Are Wii being set up for disappointment again?
by David Hinkle 
{ Sep 19th 2006 at 12:15PM }
Following the news that has swept blogs recently, gaming mag Game Informer asks are we being set up for disappointment again? Citing past blunders by Nintendo in the N64 and GameCube days, Billy Berghammer makes an ample case against the house the Italian plumber built.We admit we have taken a ride or twenty aboard the hype train when it came to Nintendo, but following their utter dominance at E3 and the entertaining time we had with the Wii while in attendance, can we be blamed? Also, given the console's lack of horsepower compared to its competition like the GameCube during the last generation wars, will consumers be willing to pay for a ride on Nintendo's roller coaster come launch? Only time will tell...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Risse @ Sep 19th 2006 12:42PM
After all these hypeing, including the oohs and aahs of the price, I'm still pretty positive about the console. It _will_ become something big!
I was going to buy it on the launch date. Now, that's A LOT coming from a guy whose last console was some used Playstation1 like 8 years ago.
Wii is coming, be prepared. :P
http://www.wii-live.net
Jesse Ferguson @ Sep 19th 2006 12:58PM
Call me old-fashioned, but even SNES graphics can wow me, and the GameCube makes me feel like a spoilt child. Amusement Vision games sweeten my eyeballs to the point of bursting. I'm not worried. Art direction FTW!
Matt @ Sep 19th 2006 1:17PM
Excellent article - I hope Nintendo are listening.
Tom @ Sep 20th 2006 12:10AM
They aren't just targeting hardcore gamers this time around... with Opera, the Wii will be a substitute for a NetTV without proprietary access restrictions, and the Wii will deliver content like "Cooking Mama" that will actually act as "interactive tv" for those who don't play games at all. In addition, the control structure makes it easy for neophytes of all ages to get into the game, especially those ever present sports simulators. Imagine the market for "Tiger Woods" games alone?
Hardcore gamers will find what they are looking for... Red Steel, Trauma Center, Legend of Zelda... but casual gamers will find their fun as well in Monkey Ball, Warioware, Excite Truck...
Nintendo's new strategy: expand into new markets, while holding what wii already have.
Immacolata @ Sep 19th 2006 1:53PM
The blogger is right, and once fooled, shame on Nintendo. Twice fooled, shame on us. Thrice fooled? Lock us up and throw the key away.
I think that Wii will succeed IF Ninty has learned to treat their third party developers well. If they keep heavy handing using QA concerns to bully their publishers, they will lose 3rd party support. Once that is lost, the Wii will die. Let us hope it won't. So far 3rd party support seems staggering compared to previous Ninty launches.
Edgar @ Sep 19th 2006 1:44PM
I'm sorry, but what this guy cites as dissapointments are hardly that. I had tons of fun with every Nintendo system I ever had, even though most of it was first party titles. During the GC time, I did buy a PS2 eventually, because of the trickle release of games, but I was NEVER dissapointed with the games I have on my GC. In fact I will be playing them a lot again seeing as how the Wii is backwards compatible. The N64 was a bit tough, but I still enjoyed it thoroughly, and the same will go for the Wii, even if it is a dissapointment in his eyes. Above all else, Nintendo has always been a successful business venture, even if it is run off the juice of us fanboys :). I wouldn't have it any other way.
Fred @ Sep 19th 2006 1:56PM
Well, according to http://www.nexgenwars.com/ the Wii is still ahead - and its only fallen 2% since it was up here last - and its gone up about .2 or more since the new news came out.
Looking good, i suppose - although a website like that is difficult to site, especially considering how much exposure its actually had to all three sides - which is totally unknown - other than using the percentages, which would be funny, but wouldnt prove any points, haha.
I think it will demolish the competition, but i still hold my reservations - im going to run out of salt very soon.
-Red
vidGuy @ Sep 19th 2006 2:17PM
The Wii will own Japan. If it can do half as well in the other territories, it will be a huge success, especially compared to the GameCube (which I love but was still disappointing). Sony's really shot themselves in the foot, about 12 times actually, so Nintendo really has a chance to take number one here.
