I Want the Wii I was Promised

Dear Video Game Developers,

I read in a recent article that many of you have finally woken up to the popularity of the Wii and decided to shift resources to developing for it.

I think that’s great news. Sure, it took you the better part of a year to catch on but, hey, that’s still faster than FEMA right?

But since you’re throwing all of those millions of dollars toward the Wii, I’d like to make a very small, humble request/recommendation on how to spend it: I want the Wii experience I was promised when I bought it.

To prove my point, let me tell you a story.

Once Upon A Time…

It was a cold January morning that found me and my wife waiting outside our neighborhood Circuit City. We were first in line to pick up a Wii that day.

Sure, by that point the Wii had been out for a while but it was the first time two casual gamers like ourselves had a real chance at snagging one (We were willing to show up at eight o’clock and sit in our car for an hour, but you can go to Hell if you think we’re camping for a video game system).

Gleefully, we plunked down over 400 for the Wii, another controller plus nunchuck and two games. We sped home, unpacked it, popped in Wii Sports and then disappeared for about three months.

Oh, sure, we bought Zelda and DragonBall Z (Don’t ask) but neither of those games saw the inside of the system for a long time. Intense tennis matches, exhausting boxing rounds and those insanely difficult training mode challenges ate up all of our free time. Hell, if we could have skipped work and eating, we probably would have.

But, slowly, the game faded. To be sure it was the most fun I’d had with a video game in my life and it lasted longer than anything else I have tried, but it was still finite, like all games.

So when it came time to move on. I had a real problem. There was nothing there to fill the void. There are some great games out, but none actually used the Wii like it was meant to be used.

Outside of beating Twilight Princess, the Wii has not seen any significant action in months and that is your fault, as video game developers. You are killing the Wii.

Two Kinds

When it comes to Will games, you can roughly divide them into two categories. The first are party games. For those, think Wii Play, WarioWare Smooth Moves and Super Monkey Ball Blitz (the fun parts).

Then there are the ports, games from other systems that, though possibly good, use the Wii controls as an afterthought. For those, think of Twilight Princess, Mortal Kombat, DragonBall Z, etc.

Party games are fun, but shallow. WarioWare wore off in a couple of days, as did Wii Play. Monkey Ball never gained any traction with us due to frustrations with the controls. They’re a bit like candy bars, tasty, but cheap and unsatisfying.

The ports however, have been a more mixed bag. Some, like Zelda, have been very good. Others, like FarCry, have not.

But using Zelda as an example, these games take the Wii experience and turn it into low-rent XBox360. How do you perform a spin attack in the game? You shake the nunchuck. How do you draw your sword? Flick the Wiimote. How do you aim a bow and arrow? Aim the Wiimote. How exciting can you get?

It’s as if the developers used the Wiimote commands as nothing more than substitutes for extra buttons and joysticks. That’s fitting enough since Twilight Princess was a port from the Gamecube, but it makes it feel like any other video game out there.

Where are the games where you use the Wii mote to actually wield a sword? What about throwing a football or anything else that gets you off the damn couch. This was supposed to be about getting people out of their chairs but all the hours of Zelda earned me was a new butt dent on my sofa. Granted, it was the second-most fun time I’ve had on said sofa, but that’s not the point.

Wii Sports was supposed to be a preview of the revolution, but, so far, the Wii has not lived up to its promise. That’s left me feeling just a little jaded.

A New Hope

Sure, some have tried to do this. Red Steel, for example, made such an attempt with swords and guns but fell so hard that it made my teeth rattle. You only have to play that game once to know it packs a lot of suckage on that CD.

I do have to give some credit to Activision and Treyarch for their efforts on Call of Duty 3. They at least tried to include some interesting Wii elements and didn’t just port the game over as is. Sure the rowing, driving and bomb planting parts are all secondary to the game, but at least it shows they made an attempt, that’s more than what I can say for Midway and High Voltage Software, the makers behind The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy for the Wii.

Still though, if that’s the best you can do, I might as well throw my Wii away and get back into PC games. The mouse is more interactive than that.

Fortunately, there is some hope too. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption holds some promise, though it still feels as if it could be done with a regular controller, and No More Heroes looks like an interesting slasher, but it remains to be seen how interactive the sword is.

Similarly, Wii Fit holds a fair amount of promise to at least replace Wii Sports but it requires a whole new attachment to play. Besides, I’m not really after another cartoon-like sports game for the Wii. I’d like to see something at least a little bit new.

Seriously though, I didn’t buy the Wii so I could play games the same way I’ve been playing them for over 20 years. I bought it for something different. Sure, there are a lot of great reasons to buy the Wii, but most of them are great games, not great Wii games.

Bottom Line

When Nintendo renamed the Revolution the Wii, it was a controversial move. Now though, it seems fitting. If it were still known by its old name, the jokes would just be too easy.

The Wii has not been revolutionary, at least not up until now, and it should bother you as develoers that the best game for it, even after eight months of being on the market, is still the pack in game.

Sure, it’s early to pass judgment on the Wii and I’m not trying to. I’m trying to light a fire under you and your publishers. It’s time to stop releasing half-assed ports that treat the Wii like the controller is missing buttons, it’s time to make games for the Wii, as they were meant to be made.

By this time next year, I want to be wielding my Wiimote like a samurai on five Red Bulls as I tackle the hordes of evil. I want to be kicking ass with two fists of sweet justice and I want to be throwing a football just like its the real thing.

That’s my challenge to you developers. Think you can meet it?

Sincerely,

John Black



July 20, 2007 | Filed Under Nintendo, Technology 

Comments

One Response to “I Want the Wii I was Promised”

  1. Michael Kwan on July 20th, 2007 4:35 pm

    Thanks for the linkback!

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