commented out

Required reading: http://techgage.com/article/top_5_wii_downfalls

He makes some relevant points, but the article seems a bit shortsighted. Read the article anyway, especially since I’m not going to repost the entire thing. Now, brace yourself; I’m about to pontificate.

Number five:

Like the other next-gen consoles, the Wii is fully capable of handling online activities whether it be downloading or surfing the web. Or is it? On launch day, I had full intentions to check out what was available online. That was short lived however, as none of the special services were functional, even now, three weeks after launch. This includes the weather, news and even web browser. This lack made it feel like half of the console was missing.

Am I the only one who knew much of the online service wasn’t going to be ready until next year? The author also mentions a lack of games in the Virtual Console store, Virtual Console pricing, and a lack of demos. The Virtual Console lineup is different in every territory, it seems, and I agree that the U.S. lineup is pretty weak considering the expansive library they have to choose from. The author also points out that five dollars for an old NES title is a fair-seeming price that can quickly put a large dent in your wallet. He goes on to mention a lack of demos so you can try before you buy. Making demos would require extra programming, as developers would need to dig into twenty year old code. On top of that, some games are coming from third parties, so the code wouldn’t be readily available to Nintendo. Having a demo would make the price tag much more understandable, and I don’t deny that it would be a great feature, but it seems like an unnecessary use of developer time. The idea of a couple of free games as an enticement into the Virtual Console service, however, is quite a good one, both for the consumer and for Nintendo.

Number four on the list was a lack of console versions. The author cites the Xbox 360 Core and Xbox 360 Premium bundles as an example. Items for the Premium Wii bundle would include a component cable for HD resolutions and wireless network access, with a wired NIC as a stock method of connection. Personally, I like the idea of one console. Nintendo is reaching out to casual and non-gamers with the Wii, and you’d be surprised how many non-gamers I’ve talked to who were confused by the two Xbox 360 bundles. Having a wired NIC instead of wifi would mean slightly easier setup with a router, but then there’s cable to run; not everyone has a router across the room from their Wii. One version is good, and the inclusion of the component cable wouldn’t hurt, especially with HDTVs growing in number. There is definitely a noticeable difference in quality.

Number three:

Yes, I actually consider the Wii’s killer selling point as one of it’s downfalls. It’s obvious that the Wii is designed for a new level of realism.. a truly immersive experience. That’s fine… but most games for the Wii solely trust that you are a fan of this method of control. In Zelda, you can flick the remote to swing your sword. Does that make the game more realistic? No. It makes you look like an idiot, and is completely needless. I had no problem pushing a B button in previous games to swing my sword. Sitting in a chair waving your hand in the air doesn’t necessarily make the game more fun.

The motion-sensitive control isn’t so much for a new level of realism, as it is for a new method of playing. Personally, I think it’s a blast. This point will certainly apply to the developers who implement motion purely for the sake of having it, though. I have no doubt that there will be a game (or several) that goes overboard.

Number two:

The Wii is designed to be a “family” console, so I had thought the setup process would be a complete no brainer, but that wasn’t the case. The entire GUI is clunky if you want to do anything but play a game. A friend asked me to send a message to his Wii, but of course I had no idea how to do such a thing. It wasn’t common sense, and I didn’t feel like hauling out a manual from the box I threw in the back of the closet. This stuff -should- be common sense. After finding out that you need a 16 digit code to send messages (odd in itself), it worked fine.

In the end, I just find the entire GUI to be counter-intuitive. In order to choose any option of change menu screens, you -must- use the motion sensor. It would have made sense to allow the D-Pad or even the Nunchuck attachment to surf these menus. I don’t want to have to wave my hand around simply to begin a game or view my storage. One specific area where this bothered me the most though, was setting up the Wireless connection. I had to type in a 63 character password with the remote… huge pain in the ass. It would not have been so bad with the D-Pad. Sure, I could use a lower security setting on the router to gain a smaller password, but that’s not the point, or my plan.

I had my Wii set up in just a couple of minutes. Granted, I’m somewhat tech-savvy, so I’d give the average user ten minutes to do it instead of two. The problem with needing the sixteen-digit system code (similar to friend codes on the DS) is that it’s buried in the message tool. Since it will be used for more than just sending messages to other consoles, it should be much more prominent. The option to use the D-pad on the remote, or the nunchuk attachment, to navigate menus strikes me as pure novelty since the remote needs to be active anyway. The option to navigate with a Gamecube controller would make more sense. Suppose you’re taking your ultra-portable Wii to a friend’s house to play some Gamecube games. you wouldn’t need to pack the remote and sensor bar which, for many people, is affixed to the TV. As for setting up the wireless connection, I also have a sixty-three character password, and if using the remote is more difficult for you than a directional pad you need to work on your hand-eye coordination.

