Nintendo Wii

[I-n-j-i-n]

That's the truth for me. I have a PS2 amidst my various Nintendo consoles and there are a few franchises I really like that have always been Sony exclusives, like Ratchet and Clank for example. I'm also a big fan of Devil May Cry, but Capcom has thus far insisted on keeping the series exclusively on Playstation.

DMC4 is already slated for the 360.

Anyway, I refuse to pay more than $300 for a game console. I don't care how cutting edge it is. I want it for games, not to hang on my wall like some tech trophy. More than $300 is too much, no matter what games it has or how shiny its graphics are.

Money is just ephemeral. If you have a job that is. Maybe it's because I see video game systems as investments and not toys. They almost always last a good 10 years before going into the closet.

I know $600 is a lot, but is it really? For a Bluray drive that Sony is losing money in such an early generation machine, and you can spend just as much with a Wii or 360 and a few accessories and a few games and it'd be just as high. I remember spending at least $1000 on Gameboy Advance and a lot of its games. Once you spend them, it's hard to gauge how much it really costs.

[KakTheInfected]

I know $600 is a lot, but is it really? For a Bluray drive that Sony is losing money in such an early generation machine, and you can spend just as much with a Wii or 360 and a few accessories and a few games and it'd be just as high. I remember spending at least $1000 on Gameboy Advance and a lot of its games. Once you spend them, it's hard to gauge how much it really costs.

And what about the price of the PS3 after games and accessories? I'm totally unsure if you are joking with this point because it makes zero sense to point that out in defense of the PS3s price...considering it does just the opposite. No matter how you try to spin it, it's a lot of money for a system that, so far, simply has not shown it's worth it.

[I-n-j-i-n]

I would say technology-wise, it is worth it. Because they could have easily pumped up the price to $1000 a unit to break even, but they didn't. They made a stupid decision and that is that. Most Bluray players haven't cracked the $800 pricetag (that is... going below $800).

Also, the games themselves costs the same as 360 titles and there still is the Bluray.

I'm just making a devil's advocate argument for it. I can only afford a Wii60 myself.

I have to agree that the $600 initial investment (or even $500) is a huge hurdle. It is for me too.

And to connect to the Wii, I feel the price is a definite advantage Nintendo has made. Beyond the technology or costs behind it, which do not matter to a casual gamer looking at a final product, it is still the cheaper alternative. But it still comes close to $300 with taxes. So no matter what the option, it's still a sizable investment.

[The Mutericator]

I would say technology-wise, it is worth it. Because they could have easily pumped up the price to $1000 a unit to break even, but they didn't. They made a stupid decision and that is that. Most Bluray players haven't cracked the $800 pricetag (that is... going below $800).

Also, the games themselves costs the same as 360 titles and there still is the Bluray.

I'm just making a devil's advocate argument for it. I can only afford a Wii60 myself.

I have to agree that the $600 initial investment (or even $500) is a huge hurdle. It is for me too.

And to connect to the Wii, I feel the price is a definite advantage Nintendo has made. Beyond the technology or costs behind it, which do not matter to a casual gamer looking at a final product, it is still the cheaper alternative. But it still comes close to $300 with taxes. So no matter what the option, it's still a sizable investment.

But the problem with that argument is that it's purely in terms of hardware - and unless you are from the future and know Blu-Ray is the way to go, it just isn't worth the risk yet.

But truth could be said about any console at launch, really...

[dsx100]

I actually want a PS3 really bad. A lot of the games coming out for it have me really interested, especially some long time franchises that have stayed PS or 360 exclusive. However the price is way too damn much. I trying to save up for college at this point and the last thing I need is to spend $500-$1000+ on a video game system.

