Wii Will Not Be Ignored
So after much waffling, I have decided to go full bore on acquiring the Nintendo Wii. (Whew, now that that decision has been made – I can return my focus to more pressing matters… like, does anyone know where TomKat is registered?)
Anyway – I had been perched atop a fence staring down both sides. The Wii was luring me with its innovative control, killer first party titles and a huge heaping of nostalgia. Essentially it is 2,000 teraflops of comfort food. (I know – it doesn’t have that power – but go with me and my dramatic license).
On the flip side, the PS3 and XBOX 360 punched me in the nuts and called me a Nancy-boy if I dared dream of putting Yoshi through his paces. Aligning the Hammer of Dawn (or whatever the hell Gears of War calls its orbiting satellite of doom) straight at my noggin, my brain downloaded the message loud and clear:
“I am an idiot for ever turning my back on the most ass-kickingest, face-slappingest, ball-punchingest piece of rockin’ sockin hardware to ever grace this orb”.
So – I waffled once again and began to revisit that former dream.
Then a couple of minor events conspired to force my hand.
Yesterday, while perusing these new-fangled Internets, I came across this article on the New York Times site. Their tech editor had spent the bulk of the weekend putting his mint condition PS3 through the paces. For $600 and the additional bank required to actually purchase games to run on the system, writer Seth Schiesel jockeyed his shiny new toy and came away with the following reflection – and dire message:
“Howard Stringer, you have a problem. Your company’s new video game system just isn’t that great.”
If you are even thinking about buying a PS3 – or the unthinkable – if you have to have one so bad that you’ll drop $2K in an overinflated eBay auction, read this article and take heed. $600 may buy you the world – but does it matter if the ‘game’ is no damn fun!!!
Which leads me to the Wii. Over the weekend, I witnessed Colin grab hold of a Wiimote for one quick minute (at an EBGames display kiosk) and saw my three year old boy instantly morph into his Dad. Gone went 36 buttons, dongles and analog sticks – in favor of pure, simple magic. I didn’t need to give him much instruction – he just motioned his arms back and forth and suddenly he was sending ExciteTruck careening through the wilderness. And the saucer eyes and wide grin spoke volumes.
We need Wii.
As kismet, I ran across the following article which echoes my experience – only this bastard actually owns a Wii while I sit here on the sidelines and wait. Regardless, it speaks to why we game. At heart – to have fun, damn’t.
So my mission is set although when I’ll actually locate the Wii and amass the necessary funds is a different story entirely. To ease that frustration, I offer up the following video.
Seeing Mario and Luigi lost in Liberty City is worth the wait.
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This post has 12 comments (now closed):
JFCC
Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:00 am
Finally, a non-Lost post so I can actually comment!
Your story doesn’t surprise me at all—I’ve been saying all along that the Wii is clearly the best choice for a family gaming system. We’ve reached a point where very few people think of videogames as “just a toy for the kids,” and it’s pretty clear that the PS3 and the 360 have positioned themselves as expensive toys for adults, with many of its best games geared toward an 17+ demographic.
Nintendo has seized on that perception by promoting the Wii as a family-friendly system—just like the NES was back in the day. If I had kids, I’d get a Wii before a 360 (though I’d probably try to get the 360 for myself if I could afford it–I need Halo 3).
Ed
Tue Nov 21, 2006 11:46 am
@Jason – Don’t worry. I’m returning my focus to things worth Blogging about. Plus Lost is on hiatus until February!!! So look forward to plenty more where this came from.
Regarding the Wii, look at that pic from The Legend of Zelda – The Twilight Princess that I lead the article with. The number of polygons on display there would barely cover Gears of Wars Marcus Fenix’ perfectly coiffed flattop – yet the artistic design on display is second to none. It’s nice to know that in addition to the Super Monkey Balls and Rayman Raving Rabbids – there will be games for me to get lost in.
On Saturday, I happened to be out shopping with the family at one of those mega big box shopping centers (where the landscape is dotted with Best Buy, Circuit City, Home Depot and everything else you could ever need) and I noticed that there was nary a camper outside of any of these stores for the game system that would launch the following morning. Contrast that with the PS3 launch – where I spotted campers en masse a full week before its launch. I figured I was golden for Sunday morning.
Sunday morning came and somewhere in the wee hours of the morning the crowds showed up and I was shut out. Nintendo launched with 600K units for launch day (compared to 200K for PS3) and sold every last unit that morning.
I think Nintendo might be on to something here.
JFCC
Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:32 pm
Just for you: http://xkcd.com/c186.html
I think there’s room for all three machines and more. Competition is good.
Joe
Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:45 pm
It didn’t hurt that Cartman – for two episodes – was a spokesman for the need for Wii
Sean
Wed Nov 22, 2006 1:33 am
Okay, here’s the plan: Instead of buying an iPod for the Secret Santa… er, Yankee Swap, I am going to have to buy an Xbox 360 and you better rig it so you get it or Wii can’t be friends anymore.
Bet you wish you were coming to party now, huh Jason?
For the record, I saw one tent setup outside Best Buy in Braintree on Saturday afternoon. Someone was a campin for the Wii. This, of course pales in comparison to the insanity of the PS3/Ebay losers, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless.
JFCC
Wed Nov 22, 2006 8:37 am
Pffft–were you ready to swap the 360 for one of those Hallmark singing snowmen? ‘Cause that’s what I would have brought.
My birthday is four days after Xmas, so I feel fairly confident I’ll be playing a 360 on the evening of December 29.
Sean
Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:57 am
No, it would be for a hand-knitted oven mitt…
Tim
Sat Nov 25, 2006 3:05 am
So why is PS3 no good? I was leaning that way….
Ed
Sat Nov 25, 2006 7:31 am
This is from the NY Times article I linked to above:
“Measured in megaflops, gigabytes and other technical benchmarks, the PlayStation 3 is certainly the world’s most powerful game console. It falls far short, however, of providing the world’s most engaging overall entertainment experience. There is a big difference, and Sony seems to have confused one for the other.
The PS3, which was introduced in North America on Friday with a hefty $599 price tag for the top version, certainly delivers gorgeous graphics. But they are not discernibly prettier than the Xbox 360’s. More important, the whole PlayStation 3 system is surprisingly clunky to use and simply does not provide many basic functions that users have come to expect, especially online.”
I’ve come across the same sentiments in other forums as well. The PS3 has a lot of horsepower under the hood – but the games (at least at launch) don’t take advantage of it nor are they much fun to play. A number of reviews keep pointing people to the 360 as it has a much better library at this point. Give the PS3 a year or two – when the big titles like MGS4 are out – and I’m sure things will be different (and cheaper) – but for $600, the system doesn’t seem worth it.
Tim
Tue Nov 28, 2006 4:42 pm
That is exactly why I don’t understand why people rush out to buy these things for the full price. It’s insane…
JFCC
Wed Nov 29, 2006 6:50 pm
So what games did you get for it?
Ed
Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:26 pm
I’ll post something soon but here’s a little preview.
Wii Sports (comes with the system and is pretty damn fun – a great party game)
Zelda: Twilight Princess
Excite Truck (the spiritual successor to ExciteBike)
Call of Duty 3