Why Wii Sells and Why Wii Sucks

After two years, the Wii is STILL selling like hotcakes, but what makes it so great? And what makes it NOT so great?

[stewie32887]

The Wii sucks because Nintendo just isn't putting out the software it used to. Mario for me is synomynous with exploitation games nowadays. Mario Party has hit what number now? How well did Mario and Sonic at the Olympics sell? The most innovative thing they've done recently is the Wii controller and then they haven't really done anything much with them. It's annoying to play with the damn thing and when a game allows it, many people choose to use the classic or Gamecube control.

[Maxned]

Why this article sucks:
Theres 100 clones of it all over the internet. We get it.

[Maxned]

Ok, disagree with me even though theres at least 1 or 2 articles everyday that bash the wii.

[SinnedNogara]

Every single system has drawbacks and advantages. I can list the Wii's advantages:

Great First-Party Games. You know every hardcore game Miyamoto touches turns into gold.

Great First Party Controls: The controls for first-party games are very great.

Some Great Third-party Games: MadWorld, No More Heroes, Call of Duty: World at War, Tenchu 4, etc.

Virtual Console: Virtual Console is a massive library of classic games on 8 consoles.

The Wii doens't suck. It is a great system. Read my review.

[Etseix]

@mrnintendo96 ^^^

Great First-Party Games. You know every hardcore game Miyamoto touches turns into gold.* --- Mario Galaxy,TLoZ:TP,Metroid, SSBB, er.... name me a few more that are *hardcore* right now, and no, miyamoto dont touch hardcore games these days =/

Great First Party Controls: The controls for first-party games are very great.* --- yes.. most of them still i preffer SSBB with aa classis controler.

Some Great Third-party Games: MadWorld, No More Heroes, Call of Duty: World at War, Tenchu 4, etc.* ---yindeed but.. most of Wii owners dont take them seriusly, mad world is an amazing game and, aside of that, best third party games are on xbox n ps3

Virtual Console: Virtual Console is a massive library of classic games on 8 consoles.*--- lol yeah no kidding, only thign i hate is that theyr too expensive (where i live) and.. i prefer to emule them by pc.

The Wii doens't suck. It is a great system. Read my review.----- well... yeah but, as some people go defending teh ps3 or xbox, ur the same with the wii xD, it wouldnt be weird if ur review says more good than bad things from teh wii isnt?

the wii dont suck, is just that, if u want great great games from tird parties, with good graphics etc, xbox n ps3 are better, <-- my own opinion.

[Mini Mario]

"How well did Mario and Sonic at the Olympics sell?"

Even tho it has mario in it, i dont think nintendo themselves made the game.

"It's annoying to play with the damn thing and when a game allows it, many people choose to use the classic or Gamecube control."

I use the nunchuck and remote for mario kart wii all the time. Quite easy really...maybe it might be a bit too difficult for u ?

[N4g_null]

“The Wii continues to sell like hotcakes laced with crack despite the common criticism that there are no good "hardcore" games for it.”
Well I wonder what madworld, excite truck, metroid, NMH, Bomerman (two different version) Blast works, Paper Mario, Mario kart, SSBB, conduit, etc and more coming are. Why are you guys lying to your selves… correct what you are saying, you don’t like hardcore games like the ones listed. I mean it is possible you are a different type of hardcore.

“Even after two years with no price drop, selling at a profit, Wiis continue to fly off the shelves faster than they can be produced. I say it’s high-time we analyze the strengths of the system and where it could use some improvement.”

OK, it’s successful and it needs improvements well it’s not high time we do it since the things you like probably is not what everyone else likes. The proof is in the HD console sells if you are wondering.

The author clearly does not understand the Wii actually continues to sell because people try it and love it. The TVs ads are not doing anything to sell the games. If this was the case the PS3 would be sitting right beside the Wii.

“who have had a notoriously hard time developing for Nintendo consoles.” This is not true. Wii development is actually being hurt by large amounts of man power and resources being put on the HD projects. Normal games will sell on the Wii as res evil has sold just fine. Put metal gear on the Wii and watch it sell. Take a GTA and put it on the Wii and if they put effort into the development it will sell.

