New WiiWare racer answers the question: What's a SPOGS?

I don't think there's a roflcat in the world that could sum it up better than that.

"So I was like... 'BITCH! Gimme yo' wafflefries!" >:\

One more:

If you answer this adorable little survey, are you susceptible to loaded questions from biased sources?

The answer MAY surprise you.

Flamebait?

Seriously, if you end up burning I won't be extinguishing you.

I REALLY do want to honestly see what an owner of the Wii TRUELY thinks about his investment.

If I wanted to flame....would I not use WSM instead of Wii?

I have given the WSM a fair amount of sarcasm 2day but this post is NOT one of them.

See, the thing is I bought my Wii for SuperMarioGalaxy alone. So to me it was worth it. I dont expect much else from Nintendo consoles anymore. Just good 1st party titles. To answer your question, no I am not happy with the way Nintendo is going. Its a fricken peripheral machine now. Balance boars, steering wheel, stripper pole, and whats next? I want Nintendo to get serious next-gen, HD/online/disc format/graphics so I can spend some serious cash on it.

"I REALLY do want to honestly see what an owner of the Wii TRUELY thinks about his investment."

"Are you satisfied with the outdated graphics of the Wii?"

Oh, you.

You want to hear what you want to hear, and you're not fooling anyone.

Except, up, except FenixKnight. But that says more about him than you.

Serious answers for a serious troll. Here we go!

"Are you happy with the direction that Nintendo is taking with the Wii?"

I'm totally 'meh'. Creating a dev platform that is cheap for developers to use is both a good thing and a bad thing, considering this opens up worlds of possibilities for bullshit to flood the system. Then again, though, as long as Nintendo themselves are flooding the system with quality titles themselves(something they've been doing), I'm happy. I've enjoyed Nintendo's titles and the occasional third party gem, and I have no regrets for spending $250 on the system if thats what I get in return.

"Do you think the Wii has lived up to it's "revolutionary" control scheme?"

That's funny, I don't remember Nintendo themselves claiming the controller was revolutionary. Of course, the system was named the Revolution for a while, but they changed that, for a reason. Their goal was to make a controller that would offer a new and accessable way to play games, and, at least within Nintendo's circle of games, they've not only done that, but have used the controller in ways that I would deem 'revolutionary' or at the very least 'innovative'. More and more developers are doing the same, although there's still not enough getting it right.

"Are you satisfied with the outdated graphics of the Wii?"

Since I'm not a complete graphics whore, yeah. I bought the Wii knowing what I was getting into, and I've been having fun with the system despite it's lack of overall power. Those of us who aren't still in high school have been doing the same.

There ya go dude.

"That's funny, I don't remember Nintendo themselves claiming the controller was revolutionary. Of course, the system was named the Revolution for a while"

rrrrrRRRR?

Thanks Fenix. I appreciate your answers. I don't think I would buy a machine for 1 game but as long as you feel it was worth it to you...then that is all that matters.

PS
Did you get that archaic Konami ID to work for you? McPoop is getting very frustrated because he cannot complete the registration process.

As Wii60 owner, my time is mostly spent on my 360. As for the wii, when I first saw the concept of the wiimote i was stoked. I really couldn't wait for this, I thought it was the future of gaming.
First time I played Wii-sports, I was blown away. I went out and camped out for a wii and grabbed one and Twilight Princess.
I beasted through TP. WiiSports wasn't so much fun anymore, because I was playing like a toolbox ( http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/11/13/ )
Sure I rented a few games, Elebits for example.
But i eventually moved back to my 360.

Sure the Wii can be a full interactive machine unless you decide to play like a toolbox which soley replaces buttons for a flick of the wrist in the right direction.
The motion controls are pretty lackluster, the strength of the wii lies in the IR pointer.

As for graphics, I could honestly don't care about graphics unless they are truly horrible. Super Mario Galaxy had a color palette which surpasses any other game on the market. The bright vibrant colors plus the amazing soundtrack made it my favorite game of 2007.

