Why the Wii could never win the world (and how it’s come so far)

Recently Internet writer Wagner James Au was given the opportunity to speak with one of the higher-ups at Nintendo and came away sure that the Wii could be every consumer’s home entertainment fantasy box. He also concluded that Nintendo is choosing not to live up to what he believes to be the Wii’s hidden potential. I’m going to tell you exactly why the Wii could never be the miracle system Wagner James Au believes it can be, and suggest how Nintendo has managed to deceive the public into believing the Wii is anything more than the gimmick box it really is.

First, you need to know that the Wii will never be anything more than a funny looking little box with a controller that looks eerily like some sort of adult toy. As pointed out in Wagner’s article on Gigaom, Nintendo has specifically said it wants nothing more for the Wii than “to provide a platform for fun and games.” There you have it, right from the horse’s mouth.

Secondly, it is important that you aren’t fooled by Wagner’s curiously self-defeating argument for the Wii’s position in the console market. He argues that, because HDTVs are now somewhat more affordable, more people will want to engage in net browsing on their sets.

I hate to break the bad news, but people who buy HD sets that display crisp and beautiful colors will want to use systems and media players that can render such quality. The PS3 and Xbox 360 are good examples, as they are platforms for high-definition gaming and video content (notably Blu-ray and HD-DVD high-definition discs).

The Wii falls pitifully short in the awe department, providing only bland colors and big blurry pixels. If anything, the Playstation 3 is in the best position to succeed with the falling prices of HDTV sets, as it serves as both powerful gaming console and a Blu-ray disc player.

He then argues that the Wii will be in one of three households by 2011, based on predictions from Merill Lynch, and for that reason will be in the best position to optimize success by implementing an “optimized Web browser,” an “iTunes-like interface for purchasing content with Wii points,” and a “multi-platform social network with seamless chat/IM.” Yes, Wagner, that would be just ducky. But just about any console would succeed if it became the miracle box you envision.

The Wiimote might seem perfect for pointing and clicking within a web browser, but there are few Wii games now that can properly use the Wiimote without feeling clumsy or inaccurate. Nobody wants a jumpy mouse with a trackball that gets stuck, and they certainly don’t want to fumble about with a Wiimote just to navigate web pages.

Wagner must have forgotten that, as the Internet is a text-based realm, a keyboard would also be necessary? At which point, all the Wiimote really accomplishes is allowing users to wave around a pointer as if they were giving a Powerpoint demonstration. That isn’t optimized browsing.

It would be lovely if any of the three consoles had an iTunes-like interface to purchase content, as Wagner fantasizes, from Amazon. But the Wii has no storage for downloadable media, and I’ve already demonstrated that using the Wii just for the fun of browsing really isn’t appealing. I can (and do) enjoy making purchases on my Blackberry more than I believe I’d like doing so on the Wii.

And in regards to a social network that works on multiple platforms…keep dreaming. Hopefully Wagner isn’t just now imagining the benefits of such a network, as countless others have tried to make such a thing work and failed. If it were a proposition that could succeed in a greed-driven capitalist market, it would have succeeded already.

Ultimately, Wagner suggests that if the Wii were made to be the best console on the planet, it would unquestioningly be…wait for it…the best console on the planet. If I were Bill Gates, well by golly, I would be Bill Gates, too. Unfortunately I can’t believe myself to be Bill Gates and instantaneously become him, just as the Wii can’t believe itself to be the best console on the planet and become it.

Still, Wagner believes that the Wii is on the cusp of greatness, and that simply isn’t true. I can show you exactly why the Wii, for lack of a better term, sucks in comparison to the competition.

The PS3 and the Xbox 360 are high-definition gaming rigs that offer the latest and greatest in gameplay mechanics, visuals, and audio. The Wii can’t claim that. Both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 can play HD video content. The Wii cannot.

Microsoft and Sony have virtual marketplaces in which users can download a wide array of content. The Wii, in comparison, is quite limited. No one is debating this.

The only point of contention is that the Wii wins in the category of casual gaming. It does, if you consider casual gaming a type of gaming that isn’t immersive, doesn’t require the mastery of an interface or game aspect, or isn’t intended to involve multiple players in multiple locations.

I’d consider casual gaming to be Pixeljunk’s Eden, LittleBigPlanet or Geometry Wars. But the only reason people still consider the Wii to be the casual gaming victor is because “casual” games are all the console has…so, shouldn’t it be de facto winner of that category? I don’t think so.

So, if the Wii really isn’t superior to any of its competitors in actual gaming (and is in fact inferior), why has the console garnered such a crazed following? After Black Friday 2008, CNET reported that the Wii was the most popular item sold on that day of shopping insanity. That has been the story since Nintendo released the Wii.

But the answer to how Nintendo has managed to make so much of such a little console is this: the company has fabricated the success of its own console. Nintendo has interestingly never been able to completely meet demand for the console (though it has been on the market for over two years now), something for which it has never apologized.

By not distributing an appropriate amount of consoles, Nintendo has simulated a famine-like demand month after month. That has directly caused the media to respond to the hype surrounding the shortage of consoles by deeming the console some sort of revolutionary gaming machine. People want what they can’t have, and Nintendo has made sure consumers are always struggling to get the little console.

Aside from being completely unethical and questionably illegal, as stock prices have benefited from the fabricated success and demand for the console, the way Nintendo has rationed its console distribution to retailers has made it a “success” even years after its launch. But when you pull aside the curtain and see the small man frenziedly trying to keep the wool pulled over everyone’s eyes, it becomes quite clear that the Nintendo Wii is nothing more than melded plastic and a large dose of hype.

That’s exactly why Wagner is wrong, and why the Wii won’t be able to become any more of a revolutionary device than it is right now. I’m not saying that the fooled masses won’t continue to buy into Nintendo’s masterful hype campaign; I’m just saying that when you look at it objectively, it’s impossible to see the Wii as anything more than Nintendo’s pathetic attempt to compete with two all-around better consoles.

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