The Next Gen Wars . . . . are Gamers still Loyalists . . ?
By: dkpatriarch
“This little piggy went to the market (okay, perhaps too early judging by the RROD problems), this little piggy stayed Home (Playstation Home has indeed stayed home, delayed despite being in the works since early 2005), this little piggy had roast beef (tones of quality titles to play), this little piggy had none (well not many anyway….), and his little piggy went Wii Wii Wii all the way home…..”
Ah the good ol’ console wars. I remember the ancient battles between the Sega fans and the Nintendo fans. Then the Sony fans versus the Nintendo fans (the Sega side had of course withdrawn from the war after the ill-fated Dreamcast). Then the Xbox, Sony, and Nintendo conflict, (with some PC loyalists thrown in for good measure) which still rages today, in the great Next-Gen War.
Of course ‘next gen’ is now ‘this gen’ but the marketing gurus all thought ‘next gen’ was the way to talk about this coming era in gaming. The truth now is that many gamers are no longer loyalists; the more affluent or lucky among us have multiple consoles and brightly claim that we are Swiss; we don’t take sides and we like the games more than the platform anyway. We can be wooed by any of the sides and are attracted to all of them, given the right incentive. There are still ‘xbots’, for example, and there are ‘real gamers’…..real gamers supposedly being those who support all consoles and the PC too.
Still the Console Corporates and Forum Fighters are still battling. There’s the graphics and gameplay comparisons between the ‘real’ this gen consoles 360 and PS3 that feature so often on Gametrailers.com (I love those….trying to see the differences can sometimes feel like a search for Waldo/Wally (depending on where you are reading from). “The chick on Devil May Cry 4′s breasts are shinier on PS3″, the “PS3 graphics look more washed out”or “you need a better resolution to really see the difference”…. All in good fun. But the battles I find strangest are the ones with Nintendo’s Wii.
Despite the initial excitement surrounding the controller system of the Wii it has to be said that Nintendo were behind the eight ball this generation. Most pundits (well the realistic ones) saw the slower sales of the N64 and the perhaps worse sales of the Gamecube and lack of third party support for the systems as a foreshadowing of Nintendo ending up like Sega; a software only developer. That Nintendo can’t seem to keep up with the demand for the Wii system has seemingly even caught them by surprise.
This ‘fad’ console, as many see it, is still selling like its successful DS system with no sign of letup; and this is despite a once again terribly poor selection of games. Sure it has some great titles (if you like cartoons and mini-games) but not the gaming library of the 360. This is despite the fact that the 360 Core offers more for the same price, and that the graphics on the Wii and lack of DVD capability should handicap it. The fact is that Wiis are wiing all the way to a lot of homes.
Microsoft Xbox’s Head of Marketing, Jeff Bell, said : “Clearly, we have a competitor where they win and no one else wins,” Bell told Reuters in reference to the overwhelming popularity of first-party games on Nintendo platforms. “That is not sustainable, it’s never been sustainable.” Of course Nintendo had a response: Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime told Reuters that 60 percent of Wii game sales came from outside publishers in November (not that most were necessarily any good…). You even have Bill Gates talking earlier this year about the future of video games in terms that sounded a lot like the Wii: read this exchange:
“Imagine a game machine where you can just pick up a bat and swing it or the tennis racket,” Gates told interviewer Walter Mossberg at the D 2007 conference, who remarked (not unreasonably) that Wii Sports already existed. As it happens, that wasn’t quite what Bill meant. “No, that’s not it,” rebutted Gates. “You can’t pick up your tennis racket and swing it, you can’t sit there with your friends and do these natural things. That’s a 3D positional device, this is video recognition, this is a camera seeing what’s going on… The camera will be ubiquitous.”
Fair enough, then – so, a kind of all-encompassing Wii Remote/EyeToy device, perhaps? (Gamersquad)
Forums also saw skimirshes between those who see the Wii as deserving of its success and those who simple could not understand it. Here is a particularly astute opinion posted on the Xbox forum:
“Microsoft is the guy with the fastest, biggest Subaru, and lots of gold chains around his neck… who just does not understand why he’s not pulling the hottest girls. Why not try making games ordinary people can engage with, instead of putting out FPS after violent FPS – great games for gaming fanatics – but if it’s going to keep doing that it has to accept it’s niche position.
