Epic

WHOOPS! Total air ball for this rumor.

If Sony's PS3 doesn't sell software because gamers are too busy with NES ROMs, I will be shocked. This is a feature, and a major selling point for the console. Why does Joystiq cast this as a negative?

Bill O'Reilly is not a "hyper-conservative." Pundits shouldn't comment on games they don't understand, and gamers shouldn't comment on pundits they don't understand.

It's an opinion piece, but I happen to agree with it. Inferior graphics, smaller worlds, last-gen animation will plague these games. The motion control is not going to elevate this console, it's going to cripple it.

Nostalgia is going a little too far here. Random battles every five steps is not a feature, it's a limitation.

Digital distribution is pie in the sky for HD feature-length movie collections. A BD-ROM has more capacity than many hard drives. There is no viable storage option for an entire home library of HD movies. Imagine the expense of purchasing disk drives or flash media to accommodate such a collection. Obviously, Blu-ray is the superior option.

Another digital alternative (but equally preposterous) is purchasing licenses for content that is stored remotely and streaming it on demand. Not only does this strip the consumer of true ownership, but homes don't have the infrastructure for that kind of bandwidth waste -- neither does the internet, for that matter.

Blu-ray has the odds in its favor for the next-gen format war, but yesterday we observed in a poll that Joystiq readers thought HD-DVD was more likely to succeed. Since this conclusion is at odds with the facts, we can only conclude that it was driven by a general disdain for all things Sony.

I'm pretty sure TVs that are 1080i native internally convert 720p signals to 1080i. After all, ESPN and many other HD channels broadcast in 720p, while movie channels, some networks and Discovery HD Theater broadcast in 1080i.

"Honestly, these comics are on the web (and not in newspapers, etc) for a reason. They suck."

Have you read newspaper comics any time recently? These webcomics are comedic gold compared to them.

This discussion is petty and all together meaningless. It doesn't matter which company was first to the shelves with gimmicky motion sensing toys. Motion sensitivity wasn't invented by a video game company, and the idea is too obvious to be accused of being stolen. The real test is how it's best implemented. Sony uses motion sensitivity as an enhancement to a contemporary gamepad. Nintendo takes a completely different approach, replacing the gamepad with a much more extensive motion interface. The approaches are entirely distinct. I happen to prefer the SIXAXIS model, just because I can envision it appropriate for a wider breadth of content.

I have mercilessly panned Nintendo's new controller as a worthless gimmick that will cripple Wii games. I also think that the motion capability in the SIXAXIS is a fantastic addition to a gamepad. These may seem like incompatible assertions, but they're not. Adding intuitive motion sensitivity to a refined gamepad just adds depth to the interface. It's almost like having a third analog stick and an extra hand. It doesn't attempt to replace the gamepad -- it enhances the gamepad.

The Wiimote, on the other hand, attempts to replace a gamepad with extensive motion sensitivity and a rudimentary NES pad setup. Sorry, Nintendo, but adding an extensive interface for MOTION does not replace decades of controller evolution for ACTION. Look at Madden for the Wii. To execute simple actions, you have to memorize an entire alphabet of choreographed gestures. This is not intuitive at all, and I submit that non-gamers will find it even more inaccessible than a gamepad. After all, everyone who uses a computer is familiar with pressing buttons. The only time the Wiimote is appropriate is when free-form movement in three dimensions is called for. Sadly, even in games like Red Steel where free-form sword movements might have been implemented, they've reverted to an alphabet of canned gestures that trigger canned animations. Just like a button press.

Anybody who has played Devil May Cry, or Ace Combat, or Ninja Gaiden knows that you can capture the free-form feeling with a good gamepad. Now, try fitting DMC's complicated combat interface into the confines of the sad Wiimote. Good luck.

Bottom line: the Wiimote is a flash in the pan. The nunchuck is gangly, ugly, and limited in application. Sure, some of those new apps will be fun, but they are niche. The real meat of game content will not be able to thrive on the Wii.