Back in 2007 Nintendo invited me to their big European unveiling of Wii in London. When I first played Wii Sports I was as excited as anyone about this new tactile control method. Swinging the Wii-mote was (and is) a lot of fun.
But at the same time, I had this nagging feeling that this was nothing but a niche product. I could not see this underpowered, gimmicky console deliver the kind of experiences I wanted. I like my graphically intense FPS-es and stat-heavy RPGs. I want to see graphics get better and better, and play (admittedly badly) against others online. Wii obviously wasn’t for me.
I don’t need to tell you Wii is currently outselling every ‘hardcore’ console out there. Seems there are a lot of people who just want to play tennis and Mario, and don’t care about anything else.
That Nintendo’s machine apparently appeals to just about everybody and their Nan is the reason both Microsoft and Sony ordered their R&D departments to crank out their own motion controlers. And bless em for it. At the very least they are trying something ‘new’, even though they’re just ripping off someone else’s successful idea.
But I think they are kind of missing the point. Nintendendo Wii isn’t a traditional console. You might as well call it it’s own ‘genre’ of product: an activity machine with a rather limited selection of activities. Most Wii games out there are variations of Wii Sports and Wii Fit. The few exceptions rarely sell well (except if Mario is in it).
So this makes me wonder why Sony and Microsoft want to turn their machines into something they clearly aren’t. It’s as if the manufacturer of traditional mobile phones releases an add-on touch screen to make their product behave like an iPhone.
I just don’t see how Joe and Jill Casual-Gamer are going to be interested in this kind of Frankenstein’s Monster. One of the reasons Wii is so appealing to them, is its simplicity. Now Sony and MS are trying to sell them a console they previously did not want for its threatening amount of features, by adding another feature.
I am not saying Joe and Jill are dumb, or won’t understand. I just think they won’t care. They can just play on their Wii and have a blast.
Writing about games sinds 2003, but playing them since the days of Zork. Harry Hol is a journalist and published author who finds it hard to chose between making deadline or running instances.