Comments on: Why Microsoft and Sony should be scared of the Wii

Don Reisinger thinks Microsoft and Sony need to wake up and realize that the Wii is a major competitor. If not, they'll be destined to fail.

[OMGBearDriving]

I'll be completely honest. I bought into the Wii hype early for 2 reasons: 1) The Legend of Zelda was launching with the system and I'm a Zelda nerd. 2) PS3 and 360 were way too expensive for me at the time and they didn't have any games I liked at the time (except Gears of War). That's it. I probably could have lived without motion control as long as I was able to play Zelda or Mario games. Motion controls are cool and all but it's not the end all be all for gaming. Eventually I finished Zelda bought a couple of more games for the Wii, but I also got a used 360 and then later a PS3 when the price dropped and a few more good games popped up. And as it stands now, the PS3 is my standard system, my 360 gets used for MS exclusive games and my Wii collects dust (except when a new Mario or Zelda game comes out). And that's pretty much how it was last gen too. I think it's great that Nintendo broke into a wider market but people that really play video games, I mean people that don't mind being called "Gamers", are looking for more than just the novelty of motion controls. And P.S. Nintendo hasn't had a good trade show since it announced the Wii. Granted the shows have shown less luster over all but at least Sony and MS were able to pull out some wows with upcoming games. This year at E3 Nintendo was supposed to announce something big and all we got was Motion Plus, Wii Sports 2 and Pikmin? A sequel to a game we got for free at launch, a sequel to a franchise game few people cared about and 1:1 controls that we supposedly should have had at launch? As a Wii owner I'm a little bitter especially when my DS gets more play than the Wii. Where's the love Nintendo? You got my money at launch, where are my games? Even Sony has managed to win me back (Uncharted, MGS4, GTA4, Little Big Planet). It just seems like Nintendo has shifted it's focus from making money on games to making money on the system. How else can you explain high system sales and low game sales? In the end Nintendo is the big winner but in the end the gamers lose big because we invested in a system without good games.

[centroles]

THIS is why non gamers shouldn't write articles about gaming.

Did this guy even watch the embarrassment that was the Nintendo E3 conference before writing an article alluding to it?

Any Wii owner that's an actual gamer could see right then and there why the Wii has fast become an embarrassment to gaming consoles.

I've owned every nintendo console ever made. But in the past 2 decades, this is the first time that Nintendo completely stopped caring about actual gamers and is instead catering to their parents.

The ONLY people excited about crap like "Wii Music" where all you are to do is move the controller in a motion similar to the instrument and the game plays the music by itself are 3 year olds and 80 year olds.

That's not a game. That's trash. What happened to art direction, story telling, skill, competition. Those are what make up real games. And yet, Nintendo devoted their entire conference to this crap title. They didn't announce a single new game. They didn't talke about a single actual game that real gamers actually care about with the exception of Animal Crossing.

Nintendo made the decision to turn it's back on gamers and cater to nongamers. And authors like who ever wrote this trash need to stop calling the Wii and gaming console and start calling it an expensive niche toy.

P.S. I'm selling my Wii on ebay. I suggest that any actual gamers do the same. Reply to this comment by centroles


Don, how about you actual consult actual gamers next time before writing an article about them.

No true gamer would ever ever in a million years opt to buy the Wii in place of either the 360 or the PS3.

The only reason they would ever buy one is as a present for their parents.

So how the hell is Nintendo eating into MS and Sony's market share.

This article genuinely offends me. If idiots like this don fellow continue yapping their mouth off with nonsense, then expect MS and Sony to actually think he is right and cater entirely to nongamers with their future consoles too. Then they'll be wondering why though their consoles are selling, no one is buying any games for them.

And us gamers will have people like Don to thank for having no actual gaming consoles next generation.

[centroles]

Here is why Don is a moron.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XR7LaJLLf8&feature=related

That hilarious clip sums up every thing wrong with Nintendo about what they think gamers want.

