TIME says Wii Sports may be "the greatest videogame" of all-time
by Justin Murray 
{ Nov 14th 2006 at 10:55AM }
Nintendo has been billing the Wii as the non-gamer's console. Nintendo wants to do with the Wii what they did with the DS, make it a huge hit among everyone (except die-hard partisans of the other systems, of course). Now Nintendo can add yet another notch to their non-gamer belt.
Time Magazine's Wilson Rothman got his own chance to sit down with the Wii. His verdict? He loves Wii Sports. Like, really loves it. He breathlessly mutters, "it might be the greatest videogame ever made." We're not quite there with you Wilson, but you've got that whole "non-gamer" thing going. Despite his affinity for Wii Sports, Rothman wasn't exactly impressed with anything else but he does still recommend a purchase.
The Wii is getting some excellent buzz. While Rothman finds Wii Sports intoxicating, others are attracted by Twilight Princess. Nintendo's strategy seems to be working; offering a broad variety of titles could win them the crown this generation. Will Nintendo be able to pull an upset over its more powerful competition? It's possible, especially since Nintendo is attracting fans in unusual places.
[Thanks, sean]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Bergasa @ Nov 14th 2006 11:04AM
As long as Nintendo doesn't stop making epics like Zelda and Metroid, I'm cool with it. More power to Nintendo, hope they come out on top this generation.
gameclu @ Nov 14th 2006 11:07AM
Interesting. This might indicate that some purchasers of the wii will use it solely for Wii Sports, and nothing else. Much like my Jaguar is a basically a Tempest 2k machine. Way to early to tell.
32_Footsteps @ Nov 14th 2006 11:09AM
I'm mostly wondering what games Mr. Rothman has played if he thinks Wii Sports is the greatest of all time. I thought the game was decidedly mediocre, with poor controls that feel really off if you're at all familiar with the sports in question.
It's always entertaining when non-gamers make such pronouncements. It's almost cute in the same way a baby is cute when it repeatedly falls on its ass while trying to learn to walk.
BustahWolf @ Nov 14th 2006 11:19AM
I'm not too thrilled with the guy's seeming inability to give equal time to other launch titles. It sounds like he didn't even bother to try. But then again, that one reporter in Britain tried a bunch and only really enjoyed Twilight Princess, so I guess you can't expect the uninitiated to jump at everything immediately.
Ridiculous statements aside though, this is still good news for nintendo. Any example of an outsider being happily converted, by whatever game, will be helpful.
ace @ Nov 14th 2006 12:19PM
did any of the other video game machines make it on time magazine?
> @ Nov 14th 2006 11:23AM
I really doubt any mainstream media pub. is going to diss the Wii; esp. non-gaming ones who think that WiiSports is the greatest game of all time. Gimme a break.
Gamers will see past the wishy-washy type while effect on non-gamers is still unknown: is your grandma gonna run out and buy the Wii after reading this?
Baba @ Nov 14th 2006 11:25AM
Paging Winston Wolfe...
Prof-KOS @ Nov 14th 2006 11:28AM
32_Footsteps,
Fantastic analogy. I think Nintendo does have the right idea with a large and diverse library of games. As it's been pointed out several times, the most technologically advanced systems rarely, if ever, wins. The systems with the most to offer does. What we all forget sometimes in this media centre age, is that what game systems offer are games. It is no coincidence that the top selling system (PS2) also had a crazy amount of software available for it.
GaryM @ Nov 14th 2006 11:33AM
Time Magazine also named Hitler "Man Of The Year" once upon a time.
slagar @ Nov 14th 2006 11:34AM
i love it when "gamers" dis "non-gamers", as the gamers truly aren't getting it. it seems the "gamers" are defending their way of life against the oncoming horde that doesn't understand what gaming is all about.
the Wii isn't about traditional gaming. it's trying to get to those who are turned off by the things that traditional gaming has been about. Leet speak. Pwning. Fragging. those thing are getting old and it is time for a change.
think of the Wii as a gateway. it will get people who have never picked up a controller to pick one up. who knows what will happen from there.
it means more people will be playing games and that can only mean good things about gaming in general.
