Nintendo Embarrassed to Be Sony, Microsoft

[long2know]

I hooked up my Wii for the first time this year because I installed some hacks that allowed me to boot games of USB HDD. After the initial excitement wore off, the thing has been collecting dust ever since then. Wii games look like crap and generally aren't entertaining. The games look better on Dolphin on my HTPC. Compare any Wii game to the equivalent Xbox360/PS3 game. It's NOT just that HD is missing. The games are scaled down and have been bastardized to the point of looking like something on the N64.

I don't see how Project Natal is a copy cat of anything. It is supposed to be accurate down to the movement of fingers. None of the lame PS3 or Wii camera stuff has ever done this. PS Move is a complete knock-off of the Wiimote. Anyone who buys it should be ashamed for a couple of reasons. The first is that the Wiimote is a fad. The second is that Sony is trying to jump onto a fad that has already faded.

Right now the Xbox360 arcade is the cheapest console at $149.99 shipped from Dell. Why does the Wii still cost $199.99 when demand is falling?

Will I be buying Project Natal? Yes. I have seen the demos and I think it looks quite cool. Why did I buy a Wii? I played it my nephew's a few times and thought it was novel. That was ~ 3 years ago. I think I have logged 100 hours total on the Wii at best. That's less than I spent on Dragon Age Origins on the PC alone.

 

[stridervm]

I don't know what the anti Nintendo bias is all about. I mean Facebook games users outnumber all console users like 3 to 1. And you're saying they're not catering to the masses or something?

It's not for you, ignore it. If you don't play with Barbie dolls don't diss it, don't play with it. =P

 

[1pp1k10k4m1]

I own all 3 consoles and honestly I like my Wii the least. I got it from a friend for a Fallout 3 trade...that's the only reason I have it.

Memo to Fils-Aime...don't do HD, watch your next console fail. My PS3 came with a motion sensitive controller (hence it's use in Killzone 2), and Natal and Move are far more sophisticated products than a simple controller. My iPhone tracks motion as well as the Wii, if not better. If I were Reggie, I would be embarrassed that my company talks about innovation based on one controller for the last few years and has nothing else to offer consumers outside of fitness games. I would be embarrassed that I haven't kept up with consumer's demand for HD capability. I would be embarrassed that I thought a controller would carry a whole console generation, and I would finally get around to being embarrassed that my company continually creates repetitive, non-unique nor impressive experiences and leeches off of customers by repackaging the same old crap with a minor update and selling it for a premium price. All reasons my wii gets used for Wii fit plus...and that's it. How many games do I own for Wii? 2...how many did I buy...1 (other came with it from my buddy). How many games do I have for my 360? Between 20-25. For my PS3? I believe I hit 30 this week (I bought like 8 games this week alone). You want to hit gamers on a consistent basis and make a next gen people will want to keep buying for Reg? Grow up. Then go HD, cater to your customers, and get "embarrassed" enough about your shortcomings to do something about them and make a system that you can sell to someone other than soccer moms and 5 year olds. I don't know one person who has a Wii exclusively. All of my friends who have one, have gone and gotten another system after it, because it gets old. Heck, other than the controller, it started old.

 

[Manos]

I'll agree and ive said the same thing. Sony should indeed be embarrassed for copying so harshly their Wiimote. But when it comes to Natal, I don't get the point. Natal is way too many steps ahead of a Wiimote in many aspects. It could have easily been Nintendo's next innovative move after Wii/Wiimote. So I honestly don't get this, unless the "Natal" bit was just added from the author of the story and never said.

Good day all.

 

[meepstone]

I would be embarassed to be Nintendo... Made a weaker system than both xbox 360 and ps3. There whole selling point of the wii was the gimicky wand controller that has no practical value for any of the popular games. Granted he is right, nintendo did do something new... Gave us something we don't need. I'm in awe!

 

[rhino13]

I'm embarased to be a Wii owner.

But I'm proud to be a PS3 owner.

 

[pochacco007]

everyone keeps saying move and natal is better then nintendo's motion controller. the xbox 1 was superior then the gamecube and the ps2, yet the less powerful console last generation had more support. it isn't the power of the technology.

take the iphone for instance. many people have said that the wii is very limited on it's capabilities. but how does an hd game like street fighter 4 and an engine like unreal engine 3, end up on the iphone that is less or equal to that of the wii in the hardware department?

 

[FloKid]

Heh I'd be embarrassed to be Sony also. They came out with these totally unpopular games called something like "God of War" or "Final Fantasy" I mean who plays those games. I am sure people would definitely buy them if they were out on the Wii, and only Wii lol. But yeah I am just kiddin, getting FFXII next week.

