Info on 2 Wii Mod chips emerges...

[Jessterw]

Well the 360 has had a year to dominate the market and we all see how poorly the PS3 is performing. So for all intents and purposes, the Wii is already selling as good as or better than the alternatives.

What's going to make or break all the systems is the quality of the games. So far the 360 only has a few stellar or breakout games and the Wii and PS3 have none. Oddly, the Wii is still far more engaging than the others based solely on a demo turned game (Wii Sports) and a slew of rehashed (Monkeyball, Zelda, etc.) and/or mediocre titles. Imagine the response when the system-selling Mario games start appearing - Super Mario Kart Double Dash for the Game Cube was still selling out as recent as 6 months ago.

The Wii does have a battle ahead of it. Not only does it have to compete with the other two, it has to compete on an entirely different level - pure gameplay, unaided by fancy graphics.

[Claymonkey]

Correct, I dont think that its realistic to think it will sell like 360's/ps3 though.

I have my doubts about this. It was all hearsay to me until this weekend. I saw two mothers of different generations who generally want NOTHING to do with gaming say they wanted a Wii and got really into playing it. My mom was giving me bowling tips and cheering my sister on and REALLY getting into it. This is when I found out my mother has bowled a 298 in real life. Next time I go home we are going as a family to play real bowling. Can this trend be continued? I hope so. There is a lot of potential here and after this last weekend the possibility of the Wii being THE console this generation seems like a possibility to me.

[Kooldino]

Hmm... but, there aren't any good games.

Sure there are:

http://www.gamespot.com/games.html?type=games&platform=1029&mode=all&sort=score&dlx_type=all&sortdir=asc&sortdir=asc

And... I haven't met anyone who owns one. No, wait - my friend got one for Christmas from his sister in Cleveland. He traded it in for a Wii and a bunch of games.[/QUOTE]

If you sat down and played one, you might change your mind about them. Granted, many of the games tend to be more "show" than "go", but there are still some good games out there.

[Kooldino]

Correct, I dont think that its realistic to think it will sell like 360's/ps3 though.

I disagree here. First off, look at current sales numbers:

http://nexgenwars.com/

Divide it by how many days each system has been available, and the Wii is selling more units per day than probably the other two combined. What's more amazing is that you can go to any store and buy a 360 or ps3 right now, but you can't buy a Wii. My point? The Wii numbers would be EVEN higher if they could produce them faster, whereas there is more supply than there is demand for the competition.

On top of that, look at price. Right now, the Wii is $150 less than it's next closest competitor, and that will go a long way.

The only thing that may bring down the Wii is the Wii itself. Nintendo went too cheap with the graphics hardware, and once most of the market is high def, the Wii will look that much worse by comparison. I have a feeling that the Wii may have a relatively short lifespan compared to say...the PS3. We may be getting to the point soon where it will be difficult to classify systems in generations.

[borat]

I'm going to be striaght with you and I didn't actually believe that Nintendo had managed to sell that many Wii's. Over 4 million is a fantastic figure. Thats changed my mind about its success slightly. However Wii is on sale in Europe and the PS3 is not untill march 23rd, so the PS3 will get a good boost on launch over here. I'd like to know how many 360's had sold when it was as old as Wii is currently. I'd also like to know how much software is being sold for the Wii - remember sony/msft coffers are still getting a nice revenue from the xbox/PS2 which will help them market and develope new titles for the next gen, I doubt gamecube is doing quite so well for Nintendo. Well done to them though, never thought Wii was selling that well!

[Jessterw]

The Game Cube was never as successful as the original Xbox and the PS2, there's not debate over that; however, there are several GC games that have continued to sell quite well. Keep in mind that GC games will likely continue to be sold because the majority - if not all - can be played on a Wii. The 360 is only marginally capable in that area. Then there's the massive catalog of games being made available via the Virtual Console; gamers love vintage and the Wii's VC has the best from Nintendo and many others.

It's taken the 360 around a year to get to its current market share, while the Wii has reach almost half that in a matter of months. I haven't found any numbers reflecting the 360's initial figures to compare against the Wii's, but the overall statistics are telling.

As I've said before, the Wii's continued success is going to largely depend on the ingenuity of those developing for the platform - there are no killer graphics to help one overlook shoddy or mediocre gameplay.

[Gurm]

Sure there are:
http://www.gamespot.com/games.html?t...sc&sortdir=asc

Let's see what's on the list...

1. Racing games that aren't Gran Turismo.
2. First Person shooters that aren't on a PC.
3. PC games ported to the XBox that suffer as a result of the dumbed-down interface.
4. Tom Clancy games.

I would probably play the Tom Clancy games, but they don't compel me to buy a system, that's for sure!

If you sat down and played one, you might change your mind about them. Granted, many of the games tend to be more "show" than "go", but there are still some good games out there.

From what I hear, ALL the games except Gears of War are more "show" than "go". Every last one. Plus from what I've seen of the graphics comparisons, the "show" ain't all that, either!

[Gurm]

Nintendo went too cheap with the graphics hardware, and once most of the market is high def, the Wii will look that much worse by comparison.

That point - where "most of the market" is high def - is years away. Look - I'm a geek. And a videophile. And an audiophile. And I have no plans to go "hi-def" in the next year unless I get a huge promotion. My friends are all geeks and audio/videophiles, and none of THEM plan to buy a $1500 tv anytime soon. The economy is just too soft and we all have kids to feed. Ironically, baby boomes are going hi-def faster than we are, because they have disposable cash and they believe everything the people at Best Buy tell them.

