Wii's Zelda charms non-gamer, Wii Sports, others fail

by James Ransom-Wiley on Nov 2nd 2006 10:55AM

Wii was recently put to the test by the BBC's Rebecca Morelle, a self-proclaimed "videogame-phobe." Looks alone were winning Morelle over until she was handed a controller and clumsily gyrated herself into embarrassment playing WarioWare. A few rounds of Wii Sports didn't help -- the awkwardness only grew. After Trauma Center and Excite Truck the playtest had improved to just "so far, so OK." Enter: Twilight Princess.

To Nintendo's surprise, it wasn't the disjointed inanity of WarioWare or the "swing away" nature of Wii Sports -- as Morelle notes, some just lack sporting ability -- that would win over the uninitiated. Instead, Morelle reveals that narrative lifted her veil of skepticism; a sense that her movements and the characters on screen were combining to create a coherent story.

Nintendo should not underestimate the power of its key franchises to command emotional attachments (like, go easies on the party games, 'kay?). Marked by intuitive control, Wii might be (so-called) videogame-phobes' best shot at understanding these narratives that we hold so close to our hearts.

[Thanks, Aisling]

Source

Tags: Legend of Zelda, LegendOfZelda, Link, nunchuk, TraumaCenter, Twilight Princess, TwilightPrincess, Wii

Reader Comments (66)

Nintendo FTW!

An intro and new trailer to Zelda is available @ www.thewiire.com

charms doesn't means they will buy

plenty of people are charmed by things they pass by but never partake in them again

"So, has the Wii converted me to the word of gaming?

I'm not sure I am completely won over. Playing the games was fun, and I would like to have another go on Zelda, but I'm not sure I would spend £179 for a console of my own.

However, if my brother were to become a Wii-owner, the next time he suggested a game, rather than turning my nose up, I might just be tempted to pick up the remote..."

So basically, no.

I'm actually quite suprised the Z:TP won her over. I guess putting the motion control, and hell, porting it to wii in general, was a good idea.

Her interest in a game that Nintendo did not intend to draw the non gamer in with, speaks volumes of the systems potential.
Despite how this is being presented it is actually a good thing for Nintendo, I don't think she would feel the same attachment to a similar type of game with the usual input methods of todays gen.

BTW: Enter the SDF to try and put as much water on this fire as possible.

"WE CAN"T HAVE GOOD WII NEWS, IT MAKES OUR NEWS LOOK TERRIBLE BY COMPARISON!!"

^^You consider this good news? A non-gamer who thought Wii's non-gamer catered games sucked. Yeah, great news. Zelda FTW though.

So if a portion of those that try games like Wii Sports are 'charmed' by them (and there is a good portion), and some of those that try more in-depth games like LoZ are 'charmed' by those, doesn't that mean that more non-gamers are 'charmed' than even Nintendo intended?

Seems to me this is only a positive. I'm glad she doesn't want to pay the full price for Wii and LoZ, that way we can get it. But when the system is £99, she and others like her might buy it. Strong sales throughout the console's life?

The fact is, though, that it wasn't the Wii that won her over. Clearly, it was the universal power of narrative, something that has been present in games for quite a while now (and, if I do say so myself, in much better places than Zelda) unawares to the largely ignorant public. In which case, it can surmised that games on other platforms, like Metal Gear and Final Fantasy, (to cite the two most commonly referred to storytellers) would have a much bigger draw than the Wii.

at least for my fiance (and like the woman who wrote the article), it's always about the content that draws her attention--regardless of which form of media--movies, books or games--it's NEVER about the looks--she can careless whether the game is in 1080i or 480i.

Gameplay factors in a lot too, but if the story and content interests her, she will play invest the energy to learn the complex controls.

I think this is the universal bottom line for anyone who tries anything new--including games or sports--a source of motivation--an involving story that the user can relate to is a very strong motivation.

"However, if my brother were to become a Wii-owner, the next time he suggested a game, rather than turning my nose up, I might just be tempted to pick up the remote..."

This quite of hers is pretty interesting. Seems like she's up for multiplayer Wii gaming. I think alot of non-gamers and casual gamers only like playing multiplayer/online games because they find social interaction appealing.

