We all know what happened then, Nintendo Wii'd...
So we have had a while getting used to our Wii's by now, Zelda has been completed, all our mates have had a go on the system and several irate people are having to buy new TV's. The initial excitement is over and the dust is starting to settle. If we look toward the future can we see Nintendo's promised revolution lasting, or just a short lived gimmick?
As expected, the opinions of Sony are quite predictable on this matter. In a recent interview with the New York Times Sony representative Dave Karraker takes a dig at the Wii. Saying that:
“Wii could be considered an impulse buy more than anything else.”
These may just be words from a company who could well be in financial difficulty thanks to poor console sales. They could also be words that bring up a large future issue for Nintendo, Will the Wii last?
Now I personally feel that the Wii has a successful life ahead of it, providing that third-party support remains strong. Let's face it. Third-party developers are the make or break for a system- all who owned a GameCube know this too well. If Nintendo can hold on to the likes of Ubisoft, EA, Konami, Capcom and SquareEnix then the Wii has a strong chance of surviving.
Lackluster software won't be an issue this year at least. Promises of games such as Super Smash Bros Brawl, Metroid Corruption, Mario Strikers, SSX Blur and Mario Galaxy will ensure this.
Features like the Virtual Console, News and Internet channels have certainly given the machine diversity, a vital component that was missing from the GameCube.
But what will become of the system after this new wave of games hits us? Will the revolution die down? Will we choose graphics over innovation? Or will we simply be spoiled for choice?
Let us know what you think, is the Wii really a gimmick?
[source next-gen.biz]
Comments 5
A gimmick, definetaly not. I went to play on my my xbox today after a while of not playing and it seemed foreign to me to use a d-pad and buttons etc. The wii has really changed my way of thinking when it comes to console gaming, and that quickly. A gimmick could not do that.
From what I hear, basically everyone hates the PS3 anyhoo, and why not it is a Sony product
So it's between Xbox360 and Wii and isn't the Wii outselling he 360?
I think people currently are not buying into the PS3 because there just aren't enough killer apps out this year. Off the top of my head I cannot think of any truly awesome looking game out this year... thats just disgraceful.
Wii will be outselling the 360 at the moment because its a new machine. Time will tell if the demand drops lower than the 360's.
Sony are doing what they always do - slag off the competition. They're running scared, they've got a £425 disaster waiting to happen and Nintendo's high sales (of both Wii and DS) have proved that the the general public want fun videogames, not graphically impressive but ultimately shallow experiences.
Sony is just mad because they are having their console sales drop... again. In Japan they are selling the things for 20% off.
To Sony anything under $600 is an impulse buy...
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