Having owned all the consoles for the last 2 cycles, there’s always clear winners and losers as to which console is played most. In the last generation, we had the original Xbox, Playstation 2, Gamecube and I’d argue the Dreamcast as well to some extent.
The winner was the PS2, hands down. Sure the library was full of shovelware, but there were some really great gems amidst all the crap. Super Robot Wars, Metal Gear Solid, God of War, Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy. All these titles have justified the $400 price tag I paid for my fat PS2 after I finished VCE, which was a hell of a lot of money back then. The Dreamcast comes a close second, although it was my first console really, but the large number of perfect fighting game ports plays a huge part.
The loser though, a bit harder to decide. My Xbox collection of games was pitiful, having only around 6 or 7 titles, even then being the noob I was back then most of them weren’t that great. The Xbox made itself up though by being the most awesome media centre/retro gaming machine EVER, and to this day still serves as my media center for non HD content.
We’re left with the Gamecube, which I bought solely for Phantasy Star Online. Eventually I got a few more games like Super Robot Taisen GC, and Naruto 2. The two best games I had were MGS: Twin Snakes, and of course Resident Evil 4, which almost justified the machine’s existance. Sadly the pitiful number of games I had for it and lack of interest in GC titles meant the Gamecube became the kid that no one played with at school. I guess the world agrees, because the GC died a slow and painful death, and everyone thought it was the end for Nintendo.
This gen, we’ve got the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and the Wii. For me, the clear winner of this generation is the 360, with the PS3 only coming second, only because I hate the damn Wii so much. Today, most of blockbuster hits that come out are multiplatform, leading to inevitable 360 vs PS3 comparison shots. In my personal experience though, the 360 has the better online play, the better achievement system (which has me playing Kung Fu Panda just to get the bloody points…WTF?), usually leading me to buy multiplatform titles on 360.
While these 2 massive corporations have been battling it out with their uber space bending machines, Nintendo have snuck past and totally decimated Sony and Microsoft when it comes to market share. The Wii was a great concept it came out, with it’s unique control scheme. I even had a little fun playing bowling and tennis with my girlfriend. At this point, Nintendo’s evil plan had come to fruition. I went out and bought one of these things. They made a machine that created a whole new breed of gamers, the ‘casual’ gamer (ie your mum).
Don’t get me wrong, the Wii has a lot of potential. When it first came out I’m pretty sure the first thing alot of us thought was how cool would be if there was a awesome Star Wars lightsaber fighting game. And there was. But it wasn’t awesome. In fact, as time went on, I knew if and when it came out, it would suck balls. And it did.
And here is the problem. Ever since Wii Sports came out, there’s not much since in terms of innovation. It’s as if Nintendo has really dished out the be all and end all of Wii games right from the bat, leaving every game feeling bland and samey. Quality titles are far and few between, with lazy developers slapping motion controls onto their game and releasing it as a Wii title. Take a look at your local games shop and for every good game such as RE4: Wii, Metroid and Zelda, you’ll find another 10 shit ones that rely on some waggle gimmick that is totally unnecessary. Now imagine an unsuspecting parent wading through this sea of turd trying to find the real gems.
After Nintendo’s thunder died a little, they introduced stage two of their plan. This was of course Wii Fit. It was a cool idea, and even fun for a bit. And so the masses flocked and bought millions of Wii Fits. Yes even me. And after a few days I was bored of it. I had high hopes for a good skating game, and developers tried to do this but the controls were never quite right.
Soon, Nintendo will unveil the third stage of their plan, which is Wii Motion Plus. This little device will allow the Wiimote to finally capture 1-1 movement. Which is what the Wii is supposed to do in the first place. So lightsaber fighting games where you swing is captured is now a reality. No doubt it will sell like hotcakes, but whether developers can make good use of it is doubtful.
What really shits me is this. Developers who think they can make a quick buck by releasing some crappy game with Wii mote wagging as a gimmick. This is just adding to the already massive sea of crap that comes with a popular console (see PS2). The best games on Wii either use motion controls to improve the game (RE4: Wii, Metroid) , or don’t use them at all. de Blob, which was a great game used the Wiimote waggle to jump, something which could’ve easily been a button. Instead the bosses at bluetongue decided there must be some kind of Wii waggle gimmick and so added this. The game would’ve been just as good, if not better without it.
And secondly, how this machine continues to sell so well, despite having such a crap library of games. Sure there are a few good ones here and there, but a large majority of Wii games are inferior ports of their next gen brethren. Developers of AAA titles totally forget about Wii and make their games more awesome on 360 and PS3. Only exception is RE4, but the guy responsible for removing quality games on Wii was probably taking a sickie that day (playing with his Wii). Apparently there are more Wii Fits in existence than PS3’s! That is totally ridiculous, the Wii is an epidemic that must be stopped.
There is probably a reason why the Wii is selling so well. And I figured this must be it. Young guys in their teens who use the power of the Wii to pick up girls. “Want to come over to my place and play Wii Sports?” Ya rly.