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Reader Comments (5)

Posted: Apr 20th 2007 9:38AM Beelz said

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I, for one, couldn't agree with you more, Alisha. Ports have always been a problem for Nintendo fans (we always have the least powerful hardware and so get the port with the most "boxes unchecked" so to speak), but I think you correctly observed that it gets more gratuitous with each generation.

The latest atrocity is giving a game some rudimentary motion controls and a new name. I think the Prince of Persia: Rival Swords debacle is the most disingenuous port trick I've seen yet. At least the new RE4 has not been renamed RE5. If you're giving us the same game, at least be honest about it. SSX Blur turned out to be nothing new except some very basic motion controls, which by most accounts were gimmicky and unreliable (I didn't play it myself).

In fact, I don't really see a motion control addition as an upgrade right now anyway considering the most developers seem to have figured out how to use the sensitive instruments is "shaking" the controllers violently in lieu of a button press. That's not innovation yet. If that's all you're adding to a game, just make it a straight port, give it the same name, and sell it to us honestly.

Third parties: Somebody please deliver an all new Wii game this year. Reggie clearly lied about the "droughts" that would go between major first party releases this generation.

Posted: Apr 20th 2007 10:31AM (Unverified) said

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Brandon - "we always have the least powerful hardware and so get the port with the most "boxes unchecked" so to speak"

You should really do your research. The GameCube was more powerful that the PS2. The N64 was also, in most ways, more powerful than the PSone. It is only recently that Nintendo has decided to put power on the back burner and let innovation and fun shine through.

Posted: Apr 20th 2007 11:38AM GRT said

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Put my mark down under the Agreement column. Although after an initial month or so of fun, I've generally cooled to the motion controls. My favorite Wii game so far is Super Paper Mario and it barely uses the motion controls.

And any game that makes me shake the thing violently gets a mark against it now. My new mantra is "Controller shaking is bad." It just seems like a cheap way to 'shoehorn in' motion controls. In my opinion motion controls need to be a bit more smooth than random shaking to be fun.

Wow, I went off on a tangent, didn't I? But I have a Wii and a PS3 and both of them are getting mostly shoddy ports right now, and its depressing.

Posted: Apr 20th 2007 12:07PM (Unverified) said

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Remember that we, as readers of an online Nintendo blog, are gaming enthusiasts. Also remember that the Wii is being marketed to, and purchased by, an overwhelming number of tradionally-non-gamers. As non-gamers, they have not played these games before; so to them, something is better than nothing. Besides, having a lot of shovelware and ports makes the Nintendo aisle longer, and the length of the games aisle is something the ignorant masses use to make their purchase choice. As a fan(boy?) of Nintendo, I like to see them sell more units than the other guys.

Posted: Apr 20th 2007 4:11PM (Unverified) said

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Ports aren't a bad thing. Bad ports are a bad thing. If all the developer does is take a game and add a Wii control scheme to it, it's a bad port (1:1). If instead, the developer takes the game and adds new, exclusive content to it, it can range from a decent to a good port (1:Many).

That given, I wouldn't mind seeing a 1:1 port of Ikaruga come out for the Wii.

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