So it happened. Nintendo showed Wii games running to the public, an hour ago in West Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. And it's difficult to know what to think...
US sales and marketing boss Reggie Fils-Aime opened telling the 3,000-plus crowd that if they were hoping for pure next-generation gaming, they were in the wrong place. An ominous opener, which set the tone for the rest of the conference. You see, Nintendo usually just basks in its own glory at E3. This year was different.
Nintendo was making a pitch, a sales offer, an invitation. "Next week is about playing," explained Fils-Aime, "because playing is believing." This was underlined by a massive screen behind the exec which read PLAYING = BELIEVING, the catchphrase of the show and an indicator of how desperate Nintendo is not to be dismissed. It was, of course, preaching to the converted. The big test will be when the E3 hoards go hands-on tomorrow.
SPOnG is confident in the Wii's ability to change things. It has to work or Nintendo's home console business is over. But you're here for the news. So here it is.
Price and release dates were not revealed, a shock to many. Nintendo stated that the Wii will offer "...more fun, for less money, and be available in the fourth quarter of 2006." A global roll-out was not mentioned, hinting that staggered releases may be seen.
The WiiMote has a small speaker built into it. This enables developers to sonically simulate movement between the remote and the TV or other audio outlet. The Nunchuck has its own motion sensor. It was not made clear if this was on par with that of the WiiMote.
Mario! Mario was shown, now with the title Super Mario Galaxy. The control mechanism was not explained, nor was it mentioned whether the game will be playable tomorrow. Mario was seen in futuristic environments and at one point battling a giant space octopus. Classic sounds and sights were on show, though the lack of information on Mario and its low key appearance (Mario was not showcased as a major title) does make us wonder at what point the title, now six years into development, has reached. The game will not launch with Wii.
Legend of Zelda was finally explained. There are two versions, one GameCube 'classic' version and an enhanced offering for Wii. It was not made clear if the games will share discs. Only the Wii version was displayed, and in some depth by NOA's Bill and Nate. Link was shown moving using the nunchuck's analogue stick. Battles were controlled using slashing motions from the WiiMote, with interesting tweaks such as a jabbing motion to initiate a shield-shove and a circular motion to perform spin attacks.
Nintendo was keen to show off Link's arrow-aiming via the WiiMote's pointer and the fact that items will have individual methods of control, the boomerang being highlighted. It was mentioned that the E3 build will be a cut-down and easy dungeon, though the game was assured for a day one release.
Nintendo will be concentrating on your right brain's inspiration, rather than your left brain's amount of information. We added that because it does sum up what Nintendo is actually trying to do.
ExciteTruck is a new game based on the NES joy that was ExciteBike. As you'll probably remember, the point of ExciteBike was to maximise speed by landing jumps on your motocross bike. ExciteTruck works the same, maximising speed by angling the controller to land perfectly. At first, we thought it was the worst game ever. Then we realised how it worked. And it seemed like the best game ever. We expect this to happen a lot with Wii games. And we really can't wait.
PilotWings was shown briefly. The game was not announced, nor was it identified, though the image of a bi-plane soaring through the air, controlled as one might hold a paper plane prior to launch, and shown in Nintendo's first-party line-up, 99% announces the long-anticipated return of a classic series.
Then Metroid. Looking great, controlled as you might expect. Nintendo asserted that this is the most precise FPS control method ever invented. We believe this. Simply because it's obvious.
One of the more interesting games to be offered, and without question the most visually impressive, was Disaster: Day of Crisis. The game revolves around saving America, of all places, from a series of natural disasters. This Monolith-developed title was not demonstrated, so we do not know how - or even if - it uses the Wii's special functionality, though the Condemned-famed studio did rock the pants of all attendees with its visual might.
WiiConnect 24. You'll like this. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata explained that load times are the worst thing ever. This was illustrated using what was perhaps the most amusing of the slides Nintendo commissioned to explain the world of gaming. It showed two gamers, not stripped of their Old Navy prepwear, a fact they should be mournful of, sitting with their arms folded and bottom lips outstretched. The Wii will operate in an enhanced standby mode, cutting the fans while keeping essential routines flowing. As well as giving the machine a quick stop/start option, users will be able to offer an open portal for download content and game sharing, such as the ability to leave your Animal Crossing Wii village open for visitors.
