Five reasons why Wii will disappoint

Maybe if Vlad had gone to Harvard instead of Yale he'd know how to spell common English words.

PS3 and Wii is still the best way to go this generation. Dual fanboy aside, both have good exclusives and actually offer something new. But a slick, costly online service and overheating problems..How could I pass that up?

Wow, I knew nerds were opinionated and protective over their hobbies but I've never seen so much hatred directed at one person because of a game console.

I think it's always good to remain objective. All three consoles have their good and bad points. It is so unbearable to hear some doubts about the Wii? They are after all, only opinions, and they're not even the posters.

Keep an open mind folks.

I have to say, the controls are going to feel clumsy for some games. I tried Excite Truck, and I have to say I wasn't really feeling the Wii steering in that game. Very slick, and really oversensitive compared to steering with the analog stick. The analog stick seems to allow for more finesse for racing, at least to me. Or maybe its just that Excite Truck is a bad game.

Aran -

If you were reading the same comments I was, you'd feel the need to clarify too. These people are stupid.
They hate this Vlad guy for some reason, they ridicule him for the point about cost, and he didn't even write the article.
They even want him to lose his job? What if you told your friends about how you heard the 360 power brick was big, and then they started calling you a bitch and a cocksucker and then demanded you got fired?

Nintendo fanboys are stupid, yes it's worth saying again. Despicable. We'd all be better off without these Neanderthals.

74. Optimus, "Some people are confused about the price differential and why it wont stand up over time.

The Wii is largely a GC, you can probably call it a GC1.5.. same processor, same GPU, some more ram, and audio processing, etc.. of course all these components are slightly upgraded, but nothing significant."

You, are really a complete tool...i can't even count the number of times it was posted on joystiq, let alone the fact that a simple google search will tell you it is a BRAND NEW GPU, CPU, AND RAM....brand new. They didnt have them laying around, they were built for the Wii. The same architecture doesnt mean theyre the same chip with a higher clock. They perform differently. Dated technology doesnt mean they just OC'd a gamecube.

"GameCube's lackluster sales translate into fewer loyal customers"

That seems to have had no impact on all the hype the Wii has received.

"70. The Wii is gonna fail because they don't have a Nintendogs or a Brain Age type game drive sales like it did with the DS. So far all the Wii games are just the same games with wiimote controls attached to them. The only new and different game is probably Elebits and that ain't no Nintendogs to be honest.

Posted at 10:00AM on Nov 18th 2006 by Dave"

Ok, so how is it in any way different from say, slapping 2 sticks on the PS1 remote, then turning around and adding Dual Shock to the same remote, painting it black and promoting a PS2 with it? Or how about taking a brick weight Xbox controler, making it smaller, rearranging the buttons, and calling it the S Controller? Or how about taking the same control, coloring it white, making it wireless and adding a center button and using it on a 360? Nintendo went from A, B, Start, Select and a D Pad to adding a X, Y, and shoulder buttons for SNES, to revamping into a 3 Legged controller with a shit load of buttons and sticks for N64, to remaking the GameCube remote. Now they make a revamp of the Original NES controller, making it wireless and motion sensitive and have always been innovative in there games and controls. Playstation throws out same control with a new stick or button and has games that end in 7, 8, 23 etc. in the series and this is there 3rd console. So if I am to understand you correctly, nintendo has to have a rehash such as Microsoft has Halo to drive sales and Sony has Final Fantasy to drive their sales? Last I remember Mario has been the face of Nintendo since 1987. Sony's image went from Crash Bandicoot to Rayman, to Final Fantasy - Which started its life with none other than Nintendo itself. Yet, somehow innovation is beat out by My system can play on an HDTV that few people own and the control has been the same since the first system, except its smaller and wirelss now, so its better than the competition.
Pesonaly my opinion is that XBox live will drive XBox, and innovation will drive new and old customers to nintendo while the PS3 has the im pretty and i cost the most angle. The biggest drive of the PS3 sales is, ooh yea ebay here I come!! what, play the same games cuz they are pretty or play the games that will make me feel more involved? 360 and Wii have my vote hands down.

No DVD playing or CD playing for $250.00??
Who cares? its a GAMING console, go out an buy a REAL QUALITY DVD player. Who doesnt have a DVD player already these days? Why else is the 360 and PS3 that expensive? Most people have a PS2, or a PC with a dvd-rom drive.

Socrates. Someone who _doesn't_ blow Nintendo off, has valid points, and 2 stars? Incredible.

