The Gamer's Quarter

[Ryan - SuperWes' Bane]

After reading THIS over at Kotaku and also looking at the information about the Wii Fit it got me thinking. If you remember what happened to the GC after a few years, they completely stopped coming out with decent games (in comparison to the PS2) and the system languished. I doubt this will be the case with the Wii though.

It's not like the PS3 and 360 have anything that can give Nintendo a run for their money . . . yet. But I think the Microsoft guy is right about some Wii owners buying just the system to break it out at a party or when people come over, and not buying the games. But as Nintendo makes a profit on their systems as opposed to selling it at a loss like MS and Sony does, can you really consider this bad business practice?

Do you see the Wii as a fad?

[simplicio]

The Big Thing with the Wii is that it's gotten the interest of people who weren't gamers before. Now they've got their Wii, and Wii Sports and Wii Fit and possibly another game (my personal non-gamer Wii friends have Trauma Center, but I'm guessing Mario Kart might be popular too), but they probably still don't identify as gamers. There's little interest past turning on the system and playing the thing that's there and already familiar to them. You won't see them buying No More Heroes, or getting Gamefly accounts, or learning the button layout of a dualshock, or posting here. To reach them with a new title (like Wii Fit), you have to have a saturating media blitz that makes its way to all corners of the world and appears totally unintimidating. As long as one of these games keeps coming every six or eight months or so, I think the interest can be kept up and it technically won't be a fad. But these people are only attaching to gaming as a casual entertainment (or auxiliary lifestyle component, in the case of Nintendo's "daily maintenance" titles), not as a full blown hobby.

(Actually, typing that last parenthetical statement makes me really curious about how the inevitable Animal Crossing/Nintendogs game will do amongst the Wii Fit crowd. Can they be coerced into gaming as a habitual solo entertainment?)

What Microsoft dude is talking about in that link comes from the viewpoint of a self-identified gamer though. What he's saying (in addition to walking the company line) is "The Wii doesn't have enough games to satisfy the 360/PS3 hardcore gamer's need for his personal version of 'gaming'." This is both true and totally fine by me; two consoles doing exactly the same thing for exactly the same market, promoted exactly the same way is plenty, I think. And I'm perfectly happy with the arrangement; as a critical (and selfcritical) gamer, I find the 360/PS3 aesthetic to be largely backwards and stagnant, self-serious while remaining absolutely idiotic. So a change of pace is fine by me.
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[Ryan - SuperWes' Bane]

I think it's funny that he is saying the Wii is like a gateway "drug" that will lead to more serious "drugs" in the future ^_^.

I wonder how the two types of people who own the system can be compared too. I mean, how many games on average would a gamer own as compared to somebody who plays casually? After a certain number of games are you considered a gamer? Or is it after you've played a game a certain amount of hours?

And also, IF Nintendo eventually saturates the market with enough systems, but doesn't sell as many video games due in part to this type of gamer, will it really matter? Can we consider them to be the champ of the current console wars after a certain point due to how many systems they've sold? Or will video games sold be the true indicator? Because I think in the long run, games like FFXIII, Halo, GTA and MGS4 are going to sell a heck of a lot more than Animal Crossing, SSB, and Mario Kart.

[kirkjerk]

I think the indication of the Wii's strength is it becoming the de facto standard platform for shovelware, like the PS2 was.
Like dirt, shovelware isn't particularly desirable in and of itself but it can be a foundation for the the system, and a support for interesting and worthwhile games.
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[SuperWes]

I don't know if it really matters if the Wii is a "fad." Nintendo's making money and their image is currently "saviors of gaming," so they're getting everything they need.

The system's problems lie outside of sales numbers. I have no doubt it will continue to sell, and I have no doubt that once it slows down Nintendo will be there with another non-game that puts it right back in the headlines and makes it start selling again.

The problem isn't here, it's with the fact that games don't sell based on their quality, they sell almost exclusively based on how well they can market themselves toward the Wii gamer. This is done through budget prices, concepts targeted at soccer moms, and recognizable characters. If something can accomplish one or more of these it can sell on the Wii.

Superficially compare this to the other systems where games are targeted at 18-30 year old males and initially it doesn't seem much different, but look closer and there really is a difference. The big difference is that 18-30 year old male demographic generally does enough research that they know what they're buying beyond a concept level. Based on target market Haze should have been a huge seller, but it's not because it's shitty. This is good! The Wii's not quite at that point yet, but if it continues down the path its on, enough people will be burned by Chicken Shoots that Wii owners will start researching a bit before buying crap. Either that, or they'll just stop buying games altogether. Either way, quality previals!

-Wes
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[Ryan - SuperWes' Bane]

I just read another interesting thought about Nintendo last night. They are saying where in the past Nintendo has been focused on making profit through games, with the Wii they are seeking to do it through peripherals. How many of those are out now? Like 20 different ones? The wheel, the gun, the nunchuck, the old style controller, the Wii Fit . . . come out with one game that sells the peripheral which everybody wants, and I guess you'll make a lot of money.

[SuperWes]

[randomuser83]

It already exist man. It is a fad with the games it has. I think its retarded and a gimmick with no intention to improve the experience at all.

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&resnum=0&q=wii+colored+controllers&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

[Worm]

It's just pretty obviously (and proudly) intended as a Nintendo Entertainment System rather than a video game console. The only thing that is going to entertain you on it is going to be fucking made by Nintendo.
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Exit stage left, exit stage right, there is no place to run, all the fuses in the exit signs have been BURNT OUT

[daphaknee]

worm you are so wrong hells kitchen is coming out for the wii adn that is going to entertain me so hard

[Malloc]

[Worm]

[Ryan - SuperWes' Bane]

Continuing the discussion on fads, I've noticed something in the 3 years I've been gone. For example, DDR was probably at the height of it's popularity when I left in 2005 (or a little before that), and now it's obscure and not cool anymore. And now I see how huge Guitar Hero and Rock Band are, (they came out what, 2 years ago now? And of course it's just an American version of Guitar Freaks), but those also seem to be on their way out. The only other fad I can think of at the moment (where games are concerned) is the pokemon fad from when I was a kid (and afterwards), but that seems more to be cyclical, happening each time one of the new games comes out (at least in certain age groups).

Can anybody think of any other instances of fads recently in the gaming industry? Was the whole cel shading thing one?

(edit: sorry for my rambling)

[kirkjerk]

[Faithless]

I think the backlash against the Wii in the next generation of hardware/software is going to be monumental. All of these new-gamers who have been introduced to video-gaming through the Wii are going to feel a little embarrassed of their cutesy graphics and Miis when the next Microsoft and Sony systems incorporate Wii functions into their new systems, but drop the aesthetic in favor of something more sexy.

It'll be Genesis does what Nintendon't, with everyone graduating to "cooler" consoles. I bet it buries Nintendo for a while.
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[Harveyjames]

Good point!

It made sense at the time sort of, but retrospectively it's a big shame Nintendo built the Wii and its software around such a bland aesthetic style. It means that if the next thing to come along looks even remotely stylish it's going to be like some kind of revolution.

[kirkjerk]

Somehow I suspect Nintendo will keep on keeping on.

I'm kind of a die-hard, I guess, but even the N64 and GC years didn't seem that bleak to me, I had a constant supply of super solid multiplayer and single player games, titles that were often console-specific.

And, like, it's the Wii that gets so much attention now, but I really thought the DS was a gimmick that was going to tank.
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