It’s been nearly nine months since I purchased my last Wii game, and as I look at the Wii’s 2009 lineup, I don’t see myself picking one up anytime soon. Why, you might ask yourself? Well, let me enlighten you with my two cents. It’s been nearly three-quarters of a year and Nintendo hasn’t released a single game intended for the hardcore gamer. Now, I don’t exactly consider myself the most core gamer around, but I do like a good challenge here and there.  Since the release of Mario Kart, which in itself could be debated as a casual or hardcore game, Nintendo hasn’t released any game worth filling the void of the hardcore gamer. Have you been to your local game store and browsed the catalog of Wii games? The shelves are littered with complete casual gamer garbage – games that poorly utilize the Wiimote, games that sport terrible graphics, and games that have “Wii this” and “Wii that” in the title.  

These are just two of the countless, crappy Wii games you will find yourself rummaging through if you visit your local game retailer.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for including the casual gamer and orienting your family into video games, which Nintendo has done a great job of doing. However, in the midst of producing a constant slew of casual games, Nintendo has forgotten the hardcore gamer. When questioned about their loyalty to the hardcore gamer, Nintendo constantly makes excuses to cover their tracks. They consistently tell the media that they already have several games intended for the hardcore crowd – games like Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Galaxy. Yeah, those games are all solid, but they are also nearly a year old. You can’t keep living in the past Nintendo. The only game in the near future that I know coming out for the core crowd is The Conduit. The game looks fantastic, and thus far it has seen nothing but great attention from critics, but seriously, one game…that’s all you’ve got Nintendo?

 The

Conduit is one of Nintendo’s only upcoming hardcore games. It looks fantastic and controls great because unlike most Wii developers, The Conduit’s development team is putting forth a little something called effort. Still don’t follow me? Okay, then you can even look at it this way. Wii Sports (a console pack-in) came out over two years ago and to this day is probably still the most responsive Wiimote game in its category. Now, I’m not one for jumping to conclusions, but there is just something plain wrong with that. Why has Nintendo not released a follow up to Wii Sports? A sequel that takes the mini sports games into greater depth? I would love to see a sequel to Wii Sports where you can compete online with other Wii users and compare rankings, top scores and best completion times. Oh, but wait, that would cause too much competition on the Wii console, and Nintendo wouldn’t want that. Heaven forbid that the Wii actually pit a competitive game to the mass market. Just look at how they ruined the gleaming potential that Super Smash Bros. Brawl could have brought online Wii gamers.

Le sigh…  Nintendo’s new found niche for the casual gamer is great for the company but not necessarily for those die hard Nintendo fans. Those same fans that supported a dying console and an endangered gaming name just three years ago. A company that in the early 2000’s was significantly declining in the console market due to the failure of the Game Cube, a lack of third party publishers and the outdated technology of the N64. So, if you’re looking at the current game market through Nintendo’s eyes, then yes, the Wii is a smash hit and a company savior. However, if you’re looking at the Wii through the eyes of an avid gamer then, I’m sorry to say, the Wii is looking to be a giant letdown. From a company standpoint I can see how much more cost effective it is to produce and create games that have no layer of depth, poor graphics, no plot and bad Wiimote controls. I mean, think of all the effort and cost that goes into producing a game like Mario Galaxy or Metroid Prime. Now, think of how much cheaper and less work it would be to produce a game like Wii Carnival Games or Wii Music.  

Look at this stupid screen shot. First off, nobody, and I mean nobody, has a party like the one in the picture above (unless maybe heavy consumption of alcohol is involved). Secondly, is it just me, or does Wii Music look like a poor man’s version of Guitar Hero or Rock Band?

If Nintendo wants to maintain that gamers like me and the hardcore crowd keep buying their software, then they need to wake up and remove their firmly placed heads from their butts. They can’t keep ignoring the pleas for more hardcore games for much longer. If so, the very people/gamers that made Nintendo the company that it is today will ultimately be the same people to cause its inevitable downfall. We love you Nintendo, but right now you’re just ticking us off.

As always, thanks for reading.

- Dillon (D Dub) 

Here is a collection of independent rants and raves about the Wii. It was sort of inspired by Jack Handy.

Every Monday I fire up my Wii to check what game Nintendo sent our way. For the past few Mondays it has been disappointment. It’s not that the games are no good, some have been games I’m sure many have been waiting for, but it’s that there is only one Virtual Console game released since WiiWare has come about. When I reflect on the extensive library that is the combination of NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, NEOGEO, and TurboGrafx 16, if find it disappointing that Nintendo reduced the number of Virtual Console games released. While I understand that it costs money to transfer these games, it is one of the primary reasons many people bought the Wii. If Nintendo wants to release one WiiWare game a week, that’s fine, but I wish they wouldn’t have taken away from the VC.

If Nintendo keeps pace with other platform producers we might see the next generation of gaming consoles around 2010. I just hope that Nintendo keeps backward compatibility as a service to its customers. Also, if VC games could be transferred to future consoles, that would be neat.

Screenshot from The Conduit

Wii’s future is potentially bright, especially if it brings in games that attract adventure, action, and RPG gamers. I’m not talking VC games either. I want to see more  regular games in these categories. There is a start with Alone in the Dark and The Conduit (Q1 2009). However, I think this direction is already being pursued. I just thought I’d bring it up anyway.

Finally, I want to know what I can use Wii’s USB ports for besides a keyboard. What else could Nintendo develop that can be used through a USB? I’m thinking video camera, Wii remote charger, Wii to Nintendo DS connection, or maybe some peripherals for a game.

Well, it felt good to get this all out, and I’m sure I’ll think of some other speculative things Wii might do later tonight. Thanks for stopping and reading the random rants and raves. I know it wasn’t the most coherent thing I’ve ever written, but it might segue into a more in-depth look at some of these items.

Rx by,

Dr. M. CLK