Keeping Faith

Can Nintendo still excite us with their new hardware, or have we seen it all before?

By Lewis Hampson. Posted 10/24/2011 18:00 20 Comments     ShareThis

Back when Wii was released in 2006, there was a certain air of expectation and excitement for the console, which I personally had not experienced since the buildup to the late, great N64 in 1996. I was looking forward to getting my filthy mitts on this new method of control, which had everyone so intrigued. I was looking forward to seeing just what this somewhat unfortunately-entitled “Wii” could do on the graphics front. However, most importantly, I was excited about the games. If there’s one thing about Nintendo, it’s that they rarely fail on software, and with every new console comes a new iteration of a classic that we can get stuck into all over again. But now, five years down the line with Wii U slated for a release in about a year’s time, I’m finding it difficult to muster the same levels of enthusiasm and optimism that I had before Wii hit store shelves all those years ago.

Maybe it is because I have grown five years older. Maybe I have become downtrodden by the cruel world outside my window, unable to feel anything for a box with cleverly implemented schematics, engaging a primitive part of my brain which can no longer get its fix from this type of aural and visual stimulation. Or maybe, just maybe, Nintendo just can’t excite me as much anymore. You see, I still get excited for games themselves. Dark Souls is a prime example. I could not wait to get my hands on this title, and since receiving the game in the post a couple of weeks ago, it has not left the safe confines of my PS3. The same goes for Donkey Kong Country Returns. So why am I finding it difficult to get amped for Nintendo’s next foray into home consoles?


Nintendo did actually unveil a console to go with that controller, you know.

I imagine we have all been to the cinema to watch a film we were really looking forward to, only for the ending failing to live up to expectations, and the storyline leaving gaping holes in the plot which can only be plugged by a highly predictable sequel. A promising sequel, that is, except for the fact that it will probably be the same old story again for which the discerning public laps up and pays good money. Unfortunately, these are sentiments I share for Wii U at this moment in time. Wii U is the sequel to a console I was really looking forward to playing, one that gave me high expectations, one that had a premise promising so much– but ultimately, one that has failed to stand next to the other consoles of this generation.

Before this year’s E3, I was still very optimistic and greatly looking forward to the grand revealing of Nintendo’s next generational foray into the console market. All sorts of speculative ideas about the hardware were floating about, but no one was able to comprehensively tie down the underlying philosophy of the console, like whether it would continue with the Wii tag or whether it would be something altogether new for us to get stuck into. As Nintendo’s press conference drew nearer, I counted down the hours to the big reveal in anticipation. When the time came and the title Wii U was projected brightly and boldly onto the screen, my heart sank a little. I had that same feeling about a predictable sequel and almost instantaneously, I was turned off by the idea.

Maybe I was expecting too much, but I genuinely hoped Nintendo would drop the Wii brand for their next console. Now I realise this could be counterproductive. After all, why abandon a product which has sold so well, and has a name that is instantly recognisable in terms of innovation and commercial appeal? But still, I hoped for a true next generation machine, one that could hold its head high next to the PS4 and the next Xbox, but all we got was a sequel to Wii. Nintendo barely even showed the actual console itself at E3. In fact, they had to release a statement verifying that Wii U was not just a new controller which would be compatible with Wii. This alone gives an indication as to where the company’s priorities lie. Nintendo have gone from a company which focuses on hardware and software to one which focuses on the control method, with software second, and hardware relegated to the backdrop, barely visible to the waiting masses, which is something I am deeply unhappy with.


It’s all in the name, and for me Wii U is more of the same

I realise that a console is not all about graphical capabilities, or even having new mediums like Blu-Ray to play games on. But when your technology is consistently one generation behind that of your rival companies, you are ultimately going to miss out on some great experiences that simply cannot be offered on inferior technology. If (as predicted) PS4 and the next Xbox do come out in 2013 then Wii U is only going to have a short space of time to capture our attention. Wii U will likely be more powerful than current gen consoles, but will companies apart from Nintendo really try to push the limits of the console, with the next iterations of Sony and Microsoft’s respective hardware only a year away? I doubt it. We can expect to see updated versions of Arkham City and Tekken, but why anyone would purchase a brand new console to play games which are already available right now, today, on rival consoles is beyond me.

