How the Wii Mostly Dominated This Generation
(What the F*ck Makes You Think I'm Going to Read All That Edition)
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This are serious thread. Alright, cool story here bros.
With this generation drawing soon to a close, I don't think there is any doubt that Nintendo effectively won this generation among the consoles. It sweeped the HD twins off their feet when it came to exclusive high quality games, and sales. Even in a year when support for the Wii has dropped like stone in a pond, it still managed to release a few retail games to keep Wii owners something to chew on; something the HD twins haven't exactly received so very well this year. I think it's well apt to look back at the Wii and see just how it came to where it is now.
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Where the Wii Succeeded: Bringing All Gamers to the Table
Yes, the Wii was and is widely known to be a casual friendly system--one that used to heavily critique the system for being too "childish" or "kiddy" for the supposed real gamers out there. The Wii succeeded in bringing the casual demographic and the non-gaming demographics to the table in rapid fashion to the point of downright hysteria. The Wii proved to be a huge success from 2006 through 2009 where it literally flew off the shelves. The system offered its fair share of gaming friendly titles to all forms of gamers, but it also showcased to be a great avenue for core gamers who enjoyed niche products and some of the most polished games around--looking at you Super Mario Galaxy.
Where the Wii Failed: Alienating Some Gamers
True, the Wii didn't have "it all" so this point is rather obvious in that Nintendo couldn't deliver a lot of core titles that released on the PC and HD Twins. Not because of different control schemes, but simply because the Wii's hardware was too lacking for these games to properly function. There's some exceptions to this as Dead Rising released on the Wii in an extrodinarily un-fun and limited experience but there's also some gems as well such as Tiger Woods PGA Tour which proved to be better on the Wii. Yes, the Xbox 360 and PS3 were largely the same experience wrapped up in different boxes but the Wii differentiated itself. It was different. This wasn't next-generation material, it was new generation material.
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Where the Wii Succeeded: Strategy
Nintendo played its cards right in the beginning. The spread of word of mouth and putting Wii Sports in every system was brilliant. The craze spread like a Wild Fire as the Wiis flew off the shelves. Nintendo was brilliant in marketing as well making it a must-have product for the family, yet also riding on the craze-machine by perhaps milking the limited supply to increase demand. The best part of everything was that there was one SKU--the $249 Wii. It was the cheapest console out of the consoles, and it was the least confusing. Just how many SKUs have we seen for the Xbox 360? Arcade, Pro, Elite, S, and all the various Halo, Gears, Forza, Call of Duty, Star Wars Editions... the list goes on and on, and don't even get me started with the PS3 and it's new configuration setups every friggin' year.
Where the Wii Kind of Failed: Money
I'll be the first to admit that this generation just blatantly blew when it came to price drops. Only the PS3 has seen a significant cut from its original price point. The Xbox 360 has had some cuts but for the most part its remained stagnant in pricing for years. The Wii didn't receive a price drop for three full years which is mostly due to consumer demand, but even then, the PS2 which was hugely popular in the previous generation received price drops (so perhaps it's a case by case basis here and I'm reaching). Nintendo has also been known to not be to great on the wallet when it comes to its first party game pricing although they've tried to alleviate that by releasing Nintendo Selects. Even then, it hasn't been all that great and a lot of titles still remain relatively pricey for being so old (Brawl for example).
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Where the Wii Dominated: Humbling the Competition
Nintendo last generation didn't exactly put up a system selling Gamecube that swept the other consoles off their feet, and instead lagged behind the PS2 and the Microsoft newcomer "Xbox." When a veteran of the industry gets beat by a noob in the console gaming world, that raises a red flag. Sony showcased a level of arrogance with their PS3 that was unprecedented for me, yet Nintendo came forth and humbled them. Microsoft and Sony focused on eachother, when they should have taken notice of the "Revolution" -- hell, even the gaming press discounted it. Everyone was humbled by Nintendo. Each foot was put in mouth as the Wii flew off the shelves and destroyed the Xbox 360 and PS3 in sales. That one year lead the Xbox 360 had was effectively meaningless in a matter of months.
Where the Wii Further Dominated: "We Want a Piece of that Action Too," says MS and Sony
Motion controls were a love-it or hate-it mantra. There was very litte in between here, and if you were a Microsoft fan, a PC gamer, or a Sony fan... odds were that you really didn't have much in your heart for motion gaming. First Sony tried to bring forth their SixAxis, a mechanic that was largely and quickly forgotton about entirely after it proved to be more of a hindrance than a benefit, and then in 2010 we saw the new "innovation" by Microsoft and Sony, each being Natal and Move respectively. Nintendo must have been flattered to see its largest competitors simply raise the white flag and admit the Wii had something going for it that the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 obviously lacked. Microsoft largely succeeded in copying Nintendo's success with the Natal accessory (now named Kinect) where as Sony's Move device didn't exactly prove to be a large hit.
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To Conclude...
Was the Wii the best console this generation?
According to the Gamespot metagame, that is a resounding "yes." There is little hope for either of the HD twins to catch up in that respect before this generation ends when the Wii U releases. Let's face it, the Wii had the exclusives and it had the sales so by all major accounts in SystemWars it simply won. But these two criteria don't exactly dictate a winner as, afterall, we did decide on "anarchy" being the supreme choice of the matter. So the best console simply boils down to the relativity of preference, and if you prefer the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360, there is no qualms about it. Just be mindful however, that Nintendo changed the generation in how it played its cards; whether or not it was for the better or worse, that's for you to decide.
I look forward to the Wii U and the benefits that will come from the tablet and motion gaming experience. While I hope they overhaul their online structure to at least be on par with or close to PSN, most of all, I hope they make it easy for consumers to get into a Wii U (only one SKU please) and make it easy to connect to friends (no friend codes, damn it). I also anxiously await Sony and Microsoft's response to the Wii U, and how they manage to replicate the motion gaming/tablet experience (because you know both of them are going to try this although Microsoft will undoubtedly try the hardest).
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If you're still awake after reading this essay, I salute you. I also salute Nintendo as one of my most fond memories this generation still remains experiencing Resident Evil 4 (arguably one of the best games last generation) with Motion Controls effectively making an already brilliant game into a masterpiece.
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So, dear SystemWariors, how will you remember the Wii? Did it succeed, or was a failure in your eyes?
Also, obligatory chart:
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inb4 tldr and no lifez.
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