From Arstechnica.com: "So everyone's excited about the frickin' Wii. That's how I find myself saying the name of Nintendo's upcoming game console most of the time: with an expletive as a prefix. Yes, I'm sure we're all slowly getting used to the name. Someday, it will seem completely normal. But that just means it's a salvageable name; it was never a good name. Wii: handily displacing Dreamcast as the Worst Console Name Ever. Lest we forget!
Moving on. I've been thinking a lot about the Wii lately. Although you might not guess it after reading the previous paragraph, I'm a dedicated Nintendophile. While I recognize that Nintendo has stumbled when it comes to appealing to the hardcore gamer, their hardware and software has always been perfectly aligned with my values. Even the lack of titles has aligned with my shrinking amount of free time. (I still have a stack of unfinished GameCube games.)
I'm also technophile. This, too, has historically played into Nintendo's hands. True, Nintendo has rarely hyped its technology to the degree that, say, Sony currently does, but it's never been bashful either. I remember a quote from a senior Nintendo executive after the release of the official PlayStation 2 specs that went something like this: "We have seen what the PlayStation 2 is capable of. We are not worried."
That seemed inconceivable at the peak of the Emotion Engine hype, and with the memory of the cartridge-bound Nintendo 64 still fresh in everyone's minds. Obviously, there was no way Nintendo could hope to compete with the power of the mighty PS2! As it turned out, that Nintendo executive's confidence was well placed. Nintendo didn't just compete, it arguably exceeded the capabilities of the PS2."
The Wii is now a retro console. Let’s get nostalgic about an often maligned system.
Crazy to think the WII is to the Switch 2, as the NES was to the WII back then. 20 Year difference.
My wife asks me to bust it out (heh) everyone once in a while to play bowling and tennis with the kids. There was a ton of slop on it but some good stuff as well.
Wii was great but boy howdy did it cause Microsoft to go on a dark walk with the Kinect and the disastrous XBox One launch that they arguably never recovered from.
Not nostalgic for me.. I was there.. anyone who wasnt a little kid realized it was a gamecube with shit tacked onto it, it was the "joke" system and was well below even the switch in terms of comparing it to the latest machines at the time. The machine was well loved by young people and "casual gamers" who now remember it 20 years on, or in most cases more of its sales came in the 15-20 years ago range not right at launch- but again its not nostalgic for people who were "gamers" then really, just for those who ended up with one in their house, the games , graphics, interface and online features were archaic already in 2006.
Dash Rendar, Prince Xizor, the Battle of Hoth, and one of the boldest Star Wars multimedia projects ever made. Here’s why Shadows of the Empire still matters.
This game along with Rogue Squadron got me into to Star Wars. The release of special edition VHS Star Wars collection was perfectly times on top of all that. 😆
But it wasn't. Although I do agree that some of the tie-in media, like the novels and comics, were pretty good.
Still, games like Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, Rogue Squadron, and the space sims were peak 90s Star Wars. Shadows fell flat because of the abysmal controls and unimaginative levels. And if you wanted to really experience the seedy side of the universe, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2 was peak, and it wasn't even close.
Regardless, and much to my dismay, we got the better version thanks to Ubislop in Outlaws, which is what Shadows should've been, albeit at a smaller scale.
As a kid me and my cousins loved this game . I have great memories with this one and the Star Wars pod racer game .
Debuting in Season 9, all players can try a beta of The Crew Motorfest’s new ambitious track creator, TrackForge.
so what if the Wii isnt that WOW of a next gen.
im glad the way we use to play games in gonna change
Wow, John sure seems angry. Personally, I can't wait for Christmas to be over so a winner can be declared, and all the negativity on all sides will hopefully die down. That, and I want my frickin' Wii already ;)
Although I'm surprised he didn't touch on the more OBVIOUS reason to be upset about Wii: THE PRICE. $250 is too much for a repackaged GC, with a new controller. I can buy a GC used for $50 now....$100 brand new. So, you're paying an extra $150 for a new control scheme, which may or MAY NOT be a gimick (that will depend on how well the launch titles are received and developers use of it).
The rumored $179-$199 made it seem much more like a good deal...especially for casual gamers and/or non-Nintendo fanatics. At $250, I'll wait for a pricedrop, just like with the PS3.