UNDER THE AXE: Nintendo Wii

By TheAxeWielder

Perception is greater than reality. At least that’s what some people say. Currently, the perception is that Nintendo is winning, by far, this generation’s console war and that the company is doing great as a whole (as it possesses both the hottest home and handheld consoles on the market; Nintendo Wii/Nintendo DS). News story after news story on mass media outlets suggest that the Wii has transformed a generation of non-gaming seniors, youth and everyone in-between into fun loving citizens of a digital age in which swinging a Wiimote at the tele is the desired distraction of choice.

Cynics argue that the Wii is a fad. They say that the system IS indeed revolutionary and that its ability to open minds (and wallets) towards the acceptance of gaming as a viable entertainment medium amongst previously classified “non-gamers’ is beneficial to the industry as a whole. However, they also state that the overwhelming success of the Wii is destined to slow down. They say consumers CAN’T remain hyped over something this much, for this long, without the hype eventually being exposed as being just that; hype. They say that while sales of the Wii hardware remain high, a lack of innovative software and an over saturation of mediocre “party games” designed to cash in on the trend will eventually sink the console that Miyamoto built and leave it quietly collecting dust in the millions of living rooms, nursing homes, cruise ships and dormitories it inhabits…flashing blue light and all.



As a veteran game industry professional and life-long gaming fan that has experienced numerous hardware and software cycles, I must say that I’m beginning to believe the cynics. I’m beginning to look back at history and see that quality SOFTWARE is what ultimately drives a console’s success (a la the SNES, PSOne, PlayStation 2, etc.) and that a lack thereof will serve to stifle even the most interesting, unique and technically advanced consoles the industry has ever seen (i.e. Dreamcast, NeoGeo). Don’t get me wrong, the Wii has had some great games to date. Titles like Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime Corruption, and of course The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess proves that the system is capable of delivering in-depth experiences reminiscent of Nintendo’s glory days on the SNES and N64. Despite these few glimmers of hope though, the fact remains that the majority of software available for the Wii can be labeled as being specifically designed for the casual market. Heck, even key franchises like Mario Kart can be accused of being dumbed down by Nintendo itself to cater to this audience at the expense of the hardcore gamers that first placed the big “N” in a position of prominence.

Here’s the main question and the point of my article; if you own a Wii, how often do you actually play it? I increasingly hear more and more industry and non-industry friends reply to this question with the following: “I play the Wii when people come over. When someone visits that has never heard of it or when we start drinking and want to have some quick fun without leaving the house.” As the increasingly neglected console sits in stand-by mode, I have to wonder if it truly IS the fad that cynics suggest or, as die-hard supporters suggest, is it simply a matter of quality over quantity in which the 2-3 AAA titles per year that do come out make the system as a whole worth having.

The recently announced Wii Music isn’t convincing me otherwise.

Honestly, I’m in the middle. I think the Wii is certainly worth owning. Experiences like Super Mario Galaxy don’t come around too often and to me, that game alone is worth the price of admission. I do however think that the hype behind the Wii is fading, fast, and that Nintendo will soon experience a bursting of the bubble of sorts when an international audience soon awakens to the fact that it simply doesn’t utilize the console with the expected frequency it had at the time of purchase. Furthermore, Nintendo’s inability to solidify its position in the online gaming sector only serves to distance the console from its competitors by failing to deliver an experience now synonymous with home console gaming. Additionally, Nintendo’s constant reliance on new peripherals (Wii Fit, Mario Kart, Wii Motion Plus just to name a few) nullifies the units comparatively low sticker price and makes experiencing the latest and greatest Wii activities just as costly as “Jumping In” on the Xbox 360 or “Playing Beyond” on Sony’s PlayStation 3. I wish Nintendo would stop touting the “accessible” price of its console if it continually requires consumers to tack on plastic peripherals to experience all that the system has to offer.

So, in closing, I think the Wii is at a crossroads. I think consumers, both hardcore and casual, are beginning to see through the hype. They’re beginning to take stock of the Wii as a gaming and family entertainment device and more often than not are concluding that there’s plenty of room for improvement. Nintendo is Under the Axe right now if you ask me. The company simply needs to step up its game and deliver more frequent hardcore experiences while finding a way to desaturate the “cash-in-quick” casual market as consumers begin to ask “What do Wii REALLY want to play?”