A company like Nintendo which caters to humans, and makes things which are fun and playable and approachable – it will always utterly dominate. I love my 360, because I’m an VG freak, but I’m not holding my breath for it to overtake the Wii, ever!
We can be snobby and talk about how ‘repetitive’ Wii games are, but that’s analgous to an Opera fan talking about the latest Pirates of the Carribean movie – it’s fine to be snobby, but you’d have to be utterly deluded to expect everyone to move to ‘Call of Violence 6′ type games, which require specific skills to control.”
Needless to say the thread erupted a bit and got locked. In this comment, though, is where I believe the source of the Wii’s success can be explained. I will easily admit that my 360 is the best gaming console I have ever had. I can also admit that I bought a Wii and that it is very popular with my wife, kids, and non-gamers who visit our home.
The Wii is selling because it caters to a market that has been left behind in the technological Arms Race for console supremacy. The non-gamer, the very young, and even the very casual gamer are not interested in online, or high end graphics, or complicated button pressing. Realistic MA 15 + games do not attract parents dollars’ while the beeps and boops of the family friendly cartoony Mario does.
As a gamer, the Wii bores me very quickly. I have more serious gamer friends who still love their Wii, even if the 360 is where they play the most. Retro fun is the reason they cite most when I ask how they can still enjoy Mario Galaxy after all the other Marios they’ve played. But I played those too, and though I couldn’t understand why the Playstation beat both the N64 and Gamecube (both of which I liked better but seemed to hardly ever have games), I now cannot understand why the Wii, which is best suited to mini-style games like Wii Sports in my opinion, keeps selling so well.
I don’t find the games all that fun and quite repetitive compared to those on the 360. But perhaps it is this simplicity that appeals in a gaming world where online-only multiplayer and fancy game gimmick effects and button combos are so important. The fact is that people who may not have become gamers are at least being introduced or even re-introduced to gaming.
Microsoft may find a way to appeal to some of these gamers. Some of them may gain the confidence to move into a more complex gaming world like the 360 provides. But even if they don’t, the fact is that it helps to mainstream gaming and that helps to shatter the overused “geek” image associated with video games. And that to me is a good thing, even if some like to wear the “geek” tag too proudly. So in the end, Microsoft and Sony may not mind that the Nintendo little piggy does well, even if they, like me, are a bit mystified.
© 2008 David Hilton
Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Blogroll, Console gaming, Hardware News, Wii News Tagged: | Console Wars, news of console wars, nintendo, Nintendo wii, PS3, Wii, Wii60, Xbox 360 News1
@ XFTom86
Yeah my wife only games on the DS and Wii…she does play the occasional arcade game like Carcassonne on 360, and is happy to watch me play adventure games with good dialogue and story like Uncharted though.
We used to play the games like Broken Sword together taking turns, but not any of those in this gen!!
That was a great article, and an informative read.
Just like all the other gamers I can see the fun side of the Wii, but easily get bored with one game or another. But it deffinately has it’s pros. Like getting my girlfriend to game with me. The Wii has proven to be a great method in getting her introduced and submerged into the realm of gaming. Even if it is limited to mini-games, Mario, or even Spyro. But myself, I struggle with the internal battle of Xbox 360 or PS3. Several of my friends have had their Xbox burn out and Little Big Planet just looks so cool. So I’ll trudge on and buy one or the other. But for now at least my girlfriend will game with me on the Wii.
Go to their site, if you have your account, then you will need to sign up if you don’t have one yet, when you log in, your Information box will appear n the top right hand side – see it . .
See the green icon saying Webmasters . . head in there, that’s where you’ll get the help needed . . . find the button that suits your site best, grab the code to suit Blogs . . . then head into the Presentation section of wordpress and add it to a widget box you have up, or add a Text Box Widget, and then place the code in that . . .
If you find any of the N4G icons too big that you’d like, and would want them a tad smaller to suit an area on your blog . . .take the code to a clean New Page/post . . . open the posts editor to Code, not View . . . drop the code in, then switch back to view . . you don’t need to Save when switching back and forth . . . the icon/button will appear.
Click it, and you can then resize it by dragging the corner larger or smaller etc.