Dale @ Nov 14th 2006 11:36AM
He needs to ease off the hyperbole... and take his pain pills.
reguy @ Nov 14th 2006 11:36AM
what a bunch of bullsh!t. even if wii sports was the only game ever made it still wouldnt be goat.
FinalDelerium @ Nov 14th 2006 11:37AM
"Gamers will see past the wishy-washy type while effect on non-gamers is still unknown"
Because gamers have powers to see through hype. They can also fly, that's levitation holmes, and the power to kill a yak fromm two hundred yards away, with MIND BULLETS!
Sorry "Greater Than" i should clarify, are you bagging the entire Wii, or just Wii Sports.
riskbreaker @ Nov 14th 2006 11:36AM
i guess he has played zelda yet
Tyler @ Nov 14th 2006 11:37AM
To be fair, TIME's "Man of the Year" is not an honor persee, merely a distinction of the most important man of the previous year. When they named Hitler they still knew he was a monster, but he was an influential one.
Sorry, off topic. It is my purpose in life to upbraid anyone making a Nazi reference in an unrelated forum.
FinalDelerium @ Nov 14th 2006 11:40AM
Sing it slagar.
Seriously, if we lose nothing else from gaming this year, let it be the three things you mentioned. leet speak, pwning and fragging.
Hell, i'll settle just for leet speak. ENGLISH WORKS.
kiko @ Nov 14th 2006 11:40AM
32_foots... from reading all your post over the past few months, this is the mental image i have from you
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h31/amusingdream/222px-The_Simpsons-Jeff_Albertson.jpg
ksih @ Nov 14th 2006 1:02PM
Just think a bit and you'll see where he's coming from. Its OK!
For instance, my dad HATES video games. Hates them. Well at least since pacman, he loved pacman. I have many a fond memory of him breaking our commodore joysticks when he'd get into it.
But everything since then? 20 years worth of gaming? Hated it. I know he would hate the new Zelda (and every other Zelda). The very concept of that being a game is alien to him. But I'm really looking forwards to introducing him to wii sports. It is the kind of thing he could get into. And for him, yea, it will be the "best" game since pacman.
And you know what? That is ok, that is great. I'll go home this thanksgiving and once again be able to enjoy a video game with my Dad. And those are the people Nintendo is trying to bring in.
Just accept that a lot of people literally could care less about graphics, story, or any of the other things gamers look for in a game. It is simple, fun, and involved. You look pretty silly playing DDR, guitar hero, and kareoke revolution too, but non gamers love them. And so do gamers.
So can we stop being so condescending? They aren't dumb, they aren't "cute" and immature. They are normal people who won't have the time or inclination to get into Zelda, but will probably absolutely love to play some cool new motion sensing games.
Am I looking forward to Zelda? Heck yea, I'll always be a Nintendo fan. Bring me some new Mario lovin. But in a way I am looking forard to wii sports and the like a lot more, because I just can't wait to play some video golf with my dad this holiday season.
As long as he doesn't break anymore controllers in fits of excitement. Big difference between 5$ commadore joystick (that he paid for) and 40$ wiimote (that I will have paid for. ) :)
Tacoman @ Nov 14th 2006 11:47AM
"Time Magazine also named Hitler "Man Of The Year" once upon a time."
The difference is, that title is given to the person Time feels most influenced or represented a certain year. It is not decidedly positive or negative, whereas one writer for the magazine saying Wii Sports is "the greatest videogame" of all-time is positive de-facto. The analogy does not hold.
I'll give you the benefit of a doubt and assume you weren't going for that "X is worse than Hitler" angle you kids like so much.
> @ Nov 14th 2006 11:47AM
"Sorry "Greater Than" i should clarify, are you bagging the entire Wii, or just Wii Sports."
