Four Problems Facing the Wii in 2008: #4 - Innovation and Potential

The fourth and final installment on the problems the Wii is going to be facing in 2008. This part focuses on the innovation that needs to come and the potential that the system has.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

"We really can’t stress enough that the Wii is not doomed in any sense of the word; if anything it has the brightest lineup this year out of any other consoles,,,"

I found this comment to be a bit ....well, just misguided. I could be wrong...but I just dont see that "bright" future. Brawl and Kart....anything else to really look forward to this year?

[v1c1ous]

urrr...uhmm......

well u have to give them till the end of 08. everyone did so for ps3.

here's the deal. every developer started creating for ps3 thinking it was going to be #1 straight off the bat.

games take years to make. thats why all the good ps3 games are starting to come out now as development is finishing for games started in 06.

wii came out and wiped everyone's butt, and impressed everyone BUT this was at the end of 06/start of 07. SO all the companies started to make wii games, but since it takes a cpl of years to make games, we wont see the new stuff till end 08/start 09.

so in a way, given a 2 year period. 07 was 360's year (2 year), 08 sony's (2nd year), wii will get a lot of rpgs and attention form japan which will probably open the floods for great games near end of 08/start of 09.

[desolationstorm]

I think why poeple seem to think there is nothing coming to the wii is because we are so heavily rooted into sequels and established names. Thats not saying everything is, but for the most part Hype tends to surround the big names. If not its usually a publisher that generates the buzz of a new ip or the console manfacturer.

The wii does have lots of games coming in 08, but its hard to get excited about some of them because everythings so differnt with the wii. The controls are no longer just part of the package they are the lure and the excitment over the game.

I think there will be bigger games that have lots of hype but Id say they wont really appear till end of 08/09. As for this year, I still beleive like last year there will be suprise games that have little to no publicity that will capture gamers.

[ChickeyCantor]

you know, last year people said > after zelda and mario there is nothing to look forward to......

soon it will be after ToS 2 and some other game there is nothing tot look forward to.

lets keep saying that okai =D

[wiizy]

the wii is innovation and alot of innovative games are coming in 08.. wii fit, pes2008 from konami and more

[rofldings]

wii fit is not a game and PES2008 is superior on the PS3/360/PC.

[Iron Man 2]

Agreed rofldings,Wii fit is not a game but a little plastic toy and all multiplatform games are all best on PS3/Xbox 360 and PC;)

[desolationstorm]

Wii Fit is a game its stupid for poeple to act like its not. Yes it may not be deep, but your still interacting with it. Its a game and no matter what poeple say about it doesnt matter because its gonna sell like crazy here in the states.

as for your multiplatform games that remains to be seen since PES isnt even out yet for wii.

I agree some games will be better on ps3/360 like CoD3 the sense of realism would be acheived better on the ps3/360. Though some games it doesnt matter and the differnt experiance on the wii someitmes is better. I really enjoyed Madden 07 and if you check metaCritics it has the highest avg score of the next gen counter parts.

Games where atmosphere is real big part of the experiance will more then likely be done better on the more powerful machinces but where interaction with what is happening on screen is important thats where some multiplatform wii games will shine.

[hotrider12]

why cant nintendo make a new contra game?? or break out with some classic games up graded

[desolationstorm]

There is a new Contra game its called Contra 4 and its on DS. Nintendo has nothing to do with the Contra series since Konami owns the game.

[PS360WII]

Contra 4 on DS is insanly hard on easy! Awesome game :)

[desolationstorm]

Im just saying I dont see how anyone could diagree with my previous statement because it was just fact. How do you diagree with a fact? Im just messing I think this whole agree and diagree thing is fun.

[squallsoft]

... I really don't see the appeal of the wii's controlls. I've had extensive play time with teh console at my friends house (he just recently sold it to get a ps3), and i dont see how its controlls are any more innovative than Xbox Live, PSN or Eye of Judgement on PS3 (among other PSEye games. And to top that all off, I think HD Media is the biggest innovation in this generation (Blu-Ray).

Slap those Wii controlls onto a system as powerfull as 360 and PS3, and include Blu Ray, then lets talk...

Mabey next time Nintendo...

Of course this is my opinion so feel free disagree with justifaction!

-Squall

[squallsoft]

... but no reason behind it, so you fail.

lol

again,

you fail..... :-)

[PS360WII]

Got to love disagree'ers.

