Topic: Miyamoto reafirms Wii Music is still coming along

[GoldenPhoenix]

I'll be interested to see what Nick thinks of it, since his gaming tastes are very much in line with mine.

Except the fact you prefer PS3 and he prefers the Wii, I guess yo have EXACTLY the same tastes.

[Luigi Dude]

I'd say the biggest thing I walked away with after tonight is the fact that you absolutely MUST play this game with others to enjoy it. Playing alone is boring and completely mindless. However, with a group of people its great to build a chemistry together and hear a decent rendition of the song. Once you learn the boundaries of improvisation, incorporating it will spice up the song when playing in the jam mode.

All in all it is a decent game, but it feels like its missing something. I strongly, strongly advise avoiding the game if you don't have people to play it with, otherwise it makes for a unique and decent party game.

In other words, it's Wii Sports except with music.  Sounds like the game pretty much accomplishes what it was trying to do then.  True it sucks that the game lacks options that could have made it better for some gamers, but in the overall picture, as a game that's suppose to be simple for an entire family to enjoy together, it accomplishes that.

[NWR_Lindy]

Wii Sports has a huge amount of depth though, depth that Wii Music seems to lack from what I've read.  It's that depth that makes Wii Sports so great.

GP: By Matt C. having the same tastes as me, I mean "traditional Nintendo games".  The guy's all-time favorite game is Metroid Prime, 'nuff said.

[Flames_of_chaos]

Wii Sports has a huge amount of depth though, depth that Wii Music seems to lack from what I've read.  It's that depth that makes Wii Sports so great.

GP: By Matt C. having the same tastes as me, I mean "traditional Nintendo games".  The guy's all-time favorite game is Metroid Prime, 'nuff said.

Well Silks, I think that in Wii Music the depth is experimenting in each song and how different can you make it sound with each different family of musical instruments.

[NWR_Lindy]

Well Silks, I think that in Wii Music the depth is experimenting in each song and how different can you make it sound with each different family of musical instruments.

Good point.  In that sense it is similar to a musical instrument, in that you can take it as far as you want it.  You can bang around on it like a kid on pots and pans, or you can actually do your best and make it sound good.

Hmm, I guess the reason why it doesn't appeal to me is because I just like more structured game experiences with a clear reward/end goal.  This is probably why I've never learned a musical instrument either...because I need that instant gratification.

[Flames_of_chaos]

Well Silks you really have to look at it in a different angle usually in music games you usually try to beat a predetermined score that would count someone "passing" the song and then mastering the song with a 5/5 stars, AAA(A), S rankings and so forth, the problem with that is that everything is predetermined and your trying to nail all the notes that developer wants you to nail.

Wii Music in a way is similar but executed in a way different manner, since the clear reward/end goal is really transparent. The goal of Wii Music is to make the song "sound good" or pleasant. But you don't have that much guidance or structure instead Wii Music invites people to find that structure and once you do find it, the player will be rewarded with a song that sounds right or awesome. 

[Ian Sane]

Sounds like the game pretty much accomplishes what it was trying to do then.

Did anyone think it wouldn't?  I've had no interest in it since E3 but there was never any doubt in my mind that it wouldn't be a well made product.  Nintendo doesn't make buggy unpolished crap.  It's just a concept I could never like, targeted at a group I'm not a part of, using a game design philosophy I strongly disagree with.  I'm sure High School Musical 3 accomplishes what it was trying to do as well but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck.

Though I find IGN's review too biased.  It seems to be too much "SEE?!  We told you it sucked!"  I think their point of view would be better presented if they tried to appear more neutral.  They don't seem to want to review the game but rather prove it sucks.  The thing is even 1UP's review, which gives a good score, tells me enough to know the game is exactly what I thought it was and that I shouldn't get it.  Any impressions I've read thus far are the same way whether the writer appears to like Wii Music or not.  IGN could probably make the same points and give the same score but write it in a less biased manner and it would all make sense.  And that would strengthen the credibility of the review.  The irony is that by showing their bias they have hurt their argument.

[Flames_of_chaos]

Sounds like the game pretty much accomplishes what it was trying to do then.

Though I find IGN's review too biased.  It seems to be too much "SEE?!  We told you it sucked!"  I think their point of view would be better presented if they tried to appear more neutral.  They don't seem to want to review the game but rather prove it sucks. 

