Topic: Wii Life Span

[Kairon]

Quote
Originally posted by: Galford
I'm not trying to be an elitist snob, if you love playing non-games for 5 hours straight, then God Bless You.
I'm not trying to bash you.  If it makes you happy then go for it, I'm not being sarcastic.

Here's my perspective...
I have supported Nintendo for 20 years.
I have endured the problems known as the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube.
Having bought a Wii back in December, I'm giving Nintendo one last chance to prove it can make things right.

However, everytime some one from Nintendo opens their mouth I feel Nintendo once again is ignoring me.
The Wii's online is still a joke.
The system is woefully underpowered.
The controller is innovative but not condusive to certain gameplay types, I shouldn't have to buy add-ons for the default controller.

That being said, I'm not a big fan of Sony or MS.
I can safely say this is the first generation of consoles in which I'm supporting the company I hate the least,
not the company I want to win.

It's sad to hear that. I consider this generation the one where I might have "quit" gaming if it had continued the way it was going. I actually feel like last gen took a lot of the magic out of it, disillusioning me, and crystalizing gaming into something I didn't belive in.

I, for one, am not too concerned over whether a game has online or not, or whether it can do bump-mapping, or push 120 FPS. I played Animal Crossing and Cubivore, for god's sake. If I can have the time of my life in N64 ports to the GC, then I can't be bothered to "get a second job" just for some eye candy (or some deathmatch candy either).

Instead, my criteria was simple. I wanted the promise of a new horizon, a vast expanse of unexplored experience and gameplay that couldn't already be predicted a thousand times over. I wanted the fun of discovery and wonder and potential.

I think the Wii has delivered that in a way unparalleled by any system before (N64 maybe?).

... You know, it's strange, but after the hard GC years I don't trust Nintendo anymore. They're a company, and they have their own philosophy that doesn't always go with the mainstream. I don't trust them at all to do what I want them to.

Instead, I merely have faith in them to accomplish their own dreams. And as long as those coincide with mine, I'll be along for the ride.

[ThePerm]

amen to that, id take Cubivores shitty graphics over Resistances crappy gameplay.  

[Ceric]

I enjoyed Cubivore after my epic search to obtain it.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Pretty sad when someone considers N64 one of Nintendo's problems, considering it propelled the industry to new levels with Mario 64 and OOT. Yeah N64 had its problems (mainly carts) but it still was home to some of the finest games ever crafted.

[Smash_Brother]

Someone pointed out that people are quick to dismiss the GC and N64, but praise the Xbox in the same breath.

This is despite the fact that the GC and N64 both had a number of 5 million+ sellers while the Xbox had Halo and Halo 2 and that's about it.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: Smash_Brother
Someone pointed out that people are quick to dismiss the GC and N64, but praise the Xbox in the same breath.

This is despite the fact that the GC and N64 both had a number of 5 million+ sellers while the Xbox had Halo and Halo 2 and that's about it.

I can understand people being dissapointed with GC (even though I wasn't) but being so with the N64 is mind boggling when you look at what it did for the industry even if carts held it back.

[Luigi Dude]

The Wii will have the full 5 year life cycle, maybe even longer.  For everyone talking about the system being underpowered, it doesn't matter.  The majority of people buy games for the game itself and because they think it'll be fun, not because it has pretty graphics.  This has been proven time and time again and isn't going to change.

And for everyone that says the difference was never this big, oh yes it was.  The DS vs PSP was the precursor to the Wii dominating the market.  As anyone could see, there was and still is a very noticeable difference between DS and PSP games, yet the DS is killing the PSP in sales.  The reason is because the DS has a great selection of games with a wide variety and many that appeal to the wide audience.  Even if Sony was to release a PSP 2 with better graphics and more power it wouldn't matter because people are buying the DS regardless of the graphics.

This is what is happening with the Wii and will continue to.  Even if the 360 and PS3 were some how able to achieve photo realistic graphics next year, it wouldn't mean sh!t.  As I've said a million times, people don't buy systems for their power, they buy them for the games.  Right now Nintendo is winning because they have the best price with the best variety of games that appeal to a wide audience, and this will only increase as time goes on.

