{"id":7527,"date":"2012-06-04T22:20:04","date_gmt":"2012-06-04T12:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=7527"},"modified":"2014-05-13T12:12:51","modified_gmt":"2014-05-13T02:12:51","slug":"looking-back-on-the-nintendo-wii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=7527","title":{"rendered":"Looking Back On The Nintendo Wii"},"content":{"rendered":"

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T<\/span>he annual Electronic Entertainment Expo is on in Los Angeles this week and while it signals the arrival of some new video game consoles and software, it also more or less winds down the clock on some current generation hardware.\u00a0 Last year the Nintendo DS and Playstation Portable were both superceded by newer models and now this year, the first of the current generation of home consoles bows out.\u00a0 The Wii U is expected to take up the entirety of Nintendo’s conference, effectively closing the chapter on the Nintendo Wii.<\/p>\n

The Wii will go down as a vitally important system for Nintendo.\u00a0 It is the highest selling current gen console (70 million units) and its clever marketing and emphasis on gesture based controls catapaulted Nintendo from third placed marketshare last generation with the Gamecube to market leader.\u00a0 Nintendo also found success in the portable space at the same time with the Nintendo DS (151 million units) and were rolling in the money from 2004 to 2009.\u00a0 After a tough sixth generation of consoles where they were comprehensively outperformed by Sony and the Playstation2, Nintendo gambled and won big with the casual gaming market.<\/p>\n

Much has already been written about the new challenges that Nintendo (and Microsoft and Sony) face from the new onslaught of casual gaming on smart phones and free-to-play web browser games.\u00a0 But for this blog post, I wanted to write about my own personal take on the Wii.<\/p>\n

Its a shame that the old TFW Podcasts have been lost to the web archive in the sky (one of these days we’ll get our archiving sorted out!) because there was one podcast we did in December 2006 where I spoke about playing the Nintendo Wii for the first time in a demo booth at a shopping mall.\u00a0 They way Mike asks about the experience and my glowing initial feedback, its easy to forget how excited we all were back then for the potential of this device.\u00a0 It really did sound like a system that could live up to its code name during development – Nintendo ‘Revolution’.<\/p>\n

I think back when the system was first revealed, I remember reading speculation that the Wiimote and nunchuck could create potentially a newer, more accurate way to play first person shooters, that it would rejuvenate the point-and-click adventure game genre and that it would be a perfect way to control light sabers in the definitive Star Wars<\/em> game.<\/p>\n

Six years on, its clear to see that the system didn’t really live up to a lot of those initial hopes and dreams.\u00a0 And for its failure to live up to a lot of its initial hype, its probably the last time that people my age get really<\/em> excited about a new console.\u00a0 We’re probably too goddamn jaded and weary of gimmicks now.\u00a0 What happened to that Nintendo Vitality Sensor<\/a> anyway?<\/p>\n

When its all said and done, I think the Nintendo was my least used console out of the Wii, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.\u00a0 It had the shortest lifespan (5 years) and was used the most infrequently.\u00a0 Like millions of other Wii owners, mine ended up gathering dust and is now consigned to the bedroom tv.<\/p>\n

Despite its prolific sales record, the Wii never really got out of the blocks with third party software support thanks to its unique control scheme and modest hardware specs which flew in the face of the convergence that Microsoft and Sony had.\u00a0 The biggest selling games in the last few years, like the Call of Duty <\/em>series,<\/em> required a certain level of graphical horsepower and online infrastructure that the Wii couldn’t offer.\u00a0 Consequently the Wii became a system that you would ‘dust off’ a few times a year when Nintendo’s next marquee title was launched.\u00a0 If you wanted to play Mass Effect, Bioshock <\/em>or Grand Theft Auto<\/em>, then you had to look elsewhere.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the system though.\u00a0 The first party games from Nintendo on this thing are incredible.\u00a0 Although you could occasionally be in for a long dry spell between release dates, the system is home to two of the best 3D Mario games (Galaxy 1&2<\/em>) and it has also has excellent iterations on Mario Kart, Zelda, 2D Mario<\/em> platforming and most famously, some of the most entertaining and accessible casual games ever created (Wii Sports<\/em> and Wii Sports Resort<\/em>).<\/p>\n