Personally, in my opinion, the 360 is a horrible investment. That console just isn't worth the money. First off, you have to pay for services you could easily get for free on other platforms. Call me spoiled, but I'm used to playing online games for free on PC for years now. Second, all their good and unique games eventually come out on PC with better graphics, better controls, and lower price tags. Finally and most importantly, that system is made like a piece of shit. I can't even count how many times I have heard of the system breaking down in some form or another from friends and outside sources. I have even heard stories of people going through 10 -13 360s. That 3 year warranty doesn't fix the faultiness of the system.

So far, "to me" the Wii is the only system that seems worth buying this generation. There are a ton of games coming out that I am very interested in, it is within my price range (software and hardware), it has superior backwards compatibilty, and it actually offers a different way of playing games. So I'm honestly very happy with my Wii. I think I made the right choice and hope it stays that way.

[SilverStar]

The only really bad thing about Wii is that, thus far, almost all the best looking, best playing games on it.. are literally Gamecube games. And I don't mean ports. I mean actual, original GC game discs.

Thank gods for the backwards compatibility!

[The Author]

The only really bad thing about Wii is that, thus far, almost all the best looking, best playing games on it.. are literally Gamecube games. And I don't mean ports. I mean actual, original GC game discs.

Thank gods for the backwards compatibility!

Hmmm... you compare a console with a 5 year library with a console with a 1 year library.

That's like saying "Yeah, steak is good, I had it 5 times in my life and 4 times out of 5 it was excellent, but I prefer hamburgers because out of the 500 times I ate one, 200 times it was excellent."

[dsx100]

The only really bad thing about Wii is that, thus far, almost all the best looking, best playing games on it.. are literally Gamecube games. And I don't mean ports. I mean actual, original GC game discs.

Thank gods for the backwards compatibility!

I think that will probably change soon. Metroid Prime 3, Mario Galaxy, and Smash Bros. Brawl all look amazing from what I have seen. One thing is for sure, they all animate better than anything I have seen on any console so far, except maybe Call of Duty 4.

[The Damned]

Graphics graphics graphics, blah blah blah...

I'd rather have a handful of really good games than a bunch of pretty ones. So far, only Twilight Princess has done that.

I'm not saying I regret getting a Wii. On the contrary; it was the first time I stood in line at launch for a system, and there have been some genuine fun times with it. I just wish that they would come out with more stuff of that caliber.

[Devyn]

"The Wii has last-gen graphics. PS3 and 360 have last-gen controls. Blah blah."

I really wish the guys who write the reviews would get off of that now. It's like hearing a broken record. WE KNOW, WE'RE NOT STUPID. It seems like every review I read, especially with IGN and 1up, they are comparing the multi-platform games with the different console releases.

"Yes, this Wii game is kinda cool. It's graphics are good, but they don't look as good as PS3. Yet, the controls are far more intuitive and fun on the Wii."

No shit, Sherlock. The Wii has an awesome controller. The 360 and PS3 have awesome graphics. Now tell us more about the game.

[SilverStar]

Hmmm... you compare a console with a 5 year library with a console with a 1 year library.

That's like saying "Yeah, steak is good, I had it 5 times in my life and 4 times out of 5 it was excellent, but I prefer hamburgers because out of the 500 times I ate one, 200 times it was excellent."

You missed the point. For development purposes, as far as the graphics go, Wii is literally just a pumped up Gamecube. But, so far, we've seen next to nothing that even matches Gamecube games for visual, or play, quality.

It means, developers are failing at even making a decent Gamecube game. Wii has, by and large, a 6 year development cycle already under its belt as far as being able to actually WORK with the hardware goes. Developers already know how to create a baseline game that looks like a late Gamecube title in 8-9 months, but they haven't even pulled that much off.

Instead, they're trying to market abortions like Cruis'n, which has graphics that look like an early PS1 title, as if it were something new and great. If you can't evolve the gameplay, at least polish the looks. If you can't do either, don't waste everyone's time and money.

[Devyn]

The Wii's limitations are no valid excuse for third party developers to make games that look a horrid as Cruisn'. They should be ashamed. Every developer should take a look at Nintendo's upcoming Wii games before they give us such shite.

