Is the Wii reaching "critical mass" on crap shovelware?

[Rob2600]

After a dalliance with these consoles and their paper-thin games, I'm thinking about switching back to PC-only. Truly deep stories - ones that not only have some supposedly "epic feel" (like all the console "rpgs" claim to have), but also touch on the core issues of humanity. ... They don't make 'em like they used to.

Yes, I miss the deep stories in Unreal Tournament, Quake, Doom, Redneck Rampage, Deer Hunter, Carmageddon, Diablo, Madden NFL, and Extreme Paintbrawl.

And don't forget those great epic classics like Messiah, Shadow Man, Daikatana, Darkened Skye, Riven, Bad Day LA, Enter the Matrix, and Dragon Riders: Chronicles of Pern. Oh wait, I mean epic failures.

Seriously though, if there's any platform that has crazy amounts of dumb, glitchy shovelware and over-hyped junk, it's the PC.

[Rob2600]

Anyway, before the Nintendo Mafia arrives and turns this thread into Wii vs. everything else, let me say that it's obvious Wii shovelware is getting out of hand.

Has the Nintendo Mafia ever whacked anybody?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Has the Nintendo Mafia ever whacked anybody?

Two words:

poison

mushrooms

[blissfulnoise]

I see absolutely zero reason to purchase a Wii. After a dalliance with these consoles and their paper-thin games, I'm thinking about switching back to PC-only. Truly deep stories - ones that not only have some supposedly "epic feel" (like all the console "rpgs" claim to have), but also touch on the core issues of humanity. Things like Deus Ex (the first one) are what I'm talking about.

They don't make 'em like they used to.

This is dangerously off subject but I'm compelled to respond...

I've seen some of your other posts along the same lines and the only thing paper thin here is your obviously biased and skewed viewpoint. If gaming has passed you by, so be it. Just don't make ignorant blanket statements like the above.

Nearly everything worthy in the retail PC market is seeing a console release anyway due to the absolute lack of sales at the big box level. Even episodic content like Sam and Max stand as sure on ports to consoles to try and recoup the development costs and perhaps, gasp, make a profit.

But I will say this of PC gaming; it is definitely the place to find games that are pushing the concepts of genre and storytelling forward. But you won't find any of these games on shelves at Best Buy; everything interesting in the PC market is going on in the indie scene.

Small time MMOs, "Serious" games, Games as Art (games literally proclaiming themselves as such), and open source collaborations are what's keeping my eye turned towards the PC for innovation. Obviously XBLA and the Virtual Console (and to a lesser extent PSN) aren't ready to take risks on games like these, so, for now, they remain solely in the domain of the PC.

[heybtbm]

Has the Nintendo Mafia ever whacked anybody?

You tell me...Godfather.

[Rob2600]

You tell me...Godfather.

Don't ask me about my business.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

This is dangerously off subject but I'm compelled to respond...

I've seen some of your other posts along the same lines and the only thing paper thin here is your obviously biased and skewed viewpoint. If gaming has passed you by, so be it. Just don't make ignorant blanket statements like the above.

Nearly everything worthy in the retail PC market is seeing a console release anyway due to the absolute lack of sales at the big box level. Even episodic content like Sam and Max stand as sure on ports to consoles to try and recoup the development costs and perhaps, gasp, make a profit.

But I will say this of PC gaming; it is definitely the place to find games that are pushing the concepts of genre and storytelling forward. But you won't find any of these games on shelves at Best Buy; everything interesting in the PC market is going on in the indie scene.

Small time MMOs, "Serious" games, Games as Art (games literally proclaiming themselves as such), and open source collaborations are what's keeping my eye turned towards the PC for innovation. Obviously XBLA and the Virtual Console (and to a lesser extent PSN) aren't ready to take risks on games like these, so, for now, they remain solely in the domain of the PC.

I believe In the current market, there seems to be some room for creative independent developers' projects to "bleed" into the home console scene (PSN, XBLA XNA Developers, and the upcoming Wii Ware) more so than in the recent past anyway ...

However, you're absolutely right, the PC has been and will be for the foreseeable future the platform with the highest amount of developer experimentation and creative gaming concepts due to the fact that It's a totally open development platform with the highest user online install rate; so, distribution can be fast and very "viral" through word of mouth, and totally free if needed.

Though, I don't think that it's totally fair to call the console market bereft of creative titles, "deep" stories, or well crafted games (not that you said that, but the sentiment has been echoed through the thread).

[diskoboy]

The Wii has Smash Bros. Brawl, Crazy Climber (which probably won't get a US release), and No More Heroes coming up, and That's about it.

I also forgot about Okami coming out in March. But I could always buy the PS2 version, but I'm assuming the Wii will have better controls.

[blissfulnoise]

I also forgot about Okami coming out in March. But I could always buy the PS2 version, but I'm assuming the Wii will have worse controls.

Fixed.

[Rob2600]

The Wii has Smash Bros. Brawl, Crazy Climber (which probably won't get a US release), and No More Heroes coming up, and that's about it.

I also forgot about Okami coming out in March.

Also: Endless Ocean, BlastWorks, Nitro Bike, De Blob, Mario Kart, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Sega Bass Fishing, and Wii Fit.

And that's just within the next six months.

[Hep038]

Sega bass fishing!!!!! WOOT, Wii RULES!

[boatofcar]

No More Heroes creator speaks

No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda says third party Wii games aren't selling. He should know! Even though it faired well critically, nobody in Japan bought his game. (Well, not nobody.) What does Suda think of developing for the Wii? This:


"Whilst the sales weren't as high as I hoped, other titles for Wii aren't selling so well either. Only Nintendo titles are doing well. This isn't just because of the current situation in Japan, as this is happening outside Japan... Actually I was very surprised about the reality about Wii, because before I was making this game, I wasn't expecting that Wii would be a console targeted only for non-gamers. I expected more games for hardcore gamers. The reality is different to what I expected."


Does that means the No More Heroes sequel will be on a "hardcore" consoles — say, the Xbox 360 or PS3?

[Julio III]

So I went into a GameStation yesterday and saw quite a lot of these budget games branded "Popcorn Arcade" of which they were selling 2 for £30. I really really liked the look of 2 of these games, Mini Desktop Racing and Ninjabread Man but upon reading the very few reviews available on the internet have realised that they are poorly made and are meant to be lousy. This is a shame, as the games look great fun and at that price range I would definitely buy them and I also know they are going to be short and sweet and don't need a huge investment of time to enjoy fully. Oh well. I guess these games are just budget because they didn't have enough money to develop them properly, which is a shame.