[31 Flavas]

Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix
Pretty sad when someone considers N64 one of Nintendo's problems, considering it propelled the industry to new levels with Mario 64 and OOT. Yeah N64 had its problems (mainly carts) but it still was home to some of the finest games ever crafted.

Yea, I mean, i'm sooooo sorry that Galdford had to "endure the problems" that were Mario 64, Mario Kart, OoT, Majora's Mask, Perfect Dark, DK64, Smash Brothers,  Paper Mario, Starfox 64, Goldeneye, etc, etc, etc... What a terrible glut of subpar crappy games those were. Worst. Games. Evar. (in Simpsons Comicbook guy voice)

[that Baby guy]

You know, guys, Galford has had such a hard time, what with all the video games he plays.  Can't you see he's suffering with this quality entertainment?  I've he'd like, I bet we could help him out, and take his torture away from him, or something.  We'll figure it out.

[Kairon]

Hey, I'm all for proclaiming the wondrous joys of the N64 to high heaven... but uh... Aren't our public NWR lynch mobs exclusively reserved for Ian?

[King of Twitch]

DK64 shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence. As OOT.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
Hey, I'm all for proclaiming the wondrous joys of the N64 to high heaven... but uh... Aren't our public NWR lynch mobs exclusively reserved for Ian?

Divide and conquer, divide a conquer!

[Urkel]

OH NO THE N64 DIDN'T HAVE A BUNCH OF SH!TTY CLICHED FMV FILLED RPGS!

Seriously, while Nintendo really took a beating in terms of market share and third party support with the N64 it's hard to ignore the fact that almost everything published/developed by Nintendo from that era is considered to be either a masterpiece or at least a damn good game.

Pretty much every modern 3D game has borrowed from the groundwork Nintendo set with Mario 64 and OoT.

Quote
Hey, I'm all for proclaiming the wondrous joys of the N64 to high heaven... but uh... Aren't our public NWR lynch mobs exclusively reserved for Ian?

Ian doesn't even try anymore.

[Dirk Temporo]

I really want to know what that Sega guy is thinking. He's talking about how people will run out of new things to do with the Wii, completely ignoring the fact that both the other systems are doing the same thing they did last generation and the generation before that, and it's working just fine.

[Urkel]

Quote
I really want to know what that Sega guy is thinking.

He isn't. It's Sega.

[Adrock]

N64 was disappointing in that if you weren't into Nintendo games, there was really nothing else for you. I was and it, in my opinion, was Nintendo's second best generation in terms of software (behind SNES) so I didn't have a problem with it, but I, like the vast majority of N64 owners, stuck with N64 for two reasons: Nintendo and Rare. It's really not hard to see why people were disappointed in it.

Anyway, what the hell is this crap about Wii having a short lifespan? It will last 5 years. Granted, the last year will likely be thin in terms of major releases, but what else is new? Consider that Nintendo is not going to stop making games. Even if 3rd party support suddenly drops to absolutely no releases for some inexplicable reason, Wii owners will still have plenty of Nintendo games to keep themselves busy with. However, with the way Wii has been selling, I can't see that happening. There's too much money to be made on the platform for it to simply fade away.

[Mario]

Quote
The Wii's online is still a joke.

No it's not, Mario Strikers is the best online game ever.

[Chozo Ghost]

The N64 was an excellent piece of hardware except for that it used cartridges. If it had been CD based I have no doubt it would have probably been the most popular system of its era, and wouldn't have lost its developer support.

The controller for it was truly revolutionary. While the three grips for it wasn't such a great idea (and was never again repeated), the analog stick changed the industry forever. I also loved that it could have modules like the rumble pak and memory pak plugged into it. I'm glad to see Nintendo has returned to this approach with the Wii remote. Imagine how things could have been if the Gamecube allowed paks to be plugged into its controller...

The 4 standard controller ports was also an innovation that is now an industry standard. I also recall them promising a disc drive add on for the N64 for a long time, but never released it in the west and in Japan it had very limited support. That was a shame. Imagine if this disc drive had came out much sooner and was more heavily supported. If Nintendo pursued that Disc drive concept much more aggressively then I think it would have made up for most of the disadvantages of being a cartridge based system. Add ons like that *can* work, but they only work if the company throws its full support behind them, instead of offering quarter-ass support like Sega did with its Genesis things.