[TCK]

I don't mean to shun the significance of the Wii overtaking the Xbox 360 in total console sales, but I'd be curious to see the total number of games sold for each console. Surely that should be the litmus test for success in the long term, since that's where Nintendo and Microsoft are going to make the most profit (or in the case of the 360, any profit). Anyone have any recent figures?

[Bahamut]

I don't mean to shun the significance of the Wii overtaking the Xbox 360 in total console sales, but I'd be curious to see the total number of games sold for each console. Surely that should be the litmus test for success in the long term, since that's where Nintendo and Microsoft are going to make the most profit (or in the case of the 360, any profit). Anyone have any recent figures?

Well, I don't think the sales matter so much...at least to us anyway. There are lots of dynamics with sales figures, such as sales (as in discounted items) for consoles & games playing into it as well. What matters is how good of an experience are people having.

[TCK]

Well, I don't think the sales matter so much...at least to us anyway. There are lots of dynamics with sales figures, such as sales (as in discounted items) for consoles & games playing into it as well. What matters is how good of an experience are people having.

Indeed. That's a hard thing to measure accurately, but I would say though that if you were to try to tangibly measure a good experience by sales figures then you'd be better off looking at games sold rather than consoles sold. I'm not saying this is the case, but I'm concerned that games sold (and I include Wii Sports) for the Wii could be significantly less in the last six months than games sold for the 360, and if this is the case then it could lead to developers having less of an incentive to develop for the Wii in the long term, especially after the Christmas period where demand is high.

Though as shown by Cruis'n and others, this doesn't seem to be the case in the short term.

[Nex]

TCK, I must say I do like your "Death Note" Signature.

--

I absolutely love my Wii. I think that Nintendo limited it's graphics capabilities on purpose so that developers would try to focus more on how their games play. There are some AWESOME games out there on the Wii that don't compare to any of the games on the xbox360 or ps3 (I own and play all 3). Now, I'm not saying the other systems are horrible. I love them in their own respect (Though PS3 Needs to get some A quality games on it. The best games I've tried on that are Enchanted Arms and Virtua Fighter 5... both I'd rate a "B" quality game). Miyamoto has always focused on gameplay, and it is a tradition that has been held with Nintendo. Now, on the other hand, the graphics really don't suck on Wii. It could be improved a bit, but they really aren't horrible. I would put most of that blame on the lazy developers out there right now. But oh well.

My Personal Predictions:

Wii - Will continue to do great. Game stores around here are still having problems keeping them in stock. People love the style of play and find it very intriguing. Whether it will continue to do well will be based on if they can keep putting out innovative enough games to counteract it's flashy opposition.

PS3 - Will bomb until FFXIII comes out... then it will float up the charts. Then, like a balloon, will slowly deflate until it drops. Blu-Ray Will keep it up a little as well.

XBox360 - Will stay doing "good" but not great. Halo 3 will give it a boost (I have mine reserved) but come on, you don't release a system that is practically expected to have problems with it.

[Bahamut]

I <3 Virtua Fighter 5 .

Strangely enough, my PS3 consumes my free time...Super Stardust HD is too addicting.

[SilverStar]

Anyone else notice something odd about a lot of shops? In Canada, at least?

A bunch of places that don't normally deal with games, but do keep them in with their electronics/computer/entertainment departments.. they seem to be completely ignoring Nintendo. They don't stock or advertise the game at all.

An example that stood out for me today was London Drugs. They have pretty much the only flier I look through, because of it having its own tech section.

In it, they had X360, PS2, PS3 and PSP advertised. But absolutely nothing for Wii. Which is just messed up, since you know.. they wouldn't really be able to keep anything in stock.

[Penfold]

Saw something a little odd tonight. Went down to visit my parents this weekend, and I met them at their local Costco...they had a Wii bundle pack for sale there (only one left). Anyway, first time I saw a Wii bundle at Costco, and struck me as strange considering I still don't see Wii consoles in stores often at all.

