Wii Warm Up: Surviving the onslaught

by Alisha Karabinus { Aug 17th 2008 at 10:30AM }

The Wii seems to be getting a lot of one thing lately: horror games. Fatal Frame IV and the newly-announced Cursed Mountain spring immediately to mind, along with Dead Rising (hey, it's got zombies who wish to eat you, and that's pretty horrifying), rumors of Resident Evil 5 (as well as the other Resident Evil games we've seen on the system), and, uh, Sadness (lol). That's not even all of the games that fall under the horror umbrella -- the Wii library already boasts several entries, and will soon be packed with more horror than you can shake your pitiful flashlight at.

We've established the what -- now let's talk about the why. What's with all the horror games? Is it because it's one genre that has proven popular with all types of gamers, from the most casual to the hardest of the hard? Is it because the Wii controls can add to the immersion factor of the game, and immersion drives horror? Or is there another explanation?

Tags: horror

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

lonesomefolly @ Aug 17th 2008 10:55AM

1- Notice picture of fatal frame : Oh my GOD, its coming out in english?
2- Notice the wii warm up title : proceed to stab myself in the liver.

Andy @ Aug 17th 2008 10:57AM

Well, all I can say is keep em coming! Horror games and other mature games bring balance to the wii as well as some street credit with other gamers. Hey, we can't all be satisfied only playing Nintendo character games!

Hamster @ Aug 17th 2008 11:04AM

In a way, most third-party Wii games are "horror" games :-)

Seriously though, it's funny, when it comes to movies, horror is pretty much the only genre I like (particularly Asian horror like Ring, The Grudge, The Eye, etc.) but yet I've never really been interested in horror games. I don't really know why. Fatal Frame does excite me though and I'd be willing to give it a go.

KMFCM @ Aug 17th 2008 12:05PM

yeah, it's the only thing they'll bother giving us.

The only one I'm even remotely interested in is Mad World (if that counts)

nicolas @ Aug 17th 2008 11:19AM

horror games are just amazing. it helps add to the mature library and that's always a plus.

Matthew @ Aug 17th 2008 12:38PM

Horror games are great, they are avoided because a lot of people are actually afraid to play them and most certainly this will add to the hardcore titles Wii needs. I think most developers are shooting for horrors right now because as mentioned earlier, the immersion factor when it comes to using objects like a flashlight. In addition, it is probably much easier to build a horror game on the Wii, it won't require that intense of graphics if you're going for a particular "mood" rather than trying to chur some intense graphics out. Either way, keep em coming...

p.s I completely forgot about Sadness, lol let's hope we get some info on that! >.

SoshiKitai @ Aug 17th 2008 1:15PM

Heck yeah most times we "cowards" (there are other words for it, but nothing SFW) are afraid to pick these up.
Hell, I've bought and rented a handful of horror games.
The ones I've bought - played them once or twice.
The ones I rented - watched other people play 'em.

:P I'd like to STAY afraid of these things... it makes them more fun.
Now if I can only get around to playing them, y'know, to make 'em fun.

TX2 @ Aug 17th 2008 1:39PM

I think one of the first Genre's I thought of when I saw the Wii remote was survival horror.

MidnightScott @ Aug 17th 2008 2:11PM

Fatal Frame looked boring from all the live streams I've seen of it. I'm interested in Dead Rising though :)

Mr Khan @ Aug 17th 2008 2:29PM

Fatal Frame is something that needs to be played to experience fully,

The horror of it isn't quite conveyed in tiny little flash-videos with poor audio

SoshiKitai @ Aug 17th 2008 2:44PM

That, and Japanese-horror ain't for everyone.
Many people see horror as "serial killer! OH NOEZ! He's got a chainsaw! Or he's gonna' torture me with something sick!" or "So many zombies everywhere! And I'm running out of bullets!"...
Though, the first example would be more of a thriller, with a mature-gross-out value. The second would be adrenaline-based horror.

And when it comes to zombies, those who complain about speed (aka: Either there's too few zombies, your character moves too slow, or the zombies move so slow that there's no "challenge") don't really see the "horror" in zombies... once again, that's adrenaline-based horror, but more Westernized.

Japanese horror is more mental than anything. Not everyone understands it and not everyone likes it.
So it's not recommended for everyone.

:D I'm a huge fan of it though...
Too bad I can never really make myself pick up the game.
And rule #1 for me: Never play the game in daylight, it ruins the feel for the game.

I'll try my hardest to try and buy the game when it comes out....... I'llll tryyyyyy....

ponceturtle @ Aug 17th 2008 3:09PM

If so. bring DOOM 3 or other DOOM related game, all RESIDENT EVILS REMAKE WITH THE RE4 engine ( I know all of us would love that), ETERNAL DARKNESS 2, NEW SILENT HILL game especially for the wii.

Max Headroom @ Aug 17th 2008 4:14PM

I think the reason that Wii is getting so many horror games is because of the sales of both RE4: Wii Edition and Umbrella Chronicles. I don't think it is the immersion factor or anything like that. The bottom line is that horror sells on Wii and companies take less risk by sticking to a proven genre.