As for her liking Zelda but none of the other games, I did find that surprising at first. But think about it, a grandma or grandpa would prolly enjoy Wii Sports more than Zelda. On the other hand, this 30 something? non-gamer enjoyed something more deep and meaningful, with a story and and cinema-quality atmosphere so I guess it depends on the non-gamer person what their exact preference is.

@8
I'll give you Final Fantasy but Metal Gears story in my opinion is a lot more difficult to get into. The conspiracies and such...

Amazing! The "demo" games didn't win a non-gamer over! More news, a person who doesn't play games won't pay $250 for a single game! This means the Wii will fail! All hail Playstation 3! Play with babies... B3yond!

The fact that she even considered the Wii is a big step.......how many people like her have even touched the 360 or heard of the PS3 let alone thought about buying them

I've been watching that ToP intro and trailer over and over again today. I'm far from the biggest Zelda fan, but even I can't fight the awesome-ness that this game exudes.

@11, Flit:

And you think she'll pay $600 for a PS3 to get a comprable narrative? She won't pick up a PS3, but if she won't pick up a Wii then that's okay? Sounds like a phyrric victory to me.

@ 8,

metal gear solid and other franchises with similar narrative will never appeal to female non-gamers. the strong narrative is tailored for teen (and older) males.

zelda and final fantasy are more similar, because the world, quests, and gameplay of the game has many unisex characteristics even if the main story is also tailored for boys.

The point here is that the controller, as in the innovative idea to pull in non gamers, didn't really appeal.. it was the actual game itself. So she could get interested in plenty of games such as Kingdom Hearts but it's getting her to actually play them that's the key. So maybe people being intruiged with the controller could get them interested in games like Zelda.

I believe the Wii will be successful with gamers in general but at the end of the day won't pull in many new gamers at all. What i've seen to be very successful in getting non gamers playing are games like Guitar Hero and Buzz the Music Quiz. They combine gaming with things that people are really passionate about such as music, Wii games that do the same kind of thing could do well but typical games being played with the Wii controller won't get non-gamers involved.

birdguy - I want to rebut your post, but there's so much wrong with it that I don't know where to start.

@ 18
which post? i had two? both? i would like to hear what you think.

#18, WRD, the only thing I see wrong in either of birdguy's posts is that he used 'careless' instead of 'care less' and that was probably just a typo

white rose.... what is so wrong with birdguy's post? Metal Gear is set for teen above, males... Zelda and FF are more open to girls... I fail to see what is... wrong with the post... To add to that... FF and Zelda have pick up the new title and enjoy stories... Metal Gear has so much backstory that has to be known in order to "understand" and enjoy... I am a fan of all three so I'm not saying I prefer one over the other...

Please turn comments on in the story above this one.

Either it's a mistake or she is a coward.

Metal Gear and Final Fantasy were just examples. There are plenty of other quality narratives out there that I could have inserted. (Last year's Indigo Prophecy comes to mind.) The point is, nothing about the Wii itself got this non-gamer to game. If you look at the article, there are TWO things referenced as selling points to her: the narrative experience and visuals. You know where she'll be able to find those two things in better supply than the Wii? The 360 and PS3.

Here's what need to happen: Load ZTP on a GC and Wii .. randomly assign peoeple to Wii or GC version.. get feedback...

I suspect ZTP is more appealing simply becuase its Zelda and its a much better game than the tech demo that is WiiSports or those other two games. ie. the controls have nothing to do with it, which is why Nintendo is making you jump through hoops to get the GC version.

Also, Truama Centre is a Flash, point and click game, so, its nothing new. ETruck is just lame.

That is where the price comes in... Non-gamers are not going to be willing to pay 400-600 dollars (in most cases) on something they only know a little about. They are going to be more willing to pay 250 but even then that is a deterent. Wii is more likely to pull in non-gamers because most non-gamers are female... The girls are starting to play but not many... PS3 and 360 are more, whether by choice or not, geared towards teen and above males...Wii has more... younger and female approach not to mention there will be so many of them not seeing one in someone's house will be challenging... Being in such supply it will be the system of choice for "spontaneous" purchase. It is also advertised more friendly than say the PS3s crazy baby or shadowy 3 commercials...