Number one:

That leads me to another fact that I am finding out. The majority of games out right now… seem more like tech demos rather than full fledged games. Maybe this is because the publishers know very well that nobody will want to play certain games on this system for a prolonged amount of time. Either way, the games still retail for a standard price, so it would be nice to get what you pay for. TH: Downhill Jam, Excitetruck, Elebits and others all seem more like arcade games ported for the console, instead of being a Wii exclusive. The only full fledged game out right now (to my knowledge) that actually offers deep gameplay is Zelda.

I don’t mean to nitpick, but facts don’t seem like anything; they just are, that’s how you know they’re facts. I don’t think it’s a matter of publishers (because Nintendo is one of the biggest publishers on *gasp* Nintendo systems) knowing that no one will want to play certain games for long. The DS started out the same way, with a lot of games toying with the dual screens and touch sensitivity. It’s almost unavoidable when developers are faced with something completely different. To be honest, I thought Excite Truck was going to be a gimmicky arcade game at first, too. Yes, it has a very arcade feel to it, but I dare you play it and then tell me it isn’t worth buying. Also, prices aren’t determined by gameplay, but by development time and costs. Otherwise, all of my role playing games should probably be more expensive than my shooters.

The author has his opinions and I have mine; it’s what makes the internet go ’round these days. I just think he may have jumped the gun a bit with this article. Even if some points are weak, he does succeed in pointing out some issues that could certainly stand to be addressed, like including a component cable with the system, and bringing the system code into prominence.

Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Wii

Nintendo and I have a long history, starting with Super Mario Brothers on the original NES. Despite being less powerful than its competition, the Sega Master System, the NES was the system that set gaming on the path to become the pastime it is today.

With the Nintendo 64, and the advent of the Playstation, Nintendo’s haughty seat of power was toppled. While they’ve remained successful as a company with the Nintendo 64 and the GameCube, Nintendo’s status as a must-have company has waned over the years. Various generations of GameBoy systems have kept them popular; even the PSP, despite its growing popularity, is no threat to Nintendo’s grasp on the hand-held market.

Enter the Wii (Wikipedia entry), Nintendo’s newest console. With an innovative motion-sensitive controller, and a host of features that aren’t so much innovative as they are ingenius. I had high hopes for the system, bolstered by the success of the Nintendo DS, but I still maintained some skepticism. Both the Nintendo 64 and GameCube were good systems, but they weren’t quite revolutionary. After nearly a month of post-launch mayhem, I’ve finally gotten my hands on one. Should you get one? Absolutely.

Along with Wii Sports, which comes bundled with the system, I picked up several other games: Call of Duty 3, Red Steel, Excite Truck, Rayman: Raving Rabbids, and Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I don’t have an actual video camera, but my digital camera has pretty decent video capture ability, so I’m going to try to get some gameplay videos up here soon. Right now I’ll give you my thoughts on Wii Sports and some brief impressions of the other games; I intend to write full reviews once I have the chance to finish them.

Wii Sports is bundled with the Wii and is something of a flagship title, meant to lure in players while demonstrating the Wii’s capabilities. You can play five sports: tennis, bowling, baseball, golf, and boxing. In Wii Sports Tennis, you have the option of playing two-on-two matches with any combination of human and computer players. At first, I assumed I wouldn’t be too interested in tennis, but as it turns out, it’s ridiculously addictive. You don’t have to worry about controlling your character, only hitting the ball. Sounds easy, right? Wii Sports Tennis is about timing, not just quick reflexes. Whacking the ball right away will typically just send it flying out of bounds. On the surface, it looks like glorified Pong, but once you actually get to playing it, you’ll find a surprising amount of depth in the control.

Next up in the Wii Sports package is Baseball. There are two facets to Wii Sports Baseball: pitching and hitting. The pitching player has a choice between throwing a fastball, curveball, or splitter. Batting, like tennis, is more about timing your hits to score homeruns. Virtual teammates will handle running bases and catching the ball. It’s not as addictive as tennis, but it’s still pretty fun.

Golf may be the deepest game in Wii Sports, as players choose a club and adjust their aim for the wind. You can practice swing all you want before you take your shot, since the actual strength of your movement will determine how far the ball goes. Whether you play alone or with friends, Wii Sports Golf is an entertaining diversion. It’s not as exciting as some of the other sports, but it’s a strong addition to the package.

Bowling is one of the sports I was looking forward to, and its mechanic is faithful to the game it’s modeled after. After you set your aim (by pivoting and rotating your character) you swing your arm back just like actual bowling. The strength of your swing will determine the speed and power of the ball, and you can put a little (or a lot) spin on the ball by twisting your wrist as you release. If you enjoy bowling, you’ll love Wii Sports Bowling.