In my opinion Wii U will be a rehash of hardware that is available right now, only slightly more powerful. Developers will release games for the system which are straight ports of or on par with PS3 and 360 games and so Nintendo will finally get the experiences today’s Wii cannot offer with its inferior technology. The prospect of wielding an ungainly, cheap looking iPad rip off also does not fill me with much hope for the console. Of course I realise everyone is different and some people may be really looking forward to seeing what Nintendo can do, but I personally find the whole concept a bit, well, backwards. Within two years Nintendo will find themselves in a similar position to where they are now: unable to offer experiences which are available on rival consoles.


Wii U may well see Bioshock Infinite. But what next, once PS4 and the next Xbox are released?

Thinking about it, this is a strange situation to be in. When GameCube’s life cycle came to an end and the console finished dead bottom in terms of sales, I was hugely optimistic for Nintendo’s next console. But now, with Wii sitting pretty in the top spot of console sales, I find it hard to garner any discernable feelings of optimism. Surely it should be the other way around? My only answer to this draws back on the film sequel analogy I used earlier. Having that foreboding feeling of “I’ve seen it all before” saps away any anticipation I have for the hardware. Waiting a year to see “innovation” which is currently available on today’s consoles just does not do it for me, and the promise of being able to play such “innovations” by using a new control method does not fill me with excitement either. Five years after Wii offered me a new method of playing, I have learnt my lesson. Gimmicky control styles are just not for me, and because that is all Wii U has focused on (so far) I find it hard to rekindle the optimism I had for Wii back in 2006, when motion control was new and the revolution was just around the corner.

Having said all this, I will undoubtedly be purchasing Wii U, but only for the first- and second-party games that will be developed for the system. Seeing Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong and Samus in HD with a new lick of paint (though it does annoy me that Wii owners still have to talk about HD as if it were something new), will be a sight to behold, and as long as Nintendo offers us the choice of play styles (conventional control pads included) then I will definitely be along for the ride. However, it’s unfortunate that I even have to say this. First- and second-party games should not be the only reason I spend good money on a console. I want to enjoy the breadth of new and exciting experiences from innovative third parties such as Irrational Games, From Software and ID, but given the Wii U’s philosophy of recycling current gen hardware, I fear these types of games will be unattainable.

I don’t want to feel this way. Really I don’t, but given the borderline resentment I feel towards my Wii it is hard to shake off the feelings of doubt which may be clouding my judgement. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised. Maybe by underestimating Wii U, I will be made to eat humble pie as the quality and quantity of titles released more than matches that of PS4 and the next Xbox, but given the fact that Nintendo’s next console has “Wii” in the name, I have a strong feeling this will not be the case.

20 Responses to “Keeping Faith”

  • 225 points
    wombatguy880 says...

    Here’s the problem. We assume Nintendo was wrong. I mean how could they not be? We didn’t get Assassins Creed, Bioshock, Batman Arkham, and even Call of Duty was really late to the party. This of course means we ignore the fact that despite the lack of these AAA titles, Nintendo still sold more consoles mostly thanks to Wii Sports. I’m not suggesting we should be happy with the lackluster 3rd party support but stop blaming it on Nintendo. Nintendo brought their console and they brought it hard. So is Nintendo wrong again? Should they overprotect a system when they know gamers only want good games and new experiences? Should they cater to the power-gamer exclusively? It seems unlikely that MS or Sony will rush to launch a new system so when are we talking about this next next generation? 3 years into wiiU launch? This seems a pretty long for Nintendo to gain more dominance and even add some premier 3rd party support thats been missing. Why is it that every news site ignores the largest publishers suggesting that theres not much more power can do on the console market? EA, Nintendo, THQ, Sega, and Namco are all wrong? This could be true but should anyone really count on that?

  • 186 points
    Aaron Roberts says...

    Two things: Let’s be honest, the GameCube was proportionately the worst console for Nintendo sales.

    Also, I think you may be going through the same malaise I went through with the N64. I got sick of Nintendo first-party stuff and went with a PS2 over anything else. I then changed my mind later, just as you may.

  • 162 points
    LadyMushroom says...

    I have had wonderful fun with my Wii – and I doubt I’ll have access to a HDTV in the near future so I am not sure whether getting WiiU will even be worthwhile. I am really enjoying 3DS!

  • 225 points
    wombatguy880 says...