Go back to the code tab, and you’ll see the code has changed by adding width and height sizes to the code.You can then edit that pixel sizes X an Y to the size you like. Same goes for ANY icon you feel you need to edit.
Then copy or cut the finished code off the page, (don’t save) go back to the presentation > widget > text box etc and insert the code.
Click the close X on the widget box and make sure you THEN click Save Changes . . . then click View site, and your icon will appear where you have placed it in the appropriate widget . . .
If you need help in changing URL addresses etc to add links, simply let me know, be glad to help out .. .
On ething I will add, I’m not sure if you’re still using the dark theme . . .but it’s not a good theme to be viewed by small computers like laptops, and while it looks “kool” . . Black and colours text and even small white text do not go well together. . . . Pick clear, clean, open spaces that aren’t “heavy on the eye” when viewed . . this way you’ll get more people actually reading the pages, as opposed to looking at them, if that makes sense.
I have a few new wordpress theme sites if Dim wants to check them out, and the guy that does this Digg 3 also has a 2 column one, and several others that get used by businesses etc . . .
XboxOZ: Thanks again for the info mate. Much appreciated. Were trying to set up the automatic tip system on the blog like you have here…. did you create that N4G tip button yourself? Im trying to find it on the N4G site but with no luck.
@ Garethb
No problems mate, the more we help each other out, the better the community becomes. I’m definitely NOT one of these, ” . . . . this is MY website, and I aint share butkiss with you” . . . . type of guy, nor are any of the staff on here . . . . . which now has a NEW member to be introduced soon.
We all serve a different purpose, and have a slightly different idea in mind with the sites we provide . . if viewers can feel free to go between some without feeling like they are ‘betraying’ another site, then we have done our job.
This site now gets link-backs from various sites on our Blogroll, which is great . . . but the one thing you have to remember, it’s a long slow road, and don’t give up . . .
As you can see, I’ve been playing with it some more over the weekend, and while the header has changed, it’s definitely not the final thing, just something I played with on a Free Logo Generator available on the net. .If you want a link to some of those things, just let me know . . .
You’ll also notice the new CopyScape Copyright Warning Box – on the front page, and at the bottom of each article that has been written by staff, (not news that’s been redirected).
This site tracks your articles composition across the net, and flags sites that have copied-n-pasted your info into their sites (or segments thereof) . . . it then informs you, and allows you to make contact, and deal with it . . . something to keep in mind for Original content that you guys write. Thank bsAngel for that one, who is a regular reader of our site now, and has a formidable site of her own that has well over 6 million views btw, as I saw it on her site.
The Wii’s success over the christmas period gone is astounding with shortages displayed all over the country. It has tapped the “casual” market but now ther next question is, how much has it tapped?. The non gaming population don’t read or look at websites as to what is the latest in gaming. There are being introduced to the Wii by friends and family. Just yesterday one of my mates, a non gamer, introduced his parents to the Wii and it is not hard for these type of people to do. All they need to say is just pick this up and swing. Where as if you get a non gamer trying to introduce another non gamer to the 360 or PS3….. Blu-ray.. WHAT, Analogue Thingy where….. What triangle button….oh that one!
So at the end of it the hardcore is no longer the, for lack of a better term, main advertising method for Nintendo success, It has tapped the casual and is using them to spread the word.
Sir Howard Stringer summed it up quite nicely… He can’t understand how the Wii is fun and until he or even M$ understand that better graphics and bigger games are not the solution, there success will only be limited to those who are gamers.
Tks for the advice XboxOz… some really great stuff there that I wasnt aware of. Will definitely speak to the boys about it.
Great article DK. Well I just got a Wii for Christmas so now I can actually experience first hand how the Wii stacks up. I must say after getting into SMG, I haven’t had this much “fun” playing a game in a long time. I just think its good to get away from all the competitive online games once in a while, and take a trip down memory Lane.
That being said, the 360 definitely has a different feel to it. Just as its nice to play classic “kiddie” games its also good to experience the more mature darker titles the 360 has to offer.