Keep in mind she was also charmed by "The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants".

#24

Nothing new?

You mean like real time weapons switching new, motion control tacked on original controller new, or big crab massive damage new?

I'm confused.

#25

best thing i'll read all day

"If you look at the article, there are TWO things referenced as selling points to her: the narrative experience and visuals. You know where she'll be able to find those two things in better supply than the Wii? The 360 and PS3"

Except if she's not willing to shell out the equivalent of $250 for wii, what makes you thing she'd shell out the equivalent of 350, 500, or even 600 for 360 or PS3?

Sure, they can do visuals better, but the cost of entry is prohibitively high for someone who might pick up a controller at her brothers house... maybe.

I think its a mistake to assume games for casual players have to be simple like Wii sports. Casual players are seeking mental stimulation - that's why games like Sudoku become popular. Wii Sports offers very little mental stimulation.

A casual gamer might be stimulated by an RPG's story and characters, but many such games make it difficult for casual gamers to get into them. Most RPGs expect that the player already understands the mechanics of mana and magic. They need to introduce and explain those concepts and mechanics to casual players. In that respect, Zelda games are usually relatively accessible, compared to some RPGs.

It really makes no sense to generalize based on an n=1 experiment that nintendo needs to make any changes at all in its game development or marketing. They have something for everyone is the point. But clearly, Zelda has evolved over the years into something with truly broad appeal. I don't know too many female gamers sadly, but a large percentage of them play the Zelda games, especially compared to my male gamer friends, many of whom are locked into sports & shooters and won't venture outside of that realm.

And on a final note, lookie here: more pointless bile from >. What a surprise! Don't you have ANYTHING better to do than hate? You wonder why you have a so-called "following" - it's because the unconstructive negativity of your comments continually sticks out.

I wonder if she would have been just as interested in zelda with the normal gc controller

"And on a final note, lookie here: more pointless bile from >. What a surprise! Don't you have ANYTHING better to do than hate? You wonder why you have a so-called "following" - it's because the unconstructive negativity of your comments continually sticks out."

My posts may be negative to some, but, they're hardly unconstructive.

My point about the GC vs. Wii ZTP is enirely valid; if the Wii version is so spectacularly better than the GC version because of the control scheme (the only difference), then Nintendo should have both version out on day one. Gamers will be WOWED by the INCREDIBLE control scheme of the Wii that they will drop the GC in a heartbeat and buy the Wii.

And, Trauma centre IS a point a click game that can be implemented in Flash. And, fyi, ETruck is lame.

I don't see this article as being a negative. It's not absolutely glowing, so comparative to most of the Wii press so far, it's a bit different.

But that being said, she claimed that she's totally not into video games. She's the sort that never saw the point. I know her type - my girlfriend and some of my family and friends are like her. They dismiss video games outright, typically because the pad is just so foreign to them. That she has gone from 0% to 50% on video games because of the Wii is a big step, and an important one, after all: part of the gaming community's excitement for Wii is because we know we'll get more people involved. It's partially, if not mostly, the social aspect that makes it a compelling console.

Wow, I can't believe no one said this.

Nintendo should pack in Zelda!!!!

(It will never happen because it will be a huge seller)

>: "Trauma centre IS a point a click game that can be implemented in Flash."

Loco Roco for the PSP was implemented in Flash, on its official website. Flow for the PS3 is based on a Flash game. What's your point?

I can't believe some people are spinning this negatively.

She obviously enjoyed playing Zelda because she felt more involved in the game, the unique Wii controler undoubtably aided this positive experience. And anyway, she didn't dismiss the other games:

"She was handed a controller and clumsily gyrated herself into embarrassment playing WarioWare."

The embarrassment was probably due to the following factors, being a total newbie to video games, the actual tasks involved (gyrating? Heh) and being filmed whilst playing. All of which wouldn't be significant in home surroundings.

I don't think anyone is expecting 30-something single females rushing out to buy the Wii in droves, but it's clear the pick-up-and-play style is going to attract a wide demographic.

