I have to echo Kairon on RE4, Ian. Every GC owner should have that game. I hate that stripe though too, so I sympathise. I actually bought it used right before the price drop for $25. But tis all good.
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Does anyone remember what this thread was about? I don't know. This is my take on whatever it was:
The PS2 was the most successful system in the last generation, by and large. I could confidently say that it has been and probably will be for a while the most bought game hardware ever with the largest variety. It is this variety that Nintendo lacked last gen, not just in terms of genre but in terms of games for a genre. How many exclusive platformers did the GC have vs. Sony, just to name an area? FPSs? Roaming games a la GTA? Nintendo last gen abandoned any hopes of even trying to cover these bases by not doing enough to get developers on board. Now, that seems to have changed - but has it? Nintendo fans have been burned so many times in the past that they have a right to be jaded about this stuff. When Nintendo says, 'Oh, this wasn't our fault, we need a new controller', (did they say this?)and doesn't put any focus on making a new franchise or getting third parties to do so, not just in the non-gamer space, but in a traditional genre like racing or FPSs or whatever. At best, they reinvented an old game in Metroid and introduced a new one in Pikmin. I'm not talking about games that cater to fringes. Platforming games, to use the example again, attract a broad segment of gamers; Nintendo only made Sunshine. That isn't variety, and that is part of the problem.
All this seems to be changing with the Wii, but it's too early to tell, and it's too soon to proclaim them saints. If they can deliver on variety, and not just quality, not just in the non-game space, but in the traditional space, then they'll have a very good shot at the number 1 or at least number 2 spot. Disaster and HAMMER are steps in the right direction; so is Red Steel. But right now, I still feel like the Wii is the 'other' console in terms of having a variety of exclusive, traditional games.