[I-n-j-i-n]

But the problem with that argument is that it's purely in terms of hardware - and unless you are from the future and know Blu-Ray is the way to go, it just isn't worth the risk yet.

But truth could be said about any console at launch, really...

No it's not. Most likely the Bluray will be the dominant format or at least it'll coexist with the HD-DVDs. There's already HUNDREDS of Bluray releases and there is no stop to them. It's not like Betamax where it won't get off the ground. Bluray already did.

Whether it's THE only format is moot to me. We have three consoles. Does that make any of them THE console or THE must have? No. They all have their uses and are good alternatives to one another.

Personally, in my opinion, the 360 is a horrible investment. That console just isn't worth the money. First off, you have to pay for services you could easily get for free on other platforms. Call me spoiled, but I'm used to playing online games for free on PC for years now. Second, all their good and unique games eventually come out on PC with better graphics, better controls, and lower price tags.

Not always. Look at Bioshock. Yes it's more expensive for the 360, but the PC version was plagued with the '2 installs only per CD' and the widescreen nonsense. Also, if you're talking about games like Devil May Cry games which will make its way to the 360 and to the PC, those games have never held up well for the PC ports since the developers doing the porting job almost always do a horrendous job with it. Not to mention all the CD copyright technology they cram them up with. You have none of that with the consoles. I don't think the console option is a negative at all. Look at Knights of the Old Republic and it held more than its own on the old Xbox too.

Finally and most importantly, that system is made like a piece of shit. I can't even count how many times I have heard of the system breaking down in some form or another from friends and outside sources. I have even heard stories of people going through 10 -13 360s. That 3 year warranty doesn't fix the faultiness of the system.

That's basically the worst-case scenario. The statistic is that 95% of 360s haven't had a problem worth being reported about. 5% is still a big number considering more than 11 million 360s have been sold. But it's not like MS is hanging out people to dry. It's a good thing the warranty has been extended and there are new HDMI versions of it (apparently more stable too) on the market today.

"The Wii has last-gen graphics. PS3 and 360 have last-gen controls. Blah blah."

I really wish the guys who write the reviews would get off of that now. It's like hearing a broken record. WE KNOW, WE'RE NOT STUPID. It seems like every review I read, especially with IGN and 1up, they are comparing the multi-platform games with the different console releases.

"Yes, this Wii game is kinda cool. It's graphics are good, but they don't look as good as PS3. Yet, the controls are far more intuitive and fun on the Wii."

No shit, Sherlock. The Wii has an awesome controller. The 360 and PS3 have awesome graphics. Now tell us more about the game.

Is that even worth griping about? They're game reviewers. They almost always are technofreaks about the visuals no matter what the platform. Also, the only time they really seem to bother comparing is when the games are multiplatform. Which is silly all in itself, but that's what they're paid to do. Gripe and scrutinize games.

I absolutely love my Wii. I think that Nintendo limited it's graphics capabilities on purpose so that developers would try to focus more on how their games play. There are some AWESOME games out there on the Wii that don't compare to any of the games on the xbox360 or ps3 (I own and play all 3). Now, I'm not saying the other systems are horrible. I love them in their own respect (Though PS3 Needs to get some A quality games on it. The best games I've tried on that are Enchanted Arms and Virtua Fighter 5... both I'd rate a "B" quality game). Miyamoto has always focused on gameplay, and it is a tradition that has been held with Nintendo.

I feel that is pretty disingenuous to put it like that. All games are about the gameplay. Some merely focusing more on graphics and the flair than anything else. But it doesn't automatically make them less about the gameplay. And I honestly don't have a problem seeing a lot of top games for all three consoles now. Some people may hedge it against ENTIRE consoles with that kind of a mindset, but I personally wouldn't jump the gun like that.