Oh. Animal Crossing is coming to Wii. Not too shabby...
Sonic the Hedgehog perversely stole the biggest cheer. Nintendo underlined Sonic Team's interest in its new hardware, albeit stripped of the departed Yuji Naka's direct recommendation. The Blue One was shown in the slightest detail and again, the control method was not fully outlined.
So you've digested the above, but it's only news and it's news in isolation. It looks good on the surface - you have PolitWings, Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing, some new first-party stuff and a decent smattering of interesting bits and bobs - but it doesn't tell the full story.
As mentioned, this year Nintendo was in a new venue, the Kodak Theatre, some five times larger than its usual Hollywood and Highland haunt. It was a move designed to aggrandise its message and could have worked if Nintendo hadn't choked on its own message. The Nintendo of today was nervous. Its lack of surety was amplified by the perfect acoustics of its chosen platform, its lack of confidence obvious throughout. Today was a plea to assembled press and a plea made in way that touched on cynicism and ventured dangerously close to the absurd. Nintendo has enforced an information blackout on its new machine.
It then declined to announce the price of its machine, declined to reveal the release date. Having a transient release is understandable, though early planning in Kyoto did see the Wii hitting retail withing two months of this week's conference. To not release the price was, in short, a blunder. Sony just asked the world for as much as 599 Euros to play its updated PlayStation, $765 - a massive amount and easily trumped.
SPOnG suspects that the profit-conscious Nintendo pulled an announcement of $199 or so in favour of giving itself a little time to judge what price point it can reasonably ask, an understandable, if slightly cynical ploy. It was a wasted opportunity to trump Microsoft, though this reluctance to reveal a key component of its launch strategy is without doubt related to Nintendo's obvious anxiety that it will be judged before the world has had the chance to play its new home console.
Nintendo hid behind Zelda throughout the conference. And remember, Zelda is a game developed primarily for the GameCube. Indeed, Zelda was the only fully-detailed first-party game today, a fact that left us, and many others baffled given the wealth of IP boasted. The conference, in short, was weak and badly planned. Nintendo's anxiety was plain to see and offset in a new cavernous venue, the whole event just seemed badly thought out.
However, however, however... A conference means nothing, really. A load of jaded journalists go away and say everything was great because that's their 'editorial direction' and a load of fanboys go away and say everything was great because they are a load of fanboys. The thing about the Wii is - and this is really quite important - it is without doubt the most important thing in videogames since the NES. The concept of absolute inclusion of all people into the joy of videogames is brilliant and Nintendo can certainly prove a track record in the disruption of standard console timelines.
The fact that Nintendo has refused to respect the (albeit short-termist) ecosystem of how a videogame platform should evolve is both healthy and brilliant, a fact bitterly underlined by Sony's absolute and shameless plagiarism of its controller. You need look no further for evidence of Nintendo being the absolute innovator in games machines than the PlayStation controller timeline. D-pad, analogue control, rumble and now motion-sensing capabilities. All directly lifted from Nintendo.
And Nintendo's lack of respect for how things should be is as refreshing as it is seemingly destined to work. Nintendo points to the DS. It was rushed out in the wake of SCE announcing a portable PS2. Nintendo could not match it for power, so it punted its online business on the ability to control a game via a touch screen. And it worked.
It is this ability to disrupt the convention of platform evolution that should fill the more intelligent reader with absolute confidence in Nintendo's ability to come good on its promises. Wii is the future. Everything does need to change. We want to play games with our grandparents before they die. Desperately. We want our parents to understand what we've dedicated our free time to for the past three decades. We want to show our children the absolute joy we felt when we were five years old and able to play VCS Breakout on an equal footing with adults, show them that they can pick up and understand videogames, enjoy them in the truest sense and, when they go to high school, play them with girls on an equal plane...
There's so much Nintendo is offering that is so precious. A chance to escape the bullshit of being a 'gamer'. We read books, but we're not 'bookers', watch films and escape being branded 'filmers'. Every journalist in the games sector you'll ever meet will complain about games being boring, and not just because they are largely very boring men staring at a capped career at the age of 30. It's because games are becoming boring.