"I really hate when people use me as an example to make a point. Why don't you go pick on cavemen!

Posted at 10:48AM on Nov 18th 2006 by rocket scientist"

That made my day! *will be laughing about this randomly throughout the entire day*

I looove the constant argument that "THE DS WAS SUCCESSFUL WITH LESSER GRAPHICS; SO WILL THE WII!"

It's a bogus comparison. I own a slim PS2, and I own a DS Lite. People can pick and choose their gaming systems, just like voters can split their tickets.

They're completely separate gaming mediums. Like it or not, the gaming console is moving in the direction of a true "entertainment system." Remember the 1980s, Nintendo fanboys? The "Nintendo ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM"? It is being realized. Consoles can now double as high-def media players and are pushing further and further into the online realm.

A handheld market is a separate phenomenon. Why does the PSP fail compared to the DS? Who wants to play a game for a home console on a 4-inch screen? Not I: Why would I squint for X-Men Legends II when I can play it handily on my PlayStation2 (or even PC)? Graphics mean little when they cram them into such a small format. Super Mario Bros 3 for the GBA is just fine on that screen, though.
But on your TV screen? Whole 'nother world.

For the Wii, graphics matter. Control matters. It's a different gameplay dynamic when you're at home. You sure can put old SNES games on a handheld, but you can't throw DS games at the TV screen. Wario Ware? Trauma Center? Excellent DS games. For the Wii? Passing fad; slight fun -- like a DDR pad. Do you play DDR every day? Will you cut carrots on a TV screen with friends every day?

The Wiimote will wear off in the format, and the graphics will leave much to be desired for a home console once the XBOX360 and PS3 reduce in price. Sure, the Wii has good buzz now, and will be a quirky hot item until the luster begins to fade. It will seriously stumble as time goes on.

stop acting like your a fortuneteller. The truth is no one ones how the wii will do when its released at midnight. So why dont we just wait and see what happens. The wii might fail so bad even fanboys burn iit and drive 50 miles to the outskirts to throw it off a cliff. Or i might do so well, you'll see 90 year old grandmas in comas waving their hands arond playin the wii. And a news broadcast anouncing that wiism has become an official religon, who knows, im just gonna see what happens

I have to admit, I'm reading Kotaku more these days too. They don't go out of their way to piss people off with articles, and instead blog the news.

You know, the article isn't all that negative. It's basically giving the five reasons Nintendo won't retake the lead in the console wars. Admittedly, Vlad's headline is a bit far, but not that much.

Now, for the reasons.

The first, lack of software support, is a bit of a mon-starter. For the first year or two, software support is a gamble by companies. But once they see where the gamers are going towards a system, they focus more heavily on developing for the winner - they go to where the customers are.

In other words, if Nintendo can continually post strong sales for the Wii, then you'll see developers continuing to offer more exclusives on the Wii than previously.

Also, along those lines, it's interesting that the writer thinks that apparently only Nintendo is prone to losing exclusivity on titles. Trust me, if Konami and SquareEnix thought they'd make more money by making MGS4 and FF13, respectively, on multiple platforms then they'll do it somehow. I'll actually make the bold prediction that MGS4 will end up going multi-platform fairly quickly - my guess is landing on all 3.

The second point is on graphics - I'll concede that to a point. But it's ultimately not a question of raw output. It's a question of who can make their graphics look the best more quickly. Sure, the Playstation 3 has the most potential. But if they learn the proper tweaks to make Wii games look incredibly awesome, people are going to think Sony's just blowing smoke up their asses. Sony has the edge for now, but they have to do something with that potential to realize it.

On the controller - they're actually much more sanguine about the controller than Vlad depicts them. The article just points out that the controls just don't work in some situations, like the DBZ game. This is just a case of developers being stupid - you could easily make a Wii game that uses only the buttons on the Wiimote plus the nunchuck (I feel like the vast majority of GC games could be played like that absurdly easily). And to be fair, each system is going to have games where the control scheme is going to be completely screwed up because a developer wanted to get "cute" with the buttons and gyros associated with it.

The point about how the console market isn't Nintendo's to lose actually reads like a reason why Nintendo will succeed. Basically, Nintendo has a comparatively small base to protect, and all available data at this time suggests Nintendo will likely hold onto it. Maybe it won't be a stunning victory, but it really looks like Nintendo has nowhere to go but up - and they're already quite profitable on the console side.

