More Nintendo Wii Bashing From CNET

CNET's The Digital Life has had it in for Wii for a while now, consistently calling the console a fad and predicting its demise.

"If Nintendo continues its stance as the fun alternative to other consoles, it will find itself in third-place once again for one reason -- third-party developers won't jump on the bandwagon," TDL asserts.

But Wii is successful exactly because it's the fun alternative to other consoles. And ever since it became clear that the sales aren't a fluke, third party devs have been running to the console in droves.

[WhEeLz]

To me..i just think the wii is a fad.......it wuz awesome when i first played it, but then it gets boring and u want to play games that are better which are on 360 and ps3....srry wii owners im just stating my opinion

[jaja1434]

Yea I agree, but I guess it really comes down to what you use your console for.

The Wii is great for party games when you have a group of 5 or more and just want to do something silly.

The 360/PS3 are really great for those solo experiences, by solo I don't necessarily single player but playing either by yourself or with 2-3 other people, depending on the game of course.

In any case all 3 systems have their place in the world.

[unsunghero28]

People said the same thing about DS. In fact, Wii had throughout its lifespan thus far mirrored the DS in every single way, including an initial lack of great software. Then the great titles start pouring in and the Wii owners are in pretty good shape.

@below
Unless that hardcore gamer happens to be a fan of Super Smash Bros.

=)

[WhEeLz]

you're right...but it wont be the system of choice for the average hardcore gamer

[Kuest]

I am a hardcore gamer, and the WIi is very appetizing from my end of the spectrum (just got it). Why? Because its the system with Mario, Zelda, and all those other classic Nintendo characters. When did you start being "hardcore"? Chances are it began with Mario and Samus.

While Wii may not be the "compete" Next-Gen experience, it offers quite an experience nonetheless. And this is just after playing one game (Twilight princess- go get it)

[Makroyale]

You can't deny that Zelda, Metroid, and Resident Evil are great games, and they still have Mario Galaxy coming.

The hardware is limited though, not having HD hurts...

That being said, for the 360, there aren't that many games I like, Bioshock, Gears of War, Orange Box and of course Halo. But those games look a helluva lot better than Wii games.

For the PS3 they just started getting games out there.

[Ri0tSquad]

I had it, hated it, sold it, and I still hate it.

[americanGTA]

What did the Wii ever do to you? NOTHING! its a fun console. IF you hate it, seriously... FUK YOU!!!! Ok fine, I can see how you can say its not the best console out there, but YOU DON'T HAVE TO HATE IT!!!!! I hear people say, "bought it, hatted it, sold it, still hate it....IT SUCKS" Too all the people who said that... your an idiot. if you sold yours b/c you didnt like it, YOUR AN IDIOT!!!! I JUST GOT MINE TODAY, AND I HAD TO WAIT AN HOUR AND AN HALF BEFORE THE STORE OPENED... for heaven sake, it came out 11 months ago, and u still cant walk into the the store and just get one. I think it is really inovatiove with the new controls.... you can bet your ass, the next playstaion / xbox will have motion controls, and sound coming out of the controller.. I fcking love that controller...

[unsunghero28]

I have it, love it, keep it, and still love it.

Why it is that everyone so passionately flames Nintendo is a mystery to me, but I guess at this point I've had enough of it.

And @ 1.1, if you want a "solo" experience try Legend of Zelda or Metroid Prime 3. Those are some of the best games of the generation this far.

Everyone holds the Wii up to ridiculous standards- why?- because they really, really, don't like the idea that an underpowered little white box is giving their console of choice a run for their money. In reality Wii is a lot of fun, with some great out and upcoming AAA games.

And if you've played Wii Sports, that shouldn't be your only statement of opinion on the Wii when comparing it to Warhawk or Halo. If you don't try Metroid Prime 3 and Legend of Zelda then don't even try passing judgement on Wii.

[jaja1434]

For some reason I never really liked Metroid, but Zelda I did play/beat when I borrowed my friends Wii...that does not sound right...

Anyways Zelda is a fantastic game, hell I still have the SNES one( the best one in my opinion) and I am a huge, HUGE fan of Super Smash Brothers but I wouldn't consider SSB to be a solo thing so I guess that one doesn't count. But SSB maybe the reason I get one one day.

[Ri0tSquad]

They always try something innovative but I guess the Wii isn't my cup of tea. Glad to see your enjoying it tho.

[socomnick]

Reason we flame them is cause they no longer cater to us. They now cater to the soccer moms and seniors. If the wii had other non Nintendo games that were good I might reconsider it.

[Almighty]

LOL, now i get why these f._u.c.king Gamespot morons always give bad reviews to Wii games, they and Cnet are partners!

[WhEeLz]

ive couldve told you that

[PopEmUp]

They are like brothers except M$ owned Cnet

[cooke15]

Yeah Gamespot has been very anti Wii lately.. i mean giving puzzlequest a 9.0 for 360 then giving metroid prime 3 an 8.5.. seriously now what the hell is that??