Ian that is too true just look at the video of Matt C.'s(the reviewer) rendition of the LOZ song where he clearly didn't try and compare it to the video of another IGN staffer that made the song sound pretty well.

[GoldenPhoenix]

GP: By Matt C. having the same tastes as me, I mean "traditional Nintendo games".  The guy's all-time favorite game is Metroid Prime, 'nuff said.

I thought you were talking about Nick (Mr. Jack)?

[Luigi Dude]

I think this is probably the best review of Wii Music so far. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27245453/

It pretty much sums everything up and and explains it in a fair and balanced way.

[mac<censored>]

I think this is probably the best review of Wii Music so far. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27245453/

Yeah, that's an excellent review.

I'm still confused by one point though:  does Wii Music allow you to change what notes you play, or does your controller input purely effect the rhythm?

Every review I've seen seems to sort of gloss over the fine details of the gameplay....

[Nick DiMola]

Alright, my review is up for all to see. I gave it a 7 so, check it out.

In response to mac<censored>, you as the player control the rhythm, but if you improvise you are able to do stuff like bend notes or play crescendos or even sprinkle extra notes in the same key in between beats if you so desire. So it's kind of both.

[Pale]

I wish teh billeh would have done the review for Crispy Gamer... I'd love to hear his take.

http://www.crispygamer.com/gamereviews/2008-10-20/wii-music-wii.aspx

[Nick DiMola]

I never experienced this disconnect they mention...

Plus reading this review is like watching an episode of Family Guy. He needs to break every 5 seconds from the review itself to create some sort of "like" metaphor to garner a chuckle. It's actually pretty grating.

[Luigi Dude]

Well I bought the game last night and played it for a few hours.  It's a pretty fun title, of course I'm still getting used to everything.  The learning curve in this game is quite high, and you really have to practice in order to make anything that sounds good.

Oh and unlike most of the reviews, I actually like the music in the game.  The MIDI is SNES quality MIDI which sounds just fine to me, since most of the best videogame soundtracks were done on the SNES with music of the same quality as Wii Music.

[BeautifulShy]

Did anyone else grab this game or rent it?

[blackfootsteps]

I never experienced this disconnect they mention...

Perhaps he was playing on an HDTV? I know in GH that you need to adjust for lag otherwise everything seems 'disconnected'.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

I bought this.

[NWR_insanolord]

I bought this.

So does that mean we should be expecting videos of people playing old Nintendo songs badly in crisp 480p?

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

the badliest and the crispest

[EasyCure]

the badliest and the crispest

nicccceeee!

I just saw the tv spot for this game..

holy christ! that was awesome! i'm glad they moved away from the "wii would like to play" style ads, this one was freakin epic..

[Stogi]

Ya...........that was bad ass!

[vudu]

Jeremy Parish has an excellent blog post on Wii Music.

It's a good game that simply doesn't hold any interest for me, and I'm far beyond the point of expecting games to cater strictly to my interests or of forcing myself to try to enjoy things for which I have no taste. This is a good thing! It means that gaming has grown and diversified enough that no one need be expected to experience or appreciate everything to come down the pipeline.

[NWR_Lindy]

If you're slamming Wii Music because it isn't Rock Band, you're reviewing it in the wrong context entirely.

[D_Average]

I completely agree with Jeremy, Wii Music is a good product, its just not for me.  Instead, it seems as if it will cater well to children and musical noobs.  The fact that its coming from Nintendo is what has created all of the confusion.  In due time the paradigm shift will occur, and forth coming products like this will not be the lightning rod of controversy Wii Music finds itself in (Did any of the Hot Wheels Fanboys complain when Mattel released Tickle Me Elmo?).

As far as all the low review scores, I have no problem with them.  You have to know who your audience is, and let be honest, how many soccer moms read IGN, Giant Bomb, and NWR?  Had all of these outlets given the game high scores it would have confused the hell out of the internet, possibly ruining it forever.  The contextual reviews are better served in the NY Times, and Entertainment Weekly.

On a lighter note, anyone see the cheerleader review of Wii Music from Kotaku?  I found her candid impressions pretty amusing.
http://kotaku.com/5067711/the-nintendo-holiday-van-part-2-the-cheerleader