The Triangle

Issue date: 1/26/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Karl Kuchs

Media Credit: Karl Kuchs

Media Credit: Karl Kuchs Encased in this little console is a virtual console capable of playing Nintendo and Sega games from the past.

I was planning to play a lot of video games during the holidays, since I rarely have a day off to do nothing while in school or working. With the release of the Nintendo Wii, I fully intended to focus my days on finishing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, among other games. However, over the holidays I did not get a chance to play Zelda. Due to the high accessibility of games like Wii Sports, I could not pry my Wii away from the hands of relatives during my family gatherings. I'm not referring to teenaged cousins, though; I speak of my forty-something aunt, my parents and my two-year old nephew.

Despite my support for Nintendo's direction, I had doubts of the machine's capabilities until coming home to see my family playing with my Wii. To put this into perspective, my mother can barely use a computer, and the last game my dad really played was Doom in the early 1990s. When I found them bowling with the Wii. I realized that Nintendo would succeed - though I question if these purchases result in dedicated gamers or a crowd that just plays Wii Sports on a rainy day.

Without dedicated games, a large install base will not succeed. This could cause a disaster for Nintendo's hardcore gaming market, excluding fan boys. While still in its infancy and with few titles available, the system will have a huge number of party games to try to take advantage of the gaming market. What will happen when the novelty wears off and the market has an oversaturation of games simulating real-life events that no one wants to play?

I am fine with having an abundance of party games available. In fact, I'm looking forward to drunken WarioWare. However, I am curious as to whether the influx of new gamers might take attention away from the creation of games not reserved for the casual market. Will we ever see the system's full potential in other game genres, such as survival horror, espionage and platformers? If Hideo Kojima (producer and director of the Metal Gear Solid games) gets his own Wii project, can we expect something along the lines of his popular franchise, a mutated Metal Gear Solid with tacked-on Wii controls - or will he give us just another party game?

The Wii's ability to survive in the hardcore gaming space relies on how much effort third-party publishers invest in making the controls impact game play. This does not necessarily emphasize intuitive controls or ease of use. Developers need to leverage the system's unique control methods to enhance the immersion of the game. Otherwise, these gamers will flock to the Playstation 3 or XBox 360 to increase the immersion via visuals and an enhanced online experience. Multiple players and online co-op games are crucial to this generation of gaming. That's why I own Marvel: Ultimate Alliance for the 360 and not the Wii.

Despite my pessimistic outlook, I have high hopes for the Wii. Nintendo has the opportunity to revolutionize how video games are played and how they are perceived. That little white box has the potential to create games and applications, via the Wii channels, that we cannot fathom. Just about every developer wants to make a game for the system. Now the audience must wait to see if the Wii becomes more than a party console.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools