Save your Scorn

By Rob Fahey Published 7 November, 2009

Do those predicting or celebrating the Wii's decline have a point?

Published as part of our sister-site GamesIndustry.biz' widely-read weekly newsletter, the GamesIndustry.biz Editorial is a weekly dissection of one of the issues weighing on the minds of the people at the top of the games business. It appears on Eurogamer after it goes out to GI.biz newsletter subscribers.

Only a few years ago, Microsoft was the company that couldn't do anything right in the games market. The original Xbox was widely ridiculed - it was the size of a house, its controllers were designed for gorillas rather than humans - and the company's quarterly reports, each revealing the scale of the gaping money pit in the Home & Entertainment division, were a steady dripfeed of further fodder for the fire.

Soon, though, it was Sony's turn to occupy the stocks in the middle of the village. Around the launch of the PS3, the formerly dominant hardware firm couldn't do anything right - and the slightest misstep was construed as a company-killing disaster.

The game of musical chairs moves on. This year, there's no doubt who's been left standing up when the music stopped. It's Nintendo, the one-time underdog made good, whose powerful position in the market and relentless courting of new demographics has made it into the bete noir of gamers - while its own failure to sell decent volumes of software on the Wii platform encourages many industry types who should really know better to snipe from the sidelines as well.

Giant corporations don't really go in for introspection, so of course, neither Sony nor Microsoft will have pangs of empathy for Nintendo's newfound whipping-boy position - and even if they did, a quick glance at the Scrooge McDuck-style money vaults beneath the company's understated Kyoto headquarters would quickly assuage any guilty feelings. Frankly, rival executives and spokespeople are simply going to be glad that the heat is off them, and keen to stick the boot in where possible.

However, as any platform holder exec will admit (after a few drinks, at least), the wrath of consumers and industry alike does not, as a rule, select its target based on cold, rational logic. The original Xbox, in hindsight, was a pretty good console - whatever you thought of its industrial design, it boasted features and power well ahead of its rivals, and had software like Halo available from the outset. Sentiments run higher over the PS3 at the moment, but the reality is that Sony's missteps with the console have never been remotely as awful as skim-reading websites and forums would suggest.

So, too, is the situation with Nintendo - a situation thrown into sharp relief by the firm's recent announcement of financial and unit sales forecasts, which have rather unfairly provoked a loud chorus of "ding, dong, the witch is dead" from the firm's detractors.

The figures aren't great, but they aren't great by Nintendo's standards, which is a bit like a top restaurant dropping from three Michelin stars to two, rather than having the whole establishment bulldozed and replaced with a McDonald's. A six-month profit figure of three quarters of a billion dollars is still eye-watering and something that most executives in the industry would sell their grandmothers to achieve - even if it is 52 per cent lower than the even more insane profits the firm generated a year previously.

The real concern, however, isn't Nintendo's profitability. Bear in mind, after all, that the Yen is extremely strong at the moment, so every Pound, Euro or Dollar of profit the company generates overseas is contributing less to its bottom line this year than it was last year - not to mention the impact currency changes have on the firm's vast foreign investments. A significant chunk of the profit decline can be explained away in those terms.

What can't be explained away quite so easily, however, is the rapid slowdown in sales of the Wii in the first half of this year - dropping to 5.75 million from around 10 million in the same period last year.

Does this mean that the Wii has peaked entirely? Having traced a sales curve more rapid even than the PlayStation 2, is Nintendo's wunderkind to plateau before reaching even half the lifetime sales of Sony's bestselling platform? Plenty of gamers and industry types fervently hope so, and are already arranging barn dances on the console's early grave.

Those hoping for the demise of the Wii - because it's not hardcore enough, because it's hard to make a profit from as a third party, because it's committed the cardinal sin of making gaming mainstream and widely accepted, shock horror - are popping the champagne corks too early.

Nintendo was always going to face an uphill struggle with this console's growth curve. The accusation levelled at the Wii in the outset was that it was a fad, a machine sold on the strength of Wii Sports alone (and later, Wii Fit), one which would be played for a while and then left to gather dust in the cupboard until someone remembered to drag it out again next Christmas.

It's not accurate to categorise the console's entire playerbase like that - bear in mind that plenty of "upstream" franchises have done remarkably well on the Wii - but the description does have a number of grains of truth to it. To some extent, Nintendo didn't care all that deeply. It doesn't make huge losses on hardware and most of the successful software on its platform is first-party, which means that it can make solid profits off console purchasers who only buy a game or two every year.

However, the problem with fads is that they burn out. The Wii hasn't done too badly on this front - it's continued selling far longer than many people believed it would, and a "fad" that sells around 55 million consoles at a price tag of £180 each is pretty remarkable. These latest figures, however, suggest that the Wii's curve is flattening out. With the PS3 and 360 still building strongly on their installed bases, this race could yet mimic the finale of the children's tale of the hare and the tortoise.

Consider this, though - Nintendo knows what it's done wrong. It's not blustering and stonewalling over the drop in its fortunes, nor is it blaming the global recession - when, in fact, it's probably one of the few companies that could quite honestly drop some of the blame on that doorstep, since we'd always known that newcomers to gaming would probably drop the pastime like a hot potato when financial troubles loomed and belts needed to be tightened.

No, Nintendo understands that its basic problem was with its software. It didn't manage to keep a solid, high-quality feed of top titles pouring into the market over the first half of this year, leaving the Wii to rest on the laurels of Wii Sports and Wii Fit when what the market really needed were new things to reignite interest. A huge number of the Wii's owners are downstream consumers, uncommitted newcomers to the gaming market, and after an immensely promising start, Nintendo failed to deliver the kind of software that encourages those people to swim upstream and get more deeply involved in gaming.

It's not, by any means, too late. Those people aren't going anywhere. Their Wii consoles may continue to gather dust and they may continue to buy only a minimal amount of software, if any at all, but it's highly unlikely that they will migrate to the offerings of any of Nintendo's rivals or dispose of the consoles entirely. Nintendo still has a window of opportunity to engage those consumers by offering them software and experiences which appeal to them and encourage them back into the market.

The fact that Nintendo knows and understands this means that the company is not only determined not to throw away its lead in the market - it also knows how to avoid doing so. It knows that those millions of Wii consoles which were sold to families that had never previously engaged with videogames are one of its most powerful assets, and it knows that it has left that asset untapped so far. It's a mistake Nintendo will undoubtedly spend the next year fighting to rectify. Even a failure to do so convincingly would still probably leave the company solidly profitable and ready to fight in the next round - but if it succeeds, it could have a major impact on the landscape of the market in the coming years.

For more views on the industry and to keep up to date with news relevant to the games business, read GamesIndustry.biz. You can sign up to the newsletter and receive the GamesIndustry.biz Editorial directly each Thursday afternoon.

Picture of Rob.

About Rob Fahey

Rob Fahey is a former editor of GamesIndustry.biz who spent several years living in Japan and probably still has a mint condition Dreamcast Samba de Amigo set.

Read more articles from Rob by visiting the Rob Fahey archive page.

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Comments (83) 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • INSOMANiAC #1 2 years ago

    Im in the 'Ive got a Wii but I never play it' camp, in fact I only ever play the Gamecube resi's on it.
    Its a shame its in decline because although it has a lot of 'shite' games its a good machine for kids, idiots and women. Gaming snobs might turn their nose up at it because it doesnt have Uncharted 2 or Gears Of War but the aforementioned demographics need games too !.

    Sadly, the Wii is going the exactly the same way as the DS, the quality games development has been abandoned for 'shovelware' and cheap cash-ins which make a fortune, this coupled with the rampant piracy doesnt give decent games developers any encouragement to make quality titles.

  • INSOMANiAC #2 2 years ago

    I was just giving my take on the state of the Wii and why its sales are dropping, but thanks for your advice !
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/09 @ 09:40

  • Stompy #3 2 years ago

    "Sadly, the Wii is going the exactly the same way as the DS, the quality games development has been abandoned for 'shovelware' and cheap cash-ins which make a fortune..."

    Don't you mean the PS2? And does that stop it selling, or stop it being loved?

  • varsas #4 2 years ago

    The DS no longer has quality games? Have you actually looked at the games being released on it? The number of quality titles certainly hasn't dropped on the DS like it has on the Wii although there may be a higher number of shovelware titles.

  • Senate #5 2 years ago

    None of this will matter when the new Mario games come out. It hasn't helped though with games like the conduit boasting of being all this and that but ending up being just okay. To be fair though many games on all three consoles we're told in previews are gonna be exceptional but end up being just okay.

    I would like to think that most gamers, not so much the kids now who might not appreciate the consequences, would ever want what happen to Sega to happen to Nintendo.

  • INSOMANiAC #6 2 years ago

    ''Have you actually looked at the games being released on it?''

    I look at the release list on Metacritic and it makes me weep, gone are the Trauma Centers, Yoshis Islands and Mario Karts to be replaced with 'yummy yummy cooking jam'. The quality of the titles in the first year of its life was better than anything out recently with one or two exceptions [link url=http://www.metacr itic.com/games/ds/
    ]http://www.metacr itic.com/games/ds/
    [/link]

  • sargulesh #7 2 years ago

    "Sadly, the Wii is going the exactly the same way as the DS, the quality games development has been abandoned for 'shovelware' and cheap cash-ins...."

    Really? REALLY? The DS has the best library of any of the current systems, and perhaps the best library of any system and it continues to get better.
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/09 @ 10:06

  • sargulesh #8 2 years ago

    The DS is region free, INSOMANiAC. This should help you out.

  • varsas #9 2 years ago

    @INSOMANiAC: As I mentioned in my reply I think you're confusing the ratio of quality games with the number of quality games. I'm pretty certain the number of quality titles is about the same but the number of shovelware titles has increased.

  • varsas #10 2 years ago

    Metacritic's Top 10 rated:
    2005
    1. Mario Kart DS (2005) 91
    2. Advance Wars: Dual Strike (2005) 90
    3. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (2005) 89
    4. Meteos (2005) 88
    5. Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (2005) 87
    6. Kirby: Canvas Curse (2005) 86
    7. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (2005) 86
    8. Animal Crossing: Wild World (2005) 86
    9. Tony Hawk's American Sk8land (2005) 84
    10. Nintendogs: Lab & Friends (2005) 83

    2006
    1. New Super Mario Bros. (2006) 89
    2. Jump Ultimate Stars (2006) 89
    3. Elite Beat Agents (2006) 87
    4. Metroid Prime: Hunters (2006) 85
    5. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (2006) 85
    6. Tetris DS (2006) 84
    7. Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (2006) 83
    8. Clubhouse Games (2006) 83
    9. Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends (2006) 83
    10. Yoshi's Island DS (2006) 81

    2007
    1. Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, The (2007) 90
    2. Planet Puzzle League (2007) 86
    3. Ouendan 2 (2007) 86
    4. Pokemon Diamond (2007) 85
    5. Pokemon Pearl (2007) 85
    6. Bleach: The Blade of Fate (2007) 83
    7. Picross DS (2007) 83
    8. Contra 4 (2007) 83
    9. Lunar Knights (2007) 82
    10. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (2007) 82

    2008
    1. Chrono Trigger (2008) 92
    2. World Ends With You, The (2008) 89
    3. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (2008) 86
    4. Professor Layton and the Curious Village (2008) 85
    5. Space Invaders Extreme (2008) 85
    6. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (2008) 85
    7. Final Fantasy IV (2008) 85
    8. FIFA Soccer 09 (2008) 84
    9. Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (2008) 83
    10. Bangai-O Spirits (2008) 83

    2009 (so far)
    1. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009) 93
    2. Flipnote Studio (2009) 93
    3. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (2009) 91
    4. Peggle: Dual Shot (2009) 85
    5. Mighty Flip Champs (2009) 85
    6. Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes (2009) 85
    7. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (2009) 84
    8. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (2009) 84
    9. Professor Layton and The Diabolical Box (2009) 84
    10. Rhythm Heaven (2009) 83

    Quality drop?
    Edited by 4 at 07/11/09 @ 10:29

  • lefizz #11 2 years ago

    Surely the drop in actually sales figures is partly related to the fact that many people, myself included, who have an idea about the guts of the wii view it as an overclocked gamecube and as such wont part with near 200 sheets to play the few interesting titles. I serious price drop has been needed IHMO for about a year to get a certain group on board. Compared to the 360 the wii has always been stupidly expensive for what it offers and as such i wont buy it at that price. If it hit say £120 in the u.k. or £150 euros over here in Spain i might pick one up
    Ok there was a recent price drop but it was too little to late, nintendo really have been very greedy, the fabrication cost of so a low tech device must be in the order of £50 yet they have milked the fad for all its worth. If it was a reasonable price i would pick one up for boomblocks, galaxy etc.

    These are my views, and the reason i havent bought one, maybe it not a common viewpoint but it mine.

  • gorf #12 2 years ago

    @Varsas:
    Unfortunatly the games you listed wont appeal to the uncommited userbase of the Wii (Wii sports, game waggle type buying demographic). Not sure if trying to get this demographic buying into more hardcore userbase will work either. It basically needs a new fad-gimmick to maintain the growth it desires. A big ask. Unfortunatly, its harcore userbase isnt too happy with it either the sparse amost glacial release of triple A prooduct has been incredibly slow even by Nintendos standards. Ive owned the last three nintendo formats and this is the worst it has ever been. By triple A I mean another Zelda or Mario not f@@@ing samsh brothers or mario and sonic type game. I admired Nintendos bravado in expanding the userbase, it definatly ripped the rugg underneath Sonys feet but it needs to spread the risk and not put all its eggs in one basket. Its profits to date are great definalty the envy of sony and MS but what will these figures look like in 2 years time?

  • macmurphy #13 2 years ago

    Someone did a list of all the good Wii games on another post and it is a great list, as well as being surprisingly long. I think the problem is people know that they can nearly always find a better experience on the other consoles - take NFS and FIFA as a case in point. They are both dumbed down and simplified to fit in with the imagined Wii demographic of grandparents and gaming novices. As a gamer, I'm always going to go for the HD version and that's not just because of the graphics. I think Nintendo also missed a trick by not encouraging online play - massive communities of gamesplayers have grown up who chat and play regularly online and this cannot be done on the Wii (Conduit aside). I have at least two games (SSBB and Mariokart) that I would play all the time if I could chat to mates. Essentially Nintendo has isolated all the people who are really into games, the people who will boost their attach rates.

    The low attach rates discourage third-party developers from making the titles that appeal to the serious gamer and a vicious circle is created. Everyone sees tosh like Carnival games and WiiFit (good if you want to keep fit, not good if you're a gamer) selling a bucketload and they try and jump on the wagon creating a drip-feed of shovelware and lifestyle shite.

    There's simply no guarantee that quality software will sell on the Wii because so much of it's market are casual gamers who do not recognise good games. I realise there are a lot of subjective statemements in there but it's undeniablethat a high metacritic score (the easiest way to define a good game without getting into a ballache argument) is not always reflected by sales. Likewise a low metacritic score does not always seem to hinder sales on the Wii. The Wii demographic is hard to pin down, and in a time when gaming development costs millions why will execs take a punt on an unstable market when HD consoles offer a more solid proposition?

    Mario Galaxy is possibly my favourite game. I also really enjoyed Zelda, and the Wii offers the finest local multiplayer experience without doubt - SSBB, Mariokart, Wii Sports. But for most people it's become a party toy, dug out for Christmas. All my money goes on the Xbox games beacuse, almost without fail I can get a deeper, richer experience and have an online community. I have an X-box and have play a lot of Streetfighter IV, Forza 3 and COD 4. When I have what are widely accepted to be among the best games in their genre, why the hell am I going to look for a Wii equivalent?

    I remember the holes in the N64 schedule too. But you knew that every six months or so an absolute blinder would come along so you kept the faith. And this just hasn't happened on the Wii. Nintendo has effortlessly courted the casual gamer and made a million in the process. But they've lost all their gaming fans, and I think it's fair to say that the market they have cornered will have no brand loyalty when the next fad comes along (I'm looking at you PS3 wands and Natal). The new adopters will jump ship and Nintendo will also have been abandoned by all the fans that kept them afloat duting the Gamecube and N64 periods.

    Nintendo are built on foundations of software. The 'Nintendo magic' is an industry cliche but it's no coincidence that Nintendo games consistently feature in people's top 100 lists. Nintendo can dick about with Wii Fit as much as they want. They can create a lifestyle division to make horseriding simulators. But they also need to make games for the gamers. Because these are the people that buy games. These are the people that will buy quality third party titles. These are the people that will encourage third party developers to build for the machine. These are the people that will ultimately ensure the Wii's success as a gaming platform, not some novelty pet weighing tool.

    Many of my best Nintendo moments are not Nintendo games - I'm looking at you Secret of Mana, Goldeneye, Resident Evil 4. These developers will not develop big new installmets of their IPs for a system that does not guarantee sales. Nintendo cocked up in the past - they fell out with Square for a long period (over licensing issues I think), their aversion to 'adult' games drove millions rushing for their Playstations, their terror about online gaming has isolated a lot of players - Mariokart's online mode is about as much use as a cock-flavoured lolly. They have now created a whole new market and made millions but are still making a massive mistake in not ensuring a collection of quality games to make the Wii an attractive gaming platform.

    Nintendo will struggle to turn the Wii around now as I think there's a lot of inertia to the gaming markets they've created. But there are a lot of people like myself and the original poster that occasionally rub the dust off and are silently hoping for Pilotwings Wii and Pikmin 3. Nintendo could still plough some of their millions back into securing exclusive builds of big franchises or even just take a punt on some new talent - like they did with Retro for the original Metroid. They need to make sure some decent games appear for the system. Games that play to the system's strength, overcome it's graphical weaknesses and offer something that none of the HD consoles can. They need to do this to ensure the long term success of their brand, to ensure they don't face the lean years they had with the N64 and Gamecube after the dizzy heights of the NES/SNES. They have a boatload of customers and a shitload of money. Anyone who thinks the Wii is anything other than a sucess from a business preospective is a muppet. But if they want to build on this they need to go back to courting gamers too.

    Like in 'Field of Dreams' I see the wizened angel of Gunpei Yokoi whispering to a lost Miyamoto, 'Build it, and they will come.' And then I cry salty tears as I put the Wii back into the cupboard, before accepting the guilty caress of the Xbox controller and lapsing into the brief comforts of another console. You broke my heart Nintendo. You broke my fucking heart.

    EDIT: Sorry for the obscenely long post, cheers if anyone got this far. Just goes to show how much Nintendo have gripped my shit that I'll spend half an hour writing about it on a Saturday morning.



    Edited by 2 at 07/11/09 @ 11:16

  • Khab #14 2 years ago

    Why the hell would they lower the price when they were still selling their product quicker than they could manufacture it? You do realise Nintendo are a business, right?

  • L_Ron_Cupboard #15 2 years ago

    interesting article. i personally think the wii has done a lot to make gaming more acceptable, whether its on the nintendo platform or otherwise. i know of people who have recently bought a 360 as their first ever console and maybe its because gaming is now OK to previous non gamers.

    i dont own a wii and im probably not gonna, i doubt any hardcore gamers bought a wii this generation instead of one of the other two. i dont think there's much cross over between target audiences...

  • Suttieb #16 2 years ago

    @Macmurphy, couldn't have put it better...

    I own both consoles and generally only purchase top titles.
    I have purchased 8 Wii titles and 52 360 titles since launch.

    Few Metacritic Stats, read into as you like!

    Wii All time average score - 63.1
    360 all time average score - 68.1

    Wii average scores per year shows average score getting better
    2007 - 60.2
    2008 - 62.3
    2009 - 66.5

    360 average scores per year staying about the same
    2007 - 60
    2008 - 60.7
    2009 - 61.2

    However,
    Wii titles scoring above 7 - 36%
    360 titles scoring above 7 - 52.1%

    And choice..
    Wii games scoring over 8:
    2006 - 3
    2007 - 9
    2008 - 28
    2009 - 26

    360 games scoring over 8:
    2006 - 31
    2007 - 41
    2008 - 47
    2009 - 50

    Edited by 1 at 07/11/09 @ 11:50

  • Cid #17 2 years ago

    @L_Ron_Cupboard

    Nintendo's first-party games bridge the gap. Well, aside from the likes of Wii Fit, of course.

  • SG #18 2 years ago

    I thought the original Xbox was ace - it was the most powerful, had a built in HDD, a sexy OS where you could play tunes had DLC and the controller was pure sex. And probably the best online gaming (not that I used it). Despite it's size, I love the big X on top too.

  • SG #19 2 years ago

    I personally would love Nintendo to go the way of Sega: they'd end up only making games. And who's gong to buy Wii Fit on a PS360? Fucking no-one! It'd be Mario, Zelda, Metroid & Pikmin all the way as well as new IPs. And all that hardware division could also be turned into looking at software! Plus they'd look far better on either of the above machines and obviously there'd be no space for waggle.
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/09 @ 12:38

  • iago71 #20 2 years ago

    @Macmurphy.

    I read your post/novel. I have to say I couldnt agree more on pretty much every point, right down to the sitting up till the early hours playing my import copy of Secret of Mana on the Super Famicom . Maybe we can hope for those times again. :(

    EDIT: I really do hope that SMB Wii is up to the mark. If the Mario games (and I dont mean spin offs) go down the pan then I think that will be the end. Im sure Mario Galaxy 2 will be a cracker though.
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/09 @ 13:05

  • Bremenacht #21 2 years ago

    "Nintendo understands that its basic problem was with its software. "

    Does it really? I thought they were supposed to have understood that problem with the Gamecube. The software hasn't got significantly better, but the audience has changed.

  • Eighthours #22 2 years ago

    @Varsas

    Why on earth have you tried to deconstruct the "Wii software going downhilll" argument with a Metacritic list of DS games?

  • Cid #23 2 years ago

    "And who's gong to buy Wii Fit on a PS360? Fucking no-one! It'd be Mario, Zelda, Metroid & Pikmin all the way as well as new IPs."

    Wii Fit and other "casual" games are not problems in themselves. They're encouraging more people to get into video games, and making them more socially acceptable as a result. That's a good thing in my book.

    The real concern is that Nintendo now care more about their new audience than they do their core fanbase. SMG2, NSMB, Zelda and Metroid are all steps in the right direction, but we still lack the likes of Starfox, F-Zero, Mario Golf/Tennis, Pikmin and a proper Mario RPG. If Nintendo got the balance a bit better I'm sure most people wouldn't really care about their new "casual" range. They just don't want another year that ends with Wii Music as the big Christmas release...
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/09 @ 13:14

  • TonyHarrison #24 2 years ago

    I'm going to make a prediction now, when we get past the Christmas sales rush, I think a lot of people are going to look foolish with regards to some predictions of doom for Nintendo. The next set of official sales data will be out soon (the first since the price cut), and it's going to show a massive increase in sales for the Wii. This will then be further boosted due to the obvious Christmas sales boost that all the consoles will enjoy. And we'll look back on another year of Wii domination and wonder what all the fuss was about.

    Yes, they may sell less than last year, but there's a massive chasm of difference between having average sales like the 360 or PS3 and suffering a dip, and having phenomenal sales like the Wii and suffering a dip. Of course, your average gamer will suffer to understand such simple logic.

    By the way, before anyone starts with the usual nonsense about 'hardcore' games never being able to sell on a Nintendo console, please go and compare the respective sales for the two versions of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. I think you'll be horrifically surprised...
    Edited by 2 at 07/11/09 @ 13:50

  • jimboton #25 2 years ago

    After reading this article I get the impression that the only important thing here is getting the most people possible playing, it doesn't really matter what kind of waggle drivel must they sink their time into the whole world must game.

    'A huge number of the Wii's owners are downstream consumers, uncommitted newcomers to the gaming market, and after an immensely promising start, Nintendo failed to deliver the kind of software that encourages those people to swim upstream and get more deeply involved in gaming. '

    I fail to even imagine such a portentous software..



  • electrolite #26 2 years ago

    @ Eighthours.

    Because the discusssion included the DS. See posts 1, 5 and 7.

    Reading is for winners!

  • electrolite #27 2 years ago

    Cid, post 27, excellent

  • Alterego-X #28 2 years ago

    It's ridiculous how people try to portray the pursuing of "uncommitted casuals" who only buy things that entertain them, as a bad thing, while milking hardcore gamers who will buy ANYTHING just because it is the Next Big Hardcore Game, is the True and Only Way of the Industry.

    Nintendo is now down because they chose the hard way, and they are only big as long as they can really make the best casual games, but once they are there, they are more successful than anyone else.

  • Killerbee #29 2 years ago

    To echo Cid's comment (#27) above, I've no intention of getting rid of my (launch day) Wii any time soon, but the only Wii game I've bought this year (2009) is Wii Sports Resort. Nintendo can still make great games and I'd buy any new Mario platformer, Zelda or Metroid game, plus there are plenty of core franchises left untapped - Kid Icarus, Starfox, F-Zero, Pikmin, Paper Mario...

    I just hope Nintendo can redress this imbalance between core games and casual fodder in 2010.

  • MaxiSleep #30 2 years ago

    "because it's committed the cardinal sin of making gaming mainstream and widely accepted, shock horror "

    Gaming was already mainstream well before the Wii in the youth audience, as demonstrated by the huge turnover of big game launches like Halo, GT, GTA etc etc etc, and was penetrating age bands as people aged. The playstation and playstation II achieved this and it was cemented by the success of GTA.

    Unfortunately there is a confusion between "low brow cheap shlock" and "mainstream" in the mind of the articles author.

  • Shinji #31 2 years ago

    Unfortunately there is a confusion between "low brow cheap shlock" and "mainstream" in the mind of the articles author.

    On the contrary - I know exactly what "mainstream" means, in that it suggests a platform which has software that appeals to a broad range of niche markets, from teenage boys and young men through middle-aged women, retirees and everyone else in between.

    You, on the other hand, are doing exactly the same thing that most gamers online seem to do - assuming that "mainstream" means "not only do I like it, but all my mates of the same age and gender as me do as well, so it MUST be mainstream!".

  • malexous #32 2 years ago

    @Killerbee

    Little King's Story and Madworld score above 80 on metacritic and are €14.99 in my local Xtravision. Why not give them a go?

    Also, why not give two recent games, Muramasa: The Demon Blade and A Boy and His Blob a go? Surely, one of those genres you like.

    @L_Ron_Cupboard

    I'm a 'hardcore' gamer and the only (is it?) 7th gen home console I own is a Wii.

    @Bremenacht

    How was there a problem with GameCube software, a part from the lack of 3rd party support? Have you not played games such as LoZ: Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, Pikmin, Resident Evil 4, etc.

  • Diomedes #33 2 years ago

    The problem with the Wii is that even if they offer powerful core games they will always be some steps behind the best the 360 and PS3 can offer.So ,having in count that many Wii gamers have also one of the other machines ,makes very hard for core games to sell well on the Wii.

    Anecdotal evidence means zero ,but from my friends group (around ten including myself) we have 4 PS3 ,0 360 (Spain doesnt like this console too much) and 2 Wii ...the other 4 dont play.The Wii owners have their machine pirated and only buy some original game when its bundled with some pheripheric they need(Wii Fit ,Mario Kart Wii ,etc).Even those customers can generate some money in the end ...additional wiimotes,1-2 games each year ,maybe they are offered a game in their birthday or holidays by their family.But compared to me and the other 3 PS3 users that me may be buying some 9 full-price games each and 8-9 second-hand or discounted (platinum,heavily discounted promotions) games their spending is irrelevant.More so ,when they knew the PS3 was getting a Wiimote next Spring they were heavily interested....we will have to see how that plays out but their Wii could be getting a lot more of dust in the future.

    Dual users wont buy too much Wii core games ,as their PC-360-PS3 offerings are much better....they may get the Mario Galaxy 1 or 2 or new Zelda each two years and a half ,but thats pretty much it.And ,they can get as I told some games with peripheric included.Thats still producing some money for Nintendo and the industry ,but hardly what a regular PS360 user generates for its plattform.To really win the Wii should destroy the PS360 userbases by 4-1 or 5-1.Combined.Add to that the PC and the usual PC-PS3-360 releases.All that creates the odd situation that the best selling console is the worst supported and has the least good games (the difference between its lineup and the PS3 and 360 has grown this year from massive to simply unbelieveable).

    That said ,it still generates lots of money for the plattform holder and it still outselling PS3 and 360 ....problem for Nintendo is if this trend of 50% decrease in sales continue a bit (even a 25% further decrease) it would start to lose ground to each of the HD plattforms individually ...and utterly destroyed by the combo PS360PC for development interest.

    Its good to see they have realized their software isnt up to scratch lately ,but I doubt they can do too much about it.Out of the Mario-Zelda new outings and their mass appeal anything that they release will be very inferior to what the other are offerings.The machine doesnt have even DVD playback ,the multimedia options are very poor ,the online is quite poor ,wiiware is a joke compared to the Live Bazar and PSN ,it doesnt have HDD for downloading media ,I doubt even the graphics processors would be enough to render a HD movie by streaming ..and the rivals will have their own motion control devices.

    Nintendo position is very good ,but worse than one year ago.And it could get worse ,without releasing a new machine with a lot more horsepower (and that would be like losing their current advantage completely as old Wiis wouldnt run Wii HD apps) its just stuck with a much worse machine.Great marketing ,nostalgia factors ,good pricing from the launch day and the wiimote appeal (siren song ,it hasnt delivered what they promised) have created a tidal wawe of great proportions and established the Wii as the best selling plattform ,but those factors are starting to weaken a bit and the rivals (specially Sony with software for just about everybody ,the new pricing and the Slim and the countless possibilities of their machine ) are eroding their position ....we will see how this plays out.

  • Burkey123 #34 2 years ago

    I love my Wii and play it a lot but last Christmas and early this year was pretty rubbish. I think that's why there have been a decrease in sales and imo, everyone is overreacting just a little bit.
    NSMBWii and Wii Fit Plus should bring the sales back up for Christmas and with Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid Other M next year, sales should stay steady.
    My main problem I have with the Wii is the absolute atrocious 3rd party support. For about 9 months, Nintendo didn't release a title and sales started to decline. This is not a coincedence. The wii just didn't have any top quality 3rd party to catch the eye of both hardcore and casual and keep the momentum of the wii going.
    Anyway, we'll see how it goes next year I guess.

    And INSOMANiAC, the DS probably has the greatest gaming library in history. Don't know what you're talking about.

  • Jonny5Alive7 #35 2 years ago

    The article mentions the decline being down to no software coming out. Thats not strictly true, I have a feeling Nintendo expected the Motion Plus with Sports Resort to be the software that kept it going like Wii Fit and Sports did. So far it hasn't reached the heights of those two.

    New Super Mario is coming out soon, but I think that will please the 'hardcore' fans more than the casuals.

  • tardo #36 2 years ago

    Hmmm, I don't seem to be a typical wii60 owner, according to some posters here (go figure!). I have 5 games for the 360, and 20 for the wii. all bought/legit copies.

    And anyone wanting a great wii game/Pikmin 3, should just buy Little King's Story. I'm in the middle of playing that at the moment (20+ hours so far), and loving it- awesome humour also.

  • Alterego-X #37 2 years ago

    The main problem is, that most people who are trying to explain why the Wii sales decreased, are just using the old arguments about why the Wii sucks (in their opinion) since it was released.
    But the Wii was successful until this year! Relying on the "casuals" worked! Weak hardware worked! relying on first party worked! Peripherals worked!

    From a business perspective, the real question is: WHAT WENT WRONG SINCE 2008???
    Making Nintendo "awesome" and "core" again could be secondary, or even counterproductive.
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/09 @ 19:46

  • ChrisS #38 2 years ago

    Great, intelligent, enlightening piece of writing. Bravo, Mr. Fahey.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #39 2 years ago

    How many so called hardcore gamers thinking Mario Galaxy would have been better with regular controller, have actually played it?
    It's also Ironic, as Nintendo defined the regular game pad (hold SNES pad above Playstation pad and Wavebird above 360 pad)

    IMO playing with separated hands with built in pointing device is a genuine step forward, even if you dont like the motion control.
    Hardcore gamers are simply gamers who don't like change and are jealous of success.
    Hardcore used to be tipping your parents house upside down for 10p pieces, 20 minute bus ride to the nearest arcade and a long walk home. F#cking wimps.

  • varsas #40 2 years ago

    @gorf: The list was forr INSOMANIAC who thinks the DS has had fewer quality releases in recent times. Regarding your comment about slow triple A releases form Nintendo, how is it different to previous consoles? We never had regular core Mario or Zelda releases.

  • Dav_UK2007 #41 2 years ago

    sigh, never have I been as disinterested in a console as I have been in the wii. feel like we are just repeating the same points over and over. we all know the wii has some great titles but would you really choose one over a 360? I know so many people that bought one and after a couple of weeks have left it to gather dust.

  • khite #42 2 years ago

    I guess I am a hardcore gamer. I have a PC, which I use for most of my online gaming. I have been playing on-line FPS's since UT. These days I mostly play l4d versus with a team of friends.

    The Wii is my only console this gen. I use it for 'casual' stuff like Wii Fit, but also playing classic platform games, and multi-player with real people. That is the sort of gaming I expect from a console. I hope Nintendo continues to deliver.

    At present the PS360 don't offer that console experience for me an my girlfriend. She has no desire to watch me play left 4 dead, whereas plenty of Wii games draw us both in.




    Edited by 2 at 07/11/09 @ 23:32

  • FenderMaster #43 2 years ago

    Even a failure to do so convincingly would still probably leave the company solidly profitable and ready to fight in the next round - but if it succeeds, it could have a major impact on the landscape of the market in the coming years.

    actually, they're in a bad situation for their next console...

    the hardcore crowd probably won't buy the next Nintendo console, after being burned with the Wii... so if the casuaL crowd don't move on, Nintendo will be in serious trouble next gen

  • Dav_UK2007 #44 2 years ago

    'the hardcore crowd probably won't buy the next Nintendo console, after being burned with the Wii... so if the casuaL crowd don't move on, Nintendo will be in serious trouble next gen'

    maybe this would be a good thing and will get nintendo back into thinking about a console that developers will take seriously
    Edited by 1 at 07/11/09 @ 23:13

  • Charlie_Miso #45 2 years ago

    Great article.

  • Darren #46 2 years ago

    I've still got my Wii but I'm not really sure why as I've only bought one game for it this year - the £15 Klonoa, itself a decade old PS game - and before that it was Super Smash Bros. Brawl in June 2008. Not a console that has me deeply excited about its games then? Sadly, no, but I'm hanging onto it only for the next Mario Galaxy and Zelda game and while I'm waiting remembering to blow the dust off the console every once and while.

    It's a shame that the Wii has come to this really. Nintendo have always been slow releasing games for their consoles but I honestly thought that with the Wii being pretty much an up specced GameCube with a motion controller that they'd be able to churn out a lot more games for it than they did for the N64 or 'Cube. After all the technology goes back to 2002 albeit the processor/graphics chip are slightly more powerful so it's not like they've had to learn a whole new architecture like developers have had to do for the multicore, HD PS3 and Xbox 360.

    Sadly Nintendo have actually made LESS games for the Wii or, rather, fewer games that are of interest to me. Why would I buy multiformat games for the Wii when superior versions exist on the other two platforms? Answer: I wouldn't and haven't. The motion controls are often powerly implemented anyway and the Wii's motion controller isn't really accurate enough or suited for all game types anyway (which is why the accelerometer add-on exists). I couldn't care less about Wii Fit or Wii Music thank you very much, I want more games along the lines of Zelda, Metroid Prime and Mario.

  • Burkey123 #47 2 years ago

    I don't really get this thing about the hardcore crowd not going back to Nintendo next gen. Surely, when they release a Mario/Zelda title, they'll buy the console just for them. And surely the Ninty fans will be satisfied with the Wii. People that aren't just interested in FPS after FPS. Sure, Ninty have brought out a lot for the casuals but they haven't ''abandoned'' the hardcore as much as some make out to be.

  • khite #48 2 years ago

    I don't know how I feel about the Hardcore argument. I used to buy lots of games. These days I settle for one or two on-line experiences. I might Bioshock 2 and I might MW 2 for the story.

    But to be good at an on-line game like Left 4 Dead pretty much takes up all my on-line game time. Versus in that game is a very different experience to normal PvP as you become the enemy AI in a narrative sequence. I must admit that normal FPS' story and on-line modes seem shallow to me now. It's like when I first started playing tactical shooters; death-match lost it's appeal.

    But I know plenty of gamers like me who still yearn for a more old-school gaming experience. We play indie titles on our PC's, and there are some great platformers for all systems, but Nintendo seems to be catering to this market. I love de Blob. I play it with my girlfriend. She is better than me. I bought 20 Wii games this year, catching up on stuff I have missed on the console. All of it unique to Wii, and most that wouldn't work on another console.

    What I am saying is don't patronise Wii gamers. That goes for the press, for developers, for Nintendo, and for other gamers. Some of us head the Wii direction because we want something different.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #49 2 years ago

    Dav_UK2007

    "maybe this would be a good thing and will get nintendo back into thinking about a console that developers will take seriously "

    Small developers will take any capable platform seriously given the chance and low outlay, for years, since the spectrum and Amiga days they've been restricted or left out. Sony promised it with the Yaroze, but charged $750 and you still needed a PC at a time when a good one was well over $1k. One man developers enjoy investing their own time, big developers hate risk. Take a look at the Wii homebrew scene and look at the potential there given the right exposure. Or the XBMC scene. Think how much better just the menu systems would be without the corporate bulls#it and hoops.
    We have only 3 major hardware players left, all with different and IMO semi f### up business strategies, but if the game industry starts to die it wont be Nintendo's fault. As much as Sony bullshit, Microsoft hype, and Nintendo re invent, too many others in the industry are either gaming snobs or up their own ars#s.
    If Apple release a console version of the iphone the industry and some of the people in it will get the kick up the arse they've had coming to them IMO. I dont know the answer, but think a shake up is needed. The 'Golden era' was called just that for a reason.

    I would like to see Nintendo open source the Wii overnight, then bring out the Wii 2 for their so called 'core' followers. Perhaps have some kind of stepping stone to the Wii 2 for the best of the homebrew community. An open source Wii would also spawn new innovation hardware add ons, from companies like Lik-sang again (who Sony killed)
    These communities are growing and someone will snap them up and shaft the big Three. This seems more likely than either Sony or MS 'owning' our living rooms.

  • figaro7 #50 2 years ago

    Its absolutely laughable that some people call themselves gamers when they've only bought a couple a games this year for the wii. Theres quite a few gamers games on the wii and if your not willing to put your gamer head on and play some you really are a jealous prick, snobbing the so called casual crowd that nintendo has aimed for just to satisfy your ego. If the games arent of your taste then you own the wrong system, you people should be glad we have 3 fantastic systems to choose from.

  • Quixz #51 2 years ago

    Once they showed it off at E3 i knew i was never going to own one.. =/

  • smelly #52 2 years ago

    Well this year.. i now have all 3 machines.. And i've not had time to play much for a few months.. so over the xmas period i'm going to be playing lots of games.. So far I have more games on my radar for the wii than the other 2 put together... Which isnt bad for a machine which "doesnt have any good software"

    So far my xmas shopping list goes:

    360 : Modern Warfare 2 (im gonna buy into the hype again)
    PS3 : Uncharted 2
    Wii : NSMB 2, one boy and his blob, Metroid trilogy, Rabbids Go Home and Dead Space Extraction (loved the 360 original - would be rude not to buy this)

  • smelly #53 2 years ago

    Also .. im sorry but i read stuff like "Sadly Nintendo have actually made LESS games for the Wii or, rather, fewer games that are of interest to me. " and i cant help but reply to this nonsense.

    How many games have microsoft made for the 360? How many 1st party sony games do we see each year? I think you'll find that nintendo release more 1st party games each year (and most of the time they're well reviewed too) than the other 2 put together.

  • Charlie_Miso #54 2 years ago

    Loads of people missing out on Little King Story is seems. Fools.


    Plus; the whole 'I'm a hardcore gamer and Nintendo have lost me' line is laughable. You people will buy anything new and shiny with a touch of hype behind it.

  • Teamallstar #55 2 years ago

    I hope the wii dies a slow and painful death :)

  • smelly #56 2 years ago

    Quote : "the whole 'I'm a hardcore gamer and Nintendo have lost me' line is laughable. "


    Most of the kids here saying that are teenagers who equate "hardcore" to mean blood, gore, fps games with grey and brown graphics which make them feel "mature". They look at a mario or pikmin game and dont understand it's the definition of hardcore becuase it has colourful graphics (so therefor it *must* be for kids - and not for grown up teenagers like themselves)

  • comissars_handgun #57 2 years ago

    I'll admit I'm another 360 and Wii owner who has been neglecting his Wii... I haven't properly played anything for it this year.

    But I would never get rid of it, I'd feel like a right idiot if I was unable to play the next Zelda. I used to be a big Nintendo fanboy in my younger days, so even if a lot of Wii titles don't appeal to me I'm still pleased that they are doing well.

    It's also good that there is still one console maker who don't make DVD players or spreadsheet software. Just games and game machines. I'll really have to check out some of the Wii games I've been missing, still have never played Okami, even though I love the Zelda games and hear that Okami is similar and excellent.