Nintendo offers an escape from this. We'll be taking it. We hope you come with us.
US sales and marketing boss Reggie Fils-Aime opened telling the 3,000-plus crowd that if they were hoping for pure next-generation gaming, they were in the wrong place. An ominous opener, which set the tone for the rest of the conference. You see, Nintendo usually just basks in its own glory at E3. This year was different.
Nintendo was making a pitch, a sales offer, an invitation. "Next week is about playing," explained Fils-Aime, "because playing is believing." This was underlined by a massive screen behind the exec which read PLAYING = BELIEVING, the catchphrase of the show and an indicator of how desperate Nintendo is not to be dismissed. It was, of course, preaching to the converted. The big test will be when the E3 hoards go hands-on tomorrow.
SPOnG is confident in the Wii's ability to change things. It has to work or Nintendo's home console business is over. But you're here for the news. So here it is.
Price and release dates were not revealed, a shock to many. Nintendo stated that the Wii will offer "...more fun, for less money, and be available in the fourth quarter of 2006." A global roll-out was not mentioned, hinting that staggered releases may be seen.
The WiiMote has a small speaker built into it. This enables developers to sonically simulate movement between the remote and the TV or other audio outlet. The Nunchuck has its own motion sensor. It was not made clear if this was on par with that of the WiiMote.
Mario! Mario was shown, now with the title Super Mario Galaxy. The control mechanism was not explained, nor was it mentioned whether the game will be playable tomorrow. Mario was seen in futuristic environments and at one point battling a giant space octopus. Classic sounds and sights were on show, though the lack of information on Mario and its low key appearance (Mario was not showcased as a major title) does make us wonder at what point the title, now six years into development, has reached. The game will not launch with Wii.
Legend of Zelda was finally explained. There are two versions, one GameCube 'classic' version and an enhanced offering for Wii. It was not made clear if the games will share discs. Only the Wii version was displayed, and in some depth by NOA's Bill and Nate. Link was shown moving using the nunchuck's analogue stick. Battles were controlled using slashing motions from the WiiMote, with interesting tweaks such as a jabbing motion to initiate a shield-shove and a circular motion to perform spin attacks.
Nintendo was keen to show off Link's arrow-aiming via the WiiMote's pointer and the fact that items will have individual methods of control, the boomerang being highlighted. It was mentioned that the E3 build will be a cut-down and easy dungeon, though the game was assured for a day one release.
Nintendo will be concentrating on your right brain's inspiration, rather than your left brain's amount of information. We added that because it does sum up what Nintendo is actually trying to do.
ExciteTruck is a new game based on the NES joy that was ExciteBike. As you'll probably remember, the point of ExciteBike was to maximise speed by landing jumps on your motocross bike. ExciteTruck works the same, maximising speed by angling the controller to land perfectly. At first, we thought it was the worst game ever. Then we realised how it worked. And it seemed like the best game ever. We expect this to happen a lot with Wii games. And we really can't wait.
PilotWings was shown briefly. The game was not announced, nor was it identified, though the image of a bi-plane soaring through the air, controlled as one might hold a paper plane prior to launch, and shown in Nintendo's first-party line-up, 99% announces the long-anticipated return of a classic series.
Then Metroid. Looking great, controlled as you might expect. Nintendo asserted that this is the most precise FPS control method ever invented. We believe this. Simply because it's obvious.
One of the more interesting games to be offered, and without question the most visually impressive, was Disaster: Day of Crisis. The game revolves around saving America, of all places, from a series of natural disasters. This Monolith-developed title was not demonstrated, so we do not know how - or even if - it uses the Wii's special functionality, though the Condemned-famed studio did rock the pants of all attendees with its visual might.
WiiConnect 24. You'll like this. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata explained that load times are the worst thing ever. This was illustrated using what was perhaps the most amusing of the slides Nintendo commissioned to explain the world of gaming. It showed two gamers, not stripped of their Old Navy prepwear, a fact they should be mournful of, sitting with their arms folded and bottom lips outstretched. The Wii will operate in an enhanced standby mode, cutting the fans while keeping essential routines flowing. As well as giving the machine a quick stop/start option, users will be able to offer an open portal for download content and game sharing, such as the ability to leave your Animal Crossing Wii village open for visitors.
