Come on guys, if something can go wrong, it will. So we'd better gird ourselves for these eventualities now, while we still have the energy and distance from the issue to retain some sanity. I definitely don't think ALL these things will go wrong, but no one can deny that as our knowledge stands now, these are ALL possibilities for disappointing things to occur at launch. Let's ditch the Nintendo evangelism and take a long hard pessimistic look at how Nintendo can be set-back this holiday season.
And no, this thread was not created purely for IanSane's enjoyment. Again, this is to refocus us Nintendo fans on the pessimistic possibilities of the future so we can start to take an impassionate look at our favorite company. Once again, these things vary in likelihood, but who cares, just the analytical exercise of anticipating pitfalls will serve us well!
1. What if the Wii exhibits hardware malfunctions on an X360 level?
Sure, this is Nintendo we're talking about here, but the technology is new (dual-medium slot loading disc drive) and advanced (motion sensing). And besides, this is launch, bad stuff always happens at launch.
2. What if the Wiimote+nunchuck combo costs $50?
That's how much the wireless X360 controller costs, the wired version costs $40. Prices have simply gone up... not to mention how much more the Wii controller has built into it.
3. What if third party games cost $60?
They could get greedy!
4. The Wiimote might last only 10-20 hours on full charge/batteries
Nintendo's already distanced themselves from the 100-hour wavebird. But the Wiimote has motion sensing, rumble, bluetooth wireless, AND a simple IR camera! What if this thing's battery life is just inhibitive for marathon gaming?
5 . Lackluster online support at launch
We already know that SSBB isn't going to make it at launch (it's landing 2007 sometime), and we already know that Metroid 3 won't be online either. Pangya may not be online either. But what if CoD isn't online, or Red Steel, or Need For Speed Carbon! We know almost nothing about specific Wii games going online, all we have is speculation and vague promises. Maybe Nintendo hasn't even gotten everything worked out yet, maybe it'll be like the DS: online sometime later?
6. Small Virtual Console Library at Launch
We all know that Nintendo's back catalog is drool-worthy, but what if retro support is small and lacks the lesser known titles? What if Nintendo only delivers 10-15 games from their vaults ta launch, we only get those same old 6 Genesis classics (Sonic, Altered Beast, etc.) and Hudson only gives us those three basic TG-16 titles (Bonk, R-Type, Adventure Island)?
7. People complain about Zelda for Wii feeling "un-whole"
What if the gaming media latches onto this game and starts complaining more about how Nintendo shoe-horned a GC game into the Wii than about the Wii's benefits?
8. Nintendo uses a proprietary 12cm DvD format ala GC
All we know is that the Wii can read 12cm DVD discs, but no ones even told us a single thing more about the format, what if this is an unexpected faltering spot?
9. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles doesn't make launch in USA
We've seen precious little of this game despite it's announcement long ago, what if it only makes Japan launch?
10. Third Party ports don't make good use of Wiimote functionality
Perhaps less ambitious third party releases like Call of Duty 3 and Need For Speed: Carbon that are intended for multi-system release won't have enough care put into their porting to make good use of the Wiimote and thus feel clunky, un-fun and inferior. Luckily, EA has avoided this possibility by devoting one entire studio just for Wii ports, so Madden is safe.
11. People find the pointer-functionality to have too many hoops
We know that Halogen lights can confuse the Wii-mote, that the Wiimote actually needs to have the sensor bar in a cone of vision, and that it only works from distances up to 10m. Possibly, in the end, these dfficulties will end up being small. But also, they could end up being significant enough to frustrate casual and non-gamers, and maybe more than just a handful of them.
~via IanSane
12. Sketchy broadband/router support
The DS has had some issues in the past with this same issue. What happens if Wii has difficulty connecting through college dorms? I'm doomed!
~via Ceric
13. Developers get lazy and their ports rely on WiiClassic?
What happens if developers, when porting their games in from other systems, start getting lazy and not even attempting to use the nunchuck wiimote to full possibility, instead half-assing the Wiimote control scheme when they also know they can use the optional Wii Classic controller.
~via Ceric
14. Not true full backward compatibility with Cube?
Hey, even the PS2Slim has issues here. The X360 has huge compatibility issues with lots of games, and the rumors are that the PS3 is going to include an ENTIRE PS2 inside it just to avoid similar issues.
~via Ceric
15. What if there are no high end cables for the ones of us that use them like on the Cube?
I can hear the technophiles crying foul now if they're forced to shop online again.
~via Ceric
16. Nintendo marketting turns out wiik
Nintendo has never had the inclination (or ability) to spend as much marketting their products like Sony, Microsoft, or even EA. What if the Wii launch is no exception, with just a few tv ads and a lack of those win-a-system tie-ins with radio stations and fast food chains?
~Professional 666
17. Nintendo Demo Booths turn out wiik
The Wii presents a very significant marketting challenge: how do you get people to see, get intrigued by, touch, and play the games? And then how do you keep them from stealing the demo controller?
~Crimm
18. Delays (MP:3? Red Steel?)
What if some games can't exactly make it out for launch day? What would a 1 month delay for MP3 mean? A one-month delay for Red Steel?
~couchmonkey
19. Launch "window" blues
Taking that further, what about the whole Launch Window thing? If some key titles come out a month and a half after launch, does that factor in signifcantly, or have we all learned to just accept that "launch window" terminology?
20. Red Steel sucks
And thus, doesn't sell well, and thus, scares away third parties. Then we've gotten nowhere.
~Magik
21. Microsoft drops XBox price for core package to $250, premium for $350 this fall.
DAMN YOU MS!
22. Microsoft releases a "simple" controller knock-off that distracts customers and confuses the issue.
DAMN YOU TO HECK!
23. The graphics just don't cut it.
Nintendo says that their games will be perfectly fine graphically on SDTVs. Whether or not that's true, everyone's assuming that the mainstream gamer won't notice too much difference. But what if... this is a pessimism thread after all!
~Nemo81
24. People complain about the wirdness of FPS controls.
By now we know that the pointer doesn't atually "point." It points at the sensor bar, which moves a cursor (either visible or invisible) on the actual display or tv, wherever that display or TV may be. What if gamers and players are too weirded out by this? What if people like, oh, I don't know, the dreaded CASSAMANTISANE harp on this for hours on end?
25. The Wii becomes victim to a slew of cash-in FPS games.
The obvious use of the Wiimote for FPS games makes developers glut the market and not try as hard as they should. Fear the future.
~ReverendNoahWhateley
and...I can't think of many more at the moment. Surely you other pessimists out there can help me?
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
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