PS3 outsells Wii - meaningful or fluke?

[btp2k2]

not anymore....

[shmokes]

That's not the question at all.  Point in fact, Nintendo cannot "pump" these games out.  Nintendo has ALWAYS been able to release games of exceptional quality, but they cannot create enough to carry the system (at least not enough to carry the system as a market leader).  The important question is whether 3rd parties will deliver the Grand Theft Autos, Metal Gear Solids, Rock Bands, Resident Evils, Bioshocks, Half Lifes, Splinter Cells (the first Wii Splinter Cell is a piece of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- compared to the 360 and ps3 counterparts), etc.

Of course Nintendo will keep making extremely high quality titles.  It's what Nintendo does -- what they've always done.  But so far with the Wii, third parties have been just shoveling inexcusable PS2 ports with tacked on waggle "enhancements" onto the system.  Unlike Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo does not have a quality approval process that third party games are submitted to.  They will have to do better or gamers will (or at leas damned well ought to) look to another console as their primary gaming machine.

[AtomSmasher]

I agree the 3rd party games on the Wii have been mediocore at best, but I disagree with the comment that Nintendo left us hanging for 11 months with crummy games.  In my opinion Zelda:TP, Super Paper Mario, and Metroid Prime 3 have all been really good games.  Lets just hope some 3rd party developers start to step up to the challenge and start creating some good games as well.

[AtomSmasher]

Ports or not, I didn't think Zelda or Paper Mario were crummy games, but you are entitled to your opinion.

[shmokes]

Well . . . you're both right.  They weren't crummy games, but they're not Wii games either -- not in the sense that you normally think of games for a new console.  When you bought games for your Super NES, they were ALWAYS something that couldn't have been done on the NES.  When you bought games for your Nintendo 64, they were ALWAYS something that couldn't be done on the Super NES.  Same goes for Gamecube.  But the Wii is different.  The games you're talking about not only could be done on the Gamecube, but were actually made for the Gamecube and only artificially deemed Wii exclusives.  Nobody wants to plunk down $$$ for a next-gen system for an experience that does not differ in any substantial way from the one they can get on their last-gen system.

I haven't played MP3 yet, but I suspect I would love it, and the Wii did bring something big to the table there, i.e., the best console fps controls in history.

But Nintendo has definitely left us hanging with a terrible drought of games.  They released the system without a single full-on, deep gaming experience developed from the ground up to take advantage of the hardware (at least not one worth mentioning).  The first we got was Wario Ware, which is literally a three-hour game from start to finish.  Much later on we got Super Mario Strikers and, finally Metroid Prime, but that ain't very many games in a 9 month period.

And third parties were even worse.  By far the best we got were Trauma Center and Resident Evil 4, both direct ports from inferior systems.

[AtomSmasher]

Well, like I said, your entitled to your opinion, but I (and most reviewers, and from what I recall from previous threads, most people on this board) completely disagree with you.

And while I also would of prefered more games specifically made for the Wii at launch, I don't believe a port of a game automatically means its a crummy game.  Besides, I liked the functionality the Wii added to the games.  I'm sure I would of absolutely hated the bow and arrow and the grappling hook in Zelda if I had to use the analog stick to control them, and the same goes for the butterfly thing in SPM.  And even though I hated the gamecube version, I'm planning on getting Res. Evil 4 on the Wii for Christmas simply because of the better controls.

[patrickl]

I'm quite disappointed with the use of the new controller too. I loved the sports games as a demo, but from the advertisements there is so much emphasis on this natural movement type play and you get practically none of that from the actual games.

The Wiimote is nice as a simple lightgun, but it is really bad as a "steering wheel" and often you have to make completely nonsensical shakes where a button press would be a lot easier. Raving Rabbids 2 went from shake-to-reload to press-A-to-reload.

BTW I didn't like Zelda very much and I though Trauma center and paper mario were --- bull excrements ---.

[AtomSmasher]

Well, like I said, your entitled to your opinion, but I (and most reviewers, and from what I recall from previous threads, most people on this board) completely disagree with you.

It's beginning to creep me out that you keep making this same point over and over.

Its creeping you out that I keep saying that I liked several of the games on the Wii, when all your doing is saying you didn't?  Your definately an odd one.