Oh. Animal Crossing is coming to Wii. Not too shabby...
Sonic the Hedgehog perversely stole the biggest cheer. Nintendo underlined Sonic Team's interest in its new hardware, albeit stripped of the departed Yuji Naka's direct recommendation. The Blue One was shown in the slightest detail and again, the control method was not fully outlined.
So you've digested the above, but it's only news and it's news in isolation. It looks good on the surface - you have PolitWings, Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing, some new first-party stuff and a decent smattering of interesting bits and bobs - but it doesn't tell the full story.
As mentioned, this year Nintendo was in a new venue, the Kodak Theatre, some five times larger than its usual Hollywood and Highland haunt. It was a move designed to aggrandise its message and could have worked if Nintendo hadn't choked on its own message. The Nintendo of today was nervous. Its lack of surety was amplified by the perfect acoustics of its chosen platform, its lack of confidence obvious throughout. Today was a plea to assembled press and a plea made in way that touched on cynicism and ventured dangerously close to the absurd. Nintendo has enforced an information blackout on its new machine.
It then declined to announce the price of its machine, declined to reveal the release date. Having a transient release is understandable, though early planning in Kyoto did see the Wii hitting retail withing two months of this week's conference. To not release the price was, in short, a blunder. Sony just asked the world for as much as 599 Euros to play its updated PlayStation, $765 - a massive amount and easily trumped.
SPOnG suspects that the profit-conscious Nintendo pulled an announcement of $199 or so in favour of giving itself a little time to judge what price point it can reasonably ask, an understandable, if slightly cynical ploy. It was a wasted opportunity to trump Microsoft, though this reluctance to reveal a key component of its launch strategy is without doubt related to Nintendo's obvious anxiety that it will be judged before the world has had the chance to play its new home console.
Nintendo hid behind Zelda throughout the conference. And remember, Zelda is a game developed primarily for the GameCube. Indeed, Zelda was the only fully-detailed first-party game today, a fact that left us, and many others baffled given the wealth of IP boasted. The conference, in short, was weak and badly planned. Nintendo's anxiety was plain to see and offset in a new cavernous venue, the whole event just seemed badly thought out.
However, however, however... A conference means nothing, really. A load of jaded journalists go away and say everything was great because that's their 'editorial direction' and a load of fanboys go away and say everything was great because they are a load of fanboys. The thing about the Wii is - and this is really quite important - it is without doubt the most important thing in videogames since the NES. The concept of absolute inclusion of all people into the joy of videogames is brilliant and Nintendo can certainly prove a track record in the disruption of standard console timelines.
The fact that Nintendo has refused to respect the (albeit short-termist) ecosystem of how a videogame platform should evolve is both healthy and brilliant, a fact bitterly underlined by Sony's absolute and shameless plagiarism of its controller. You need look no further for evidence of Nintendo being the absolute innovator in games machines than the PlayStation controller timeline. D-pad, analogue control, rumble and now motion-sensing capabilities. All directly lifted from Nintendo.
And Nintendo's lack of respect for how things should be is as refreshing as it is seemingly destined to work. Nintendo points to the DS. It was rushed out in the wake of SCE announcing a portable PS2. Nintendo could not match it for power, so it punted its online business on the ability to control a game via a touch screen. And it worked.
It is this ability to disrupt the convention of platform evolution that should fill the more intelligent reader with absolute confidence in Nintendo's ability to come good on its promises. Wii is the future. Everything does need to change. We want to play games with our grandparents before they die. Desperately. We want our parents to understand what we've dedicated our free time to for the past three decades. We want to show our children the absolute joy we felt when we were five years old and able to play VCS Breakout on an equal footing with adults, show them that they can pick up and understand videogames, enjoy them in the truest sense and, when they go to high school, play them with girls on an equal plane...
There's so much Nintendo is offering that is so precious. A chance to escape the bullshit of being a 'gamer'. We read books, but we're not 'bookers', watch films and escape being branded 'filmers'. Every journalist in the games sector you'll ever meet will complain about games being boring, and not just because they are largely very boring men staring at a capped career at the age of 30. It's because games are becoming boring.
