136 replies to this topic

[AtariJr]

http://www.joystiq.c...-dont-kick-ass/

this is the second press statement this week by microsoft that I've found about the Wii and PS3. Oh, and apparently joystiq and M$ havent ever played Zelda, Elebits, Excitetruck, Godfather, Tiger Woods, Wii Sports.. etc etc. idk, but this is the first console my mom has actually repeatedly asked to play since the NES with duckhunt, and i generally have more fun doing games on this system than others (dbz anyone?). Donno, but i think their doing something right. Either way, i think its cute that microsoft tried telling peopel the wii was a great system and to buy one.. now that its a hit, they knock it and say its shit lol.

Edited by AtariJr, Tue Apr 3, 2007 11:52 AM.

[Bill Brasky]

I was at my Mom's house flipping through a Woman's Day or Good Housekeeping magazine and there are full page ads for the Wii in it. Choosy moms choose Wii.

[PressureCooker2600]

This is the first console my mom actually WANTED and sought out since the Atari 2600.

Thats saying something about the Wii.

[Scumdogg]

Well, from the stories i hear back home, my mom consistently takes over my younger brother's Wii to play Wii Sports Bowling. When she's here, she wants to play Atari Bowling. Doesn't mean either are great games, just that they're simple to grasp. Personally, i like games for gamers more than games for moms. But, whatever. It gives Nintendo a nice new niche and keeps them alive in the console business. Good for them, i hate seeing any hardware developer go down.

As for Microsoft being afraid of them? Doubtful. People are snatching up the Wii because it's cheap, but that doesn't mean there will be a mass exodus of people wanting to give up games with good graphics or traditional play control. As long as Nintendo makes a conscious decision to stay one step behind the current technology to keep prices down (which is the main reason for their current success, whatever anyone says), neither Sony nor Microsoft has any reason to fear them...they're practically making a completely different product from one another.

Edited by Scumdogg, Tue Apr 3, 2007 2:30 PM.

[128bytes]

Microsoft is probably thinking that the Wii is a nice gateway drug for the next version of the Xbox. Microsoft's history suggests that they tend to have their biggest successes in their third try. I wouldn't be surpised to see a simpler, motion sensitive controller, which doubles as the remote for the media extender functions, be hailed as the "great advance" of the next Xbox. I also wouldn't be surprised if the user interface of the media extender function, in response to the Wii Connect and Apple TV, is also simplified to attract the older, nontechnical audience.

[Shawn Sr.]

The Wii is the first console I have bought at launch sense the SNES. The Wii is awesome, MS is shitting there pants cause a lesser peice of tech is driving them into the drink.

[Scumdogg]

Shawn Sr., on Tue Apr 3, 2007 7:11 PM, said:

MS is shitting there pants cause a lesser peice of tech is driving them into the drink.

Is it? I think that might be overstating it a bit. Once this year is over, the Wii will have a Zelda, a Metroid, a Mario, and a Smash Bros. title under its belt. Then it will be Nintendo's job to not pull a Gamecube and realize they HAVE to put out follow-up titles on this system. I don't know about you, but i was pretty pissed three years or so into the 'Cube's lifecycle when it became painfully apparent that Nintendo had all but abandoned developing for it. Outside the ever-present Mario Sports/Party titles, of course.

I don't doubt that Nintendo will sell the shit out of the Wii for another year. But i hope they prove me wrong when i say they'll probably just put out their flagship four and then assume that's enough, abandoning their newest child to the pack of weak ports and movie tie-ins.

Again, i should say that i love Nintendo, and own all of their consoles (even a Virtual Boy or two). I even still play my N64. But as someone who loves Nintendo, the memories of them dropping the ball twice in a row after a promising launch are still fresh. I wish fanboys would just give it a minute before they start declaring the start of the New Nintendo (or Sony/MS) Empire. I don't seem to remember any point in gaming history where one company's success was dependent upon the death of another, and i'm not quite sure why each generation just leads to more mudslinging and hyperbole.

[remowilliams]

Scumdogg, on Tue Apr 3, 2007 7:48 PM, said:

I wish fanboys would just give it a minute before they start declaring the start of the New Nintendo (or Sony/MS) Empire.

Yes, that would be nice wouldn't it?

Scumdogg, on Tue Apr 3, 2007 7:48 PM, said:

i'm not quite sure why each generation just leads to more mudslinging and hyperbole.

Good question. Granted AA is like heaven compared to the general populace boards when it comes to console nonsense, but it's still wildly rampant here for some reason. With each passing generation it seems like it takes less time to declare 'dominance'. I think the Wii had it down to about 15 minutes after launch.