But in the end, I wish I could go back to October 2006 to hold onto that feeling that these motion controls will be 1:1

Well I downloaded the Beta, then downloaded the patch...non-http (took 2 hours) And when I load the Konami page to sign up for the Konami Id and Game Id it always sais its too busy and to please try again later so Ill try it again this weekend.

Galaxy from what I saw did have a nice color pallate. But I think RaC outdid it in the color department. Thanks for the answers so far guys...interesting responses so far...keep em coming.

Question

Is the Wiimote even capable of 1 to 1 control? From the looks of things, I doubt it. Can someone clear this up for me? I thought back in 2005 Tokyo game show that the Wiimote was NOT capable of 1 to 1 control and that is the BIGGEST reason why have been saying ever since that it is a gimmick.

Fenix

Use your PC or Mac and go to konamis site right now. You do NOT need your PS3 to get a Konami ID. I did it tuesday on my work PC.

Whoever thought of or approved Konami ID should be put in a room with Dubya and be forced to listen to his rambling about the Internets and sovereignty.

I must be way too forgiving of game systems. Everyone wants blanket love or hate, but no middle ground. I don't use my Wii nearly as much as the other consoles, but I still find it to be a fun machine to own. When people come over they love to collect around it and play the goofy games - which makes it worth owning. Of course, the graphics and sound are lacking, but for group gaming it works.

When I play a game alone, or online, I prefer the other consoles of this generation. They aren't better than the Wii, just better at different kinds of gaming.

Oh, I think the memory system is a bit gimped though, and it may go poorly for the wiiware service.

I am certainly not an objective voice, but here's someone who is:

http://malstrom.50webs.com/

If you ever have questions concerning the Wii and its place in the market, you can find your answers here.

No flaming intended but I have a question(s) to ask those of you who have a Wii.

Are you happy with the direction that Nintendo is taking with the Wii?

Yes and no. It is nice to have a cheap, accessible system, and I only buy a few games a year, so as long as there are a few quality titles, I don't care about the shovelware. My problem is their lack of focus on the controls. Either make games that can take advantage of the control scheme, or don't bother trying.

Do you think the Wii has lived up to it's "revolutionary" control scheme?
No, not at all. The only game on the Wii so far that could not have been done as good or better on a Gamecube controller I have found is either Warioware or Excite Truck. One is a mini-game collection (a really, really fun one) and the other has too little content. I have no doubt that in the future, however, some really good games will come out to take advantage of the controls. Will these be enough for everyone? Maybe not, but they will be fine for me.

Are you satisfied with the outdated graphics of the Wii?
Honestly, the graphics of the quality games do not seem outdated to me. However, it would be nice if Nintendo made it so that weaker games, and Wiiware titles, could output to 720P. I don't care that much about HD, but if you can do it, then why not?

I bought the Wii solely for SMG and SSBB. And because of that I am satisfied. $250 is a little expensive, but with it selling like hotcakes, the price will probably remain the same for a while. This is why the Wii seemed like a better investment than the PS3 did. Level with me here, everyone knows both the Wii and the PS3 had a bad first year, but Wiis still cost $250, and PS3s are $400-500 instead of $500-600. And neither of its two most anticipated titles (that I have absolutely no interest in, not my style) haven't even dropped yet.

"Are you happy with the direction that Nintendo is taking with the Wii?"

No.

"Do you think the Wii has lived up to it's "revolutionary" control scheme?"

No. A tiny handful of games, like Metroid and Wii Sports Bowling, showed the the new scheme can provide new and interesting way to play some games, but most would have been better served using traditional methods.

"Are you satisfied with the outdated graphics of the Wii?"

No. Most games look pretty crappy on my HDTV. I have all three current gen consoles and the Wii simply falls way too short in this department. As weak as the Wii is, most of the games don't even push the system. That's just pathetic.

This is likely my last Nintendo home console. Of course, I said that after the Cube and I was duped into buying the Wii. So who knows? I just can't seem to resist new systems.