[otherZinc]

the Wii cant sell games, the only games they sell are the pack-in games.

You cant win that way.

[Trick Nolte]

What? I guess you have more bubbles than you do brain cells. Go look at Wii software sales and come back after you have educated yourself a bit more.

[MK_Red]

Well, for now, CNET FTW!

[unsunghero28]

I still can't figure out how you got all those bubbles, because you CLEARLY aren't an unbiased reader.

[Rooftrellen]

I have to agree.

It's fine not to like a console, but all I see from Red is clear fanboyism against it, saying only anti-Wii slogans without anti-Wii reasoning.

Heck, even if you just don't like it, that's fine. I just don't like the games for the 360...that and the failure rate. I don't like the expense or bluray in the PS3, and I don't like how arrogant Sony is.

Yet, how I dislike the other consoles, not only do I not say anything bad about them mindlessly, I also don't wonder into the sections for those consoles and spew hatred for them.

+bubbles for unsung...well, if I could, I actually can't give bubbles right now, since I did so recently already.

-bubbles for Red for comming to the Wii section to mindlessly mention how he dislikes the Wii, and without any reasoning at that.

[americanGTA]

i'm going to TRY to buy a wii tomorrow.... TRY!!!

yo, i have to wake up EARLLY tomorrow... I never wake up early..

[Lionsguard]

I'm no fan of the Wii but it's known that C|net loves to sniff Gate's butt so it's no surprise they bash the Wii. C|net has lost all credibility long ago to say anything news worthy.

[titntin]

As an owner of all the machines - I have to say I am one of the many who don't switch their WII on, and I'm only really keeping it for Mario.
Its no bad thing that Nintendo have broadened the demographic to appeal to non-gamers, but in doing so, they have left many of us old school gamers in the cold. The system needs some more core games, and far better quality control on some of the sub standard 'cash ins' that have been released.
I agree its far to early to call a 'winner' in the format wars. But I would say that sales does not necessarily equal sucess in my world - if it did I would have to acknowledge that Boyzone were one of the best bands in the world, and thats just not going to happen!!!

Great games machine or not, you can't dispute that Nintendo have made a very healthy profit and their stock is soaring. I may not switch my Wii on as often as my PS3 or 360, but its reassurring to know that Nintendo are gonna be in the games for a long time to come!

[DeZimatoR]

So....

[midgard229]

everyone i know gets a wii, then sells it. wii is full of ports, from virtual ports, and tons of ps2 ports, o and remakes, rygar is a ps2 port which is dissapointing, and nights is a remake of the original, seriously not many games look good on the wii, and non are even good on the wii right now, RE4 dont count, it is the ps2 version, twilight princess dont count, it was made originally for GC and then was prematurely ported.

metroid really isnt all the fun, in my opinion. its the best prime out yes, but still not very good imo.

so what does that leave wii with....nothing out good right now, mario looks like garbage like it has always been since n64 in my opinion. i hated 64, and sunshine, sorry. i miss the 2d ones, they were amazing.

smash bros is only good looking game on it, and Soul cal legends may be okaaaaay, sad they use SC2 engine and not the SC3 engine lol. but yeah, GC sales were so high when it first came out, and look at it now, same with n64. so yes wii is a fad.

and ds succeeded cuz u didnt need a millioon things extra to buy with it. wii u need to buy 3 more 60$ controllers. Ugggh!!! and the controllers suck, as small as candy bars, made for children.

ds is an alright system but its cuz almost no one uses the 2nd screen for almost anything but a map, so it comes up as a next gen Gameboy advanced with touch screen.

MY OPINION guys, sorry

I will say this tho, who ever is enjoying their console, thats good, its what you enjoy right? not what others do? im just stating my opinion on the console, just cuz i say a system isnt ood, doesnt mean it is to the people who like it, and just because u say its good doesnt mean it is to everyone else

[unsunghero28]

"...mario looks like garbage like it has always been since n64 in my opinion."

That was about where I stopped reading. Sorry if you had some magically persuasive point below that, because I sure didn't see it.

[DeckUKold]

Are stuck in the past

OBAMA 4 08

[UltramanJ]

The Wii is certainly a fad among the senior citizens, soccer moms, and weight loss hopefuls. The system however, is perfect for children so it will continue to sell strong to the gradeschool demographic. Older gamers with more sophisticated tastes that would rather play Mass Effect than Carnival games, will obviously not bother with it much outside of a new Zelda, or Mario romp.

[unsunghero28]

"Older gamers... will obviously not bother with it much outside of a new Zelda, or Mario romp."

Well, a similar thing could be said of the 360 and the PS3. I don't really care about the 360 besides Halo 3, or the PS3 outside of... well, LBP to be honest.

=)

[otherZinc]

Market analysis was my area of study in college, I have complete knowledge of industry sales, research is what I do. You need to check NPD #'S & VIDEOGAME CHARTS, for more information about why devs are not making money on the Wii.