From my perspective Nintendo needs to keep up a true hit parade. Very weak ports from other systems (and/or with crappy crowbarred in control schemes), and movie/cartoon license crap isn't going to cut it. Flapping your arms around is only going to remain a novelty for so long if they don't.

I want something besides Zelda!

Edited by remowilliams, Tue Apr 3, 2007 6:07 PM.

[swlovinist]

Microsoft should be afraid. As a fan of all three companies(not what all of them make) I think it is safe to say that the Wii has been underestimated by both Sony and MS. The Wii is doing something that the other consoles are doing a real shitty job at....expanding their gaming base. Let us face it, the game industry is huge, and is way beyond just the next military FPS shooter, the newest racer, or the next GTA clone. Yet, the console gaming public has been shoveled this stuff way too long. The DS came out and everyone laughed(Along with myself). Who would think that two years later it would be kicking the PSPs ass in sales. This is not because of the design, but of creative games and gameplay. I would would not have called it. The problem with microsoft and sony is that they cater way too much to a specific hardcore base of high end PC friendly gamers. The truth of the gaming market is that many more women are playing and buying games. More famiies are playing games together due to generations becoming more familiar with video games. Microsoft does shooters very well, and mature games well. It sucks at catering to a female audience, and offering family games as a whole. Wii sports, while it is just a tech demo, caters to the casual gamer, is fun multiplayer, is easy to get into, and most of all it is a dam pack in! Sony has a whole different problem....value. $599???? Doubling the price of its predecessor was just plain wrong. How many of its 120+ million PS2 fans who bought the PS2 at $299 or less are going to jump on to the PS3? Now with the Xbox elite coming out at $475 I fear that MS is just plain, plain wrong and is not understanding what SHOULD be its target audience(the PS2 players looking to upgrade) The days of just PC nerds playing games is over, I just wish MS and Sony could figure that out and buy a clue....value and casual gaming are IN. I wouldnt credit Nintendo with everything, I think that is is just MS and Sony screwing it up that bad.

Edited by swlovinist, Wed Apr 4, 2007 12:21 AM.

[Paranoid]

Oh come on guys... face it... Nintendo has cornered the all important "Mom" demographic! They're bound to reassert themselves as the king of all interactive video media any time now. Once you've got the moms, the fathers, sons and daughters are soon to follow...




I think all three of 'em are pissin' their pants and praying for a miracle.

[MCHufnagel]

Paranoid, on Wed Apr 4, 2007 3:11 AM, said:

Oh come on guys... face it... Nintendo has cornered the all important "Mom" demographic! They're bound to reassert themselves as the king of all interactive video media any time now. Once you've got the moms, the fathers, sons and daughters are soon to follow...




I think all three of 'em are pissin' their pants and praying for a miracle.

Laugh if you will, but mom's make most of the important decisions about what to get the kids. Dad's buy toys for themselves (I'm a prime example ), but mom's buy them for the kids!

And I feel that your right about the console race. Everyone has gambled on what the public is looking for.

[AtariJr]

yea, in response to swlovinist, i have to say that that is one thing that i never liked about the xbox and ps2. while i got the ps2 for my rpgs and ace combat essencially, i find that most of the games that come out are sandbox games and racing games.. both of which i have either no or limited interest in. same with the xbox.. i, besides sw battlefont, am probably one of the most vocal people in saying i dont understand why fps are fun. and that system does have quite a few of them on there. anywho, before the ds and wii came out, i was really honestly planning on skipping this gen and just working on my older system collections as they are honestly a lot more fun to me. but both of these systems have provided me with a lot of fun games to play.. enough to pull me away from the ps2 rpgs and the saturn shooters quite more often than i thought it could. i guess i got sick of the same thing. even the controllers... i miss the days when you got a new system.. and you also got a new controller, it made it exciting to get something totally new. now evertyhing from the controllers to the name of the systems are virtually the same, and it just seems like more of an upgrade if anything... an upgrade to something i already found only mildly entertaining. my ps2, xbox, and gc collections PALE in comparison to my 2600 and saturn collections by far, and for me its for a great reason... its just not as fun to me. but im having a blast so far with the wii, and i see a lot of old school gaming elements in the games that come out for that system, which really appeals to me. i think that the other two companies are foolish to concentrate on such a small part of the market. in fact, if the ps2 and ps3 had more games like katamari dynasty (sp) and such id probably have a much larger collection of games on modern systems. i kinda saw this being more evident as even my freinds, people my own age.. have stopped buying new games in the last few years. peopel who where once interested in the n64/ps1 or cube/xbox/ps2 generation have stopped there, and not wanted to upgrade any further. and i think that sony and microsoft are sufficating themselves by doing this.. as thier restraining the market from really growing past a certian point.

its funny how many more poeple want to play games than the fps and racer etc crowd, but have just givin up on games becuase they dont feel they belong in that world anymore. im glad , while sega the arcade porter is gone we at least have nintendo which seems to at lesat try to give less "hardcore" gamers a chance to be entertained again.