"Is the Wiimote even capable of 1 to 1 control? From the looks of things, I doubt it. Can someone clear this up for me? I thought back in 2005 Tokyo game show that the Wiimote was NOT capable of 1 to 1 control and that is the BIGGEST reason why have been saying ever since that it is a gimmick"

Using the pointer... yes. Just look at Metroid. The pointer actually works well and is 1:1 for aiming. But I can't think of any examples of 1:1 control based on the accelerometers. I think the pointer is really the best part of the Wiimote. It's just too bad the Wimote itself is a non-ergonmic POS with horrible button placement, a crappy distortion prone speaker, and that chews batteries up like there's no tomorrow :-/

vidikron

Do you have HV bowling for PSN? If you do, which controller do you prefer and how does it stack up to WSM bowling?

I like the way you hold the DS3 or Sixaxis controller, its puts your hand and fingers in a position almost like you are holding onto a ball, and the likelyhood of releasing the controller when you bowl is greatly reduced because of the middle and ring fingers are wrapped around the controller.

I do wish spin was controlled by the Sixaxis and NOT the R2 and L2 buttons.

"Do you have HV bowling for PSN? If you do, which controller do you prefer and how does it stack up to WSM bowling?"

Sorry, I don't have HV Bowling so I can't make fair comparison. The fact that spin wasn't controlled by the motion controls I what kept me from purchasing the game. I have been very disappointed by the Wii overall, but Wii Sports Bowling is not one of the reasons. It's actually very good. I wish they would expand it and give it leagues, seasons, and/or tournaments. WSB gave me great hope when I first bought the Wii... but it's been all downhill since.

Although I know I shouldn't, I'll feed the troll.

"Are you happy with the direction that Nintendo is taking with the Wii?"

I haven't been happy with the direction gaming in general has been going for YEARS. The last time I really remember liking it was during the SNES/Genesis heydays. I can't really put my finger on when I started to dislike it, although around the time FFVII and MGS blew up huge with their emphasis on cutscenes and such seems like a reasonable starting point.

So that all said, YES. I'm happy to see an emphasis being put back on actual gameplay in general. I also like being able to play with my family and friends periodically.



"Do you think the Wii has lived up to it's "revolutionary" control scheme?"

My MOTHER loves playing video games now. Yes, absolutely it is revolutionary to being people in like this who previously had no interest in games.



"Are you satisfied with the outdated graphics of the Wii?"

I'm not a graphics whore, so no. As long as they look reasonably not awful and competent I'm happy. Shit, I don't think this SPOGS game looks all that terrible from the pictures, to be honest.


Also, no, it is not technically possible to achieve 1:1 motion on the Wiimote to my understanding. You can, however, achieve something INCREDIBLY close to it, within fractions of a second. But no one, including Nintendo, has done this yet due to the technical difficulties of it.

"Are you happy with the direction that Nintendo is taking with the Wii?"

I'm happy with the Wii itself yes; as a system in the developers sense I think it opens up a great deal of options for, say, developers with less cash to put towards the monstrously expensive development costs for the PS3 or 360. Though because of the high sales of the Wii, next gen development could suffer as a result, with developers having to choose between developing for the less well sold systems, with higher graphics and potential for content, and the cheaper development costs with a larger market base.

"Do you think the Wii has lived up to it's "revolutionary" control scheme?"

Well, that depends. As a fellow Wii60 owner, and a gamer since early childhood, the two handed controller is fairly ingrained in my conception of gaming; add to that the largely tacked on feel of the controls in the place of most Wii games, and my conception of the controls remains luke-warm. That's not to say the potential isn't there (I can't wait to see what the Force Unleashed has in store), but it hasn't been realized yet.

"Are you satisfied with the outdated graphics of the Wii?"

Entirely. I love next-gen graphics, but when I'm playing they don't make a world of difference, and I'm of the opinion that lengthy and proliferative cutscenes (hello Xenosaga) tend to ruin games in that they become more interactive movies. Besides that, I still play my old PS2, PC, SNES, NES, Genesis, and GC games without my eyes bleeding, and with a great deal of enjoyment. Tried playing Shadow of the Collosus recently? Back when it was released the game looked great, but if you play it now will it be any less fun?