Wii - Will continue to do great. Game stores around here are still having problems keeping them in stock. People love the style of play and find it very intriguing. Whether it will continue to do well will be based on if they can keep putting out innovative enough games to counteract it's flashy opposition.

You're being a little biased here. Not that it's bad in itself to have a preference, but it's just misleading. "flashy this, flashy that". It's always 'flash' with the consoles capable of better graphics? What about merely using what they can use? There are a lot of games on the 360 and even for the PS3 which purposely doesn't make it more flashier or graphically impressive than it has to for the gameplay. That's not even to include all the Xbox Live Arcade or PSN games which almost always been pushed out with the gameplay in mind with the bonus of High definition pixels or whatever they're trying to put forth.

PS3 - Will bomb until FFXIII comes out... then it will float up the charts. Then, like a balloon, will slowly deflate until it drops. Blu-Ray Will keep it up a little as well.

PS3 is doing the worst, but it's not exactly bombing. In terms of profits and bad press reputation, they are, but the sales are still there for Sony. Also they have a LOT of games aside from the supremely overhyped Final Fantasy series coming out. Actually they already have a pretty good library including some gems in the PSN.

XBox360 - Will stay doing "good" but not great. Halo 3 will give it a boost (I have mine reserved) but come on, you don't release a system that is practically expected to have problems with it.

You say you "own all three" and that is the assessment you come to? No. Xbox360 has done great over the past two years. It's already seen a few killer ap games and it will have more. And Xbox Live Arcade is still the model to follow even if it costs $50 a year. It would be better if it was free though.

I seriously think it's just ridiculous to put down any one of these systems out of philosophy alone. That is not even good criticism. I don't even own a PS3 and I can see it has a lot of things gamers can get excited about.

[Imagist]

Anyone else notice something odd about a lot of shops? In Canada, at least?

A bunch of places that don't normally deal with games, but do keep them in with their electronics/computer/entertainment departments.. they seem to be completely ignoring Nintendo. They don't stock or advertise the game at all.

An example that stood out for me today was London Drugs. They have pretty much the only flier I look through, because of it having its own tech section.

In it, they had X360, PS2, PS3 and PSP advertised. But absolutely nothing for Wii. Which is just messed up, since you know.. they wouldn't really be able to keep anything in stock.

I know at Target, the Wii is generally not advertised unless there is a planned shipment on the way because company policy is to keep all advertised items in stock, at least when the ad goes into effect every Sunday morning. To advertise the Wii without any chance of having some for the Sunday opening (or at all throughout the week for that matter) would give people the wrong impression, it seems.

Games, of course, can still be advertised, but the console and primary accessories are not shown unless they will definitely be available.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Maybe it's because the Wii is selling so well, it doesn't need advertisements as much, or the stores think it's not necessary. I don't know though. The three consoles got a lot of ads in the stores I visit. Sometimes unnecessarily so: Like the Madden 2008 countdown ticker.

[Rambo]

but come on, you don't release a system that is practically expected to have problems with it.

???

I (like a large percentage of buyers on release day) am gonna have to send my Wii away to be fixed or more likely, replaced. Dunno if it's been talked about in this forum alot or at all, but it's something to do with the ridiculously high temperature the Wii gets to, and how it fries the GPU. I only noticed it when I played Mario Strikers, and there was a BIG glitch in the image display. Didn't read much into it yet.... but I know I've got to send it away to be fixed. Anyone else have this problem? Was it solved?

MP3's so close too.... I'd better be able to play through it without annoying visuals or I'll be pissed. Then I'll send it away after I beat it and school starts.

[SilverStar]

I haven't noticed any issues, and had a launch Wii.

And I have had WiiConnect24 enabled since getting a wireless router.

I guess a game like MP3 is going to do the trick, in telling one way or another if I need to send off to replace.

[KakTheInfected]

I've never had a problem with my Wii (aside from very rare freezes like 10 seconds into a game) but I've never had it in a room that gets relatively warm.

The system should have a better fan though. There is barely any airflow.