Before the PS2 sold because of DVD play back then strong development efforts piggybacked on that. The funny thing is the Wii sold because of new gaming experiences and the industry has simply not made a real effort to develop for it yet. The funny thing is this is changing. Take one look at FF:CC and tell me it’s water down. Res evil had more buttons on the GC and it actually played better on the Wii. Wii mote control actually works so well they are remaking old GC games for it.
The author is right gamers don’t prefer graphics over controls yet the gaming media does because it is easy to hype and controls are hard to articulate.
The author keeps asking where the games are and it’s clear he is an internet blogger get on the phone and you will see developers praising the motion+ and trying a lot hard to bring the hardcore experience to the Wii at capcom, namco, HVS, villiaware, Sega, platinum, treasure and maybe even ubisoft.
Then the author ends claiming the Wii does not suck WOW. Seriously things have changed and lots of HD development cycles are now reaching their end. Those teams will split and make about two Wii games at the same cost it would take to make a HD game. On top of that any Wii ware development would be done on a skeleton crew. You may even see demos coming to Wii-ware.

[Mini Mario]

"Why this article sucks:
Theres 100 clones of it all over the internet. We get it."

Do u get it>? Can u please tell me cause i really dont get it....

[Smacktard]

"The latest Metroid Prime game overhauled its control scheme drastically, allowing you to aim with the Wiimote. Though, when you get right down to it, that could also be achieved with dual analog sticks."

oh god I barfed.

Comparing the IR pointer function of the Wiimote to dual-analog control is like comparing one really good comparison to one really bad comparison. The IR pointer function being the really good comparison, obviously. Other consoles (PCs w/ mice not included) just can't match the precision of the Wii IR pointer.

[N4g_null]

Smacktard is obvious this guy has never played res evil or metroid on the Wii. If you had to use sticks on any of the bosses in metroid no one would past them LOL the game moves that fast! Which is why we all wanted multiplayer on it!

[predator]

I wonder how many people would say the Wii sucks if it had graphics like the 360 or PS3

[KingKionic]

i think the hate is more then graphics.

[SlamVanderhuge]

Just as many...it would still have a 6 month gap between decent games and Gamecube ports to pad its release schedule

[predator]

why is the hate more than graphics?

[NateNater]

Even if it did have graphics comparable to PS3 or 360, people would still think it sucks. They might think it sucks less, but they would still think it sucks. The problem with the Wii is more than the last gen graphics, its the lack of good games. And the only thing the Wii is capable of doing is playing games! If it can't do that, then what else is it good for?

[predator]

graphics of the 360 and PS3 = more expansive to develop = less sh!ty rubbish games, mind that doesn't mean more better ones just none of this half arsed games the wii has now

[ChickeyCantor]

" And the only thing the Wii is capable of doing is playing games! "
O boy, the "news 4 gamers" makes sense now doesn't it?

" its the lack of good games."
Well if you are getting them they won't make more right?

[yoshiroaka]

I dont like playing the wii and yes graphics are a part of it but its mostly the games. There are so few games that like to play coming from the last gen to this one on the wii. Their new types of games appeal to a different kind of crowd but not me.

To me all their games this gen seems like just Simon says. But there are a few good looking ones. But hardly enough to warrant a buy and on top of it those games seem to do very poorly in terms of sales so im not sure if they are even gonna keep coming.

I dunno, the wii just aint for me

[ZuperAmazingCooKie]

And it's not just lack of games, it's the huge list of reasons to wait till its cheaper and it gets more games, and to sell it if you actually bought it like I did

[Downtown boogey]

is with the graphics beeing bad... Horrific, and the console selling well dispite that. Also the controls are not even close to precision I was promised back in the day! SO, I switched to PS3 :)

[pain777pas]

If the WII was on par with graphics and functions as the other systems I think I'd have one by now because Zelda and Mario would look incredible and the immersion in a Metroid game would be up there. But that is not the case presently so whatever...........

[ChickeyCantor]

" Also the controls are not even close to precision I was promised back in the day! "

Making up promises are we?

[CobraKai]

It's not just the graphics. I think it's because there is just this deluge of crappy shovelware games on it, and it's the "number one" console. For every "real" game like Mario or Metroid there is about a dozen or so cheapass, crappy minigame compilations. And the worst thing about it is that these games sell. (As I recall Mario and Sonic Olympics was one of the more successful games). And that means that developers will continue to support these games. There are not enough good games on the system to warrant it's number one spot. It doesn't deserve it.