Nintendo offers an escape from this. We'll be taking it. We hope you come with us.
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Comments
ohms 10 May 2006 09:34
1/13
After Sony's dissapointing conference, even though Nintendo left a lot of questions unanswered, I want a Wii more than ever. Just look at the video they showed during their briefing of 4 people playing Warioware. Fantastic!
Looks much more fun than awkwardly trying to land a plane with a 'tilt' controller.
Some more info on the Virtual Console would have been nice, but the 24Connect thing was very cool indeed.
Looks much more fun than awkwardly trying to land a plane with a 'tilt' controller.
Some more info on the Virtual Console would have been nice, but the 24Connect thing was very cool indeed.
Master Chef 10 May 2006 09:40
2/13
So what you are saying is ... you're busting for a Wii?
more comments below our sponsor's message
Naouruki 10 May 2006 12:27
3/13
Go at it, Spong. Continue the tradition of enforcing the belief that Nintendo 'cares', Nintendo is pure gaming - not repeatist, franchise-whoring, staid and even eith its broken teeth, a pioneer and leader in brutal market methods.
Follow the traditional line that Sony is shameless in its plagiarism of Nintendo's ideas. Ignore the fact that the Wii is nowhere enar revolutionary in its controller - the DC Air NiGHTS controller was undoubtedly the template they themselves ripped. But don't mention that - wand-waving is Nintendo genius, Nintendo does NOT plagiarise.
Continue to wax lyrical about how the Wii's virtula console is alos so innovative. Ignore the fact that SEGA again pioneered this far before.
Continue to tow the bullshit fanboy line - and you have the enrve to actually make fanboy jokes at every turn? - that the PSP is worthless gamewise. Kiss Mizuguchi ass and praise Lumines to the heavens, trumpet the 'beauty' of Ridge Racer, the uniqueness of Loco Roco, but then make jokes about with Outrun, the PSP is finally 'worth buying'. Ignore utterly that the PSP will do gaems that the DS never can - racing games , not overrated slow-motion CART racers with pathetically slim 'online' gaming. Go on and on forever about the WiFi gaming on DS as if it innovated it - ignore completely that the PSP was the sole console thus far to ever release with games with online functional servers at launch. Wipe this all aay with pathetic claims that the PSP only rehashes PS2 games.
Ignore your own hypocrisy over kissing GBA ass for doing the same with SNES games on a far larger and crappier scale.
Ignore that we all love Samba de Amigo and Guitar Hero and Donkey Konga - but do we really want to 'immerse' ourselves in every single game, for eveyr single minute of hours-long gaming, with waving that laughably-plagiarised piece of s**t around? There is a reason you wil never see DOA, VF or other toptier 3D fighters on this Wii joke - for some games a traditinal controller IS far more immersive than waving around a little wand and nunchuk (snicker). Did someone say 'combos'?
The Wii is nothing special to gaming, let alone some sort of important milestone in its entire history and some sort of quantum shift. To hell with Nintendo-worship, to hell with the Nintendo fanboys who claim they are unbiased, like Spong, but are the worst of; to hell with Nintendo's bullshit image of purity and holiness with its sully, dirty history and market tactics and lazy practises. Sony is bullish, after the world, and willing to stomp and blitz its way into achieving that - but at least it is honest. Nintendo, saviour of nothing but everythign that embodies the decades-old hypocrisy and purile bullshit of the holy image of Nintendo in the gaming press.
Follow the traditional line that Sony is shameless in its plagiarism of Nintendo's ideas. Ignore the fact that the Wii is nowhere enar revolutionary in its controller - the DC Air NiGHTS controller was undoubtedly the template they themselves ripped. But don't mention that - wand-waving is Nintendo genius, Nintendo does NOT plagiarise.
Continue to wax lyrical about how the Wii's virtula console is alos so innovative. Ignore the fact that SEGA again pioneered this far before.