This is how I think the Wii is going to have a long life time. The ability to add things to the controller and the upgradeable firmware and such is really going to keep it updated for the years to come. Depending on how well Nintendo pursues the ability to add on to it, the Wii could actually become the longest living console of all time. Graphics aren't really that relevant these days... Nintendo *could* release an addon or revision to the Wii in the future that adds HD support; but really, what else can be done to improve graphics? Someday there will be 3D gaming, but that would require either a new kind of TV or some headset or something. Again, Nintendo could just add a headset peripheral for the Wii to do 3D gaming without the need for a brand new console.

So the Wii could be like the Commodore 64 and live on for like 20 years with add-ons and stuff keeping it going. Sony and MS may follow this strategy with their consoles. I think we are nearing the end of the days where consoles are updated every 5 years... if this generation doesn't break that cycle, then the next one surely will, and the industry will settle at some point because graphics can only be improved so much, you know? Any graphics that look better than real life would actually require humans to upgrade their eyes. This incremental increase in console power every 5 years is going to stop eventually... and it may already have stopped.  

[Ceric]

I don't think we'll see the end of the 5 year cycle.  Computing usage philosophies change about that much.  Also their will always be advances in Computer Technology and will become to costly just to roll into a continually upgraded single unit.  Also things run faster in Hardware then software so if they have an algorithm that always being used for something putting it to a dedicated chip will make it go faster hence giving developers a little less to worry with.  Though in the end I think to break the recent 5 year cycles I don't think the Wii has it.  It already can't output to fill the largest of TV's fully.  While that may not be a problem now 5 years from now more people TVs will had died and when they get a new one, unless your getting a really small TV, now you be getting a 16:9 screen that will probably do at least 1080i.  Not to mention broadcast should be fully digital and a new use for the frequencies they had let go of will be explored.  Probably a faster form of wireless.  Much is on the horizon and always will be so I really don't see the 5 year trend going anywhere this generation.

[Chozo Ghost]

Ceric, you are right that it may not be this generation, but an end will come someday. Think of those Holodecks in Star Trek. Those are the future of video games, but how could it ever be improved beyond that? I don't really see how it could. Maybe that sort of thing is impossible and will never happen for real, but there definitely IS some sort of limit. How can you make games more realistic than real life? The incremental updates to graphics every 5 years will have to stop at some point.

The 360 and PS3 are now about at the point where they can't really improve without either a headset or a new sort of tv, and that sort of thing will probably take longer than 5 years to come out. There will be newer consoles in the future, but there isn't really a reason to make them until the TVs themselves actually change. It will probably take 10-20 years before something even better than HDTV comes out, and I think that's about how long the newer lifetime of consoles will be.

It is great for consumers too, because there won't be a need to get a new $300+ console every 5 years in order to have current games.

[BigJim]

Nah, the Wii will have its 5 years.

As long as there is competition without standards, lifecycles will continue, give or take. There's simply too much pressure. Nintendo got away with 10+ years on GB thanks to monopoly control. I don't think that'll ever happen again. If Sony doesn't make sure of that, MS will.

[Adrock]

Quote
If Nintendo pursued that Disc drive concept much more aggressively then I think it would have made up for most of the disadvantages of being a cartridge based system. Add ons like that *can* work, but they only work if the company throws its full support behind them, instead of offering quarter-ass support like Sega did with its Genesis things.

Ehh, I disagree. Add-ons suck. It splits the audience in two because not everyone wants to or is willing to pay extra for something they don't necessarily need. 64DD was Nintendo's answer to CDs at the time, but why should consumers have to pay for Nintendo's mistake of using cartridges?

Nintendo shouldn't bother with add-ons.  They just need to keep making good games and Wii should be fine.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Wii's life span lasted as long as Link had dialogue in Twilight Princess.

[Ceric]

NES, SNES, PS, PS2 all had longer then 5 years if memory serves.
I think the industry needs the shake-up every little bit to keep the fans engaged and the publishers moving between consoles.

[Kairon]

Quote
Originally posted by: Chozo Ghost
The N64 was an excellent piece of hardware except for that it used cartridges. If it had been CD based I have no doubt it would have probably been the most popular system of its era, and wouldn't have lost its developer support.

Too bad games like Mario 64 and Zelda: OoT would have been impossible on CDs at the time, according to Miyamoto.