(Now to wait for the fanboys with their list of "Good Games" for the Wii, which is exactly the same as the other nintendo fanboy's list)

[N4g_null]

So it is not a lack of game or graphics it's just a lack of games and graphics you like.

So I ask you what made it ok to buy PS2 games then the graphics where way worst? Would you have bought a metal gear made just for the Wii with graphics better than the PS2?

[Mini Mario]

"I wonder how many people would say the Wii sucks if it had graphics like the 360 or PS3 "

Very good point. And u know what>>? they still would complain because they have too much fanboy in them. I think they are happy on the inside that the wii has less powerful hardware.

It gives them ways to bring their console up more. (in their minds at least)

[Mini Mario]

"The hate...
is with the graphics beeing bad... Horrific, and the console selling well dispite that."

SUper mario galaxy looks horrific>>? Man that's some serious crap coming out of those fingers your typing with. Do u know what horrific in-game graphics were....FF7, sure the cinematics were cool...but the game itself was horrific! But im sure that's classed as a crap game. Tell me the differences between these consoles:-

Nes - Sega master system, commodore 64
Gameboy - Game gear, Atari Lynx
PSOne - n64
ps2 - Xbox, Gamecube
DS - PSP

Tell me the difference of the consoles to the left, to the consoles opposite on the right.

The consoles on the left (for their generation) had less powerful hardware to the consoles to the right. Yet the consoles to the left OUTSOLD the consoles to the right. (and as a side not the less powerfull sega mega drive initally was outselling the more powerful super nes for quite sometime...and were mostly even thru the whole gen right up until the end)

"The hate...
is with the graphics beeing bad... Horrific, and the console selling well dispite that."

You fail.

"Also the controls are not even close to precision I was promised back in the day! SO, I switched to PS3 :)"

It must be just u (might be a bit hard for u), because the remote/nunchuck is much more accurate than two analog sticks. Play Resident evil 5 then resident evil 4 on the wii

[Rageanitus]

Reason why wii sells well is because its cheap in price and the concept itself caters to a MORE casual market than xbox 360 and ps3. NOt say xbox or ps3 does not do that but will is marketed better for that market.

Why it sucks.... it has swayed away from the tradional gamers

[Anon1974]

As much as I appreciate Nintendo trying something new, it just didn't work for me. I bought my Wii at launch and it wasn't the games that necessarily turned me off, it was the controls. I hated playing Zelda and having to waggle my Wiimote to swing the sword. In Mario Galaxy, pointing and blasting stuff with "starbits" just seemed anti-Mario.
When my wife first tried our Wii her initial comment was "I'm not going to have to point this stupid thing at the TV the ENTIRE time, am I?"
Sadly, the answer turned out to be yes. Our Wii sat, unplayed until just before Christmas last year when I sold it to a co-worker who was asking me questions about buying a Wii for him and his wife. He wanted a PS3 but he wanted to get his wife into gaming and he felt that this just wouldn't happen with the PS3. It wasn't as accessible to new gamers as the Wii.

[yoshiroaka]

yea exactly

[SaiyanFury]

Agreed with darkride. I have only a single Wii game, Tenchu: Shadow Assassins. As a longtime Tenchu fan I was put off by the inaccuracy and lack of precision with the Wiimote. It was just off. I would sneak up behind an enemy, then use the Wiimote in the appropriate fashion as needed by the controls and it only worked half the time. Unfortunately, after the times it didn't work, I would be discovered by the enemy. I got the PSP version and all of a sudden the control problems were fixed. No half-baked, unresponsive controls, just simple effective ones. I may get several dozen disagrees here, but those won't erase my negative experiences on the system.

[Smacktard]

@SaiyanFury:

So you're basing your control criticisms on the one game you played? That's not very fair at all. In this case, you can likely blame the game, and not the console. The Wii's controls surely are not as accurate as one would wish for, but (it seems to me that) you bought a Wii for Tenchu? LOL.