Continue to tow the bullshit fanboy line - and you have the enrve to actually make fanboy jokes at every turn? - that the PSP is worthless gamewise. Kiss Mizuguchi ass and praise Lumines to the heavens, trumpet the 'beauty' of Ridge Racer, the uniqueness of Loco Roco, but then make jokes about with Outrun, the PSP is finally 'worth buying'. Ignore utterly that the PSP will do gaems that the DS never can - racing games , not overrated slow-motion CART racers with pathetically slim 'online' gaming. Go on and on forever about the WiFi gaming on DS as if it innovated it - ignore completely that the PSP was the sole console thus far to ever release with games with online functional servers at launch. Wipe this all aay with pathetic claims that the PSP only rehashes PS2 games.
Ignore your own hypocrisy over kissing GBA ass for doing the same with SNES games on a far larger and crappier scale.
Ignore that we all love Samba de Amigo and Guitar Hero and Donkey Konga - but do we really want to 'immerse' ourselves in every single game, for eveyr single minute of hours-long gaming, with waving that laughably-plagiarised piece of s**t around? There is a reason you wil never see DOA, VF or other toptier 3D fighters on this Wii joke - for some games a traditinal controller IS far more immersive than waving around a little wand and nunchuk (snicker). Did someone say 'combos'?
The Wii is nothing special to gaming, let alone some sort of important milestone in its entire history and some sort of quantum shift. To hell with Nintendo-worship, to hell with the Nintendo fanboys who claim they are unbiased, like Spong, but are the worst of; to hell with Nintendo's bullshit image of purity and holiness with its sully, dirty history and market tactics and lazy practises. Sony is bullish, after the world, and willing to stomp and blitz its way into achieving that - but at least it is honest. Nintendo, saviour of nothing but everythign that embodies the decades-old hypocrisy and purile bullshit of the holy image of Nintendo in the gaming press.
superfx 10 May 2006 13:15
4/13
Methinks you protest too much. This post only proves Nintendo have done a very good job of putting the Sony fanboy faithful on the defensive.
ann0uk 10 May 2006 13:22
5/13
Seems you have some issues and yeah it would seem that Spong are Nintendo fanboys.
But there is a valid point to all this, I used to love videogames, I would play them all the time, but recently it has all become very boring.
It is good to see Nintendo inventing new ways to play a game more naturally than using gamepads.
I like the look of the card game that Sony showed, this was very interesting. But I do feel Sony have lost some credability in my eyes when they smugly announced their new motion sensing controller which even though may be a smart move is blatant copy of their rival.
So business is business and this happens, but it wasnt as if Sony had redesigned the controller, they just put a motion sensing device into a dual shock controller, a design that hasnt changed for the last 10 years. I think this shows no originality from them and proves that they are the worst in the industry for copying and then lying that it was their idea.
I am more interested in buying an X360 for the graphics and the Nintendo Wii for the unique gameplay.
For the first time in years I am excited about playing videogames again and it is not Sony that have made me feel this way.
But there is a valid point to all this, I used to love videogames, I would play them all the time, but recently it has all become very boring.
It is good to see Nintendo inventing new ways to play a game more naturally than using gamepads.
I like the look of the card game that Sony showed, this was very interesting. But I do feel Sony have lost some credability in my eyes when they smugly announced their new motion sensing controller which even though may be a smart move is blatant copy of their rival.
So business is business and this happens, but it wasnt as if Sony had redesigned the controller, they just put a motion sensing device into a dual shock controller, a design that hasnt changed for the last 10 years. I think this shows no originality from them and proves that they are the worst in the industry for copying and then lying that it was their idea.
I am more interested in buying an X360 for the graphics and the Nintendo Wii for the unique gameplay.
For the first time in years I am excited about playing videogames again and it is not Sony that have made me feel this way.
Pistolman 10 May 2006 13:48
6/13
Naouruki, you obviously have no idea what the Wiimote can do if you compare it with the Nights controller.
Personally, i always had a playstation system but after monday's press conference, i lost all trust in Sony. I expected something better from them, and i was not the only one it seems.
I agree with Spong that Nintendo was nervous and they hadnt planned the event carefully.
I was taken aback with the fact that they didnt show their games. Only Zelda.
But...27 GAMES PLAYABLE!!!!
So sweet!!
Even if they lost some thunder with their press event, they will sweep the showfloor with the Wii software.
I simply cant wait for hands on imressions from Spong and others.
Personally, i always had a playstation system but after monday's press conference, i lost all trust in Sony. I expected something better from them, and i was not the only one it seems.
