About a year ago it was a week before Xmas 2007, and I convinced my girlfriend that we should buy ourselves a Wii for a present. The only problem was that they were harder to find than a Hammer Brother Suit. I was constantly checking the online classifieds, and phoning every electronics store within a 100km radius of my house. Then finally a local store received an unexpected shipment of ten systems, and I got down there when there were two left (the guy behind me in line got the last one).

This all seemed like a big deal for just another console, even though it was the holiday season. After all the stress from acquiring the Wii, I could’ve been easily disappointed if it didn’t live up to the hype. Luckily, the first title I bought was Super Mario Galaxy. This is always a safe bet with a new Nintendo console, as the designers behind the Mario Franchise are sure to be familiar with all the capabilities of the new hardware, and have the track record of many of the best games ever created.

Super Mario Galaxy didn’t just live up to my expectations, it totally blew my mind. Clean graphics, a familiar interface, great controls, and above all the physics of changing gravity make this a game that I could play over and over again. It even has a few levels which are very difficult, such as having to go back and beat a previous boss without sustaining any damage.

This title set the bar quite high for other Wii titles, and in the past year I’ve experienced some shockingly bad graphics and game ideas that make me wonder just who they are marketing to. That being said, the fact is that the Wii is the first system in a long time that has a different-looking controller, and is not all thumbs and complex button combinations. This has made it relatively popular with a whole segment of the population outside of the stereotypical young male gamers.

One other thing that has set the Wii apart from past consoles is the Virtual Console and WiiWare features available online. The Wii automatically connected to the internet via my wireless router, and in a few short button clicks, my credit card information was in their system and I was downloading some of my favorite classics. These include but are not limited to Gradius, Tecmo Bowl, Mega Man 2, Contra, Super Mario Bros. 3….. the list goes on and on. Revisiting these games 20 years later is both a challenging and rewarding experience. Nintendo also sells games under the category ‘WiiWare’, which are shorter, simpler titles, ranging from about 5 to 20 bucks. World of Goo is a very smart and popular title (check out the Metacritic rating), and Tetris party is a new twist on an old classic, with great variations on the original and addicting online play.

So now I find myself sitting in the glow of the Xmas tree reflecting on 2008, the year of Wii. One minute I’m taking a fitness test in Wii Sports, consisting of realistic tennis, boxing, and baseball drills, and the next minute completing near-impossible levels in Mega Man 2, from a time where video games consisted of pure jumping and shooting. Amazingly, my girlfriend is calling “next game”, a regular event. If you ask me, Nintendo has already surpassed expectations for the Wii, and there’s still loads of potential.

In my experience the gamers that read these sites, watch E3 and actually pay attention to news in the gaming industry typically fall into the hardcore gamer demographic.  I don’t see my Mom hitting the forums and message boards and commenting on posts with fiery passion.  Nintendo has forgotten about the fans that brought them to where they are today and helped them survive a pretty weak system in the Gamecube.  Where would they be today without the support of their most loyal fanbase?  Would the Wii even have seen the light of day?

So my question for you, as hardcore gamers, is do you own a Wii?  Sure there are some great games there: Zelda: Twighlight Princess, Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.  But what else are you playing?  Are you really buying Wii Fit and excited about Wii Music?

For years I was a loyal Nintendo fan.  I grew up on Mario and Zelda.  I still remember the excitement of getting my first Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64.  I regret that those days of unbridled enthusiasm for everything Nintendo are gone.  Nintendo has done little, if anything, to remind me that it still has gamers interests in mind.  Like all major corporations that stumble upon a big idea at the right time, it is now more about exploiting that idea and making as much money as possible.  I guess I can’t fault them for that.  It’s what corporations (and people in general, do).  However, I do think that by turning their back on the hardcore fanbase that kept them alive for so many years they are taking a risk.  If they believe that the casual gamers will be ready to move on when a Wii HD is inevitably announced they may find that the market in which they now operate isn’t as prepared to buy another Wii…

So tell us, if you are a hardcore gamer do you have a Wii?  Do you own any of the other systems?  What games are you playing on the Wii?  Do you still trust Nintendo to deliver the gaming experiences you want?

I think this video speaks for itself. Enjoy!

What do you get when you add a pinch of Mario and Luigi to a Grand Theft Auto world? That question has finally been answered.