[airbornecow8]

hahaha, microsoft and sony cant compete with the wii because of the design of the system. how can they compete with a system that is designed so extensively different from their own. sony is the closest in having a similar system design but doesnt get close enough to make it as big as an involvement as the wii is when played. (this is off the top of my headand is just a general comparison) its like comparing a cobalt with a viper and z06. the cobalts cheaper and is for more of a mainstream audience. the viper and z06 are for more hardcore drivers and are more expensive, and their performance is on an outstanding level. the cobalt doesn't have terrible performance, but you simply can not compare the performance of it to the viper or z06. granted its in the same general market, drivers. the wii is out for a gaming audience as is the 360 and ps3, however, you see most of their commercials for parties so on, and for an older, more casual audience. the 360 and ps3 are doing just the same (XBLA, and PSN), though more focus is on the hardcore gamers. the wii goes about the whole scheme differently. when looking at microsoft and sony, they're taking the standard approach (referring to system design), though sony's does slightly differ and offer a change in the way games are played, its not large enough to be compared to the wii as a wii killer. unless microsoft and sony decided to mimic nintendo's system design and playability, there is really no way for them to compete with a system such as that.

[airbornecow8]

hahaha, microsoft and sony cant compete with the wii because of the design of the system. how can they compete with a system that is designed so extensively different from their own. sony is the closest in having a similar system design but doesnt get close enough to make it as big as an involvement as the wii is when played. (this is off the top of my headand is just a general comparison) its like comparing a cobalt with a viper and z06. the cobalts cheaper and is for more of a mainstream audience. the viper and z06 are for more hardcore drivers and are more expensive, and their performance is on an outstanding level. the cobalt doesn't have terrible performance, but you simply can not compare the performance of it to the viper or z06. granted its in the same general market, drivers. the wii is out for a gaming audience as is the 360 and ps3, however, you see most of their commercials for parties so on, and for an older, more casual audience. the 360 and ps3 are doing just the same (XBLA, and PSN), though more focus is on the hardcore gamers. the wii goes about the whole scheme differently. when looking at microsoft and sony, they're taking the standard approach (referring to system design), though sony's does slightly differ and offer a change in the way games are played, its not large enough to be compared to the wii as a wii killer. unless microsoft and sony decided to mimic nintendo's system design and playability, there is really no way for them to compete with a system such as that.

[airbornecow8]

sorry about the double post

[sirpowerkill]

Wow how bias can this person be,I bet he barely ever touched a game system.The Wii is the biggest fad and is a huge piece of trash after you play it for 1 week.Like when you get it,"oh cool,I could move my hand and I move the bowling ball,teehee",then you realize the graphics are terrible,the system has like no good games,no media center of any type,the worst online service out of the 3,can't even play dvd's....and that last realization:I just wasted my 250 bucks because I listened to other people trying to justify the fact that they themselves wasted 250 bucks...I sold mine a month after I got it.I'm am more than happy with my 360-->best online service(Xbox Live),best games,a great media center,promising future,the pro bundle is only 50 bucks more than the Wii now...the list can go on and on and on.The PS3 is a good choice too.The 360 and the PS3 are gaming machines,the Wii is a toy-shouldn't even be called part of the gaming industry(joking,but it's more of a toy than a gaming machine).

[misfit119]

This is a seriously poorly informed article. Stop calling the Wii the top system! It isn't! For a system to be on top it has to be moving more than hardware, it has to be moving software. That's like saying that the Mac competes with the PC when they clearly don't. They're almost two entirely different things. You don't buy a Mac for gaming but you should buy one for numerous other reasons.

It's the same with the Wii. You don't buy the Wii to have a number of games to choose from, you buy it for the gimmick and Nintendos games. For a game console to be an actual success it needs to actually move more than just a couple first party games and the consoles. The Wii has made a pathetic showing as a gaming console with less than a dozen honestly good games, most of which are Nintendo games, and a bunch of ports and shovelware gaming. Nintendo isn't trying to have a video game system they're trying to push a niche system and rolling in the dough as people buy into the gimmick.

They're more interested in pushing things like Wii Fit and Wii Music than they are with quality control on their little system that shouldn't. It's a sad state of affairs for what COULD have been a good console. As it stands it's just a motion controlled version of that Pogo website.

