Why has the media suddenly turned on the little Nintendo Wii?
There has to be more than one bewildered blogger and writer on the internet who is wondering exactly why, in a matter of days, many websites, developers, and writers have been blasting Nintendo for its humble little game console, the Wii. What, did the Wii make a bad ethnic joke?
The president of Epic Games, Mike Capps, just recently thrashed the Wii, doing no less than comparing it to a virus, saying, “So you stop playing it after two months, but they buy it and they stop playing it after two months but they’ve showed it to someone else who then go out and buy it and so on.” Personally, I can’t argue with that; I know many one-time Wii owners who got sucked into the craze, and eventually abandoned the small device in favor of more rounded, powerful consoles.
The New York Times addressed the issue of poor software sales for the Wii, suggesting that perhaps the Wii’s target market just isn’t comprised of gamers who are out to try a smattering of different titles, but rather purchase the console with one or two key titles in mind. The Times also suggested in the article that the “real” gamers prefer the 360 and PS3, and the nature of the Wii console has essentially set it up for failure in the mainstream market, due to its rather limited target market.
So why is it that the little console that could (and has) since release until now is suddenly being maligned and left out in the cold?
Perhaps the buzz has finally worn off; to extend Capps metaphor of the Wii as a virus, perhaps the social doctors that are media outlets, websites and writers have finally got their collective head screwed on straight and realize that the a console purposed to deliver content that isn’t next-gen or ground breaking in any sort of way is a waste of time and money, for consumers and developers.
Maybe gamers themselves are wondering why they should purchase the Sudoku title for the Wii when sudoku comes readily available on the internet, in papers and books for either cheap or entirely free. It wouldn’t be surprising to hear sad stories of Wii owners who are realizing all of their friends are playing different games on different consoles, and being different starts to lose its appeal after one thousand rounds of Wii bowling.
The media’s love affair with the Nintendo Wii has seemingly drawn to a close; though Nintendo might have intended to maintain the charade of its flagship console only needing creative gameplay elements to succeed, wasn’t this day bound to come around at some point or another?
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37 Responses to “Why has the media suddenly turned on the little Nintendo Wii?”
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April 21st, 2008
Two articles — one which is merely the opinion of a game industry insider who makes games for the Wii’s competition — do not represent a trend reversal in the whole media. Sorry.
April 21st, 2008
Finally, someone who is making some sense! Personally, I’m glad hear it!
April 21st, 2008
Personally, I’m sick of people in the Industry complaining of a lack of games they want to play on the Wii. Like they lack the ability to change that shortcoming.
The people at Epic are short-sighted and egotistical. And that’s fine. I don’t have to like them to enjoy Gears of War. But I would like to have a point and shoot version of Unreal Tournament.
April 21st, 2008
You bring up any interesting point, it does seem as though some media/developers are dismissing the wii. However, currently the wii is managing fairly well and because their is money to be made, most developers will continue working on products for it.
I think part of the reason the hype has died down is because Nintendo has not announced any exciting titles for the rest of the year. Yes, we have Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit, but other than that there’s little to be excited for. And with third-party companies not up to speed with development yet, it would appear as though the wii is losing momentum. However, I disagree with one point of your argument-people are going to continue to buy casual games. It’s not just the wii that’s trying to milk the market, Uno sold incredibly well on the 360 and I imagine more developers will follow suit with other casual games.
April 21st, 2008
Actually, this is the “hardcore” crowd’s final assault. They know they are losing, so they are doing everything in their power to slam the Wii, hopefully to the point where the overwhelming negativity makes something of a dent in the market.
Unfortunately, you guys have no earthly clue as to Nintendo’s business strategy. You think it’s all “casual” games and minigames. Well, you would be absolutely wrong. Don’t take my word for it! This guy explains it much better than I can:
http://malstrom.50webs.com/
April 21st, 2008
Hey, look what the media is doing to Britney Spears after years of being America’s Sweetheart. *sniff* Leave the Wii alone!
April 21st, 2008
The media is just pissed because they didn’t see it coming and Epic is just pissed because they are making about half as much as they could be if they were making great wii games. Sour grapes is not uncommon in this industry. Nothing to see here.