    I can agree with you on that, Aaron, but my issue has been and always will be that the best stuff I played on psx, ps2, xbox, 360, and ps3 have almost always been made by 3rd parties. 3rd parties who every year declare less and less exclusively to any one console maker and so therefore I can not see the WiiU being a failure. I think we’ll see a lot of plain vanilla ports and people will complain about the laziness of developers but in the end, it won’t matter much because the wiiU will be the system to have for it’s nintendo specials, a few truly unique 3rd party experiences, and the plain vanilla ports. I think people are really downplaying the WiiU which will have Assassins Creed, Dragon Quest 10, Metro, Batman, Lego, Darksiders, Tekken, and of course the usual Nintendo fair like Mario, Metroid, WiiSports, and Zelda. Is this really something to not be excited about? Is it just the wii 2? It doesn’t seem to be given that most the big names have already said they will bring their HD best to this console.

    My only concern for the WiiU is that Nintendo might not include the wiimote in the package. I think for a company known for it’s multiplayer offerings (WiiSports, Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros) that such an exclusion would be a huge mistake. The console should come both with a tech demo that showcases the WiiU pad and Wiimote use simultaneously and embrace the ability for developers to use either control configuration depending on the type of game. Map on screen works great for a FPS but I can’t help but feel that WiiSports 2, Ninja Gaiden or Resident Evil 6 could feel better when played with a wiimote and nunchuk. I’d also love to see a GTA with godfather wii style controls. The controls on that game were amazing. The game itself was a little ho-hum but I can only imagine what Rockstar could do here.

  • 150 points
    Lewis Hampson says...

    I do not doubt that WiiU will be a success, but how much of a success, is a different story. Latest news from the industry pens PS4 and the next XBOX iterations as releases for 2013, only 1 year after WiiU, giving pretty much no time at all to establish a foothold before the next, next generation comes through.

    Like I say, I will buy WiiU, but I just can not really get excited about its capabilities (not interested in motion/ipad style control), when much of what we are likely to see, is already available today.

    This is of course, my personal point of view, and I understand millions will be eagerly looking forward to its arrival, but with just a year to go, i’m not one of them…yet.

  • 402 points
    geoffrey says...

    I think part of the Wii’s problem isn’t a lack of good games (not that there isn’t a lack, but that’s not the problem), it’s that such an overwhelming majority of games produced for it are shovelware crapholes that only the worst of the worst criminals should ever be forced to play. One easy thing that Nintendo can do to improve their consoles’ images as of late is just stop allowing games that are blatant attempts to make a quick buck for as small a production budget as possible.

    Easy first baby step? If it can be made in a flash editor, it needs to be getting rejected immediately without a second thought.

    • 150 points
      Lewis Hampson says...

      I certainly agree with you on the shovelware Geoffrey. Given Nintendo’s past regulations its hard to accept such a glut of poor games for the system.

      The thing is though, I can not see how this will change so much after a couple of years have passed in WiiU’s lifespan. I really hope history does not repeat itself, as shovelware is certainly a major problem for Nintendo

  • 225 points
    wombatguy880 says...

    Shovelware will always exist but to think that it exists on Nintendo Wii because it’s the Nintendo console is retarded. Nintendo made a point to make the wii cheap and easy to develop for (by admittedly keeping it close to gc specs). The WiiU might see this same trend on it’s digital market just as Live and Ps3 does, but it won’t be the same market for developers as the wii was.

    My real question is What do you really expect from MS and Sony? Will they push 500,000 more polygons? Make a new shade of blue? It seems most people expect some amazing revelation and I just don’t think we’ll see it in graphics. I think they, at best, will continue to follow Nintendos lead and use technology that makes the way we play games different.I’d love for one of the naysayers to tell me something they will do that matters. I just don’t see these companies pushing anything but what they’ve already pushed. Kinect is the most impressive tech and I’m actually a little scared about how cool it could be (with a dedicated motion controller) but I’m not sure that bests a controller that can be a keyboard, a microphone, a connection to your friends even when the console is off, a map, videochat, another viewport, a game, A wheel, and a controller. Combine this with the wiimote and we have most of it all. I’d love to get headtracking in there or even full body tracking but the limited application of those techs won’t outimpress the prior simpler but more oft-used tech.

  • 150 points
    Lewis Hampson says...

    Wii U will most likely be the same market for developers that PS3 and 360 is right now. By the sounds of things Nintendo will continue their philosophy of recycling current gen hardware.

    I expect the next Xbox to be heavily focused on Kinect, with direct integration of some sort rather than an option. PS4, is more open to debate, it’s hard to say right now what they will do next, but one thing is almost for certain: At least one (if not both) of these consoles will leave Wii U in the dust in terms of specs.