And you seem to believe this is a strict right or wrong discussion.  We're talking about opinions here (which is why I keep pounding that in), there is no right or wrong.  I never said you're wrong for disliking those games, I just said that most people don't agree with your opinions.  If I said I didn't like pizza, and you said that you did like it and that most people like pizza, would I be wrong because I didn't like it?  Of course not.

Also, I've never played Trauma Center, so I have no idea if I agree with you or not about that game, and is why I have never mentioned it.  As for Zelda, I haven't played the GC version, so I can't say with absolute certainty, but I hate FPS type controls on most consoles which is why I said that I'm sure I hate the controls for the bow and arrow and grapping hook since it is an FPS when shooting them.  And yes, that is repeating what I just said in my last post, but you just said there are no differences between the games, which is not the case.  That small difference may not matter most people, but it does to me and is why I consider the Wii version superior to the GC version.

[hypernova]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but was it only that one week still?  Because from what I can tell, I see this story every so often still. 

[AtomSmasher]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but was it only that one week still?  Because from what I can tell, I see this story every so often still. 

I think it beat it for three weeks in a row, but it looks like the Wii beat the PS3 by a few thousand this past week.

[ChadTower]

I haven't seen anyone point out a potentially obvious cause - a Wii shortage.  Sales go down when supply goes down and the Wii supply definitely ebbs and flows.

[shmokes]

BTW, Trauma Center is WAY WAY WAY better with the nunchuck control.  You can switch tools immediately instead of having to constantly move away from what you're doing to point at it.  It's essentially the difference between having to click "copy" and "paste" form the Windows menus vs. CTRL+C and CTRL+V with your left hand.  If you know the shortcut it's a million times more efficient. 

[patrickl]

I haven't seen anyone point out a potentially obvious cause - a Wii shortage.  Sales go down when supply goes down and the Wii supply definitely ebbs and flows.

Well at the start of the thread that was about the first thing that was discussed.

combined with the fact that the Wii shelf is empty

Are the Wii shelves actually empty though?

In my area (NJ) they most certainly are.

I saw Wiis sitting on the shelves at Target and Walmart pretty much every time I looked

We just had the Sinterklaas shopping season overhere and the shelves are stacked with Wii's. Of course in Japan this could be different.

[btp2k2]

I think the real question is this...

Who really cares?

It's apples and oranges man.

Really the only difference between the Wii and the Xbox or PS3 is that it plays video games. You have your traditional "sit down on your ass with a gamepad in your hand while staring and mind boggling graphics" consoles and then your "stand up and wave your arms psuedo excersize routine with last gen graphics" console. It's like saying "Hey, microwaves sold better than ovens last month...what do you think of that?"

[shmokes]

That's absurd.  They are not different categories of device.  They're both game consoles and they are direct competitors.

[btp2k2]

That's absurd.  They are not different categories of device.  They're both game consoles and they are direct competitors.

And I happen to think giving a crap about who sells more video game consoles is absurd.

[patrickl]

The console with the biggest sales will have the most (and best) games

[btp2k2]

The console with the biggest sales will have the most (and best) games

Wrong.

I dare say the Dreamcast had a handful of games that would smack down about 90% of the PS2 catalog....I dare say the DC sales weren't even close to the PS2.

[Dartful Dodger]

And I happen to think giving a crap about who sells more video game consoles is absurd.

It's like manipulating the numbers to say Macs are better than PCs.

Only Mac guys care about those numbers, but neither side believes them.

[ChadTower]

So I have a Wii in my cart now at Gamestop.com... they want a ---smurfing--- $30 handling fee on it.   

Considering it's a huge bundle (4 games, extra nunchuck, charging station, wii play, 1gb SD card)... $30 just for handling puts it way over the top for me, I think.  That brings the damn thing to well over $600.  Eff Gamestop, they stabbed a baby.

[ChadTower]

Maybe, but not in my family.  You may want to call home and see if everyone is okay there.

[shmokes]

Wrong.

I dare say the Dreamcast had a handful of games that would smack down about 90% of the PS2 catalog....I dare say the DC sales weren't even close to the PS2.