Boxing is the only game that requires the nunchuk attachment. Jabbing with the remote and nunchuk you’ll punch your way to victory. Jabbing with either the remote or nunchuk will afford you a basic punch. Counter-punching will get you stronger attacks, and you can block by raising both the controller and nunchuk, or dodge by holding them close and shifting your weight to either side. The controls may be simple, but boxing is a hell of a workout.

On top of the standard game modes, each game has three training modes that help you practice individual aspects of the game. For example, training in tennis consists of three events: returning the ball, returning the ball in a specific area, and hitting targets. There’s also a fitness mode, where the game tests you in three random events and scores your “Fitness Age” based on speed, balance, and stamina.

Overall, Wii Sports is a great choice for a bundled game, as it’s fun for anyone, and shows off the controller perfectly. As simple as it is, it’s fun to play alone, but it’s a blast with friends.

Now, some quick impressions on the other titles:

• Call of Duty 3 - I may just need to adjust to the controls a bit, but they feel sloppy. Graphically, I don’t think the game takes advantage of the hardware enough. So far, it seems like an average offering.
• Red Steel - Guns and swordplay, what more could one want? Decent graphics, tighter controls than Call of Duty 3, but it feels like it could be better. An average (but fun) game that shows what the Wii can do for shooters.
• Rayman Raving Rabbids - Screaming bunnies, fart jokes, and great minigames. Best served with friends; hilarity will likely ensue.
• Excite Truck - Arcade-style racing at its finest. Pure action through and through. Plenty of tracks, lots of unlockable trucks, a good soundtrack with the option to use your own music via SD card. It’s a great game to sit down and play for fifteen minutes or a couple hours. The controls are simple enough that you can play right away, but still allow for more complex tricks like the Air Spin 360 (or Air Spin 720). This one’s a must-have.
• Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - While the controls for the Wii version are well-implemented, and incredibly convenient, they don’t add huge amounts of depth to the game. Graphically pleasing, good attention to detail, huge world. I’ve logged ten hours and I think I’m just getting started. Probably a must-have, but I’ll wait until I finish to make any definite claims.

Now, head on out and get yourself a Wii. I haven’t even gotten into some of the other features like the Virtual Console yet. Trust me, this is $250 well-spent.

Yesterday, Nintendo held a conference to tell us all about it’s upcoming console, the Wii. Our initial introduction to it was last year’s announcement that the controller would be shaped like a TV remote with motion-sensitive technology. Here’s a rundown of the system now:

• Motion-sensitive controller with a built-in speaker and rumble feature. A thumbstick accessory (commonly referred to as a “nunchuk” attachment since it connects to the remote with a cable) can be connected (and will likely be used for the majority of Wii games). The nunchuk has two extra buttons and is also motion-sensitive.
• A “channel” oriented interface (perfect in conjunction with the “Wii-mote”) giving easy access not only to gameplay, but to news, weather, image viewing (just pop in your camera’s SD card and Wii will load your images in an easy-to-use gallery) and the customizable “Mii,” a virtual character you can customize, which can be saved to the controller and imported into games like Wii Sports.
• Wi-Fi access out of the box, usable for several features:
  • Easy access to local News and Weather.
  • Virtual Console (also a channel) will let you download classic games from the NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Sega’s Genesis, and the TurboGrafx 16.
  • WiiConnect24, which can operate even when the system is turned off, gives you access to new game content and other surprises. Think of Animal Crossing: Wild World getting special gifts from the WiFi Connection. Aside from gaming, you also have access to a message board system where you can send messages to other Wii (or even PC) users and mobile phones.
  • Download the Opera browser, and you’ll also be able to surf the ‘Net from your couch.
• Fully backward compatible with GameCube games, the Wii has four ports for GameCube controllers and two memory card slots.

Head on over to http://wii.com for pictures and details on anything I might have missed. The Wii will launch in the United States on November 19 for $250. It will come with a remote, a nunchuk attachment, a universal A/V cable, and a copy of Wii Sports, which includes Baseball, Bowling, Boxing, Golf, and Tennis.

I think gaming needs the Wii, not only as an industry but as a hobby as well. There’s a lot of talk about Nintendo being poised to take back its position as king of the gaming hill, even though Nintendo itself states that they’re not trying to compete with Sony or Microsoft. It would be better for all of us gamers if they did openly push for some of their competitors’ market share. Why? Innovation. Nintendo is innovating, and if Sony and Microsoft start falling behind, they’ll need to freshen their approach as well. It’s happening even now; while Nintendo is working to improve the gameplay experience, Microsoft is already looking to improve the gaming experience in social ways. Windows Live Messenger already has XBox Live functionality: you can add your XBox Live friends to your Messenger list and see when they’re playing so you can jump in, too. With Windows Vista, Microsoft is looking to close the rift between console gamers and PC gamers by offering interconnectivity in online games.