 

[neoverdugo]

Honestly, Nintendo should upgrade its graphic hardware along with its cpu hardware and software so it can not only compete with the graphical capabilities of both PS3 and Xbox 360 but also offer games that are for a mature audience like god of war, bayonetta or dante's inferno. Let's face it, all the nintendo kiddies [like myself] from the past 15 years have already grew up like an "Grown Ass Man" [RIP Big Proof] and the individual taste of each of us changed for a more adult themed titles [more like unmoral, trouble-making, questionable games, hehe]. Anyway, the point is that nintendo should offer the same games that ps3 and xbox 360 has, and especially cross-platform games like Resident Evil 5, one which i am very upset that PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 has it, but not Nintendo!!!!!

 

[thrust2night]

davendork 03/19/2010 8:38 PM Hide -8+ .

"IMHO Wii is meh. I think mine has 1/2 of dust on it under my HD TV."

The Wii may have 50 percent of dust under your HD TV but since you bought it, it makes your comment 100 percent stupid and useless.

 

[Gupeez]

Quote (orionantares): "The reason the Wii doesn't have HD support is because it was designed to be affordable for anyone who wanted a gaming system. The hardware was designed to cost half what the Xbox and PS3 cost but still be both fun for EVERY age group and innovative."

The Wii is going for about $200 right now, whereas an XBox 360 can be had for $160. Even when you figure in a year of Xbox Live and the higher cost of games, Wii is way too much for what you get. And it's not like you can't use the XBox with an SDTV. Nintendo's stock price has been in a steady decline since late 2007, when it was almost three times higher.

For the people that think this is "Nintendo-hating", it's not... it's the opposite. I would love to buy something from them if they had something to sell me, but they need to get a clue first apparently. And who says HD is still not mainstream? It's as mainstream as it needs to be... I bet everyone making comments here uses an HDTV... and if you don't it should be the next thing on your to-buy list instead of whatever gimmick Nintendo manages to sell you on.

 

[Gupeez]

Quote (orionantares): "The reason the Wii doesn't have HD support is because it was designed to be affordable for anyone who wanted a gaming system. The hardware was designed to cost half what the Xbox and PS3 cost but still be both fun for EVERY age group and innovative."

The Wii is going for about $200 right now, whereas an XBox 360 can be had for $160. Even when you figure in a year of Xbox Live and the higher cost of games, Wii is way too much for what you get. And it's not like you can't use the XBox with an SDTV. Nintendo's stock price has been in a steady decline since late 2007, when it was almost three times higher.

For the people that think this is "Nintendo-hating", it's not... it's the opposite. I would love to buy something from them if they had something to sell me, but they need to get a clue first apparently. And who says HD is still not mainstream? It's as mainstream as it needs to be... I bet everyone making comments here uses an HDTV... and if you don't it should be the next thing on your to-buy list instead of whatever gimmick Nintendo manages to sell you on.

 

[tinmann]

Maybe the next step is a Wii 3d experience. A 3Wii. With dual Nvidia 480's under the hood and bundled 3d sterotropic Glasses and Crysis 2.

 

[Gupeez]

(orionantares): The reason the Wii doesn't have HD support is because it was designed to be affordable for anyone who wanted a gaming system. The hardware was designed to cost half what the Xbox and PS3 cost but still be both fun for EVERY age group and innovative."

The Wii is going for about $200 right now, whereas an XBox 360 can be had for $160. Even when you figure in a year of Xbox Live and the higher cost of games, Wii is way too much for what you get. And it's not like you can't use the XBox with an SDTV. Nintendo's stock price has been in a steady decline since late 2007, when it was almost three times higher.

For the people that think this is "Nintendo-hating", it's not... it's the opposite. I would love to buy something from them if they had something to sell me, but they need to get a clue first apparently. And who says HD is still not mainstream? It's as mainstream as it needs to be... I bet everyone making comments here uses an HDTV... and if you don't it should be the next thing on your to-buy list instead of whatever gimmick Nintendo will try to sell you.

 

[tinmann]

More food for thought. If it's the second generation Wii will it be branded the WiiWii? I'll catch you guy's later I'm going home to play with my WiiWii. That ought to attract some raised eyebrows. My WiiWii's broken ....I think I'd better stop before the Ban Hammer comes out.

 

[long2know]

[citation][nom]thrust2night[/nom]davendork 03/19/2010 8:38 PM Hide -8+ ."IMHO Wii is meh. I think mine has 1/2 of dust on it under my HD TV."The Wii may have 50 percent of dust under your HD TV but since you bought it, it makes your comment 100 percent stupid and useless.[/citation]
Not really. The real money is in the game attachment rate. I need to research this a bit, but I bet it's pretty low for the Wii. This means even though the PS3 and Xbox360 have sold only ~ 50% as many consoles as the Wii each, they probably make more money due to higher game sales.

 

[long2know]

[citation][nom]Gupeez[/nom]The Wii is going for about $200 right now, whereas an XBox 360 can be had for $160. Even when you figure in a year of Xbox Live and the higher cost of games, Wii is way too much for what you get. And it's not like you can't use the XBox with an SDTV. Nintendo's stock price has been in a steady decline since late 2007, when it was almost three times higher. For the people that think this is "Nintendo-hating", it's not... it's the opposite. I would love to buy something from them if they had something to sell me, but they need to get a clue first apparently. And who says HD is still not mainstream? It's as mainstream as it needs to be... I bet everyone making comments here uses an HDTV... and if you don't it should be the next thing on your to-buy list instead of whatever gimmick Nintendo will try to sell you.[/citation]
I totally agree.