[SaiyanFury]

@Smacktard

No I did not buy a Wii for Tenchu, my wife bought a Wii shortly after it was released and hence I bought Tenchu for it seeing as I'm a longtime fan of the series. And I have played several other games on the system, I just don't like the Wiimote. I would never buy a system for a single game, that is a waste of money.

[News4fanboys]

well,its not selling like hotcakes in japan anymore :) thats sony's job now.

the wii sux cuz 95% of their games are garbage.
and as far as it going crazy in sells over here in the states/europe is beyond me.
all though 30% of the population in america is obeese so wii fit would obviously be idea for them. :)

[Seferoth75]

LOL Sony beat them by 3k last week... Not exactly going to close the 5 million console lead Wii has on them over there any time soon at that poor of a lead.

[tehk1w1]

It sucks because they haven't made enough Zelda/Mario/Metriod titles.

Better get cracking Nintendo

[GFahim]

i am expecting about 50 comments + on this article just because its something negative about the Wii...

[vox]

so true
i hate wii hate just because it sounds like me when i was 11
some people need to grow up, i hated nintendo with a passion for several yrs
then i played my older brothers n64 and i stopped going to system wars to bash them unreasonably.. then when i quit console gaming during the ps2 era.. and I owned a ps2 with a lot of games, it took borrowing a friends GC to get me back into console gaming
the wii is the first nintendo console I own, and after skipping out on the GBA I also own a DS..
people don't even know the games that are coming to the wii and they bash it, watch how many people shrug off a game like boom blox, it's all about their insecurity and the hive mentality

[BasilMarceaux]

I Had a Wii, sold it a year ago and havent regretted the decision since.

When you market your console and games specifically to 8-year-olds and soccer moms, dont be surprised when the gamer demographic thinks you suck.

[slyrunner]

The wii is not sucking becuz of lame graphics,(ps2 easily showed us that becuz the gamecube and the xbox were more powerful in this department)it is sucking from the lack of games and the quality of there 3 party games,1st party showed us what it can do by dishing out Zelda/Mario/Metriod title(yet they need way more)yet the wii is sucking becuz of the lack of,devil may cry,resident evil,unreal tournament and what not,and im not saying that its missing the titles yet the point is,they dont have those pull factor games any more,as for example,we have all seen the sonic the hedgehog series and what they have been lately,sega was a big support to the game cube,and now look was it has done.wii just needs some heavy hitters that the 3rd parties are dishes out,they can find a way to lessen the graphics and keep the same gameplay.(and also,they need a new controller or keep the GC controller a plugin in all games,becuz that makes me upset also.and the wii sales becuz of kids and price.

[enjoi187]

its old people

you got the wii fit yoga board game......
you got the wii game......??????what game? the wii game
i want bowling............
and solitaire games.....

at my store 85% of the wii customers are old people.....^^^^^^^i hear these line so many times a day.

first video games are the devil to old people and now this...BAHHHHHH

and wii still sucks nuts....its a gamecube with sticks.

[kesvalk]

a gamecube with sticks huh? clearly you never thouched one...

do this, get a picture of metroid prime 1, then you get a picture of metroid prime 3... put then side by side... then you you PM me and say if it realy is a game cube...

damn, just compare the graphs of ssb melee and brawl...

you guys are the one with sequels of consoles... (what do you think the 3 after the playstation means? remember you guys have the same contoller since PSone, same with xbox.)

[CobraKai]

The Gamecube was more of a game system than the Wii could ever hope to be

[Kyur4ThePain]

The Wii sells because it sells.
Wii suck because Wii buy it.

[Spike47]

he said he played this shooting game and Wii sports at this game store. I told him to tell his mom to spend it on something a lot more useful.

[The big show]

its sales are falling off by the hundred thousands, remember back in 2006 and early 2007 when wii would sell 1.3 mil per month, maybe more, now its selling 1/4 of that even less, and still falling, and ps3 and 360 are about even with it or outselling it, ps3 is really embarrasing it since the price point, boy and all the trash people were talking about ps3 in 2006 and 2007, like i said back then in those years, wii is a sinking ship, and after smash brothers comes out, nothing else will be left, and its 2009 and wii is definately goin down this year, count on it

[ChickeyCantor]

"and after smash brothers comes out, nothing else will be left, and its 2009 and wii is definately goin down this year, count on it"

Ok, so mister has an awesome crystal ball.
Tell me what do you think will happen IF M+ comes out?
With wii-sports resort =D XD?