The final point is actually a complete miscalculation on the part of the writer. Let's break this down.

First, the PS3 is hitting Sony's weak point for massive damage to its profit margin (sorry, couldn't resist). Manufacturing costs have to drop at least 35% before Sony can realistically start looking at a price cut for the console.

The Microsoft 360 is at a comparatively comfortable point, though I've heard warring figures about whether or not the hardware is a profit-maker or not. For the sake of argument, I'll say they break even, which I'm sure Microsoft would be fine with. Now, they could afford an undercut, but considering that they view Sony as their main rival, they may feel their starting price is already an undercut. While there have been continual rumors about a price drop, none have materialized so far and I won't believe in one until it happens.

Now, the Wii is much different. While the number varies, everyone agrees it's already a profit-maker despite having the lowest price. Moreover, Nintendo had to be cajoled by retailers at pricing it $250 instead of $200 - suggesting that it could absorb a $50 price drop immediately and still be a small profit to Nintendo. And Miyamoto said in an interview that they considered a $100 model - that's probably only if Nintendo wanted to go the razor blade route, but one that Nintendo is apparently open to considering.

Mind you, that's not even addressing the fact that the Wii's games are also at a price advantage, and nobody is suggesting a price drop on the games themselves.

While I wouldn't be terribly shocked at the prospect of a 360 drop, I think Nintendo is in the best position to price out their rivals.

It's not a bad article, per se, but I think it assumes too little out of Nintendo as well as assuming that the problems that Nintendo might have to deal with wouldn't hit their competitors, which is a major mistake.

this is what ive read " SOrry im a PS3 fanboy, and all i care is POWER and GRAPHICS SO Sony pwns YOu all! because im such a fanboy!"

thats what ive read.

So, Vlad is a Sony fanboy. It is all clear now.

@92. "Maybe you could buy a Wii and play the three good games it has... OR for 39.99 more (or whatever) you could buy a 360 and play on Xbox Live with your friends. Which happens to be infinitely better than their offering, I'm sorry."

Maybe you could buy a 360 and play the three good games it has online with immature 12-year-olds... OR for 39.99 less (or whatever) you could buy a Wii and play with your real friends, together in the same room, and maybe even have a few beers together too. Which I think is infinitely better than XBL.

@socrates "The Wii is the only console of this generation that has huge gaping holes in the genres of games being made for it."

Funny, I was about to say the same about the PS3.

"Maybe you could buy a 360 and play the three good games it has online with immature 12-year-olds... OR for 39.99 less (or whatever) you could buy a Wii and play with your real friends, together in the same room, and maybe even have a few beers together too. Which I think is infinitely better than XBL."

That's all good, but what happens if one of your friends moves to, say, Kazakhstan? It'll be difficult to play in the same room with him then, won't it? You can have plenty of fun playing with internet friends on XBL without ever touching matchmaking.

Also, how exactly is the 360 not capable of being played by people in the same room?

lol @ 1 hahahahaha

but once again i will post this WHO GIVES A SHIT, as long as i get mine i dont care and every on else should think the same about there conssole of choice

I like how Vlad just lists a bunch of stuff without any arguments to back them up... pulled it straight from his ass.

I thought the joystiq readers were pretty dumb, but when they are commenting on your posts, which stand right under your "bitching posts" (as I call em now), they look pretty smart!

A real argument compares the BAD with the GOOD. One-sided arguments indentifies the writer (you, Vlad) as entirely imcompetent. Quite writing like a freaking 4th grader, geez.

Meh. Since when has anything GameDaily written been worth reading? Their articles are rarely, if ever, researched at all, and never fact checked (there's still an article up there from a couple months back declaring Spore the 2006 game of the year). How they continue to get referenced as game journalism (and it happens often here) baffles me.

"@socrates "The Wii is the only console of this generation that has huge gaping holes in the genres of games being made for it."

Funny, I was about to say the same about the PS3."

Hilarious! But which genres? If you're going to say something, then back it up, Evan.

1.) Lack of software support.

This automatically drops the credibility of the author. How many launch games does a system need? Hundreds? Thousands? For now most people don't care about anything but Twilight Princess.

2.) Inferior graphics (and yes, graphics really do matter).

If graphics matter that much to someone, they'll suck it up and buy a PS3 or 360. This isn't a startling new fact that the Wii wasn't built to replicate sweat. People need to accept this and use it in their decision of which system to buy. And of course, the age-old point of "If the game's fun graphics won't matter" applies here as well.