The Wii’s other strength is the incredible range of classic games on offer with the Virtual Console.\u00a0 This downloadable library offers an impressively comprehensive library of games from the 8-bit and 16-bit era, spanning game consoles from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the Commodore 64 to the Sega Mega Drive to the Neo Geo.\u00a0 I defy anyone to browse this catalogue and not find a handful of childhood favourites that are worth revisiting.\u00a0 When I look at my meager library of Wii games and then look at my online catalogue, its possible that I’ve spent more money accumulating digital downloads of classic games than on the full priced new Wii games.<\/p>\n

Was it all worth it then?\u00a0 At the end of the day, the Wii didn’t really do a lot of the things we thought it might when the system was first revealed.\u00a0 But the truth is, it has some of Nintendo’s best efforts on the system and these are genuine exclusives that really have no contemporaries on the 360 or PS3.\u00a0 Sure there are platformers, party games and kart racers on other systems but none that are remotely comparable to Nintendo at their best.\u00a0 For that reason, coupled with its excellent legacy software, its hard for me not to have a soft spot for the Wii.\u00a0 The casual gamers have moved on from Wii Sports<\/em> and Wii Fit<\/em> and are all about iPhone games like Angry Birds<\/em> and Fruit Ninja<\/em>.\u00a0 But for someone like me who still loves the classic Zelda<\/em> games or wants an easy way to play perfectly emulated versions of Super Mario World<\/em>, Metal Slug, SNK Baseball Stars 2<\/em> and Puyo Puyo<\/em>, the Wii ends up offering a surprisingly compelling reason for the traditional gamer to come back from time to time.<\/p>\n

The Ten Best Wii Games<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In no particular order:<\/p>\n

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The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was a pretty great launch title for the Wii.\u00a0 Twilight Princess had a nifty ‘dual world’ mechanic where Link could transform into a wolf and teleport to a twlight alternate reality. The game also had some entertaining dungeons and cool setpieces including one sequence involving goblins that evokes The Lord of the Rings<\/em> movies.\u00a0 Looking back, there are some minor niggles – there isn’t much treasure hunting, Kokiri village is pretty drab and the overworld is a bit bare – but overall this is still a great installment in the Zelda <\/em>franchise.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Mario Kart Wii<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mario Kart Wii<\/em> is probably the most ‘gimmicked’ iterations of this franchise with the most aggresive rubber-banding AI that ensures every race is a close finish.\u00a0 It has the most overpowered blue shell and ridiculously wide tracks that are accomodating for even the most inexperienced of players.\u00a0 And thats what makes it such an enduring and accessible multiplayer kart racer.\u00a0 The portable versions on the DS and 3DS are still designed for the core gaming audience but for everyone else, Mario Kart Wii<\/em> is colourful, fun and easy to pick up and play.\u00a0 Mario Kart<\/em> Wii<\/em> sold a mindblowing 32 million copies, easily the greatest of any home console version of this franchise.<\/p>\n

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Super Mario Galaxy<\/strong><\/p>\n

After Super Mario Sunshine<\/em> on the Gamecube, I remember having some pretty tempered expectations of Nintendo’s next 3D platformer.\u00a0 Even the trailers and the screenshots for this game didn’t really sell me on what this game could offer.\u00a0 Then the perfect reviews scores started rolling in, one after the other.\u00a0 Then I finally had a chance to play.\u00a0 For several hours in a single session.\u00a0 Then I played Gusty Garden Galaxy and that triumphant orchestral score<\/a> kicked in while I soared through a galaxy lit up by bright candy-coloured starbits.<\/p>\n

In my opinion, this is one of the greatest games ever made<\/em>.\u00a0 It’s the best 3D platformer ever made.\u00a0 It’s cheerful presentation puts a smile on the face.\u00a0 It’s ingenuity in level design consistently enthralls and delights.\u00a0 The platforming is pitch perfect.\u00a0 The difficult curve impeccable.\u00a0 There are other games that I’ve played this generation which are great but I don’t know how well they’ll age.\u00a0 Mark my words though, Super Mario Galaxy<\/em> will go down as a timeless classic.<\/p>\n