I meant when he declared that WiiSports is GOAT... most people who have a rudimentary knowledge of video games will see that as bull. Esp. when hes casts ZTP aside so quickly.
Tacoman @ Nov 14th 2006 11:54AM
"what a bunch of bullsh!t. even if wii sports was the only game ever made it still wouldnt be goat."
This is absolutely true. Even if Wii Sports was the only game ever made, it still would not be a goat.
Also, "bullsh" is not a word, and "t" is not a full sentence. Work on your punctuation and grammar.
32_Footsteps @ Nov 14th 2006 11:55AM
Okay, to be fair to Time Magazine, they determine their Person Of The Year not by who is the best person in the world, but the most influential in the world over the past 12 months. And while I'm certainly no fan of Hitler, nobody can deny that he was frighteningly influential.
Hopefully, that will end this Godwin-predicted line of conversation.
Anyhow, for the actual article itself, and discussions thereof...
"What we all forget sometimes in this media centre age, is that what game systems offer are games. It is no coincidence that the top selling system (PS2) also had a crazy amount of software available for it."
That's true to some extent, but then, there is a chicken/egg thing going on. Do people make more games for the PS2 because it's the best-selling, or is it the best-selling because it has the most games?
Actually, in discussions I've had with developers, the reason that the PS2 has the most games for it isn't so much the sales of the console (at least, definitely not in the system's beginning), but the relative ease with which you could make a PS2 game.
Part of this is the bottlenecks. It's not so much that the PS2 had no bottlenecks, or the fewest bottlenecks, but some developers were just used to the bottlenecks Sony had in place because of the first Playstation.
The other part of this is the developmental guidelines each company has in place. One company rep (who asked me to not quote them directly) put it like this. Sony's approval process is pretty easy. They have the least demands, and meeting them is fairly easy to get approval for a PS2 game. Microsoft has an absurdly long rap sheet of specifications, but once you meet them to the letter, they're ready to let you post the Xbox logo on the case. Nintendo actually issues the least demands, but they're extraordinarily vague with them and unless you've been working with Nintendo a long time you'll probably spend extra development time tweaking things to get the GC logo on your packaging.
This actually reflects each company's backgrounds. Nintendo instituted a longer process for approval back in the 8-bit days to ensure the survival of the NES post-Crash, and have been slow to change things. Sony created loose rules to attract people to their upstart console, particularly when bottlenecks had to be overcome in the programming process. Microsoft is used to long, onerous, and precise checklists for producing their big-name software; and they're much more interested in hitting those benchmarks with precision than anything else.
I think in terms of game development, the system that gets more games is going to, at least at first, depend on whether people can deal with Sony's bottlenecks, Nintendo's intrasingence, or Microsoft's bueacratic approval procedures. Eventually, hardware sales will determine which people can deal with (it's alot easier to deal with bottlenecks this generation to reach 5x as many customers), but at least initially, those will determine who develops for which system.
ChrisBo @ Nov 14th 2006 11:56AM
Honestly, Kiko, isn't that what the world sees gamers as anyway? I know that's the mental image I get when I think of every single poster (me included) posting about video games.
DAMN YOU, SIMPSONS! YOU'VE TAKEN MY IMAGINATION AWAY FROM ME!!!
JodyAnthony @ Nov 14th 2006 11:57AM
>, is he not allowed to believe that it is the greatest videogame of all time?
a lot of people thing Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the greatest game of all time, same with GTA3, same with Halo, same with DDR, same with countless other games. For me? Suikoden 2. (with Illusion of Gaia a very very close tie)
Does that mean my opinion - and everyone elses - is wrong? Hell no, they are OUR OPINIONS, and we are all allowed to think game X is the greatest game of all time.
For the record, what do YOU think is the greatest game of all time? and when/if you say what your opinion is, can we all call you a liar/idiot/whatever? because god forbid you or anyone else has a strong opinion about a game.