3.) Wii remote control scheme is clumsy in some situations.

Ah yes, Nintendo shouldn't have even bothered because a few of their LAUNCH titles aren't exactly spot-on with their brand new control scheme. I'm still amazed how far it's appeared to progress already. Come on, whoever wrote this needs a slap to the face.

4.) GameCube's lackluster sales translate into fewer loyal customers.

There's no real way to verify this fact because of Nintendo's goal to get everyone and (literally) their grandmother to buy a system. Am I denying that the GC didn't sell well? Of course not, but loyalty is just speculation. A lot of people will see Nintendo's price tag compared to a PS3 (the decision would be harder with a 360) and go for the Wii.

5.) Wii price advantage won't last.

Well thank you Captain Obvious! 360's been out for a year...you mean they'd drop their price to compete? Really?!?

I'm just getting one for Zelda: Twilight Princess. When it comes to graphics, i'm sticking to my PC until MGS4 comes out.

I would have to say, it seems Joystiq has become Wii haters central.

um, who gives a shit? Opinions are like ps2s.

Why can't you nintendo fanboys just admit that you too are sceptical about the Wii(that you're so angry proves this.And u have good reason to be. I mean the fact that nintendo even made the wii the way it is proves that they to aren't sure about their position in the console war.If nintendo was leading last round the wii would be alot more powerful in CPU&GPU.I doubt it'd even have that ''wii-remote''.The fact is that MS and sony ''forced'' nintendo(someone who's been here longer then both of em)to rethink their hole strategy and come up with a completely new way to sell their console.
The wii-remote is a gimmick(when u'r desprate u'll do anything,and hay i don't blame 'em).
I see it this way: you play your wii for about an hour then turn if off and switch to your xbox360 or Ps3.
that's assuming you even bought a wii.

The last two weeks I had been very happy playing a game called Mafia... this is "old", have some years and the graphics are not very good (in our days terms), but in his moment this was a impresive graphic game.

But leaving the graphics to one side, this was a fantastic game. Very good history, very good gameplay... etc. A very good game.

6 months ago I bough "the goodfather". Last on time, "last generation graphics", etc... a damn awful game. one day, no more, with this...

You know, I like good games. If a game was about graphics, the old ones were not more good? it's like cinema. Don't get lost in the special effects. The important one is the game itself, and games are to get played.

Ooooh dear, as a Nintendo fan myself, all i see is other fans going rabid and defensive over Nintendo. Simply DONT. Just have faith in the most prestigous, oldest videogames company in the industry. Anti-Nintendo fans are just like really really bad advertisments, as long as you ignore them, they'll die, havent you seen that Simpsons episode? lol.

Yes it does sound like people who hate Nintendo do so because Nintendo castrated their fathers, raped their mothers, murdered their sisters and married their brothers... but just ignore them. Really, most of them are just mad because Sony doesnt hold as much prestige as Nintendo. =)

So about 100 people call Vlad a bitch, but I noticed that like a good deal of people keep retching up the word fanboy like they are about to vomit.

Seriously people, just admit that Vlad is retarded for bringing up an article that doesn't do enough damage to the Wii's reputation to be worth a shit.

It's not about fanboys, gawd.
You'd think by looking at Optimus Prime's posts that there's nothing else in life.

LOL VLAD

I think i speak for all of us

My God. If all of you that are ragging on Vlad actually stopped to READ, you would see that this is a summary from a GameDaily article. It's a video game system. Relax.

Nintendo fanboys are, generally speaking, the stupidest, smelliest, dorkiest human creatures on the face of this planet, and the feedback of this post tends to reinforce this idea. You blind retards; this post is a summary of a GameDaily story, so lay off Vlad! He’s only the messenger here! To the dork who said he should use spellcheck, go back to grammar school because the article is completely free of errors.
To the fools who think that the Wii will succeed based on the fact that the DS has: Guess what? One system is portable, the other is not. That might be a significant thing to factor in…
Every point of the GameDaily story is a valid concern.

Oh boy...

Lack of software support

How many hours are we into launch? -4? Is that enough to answer this moot point.

Inferior graphics (and yes, graphics really do matter)

First of all, refer to explanation for point #1. Secondly, why do graphics really matter? Can you tell that there is someone with a sword or gun on the screen? Can you see what's happening and are you retinas still entact? Good work, you've survived. This shouldn't be a reason for Wii not living up to the hype because there was no hype about graphics. We all know that the Wii is designed as an entertainment system through gameplay, not something to stimulate us just by seeing the sweat on Link's head.