I have to watch the Bears game but I will be back. Meanwhile, you do some research & find the answers like NBA GAME Live week 1 #'s for the Wii were ranked 49th selling 14K units, while the 360 topped all NBA GAMES ranking in the top 10 with over 100k units sold for both NBA 2K & NBA LIVE.

So you take that & educate yourself & comeback to the boards when you get smarter.

[unsunghero28]

Yeah, so NBA '08 sold less for the Wii than 360. It was also awful on Wii.

I can't say I know much about software, because... well... I don't. But I think you could at least pull out some of the Wii titles that actually have any chance of selling well when making a comparison.

[oaktown23]

dont hate cuz the wii has passed your x-box 360 and the ps3 with the wii selling about 338,278 or more then that you can say you this and that but as a hardcore gamer and a casual game i aint trippin about the wii i got one and a ps3 and im happy with both yea true the wii should have more space to save your games and bring out a better hard drive and all that i agree on that point but if you want to leave your wii dusty and collect dust that is on you why in the hell did you by a wii in the first place your hella dumb if you did that but you haters and cnet can keep bashing th wii all you want cuz who is on top now that is the wii so deal with it if you cant o will thats life lol.

[cooke15]

People said DS was a fad, people said Ipod was a fad. When stocks are sold out for a month and then you can find the product easily afterwards and sales slow sure thats a fad, but Wii has been sold out steadily for an entire year with no signs of slowing down.

[unsunghero28]

Some of the people 'round here seem convinced that one day people will all of the sudden stop buying Wii's. Like Brawl/Galaxy isn't coming out.

@below:
LOL yeah, I guess "sick" is the word. I generally don't pick up games that are bloody for the sake of being bloody, but in honor of Halloween I might give Manhunt 2 a spin.

[cooke15]

you gonna pick up manhunt 2 on halloween? :) it looks SICK!

[cooke15]

for some reason 360 and ps3 owners consider themselves hardcore but Wii owners cant consider themselves the very same thing. So one side pushes buttons to conduct an action and the other side aims and shoots.. i think aiming and shooting is more hardcore than pushing sticks and buttons to mimic the same action :)

[Monteblanco]

The fact is, nobody does have the facts and thus all we hear it is speculation. Quite frankly, I'm 40 years old and I always loved playing games. However, my PS2 have not seem as many action in the four years I owned it as my Wii. The gesture controls are just perfect to people that like to play games but doesn't has the time or the commitment to master complicated controls.

Even considering I don't care much for pretty graphics -- gameplay rules all the way -- I do agree that there aren't many great games available for the Wii. Still, I will take a good Wii game prior than any other offering, even if I can play them in my PC. The Wii controls are very addictive and, as much as I am curious about Bioshock, I would take a Wii FPS first.

Many of my friends, most of them who never cared much for games are now considering buying a Wii. The ps3 and 360 are great machines, but they are too intimidating. Usually, the most vocal fans are actually young adults or teens. As such, I don't really expect them to loose face and admit that their favorite machine -- usually adopted after marketing hype -- would be inferior to any other. What surprise me is the lack of professionalism of some video games sites. I usually have some trouble in finding no biased reviews. Perhaps it is the time to look for reviews from mainstream press, waiting the specialized to catch on.

[Ju]

I do not agree with you, but I could imagine, that if you don't have an HD TV and don't want to upgrade, and visuals are not your main focus, the Wii is just fine.
I just think it is a huge step back. It is a minimalistic design which makes only one rich: Nintendo. People complain that Lair forces Motion controls on the player, but the same applies to the Wii. While I think its great to have the Wii control scheme, some people simply might want to sit back a play relaxed from the couch. I don't know why Wii games can't support the GC controllers.

I was never a big Nintendo gamer - I have a game cube, though. It might fill a gap for me, but I won't spent $249 for a Wii (and $60 controllers) when I can get a (cheap) 360 for $279 (and a even cheaper PS2 for $129 - which I still have, BTW).

The Wii is over hyped. Face it. Sales are declining. The "curiosity" effect will be gone by next year. The 360 will surpass the Wii again - and later the PS3 (probably already this Christmas season).

BTW: I'm 36. So don't give me that "kids fanboy crap". And I like visuals. Cinematic visuals, to be exact. Combined with gameplay (visuals AND gameplay is not a contradiction).

[unsunghero28]

There are a lot of Wii gamers. A whoooooooole lot. If you really think that amidst Super Smash Bros Brawl and Super Mario Galaxy the Wii is just suddenly going to lose steam, then you're in for quite a surprise in the future.

You and I both know that by the standards of previous generations, the Wii shouldn't be ahead at all- it really doesn't have enough games to justify its lead. So imagine when those AAA titles DO roll in... Sorry dude, but the only thing I can see this side of '09 is the Wii retaining a pretty strong stream of sales.