Live wasn't part of this next gen seeing it was on original xbox along with Eye toy was on PS2. HD medium is great and all but only used on one console so hasn't proven itself to be the standard in gaming as 2 out of 3 are still using standard DVD's. Along with more movie sales still go to the DVD.

While you find HD graphics the end all be all others find control the end all be all. Sure not all games use the motion well but those games that do actually offer gaming a whole new direction to go into which is a big plus to many genres that have been nothing but the same for 7 plus years.

If the next gen shows all systems with motion then you can see the importance the Wii has been in the gaming world.

[desolationstorm]

I would have agreed with you, but I really dont see how blueray was the best addition to gaming this gen. What does it allow to be done? Not have to compress data? Which is offset because they cant compress it because it would take to long to read. If you like it because you only want one disc compaired to multiple discs I could understand. Though dvds kinda offset the need for multi disc games. Not all yes, but the vast majority of games are not multi disc this gen or last.

Most other things were touched on by PS360WII so Ill not go back to them.

Motion controls or at the very least on screen interaction has changed forever now. Nintendos proven that the markets there and they have proven they can innovate and not have to tack on(non launch games) motion controls. Wario ware on GC was ehhh nothing really special but on wii the game is fantastic and fresh.

Its a split generation, on one hand I anticpate graphicaly inhanced games and more interaction with the enviroment. On the other hand Im am excited about the possiblites and the freshness that comes from wii games. Some are just so revitilized that it captures and draws you in.

Ill own all there systems because its necessary well atleast owning two are.
ps3/360 - for experiances like Bioshock or Uncharted
wii - Zack and Wiki and wario ware.

[ChickeyCantor]

" and i dont see how its controlls are any more innovative than Xbox Live"

cant believe you actually said this =/

[squallsoft]

for further justification of my opinion...

-squall

[bigjclassic]

NMH- so far an excellent game.
SSBB
Mario Kart Wii
WiiFit
Baroque
Fatal Frame 4
Star Wars Unleashed-feels that this could be the best version.
Tales of Symphonia 2
Dragon Quest Swords
Okami
Rygar
Samba De Amigo
Final Fantasy CC: CB

not bad if you ask me.

[OC Shock Value]

People need to get over this Wii is doomed crap.. if anyone should be worried its the xbox 360.. other then a few multiplats and recycled sports, racing or whatever.. what are they bringin 2 the table in 08 that a PS3 game of the same type cant crush??? Atleast nintendo has and will have Un RivalD franchises.. what does MS have?? Halo is now Finished.. and now their games along with their scores are on a decline..

Sony and nintendo are so different from eachother that ther can have their own crowds..

MS is tryna fight sonys fans and exclusive games from them.. and with only 16 million 360s in over 2 years.. They are not doin a good job..

So with that said.. it will be cool 2 own a PS3 and Wii.. 360 will become the odd man out.. its already beginning to look like a Poor mans PS3.. with a bunch of quickly made up titles to try 2 compete with sonys major franchises.. i guess Americans are the only people that cant see this..

PS3 VS 360 = New Jordans vs Payless Shoe

By The Way.. MS needs 2 give Rare back to nintendo because they have done NOTHING with that Legendary company but produce flops... They better not screw over Banjo Kazooi and Killer Instinct.. if they ever make 1 on there considering theyre D pad is HORRIBLE on Fighters

[OC Shock Value]

yea multiplats are better on 360/PS3 so what.. thats why you get both PSWii..

Because if you dont have a Wii then guess what.. You missed out on 3 of the greatest, highest rated games last year..
Mario Galaxy
Zelda TP
Metroid Prime 3
All Exclusive and NEVER going the way of DMC4.. To Deny yourself such greatness for no reason is sad on YOUR part.. Now you haters are on your way to miss SSBB which already scored a 10.. then Mario Kart.. the best arcade racer 2 date.. do u really wanna do that?

[bigjclassic]

Besides Kameo, everything else they made was horrid since the buy-out.
Long live Free Radical

[bigjclassic]

THE GAMING MEDIA itself!!
They need to leave the Wii alone. Go pick on the PSP its getting murdered by the DS.

[Ilchymis]

Thanks for all the comments and discussion about my little quartet of articles! I'm glad to see my ideas sparking discussion, regardless of whether or not you agree with a word I say. It's neat to see people talking about my ramblings, so thank you all for that.

