First off, I want to make it clear that I am NOT a fanboy of any console. I've had a Wii since launch day. I have experienced all that the Xbox360 has to offer as well as the PS3.
     A few months before I bought a PS3, I realized that Nintendo had failed. They had failed to keep me as a customer and longtime fan. This realization hit me when I brought my Wii to a relative's house. I knew it was going to be very boring there, so I was really counting on my Wii to keep my company. (Yes, I know how sad that sounds). I hooked it up and popped in the new Paper Mario game. I couldn't describe the disappointment that overtook me. It's not so much that I was disappointed in the game. It was more that I was disappointed in what Nintendo had become.
     I counted this Paper Mario game as a promising title and until I had actually played it, I thought that it would be this groundbreaking, amazing game. After playing it for a few hours I quickly shelved it into the "pile of games I considered not worth putting into my Wii ever again." This pile of games consisted of titles like Metroid Prime 3, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Super Smash Brothers: Brawl. I thought to myself and said "Self, If these games are suppose to be Nintendo's strongest titles, then why do they suck so bad?" The answer that I have come up with is this: Nintendo has stopped trying. Their business methods are really no different from a contractor that gets his "guys" to do all the work. Oh, and Nintendo's "guys" happen to suck at what they are suppose to be doing, and that is: providing entertainment and innovation by means of video game design.
     I've come to realize, also, that Wii is simply a fad. It's this "new revolutionary experience to enjoy with the whole family!" and people's first words out of their mouth when playing the thing go something like: "Wow! Cool! It's like I'm really playing -whatever gimmick it is that you have decided to punish your ego with-!!". If you have owned a Wii for over a year now, chances are that you don't play it. Not a whole lot anyway. It was "fun" and "unique" for a little while and now it just sits there collecting dust like the gimmick that it is. This happens to be a common trend among Wii owners and even it's own fans if I daresay.
     If you happen to have gotten a Wii this Christmas, then great. Enjoy the gimmicky tech demo and in one year try to tell me that you still play it and have fun at the same time.
     I have been a devoted Nintendo fan since I could hold a controller. I was even a member of the N64 club (I have my membership card to prove it) but now, I feel betrayed by Nintendo. In 2006 they announced the Wii and told us to "open wide!" and in 2007, they poured crap all over us hardcore gamers.
     Some have told me "... But Twilight Princess was a great game and even you can't deny that!" Indeed. It was a great game... IF IT WASN'T ON Wii! That game is a Gamecube port in and out. It was developed for Gamecube and then slapped onto the Wii. Don't get me wrong! I liked the game. However, it was clearly last-gen. It had everything a Zelda game on Gamecube should have, but it was most definitely a Gamecube title.
     Every FPS (First Person Shooter) on Wii has turned out to be a joke. Not to mention that the control scheme always feels... Unnatural... And it's not that I'm "just not used to it". I have beaten Metroid Prime 3 using that Wii remote and it really made me miss my Gamecube controller. I don't think it would have been very hard to implement that option for the Wii. SSMB: Brawl did it. It has controller ports on it for crying out loud! FOUR of them!
     Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, has said at E3 last year that “Players no longer seek more gorgeous graphics.” When I heard that, it really made me question what his inspiriation for that conclusion was. A child of only 4 months of age perhaps? A Nintendo fan on opposite day? A soap dish? Since when did gamers stop caring about gorgeous graphics? Sure, gaming is much more about gameplay, no? But what if your first car from your parents was an old, beat up Plymouth Acclaim covered in mud? Well, then hey! It runs and you can get from A to B no problem... And then they show you the brand new Porsche Carrera GT sitting in the garage with a big red bow on it and say "Well, we were gonna' give you THIS, but this here Plymouth does all that drivin' stuff just fine. We're taking it back to the dealer's tomorrow, and uh, oh yeah, you can't sing very well, so screw you." Sure, functionality comes first in any product, but if it doesn't come in a nice package, who's going to want it? Maybe a few people, perhaps. Mainly those that consist of the still-supportive Nintendo fans holding signs and wearing tee shirts saying "Nintendo is teh sEhKs."

     Any thoughts?