If he said Resistance or whatever other game comes out for PS3 was the greatest game of all time, would you still bash him? You will of course say yes, but we all know the truth. You are a pathetic fanboy who should be ashamed to call himself a gamer.
32_Footsteps @ Nov 14th 2006 11:58AM
Kiko, is that the best you can do? Especially since I'm absolutely loathe to pronounce anything "Best/Worst (blank) ever."
But please, continue with the half-baked assumptions. It amuses me to find people who only pay attention to, at most, half of what I say.
JodyAnthony @ Nov 14th 2006 11:59AM
very very close second, not tie. that wouldn't make any sense at all.
gamerx @ Nov 14th 2006 12:00PM
Well, Wii Sports may be "the greatest videogame" of all-time, FOR NON-GAMERS ONLY! I think this is what TIME meant to say. And if you think about it, its prolly true. What other game will convince a non-gamer to try out gaming for the first time? Gears of War?
Buckshot @ Nov 14th 2006 12:03PM
Did he not get his copy of "Gears of War"?
32_Footsteps @ Nov 14th 2006 12:11PM
"What other game will convince a non-gamer to try out gaming for the first time?"
For the record, my mom loves the copy of Katamari Damacy I got her. Once I explained the idea and the basics of the controls, she got right into it.
It's probably the one game in the current generation I've had non-gamers ask me about more than any other. So I'll have to go with that, or the sequel, as a game better than Wii Sports to get gamers addicted.
Unless, of course, someone can convince all appropriate parties that there needs to be a Wii Love Katamari. Then I'd probably use that to reach out to non-gamers.
SP @ Nov 14th 2006 12:12PM
If Wii Sports gets some adult who has never gotten into video games before to purchase a system, then to that person, it is the greatest game of all time. It's doing what Halo, Grand Theft Auto, and Ocarina of Time couldn't.
> @ Nov 14th 2006 12:13PM
"What other game will convince a non-gamer to try out gaming for the first time?"
Mindsweeper
Solitaire
DuckHunt
Guitar Hero
DDR
DonkeyKonga
kiko @ Nov 14th 2006 12:15PM
ok, sorry. i was wrong. this is more like it
http://www.ftt.is/salin/images/Critic.jpg
you just sound like a pretentious prick.
people
who
talk
in
metaphors
oughta
shampoo
my
crotch
adios!
MosquitoControl @ Nov 14th 2006 12:16PM
Maybe opinions can't be wrong, but they certainly can be stupid.
ackmondual @ Nov 14th 2006 12:20PM
@ #25
""Well, Wii Sports may be "the greatest videogame" of all-time, FOR NON-GAMERS ONLY! I think this is what TIME meant to say. And if you think about it, its prolly true. What other game will convince a non-gamer to try out gaming for the first time? Gears of War?""
As of current, THE most played game for PC is Solitaire. Yep, the one that's bundled with Windows 3.11 up to and probably including Win Vista. It ain't Quake 3, Unreal 2k'x', GTA, or some MMORPG. THE most popular graphics card is the integrated crap made by Intel since those PCs are the vast majority of them out there on the market. Not anything better that Ati or Nvidia makes. That's right, non-gamers are spoiling the stats for us PC gamers too.
.
@ #2
""Interesting. This might indicate that some purchasers of the wii will use it solely for Wii Sports, and nothing else. Much like my Jaguar is a basically a Tempest 2k machine. Way to early to tell.""
Ain't nothing wrong with that. We've seen this before. People who otherwise would've had NO interest in console games whatsoever bought the PS2 just for Guitar Hero and DDR, while ppl got the GC just for the Konga Drums. It's also nice Nin will bundle a game with their console.
32_Footsteps @ Nov 14th 2006 12:20PM
People who speak in metaphors... you mean just like people who compare others to fictional characters?
And you should learn what the word "pretentious" means. I have no pretentions. I know exactly what I am - a guy who helps run a video game website who knows a little about the industry based on conversations I've had with people who work in it.