This generation is already over. The Wii won. Too bad for all the people who couldn’t see it coming, because now they are being marginalized by a larger, more diverse, more mature audience.
April 21st, 2008
Most Wii games sucks because jerks like Mike Capps still don’t make any effort on the Wii. If the companies think it’s “a fad” (even though 1/3 of it’s lifetime is gone and it still sells like water in the desert), it won’t have good games, except for few Nintendo games or selective third party games.
The New York Times just suggested that people don’t buy many Wii games because just Nintendo knows how to advertise for the expanded audience. Just see Wii play, Brain Age and Wii Fit sales.
April 21st, 2008
I can’t speak for others but my kids have found the Wii games so much more enjoyable than the Xbox 360 that sits right next to it. Super Mario Galaxy, Zelda, Super Smash Bros, Ravin Rabbids 2 are just some of their favorites. Endless hours of laughter and fun.
April 21st, 2008
Same old BS arguments since day one. Didn’t work then, don’t work now. Of course a lot of Wii software is shovelware. A lot of *all* software is shovelware. The best 10-15 games on the Wii are every bit as good as the best 10-15 games on the 360 or PS3.
But, by all means, lets recycle it a bit more why don’t we? Let me help…
-The Wii is underpowered
-The Wii is for old people and children
-It has no good games
-The controller is a gimmick
Pick one and have a ball!
April 21st, 2008
Anyone with two bits of intelligence knew that christina, britney and the rest played the nice girl card, went dirtay, and then their careers essentially ran their own respective courses
April 21st, 2008
Wow, this was the stupidest article I’ve evr read. Are you that fucking stupid?
April 21st, 2008
“Perhaps the buzz has finally worn off”
The Wii sold over 500,000 more units than the 360 or PS3 in March. Yeah, that buzz is suuure dwindling…
April 21st, 2008
Of the three, my 360 gets the most use. I still turn on my Wii for an occasional brawl, and my PS3 has sat silent since January. I think Mario Kart will get me back into the Wii, however briefly, and Wii Fit should re-”hook” all the casual users. WiiWare might prove interesting, the jury is still out.
As for the PS3, I don’t see it getting much play until Haze drops, and then only a little, with Little Big Planet being the only forthcoming shining star.
As it stands, though, I’m far from typical. I would love to play more, but work and family only leave me four to six hours of gaming time per week. Even when Bioshock or Galaxy catch me, that figure can only double.
My meandering point is that the Wii has substance, the fog of shovelware is slowly beginning to dissipate, and the casual market is set (look at Japan, U.K.) to come roaring back onto the scene.
A virus? Hardly. A novelty, probably still. Although asking any video game console to become a fixture in family entertainment is, I believe, still a few years premature. If not totally a pipe dream.
April 21st, 2008
lol, basis
April 22nd, 2008
LOL..give me a break…umm..how about we wait till wii fit comes around…then see what the media as a whole is saying then…lol
even if the “buzz” is gone…its still not stopping the wii from thrashing ps3 and the 360 month after month….how about the upcoming north american release of Mario kart wii…how is that gonna sell? smash bros brawl…fastest selling nintendo game in history from what i’ve read somewhere…if its true…then there you’ve found the hardcore crowd who will continue to eat up the quality titles while the casuals add wii fit to play along side their one other game…wii sports
not worried at all….call it a charade if you like…but the wii is goin strong..and will be for a very long time….”men lie..women lie…numbers dont”
April 22nd, 2008
Somehow I doubt it was Sudoku which let Wii sell more than 360/PS3 combined in March. Whoever wrote the articles seems very upset.
April 22nd, 2008
Publishers have mistaken the wii for a “cheap game/easy money” console. Now they keep complaining that only Nintendo games sell and no one buy their 3rd party crappy games.
Well, guess what? Nintendo games have quality. Even wiisports, a simple game, is so polished that no other company could top its gameplay on the wii.
I’ve been playing Brawl and I don’t miss any other console. When the time comes, I’ll be buying the PS3 for the bluray.
April 22nd, 2008
Yeah… the Wii sure stinks. Geez.. only Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and Wii Fit are fresh on the market. NCAA Football is finally moving over. Online golf is coming soon where you can actually swing a remote like a golf club. Also, there’s the Star Wars title coming out where you can wave the Wii like a light saber.