I agree with Spong that Nintendo was nervous and they hadnt planned the event carefully.
I was taken aback with the fact that they didnt show their games. Only Zelda.
But...27 GAMES PLAYABLE!!!!
So sweet!!
Even if they lost some thunder with their press event, they will sweep the showfloor with the Wii software.
I simply cant wait for hands on imressions from Spong and others.
actionmonkey 10 May 2006 14:02
7/13
What you don't seem to understand is that nobody ever comes up with original ideas. It's always an amalgam of what's gone before. A motion sensing joystick was done way back on the Commodore 64 the point is: IT WAS CRAP!!!
The reason spong like Nintendo so much is that they refine their products. Nintendo have the best track record as far as console and game reliability goes. Whether you like the games or not is just a matter of taste.
Anybody could come up with a motion sensing joypad. It's making it work and selling it that takes skill. The PS3 at the moment is looking so much like some grey import cross between a wii and an xbox it's pitiful. Their lack of skill at making consoles has always been evident but it's really beginning to show now things are moving on.
Your comments about psp being "worth buying" seem to be missing the mark somewhat. So what if Spong likes a couple of games on the PSP, the point it makes is valid - There just aren't many games for it. There is no killer app and not much choice. If you are going to spend money on a machine you should at least make sure there's a decent slew of games to play on it before you hand over the cash..
And as for your closing comment; Sony HONEST!
Seems like you're the one with the blinkers on.
The reason spong like Nintendo so much is that they refine their products. Nintendo have the best track record as far as console and game reliability goes. Whether you like the games or not is just a matter of taste.
Anybody could come up with a motion sensing joypad. It's making it work and selling it that takes skill. The PS3 at the moment is looking so much like some grey import cross between a wii and an xbox it's pitiful. Their lack of skill at making consoles has always been evident but it's really beginning to show now things are moving on.
Your comments about psp being "worth buying" seem to be missing the mark somewhat. So what if Spong likes a couple of games on the PSP, the point it makes is valid - There just aren't many games for it. There is no killer app and not much choice. If you are going to spend money on a machine you should at least make sure there's a decent slew of games to play on it before you hand over the cash..
And as for your closing comment; Sony HONEST!
Seems like you're the one with the blinkers on.
kid_77 10 May 2006 16:00
8/13
Naouruki, you need to get laid - there's WAY too much bitterness inside you.
Perhaps the reason SPOnG have given the Wii extended analysis is because there's so much to discuss.
So far, the 360 and PS3 have demonstrated games not vastly different to their predecessors - albeit with shinier graphics, improved animation sequences and larger environments. It's next-gen by the numbers.
Wii truly offers something alternative. It's the potential which makes me genuinely excited.
Developers will eventually deliver the goods with PS3/360 (RE5?), but, without a huge jump, it's astonishment by attrition.
Perhaps the reason SPOnG have given the Wii extended analysis is because there's so much to discuss.
So far, the 360 and PS3 have demonstrated games not vastly different to their predecessors - albeit with shinier graphics, improved animation sequences and larger environments. It's next-gen by the numbers.
Wii truly offers something alternative. It's the potential which makes me genuinely excited.
Developers will eventually deliver the goods with PS3/360 (RE5?), but, without a huge jump, it's astonishment by attrition.
Chris C 10 May 2006 16:36
9/13
Opera will make a web browser for Wii: (if you don't believe me)
Is a web browser an exclusive to Wii, on the home consoles?
Is a web browser an exclusive to Wii, on the home consoles?
soanso 10 May 2006 17:19
10/13
I've got more and more questions about Wii now than I did yesterday.
I thought they'd show maybe not 'everything' about it but I expected a bit more.
MY first reaction was "oh. the graphics aren't that good are they but it looks fun"
I find it a bit worrying that the launch game is a gamecube title. I read a comment on the sun website about it saying it had 'beautful graphics" and sure it does but not to the same level as Xbox 360.
On another note, I'm soooo happy to see that Cing are making a new adventure game for the DS. I liked their last one so much that I emailed them and told them and it was even better that they took the time to reply to me. :)
I thought they'd show maybe not 'everything' about it but I expected a bit more.