    Wombatguy, me and you differ greatly on what we want from a console, and this, in essence, is the acid test for Wii U. If it can satisfy both mine and your needs then Nintendo would have succeeded. But my point is, I am apprehensive of them meeting my needs, where as you seem confident Wii U will be everything you want it to be, which is fine.

    However there are plenty of people out there who share my sentiments and fears for Wii U. Hopefully Nintendo can alleviate my worries and everyone will be happy, though this is far from a perfect world, which is why I have my doubts.

  • 225 points
    wombatguy880 says...

    but what will those more powerful consoles provide you? My issue with this generation is that while I definitely yearned for GTA, Assassins Creed, and Batman on the wii, I didn’t see any real change in how games are played. Those prior games are excellent but were they a product of their graphics or their gameplay and could those games have been done on the gamecube or ps2? So many of you forget that we had GTA, Halo, Ninja Gaiden, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, and Resident Evil on the xbox, gamecube, or ps2. The fact is the developers were working on the idea that everyone was going to follow the same path and therefore they went with specs of the 360 and ps3 but could these games have been essentially done on the older generation? Yes. Some might need the extra polygons though but do you think that will continue eternally? I mean is there ever a point when the games graphics and their costs take a backseat to bringing new experiences. The WiiU can be virtual reality, a dungeon master (both ideas can be seen in Alien Freaks and nintendos tech demos). It’s not a holodeck but unless that’s what MS or Sony announces I doubt it will matter as much as some proclaim.

    I am advertising though. I want you excited because more important than how innovative it is. I think we need people to buy it. I don’t think theres much chance it won’t sell but I want it particularly to sell to you naysayers who preach the benefits of MS or Sony often with little to no knowledge of what they do. I’m all for you if you love Halo or God Of War and think those titles will continue to innovate in their areas then force me to buy your console but if you are like the majority playing GTA, Call of Duty, and Bioware rpgs on other consoles than I want you and those games on WiiU. I wanted them on Wii but it was a different market, Too surprising really, but now they developers will have a HD console so they have no excuse to not make the game.

  • 0 points
    says...

    Hello, I am curious will the next gen consoles enhance the visuals of todays current HDtv’s or will new HDtvs with higher resolution (2160p) to really expierence the power of the new consoles? I believe if you look at the market penetration of the Ps3 And Xbox 360 it coinsides with the purchase rate of Hdtv’s which is why the wii won this generation. I beieve if you upgrade todays tech with more ram and faster disc optical drives as nintendo is doing with Wii u then we can enjoy quality game creation again!

  • 225 points
    wombatguy880 says...

    An opinion different than mine does push innovation. If you were saying that MS was going to push a holodeck as their next system or that Sony was embedding mind reading tech into the PS4 than I’d be like wow that is amazing. What I don’t understand is how The WiiU as stated on this site is underwhelming but no real news from MS or Sony is somehow a killer blow to the system? It’s ridiculous. You also state incorrectly that the systems announced by these competitors will be immensely more powerful than WiiU. The problem is neither has announced a system and It’s highly illogical that them pushing a harder to develop for more advanced system for TVs is likely. EA and others have said as much. The real advances are going to be outside our TVs. The Wii didn’t lose 3rd parties because it was underpowered. It lost 3rd parties because it was an underpowered new idea made by the company that lost the prior generation. Few developers thought it was going to be the hit it was. So while they were working on HD games which they thought would be like the new SVGA for gaming. Nintendo picked a different route. A route that admittedly might have required a new type of thinking. The only reason this wasn’t the end was because IT WORKED! Millions bought the system because of the demo game it included alone. Nintendo continued to dominate their sales with the usual fair with a new control twist. Now people like you assume that it’s the same idea going with the WiiU and it’s not. The system can handle all their ideas in 1080p quality which is the max. It is the follow-up to one of the most successful systems ever. It already has a launch lineup that consists of more 3rd party premier titles than the wii ever saw. This isn’t Red Steel 3 or Rayman Rabbids X (though that would be lovely), we are getting Aliens, Batman, Call of Duty, Assassins Creed, Ninja Gaiden, Dragon Quest, Madden, and all the other titles that never came to the wii or came too late. I don’t mind if you had an opinion though. It’s just not supported by anything factual. Yea Sony might launch another $600 super platform but do you really think thats likely when they see how that has actually worked out? Why do you as a journalist ignore the fact that Sony and MS want what Nintendo has? This is despite the obvious clues made by their pushes with their own motion control technology? How is it even good journalism to be so blindly biased to what Nintendo has done and continues to do? It’d at least be acceptable if it was on a MS or Sony fan site but you are supposedly not a naysayer but yet all you do is say “Nay, Someone eventually might showcase something better so don’t buy into Nintendo’s line because despite their win this generation they lost 3rd party support which they seem to have in droves at the launch of the WiiU but why trust that info because Sony probably has a teleporter on the ps4 which has not been announced yet and when it is announced might not launch until a year into the wiiUs lifecycle” If this isn’t your opinion though then please write a new article explaining your real opinion because this article basically reads like (WiiU will suck because PS4 will have magical fairies that do your chores (source not cited))