Adam Johnson @ Sep 19th 2006 2:37PM
If the DS is any indication of how good the Wii will be, I think that Nintendo will restore our faith in their ability to have one lean, mean, living-room-owning console.
In regards to the price and launch, I've noticed that only we nerds are the only people that are kind of let down. Other non-gamers that I've talked to about the next console war all express approval of Nintendo's tactics; these are the people that really matter to the big N, like it or not.
Again, look at the DS; it got off to a rocky start at first, but now look how great it is.
Keeko ca @ Sep 19th 2006 2:52PM
The Gamecube was underpowered? Ahem....check again.
The Wii has more potential of being a SUPERHIT than the other ho-hum CPU/GPU upgraded machines IMO. Why? Because it's different. There's reason to jump onboard a video game again. Oh, uh the demographic expansion helps matters out too.
Nintendo is looking good. I wouldn't worry.
vidGuy @ Sep 19th 2006 3:56PM
Regarding this gen hardware, the most often quoted numbers relating to "power" are CPU and GPU clock speeds. While cycle speed is not the end-all-be-all measurement of system output, it does warrant a look.
GameCube
CPU : 485 MHz
GPU : 162 MHz
XBOX
CPU: 733 MHz
GPU: 233 MHz
PS2
CPU: 294MHz
GPU: 147MHz
We all know that the PS2 is the weakest hardware wise, yet it sold the most. The GameCube was significantly below the XBOX but delivered games that rivaled anything the X could do.
Why is Wii's lack of multi-cores, a new media, and a supposed "lack of horsepower" always cited as the reason the Wii won't do well?
Gaye Mann @ Sep 19th 2006 3:56PM
This guy is a moron. I don't know who he is but I was later given the impression that he's some bigshot when it comes to games. Thankfully I because I didn't know that I was able keep my bullshit detector on...
"Nintendos President Saturo Iwata"
How the hell do you fuck that up?
"Nintendo console gamers we left with split screen gaming, or LAN for multiplayer."
More retard spelling.
And how many people actually used their PS2s for a LAN? He's actually using that in an argument? What the hell? Then he goes on to say...
"Developers have touted how easy it is to get their games running on Wii, yet very few exclusive titles are being made for it. Developers are mostly porting current-gen games over to Wii and adding Wii specific controls to games. For original titles, third party developers, have to devote complete development teams for making games specifically for the Wii, which is costly. For third party developers the size of Electronic Arts and Ubisoft who have the funding to be able to devote to that sort of gamble its a bit easier. Itll be extremely interesting to see how long third party developers will take that chance, especially if their initial Wii launch titles dont sell as well as they hope. Because if that happens, third party developers will be out just as fast as they were with the GameCube. Why should I buy a game that doesnt look as good, controls strangely, and doesnt have the online capabilities as the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 version? My gaming dollars are limited just as yours are, and Im putting my money on the best experience. At this point, Im not sold that Wii will have that, especially for third party games."
Ugh...
Nobody even knows what the Playstation 3's online service is. There was rumours about Xfire being implemented but nobody knows because Sony haven't said anything. And we all know Sony's track record when it comes to digital distribution on the internet... compared to the Wii's channels, WiiConnect24 service and Opera.
Why do people think that typing a lot of shit means somebody is an authority on something? Ugh... it reminds of stupid 7th grader essays trying to get the past the word minimum with pointless shit.
This guy is a moron. You might as well just copy/paste any long winded post on video games from any generic forum or blog. It's nothing we haven't thought of or read before anyway. And his spelling is so bad he's no better than you Joystiq/Fanboy contributers. Maybe one of you guys could apply for his job.
Andrew Yoon @ Sep 19th 2006 4:55PM
RE: #10 "This guy is a moron. I don't know who he is but I was later given the impression that he's some bigshot when it comes to games."
Billy is a vet of games journalism. He created and mainted Planet Gamecube before moving onto GI. He's probably one of the biggest Nintendo fanboys out there, and his concerns are warranted. It's easy to get excited, but don't forget how excited Nintendo fans were before Gamecube launched.
