Nintendo Okie

Remember the name Revolution?  It is a really awesome name isn’t it?  Now remember when you first heard the name Wii?  It sounded so stupid.  I first heard it from Will.  At first I didn’t believe him but then he showed the news stories and videos.  I then suggested that it all had to be another “Nintendo On” scandal.  To disprove that theory, he went to Nintendo .com.  After that, there was no denying it.  The Revolution’s name was Wii.  I still wanted to believe that somebody hacked Nintendo’s site, but I knew better.  I then vowed that I would never use the name Wii and I would always refer to the console as the Revolution.  It didn’t last.

I didn’t believe Reggie when he said the Wii would reach out to everyone, even if they hadn’t played a game before.  I just figured it was PR talk and that, at best, they would reach a slightly larger audience.  Boy was I wrong.  I would have never imagined that the Wii would explode like it did.  I even think Nintendo was surprised at how popular the Wii was.  I think that is a large part of why you didn’t see one on a store shelf for over two years.  The revolution the Wii created is so widespread, that Sony and Microsoft are coming out with their own version of motion control.

How has the Wii had such success?  If I could answer that, I would be on a beach in Mexico and not writing this article.  Even though the Wii didn’t live up to everyone’s expectations (enter Wii Motion Plus) and it is riddled with shovelware and mini-game titles, it is still the number one consol of this generation.  Whatever the answer is, Nintendo knows it.  I thought the DS was a stupid idea at first too but now it is the most popular gaming platform ever.  I wonder if they can make lightning strike a third time.  Are they really going to be able to make Wii owners buy another system?

Nintendo has mentioned that there next handheld will have some sort of motion sensing.  I can’t help but think of a “DSm” getting thrown thru a wall.    I suppose they mean that this new device will work similar to an iPhone but most iPhone games that use motion sensing aren’t that good.  Maybe I am just playing the wrong games.  I have no doubt that I will buy this new handheld but I don’t know how long it will take before I do.  Obviously they have to release it first but I am still playing on my electric blue DS, a.k.a. DS Phat.  I think the DS Lite and DSi are great, I just have a hard time upgrading when what I have still fits my needs.  This will probably be the case with Nintendo’s motion handheld.

By now, everyone has probably heard the rumors of the Wii HD.  I personally don’t believe them.  At this point, the only people that care about the Wii enough to buy an HD version are few and far between.  A Wii HD reaches out to a “hardcore” audience that simply isn’t there anymore.  Look at the recent sales of game like Dead Space: Extraction and Madworld if you disagree with me.  The casual audience that bought the Wii for Wii Sports and Wii Fit don’t care about high definition.  Now maybe the Wii II (wow, that is a lot of Is) will have HD capabilities but I don’t think that will be enough to tap the entire Wii market once again.  Isn’t it too soon for that anyway?

This latest generation of consoles has seemed extend the life of a system beyond five years.  One could argue that this was started by the PS2.  Microsoft has completely reinvented the way there system operates with the changes to the dashboard and Xbox Live.  Sony has such a powerhouse of a system that it would cost far too much money to try to sell a more elaborate one.  Now, both companies are dumping money into their own new controllers.  Nintendo doesn’t need to make a new system either since they have such a huge market to sell software too.

Get comfortable folks, I don’t think we are going to see any new system for a while yet.  Thanks goodness because I can’t afford to buy three new system s again.  With this extended lifetime, developers will be able to use their knowledge of the current systems and build on them instead of starting from scratch and making launch titles again.  I’m hoping that this will lead to new games and experiences that we have never seen before.  I guess that is what the Wii Vitality Sensor is for.  So, lest ye never forget the day the Revolution passed and the Wii was crowned king.  The name might not be as cool, but the end result is still the same.