  • 150 points
    Lewis Hampson says...

    Thanks for reading and taking such a great interest though, it is truly appreciated.

    Here is a quote from president of Epic Games, it is very recent and speaks volumes about how he sees the next generation of consoles and how they will succeed.

    “I think it’s very important that a gamer sees an Xbox Next or PlayStation Next and can clearly see the tech is not possible on current consoles. Otherwise they won’t be a success. And that’s a very tall order,”

  • 225 points
    wombatguy880 says...

    That’s not very convincing. He states that the order is tall which means hard to accomplish but sure maybe MS and Sony will do a repeat and launch systems so vastly overpriced that they will not see any hardware sales near Nintendo numbers until year 3. I think Epic is a special case though. Particularly they are trying to sell yet another unreal engine but as a gamer will you care that it pushes 300 more pixels a second? From a business perspective MS and Sony following the same path which is what you are saying they will do is illogical but more important than that they have yet to even announce anything and yet you are underwhelmed because they might announce something concrete at least a year from now and that announcement might be of a more powerful system that costs significantly more than WiiU which might or might not include any surprise that makes their console competitive and more costly and will still not even be out til long after the WiiU launch. You seriously are telling me that this makes sense to you still?

  • 165 points
    Zeer0id says...

    I am of the mind that the Wii U has a few things stacked against it; of course, the 3-4 year old hardware is one, as well as the disillusionment and apathy caused by its predecessor.

    What does it have going for it? Unlike the Wii, it seems to be straddling that line of being different, but not *too* different. Realistically, the Wii U’s control interface isn’t anything we haven’t seen before. It may apply a few novelties, but in general it’s a big DS with two analogue sticks. This, in my opinion, is a good thing. Developers understand that, because not only has the DS become a runaway success, but unlike the Wii, it has the software to back its hardware up — software which actually uses its features effectively. Add to that the near endless amount of touch-screen based content appearing on mobile platforms and you have a recipe for potentially great ideas popping up on the Wii U.

    Let’s consider the actual hardware specifications though. What we have is something that seems to go toe-to-toe with the PS3, but not much more. On the other hand, and I’ve raised this point before, one of the Wii’s major shortcomings was lack of 1080p (HD) support. The Wii U will have this, and moreover, it will NOT fall behind in this regard. However powerful the next systems of Sony and Microsoft are, they will still be confined to 1080p. That’s the limit of out current display technology, and will remain so for some time to come, I reckon.

    Compared to current high-end PC technology, the PS3 and 360 are mostly a joke, but the end result with respect to games isn’t as staggering as one might imagine. Just look at Battlefield 3, a game built from the ground-up for the high-end PC market. It looks phenomenal, but it doesn’t make me feel like it’s leaving its console counterparts in the dust. This is quite a departure from the difference in graphics between the PS3 and Wii, for example. To keep costs manageable, I do not believe even the PS4 will be on the same level as our current high-end PCs. At best, it will be close behind.

    The one major handicap of our consoles, as developers have been clamoring on and on about, is RAM. They need more RAM. It was a heck of a lot more expensive 5-6 years ago compared to today, so I think if Nintendo’s smart, they’ll put a respectable amount (perhaps as much as 3GB) in the Wii U, and that will greatly satisfy developers.

    If Nintendo manages to give the Wii U the RAM it needs, have a solid online infrastructure, and finally work with third parties, they could have a real winner on their hands. Time will tell, but I think Nintendo has the ability to make the Wii U a great success. The lessons are right in front of them. Will they listen?

    • 165 points
      Zeer0id says...

      I should probably just leave a footnote for that comment in that I’m really not excited for the Wii U at this point either. And that actually disturbs me quite a bit, because I’m historically such a huge Nintendo fan. But the point of this monologue was really just to try and lend some credence to the idea that the Wii U isn’t quite dead on arrival just yet.