Their is certainly room enough for 2……. oh I mean 3 competitors. As long as we continue to get great games, I say let the war role on
I am still waiting on Super Smash Bros Brawl so that I can stop regretting my purchase of the Wii. I do love Nintendo, but can’t help but feel that they have let down the hard core gamers in an attempt to secure the casual. Seems to be working for them I guess.
As for the Ps3 if they actually brought out a game I was interested in I would prbly get one, but at this stage they have not announced a single thing that interests me.
I do love my 360 but constantly worrying that it may die for the third time is sending me insane. Its doing weird stuff :S
In Europe, the Wii and even the PS3 has agreat appeal to “casual” gamers due to the huge and diverse nature of Europe. Whereas placeds like Nth America, UK, Australia/NZ and Japan are more core gamers, and prefer one platform over another due to what it has to offer.
The casual, non-hardcore gamers that are coming into the gaming world require such simple and yet highly interactive games such as Wii-Sports SingStar etc . . MS is making efforts to get into this area, and it will be interesting to see how they fare in ’08, as this will be a critical year for them if the want their user base to grow rather than plateau off . . .
Simple games are the core of Nintendo dominance in the market . . not the graphics nor the need for HD-DVD or the like . . .or even DVD playback for that matter . .The gamers that choose it, simply want to play games in the true sense of the word – GAMES, not sims, or semi-real life encounters through war games, racing games etc.
Sony via the PS3 needs to pick up its game in that area, and MS with the 360 needs to embrace that area as well . . . otherwise they will always be know as a Hard-core gaming platform . .
BTW, excellent article David, it’s been picked up by N4G and is in the process of being approved for the front page . . .
Well I do admit my 360 bias, but that doesn’t mean I don’t see the benefits of other consoles. I’ve eaten my own words too often for that. I was a Nintendo loyalist first, then PS2, then Xbox…..Would I ever get a PS3? Maybe not now, but there may be circumstances in the future that change my mind.
Just yesterday I had a house full of non-gamers and kids who had the most fun on Wii Sports (such an old game now!). I showed my amazing 360 graphics off with my 40″ 1080p TV, but it was the Wii they wanted. I shook my head amazed and then enjoyed some Wii tennis with them. I love that the Wii (even if it bores me) gets non-gamers to enjoy games. These people often saw me as child who never grew up: now they see the fun in gaming. So Wii does deserve credit for that.
Yes, it does . . but boy did we just have a little calamity .for a moment or two . . . . even the wordpress software hated it . . . we went all weird lost pics, went italic, light blue font colours . . . I’d fix one thing, and something else would go weird . . . seems even software has issues with console wars . . .hehehehe.
But yes, interesting take on a subject that many try to steer clear of. Yet you watch, there will be some that bemoan it, but will refuse to actually read it completely, and denounce it as a anti (insert console here) war . . .
It’s a crying shame many don’t hav ethe capacity to simply read things through properly these days. . . .
This article just says what we are all thinking. It’s not just gamers who are gaming now
Good work dk
They do if you drop them in as Tips . . . like when someone clicks the N4G tips/Digg etc buttons etc . . . Last week two articles took the maximum daily views to over 2000 . . . . that’s just on two articles . . . back down now, but as articles are picked up, they gain notoriety and are viewed more regularly by readers.
It’s also very important to work those Tags at the bottom of your articles . .as these guide people to your sites articles during searches .. So they need to be various spellings and combinations of what someone might drop a search in say google for . . . .
Go to wordpress’s FAQ’s and check out how to get your site read by more viewers. Also do a google for wordpress blog help and writing better blogs, and writing better blogs in wordpress . . .there are several sites just dedicated to helping other wordpresses get their word out, no pun intended.
Oh wow your articles get picked up by N4G?
Nice.
Thanks for the kind words mate . . most appreciated. It’s been hard work, and it’s still a “work in progress” . . as are all things I suppose, but it’s enjoyable work, and rewarding when people enjoy the articles we put up . . .
Dim’s blog looks great as well, I admire it, so you guys keep up the work as well.
Yes, this article is a very interesting read indeed. It’ll be interesting to see what some others have to say about it once it hits N4G and a few other sites – eventually.
Nice article.
And nice blog guys! Myself and Dimorphic are just new at the blog game and its super fun. (“fake it til you make it” “fake it til you make it” “fake it til you make it” “fake it til you make it”)