The "Nintendo Games" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
The fanfare that greeted the release of the Nintendo Wii was not without merit. The second chapter in Nintendo’s return to gaming domination went down exactly as they had intended. Suddenly you are no longer the only gamer in the household as the mother/father/sister/partner scream with triumph as they score another strike in Bowling or punch the air after performing a service ace in Tennis. Nintendo had been telling us this would happen for years, but did we believe them? Did we hell.
But Nintendo were right, so right in fact that the world went crazy for it and no complaints of black eyes and broken TVs could stop it being the must have toy over the Christmas period. It was, in many ways, the perfect gift. Parents did not have to worry about software or memory cards, for the bundled Wii Sports and in built memory had taken care of that for them. It was cheaper than their rivals, smaller, more attractive and it appealed to a far wider audience than Sony and Microsoft can ever hope to. Indeed the launch of the third instalment in the Playstation franchise, a behemoth in the gaming industry, had been overshadowed by this new fresh and exciting attempt at video gaming.
Some awesome software has also aided in the appeal of the Wii. I’m not just referring to two of the greatest games Nintendo have developed in years, Wii Sports and Zelda, but to some of the hidden extras lurking in the Wii channels. Creating your own Miis and using them in Wii Sports/Play has bewitched millions of gamers, the Forecast channel is also strangely addictive and the Virtual Console, already boasting a fantastic line up of downloadable software, is perhaps the best channel of them all.
Yet let’s not get carried away here. Yes the Wii is a quality system with quality software and has enjoyed a very successful season, yet it also has a long way to go. Despite the “affordable” perception of the Wii it is, in fact, surprisingly expensive. The Wii is a multiplayer system at heart, signified both by its name and software line up, yet the price of that all important second controller (both remote and nunchuck) is little short of £50. The software is also priced a little too high whilst the Virtual Console software should cost half of what it does currently.
Also, Zelda and Wii Sports aside, the huge launch line up has proven to be a huge disappointment. Wii Sports is far superior to any of the multiplayer party games that littered the line up, none of the first person shooters or racing games lived up to their potential and Ubi-Soft, who released a massive 6 launch titles, almost sullied their respected image with some right crap (with only the decent Rayman Raving Rabbids offering any consolation).
Yet perhaps that isn’t such a bad thing. The launch line up, for all its faults, showed just enough potential to keep our eyes firmly fixed upon the future. It surely won’t be long before we see the next ground breaking FPS or enter that next stage of interactive racing. Fully-fledged versions of Tennis, Bowling and Golf could be just a year away, brand new instalments in the Mario, Metroid and Donkey Kong franchises are already in development and who knows what the experts at Namco, SEGA, Capcom, EA, Konami and Square have in store for us. Indeed, with prices set to fall, it is an exciting time to be a gamer. Especially if you still have some of Zelda to reluctantly complete.
Here’s to the Future.
Dringo.
But Nintendo were right, so right in fact that the world went crazy for it and no complaints of black eyes and broken TVs could stop it being the must have toy over the Christmas period. It was, in many ways, the perfect gift. Parents did not have to worry about software or memory cards, for the bundled Wii Sports and in built memory had taken care of that for them. It was cheaper than their rivals, smaller, more attractive and it appealed to a far wider audience than Sony and Microsoft can ever hope to. Indeed the launch of the third instalment in the Playstation franchise, a behemoth in the gaming industry, had been overshadowed by this new fresh and exciting attempt at video gaming.
Some awesome software has also aided in the appeal of the Wii. I’m not just referring to two of the greatest games Nintendo have developed in years, Wii Sports and Zelda, but to some of the hidden extras lurking in the Wii channels. Creating your own Miis and using them in Wii Sports/Play has bewitched millions of gamers, the Forecast channel is also strangely addictive and the Virtual Console, already boasting a fantastic line up of downloadable software, is perhaps the best channel of them all.
Yet let’s not get carried away here. Yes the Wii is a quality system with quality software and has enjoyed a very successful season, yet it also has a long way to go. Despite the “affordable” perception of the Wii it is, in fact, surprisingly expensive. The Wii is a multiplayer system at heart, signified both by its name and software line up, yet the price of that all important second controller (both remote and nunchuck) is little short of £50. The software is also priced a little too high whilst the Virtual Console software should cost half of what it does currently.
Also, Zelda and Wii Sports aside, the huge launch line up has proven to be a huge disappointment. Wii Sports is far superior to any of the multiplayer party games that littered the line up, none of the first person shooters or racing games lived up to their potential and Ubi-Soft, who released a massive 6 launch titles, almost sullied their respected image with some right crap (with only the decent Rayman Raving Rabbids offering any consolation).
Yet perhaps that isn’t such a bad thing. The launch line up, for all its faults, showed just enough potential to keep our eyes firmly fixed upon the future. It surely won’t be long before we see the next ground breaking FPS or enter that next stage of interactive racing. Fully-fledged versions of Tennis, Bowling and Golf could be just a year away, brand new instalments in the Mario, Metroid and Donkey Kong franchises are already in development and who knows what the experts at Namco, SEGA, Capcom, EA, Konami and Square have in store for us. Indeed, with prices set to fall, it is an exciting time to be a gamer. Especially if you still have some of Zelda to reluctantly complete.
Here’s to the Future.
Dringo.