[Lord Helmet]

I don't think MS is afraid of Nintendo, but Sony might be considering all of the bad press their launch got. The market has consistently supported 2 platforms, possibly 3. This time around things are a little different because many of the games that are going to be available for the 360 and wii will not be able to be reproduced on the opposite console in an effective manner. I think that all 3 consoles will do fine, with Sony coming in 3rd place this time around.

[Atari5200]

i don't think microsoft is afraid either. Both systems are for different gamers. And both companies in general are. Here is one example and I wish i had taken pictures. Go to your local wal-mart. look at what games are offered for any Nintendo system, and then compare it to any other system. It was more evident with the DS. There were at least 4 rows of games that were either movie to game games, party games, mario games, pokemon games, nintendogs, catz, dogz, hamsterz, you get the point. Out of the entire bunch of games, the only racing game was Cars. At least with my Wal-mart, it is MORE than evident what kind of crowd Nintendo is aiming for. 8-13 or younger, no mature games, not even Resident Evil was available.

What i'm getting at is that Nintendo to me, by what I see at my local stores is very obvious that Nintendo is geared to the younger crowd. Which is fine, it's working for them so why stop whats working, whereas the 360 you have the movie to game conversions, but you also have a good mix of other games, you think Microsoft is going to develope a cartoony sport game? No, do you think Nintendo is going to develope a Gears of War type game..no. I know the Wii has not been around as long, but everybody knows already what type of games are going to come out for it, its no suprise, and then you have the fact that there are going to be games that the Wii will not have just because the hardware will not be able to handle it. Just wait til PS3 and 360 get a couple more years under its belt, no doubt they will make the Wii look more and more outdated than it already is.

Edited by Atari5200, Wed Apr 4, 2007 8:46 AM.

[Starscream]

To everyone claiming Sony is only geared towards a small part of the market, please explain to me why the PS2 sold over 110 million consoles worldwide and had the best support for anyone? If you really honestly think Sony has no clue, your head is way too far up your ass.

From the link, I can't see how this comment displays fear from MS From my limited time on the wii, the controls aren't that great. Zelda and most of the other 1st party games were GC games, switched over to the wii with thrown on motion control. NOT great use of controls. Every port (COD3 for example) controls like shit. NOT great use of controls. Over half of any game reviews state something about the controls being less than perfect, any discussion from non-nintendo loyal gamers will always have many posts about the controls being acceptable or you can "get used to it". Even giving everyone the benefit of the doubt and forgiving the fact that this wii control setup is fairly new, there still has yet to be that great new game that's never been done that makes perfect use of the controls and sets a standard. Kinda what that guy said no? Even GOD himself is saying that wii games aren't shaping up the way there are intended to. Then again, this is coming from the the guys who have yet not to just tack on controls themselves.

[AtariJr]

Starscream, on Wed Apr 4, 2007 8:16 AM, said:

To everyone claiming Sony is only geared towards a small part of the market, please explain to me why the PS2 sold over 110 million consoles worldwide and had the best support for anyone? If you really honestly think Sony has no clue, your head is way too far up your ass.

From the link, I can't see how this comment displays fear from MS From my limited time on the wii, the controls aren't that great. Zelda and most of the other 1st party games were GC games, switched over to the wii with thrown on motion control. NOT great use of controls. Every port (COD3 for example) controls like shit. NOT great use of controls. Over half of any game reviews state something about the controls being less than perfect, any discussion from non-nintendo loyal gamers will always have many posts about the controls being acceptable or you can "get used to it". Even giving everyone the benefit of the doubt and forgiving the fact that this wii control setup is fairly new, there still has yet to be that great new game that's never been done that makes perfect use of the controls and sets a standard. Kinda what that guy said no? Even GOD himself is saying that wii games aren't shaping up the way there are intended to. Then again, this is coming from the the guys who have yet not to just tack on controls themselves.

er... the ps2 isnt the ps3. the ps2 was affordable.. and was not considered an "elite" system like sony is tooting the ps3 as.. hence why millions of people arent still killing each other to try to get a ps3. its quite different from the launch of the ps2, which has a lot more excitement behind it.