The only stick in the mud is Sony with its $600 Playstation3, a computing powerhouse set to raise graphical standards on consoles. Who cares? Think about some of your favorite games. Do you like them because they’re pretty, or because they’re fun? When push comes to shove, graphics don’t mean anything. Right now, I’m aware that the Playstation3 has graphical power and can play Blu-ray movies. Now, Blu-ray players are bound to be expensive and having something that’ll play both games and Blu-ray movies is nice, not to mention the capacity that Blu-ray discs will offer for game data. That’s great and all, but DVD isn’t going anywhere any time soon, and I doubt there will be too many people running out to invest in Blu-ray movies.

The PS3 controllers will apparently also have a six-axis tilt sensor. This, to me, sounds more like a jump on the bandwagon. Nintendo stole the show at E3, and even garnered tons of attention before that when they announced the controller. Sony’s tilt sensor (note, if you will, that a tilt sensor is rather different from the Wii remote’s full motion sensor) seems like a “Look at me!” maneuver. I’m bracing myself for the same old games with prettier textures.

Don’t get me wrong, I may be pro-Nintendo, but I’m not anti-Sony. The Playstation2 was a boon to gamers, ushering in the idea of backwards compatibility, not to mention plenty of exceptional games. The problem is that it seems as if the immense success of the PS2 has made Sony too comfortable, as if their console will be great just because. Granted, they came out with the motion-sensing EyeToy, but they didn’t put much leverage behind its potential, condemning it to “gimmick” status.

I’m very excited about the Wii. The games look great, and the remote and nunchuk control scheme looks like a lot of fun. The Wii is poised to do more than just please Nintendo fans; it could be a service to gamers all over if Sony and Microsoft take the hint and ride the winds of change. Necessity breeds innovation, and creative competition will spawn that necessity.

While cleaning out my attic the other day I came across some old goodies. So, let’s embark on a trek… back in time!

Nintendo has recently made a big splash in the gaming waters with its motion-sensitive Wii, but this isn’t the first time Nintendo’s been involved in motion-related technology. Around 1989, Broderbund released the U-Force, a fold-up motion-sensing device based on infrared technology. It came with a T-bar and two handles that could act as a makeshift flight-yolk, and a sensor bar that I could never figure out. In order to get it to work, you had to configure switches based on the game you were playing. The only problem is, while the idea was certainly novel, it failed miserably when it came to actual execution.

The other major find was the remnants of my old 386 SX20, the second computer I ever took apart, and the first gaming computer I ever had. Before this I had an IBM 8088, complete with state-of-the-art amber-colored graphics. I learned a lot from the 8088, but it was this 386 that became the launching point for a life of upgrades and spare parts.

This machine had a 20mhz processor, four megs of EDO RAM, and an 80 meg hard drive. I later upgraded it with a 4x CD-ROM drive (top of the line!), a Sound Blaster 16, and even a 1.2 gigabyte hard drive (which took no small amount of effort to get running). I had some games on the old 8088, but this is where I really cut my gaming teeth. Classics like Space Quest, SimCity, and Wolfenstein 3D brought the true wonders of PC gaming to my attention.

It’s hard to tell if computing has gotten simpler or more complicated since then. I suppose in some ways it’s simpler, while more complex in others. Back then, DOS was still a primary operating environment for gaming, and you had to configure your system effectively to get the most from your games. Often, a boot disk was necessary to free up extended memory (remember SmartDrive, and himem.sys?) for some games to even load. The hardware was simpler, all you really needed was a fast enough processor and enough RAM. Nowadays, while the act of loading a game doesn’t take as much effort, there are many hardware options to choose from with both hardware and software compatibility to think about. Maybe ten to fifteen years from now I’ll be digging my current machine out of a box in the attic and remeniscing all over again.

First, what do I think about Nintendo calling its new console Wii? I was a little startled at first, but it’ll grow on me. First there was the Nintendo Entertainment System, which speaks for itself. Then came the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, which was the same kind of thing but better. The Nintendo 64 ushered in “64 bit” graphics, and the GameCube was just that: a cube that played games. Now we have the Wii which, as Nintendo notes, is all about how we can play together. It’s a good thing they announced the name now, so when E3 comes around everyone will be over it and able to focus on the system itself and things developers can do with it. As for me? It’s different, and I like that.

Moving right along, I’ve actually been playing Super Princess Peach on the DS. It features one of gaming’s most famous women as the roles are reversed this time around. Mario plays the plumber-in-distress and the princess is out to get him back. Granted, one of the fundamental gameplay elements is focused on her feelings, but it’s still damn fun. It’s a charming break from all the Ghost Recon I’ve been playing lately.

Of course, it’s just to hold me over until New Super Mario Brothers (also for the DS) is released. Check out some gameplay footage here: New Super Mario footage at YouTube. The series is going back to its classic platform roots and I think that’s just what it needs.