  • Alterego-X #58 2 years ago

    @Charlie_Miso: "the whole 'I'm a hardcore gamer and Nintendo have lost me' line is laughable. "

    It is, especially when in the next sentence, they are insulting casual gamers for buying anything with Wii in the title.

    Also, hardcore gamers: YOU ARE IRRELEVANT! Even though your self-proclaimed name suggests that you are the center of the industry, YOU ARE THE NICHE! The fanatic! The weird obsessed guy! Every healthy industry must put its foundation in the mainstream, and having obsessed fans is just something nice to have, after that.

    Washing machines are not designed for "washing fans" first, and only occasionally milking normal people.
    The car industry is not centered around producing the fastest sports car, it is about making the most popular car.

    A gaming industry that directly ignores the many and only caters for the few, in the name of loyality and honor, is doomed.
    You are part of the few? Congratulations. You can still play games, and care a lot about games, just don't pretend to be the center of the universe, and don't expect the industry to jump at your wishes.
    Edited by 1 at 08/11/09 @ 09:50

  • varsas #59 2 years ago

    "A gaming industry that directly ignores the many and only caters for the few, in the name of loyality and honor, is doomed."

    This is quite nicely reflected by Japanese developers not doing so well these days and needing to cater to more than just the specific tastes of Japanese gamers.

  • TONYgr #60 2 years ago

    Well my wii is gathering dust under my bed.the only reason i keep it, is because i want to be able to play my gamecube games on it.

  • tardo #61 2 years ago

    Smelly, I hope you've bought and played Little King's Story before you go and buy those FPS's on the other consoles! good good

  • TonyHarrison #62 2 years ago

    "the hardcore crowd probably won't buy the next Nintendo console, after being burned with the Wii"

    There's that fallacy again. The 'hardcore' deserted Nintendo long before the Wii's release, in the same way that the hardcore deserted Sega... It's why Nintendo had to release the Wii after all (Sega weren't so lucky), but it's funny how that's conveniently ignored so those truly responsible for Nintendo's current direction can get on their online soapbox.

  • Linkified #63 2 years ago

    The way I see it from friends who've worked for Game etc. is this that they would see the casual gamers come in and spend maybe average of £50 per year on games. Whereas the hardcore would spend £400 on average for games. So I would say the hardcore are the very nucleus of the gaming industry, without them you would oly get yoga titles/brain training/educational games.

  • Stompy #64 2 years ago

    "The way I see it from friends who've worked for Game etc. is this that they would see the casual gamers come in and spend maybe average of £50 per year on games. Whereas the hardcore would spend £400 on average for games. So I would say the hardcore are the very nucleus of the gaming industry..."

    40 year old men spend the most per visit at HMV (used to be known as "£50 man";).
    I hope you now see that entertainment should be geared up towards middle-aged men.

  • secombe #65 2 years ago

    while its own failure to sell decent volumes of software on the Wii platform

    Surely this is a myth? The top 10 constantly seems half-filled with Wii games of some description.

  • khite #66 2 years ago

    It is very hard to come up with analogies to explain this to people. People who are into music may by several albums a month or week from artists you have never heard of. I guess they are hardcore music fans. But the top 10 is always dictated by folks who by several albums a year in huge numbers.

    However the difference is that people who buy more games are actually buying strongly promoted produced product that is technically demanding and has a narrow appeal. A bit like Heavy Metal. Probably quite a lot of them like Metal too actually!

    The Wii has the Pop market sown up. Just like pop music there is a whole lot of dross, but also games that have quality and depth if you are willing to enjoy them. But the Wii also has a great take on the more alternative, retro and indie side of gaming, as well as a superb Virtual Console.

    But these titles are not selling big numbers. I can't understand why anyone wouldn't want to play LKS. It is like listening to the Raincoats or other 80's Indie-Pop with its bitter sweet rhythm.

    Nintendo still have a lot of work to do in expanding the pop listening audience into the indie market. It happens in the music industry from time to time.



  • Chazmeister #67 2 years ago

    It's not, by any means, too late. Those people aren't going anywhere. Their Wii consoles may continue to gather dust and they may continue to buy only a minimal amount of software, if any at all, but it's highly unlikely that they will migrate to the offerings of any of Nintendo's rivals or dispose of the consoles entirely.

    I'm not so sure about that. What with Sony and Microsoft both offering a more family friendly Wii style motion control system in the not too distant future, in the guise of the PS3 Wand and Natal for the 360. The 360 Elite costs little more than a Wii and the PS3 won't be far behind in bringing its price down, and once they have their new motion controlers, I don't think for a minute that Sony and MS are just going to sit on their hands and let Nintendo continue to dominate the casual family friendly market without some stiff competion.

  • Moz #68 2 years ago

    while its own failure to sell decent volumes of software on the Wii platform

    Surely this is a myth? The top 10 constantly seems half-filled with Wii games of some description.

    Mainly fit and sports they haven't managed a big selling "game" in a while

  • zztopp #69 2 years ago

    The heat is on. Its time for Nintendo to pick up the baton it dropped .

  • smelly #70 2 years ago

    @tardo : It wasnt on my radar.. but just read a review.. Im thinking it'll probably give me more hours of entertainment than a fps (which can normally be finished in a few sittings).. so i might just do that.. Im bored of shooting games, but every time i get caught up in the hype surrounding them. For some reason I know im going to find MW2 "meh" but i'll still buy it.. weird or what?

  • smelly #71 2 years ago

    @AlterEgo-x : "Also, hardcore gamers: YOU ARE IRRELEVANT! "


    I dunno.. i consider myself a hardcore gamer.. i play a lot of games - I own all 3 machines, i've been playing games for near on 20 years.. and i feel better served by the wii than the other 2. If you look at games scoring 80% or more this year, there's a wide variety of decent games on the wii, some of them hardcore, some not... On the other platforms it's nearly all fps games and 3rd person romps.. *zzzzzz*.

    I think a lot of people equate "hardcore" to anything which has a gun.. I'd personally argue that most fps games are the definition of "casual" gaming.. They're mainstream, easy to beat, and have no real challenge to them until you play them online. Look at the uber popular bioshock - which was so casual it didnt even punish you for death - you just played it almost passively to just follow the (rather bad for movie/book but good for a game) story.

  • tnt_2008smum #72 2 years ago

    The 'hardcore' deserted Nintendo long before the Wii's release, in the same way that the hardcore deserted Sega...

    Now that’s the fallacy.

    When I think about gamers and the (awful) term ‘hardcore’ it represents people like me who have been playing games for years and consider gaming as their main hobby.

    We never deserted Nintendo during the N64/Gamecube era. It was us so called 'hardcore' that kept the Dreamcast alive during its short life span and we continue to keep its memory alive in comment sections such as these.

    It was the mainstream who didn’t give a toss about Sega or Nintendo at the time as they were too busy lapping up the trendy Playstation brand. It just so happens that the current hip new thing is waggling a controller at your T.V screen and people sure do love to follow a fad when they see one.

    When you really break it down you’ll realise that the fact that the Wii has been such a hit really has nothing to do with gaming after all.