However...

I have a feeling that the Wii may have a relatively short lifespan compared to say...the PS3. We may be getting to the point soon where it will be difficult to classify systems in generations.

I completely agree with you here. I think that the Wii is a stopgap measure for Nintendo and they will eventually have to release a "Wii 2" or something that is graphically better. The PS3 will be around forever - it is just so far ahead of even the XBox360 graphically that it blows my mind. However, all the pretty graphics in the world aren't enough to make me pay $600 for a console and $75 each for controllers and games. Just not gonna happen.

[Gurm]

remember sony/msft coffers are still getting a nice revenue from the xbox/PS2 which will help them market and develope new titles for the next gen,

Sony/MSFT coffers are still getting revenue from the XBOX and PS2 ... HARDWARE, since neither new system is really compatible with their older counterparts!

Point in fact is, the PS3 isn't selling. It's sitting on the shelf. The XBOX360 has tapered off. You just can't get a Wii for love or money, with no signs of slowdown.

[Gurm]

It's taken the 360 around a year to get to its current market share, while the Wii has reach almost half that in a matter of months.

A year in which it was the ONLY available console, versus ... TWO ... months.

As I've said before, the Wii's continued success is going to largely depend on the ingenuity of those developing for the platform - there are no killer graphics to help one overlook shoddy or mediocre gameplay.

And this is true too, but let's be honest - the N64 kept selling and selling and selling even though the PSX and Dreamcast had better graphics and CD-quality movies and sound. Nintendo has what it takes in THAT regard.

[Jessterw]

Yeah, not worried about Nintendo being able to follow through as much as I am about whether the 3rd party developers are going to be able to put the effort into creating unique experiences on the Wii. Remember, the Wii is Nintendo's platform, whereas the other game developers will also be focusing on the 360, PS3, and PC.

The 3rd party games available for the Wii so far are essentially ports with awkward control schemes tacked on - hardly the sort of experience the Wii is meant to present. Of course, Nintendo's own Zelda is a port, but the control scheme (from what I've heard) at least works. That's probably why Wii Sports is so important a game right now. Hopefully we'll start seeing some platform selling games from Nintendo very soon (any Mario game for example). I think we'll have to wait a bit longer for the same sort of games from the 3rd parties though.

[Gurm]

Yeah, not worried about Nintendo being able to follow through as much as I am about whether the 3rd party developers are going to be able to put the effort into creating unique experiences on the Wii. Remember, the Wii is Nintendo's platform, whereas the other game developers will also be focusing on the 360, PS3, and PC.

The 3rd party games available for the Wii so far are essentially ports with awkward control schemes tacked on - hardly the sort of experience the Wii is meant to present. Of course, Nintendo's own Zelda is a port, but the control scheme (from what I've heard) at least works. That's probably why Wii Sports is so important a game right now. Hopefully we'll start seeing some platform selling games from Nintendo very soon (any Mario game for example). I think we'll have to wait a bit longer for the same sort of games from the 3rd parties though.

THE game to see will be Mario Galaxies. Of course not everyone is a Mario fan, but ... OMG I've seen the videos and it will be amazing. Designed around the Wiimote, the stick maneuvers but the numchuck does all of Mario's abilities.

Zelda could have been a bit better tuned for the numchuck, it's not bad but I really don't feel as though I'm missing anything by playing on the GC instead of the Wii.

[Kooldino]

Let's see what's on the list...

1. Racing games that aren't Gran Turismo.

So? They're great games nonetheless.

2. First Person shooters that aren't on a PC.

What about GoW? That's a 3rd person game.

3. PC games ported to the XBox that suffer as a result of the dumbed-down interface.

Well, if you have a nice PC, by all means, play the FPS on that. But if you can't afford a high end rig, you can have a 360 for the price of a decent video card.

Plus from what I've seen of the graphics comparisons, the "show" ain't all that, either!

I dunno man, the 360 graphics still impress me.

[Kooldino]

That point - where "most of the market" is high def - is years away.

Yes, two years away to be precise. 2009 is when the big high def switch will be completed, IIRC.

I completely agree with you here. I think that the Wii is a stopgap measure for Nintendo and they will eventually have to release a "Wii 2" or something that is graphically better.

I've considered this too. On one hand, they can't do it too soon, or they'll piss everyone off. OTOH, if they wait too long, they'll kill themselves. Methinks that they should be the first company out with a system the next cycle around.

The PS3 will be around forever - it is just so far ahead of even the XBox360 graphically that it blows my mind.

Lies. Go look up Ridge Racer 7 (or any other game that came out for both) and compare them side by side. So far, the PS3 looks no better, and in some cases it's worse.

However, all the pretty graphics in the world aren't enough to make me pay $600 for a console and $75 each for controllers and games. Just not gonna happen.

Amen to that. But the prices have to come down sometime.

Until then, I have my Wii.

[Kooldino]

And this is true too, but let's be honest - the N64 kept selling and selling and selling even though the PSX and Dreamcast had better graphics and CD-quality movies and sound. Nintendo has what it takes in THAT regard.

No way in hell did the PSX have better graphics than the N64. I had both systems. Sure, the prerendered stuff on the PSX looked great, but for anything that was rendered in real time, the N64 had a huge advantage on. Look at the hardware specs between the N64 and the PSX and you'll see what i mean. Most PSX games looked like jagged junk. The N64 titles were smooth and antialiased.


Butyes, the Dreamcast was better than both, but the dreamcast was more in the generation of the PS2/GC than anything.