The Wii is two years old this November. It seems like only yesterday a good friend kindly paid for my husband and I to accompany him to New York City and attend the launch. It wasn't all about shivering in a stationary line outside Nintendo World, however. I did have my picture taken with a giant Yugi Moto (see bio picture).
To celebrate the Wii's terrible twos, game designer Brice Morrison has penned two articles. There's Two Years In: The Wii's Successes and the more frowny-faced Two Years In: How the Wii Has Failed.
I'm going to argue against the Wii's "failures" because it's more fun to do that instead of agreeing with its successes.
I recognise that the Wii has a lot of failings and untapped potential. Morrison is right when he says that the dreams we had of "virtual" gaming when the Wii's remote was first unveiled are still not realised (wait, I thought we were all yelling about motion controls being a stupid idea--I was personally very drunk that day so I thought my first glimpse of the Wii remote was just a pink elephant experience). I had a great time with the Wii remote in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but third parties have merely been farting around with waggle control. DragonQuest Swords had the potential to be good instead of, uh, you know, shitty.
Then there's the exercise factor. Morrison argues that the Wii has failed to get us off the couch and swinging, contrary to what the newspaper reports first screamed about Wii Sports. I believed those journalists were on crack, as is anyone who truly believes they're going to get a workout through waggle (barring Wii Fit). I don't recall Nintendo promising that we were going to shed pounds 'til our pants dropped. If we want to play the Wii sitting down or standing up, that's our choice. Speaking for myself, I played Wii Sports tennis last weekend with a young kid and we were running all over the basement despite being experienced players. By the way, I lost.
Another counterpoint: I remember a lot of gamers groaning about how the Wii was going to make them flail when the purpose of playing a game is to sit and veg. Turns out there are still plenty of opportunities to sit, relax and just feel your ass grow when you play the Wii.
Finally, Morrison claims the Wii is a long-lived fad--a console that's still elusive but falls out of favour quickly one acquired.
I already mentioned playing the Wii with a younger kid last weekend, a boy with plenty of consoles and games. He still wanted me to play Super Smash Bros Brawl with him, and it looked like he knew what he was doing (I lost again).
I know my consoles rotate in and out of favour depending on what game I'm playing. Sometimes my brother asks me why I haven't signed into XBL for three weeks. In the same vein, yes, sometimes my Wii collects dust. But I always go back to it. To everything, there is a season (turn turn turn).
I have friends who don't game regularly, but they have a Wii to entertain guests. They probably end up using it more than I use mine, in fact. Simply put, if the Wii was a fad, even a powerful fad, it still wouldn't be in demand. I remember mothers tearing out each others' throats with their teeth for the first few months the Nintendo 64 was in stores, then the hype crashed when people realised there wasn't life after Super Mario 64. How does interest in a console die? Word of mouth. "Oh, I have a Nintendo 64, but I never play it anymore." Systems end up back on shelves. The fact the Wii is still hard to find indicates that there are still a healthy number of people out there who still use it and are telling their friends about it.
Something to keep in mind is that this is the first successful generation of waggle. Maybe it's fallen short in some regards, but it's only the start. Nobody should expect to go from d-pad controllers to virtual reality in one generation. Anyone who believes Sony and Microsoft are going to stay away from waggle next console is fooling themselves, even though Sony's attempt this generation was a joke. If you look beyond the "Nintendo has betraaaayed the hardcore gamer!" mentality, you'll see that games are going in an interesting direction. I think the next generation of waggle will be awesome.
Related Links:
Wii Music: A Rare Miss For Miyamoto?
What Do You Want From the "Wii HD?"
Wii MotionPlus--Say What, Nintendo?