Personally I'm disappointed to a degree with ALL of the systems that are out right now; Nintendo is making a great amount of profit, and that lends me some hope that they'll produce a powerhouse system (in which, for me, larger memory, processing speed, and storage are the most important features) for the next lineup, but I'm not holding my breath. Sony bungled their launch and first year very very badly, and pretending otherwise is naive; it's comforting maybe to blame this on the advertising alone, but that doesn't entirely account for the lack of interest on the consumer side; perhaps in that case you have the opposite of Nintendo's problem - too much under the hood raises the price tag and reduces your consumer window, no matter how attractive your product is. The 360 seems to be a comfortable middle ground in terms of the system capabilities - but their software lineup has always been troubling, not to mention their (frankly) baffling reception in Asia.

@samfish

"My MOTHER loves playing video games now. Yes, absolutely it is revolutionary to being people in like this who previously had no interest in games."

See, I don't buy this at all. Nintendo and their fanboys claim it's easier, but is it really? You are just learning motions in place of button presses. Just think about how the Wii games present themselves. I swear, the majority seem to have a bunch of hand-holding on-screen tutorials at just about every step of the way. Always showing you exactly how to move the Wiimote. Well, if it's so damned easy and "intuitive" then none of that would be necessary, right? But of course anyone can play a game if the instructions are on-screen all the time. I think that has more to do with making people believe the motion controls are actually less confusing than them actually being less confusing.

What you're saying is that because you have to read the instructions, it's still too hard and not intuitive. That's preposterous...it's the way it is with EVERYTHING in life
Buy a new car? Read the manual to learn how it function? Bought a blender? Read the manual to figure out how to work it properly. New TV? Might wanna crack open the manual for that one, too.
You can hand anyone a Wiimote and they can easily navigate around with it. THAT is akin to turning a car or a blender on. But if you want to do something slightly more advanced? You're going to need instruction.

The only evidence I need to suggest to show you how silly your argument is to ask which makes more sense- swinging a remote tennis racket or pressing a button to move a tennis racket? Which is more intuitive?
These are games. There are rules and boundaries set by the designers that we need to be made aware of no matter how 'intuitive' it is.
This goes doubly so because what's 'intuitive' to one person isn't to the next, really. Look at Wii Sports Golf or Tiger Woods compared to Super Swing Golf or We Love Golf.
More evidence, you say? Sure! Despite the fact that Nintendo more or less nailed it all in Wii Sports, look at all the games that have since come along and cocked up motion controls. For a real counter-intuitive game, try playing that AMF Pin Busters game on the Wii. You wouldn't think someone could fuck up a bowling game after Wii Sports, but they pulled it off!

And frankly, the more I think about it, the more I can't even think about what you're talking about. I'm trying to think of a game that constantly tells you how to play it. Most games I've played show you a quick tutorial when you start it and some, like Wii Sports, will bring up an error screen that says 'do it like this' if you make an incorrect motion for whatever reason.
But even assuming you're right, how is that any different from, say, Issun telling you over and over how to make brush strokes in Okami?

It makes MUCH more sense to do a lot of things with motion controls and gestures. Go up to ANY person on the street and I can guarantee you that at LEAST 8 times out of 10 they're going to understand how to play Wii Sports Golf MUCH faster than they are Hot Shots Golf.

And then God created the laws of supply and demand!

It's because of the once hyped 'Nintendo Seal of Quality', I guess...?

I dunno... on the whole, Wii's gaming library is pretty low ranked. If it wasn't for Nintendo's tried-and-true characters in all their usual whimsical adventures; the library would be riddled with this sort of crud. Even mobile phone games don't get this kind of abuse these days. The devs need to be ashamed to release these decade old demo reel type games.

But hey, why should Nintendo give a damn after this summer? They'll have already covered R&D, marketing, and even initial production costs for the system easily twice over. They got the SYSTEM to be a valuable commodity; who cares what happens after that?

Heh.. at least Yaris was free.

Yaris did suck though. SillyShiggy I'm confused. I can't tell (by your name) if you're pro- or anti- Wii.

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Oh, HA HA. Thanks, Joystiq.