as far as all the games controling like shit, i personally love most of my games... in fact, the only game i had "issues" with was red steel. otherwise rayman, sonic, zelda, excitetruck, elebits, etc i just jumped right in and bad a blast. ill admit i never played cod3, so i cant comment on that (seems 1st person shooters arent perfect... well till metroid), but i again see no issue with the wii's controls. in fact, from some of the professional reviews ive found out why they are having issues from thier description, and its because most of the time they arent even imputing the control in right... ie: not the games fault. my suggestion: idk, maybe get better games than cod3.. i heard that it was kinda lacking. furthermore, of course they are going to comment on controlls.. its because unlike graphics on the other systems the controlls are the specialty of the wii. many descriptions of controlls have actually gotten a higher respect than thier joystick counterparts... dbz for example i specifically remember them saying was much more fun than the regular joysticks, zelda included.

and to atari5200, idk, the nintendo games here have resident evil, red steel, hell they even still have eternal darkness lol here at walmart. bad stock maybe? i will say though that there are often many hamster, bratz etc type games though on the shelf, though most of these tend to be for the gba if anything, which i never really cared for.

Edited by AtariJr, Wed Apr 4, 2007 12:25 PM.

[Atari5200]

i can't vouch for the control scheme, i haven't had enough time to really experience it in full effect, all I know is that motion sensing controllers are nothing new. Microsoft already did it with the Sidewinder, but do you hear anybody saying Nintendo copied this from Microsoft? No. You can track motion sensing controllers back to the 2600 with the joystick that had mercury in it.

Microsoft i don't believe has anything to be scared of. If they were able to release the 360 at the same price point, i'm sure it would be doing tons better and price point is a major factor.

If anything I say Nintendo needs to worry once the PS3 gains momentum. Also, Nintendo has set a bar for any new system it comes out with the controller. Nintendo is not going to release a system 5 years down the road with a standard controller or it may be perceived that the controller for the Wii was a failure.

I don't know, it's just my two sense of seeing the battles between the companys from my age. I guess i've been around for a while.

[Starscream]

AtariJr, on Wed Apr 4, 2007 2:22 PM, said:

er... the ps2 isnt the ps3. the ps2 was affordable.. and was not considered an "elite" system like sony is tooting the ps3 as.. hence why millions of people arent still killing each other to try to get a ps3. its quite different from the launch of the ps2, which has a lot more excitement behind it.

Launch being the operative word. I don't understand all the shortsightedness I have seen so far in regards to these 3 systems.

Quote

as far as all the games controling like shit, i personally love most of my games... in fact, the only game i had "issues" with was red steel. otherwise rayman, sonic, zelda, excitetruck, elebits, etc i just jumped right in and bad a blast. ill admit i never played cod3, so i cant comment on that (seems 1st person shooters arent perfect... well till metroid), but i again see no issue with the wii's controls. in fact, from some of the professional reviews ive found out why they are having issues from thier description, and its because most of the time they arent even imputing the control in right... ie: not the games fault. my suggestion: idk, maybe get better games than cod3.. i heard that it was kinda lacking. furthermore, of course they are going to comment on controlls.. its because unlike graphics on the other systems the controlls are the specialty of the wii. many descriptions of controlls have actually gotten a higher respect than thier joystick counterparts... dbz for example i specifically remember them saying was much more fun than the regular joysticks, zelda included.

Which of those games has redifined games by the way you are controlling them? Which games could not be done with a normal controller? That is what the comment by that dude was all about. Nothing amazing has been done yet. Like always give it time and something will happen I am sure, but as of now, it's not very impressive. So really, how can anyone come up with MS is scared out of that quote? Shouldn't Joystiq be scared too? They agreed. I think some of you guys are a little too excited too soon.

Edited by Starscream, Wed Apr 4, 2007 3:09 PM.

[swlovinist]

Well, we are all jaded one way or another(either for Atari, Xbox, PC or other) and I just see Nintendo doing things right. I have played the Wii enough to determine for myself that it is more than just novelty and obviously 5 million other people think so as well. Call it what you want, a kiddie system, a underpowered system, a gosh dang gamecube squared. What I do know is that Iam turning 31 on Saturday and have asked for my entire family to chip in and help me save up for one(when I find one). I am the owner of 65+ unique systems(from atari to xbox 360) and have a collection of about 4100 games(not including dups on games or systems). I play everything from from the Nuon to the Vectrex. I see that Nintendo is making something different and to me it plays awsome. Games to me come down to one thing if I am to play it again...fun. I dont hate my 360 nor do I intend to not buy a PS3. In fact, I like my 360, although I have to admit that I won mine in a contest and would not be owning one otherwise(due to price). Value to me is a big thing, and I think that the market is doing a shitty job in that department. If the 360 was at $299 with a hard drive, there would be way less talk about the Wii. Due to such a large difference in price, for many there is only one choice.