[LanceDark]

I always find it interesting how in conversations such as these that people who defend the 360 or PS3 or are against the Wii always use the terms "serious gamers" or "hardcore gamers". What I find even more interesting is that none of them ever give a definition of what such a type of gamer really is. Is it so difficult to enjoy a game that has a rating lower than M? Must games nowadays have blood, gore, language, sex, etc. to make them entertaining or what a lot of people seem to say now, "good". A game is good because it has violence. A game is good because it has blood. Why is this? I ask this to many people but never seem to get a straight answer. How do you define a "hardcore gamer"?

I've been playing Video games for more than half of my life now, (I'm currently 18) and my first system that I played was an SNES. It was a present from my parents one Christmas. I played all the classics, Mario, Zelda, Star Fox, Final Fantasy, the list goes on... I enjoyed every game I played. After that I got a N64, and I still enjoyed it. Playing games from Super Mario 64 and Diddy Kong Racing to Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. I then got a Gamecube, and I still played the next reincarnations of Mario and Link, I played Melee with my friends until my thumb went numb. I also played Resident Evil 4, Geist (a great, but under the radar title), and many others that weren't exactly rated E or T.

I've been playing Video Games for a good portion of my life, and they haven't always been bloody, gory, sex-filled games. Why doesn't that make me a "serious gamer"? I"m serious about playing my games. I got all 120 stars in Super Mario 64. I caught every boo in Luigi's Mansion. Hell, I even beat Star Fox Assault on the highest difficulty. Doesn't that make me a "hardcore" gamer? I enjoy my games just as much as anybody else would. I would dare anybody to challenge me in Brawl. I play a mean Wario or Fox. I like competition in my games, why aren't I considered serious? Because in Mario games you don't use guns? Because Mario doesn't swear at Bowser every time he kidnaps Princess Peach?

Call me a Nintendo Fanboy if you wish, I could call you a Xbox fanboy for the very same reasons that you'll most likely put down. I think that because of the rise of violent video games, you're considered cool if you play Halo or Call of Duty 4 as opposed to Super Mario Galaxy or Mario Kart Wii. What's wrong with playing those games? You enjoyed them before, even if you were a kid or not. I play other consoles as well, even if I don't own them. I've played stuff like Army of Two with my friend who owns a PS3 and I've played Halo 3 with a friend who owns a 360. I've enjoyed those games just as much as I would any game on my Wii.

I guess I'll get to my point, I would agree that the big 3 are in competition with each other, some more for gaming than others, some more for entertainment purposes than others, but none of them are in competition for the "serious/hardcore gamer" area because this area does not exist. It is simply a term created by those who refuse to play games that don't require you to be 18 years of age to purchase. They are in competition for the gamer market. There are only two types of people. Those who play Video games, and those who do not. However, regardless of whether or not you play Video games, there is simply no reason that they can't start up with something that they might enjoy. Nintendo is the only company trying to incorporate those people I just mentioned into their market. When they aim for everybody, it does not mean they are aiming for all age groups, it means they are aiming for everybody based on whether they enjoy traditional video games or not. Microsoft and Sony make no effort to incorporate these people and only create games for people who already play Video games. What's wrong with including these people? How does it make Nintendo any less of the Video Game-making powerhouse that they have been since the 80's? Remember the classics like Pac-man? Donkey Kong? Space Invaders? ....Pong? Were they filled with blood and guts? No. Were they still great games? Of course! Why does this concept not appeal to some people anymore?

Great Article Don, I very much enjoyed reading it and I enjoyed reading these comments. A lot of people make some very vital points in this conversation. Some more than others.

[PS3Fan66]

Ok he is absolutely right. And stop making foolish stories when you don't know what your talking about. The Wii is just a simple machine, what does it have left? Shaun White? Who the hell is he? I don't anyone will buy his crap game. And Animal Crossing is just a copy of Home if you ask me, in poor grahpics and background. And what else is there for the Wii? Nothing. PS3 and Xbox 360 are way better and I presonally recommend the PS3 more than the 360 because it has more features and mostly it has Blu-ray.