It seems like Rebecca Morelle's fear of video games was brought on by something other than not liking video games like fear of being associated with the stereotypical video game fan. Since she seemed to like Zelda so much, she probably would have liked OoT just as much. Wii Sports didn't work on her for the same reason it won't work on Halo fans. She's just a gamer who never really gave games a chance.

@15

I don't think you can say it's simply not the controller. I've had every popular game system since the NES and I've avoided games like Zelda and just about every FPS because of the control scheme. I found them interesting enough but I can't deal with it. This will give me an opportunity to give some new game genres a try. So we have to look at both factors in this.

"Loco Roco for the PSP was implemented in Flash, on its official website. Flow for the PS3 is based on a Flash game. What's your point?"

That the Wii is gonna get a sh!tload of Flash-derivative party games; Raving Rabbids is basically a compilation of Flash games.... not so much becuase its Flash, but, because of the wiimote pointer function.

Flow in Flash aint 1080p 60 fps.

"And as I stood in the room, holding the remote and desperately hula-hooping, I couldn't help thinking this was more like ritual humiliation than something supposed to be fun."

"So much for gaming being a sedentary activity - all of the jumping about was rather tiring."

Negatives- Tiring and Humiliating.

"Maybe it was the cute outfit he was wearing, or perhaps it was the fun of using the remote to swipe a sword or ping an arrow, or the fact that there was some kind of narrative to what was going on that made my videogame scepticism lift."

Positive- Cute outfits and some kind of narrative. Good controller use, but at the cost of a steeper learning curve.

We used a gyroscoptic mouse for our company presentations, but had to retire it because people couldn't get the hang of it (mostly non-gamers).

Nintendo fans will buy the system, non-gamers won't.

I think some people are reading too much into one particular case. This is just one person trying out the Wii, and is by no means indicative of all non-gamers. Everyone has different tastes no matter if they're gamers or not. My wife, for instance, plays Atari 800, Animal Crossing, Electroplankton, and The Sims. These may be obvious choices for a non-gamer; however, they show that Nintendo is targetting people like her quite well with some of its launch titles. A game like Wii Sports is not all that different from the simplicity of an Atari 800 game.

She, like the author of that article, is also drawn toward involved storylines in games, but she doesn't have the patience to learn the button controls. Instead, she won't let me play games like Resident Evil 4 unless she's beside me on the couch to witness every moment.

My dad used to play video games a lot during the 16 bit era (including executing combos in Street Fighter 2), but never quite grasped how to deal with the controls when everything went 3D. Everyone's different.

I can't believe nobody has brought up the more important discussion in this debate - is that Rebecca Morelle girl as hot as she looks like she could be in those pictures?

I think the big issue is that most non-gamers only see a sort of caricature of gaming: big guns, explosions every 5 seconds, and not much else. It's no surprise, then, that they would think that games have all the narrative power of a bad action movie. It's a shame, too, because that misconception is a big part of why games have yet to be taken seriously artistically, even though anyone reading this blog can attest to some of the fantastically artistic games out there. But as long as all the mainstream sees are the extremes of mindless violence in sensationalist news reports, these conceptions won't change.

It's funny to see a lot of people posting, "OMG one person didn't like Wii Sports, that means teh Wii is going to failz!!!!111oneeleven"

I'm still predicting the Wii and its alternate controller will fade faster than a spray on tan. I predict by the end of 07 we will have a regular controller for the thing and be right back to an over glorified Gamecube. Nintendo still makes great games, I just think they have the console hardware wrong.

"And as I stood in the room, holding the remote and desperately hula-hooping, I couldn't help thinking this was more like ritual humiliation than something supposed to be fun."

Exactly. It's supposed to be alluring to the non-gamer, not appear to be a potential embarrassment.

We can only keep our hopes high. The Wii is what it is, and to suggest it will be some industry-saving device is a bit fantastic.

#44
Ironically enough I only see that dumb rhetoric coming from you.

Isn't this something that nintendo should have heavily researched before dedicating itself towards this actualization of its philsosphy?

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Wii's Zelda charms non-gamer, Wii Sports, others fail

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