The Wii Weekend Warrior: of game delays, the next Wii, and… just what is the core gamer anyway?
Looks like Wii updates did slow down after E3 – it just took a week longer than I thought. Nevertheless, some news did trickle in this week, with updates on the new Red Steel game, Lego Batman, and Ghostbusters. The big topic this week though, is whether Nintendo really has abandoned its core gamer in favor of the mass market. A lot of you certainly had some strong opinions on the matter. Let’s get started with this week’s Wii Weekend Warrior!
The Wii scene has been pretty quiet this week. Not surprising, as this is the low that happens between E3 and the Leipzig Games Convention. I actually expected it to happen last week. Still, some updates did trickle in this week on several games, and news on a new Wii! However, the big subject this week seems to be about Nintendo.
Have they really abandoned the Wii’s core gamer? (VG Cats’ had a hilarious comic about it, as reader lavino pointed out.) A lot of you certainly had some strong opinions on the matter. We’ll get to that in a bit, so let’s get started with this week’s Wii Weekend Warrior!
I want one in pinstripe beige, with nuclear green polkadots
Although still a few months shy of its second year out, the Wii already has a successor in the works, according to Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata.
Iwata gives a small clue as to what it does so far: it’s “a kind of box that consumers reluctantly buy in order to play our games.” Admittedly, that’s not much to go on, but it’s all we got.
We won’t see it anytime soon of course, with Wii sales still breaking through the roof and the ozone layer. In fact, the Wii is selling so well that Nintendo isn’t planning on making different color models any time soon, saying that the current model already flies off shelves so fast that a makeover isn’t necessary to sell them.
So, considering how well the first Wii is doing right now, can Wii 2 live up to the standards it has set? Can Nintendo really top the phenomenal craze that the Wiimote has sparked? Even Iwata isn’t sure of that himself.
Link: Wii 2 already in the works; can it live up to expectations?
Link: Dunaway: no new Wii colors or slimmer DS from Nintendo, for now
They should put Luke Skywalker as a downloadable in the Red Steel 2
Yoda and Darth Vader are making an appearance in Soul Calibur 4 – which got me to wondering what it would be like if Luke Skywalker would appear in the next Red Steel game. This doesn’t have to do with anything of course, so let’s move on. (Maybe Chewbacca… or Jar Jar? Over my dead body.)
Red Steel 2, which was criticized for how loosely its sword controls followed the Wiimote, will be utilizing the Wii MotionPlus accessory, so I doubt there will be any complaints about the controls when the game is released.
Some bad news this week. Due to the recent merger between Activision and Blizzard (now collectively known as Activision Blizzard, doi), Ghostbusters: The Video Game has been delayed to 2009, seeking a new publisher. Also announcing a delay is Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People, which didn’t make its July release. Sorry, attractive people. (Padme duking it out with Strong Bad… hmmm…)
If the delays bummed you out, you can check out new screens for Lego Batman: The Videogame. There’s nothing like a Man-Bat Lego figure hovering threateningly with its red beady eyes to perk up your day. (Yoda as a Lego character? … Ok, gotta get Star Wars outta my head.) Check out the screens after the link below.
Link: More Lego Batman screens show a cuter Gotham posse than ever
Link: Red Steel 2 swordplay: will utilize Wii MotionPlus accessory
Link: Ghostbusters delayed to 2009, needs new publisher
Link: Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People won’t make July release
I had a hard time not naming this section “To Wii or Not To Wii,” can you imagine how hard it is to phrase titles with the word Wii in it sometimes… oh, I’m ranting already, boo
The Wii is a phenomenal hit, no one can deny that, not even the ones who call the console a fad. In fact, Nintendo just reported a whopping US$ 990 million profit for their first quarter, up 34% from last year. That’s enough moolah to end world hunger. Well, no, not really, but that’s still a lot of dough (get it? get it? dough! oh shut up).
Given that, and Nintendo’s lack of effort to speak to the “core gamer” at their E3 press conference, a lot of people believe that they have abandoned their original gamers in favor of the mass market. Personally, I’d rather wait until the next games conference before I can say as much, considering how most of those who attended E3 brought as little, if not less, than what Nintendo had to offer. E3 just didn’t have the pulling power this year.
Perhaps the problem lies in the definition of what the core gamer is, and what a hardcore gamer is. Yes, the Wii lacks more hardcore games for its library, but has Nintendo really abandoned its “original fans”? Or is it more accurate to say, the “core gamer”? Who makes up the core gaming community anyway? I leave these thoughts from ISOHaven, Techni, and schmede for this week’s Comment(s) of the Week:
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