April 22nd, 2008
Wii Fit will be out soon, and the Wii will be the media darling again, let me assure you.
Bad press for the Wii is nothing new, especially when it comes from traditional game developers with a huge stake in state of the art software like Epic with their Unreal engine. I think you’ve jumped the gun here a little, where is the media backlash you speak of?
Clearly, you want it the Wii to fail, but there is no evidence to suggest that the Wii is slowing down, quite the contrary actually.
April 22nd, 2008
The Wii is only doing so well with hardware sales. Part of it’s “games sold” is inflated by bundle packs (Wii Sports, Wii Play, Link’s Crossbow, etc…) The only reason it does well with hardware sales is lack of product by some strange reason, and curiosity.
I admittedly, own a Wii. I’ve had it since release day. I own 5 games for it, of which 3 (listed above) I got because they were part of hardware bundle packs), and 5 virtual console games for it.
I’ve had a 360 for less than a year, and I already own 37 games for it and 36 more Live Arcade games. Coincidence? No. More AAA games? Wii quality games for $5 – 10 on Live Arcade (instead of $50 on Wii)? More appealing games with REAL online play? HD Graphics? Yup, yup, yup, and yup.
Of course, Sony and Nintendo people alike love to take shots at the 360. I’ll admit it. My first one red-ringed. So what? It was replaced. They also like to point out that 360 owners pay to play online. It’s $50 a year. That’s 1/3 of what people playing World of Warcraft pay to play one freking game. Then there’s the DRM issue. DRM exists on all 3 consoles in some shape or form, get used to it.
Anyhow, my ultimate point is that I regret my Wii purchase far more than my Xbox 360 purchase. The only game I see on the horizon worth playing for the Wii is the next Zelda game. That is, if Nintendo doesn’t cel-shade it or delay it to the next console.
April 22nd, 2008
In the very month that Nintendo sets an all-time non-holiday sales record, you write article?
The idea that the Wii is a virus is true, but it is an exaggeration that people suddenly don’t want to play them. If they are selling them (and not saving them for Brawl, Mario Kart Wii, etc.) then why are the back rooms of Game Stops not full of 50 to 100 of them, like they are with the PSP?
The Wii has legs. There are converts to Wii who cling to the idea that they only bought it for one game or two. I say the same thing about the PS3. (And I still don’t know why I bought it, except that they were getting rid of the backwards compatibility, so I picked up one of the last 60 Giggers)
Believe it or not, Wii is still not at the top of its game. Okami is extraordinary, Mario Kart Wii is coming this week, Wii Fit is soon to follow, and we are just getting introduced to WiiWare. Wii are at the tip of an iceberg that has already sunk the ship called Sony and long since surpassed the 360 that set out a year before it.
Wii are in a race like you have never seen before, and is on track to outsell the PS2.
April 22nd, 2008
Even if Nintendo didn’t manage to sell a single Wii after today, it would still have been regarded as a success. So, I’m really not for saying that things are going bad.
April 22nd, 2008
The Wii is going to get stronger with the release of Wii Fit, its already sold out in the UK before it release. Mario Kart will do well too!!
Also as nightshadow said Wii outsold 360 and PS3 by over 500k in March in the USA. Thats the most consoles a company have sold in month outside of the holiday months (Nov & Dec)
Doesn’t sound like the bubble has burst just yet.
April 22nd, 2008
@ nightshadow HEAR HEAR XD !!!!
The only problem I have with the Wii is that they dont have decent 3rd party games… and the 3rd party games they DO have… sometimes have shoddy controls… other than that its a great console…
To the fanboys… Remeber the first thing Nintendo said was that this is not a next-gen console… so dont try to make fun of it and embarass yourself…
April 22nd, 2008
I love how, you listen to a guy that clearly goes to bed each night praying that the Wii fails. Im not sure what Epics grudge against Nintendo is, but it seems every few weeks someone from their has a verbal attack towards the Wii.
April 22nd, 2008
wow this is one of the worst articles i’ve read on blorge in quite a while!
Sure the Wii doesn’t have some killer titles just yet, but that’s far from meaning the system is failing.
Maybe the author would like to do some better reasearch next time?