" boy and all the trash people were talking about ps3 in 2006 and 2007,"
C;mon now, those were just uber trolls.

Even if its sinking, Nintendo just puts out a new color, and if that doesn't help they bring out a Wii with a camera......XD

[sugard0]

I have garnered in this generation that sucking sells. I mean look at the XBOX 360, the hardware SUCKS yet it sells, GeOW2 SUCKS yet sells, the Wii's games SUCK but the console sells LIKE NO TOMORROW to the uninformed 'casual gamer'! Ill tell you things that sell the least, QUALITY, now lets look at the PS3, although selling decently at its price point, it isnt beating the 360 nor Wii, yet having the quantity and quality in its game lineup that no other console posses this year, look at Killzone 2, it selling alright but it should be selling loads because of the quality of the game, yet it isnt.

SUCKING SELLS.
QUALITY SELLS THE LEAST. - Valkyria Chronicles :( -
Sorry for my english

[KingKionic]

You sir have offend gears!

we must fight to the death!

[Seferoth75]

Most played console sucks? Not likely. That is usually the least played console and its been proven time and again to be the PS3.

Sure the industry hates the Wii and rates every game based off of what the PS3 and 360 do. Most people just dont care. That's why they constantly buy more Wii games than any other console. Sure Re5 and other games get high sells at first, but where is SF4 in the charts? Completely gone, yet Wii 3rd party games stay in the charts for months at a time.

SO while the fanboys and trolls sit around crying about how a console they've never touched sucks, it will continue to sell more games, and get more play time.

If the Wii is so bad how come you guys cant step it up more and support your console enough so that it actually does appear to be a better console?

Most PS3 games flop, It's getting the least amount of play time. What other proof do you need that Wii is the better console? So change that then you might have some valid points but right now you're just a bunch of whiners with nothing but personal opinion and nothing to back up your claims.

[Spike47]

How is it proven that the least played console is the PS3? GTA4 sold about the same on both the xbox360 and the PS3, the PS3 is outselling the xbox360 worldwide, RE5 has probably sold the most on the PS3.

Killzone 2 lacked marketing, thats all, the game itself is fantastic.

How much did Madworld sell? 66,000?

[ChickeyCantor]

" How much did Madworld sell? 66,000?"

O come on!

66,000 AND COUNTING.

COD:Waw didn't sell great either right? yet it reached the one million mark. Same about boomblox.
Im not saying madworld will reach the 1 million mark but i won't be surprised either as Wii games just sell at a lower speed.

[SpoonyRedMage]

It was in some survey, the PS2 is still the most played, then Wii, then 360 and then PS3.

The PS3's usage rate was something like 9% as well and the comparitively low sales compared to the other two consoles is the only reason PS3 argue that sales aren't important.

[Anon1974]

Next is the Xbox 360 and then the Wii was 3rd place.

Of course the fact that Sony is still on top probably doesn't fit with your Anti-Sony crusade so I can understand you over looking this fact. As for "most PS3 games flop", you show me one PS3 flop and I'll show you 10 Wii games that aren't selling. Do you really want to open that door?

[Smacktard]

@darkride66:

Wrong. The original results had an error. In the fixed results it goes PS2, Wii, 360, PS3.

[Anon1974]

Still doesn't back up what buddy was saying about the Wii having the most play time. It's still the PS2.

[mr durand pierre]

In the first year I owned a Wii I had a good 6 good games for it: Zelda, Mario Galaxy, Metroid, Trauma Center, Zack & Wiki, and Super Paper Mario. That is not a small number for a year, let alone a console's first year. Comparatively, after the 360 had been out for a year there were only maybe two or three games that interested me and the same goes for the PS3, if you're only looking at exclusives. After that, however, in 2008 I only found myself buying two games on the Wii for the whole year: No More Heroes and World of Goo. Both fantastic, but not enough. Madworld was great, but what else is on the horizon?

[nerubii]

what are you seeing exactly? is it the horizon or the sun's shadow?