But hey, better being potentially pretentious than quite obviously hypocritical.
murph @ Nov 14th 2006 12:29PM
someone send this guy a copy of Guitar Hero 2.
32_Footsteps @ Nov 14th 2006 12:22PM
"did any of the other video game machines make it on time magazine?"
Actually, as I recall, Bill Gates held a 360 on the cover of Time a year ago. And Joystiq linked to an article Time wrote up about a week or so ago about the PS3 (which was actually somewhat negative). Time doesn't do regular video game coverage, but they do pay attention to hardware launches.
flymolo @ Nov 14th 2006 12:31PM
Hey Kiko, 32 footsteps garners a certain amount of respect around here, just look at the star rating.
I suggest that if you have a propblem with commenters who think through ideas and give thoughtful answears you should probably leave.
argue topics and points, not posters.
Todd @ Nov 14th 2006 12:34PM
Most of the posts stink of this exclusive club gamers think that they belong to. Obviously this guy is a non-gamer, but I'm sure he's been exposed to a couple games. The fact that so many of you have a hard time beliveing that he could possibly LOVE what most has labled a "tech demo" just goes to show that most of you actually prefer "more of the same" software that keeps being thrown at us from developers.
Koo @ Nov 14th 2006 12:41PM
@29
Funny that 4 of those games include unique gameplay controlers instead of normal button pushing. Hell, the only games of those on a console use some kind of non-button/analogue stick peripheral. Did you also notice they all do some task that people also find fun in the real world (not fighting a WW2 battle).
I've seen you post a lot on the Wii, but there you just contradict yourself and show the power of gameplay over graphics to the non-gamer.
Brian @ Nov 14th 2006 12:40PM
He also thinks that "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" was the best movie ever made. And by many of the comments on this site people would agree with him.
I mean, who cares if "Citizen Kane" reinvented the way people thought of movies or if "The Bicycle Thief" contained the greatest narrative in the history of cinema or if "Breathless" was an absolute revolution in characterization. More people who didn't care about movies got into "Ferris Bueller" and as long as something is [popular, fun, and easy to grasp art and content mean nothing.
Fuck camera stylo, we've got Wii Sports!
> @ Nov 14th 2006 12:52PM
"Funny that 4 of those games include unique gameplay controlers instead of normal button pushing. Hell, the only games of those on a console use some kind of non-button/analogue stick peripheral. Did you also notice they all do some task that people also find fun in the real world (not fighting a WW2 battle)."
Right. But, they are also single purpose games with a single purpose controler... it will be a month before wiimote gestures become the new 'button mashing'... then you're left with a GC1.5.
anghus @ Nov 14th 2006 12:59PM
i remember when i was a kid, my parents (who never played video games) loved the Shooting Range Arcade cartridge that came with the Sears version of Atari. They would just play those target games over and over again. When i got my Nintendo, i would occassionally see my dad play Duck Hunt.
Nintendo is making a bold step by casting a wider net. Whether they appeal to hardcore gamers or casual fans, all they care about is selling systems. They are looking beyond the core group of video game players, throwing the gauntlet down since they cant compete with the advancing technologies. I still think its a smart move.
GlitchCog @ Nov 14th 2006 1:03PM
You guys are really missing the point.
This writer obviously never liked video games that required all sorts of buttons and a pre-adolescent desire to see violence strong enough to break through a tough learning curve. This guy is picking up a controller, treating it like a tennis racket and enjoying it.
Saying "oh, he must never have played Final Fantasy Tactics" or "MMORPG WoW with Burning Crusade pack v2.34 and MX518 Gaming Mouse is much better" is COMPLETELY missing the point. He doesn't like video games... that's why Wii Sports is the best one: because it's fun for this guy who doesn't want to push buttons and analog sticks. Of course the gaming community won't agree with him.