April 22nd, 2008
Why? Because MS publicity campaign before the start of GTA4 has started.
And yes, the Wii has seen a lot of very bad games but on the other hand a lot of very good games, too. More good games and more bad than the other consoles (like PS3 or Xbox360).
April 22nd, 2008
I always seem or read junk whenever I come to this website. So you come up with TWO “negative” stories about the Wii and all of the sudden its a media backlash?
I agree with Ogy, Epic seems to be sniping at the Wii with every opportunity – probably because as developers, they are a one trick pony who revolve around making the most powerful, fancy 3D engines around and “selling” them out so that other developers can make generic FPS games that will only run on high-end PCs, X360 and PS3. As such, they cannot sell on Wii and will thus not make a penny from lazy multi-format ports and generic, derivative shooters: hence the sour-grapes.
April 22nd, 2008
@ Ogy
The reason that Epic hate on Nintendo is that they lose money if the Wii totally dominates.
Epic’s main source of income is the Unreal 3 engine, which loads of PS3 and 360 developers have licensed. Making load of cash for Epic.
April 22nd, 2008
Its over for the hardcore guys, they know it and are afraid, very afraid…..
April 22nd, 2008
Regardless of console bias, is it not a good thing that a video game console is selling as well as it is?
The more gaming exposure the masses receive, the better. I mean, sure, I don’t like waggle and I hate non-game crap like Wii Fit, but the bigger gaming becomes as an industry, the better our gaming products will become.
Why does it matter what Wii console sales do, as long as there are still great video games out there to play?
-Arvis
April 22nd, 2008
when the wii starts being outsold by the other consoles, then you may think the “buzz has worn off”. In the meantime, love it or hate it, it’s striking a chord with the masses. One that sony or ms would LOVE to strike.
April 23rd, 2008
@ Kevin
Yes the buzz may soon wear off… so what???
One day all the “nex-gen” would become old and not so “cool”… so what??
You think your 360 with its DvD games is future proof???
I think the PS3 can last a long time… but even THAT isnt future proof…
Bottom line… Nintendo made a great console… its fun to play… its TRUE innovation.. rather than just packing a lotta chips in a console…
But since they dont have nudie games or gore-y games for fan BOYS like you… youre pissed…
The only problem with it is that there arent any decent 3rd party games… Red Steel was supposed to be a great game.. but failed to live up to expectations because of faulty controls…
If only developers properly utilised the Wii… we wouldve gotten more games…
Ohh and your “Hardcore” game Halo 3… they sold less copies than Super Mario Galaxy.. how can you live with yourself after that???
April 23rd, 2008
I did not read any comnents above but I will say that anyone purchaseing a Wii is only selling them selves short. Except for a unique controller I don’t see any reason why you would want to get one. Hardly any 3rd party support, no DVD, Crap online, and no HD Games, No Memory yet it has WI-FI. Does Nintendo realize that they only sell HDTV’s in the stores now 720P-1080p. Maybe in Japan and China they dont have HDTV’s yet but that is hard to believe as the makers come from there. Why not spend the xtra bucks and get something that is worth it. If your going to be cheap you can at least get an Arcade 360. With the 360 about to copy your controller I think it will be worth it. And I don’t know why people think that 360 has no casual games. The whole arcade section is dedicated to that and you don’t have to go the the store to get the games and they all have demos and there are over 100 games to try. I don’t know what drives the sales of this gimic but it makes no sence to me.
April 23rd, 2008
darkhair – first, the term “futureproof” was coined by sony as a pr term. there is no such thing as “futureproof”. I think Moore’s law may have a contradicting opinion. dude, you can’t even comprehend i was agreeing with the fact the wii is a great console.
April 23rd, 2008
@DarkWhiteHair: I think you jumped the gun. Kevin was merely making the point that it’s impossible to tell where Wii sales are going to go and that people shouldn’t say “the buzz will wear off” until there is actually evidence of this happening. And I agree with him.
@CAD: Wii 1st parties are still great. Zelda, Smash Brothers, and Fire Emblem are all great, and I myself am personally looking forward to Mario Kart and Animal Crossing. Although Super Mario Galaxy just might win the title for Most Overrated Game Of All Time.
-Arvis