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September 18, 2006
(Insert Wii Pun Here.)
The fact that I'm writing about this week's Nintendo news rather than this week's Apple news reveals where my allegiances truly lie. I love both companies dearly, but quite frankly, Apple puts out new iPods every other month, and selling a few Disney movies on iTunes for 15 dollars isn't very momentous. Nintendo on the other hand, hasn't put out a new home console in five years. That is huge folks. (I will admit that Apple's iTV does look pretty fucking cool though.)
So yes, big week for Nintendo. The days leading up to this week's three-continent-spanning press conference were wrought with speculation. Most people assumed that the Wii would finally get a release date and get a price (it did, and it did). Others we're saying that it would just be Nintendo announcing what color the system was going to be and how now it could make julienne fries or some other bullshit (it's white, and it doesn't). There was more than just the price/date announcement though. So much more.
Basically it went down like this: Around 10pm EST Wednesday night, the Japanese press conference started. News began to trickle in throughout the night regarding the Japanese release, until 9am EST when the American press conference began here in NYC. There was a European conference after that, but no one really cared, because at that point everyone was going crazy about the Wii.
(On a side note, I'm starting to get the impression that they might be sticking with this whole "Wii" thing as the real name of the console. Crazy, I know.)
One of the biggest causes of the internet craziness was the $249.99 price point here in the States. For whatever reason, despite the fact that Nintendo said many moons ago that the Wii would cost "less than $250" (i.e. "$249.99") people somehow got in their heads that it would be $200 or even $150. Then word got out that Nintendo was turning a profit on each console sale, and things got even crazier. Idiots. Tycho captures my feelings about the $250 price pretty well: "The price needs to simultaneously say that 'we are not those other guys' while somehow retaining the idea that their machine is the same type of product."
Okay, so the price is fine, even necessary, but that doesn't mean Nintendo has pulled this launch off without a hitch. They've done a good job, but there's three little things bugging me:
Thing #1: Release date. November 19th, Nintendo? Really? Two days after the PS3 launch? That isn't really what I would consider the optimal time to put out a console. I realize you claim to not be competing for the same audience as Sony and Microsoft, but come on here. Now I know you're obsessed with releasing new hardware on Sundays in the USA. I don't know why, but you are. So the 19th is putting it off until the last possible minute. Now this either means you think that this is a good release date (it isn't), or you need more time to work out the bugs (entirely possible). However the bug argument doesn't really hold water, because I happend to know you gave some blind kid a Wii and a copy of Twilight Princess on "Ellen" this week, so that's not it either. Although I suppose it's conceivable you just gave him a GameCube that you painted white and hoped he wouldn't notice because he was blind. Anything is possible. Point is, November 19th... not such a great release date. (Although I will say it's better than releasing Advance Wars on September 11th.)
Thing #2: Lack of a second Wiimote. Nintendo, you say you're trying to expand the market here, trying to get not only the kids, but parents and grandparents to play games as well. An admirable feat to be sure. And what better way to kick off that gamer family than including a second controller right out of the box! Wait, what's that? No second controller packed in? Poorly played, Nintendo, poorly played. I'm not even asking for a second Wiimote/nunchuck combo, just a second Wiimote. It'd also help illustrate the fact that the Wiimote acts independent of the nunchuck attachment, which I could see being a point of confusion in some households. (And retail establishments, come to think of it... hmmm.)
Thing #3: No "Wii Points" packed in. (Quick refresher: the Wii has a bunch of old console emulators built-in... NES, SNES, N64, Genesis... blah blah blah... you then buy games online for these systems with "Wii Points.") First off, is "Wii Points" really the best thing the whole Nintendo marketing staff could come up with? Microsoft calls theirs "Microsoft Points." That's to be expected from Microsoft... they're unimaginative. You guys make Mario and Zelda games. Some 12 year-old online came up with the idea of calling them "Nintendo Coins," and you guys came up with "Wii Points?" Anyway, that aside. I'm not asking for much here, but just include something in the box. $5 worth of Wii, enough to buy a NES game, just to try it out. It's like the Apple iTMS (err... iTS), they give you a free song here and there with a bottle of Pepsi... you try it out, see what it's like... then you're hooked. Nintendo, take a tip from Apple, not Microsoft.
So yeah, that's it. Three things. Now, I'll grant you, the system hasn't come out yet, so I suppose all three of these points could still be resolved. Do I think they will be? No. Will Nintendo be fine without them? Yes, probably. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't try. The launch date criticism is purely for the sake of the news-cycle. I'm sure they system will sell out regardless, but I honestly don't see major news outlets running separate stories within two days of each other demonstrating crazy people standing outside retail stores around the country waiting for video games. They'll run with the story the night before the PS3, and that'll be that. Nintendo will be left out in the cold. Literally. It's going to be fucking cold outside in mid-November. As for the other two points, those could easily be resolved on release day by handing out a Wii Points (Coins?) card and an extra Wiimote with every purchase.
Like I sad, nothing too bad, nothing completely out there, just some little things. And those little things are far outweighed by the big things they've done right.
For example, while it pains me to see Nintendo drift away from their "we make games and that's it" mantra, the inclusion of news, weather, and web "channels" in the Wii interface is genius. Perfect for appealing to the parental crowd; turn on the Wii in the morning, check the weather, read some email, go to work. Awesome.
Likewise, the inculsion of a bundled game— and having it be Wii Sports at that— is also brilliant. It's like 1991 all over again. The only thing that would have made it more brilliant is including an extra controller.
And finally the "Mii," despite being a (debatably) gayer name than "Wii" is also genius. Not so much for the novelty of having an in-game avatar that follows you across games (although that is admittedly pretty cool), but because the Mii is stored on the Wiimote. I remember reading somewhere that Nintendo wants Wiimotes to be personalizable (personalizable?) like cell phones. Different colors, stickers, charms, and now Miis. Well played Nintendo, well played.
Anyway, there's other stuff, but those are the big things. And despite all of this, there are still so many unanswered questions. Will DVD playback be able to be added post-launch, via a software update? What's up with Rare games on the Virtual Console? Can I play Virtual Console games with a GameCube controller? Moreover, will the retro-controller really be tethered to the Wiimote? Because that's retarded.
Phew, I think that's it. Wow, this was a really long post. I don't think I've written anything this long since... uhh, the last time I wrote about the Wii. Crap. I'm a Nintendo-whore. Yeah, well... screw you guys, I'm gonna go... ummm... well, this is embarrassing... I'm gonna go play Ocarina of Time. I spent a good chunk of yesterday and a few hours today playing N64 Zelda on the GameCube. Go figure. My goal is to finish it, Majora's Mask and Wind Waker in time for the Wii. I've never beat any of them, and I'm not the spry 12 year-old I used to be. I'm thinking I'll be lucky if I get through Ocarina of Time.
Good night Milwaukee!
Posted by pat at September 18, 2006 12:40 AM
Comments
so is it pronounced "wee" as in we're having a lot of fun on these swings Wii, or is it pronounced "why" as in why doesn't your blog get into how this product pretty much slaps the traditional lazy video gamer in the face and requires exercise while playing madden. unheard of!
Posted by: Kevin at September 20, 2006 12:57 PM
I recon that this is a shit site.
Posted by: Matt at September 25, 2006 06:57 PM
'admiral feat'?
Posted by: Your copy editor at September 28, 2006 11:44 AM
nice boy.
Posted by: Your mom at September 28, 2006 06:55 PM