MY first reaction was "oh. the graphics aren't that good are they but it looks fun"
I find it a bit worrying that the launch game is a gamecube title. I read a comment on the sun website about it saying it had 'beautful graphics" and sure it does but not to the same level as Xbox 360.
On another note, I'm soooo happy to see that Cing are making a new adventure game for the DS. I liked their last one so much that I emailed them and told them and it was even better that they took the time to reply to me. :)
OptimusP 10 May 2006 17:42
11/13
Maybe the Dreamcast, not sure, maybe some kind third party browser.
And anyway...PSP has a browser, and if a handheld can beat a homeconsole at anything, then you know something is going wrong.
It's nice to see that Spong uses the word "potential" (something i have been using like forever!!) because that's key, Wii has the potential to do everything it wants with the gaming industry, from putting Nintendo on the top spot to making Nintendo bankrupt.
And anyway...PSP has a browser, and if a handheld can beat a homeconsole at anything, then you know something is going wrong.
It's nice to see that Spong uses the word "potential" (something i have been using like forever!!) because that's key, Wii has the potential to do everything it wants with the gaming industry, from putting Nintendo on the top spot to making Nintendo bankrupt.
Joji 11 May 2006 20:25
12/13
Well it happened like I said and it paid off in spades. All eyes were on Nintendo and I totally agree that what they have offer does make gaming exciting again.
I feel Nao's comments were misguided and laced envy that this isn't Sony who's playing their cards right, and on top of that Sony done just the opposite. Fairplay to Sony, they made gaming more mainstream but they can't live off that forever.
There's no point in playing an arguementative game of who did what first, Both Sega and Nintendo put out analogue pads in a similar time frame. This doesn't mean anyone copied anyone (correct if wrong here), but the point he's missing is that Nintendo produced the N64 pad for more than just SM64, whereas Sega only did theirs with Nights in mind and while the Saturn was nearing its demise while N64 was new tech. N64 pad even had camera buttons which again pushed things further too, so tell me again who's pad was more thought out?
Wii is a revolution that games need urgently and to say that Spong are being fanboys is ridiculous. Sony have had their day in the sun, had plenty of sweet press from Spong etc and good sales, but now the sun is setting on their era (blu ray or not). Get used to it, Nintendo are here to stay and it's their turn to shine again. If you doubt this much Nao, take a look at Sony's press conference, it was poorer than Oliver Twist with lunch. At the high price its gonna go for I'll get a ps3 when that price drops.
I feel Nao's comments were misguided and laced envy that this isn't Sony who's playing their cards right, and on top of that Sony done just the opposite. Fairplay to Sony, they made gaming more mainstream but they can't live off that forever.
There's no point in playing an arguementative game of who did what first, Both Sega and Nintendo put out analogue pads in a similar time frame. This doesn't mean anyone copied anyone (correct if wrong here), but the point he's missing is that Nintendo produced the N64 pad for more than just SM64, whereas Sega only did theirs with Nights in mind and while the Saturn was nearing its demise while N64 was new tech. N64 pad even had camera buttons which again pushed things further too, so tell me again who's pad was more thought out?
Wii is a revolution that games need urgently and to say that Spong are being fanboys is ridiculous. Sony have had their day in the sun, had plenty of sweet press from Spong etc and good sales, but now the sun is setting on their era (blu ray or not). Get used to it, Nintendo are here to stay and it's their turn to shine again. If you doubt this much Nao, take a look at Sony's press conference, it was poorer than Oliver Twist with lunch. At the high price its gonna go for I'll get a ps3 when that price drops.
warbaby 12 May 2006 23:55
13/13
In response to Naouruki, you blather on about how Nintendo is ripping people off... but it's funny how the things you mention that are being ripped, not longer exist. Sega... do I even need to go further. You mention things that never cought on, things not properly employed. Maybe a bit of an analogy? Sega and that device for the commodore, is like s**tty orange juice, sugary, watery. Nintendo is taking the concept of orange juice and making it better, making it enjoyable... fresh orange juice.
Sony here sees Nintendo having some luck with their orange juice, and try and make some quick artificial juice. Not going to work.
Sony here sees Nintendo having some luck with their orange juice, and try and make some quick artificial juice. Not going to work.