Why the Wii has Won
January 9, 2009 by Nofriendo Fanboy
Looking back on 2008, one thing stands out in my memory that seriously changed the way I look at video games. That thing is the Nintendo Wii. I’ve had a Wii for a year now, and it has surpassed any expectations I had for the team at Nintendo. I’ve always played other systems, but had a bias for the Nintendo flavour of games.
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.
Great story and all true. There are definitely some shovelware games out there but there is a lot of gold to be found as well. I’ll admit there aren’t as many good traditional games as on the other systems but that’s fine with me. I’ve never enjoyed a NIntendo product to play games that are just like the other stuff out there so I like mine alot.
Damn brother, that girlfriend of yours is looking mighty fine. She should come over to my place in those panties, I have a slightly better TV.
True, I am a big fan of the Nintendo Wii and there is a lot of gems in there for the core gamer. I own about 30+games which included Castle of Shikigami III (a shumps…definitively a hardcore game), the 2 Trauma Centers games (which are challenging), compilation of Metal Slug and KoF (waiting for the Samurai Anthology), Okami (a port of a epic sleeper/overlook hit), RE4 (port of one of the best game of last gen), House of the dead 2-3 (port of a classic at budget price…with a brand new game this year!!), No More Heroes (an original core anime bloody fun game!), Sam & Max Compilation (a PC classic on wii), Blast Works (an original fun shmups!), Final Fantasy Fable Chocobo Dungeon ( a fun more friendly version of the hard Shiren series), Tales of Symphonia 2 (a good enjoyable sequel for fans of ToS), Dragon Quest Swords (simple fun action game….a good try before the meatier DQ10 on Wii) and many more without even counting the usual Nintendo published classic!!!
So I proud of my purchase, I love playing on my Wii and DS. Of course i need a ps3 for my fighting game craze ( i love street fighter and namco fighter).
I really dont understand why all the hate on the Wii..
LOL U DUMP ASS!…LOL want if she came over and under her nose you could see a mustache, admins apple and a sack down below, then what?…lol
Yea, I’ve got to agree with this article, though there are flaws with the Wii current situation (that are bound to be fixed regardless).
Like the obvious software lineup, but also the less than great online experience, which in Forbes Reggie-Fils Aime of Nintendo admitted to the issue and said they plan to create some form of online community (Which I hope is something new and not just profiles with achievements and voice chat tacked on).
All Nintendo needs to keep their chair at the top is great games, more online features and to continue innovating, and I think they have all of that down in their agenda so I’m confident they won’t loose their place.
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