[Smacktard]

Well, we got:

Rune Factory Frontier (just came out, IGN called it the best Harvest Moon game since HM64)
Boom Blox 2
Muramasa: Demon Blade
The Conduit
Punch-Out!!
Little King's Story
Klonoa Remake
(these are all coming out in the next 4 or 5 months)
and...
Monster Hunter 3
Sin and Punishment 2

These are just the games I'm almost definitely getting. Punch-Out!! is really the only "iffy" one there.

Also, some games you didn't list that are already out and which are awesome:

Geometry Wars: Galaxies
Mercury Meltdown Revolution
de Blob
Boom Blox
Wario Land: Shake It!

[SirLarr]

I'm hoping that motionplus will kickstart the Wii

[dcbronco]

I have never owned a Nintendo product. I might eventually buy a DS, but I have no plans of buying a Wii. But I don't have a problem with Nintendo spreading their horizons. Game developers are going out of business every day because they either made crap games or couldn't adapt fast enough. Sega and other companies couldn't keep up with the console business. Now Nintendo has decided to open itself to a larger market in order to stay in the game. It has worked far better than anyone would have thought. And though Nintendo has moved away from the core gamer, there are still two companies focusing on that key business. What Nintendo did this generation might set them up financially and marketshare wise to make a huge impact in the next generation. A high powered Nintendo product with Wii capability could be huge next generation. A $200 Wii HD and a $300 Elite Wii-type device could cover both markets. They might be able to take advantage of the position Sony had this generation and use it wisely.

[kesvalk]

ppl are afraid of changes...

the "hardcore" had pride in being geeky and to like something everyone else dind't even understood... when they saw their sisters, female friends, mother and father playing more than then, they got afraid to lose their "l33t" status...

that why they hate the Wii, now they aren't alone anymore...

the same thing that happened to the punk and heavy-metal community...

[dcbronco]

This are corporations, not personal life coaches for them. If they want something that is theirs, develop an individual identity. Console and software companies are out to make money. It's funny people say they want unique and different things, but then they seem to mostly support what everyone else supports. Too many don't make individual decisions, that why when things go wrong, they affect so many. On the other hand, when they go right, like the Wii, it pays off. If grandma wants to play Wii sports, get over it. You should find that entertaining for a few hours anyway. Then slip Madworld in on her and the Wii is all yours again. You must learn patience Grasshopper.

[PLAYSTATIONGENRATION]

If you are a gamer...i cant understand how you can defend the clunky controls gimmky gameplay and among other things

[SpoonyRedMage]

It's funny because a lot of people complained about Killzone 2's clunky controls, which GG denied until they ended up changing them and what about Sixaxis? It's gimmick completely ruined Lair didn't it?

[tehk1w1]

I own a Wii for Super Smash Bros. And that's pretty much it.

Money well invested still IMO

[punisher99]

The Wii sells so well because when it was first released. It was the cheapest console on the market at only 250.00. And it sucks because its not a hardcore gaming machine. It caters to females and older people who are not real hardcore gamers.

[Shnazzyone]

Strange influx of sort of mixed signal wii articles. At least critisizm of the system is slowing and perhaps the journalists are realising nintendo is really something good to get behind.

[GFahim]

in the first page i said ' i expect 50 + comments just because its an article about negative things on wii' and look what just happened..53 comments!

why the hate man?!

[quantumriian]

...Think that it's ironic that articles like this are posted right on top of articles asking why mature games on the Wii and DS fail? I think that industry folk (bloggers, reviewers and the like) have gotten themselves caught in a self-referential loop whereby they tear the Wii apart for its supposed lacks, causing people to become diametrically opposed to the Wii regardless of its merits, meaning that games don't sell well relative to the install base, and these people then use the lack of sales as grounds to hate the Wii a little more... or at least post a re-hash of why the hate it.

I wish Sega all the best with the sales of their new and upcoming Wii exclusives and thank them for the support we should've had from the start.
Also, since I mentioned the DS I think similar thanks and wishes go to Rockstar for Chinatown Wars. It is hands down the most fun I've had with a GTA game to date- from the PC to the PS3- it was just plain fun. Also, it had an accessibility such that my girlfriend was able to pick the game up and in 5 minutes was completely absorbed and has yet to put it down after 2 weeks.