• 4Feb 07

  Is Wii the resurrection of 'party gaming'?

  So I've read many times in blogs, news posts, editorials etc., that the Nintendo Wii is considered largely a great console you can play with friends in the same room. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the same people who claim the Wii is the "party console" also declare that multiplayer gaming together with your friends in the same room, was dead?
  
  Nintendo practically invented the 4 player console with the N64, and hence created a new wave of multiplayer gaming that seemed to really take off starting with the release of Goldeneye 64. I myself enjoyed countless gaming sessions with my buddies with Goldeneye on the N64. Slowly, more great multiplayer games came and the "party gaming" aspect of the console continued.
  
  Cut to the (now) last-gen consoles starting with the Xbox. Xbox brought online gaming, and all of a sudden, "party gaming" became less popular with gamers and developers. It seemed like nobody cared as much about playing with friends in the same room when they could play a full-screen instead of a quarter of a screen, online. I mean, how many Gamecube games supported 4 player split-screen gaming after the Xbox came out? I'm sure there were some (the forgettable Mario Party games come to mind), but none became as memorable as Goldeneye. It seemed to me that "party gaming" had died.
  
  Cut to the present, and now the Wii seems to have re-invented the notion that party gaming is again popular. I'm wondering if this new renaissance in party gaming is going to last and whether the Wii can keep up the notion that party gaming is here to stay? It seems at this early stage that Nintendo is clearly on the right track. Everyone raves about how much fun the console is to play with their friends. But Wii Sports won't last forever (at least I don't think it will), and I don't see any 4 player FPS or action games coming anytime soon. Obviously I can see Smash Bros. as THE party game, but it's also going to be online. So would anyone really rather play the game with their friends in the same room? Probably, but it won't be as popular as the original was in that context.
  
  So my final question: Should developers actively try to develop a good split-screen multiplayer option in their games? I heard a rumour that Metroid Prime 3 will be delayed to implement a split-screen multiplayer option. I personally hope that is false, as I could care less for the option. If it was online however, then that's a different story and would be something I would wait for. I guess party gaming is a concept that applies to only certain types of games like Wii Sports, but I think the notion of party gaming will pass once online games come to the Wii. Unlike a lot of people, I'm happy people label the Wii a party machine, because you can't say the same thing about the PS3 or the 360. Though "resurrection" is probably a slight exaggeration.
  
  • Posted Feb 4, 2007 8:16 pm PT
  • Category: Editorial
  • 0 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Tweet

See Previous Blog Posts »