Hands on the Wii

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It Depends on Why You Play Games....

Hmm... I don't know about you, but does anybody else think that it's stupid to try and compete with the PC gaming market in the online arena? PCs have MUCH, MUCH better connectivity and networking capability and much better periperals and communication tools. I would ask why anybody would buy a console to play online games when there is a much superior online gaming platform already, but then again logic very seldom drives such decisions. For me, I don't play online games because the people who do drive me nuts. "I so pwned ur A$$...." Please. I think having three friends over to play, where I can actually see them and directly interact with them is a much more satisfying experience, personally. You even said that your best multiplayer experiences on the Gamecube were with frantic games like Smash Brothers or Mario Kart. Do you really think that the experience would be the same if your friends weren't right there next to you? I play games to get away from the rest of the world for a little while, not so I can get annoyed by somebody on the other side of the country when I already have plenty of annoyances at home.

But if you insist on talking about Nintendo's online presence, why don't we talk about DS Wi-Fi? It's an unqualified success, and is being adopted much more quickly than X-Box Live was when it was introduced. It also happens to be free so long as you've got the proper setup (read: an 802.11 base station and the software installed) to support it. Not only that, but there's a built-in microphone ready to go.

I also think that you are severely overestimating the role that HDTV is going to play in gaming in the majority of homes; the screens are still ridiculously expensive, and while they may be pretty, higher resolution is not a dealbreaker. Most consumers have (correctly, in my opinion) judged that HDTV, at current prices, is pure snake oil. Of course this will change in the future, but it "ain't here yet." Again, if high resolution is a big deal to you, go play on a PC. PC monitors have run at high resolutions for years now. For that matter, if graphics are the biggest factor in your gaming experience, go play on a PC. I don't care how powerful the latest consoles are, about halfway through their lifespan, the PC always catches up and then surpasses them. In the case of the XBox 360 (and by default the Wii), it already has. I give the PS3 its technological advantage for about 9 months to a year, maybe.

Finally, before anybody starts talking about what it takes to "compete" with the nextgens, they should start looking at profitability and stop looking at market share. Sony currently has roughly three quarters of the video game console market, but the Playstation division bleeds money; the same can be said of Microsoft's XBox division. Nintendo, meanwhile, maintains a very rosy balance sheet and actually raised its profit expectations for the next quarter even after they were already quite profitable.

Posted by: multanihl   Posted on: 10/17/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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