I dare say you should do the math.  If 10% of PS2's catalog is better than anything on Dreamcast, that probably means there are about 150 PS2 games better than anything on Dreamcast. 

[ChadTower]

YES.

Just snared a Wii at MSRP off Circuitcity.com.

 

[shmokes]

Congrats.  I didn't think I would ever see this day.   

[ChadTower]

Congrats.  I didn't think I would ever see this day.   

I'm almost done with Mario 64 again.  Time for the sequel.  I also bought Super Paper Mario and Super Mario Galaxy.  I'll have to see if I can find a copy of Wii Play now for the second controller.

EDIT:  BTW, wiialerts.com FTW.

[shmokes]

Chad . . . seriously, just get the second controller.  Wii Play is the worst $5 or $10 you'll ever spend.  It is seriously not worth a rental.  I think I still have mine and I'll gladly send it to you if you want it.  Save your money.  Garbage is garbage no matter how inexpensive it is.

[ChadTower]

Chad . . . seriously, just get the second controller.  Wii Play is the worst $5 or $10 you'll ever spend.  It is seriously not worth a rental.  I think I still have mine and I'll gladly send it to you if you want it.  Save your money.  Garbage is garbage no matter how inexpensive it is.

My kids will like it, I think, and from what I'm hearing Wii Play is a lot easier to find right now than a Wiimote.  Thanks for the offer, but if it's not worth $5 to buy it's sure not worth $5 to ship, right?   

[patrickl]

Oh come on Wii Play is nice. Especially if you have kids.

[ChadTower]

BTW, it seems to be popping in and out of stock at Circuitcity.com and this is a great flexible smaller bundle.  If you still need to find a Wii, right now is the time.

[shmokes]

I don't know.  I played it for about three hours when I got home, realized that I was bored out of my mind and playing just for the sake of playing and I have literally never played it again.  Not once. 

[slycrel]

My kids love wii play.

It's great for getting you started and learn about what's going on.  It's basically a bunch of mini-games wrapped up as a tutorial.  Nothing wrong with that, as long as that's what you're expecting.

Just don't expect another mario or zelda and you'll be fine.

[shmokes]

Hey . . . if the kids love it, the kids love it.  I can't argue with that.

[ChadTower]

My 6 year old is a serious little gamer.  He gets mad when he can't figure something out and will sit there all day if we let him trying.  I usually have to make him turn the TV off and go play with toys.  Wii Play will be okay for him at first but he'll want to play a real game soon after that.

My 9 year old has more fun in Mario 64 making him dance and jump than he does getting stars.  He spends time in the title screen stretching Mario's face around and thinks it is hilarious.  Wii Play will be great for him.

I think I have to hunt down the network adapter now.  Crap.

What is a good chick game for the Wii?  I want my wife to take an interest.

[patrickl]

What is a good chick game for the Wii?  I want my wife to take an interest.

My GF likes Wario Smoothmoves and Kororinpa. Smoothmoves is more of a party game though. other than that she likes watching me play Resident Evil and Metroid Prime. She and her sister would really get a heart attack from resident evil. With high pitched squeaks whenever I was attacked unexpectedly by a zombie.

From Wii play I really liked the little tank battle game. It's pretty much something you would expect in mame. I played it wquite a lot actually. Other than that it's more for the kids.

:edit:  oh and the GF likes the Raving Rabbids. The cute little animals theme always works on women I guess.

[shardian]

My kids will like it, I think, and from what I'm hearing Wii Play is a lot easier to find right now than a Wiimote.  Thanks for the offer, but if it's not worth $5 to buy it's sure not worth $5 to ship, right?   

Amazon has wiiplay, wiimotes, nunchucks, etc all in stock. No tax and free shipping in by Christmas.

[ChadTower]

Amazon has wiiplay, wiimotes, nunchucks, etc all in stock. No tax and free shipping in by Christmas.

Just noticed that a few minutes ago... it's friday, though, and I have to actually produce work today before I go home... so I'll snag some of those this afternoon.  Thanks for the pointer.

EDIT:  Okay, that should be it for me... just snagged a component cable, Wii Play, and a LAN adapter from Amazon.  I'm done dropping cash on the Wii for now.