Rabish12 @ Sep 19th 2006 5:12PM
#9: Yes, technically Nintendo's got a good chance at becoming a "SUPERHIT" with their next console, going for that untapped market segment and trying to appeal to older gamers with a new style. However, the same thing that gives them a chance at incredible success could end up leading them to falling flat on their face. There's always the possibility that the motion-sensing control idea doesn't take off, and if that happens there's no way for the system to succeed.
Vidguy: It's because no one ever bothers to read that deep, especially not the ones looking for a reason to claim that the system will fail. Your average person isn't going to bother looking up the fact that both the Playstation and Playstation 2 obliterated the competition, becoming the fastest-selling consoles in gaming history despite being weaker than their respective competitors, and will simply take the fact that both the 360 and PS3 are more stronger than the Wii as an isolated fact. They only look at the "now" of the console industry rather than examining precedence, so they don't really realize how these things affect sales.
Your not-so-average person, or specifically fanboys, tend to just ignore those facts until they need them. When someone claims that the Wii will succeed they point out the fact that it isn't as powerful as the competition, and when someone claims that the PS3 won't succeed they point out the fact that the other Playstation consoles sold so well, but they'll deliberately leave out the connection between the Wii's power and potential success and that of the PS/PS2 even if they can see it. They don't use logic the way that it's meant to be used, using it in any situation that it may apply, but rather use it selectively to support their claims.
Simply put, people either don't know about the Playstation/Playstation 2's massive success despite their weakness or they don't want to bring it up because it might deteriorate their other points.
Andrew: Nintendo fans got excited over the Gamecube? Huh. I wasn't aware, probably because I was never really interested in the Gamecube and ended up getting an Xbox instead (you may commence hissing and booing). Still, if they were excited then wouldn't it have to have been over the simple notion of getting another Nintendo system? After all, the Gamecube doesn't really do ANYTHING other than play games. Getting excited over the games I can understand, but the system itself doesn't seem to have any features that really put it above and beyond the competition. Keeping that in mind, I'm not really seeing a parallel with the Wii (which has a LOT of extra features, with some things like the Virtual Console that should certainly appeal to long-time Nintendo fans).
Rabish12 @ Sep 19th 2006 5:18PM
#9: Yes, technically Nintendo's got a good chance at becoming a "SUPERHIT" with their next console, going for that untapped market segment and trying to appeal to older gamers with a new style. However, the same thing that gives them a chance at incredible success could end up leading them to falling flat on their face. There's always the possibility that the motion-sensing control idea doesn't take off, and if that happens there's no way for the system to succeed.
Vidguy: It's because no one ever bothers to read that deep, especially not the ones looking for a reason to claim that the system will fail. Your average person isn't going to bother looking up the fact that both the Playstation and Playstation 2 obliterated the competition, becoming the fastest-selling consoles in gaming history despite being weaker than their respective competitors, and will simply take the fact that both the 360 and PS3 are more stronger than the Wii as an isolated fact. They only look at the "now" of the console industry rather than examining precedence, so they don't really realize how these things affect sales.
Your not-so-average person, or specifically fanboys, tend to just ignore those facts until they need them. When someone claims that the Wii will succeed they point out the fact that it isn't as powerful as the competition, and when someone claims that the PS3 won't succeed they point out the fact that the other Playstation consoles sold so well, but they'll deliberately leave out the connection between the Wii's power and potential success and that of the PS/PS2 even if they can see it. They don't use logic the way that it's meant to be used, using it in any situation that it may apply, but rather use it selectively to support their claims.
Simply put, people either don't know about the Playstation/Playstation 2's massive success despite their weakness or they don't want to bring it up because it might deteriorate their other points.
TurboFool @ Sep 20th 2006 1:58PM
My big problem with the editorial was right in the beginning. What launch titles were $79.99? I paid $49.99 for SM64 which was standard MSRP. I don't remember ever paying $79.99 for an N64 game. The only N64 game I remember ever being that price, even, was Hey, You! Pikachu. Highest I ever spent was $59.99 for Conker's Bad Fur Day. Overall he makes some strong points, but he lost credibility with me when he started off with figures he got from his ass.