[AtariJr]

Starscream, on Wed Apr 4, 2007 1:08 PM, said:

AtariJr, on Wed Apr 4, 2007 2:22 PM, said:

er... the ps2 isnt the ps3. the ps2 was affordable.. and was not considered an "elite" system like sony is tooting the ps3 as.. hence why millions of people arent still killing each other to try to get a ps3. its quite different from the launch of the ps2, which has a lot more excitement behind it.

Launch being the operative word. I don't understand all the shortsightedness I have seen so far in regards to these 3 systems.

usually the launch of a system is a very good sign of whats to come though, that much you have to understand. no offense, but i look at all the over priced systems at launch that had luke warm launches and they all didnt do so hot... 3do, phillips, saturn, gamegear, and to an extent the psp even , which i kinda see as the sony gamegear.. high price, better graphics, low bat life, horizontal and black, better screen, lack of impulse buys, and less games.

as far as the wii we can clash on opinions all day long. but in the long and short, its something differnt to play.. not the same old thing (to me), and its executed better than other "unique" gaming devices (vboy). when it boils down to it, im having a lot of fun with the system, thats all i care about. are the controlls perfect, ... revolutionary?... thats personal opinion. all i know is that its seriously cutting into my saturn and ps2 play time.. and thats kinda hard to do. meanwhile my xbox is collecting dust.

(ps: i never thought in all my day that a ps2 player and a ps3 player would be butting heads lol)

Edited by AtariJr, Wed Apr 4, 2007 11:30 PM.

[Jess Ragan]

Starscream, on Wed Apr 4, 2007 4:16 PM, said:

Even GOD himself is saying that wii games aren't shaping up the way there are intended to. Then again, this is coming from the the guys who have yet not to just tack on controls themselves.

Unlike some Nintendo fans, I don't take Austin Power's word as the gospel. He's been wrong before, like when he insisted that Nintendo use cartridges instead of CD-ROMs in its Nintendo 64.

Having said all that, he IS right about this. What your spin conveniently leaves out is that Miyamoto is upset that third-parties are treating the Wii like second-class equipment. The system is capable of more, and deserves more, but third-parties aren't giving it their all with most Wii releases. Just like with the Nintendo DS in 2004 and 2005, the fault in the shabby support lies with lazy and uninterested developers, not with the system's inadequacies.

JR

[Mendon]

I don't think MS is afraid of either Sony or Nintendo, either.

They are riding high on the mountain right now simply because they have the BEST software library out there. And they intend to keep it this way because they are breaking open their wallet and prying exclusives away from Sony. And they are getting some exclusive titles of their own from Capcom and others. Plus they are counting on Halo 3 to be the big, big game this year.. and it will be.

Software is the ticket that will sell the systems and MS knows this and is doing everything it can to get and keep the best software library out there.

Is it, in my opinion, the best purchase out there? That's another debate....



Mendon

[Atari5200]

Here is the problem with 3rd parties. You have 1 system that is underpowered and 2 that are similar. It takes money to develope for all 3 systems, do you release a game utilizing the power of the 2 and then a dumbed down version for the 1, or do you release the game at full potential of the 1 and then just port it over without enhancements for the other 2 that can handle it? It's all about the money.

Another example that the Wii is geared towards a different crowd. go to gamefaqs.com and scroll to the bottom. There's a game for each system there that is generating hype. 360 has GTA 4, PS3 has Metal Gear, and the Wii has....Paper Mario. I've said it before and I will say it again, whatever you saw for the Gamecube...will also be on the Wii, and i'm not talking backward compatibility, i read somewhere Resident Evil 4, is being released on the Wii as a seperate game though it can already be played with Backward compatibility.

I'm not saying this is necessarily bad, whatever works for you Nintendo, but at this point, all I need is my 360. I can play my Need for Speeds, I can play my GTA's, I can play GOW, I can play GRAW, Lost planet, Oblivion, and possibly now FFXIII, the Wii probably will never have games like this, and when my son grows up, they still have a good mix of the kiddy games, but not an over abundance.

Edited by Atari5200, Thu Apr 5, 2007 6:46 AM.

[Jess Ragan]

Atari5200, on Thu Apr 5, 2007 12:43 PM, said:

kiddy games...

(smacks Atari5200 on the forehead)
You could have had a V8. And a better argument.

JR

[Atari5200]

quote the rest of the sentence, i was refering to games on the 360.