  • TonyHarrison #73 2 years ago

    "We never deserted Nintendo during the N64/Gamecube era."

    Unfortunately, the facts say otherwise my friend. Compare sales of the SNES to that of the above consoles, and you'll see just how wrong you are. Casual gaming didn't exist back then after all.

    At least that's what I've gathered from reading the opinions of esteemed fellow gamers who think the Wii was the invention of casual gaming, which is exactly what I was responding to in the first place.

    Either those people are right, or I am.
    Edited by 1 at 08/11/09 @ 21:43

  • electrolite #74 2 years ago

    Been gaming for 20+ years now. Got 20+ consoles at home. Love the Wii, got 31 boxed games, a few Wiiware and a lot of VC. Getting a PS3 soon but otherwise not in any way moved by HD.

    Depending who you believe casual gaming began: -
    With Wipeout on PS1
    With GTA3 on PS2
    With Wii Sports

    However, this generation has been unique because the 'core' generation has defined itself so vocally as the vanguard of gaming, flying in the face of the history of the culture. All of a sudden, 'adult' games, GTA and Halo are the definition of core when a generation back they weren't. To me, someone actually interested in the future of gaming, the Wii is fantastic. Never before has a console been perfectly positioned to complement and attract a different audience to the competition, and it's done a great job. Production of good 360 and PS3 games hasn't suffered (it's the Wii that has the greatest proportion of shite) and the Wii's brought a lot of new people into the industry.

    However, some gamers have reacted like children, believing their particular brand of gaming (the only 'true gamers' gameshahahaIcannearlytypethatwithoutlaughing) to be threatened and are shouting about the Wii raping their pets or something. I go on football (well, Man United), politics and music sites and there isn't a more reactionary group of people in the world than modern FPS-overloaded 'gamers.

    I doubt there's another form of entertainment where the self-proclaimed (and self-praise is no praise at all) guardians are so utterly hopelessly out of touch with the real world, finance, and the industry they shout about. I doubt there's another form of entertainment where the 'core' have such misguided conviction that what they like is the best, and will be the biggest-selling. Anyway, rant over, anyone know Martin Atkinson's address....?

  • electrolite #75 2 years ago

    Great article BTW. The Wii was always going to slow up, without a much-improved line-up of first party games next year it will continue to do so. The good 3rd-party games have proven to be not system-sellers, and most 3rd-party games are shit. Meanwhile, Nintendo have made their 1st-party schedule about as prolific as the Saturns. In 2009. Personally I suspect they're holding back for a WiiHD launch next year but we'll see

  • tnt_2008smum #76 2 years ago

    @TonyHarrison

    Hmmm sorry but I’m not fully understanding what it is you are trying to say? I’m not looking for an argument and I’m not slating the Wii in any way.

    I remember back in the Snes/Megadrive days a guy in work telling me he’d bought a Nintendo and when I asked him what he thought of Super Mario World he replied ‘I didn’t get that one I got the black one you can play Sonic on.’

    My point being, there has always been casual gamers to a certain extent even going back to Atari vcs days. People like to buy into whatever the new flavour of the month is, be it mp3 players, DVD recorders or video game consoles. It was theses people who didn’t buy the N64, Dreamcast or Gamecube because they were buying Playstation 1’s and 2’s and these people (and their Grandparents it seems) are now buying Wii’s.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #77 2 years ago

    I'm a 31 year old father-of-one, and I've owned every Nintendo console (though not every model) that's been released here since my parents got me a NES for Christmas in 1988.

    This year, for probably the first year ever I have not seen fit to buy a game for my Nintendo console. Nintendo have lost me, and I spend most of the 90s as a fervent Nintendo zealot. We'll see how the reviews go whether I end up getting NSMBW, though I suspect I might let it slip until the new year.

    The article makes the point that Nintendo could save the Wii's decline by opening the floodgates on a wave of new, compelling, high quality software that engages the hardcore, and invites in those who just bought into the 10 pin bowling sim and exercise fads. If that happened, then I'm sure that's how it would go. But we're hardly hearing of a wii groundswell from the deveopment community (what we're hearing instead is of an iPhone groundswell). What we've got is Epic Mickey and whatever Nintendo themselves come up with. I doubt that'll tempt me away from my Xbox and PC.

  • Sid-Nice #78 2 years ago

    Casual gaming began with Pong; all gaming is a fad and those gamers who call themselves "Hardcore" are just silly little boys who haven't grew up. The only good thing about video games is while the hardcore are playing there's less masturbating going on in the world.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #79 2 years ago

    Depending who you believe casual gaming began: -
    With Wipeout on PS1
    With GTA3 on PS2
    With Wii Sports

    I'd say that casual console gaming as we know it now (as opposed to the people-playing-Solitare-on-their-PCs and facebook scrabble vein of casual gaming) truly began in the UK with Dancing Stage on the PS1 and the dance mat craze. Then followed eyetoy, then Singstar, then Buzz, then Wii Sports, then Wii Fit.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #80 2 years ago

    I've owned every Nintendo console that's been released here since my parents got me a NES for Christmas in 1988.

    Come to think of it, a large reason why I wanted that NES was because of the novelty of the plastic lightgun controller. Hmm.

    Mind you, the reason I kept it was because of the Marios and Gradiuses and Probotectors, the Excitebikes, Ninja Turtles, Mega Man and (for FORTY BLOODY QUID) The Legend of Zelda. I guess most of those would be considered pretty hardcore in today's terms, but I was a 10 to 12 year old kid when I enjoyed those. I don't even know where I'm going with this post, just drowning in the warm glow of nostalgia.

    I need to get me some Gumshoe on.

  • Quixz #81 2 years ago

    You can neg as much as you want, but the truth is Mario and Zelda games just don't mean anything to me anymore.

    Teamallstar +1 for you m8 :D
    Edited by 2 at 09/11/09 @ 04:21

  • secombe #82 2 years ago

    But I know plenty of gamers like me who still yearn for a more old-school gaming experience. We play indie titles on our PC's, and there are some great platformers for all systems, but Nintendo seems to be catering to this market.

    Spot on, the irony is, the Wii actually caters very well for those that were 'there at the beginning' and still appreciate that sort of simple yet brilliantly engineered game. Me and the other half were looking for a few 360 games yesterday and she said "where are the 2D games", she had a point, to be honest. In both of our opinions, 2D platformers still have a purity of control that modern 3D games can't touch...thankfully the Wii caters for us in that respect quite well.

    I've just finally picked up a 360 (because I wanted a decent driving game) but the Wii has served me since day one and will continue to do so.

  • robson_wii #83 2 years ago

    Interesting article but I don't agree with all of it. If you combined sales of PS2, Cube and X-Box, the market was only about 150M. Wii has over 1/3 of the previous market already in 3 years. Price cuts and better software bundles will probably stimulate sales again (or pretty colours ;-)

    Decent games are coming out on all consoles and PC but unless you know where to look all seem very average in terms of software at the moment when walking into the stores. Christmas will have a few decent titles for all and I have my shopping list for Wii and PC.