There have been no replies to this thread yet.
The fanfare that greeted the release of the Nintendo Wii was not without merit. The second chapter in Nintendo’s return to gaming domination went down exactly as they had intended. Suddenly you are no longer the only gamer in the household as the mother/father/sister/partner scream with triumph as they score another strike in Bowling or punch the air after performing a service ace in Tennis. Nintendo had been telling us this would happen for years, but did we believe them? Did we hell.
But Nintendo were right, so right in fact that the world went crazy for it and no complaints of black eyes and broken TVs could stop it being the must have toy over the Christmas period. It was, in many ways, the perfect gift. Parents did not have to worry about software or memory cards, for the bundled Wii Sports and in built memory had taken care of that for them. It was cheaper than their rivals, smaller, more attractive and it appealed to a far wider audience than Sony and Microsoft can ever hope to. Indeed the launch of the third instalment in the Playstation franchise, a behemoth in the gaming industry, had been overshadowed by this new fresh and exciting attempt at video gaming.
Some awesome software has also aided in the appeal of the Wii. I’m not just referring to two of the greatest games Nintendo have developed in years, Wii Sports and Zelda, but to some of the hidden extras lurking in the Wii channels. Creating your own Miis and using them in Wii Sports/Play has bewitched millions of gamers, the Forecast channel is also strangely addictive and the Virtual Console, already boasting a fantastic line up of downloadable software, is perhaps the best channel of them all.
Yet let’s not get carried away here. Yes the Wii is a quality system with quality software and has enjoyed a very successful season, yet it also has a long way to go. Despite the “affordable” perception of the Wii it is, in fact, surprisingly expensive. The Wii is a multiplayer system at heart, signified both by its name and software line up, yet the price of that all important second controller (both remote and nunchuck) is little short of £50. The software is also priced a little too high whilst the Virtual Console software should cost half of what it does currently.
Also, Zelda and Wii Sports aside, the huge launch line up has proven to be a huge disappointment. Wii Sports is far superior to any of the multiplayer party games that littered the line up, none of the first person shooters or racing games lived up to their potential and Ubi-Soft, who released a massive 6 launch titles, almost sullied their respected image with some right crap (with only the decent Rayman Raving Rabbids offering any consolation).
Yet perhaps that isn’t such a bad thing. The launch line up, for all its faults, showed just enough potential to keep our eyes firmly fixed upon the future. It surely won’t be long before we see the next ground breaking FPS or enter that next stage of interactive racing. Fully-fledged versions of Tennis, Bowling and Golf could be just a year away, brand new instalments in the Mario, Metroid and Donkey Kong franchises are already in development and who knows what the experts at Namco, SEGA, Capcom, EA, Konami and Square have in store for us. Indeed, with prices set to fall, it is an exciting time to be a gamer. Especially if you still have some of Zelda to reluctantly complete.
Here’s to the Future.
Dringo.
But Nintendo were right, so right in fact that the world went crazy for it and no complaints of black eyes and broken TVs could stop it being the must have toy over the Christmas period. It was, in many ways, the perfect gift. Parents did not have to worry about software or memory cards, for the bundled Wii Sports and in built memory had taken care of that for them. It was cheaper than their rivals, smaller, more attractive and it appealed to a far wider audience than Sony and Microsoft can ever hope to. Indeed the launch of the third instalment in the Playstation franchise, a behemoth in the gaming industry, had been overshadowed by this new fresh and exciting attempt at video gaming.
Some awesome software has also aided in the appeal of the Wii. I’m not just referring to two of the greatest games Nintendo have developed in years, Wii Sports and Zelda, but to some of the hidden extras lurking in the Wii channels. Creating your own Miis and using them in Wii Sports/Play has bewitched millions of gamers, the Forecast channel is also strangely addictive and the Virtual Console, already boasting a fantastic line up of downloadable software, is perhaps the best channel of them all.
Yet let’s not get carried away here. Yes the Wii is a quality system with quality software and has enjoyed a very successful season, yet it also has a long way to go. Despite the “affordable” perception of the Wii it is, in fact, surprisingly expensive. The Wii is a multiplayer system at heart, signified both by its name and software line up, yet the price of that all important second controller (both remote and nunchuck) is little short of £50. The software is also priced a little too high whilst the Virtual Console software should cost half of what it does currently.
Also, Zelda and Wii Sports aside, the huge launch line up has proven to be a huge disappointment. Wii Sports is far superior to any of the multiplayer party games that littered the line up, none of the first person shooters or racing games lived up to their potential and Ubi-Soft, who released a massive 6 launch titles, almost sullied their respected image with some right crap (with only the decent Rayman Raving Rabbids offering any consolation).
Yet perhaps that isn’t such a bad thing. The launch line up, for all its faults, showed just enough potential to keep our eyes firmly fixed upon the future. It surely won’t be long before we see the next ground breaking FPS or enter that next stage of interactive racing. Fully-fledged versions of Tennis, Bowling and Golf could be just a year away, brand new instalments in the Mario, Metroid and Donkey Kong franchises are already in development and who knows what the experts at Namco, SEGA, Capcom, EA, Konami and Square have in store for us. Indeed, with prices set to fall, it is an exciting time to be a gamer. Especially if you still have some of Zelda to reluctantly complete.
Here’s to the Future.
Dringo.