  • 225 points
    wombatguy880 says...

    Lot of myths really about how Nintendo doesn’t work with 3rd parties. They used to have a quality department that checked games by 3rd parties which could occasionally be extremely repressive especially in America, This idea works fine as long as Nintendos on top but once they start to lose dominance they can no longer place hurdles in development even for the sake of quality. Another major complaint was that nintendo didn’t give all the info for developing on n64 which was not really true. The info was there but the jump from 2D to 3D is a difficult one. Made more difficult when you have limited texture capabilities. This wasn’t Nintendos fault. Had they continued down the road of a CD based system, they may have shared the same fate as tg16cd, segacd, saturn, 3do, cd-i, or any other cd system that generally failed before and after psx had launched. They did push power for two generations during the n64 and Gamecube era but did that really work? Those were two of their least successful consoles.

    As for the general state of unexcitement at the WiiU, I honestly think it has more to do with the fact that some of you have gotten older and don’t realize that just like christmas day, console launches won’t be magic just a present or three to tide you over for the year. My issue isn’t this reality though. My issue is how some have placed such a high capability on Sony or MS without any proof of anything amazing coming from them. It’ll be a dualshock 4th generation playing a fps in 1080p and maybe just maybe MS will further integrate Kinect (and if they do those costs will have to be considered vs a more versatile control scheme for less cost). I’m not saying it’s impossible for MS or Sony to surprise me or Nintendo but they have yet to do it so why are these articles acting like they’ve even announced anything when they haven’t.

    • 165 points
      Zeer0id says...

      Well, basically the problem with Nintendo isn’t that they didn’t want 3rd parties to make games on their platforms. The issue is twofold. First, Nintendo had a reputation for not being amenable with them; they were and have continued to be control freaks. Repeatedly we have heard them say that they’ll try to make sure the third parties’ input was heard and understood, but this never really worked out. Second, and perhaps more problematically, there was this self-perpetuating notion of 3rd party titles not selling well on Nintendo platforms. Nintendo certainly hasn’t managed to assuage these views over the years, unfortunately, and as a result, 3rd parties have put increasingly less effort and stock into their titles on their platforms. I honestly don’t know how Ninty will change people’s minds, but I genuinely hope they find a way.

  • 225 points
    wombatguy880 says...

    What I mean by more versatile is that the wiiU pad despite it’s not necessarily revolutionary use of a touch screen can be many things, things that kinect or even wiimotes can’t replicate. It can be a keyboard for example. It is the furst time we will have these capabilities out of the box from a console and that is significant. People keep downplaying the ideas like “story masters” who can direct the other players quest by adding monsters or obstacles on this secondary screen, virtual reality: the screen can let you look into this other world by motion which is something that will be tested as evidenced by games like Alien Freaks, It can be everything that gba/gc connectivity promised (you know, the concept that brought square back to Nintendo), and it can be an always on connection to your friends and their online habits. (Imagine watching Law and Order and Timmy texts the pad that he wants to play CoD and you can respond by turning the channel to the console and loading it up or whatever.) I doubt for business reasons that Nintendo will try and make their network as pervasive as Live but these little things will ensure that no matter how small the network is the online games will seem quite impressive. No need to hunt for my headset, the controller has a built in mic, speaker, and camera.

  • 225 points
    wombatguy880 says...

    The third party sales notion is a myth. A good amount of good 3rd party titles have sold at rates over 1 million. The problem is we get these special titles like “no more heroes” or “mad world” that claim to be just what the hardcore gamer are waiting for but end up having flawed gameplay ideas or nothing deep at all in the case of “mad world”. Some then blame Nintendo 3rd party software sales for this but in the end these games aren’t of the caliber of Resident Evil 4 or even the other big hits on competing consoles. We do need developers to put their best foot forward but that means having 1080p and a high polygon count. (basically having the specs they expected if we just cared about graphics which wii sales prove that most gamers want something new not just shinier) This does not include increasing the price of a console to an incredible amount so we can push 4000 more polygons which would not be needed by most games.

    Don’t get me wrong though. I want deep games and I want new control ideas. I want what the Wii really promised (and Nintendo did deliver but I also want 3rd parties) and that approach probably did require a 2 tier approach. Step 1 would be to get the market share again and prove that your technology works and Step 2 is add the bells and whistles as a successful console maker instead of the 3rd place loser that unfortunately was the Gamecube. They still are promising more original ideas than any of the other competing console makers.

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