Wii remote control scheme is clumsy in some situations

A legitimate point. Every peripheral has its shortcoming and we cannot expect Wii to be exempt. It's an electronic and it will have problems, just like my first, second, and third 360, my second Xbox 1, and the PS3's that are breaking down as I write this.

GameCube's lackluster sales translate into fewer loyal customers

Without statistics, how can you even put this down into statistics? Do you know for a fact that every person who didn't buy a Gamecube because of it's "lackluster performance" has a personal vendetta against Nintendo now?

Wii price advantage won't last

The article assumes that Microsoft will lower their price. I suppose I have just as much of a right to assume that they won't. Do not write for a gaming "news site" if you have flawed logic. Read Socrates.

360 is 160% price of Wii.
PS3 is 240% price of Wii.

The advantage is huge, it's been one year for 360, no drop. Based on how Sony markets products, they will likely not lower the price of their PS3 in the next year. The advantage will last long enough to give Wii an edge.

Wow he's so funny! LMAO. Kids say the craziest thing..

You guys are taking this too seriously, this is just an opinion, and of Vlad...thye only make him keep his job cos he's so dumb and stupid that players hate him and that makes players come to this site so the site gets money from ads on the page.

I can't think of any other reason not to fire this guy.

PS3 will sell about 2,000,000 units.
X360 will sell about 2,000,000 units.
Wii will sell about 5,000,000 units, 1M from non-gamers.

It's a perfect synergy, PS3/X360 buyer will get a Wii no matter what.

in the end nintendo Wii hwill be a success.

Out of the 3 new consoles, which game has a perfect 10 out of 10 on reviews? I think Zelda fr Wi is the only one, and that was originally for the Gamecube. Imagine if that was made solely for Wii.

Peace Out

Yes, but what are his thoughts on yaoi?

All those reasons are not valid, there are gamers like me who are loyal to Nintendo. All my library of Nintendo Gamecube games are official unlike the ones for the PS2.
* Lack of software support
As in all economies, profit is the main reason here. As it has been said, the low cost of creating a Wii game means not retraining your personnel and getting right ahead to program that game.
* Inferior graphics (and yes, graphics really do matter)
Graphics mean nothing. The two main reasons for a game to be good are quality of the game and the playability.
* Wii remote control scheme is clumsy in some situations
Any new innovation in gameplay will be hard to get used to first hand. The more programmers find a way to use the Wii remote, the more we will enjoy it.
* GameCube's lackluster sales translate into fewer loyal customers
Nintendo has a core of customers and more. So we all know from way before that this was not going to be a all out super sale for Nintendo.
* Wii price advantage won't last
Let's see the hardware will go down for sure, but the games are another story. Mario Kart for GC was just regular price just a few months ago. Some game are still the same price or more like Resident Evil 2 or 3 and they are used games.
Conclusion, I am personally waiting for a Metal Gear version of the Wii.

NEXT ANSWER:
Five reasons why the PS3 will disappoint.

1. The price has been set too high.
You are getting top notch technology which is ahead a few years for a game console which eventually be caught up.
2. Lack of quality games.
Metal Gear Solid 4, Final Fantasy, etc etc.. I never thought of the PS3 having no quality games just see GOW.

3. The replacement of a rumble feature with the addition of a motion sensor system, which just appears to be an afterthought.
Again new technology, and you have a point on the rumble feature, I really feel odd without it, but we all get used to it.

4. The inclusion of Blu-Ray, a format which has yet to prove itself, and could seriously hurt the chances of the system if it fails.
Actually is one of the reasons people will pick up the PS3, so they can buy a Blue-Ray player and have a console too which is also a multimedia player. Anything else?
5. The recurring problems with HD not working properly, not to mention the inability for some PS1 and PS2 games to work.
Well one thing I never do is buy a system at launch because it is always defective and it takes sometime until they get it right.
I bought my PS2 3 years after launch and had it freed from its limitations ;) if you know what I mean. I did not buy a Gamecube until Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes came out and now my library of games is growing. My PS2 library is over 150 by now thanks to that little Matrix technology :).

5. 3 out of those 5 reasons were the same reasons the DS would fail.

This guy knows what hes talking about.

You are a n00b, the Wii and PS3 have been released and the Wii has already sold 200,000 more than the PS3. =P