 

[nottheking]

I'd note that CPU-wise, the Wii's core, because it tries to do nothing OTHER than play games, actually does appear to provide about the same capabilities for physics/AI as the Xbox 360's Xenon, and even the PS3's "Cell." 'course, this also means that the Wii can't simply do software emulation of other systems like the competitors do, (downloading and playing PS2 and Xbox games) and it doesn't have the juice to handle decoding and filtering high-def movies, let alone to the quality the PS3 can.

That leaves mostly the graphics, which is hindered both by a smaller GPU in the Wii, and the VERY scarce supply of RAM; 88MB of decent-speed, general-purpose memory, versus 256MB on the PS3 and up to 512MB on the 360.

All told, one can expect whatever console Nintendo makes will be way ahead of the 360 and PS3; thanks to Moore's law, a new console would have twice as much as the same cost before it every 18 months, so 4.5 years later, (say, a year from now) even a "Wii 2" would have some eight times what the first Wii had; so screw the Cell and its 8 SPEs; just make a full-blown 8-core CPU. >512MB of RAM, and even if they just took the Game Cube's GPU and multiplied it by 8, it'd still have twice the capability of the PS3/360.

So in other words, it's what else we'll be seeing; Moore's law says that any of a new generation of consoles will blow away the previous one; even the Wii did that. (I mean, seriously, compare The Conduit to Halo 2; the former CLEARLY horribly trashes the latter in graphics) The question is what ELSE it'll bring to the table.

 

[nottheking]

[citation][nom]Tizmah[/nom]Nintendo is quite stubborn at times..They didn't agree with changing from Cartridge to CDs..Then Midi to Ochestrated..Then they are always wonky with online..Basically, if they didn't do it first, they don't want to use it.[/citation]
You're definitely on to the right idea, but the last part is not QUITE true; they're fine with other people's ideas, they just have a highly conservative, suspicious approach to EVERYTHING; it's really an effect of Japanese culture on the company. (while Sony had become a bit more "westernized")

Nintendo's main arguments against keeping with the dated cartridge format for the N64 was their control over it; it hindered piracy, (as pirating a cartridge to another cartidge... Cost almost as much as just buying the game) as well as gave them, with their monopoly over ROM chip sales, control over who made what games.

As for music goes, too many people rag on MIDI, with few people knowing what it was; no Nintendo console actually used MIDI. (in fact, no consoles ever used it) The SNES and N64, though, DID use different, proprietary modular formats. MIDI was simply a PC-exclusive modular format that relied on using the instrument set already present on the host computer; hence why it sounded so bad, since all the widely-available audio libraries had crappy instrument tables.

More modern modular formats were used on most consoles, as well as later PC games; the original Unreal Tournament, for instance, used this; it used a format that stored all the necessary instruments with the file, so that it'd sound the same on any system. The SNES did this as well; this was called the SPC system, after the dedicated chip that handled this, the SPC700.

The NES and Sega Genesis used direct wave synthesizers; they didn't have any access to pre-recorded "instruments," instead combining various wave shapes ("square," "triangle," "sawtooth," "sine," and "white noise") to create the effects they wanted. The former was VERY limited, with just two squares, a triangle, and a noise channel available, while the Genesis had far more variety available to it.

The N64 used a MIDI-like format that more closely matched the actual MIDI specs, but like all superior modular formats, carried its instruments with it; it increased the size of the tracks, but still kept them way smaller than actual waveform data. It ALSO did support decoding actual MPEG layer-3 audio, and did use this for things like voice, and perhaps some games' music, namely licensed stuff.

The whole point is, MIDI and modular music formats are orchestration. Unless a music track is a live/studio recording, it was generated on a computer... And it existed as a MIDI-like file first. The main difference is that professionals have more skill, and put more effort into their work, rather than just plopping down notes; they tweak volume envelopes, pitch envelopes, filters, processes, etc. And they ALSO use their own instruments that they hand-pick, that are in FAR higher quality; modern instrument table libraries (especially SoundFont types) can EASILY run into the GIGABYTES with thousands of instruments, while MIDI's original standard called for all of 128KB to hold a pre-determined set of 256 instruments.

But yeah, after that side-track... It's true that Nintendo is very conservative at embracing new things; many things they claim are "innovations" have been around for years; motion-controlled VR preceded the Wii by over a decade. And Nintendo has had official forays into the realm of wireless controllers since the NES Satellite in 1989. They're dragging their feet surprisingly well with networked stuff, since they've had modem-supporting applications as well as (one-way) downloaded news feeds from the times of the Satellaview in 1995.

 

[HappyBB]

Really!? So how come not that many good and huge gaming franchises are on Wii? Even the huge ones that have Wii ports, they did not do as good as those on PS3 and 360's?