Robert Jung @ Nov 14th 2006 1:07PM
It's worth noting that > has nothing better to do with his/her/its free time than to piss in every Wii-related post on Joystiq. The poor schlub probably had to donate a kidney to put a downpayment on a PS3 and is now trying to retroactively justify the act.
--R.J.
Grant @ Nov 14th 2006 1:13PM
"Right. But, they are also single purpose games with a single purpose controler... it will be a month before wiimote gestures become the new 'button mashing'... then you're left with a GC1.5."
Yeah, because all those games you listed faded away in a month....
Koo @ Nov 14th 2006 1:25PM
"Right. But, they are also single purpose games with a single purpose controler... it will be a month before wiimote gestures become the new 'button mashing'... then you're left with a GC1.5."
Not true...last time I checked a mouse was not a single purpose controller. Donkey Konga are not only used for donkey konga-ing, and Wiimotes are only gesture based if developers are lazy. Innovative games have more of a chance to come from something new than something old with rehased visuals...this is why these expensive "single purpose" peripherals sell well to non-gamers.
This also brings up the point that all of the games you mentioned (with the exception of Guitar Hero...kinda) are old to older games that consistantly sell well. Not to mention that you can run ALL of those games on a game cube because none of them have stellar graphics.
No matter what you think swinging a baseball bat or bowling has never gotten old to people. By your logic, the "single purpose" of sports would have gotten old long ago. DDR doesn't get "old" like 50 ports A to fire B to jump do. Button pushing offers no deviation, whereas even gesture based things do.
If you want to stay on the cutting edge of visuals get a PC quit using consoles. My point is that casual gamer wouldn't care if the Wii was an N64 with motion control. All of the games you mentioned backup that assumption.
By the way, name a "multi-purpose" game. You mean like, several kinds of sports? OR minigames? Or flying a plane and driving a car with the same 2 buttons?
> @ Nov 14th 2006 1:20PM
"Yeah, because all those games you listed faded away in a month...."
What does that have to do with anything?
Anyways...
Even with the wiimote, there are a finite number of gestures or control conifigurations that can ever be implemented.
So, with racing games, you hold the wiimote flat and tilt it to steer. This is how ALL wii racing games are going to control. After the novelty wears off, its no different than button mashing. Youre back at GC1.5.
With sword swinging games, you are going to shake the wiimote or do slash gestures. This is how ALL sword games are going to control... after the novelty wears off, its no different than button mashing.
Etc, etc.
Do you understand now.
flymolo @ Nov 14th 2006 1:28PM
Yeah I get it. On the Wii I'm going to have fun.
I've been a gamer since I got an NES, I own or have owned every major system since then. I've been button mashing for 20 years and I'm sick of it. It's now boring.
Almost everything about videogames has evolved or changed significantly in the last 20 years except control. I've been waiting for virtual reality since the NES and to me this is the first real step toward that.
FuzzyPickles @ Nov 14th 2006 1:40PM
What > and others are failing to realize is that the controller is only a part of it--the first bullet-point, if you will. While there a more "gamers" today than there were during the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, more casual players have been alienated since the big push to 3D worlds. 3D was kind of a mixed blessing to gaming--the plus sides are obvious, the downsides are that controls are more complicated (bad for casuals), gameplay isn't as exhilirating (practical demise of Sonic franchise, Mega Man, etc on home consoles is all the evidence of that one), and games are easier (Viewtiful Joe was a beautiful reminder of the days when levels needed to be played more than twice to beat--but then again, it was a side scroller). What Nintendo is trying to do is recapture that casual market, in three ways:
1) separating itself from the competition and the expected norms of the industry, the state of which is held in contempt by many non-gamers nowadays (not focusing so much on raw power, but on efficiency and affordability)
2) bringing back a social aspect to gaming that extends beyond fragging and pwning (started with trading Pokemon, continued with visiting each others' towns in Animal Crossing, also party games such as Wario Ware)
3) and of course, the new modes of input of the DS and Wii, to provoke interest