Firstly, I wanted to say that I added that little epilogue at the end to discuss the "sky-falling" quotient of gamers that think the Wii is the bringer of the gaming apocalypse. I think the system is making great strides in coming out of its casual shell and expanding its horizons for the upcoming year. I'm extremely excited about a good amount of games for the upcoming year (Dlacy - click that NeoGAF thread I linked to a few times in the articles!), more so than I can say for the other consoles out right now. I know that's completely my opinion, and please don't kill me for it, but I can't wait to see Opoona, Mario Kart, Okami, Dragon Quest Swords, Samba de Amigo, Baroque, Tales of Symphonia, Brawl, and even Wii Music (if it has a save feature, or else it will be doomed to Electroplankton's obscurity), in addition to a few other random games I'll probably rent first.

I think the motion controls are wonderful. SquallSoft, I think you should give Zack and Wiki a try to see how the motion controls can be done right. I think Capcom really nailed the controls and made playing the game feel new and refreshing, and I was even siding with you to a certain extent about the controls until I played it. Great game.

Desolationstorm, your comment about the Wii coming out of nowhere has a good amount of truth to it, but keep in mind the low development costs for the Wii are a great way for publishers to take a chance and make some cash. I think the Wii will steadily branch away from the sequels and cash-ins over time, but like you said, it's going to be a lot of those random games catching gamers' eyes over the next year. I like the feeling of finding a rare gem myself, so I can't complain too much.

Thanks again for the feedback, everyone. It's greatly appreciated.

[desolationstorm]

Zack and Wiki was my point I would have not even given that game a glance if not for the word of mouth. Im glad I did, because I enjoy those games that come with little to no hype and are fantastic games.

Its nice in this age of gaming where theres always waiting for that big game to be suprised by a little game out of nowhere. Seriously we seem to only wait and wait and wait. Because we become so focused on the Hype that we tend to count down the days from release to release.

In the last six months it was waiting for Bioshock then Halo 3 then CoD4 then SMG then advance wars and now Smash. Those games right there could take up all my time and if I was so focused on just wanting those games I would miss out on unique experiances.

I enjoy the wii because of the potential of things to come. Were in an age where there isnt much room to be risky and try new things atleast we have one console that will have some of those things.

[ChickeyCantor]

PS2 has loads of trash games....its the Main franchise that puts the PS2 in the spot light.
People didn't rant about Eyetoy knowing the games didn't had any depth
people didn't rant about singstar either.

Allot of people don't even know what games are going to be developed for the wii...they only believe in mini games and crap like that.

its indeed the hype putting a huge shadow over all the other games with potential...

but its all about GFX these day >=( and stupid things like this

[squallsoft]

For one, I know Xbox live was around last gen, but not like how it is today. And I must stress the fact that i wasn't calling the wii's controls counter innovative, but i was saying that i think there are more important innovations going on this gen. The expansion of Xbox live and PSN is one of them. Last gen, having patches for console games was unheard of. This gen it is now common place. That is a MAJOR change. Motion controls have also been around for awhile also. that doesn't make them any less innovative today. Another thing: the importance of blu ray.

Lets take a look back in time for a moment to the days of the transition between PSone and PS2. When the PlayStation 2 first came out, a lot of games were still being written on standard CD=Roms. but as the generation wore on and developers started to tap the potential of the system, it slowly became less and less feasible to put games on the old medium. that's why once we got about 2 years into the ps2/xbox generation, almost EVERY game was on a DVD. you have to understand, that the transition from CD=ROM to DVD was very cost effective for manufacturers. why put a game on 2 CD-Roms when u can fit it on one DVD for almost half the cost (2 CD-Roms cost almost double the cost of 1 DVD). the same can be said today. as the price of blu-ray discs drop, the same equation will begin to apply (1 Blu Ray disc cost almost half as much as 2 DVDs). In fact, you can see PROOF of concept by looking at the 360 exclusive title: Lost Odyssey. I believe that comes on 3 or 4 DVDs if I'm not mistaken, and as a result costs MORE than a standard game. Same thing rang true for PSone titles that were multi-disc. The reason we didn't see more multi Cd-ROM PS2 games, is because the manufacturers moved on to DVD. the same will be true for this gen as more developers move to Blu-ray as they slowly tap more and more power of the next gen consoles. remember, higher texture resolution, higher quality sound and all the bells and whistles that are associated with those, are gonna start to take up more and more disc space. That is why moving to HD discs is the most important innovation of this gen. more so than controls. however, THE WII'S CONTROLS ARE INNOVATIVE also. hence, my last remark: Slap those Wii controlls onto a system as powerfull as 360 and PS3, and include Blu Ray, then lets talk...

-Squall