Feature: Generation Gimmick

In days gone past there were many internet arguments attributed to the almighty graphics versus gameplay debate. Those who believed gameplay was more important than graphics were absolutely astonished that someone could think the opposite. The graphics crowd would explain that graphics directly improved gameplay and as a result were not in direct opposition at all, but were also a part of the gameplay crowd as well. The graphics mob wanted to enlighten others on their understanding but the opposition was more interested in a black and white, right and wrong pedantic than they were admitting they felt the same way. More inside We have all since come to terms with the truth, technology and power most definitely lead to legitimate improvements to video games. The winner in the debate was not the gameplay crowd, neither side won. In time each and every one of us became to realise how fruitless the debate was. If the debate had been asked as a question to our future selves, the answer back would have been that graphics and gameplay intertwine, standing on top of each other as the same element almost as often as they are completely separate issues. It is now widely understood graphics can both impair and improve gameplay as well as other elements of a game.

There is one similar debate being argued furiously on the internet at the moment. It has died down some what, but shows its ugly head every time a fantastic game is released on the Wii. That debate is wether or not the Wii remote is a gimmick.

A gimmick is something that is used to attract someone to buy a product. By definition the Wii remote is most definitely a gimmick. However that definition is not what is meant when the word is used in the large amount of discussions throughout the internet. The word is almost exclusively used in a derogitory context intended to discredit the Wii, the controller and many of its games. It is almost always implied that the Wii remote has no substance and is inferior to our currently established means of control. So while by definition the Wii remote is a gimmick, the internet has concocted its own definition that a gimmick is anything that is trashy, cheap or unsubstancial. Why has this happened and when will people finally stop using that term?

Slight technological improvements are rarely seen as gimmicks. Even those that are never utilised properly. We understand real time shadows and normal mapping are not gimmicks, improved graphics provide heightened immersion. That immerstion has legitimised these technologies so that they will never be called such. We have also been conditioned by years of technological leaps that graphics are almost never gimmicks. It is almost obsurd to consider the possability, but it did happen when cell shading technology first appeared in games. In its early years it was labelled a gimmick, reviewers and gamers both guilty of doing so. After all it was easy, only basic games had cell shaded graphics. Plus it was true as well, cell shading was a gimmick intended to pull interest for otherwise uninteresting games. It wasn’t until Wind Waker, Okami and now Team Fortress 2 that the word gimmick is thankfully no longer used to describe cell shading.

The parallel between the acceptance of cell shading and the Wii remote should be a little clearer now. One has proven to have substance and the other apparently has yet to. I know what a lot of critics are thinking. I know this because some of them have told the entire world. They are after that one game that will convert them and prove the Wii is more substantial than a gimmick. This is where I will ask those of you who hold that view for some tolerance and understanding, because to put it simply many of us have already had that experience and our opinion that it proven should not be dismissed out of hand for what ever reasons you may have used to do so. Like the graphics versus gameplay debate there will be no winning side.

This is where many opinions begin to diverge. Has the Wii remote been proven to provide substantial gameplay? Is the Wii remote a legitimate and precise piece of equipment? The answers to these questions depend on who you ask. Some might like to say ‘no’ to them, but just like cell shading it takes long amounts of exposure in a context you enjoy to finally understand why and when a technology has been legitimised. It is important that all of us entertain the possibility we aren’t as good with the Wii remote as we think we are. That it is not the remote that is holding us back but us that have yet to master the remote. Is it possible our level of dexterity for these new forms of input are not advanced enough to make claims of inferiority? Is it a lack of skill, experience and time that is causing these problems? Of course it is. It isn’t nice for those convinced the Wii remote has problems, but it is true. Most of us have tens of thousands of hours experience with gamepads and just as long with keyboards. We simply cannot be expected to love or be as proficient at the Wii remote where we have clocked tens to hundreds of hours only.

There are also other boundaries that cause certain gamers to fall through the net. The Wii has been over loaded with dirty ports and shovelware since it rose to popularity. It can be easy to sympathise with some of the real reasons for not purchasing a Wii. I ask you again though, how different is what we saw at the start of the Wii’s life to what happened with cell shading? Why does the Wii control get labelled a gimmick? The same as it was with cell shading, it is a new technology. There is always resistance towards new technologies. Some gamers hold no interest at all in the process of learning new peripherals because they personally find it annoying, boring or unnecessary. These are totally valid reasons to resist this new alternative.

Many of us should remember how we played games in earlier generations. Turning the control on its side to press two buttons simultaneously. Using tape to hold down buttons or buying an auto fire controller to do what we didn’t have time for. A few will remember playing Mario Party on the Nintendo 64 trying to wind up a god-forsaken toy using the palm of their hand, with the thumbstick burning away skin. Then of course is everyone’s favourite Guitar Hero. All of these possessed the same sort of learning and discovery entertainment value, a form of entertainment that is as legitimate and real as gameplay.

The lateral thinking in first discovering the easiest way to play these games, mastering them and then finally deciding whether or not we like it (in that specific order, not the reverse) is an element that only few games have had in past generations. Due to this rarity it has become a very alien process for many gamers. Some are frustrated by it and to those individuals that are still proclaiming the Wii as a fad, gimmick or are inferior to the competition, I applaud you to stop. It is a view as stubborn as graphics do not affect gameplay. Controls take on elements of learning, mastering and even promote discussion. They have depth. The kinds of elements we promote in deep gameplay.

Some peripheral powered games have hit a real chord with the die-hard gamers and critics. Guitar Hero is a great example of a success that most gamers can appreciate. There is no need to explain in detail why. Music is universal and the game itself is paced incredibly well as to appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers. Not all peripherals and certainly not the Wii have the same level of appeal to existing gamers though. Guitar Hero has appealed to gamers by being familiar. The Wii is unfamiliar however and that doesn’t mean it is not equally substantial. It just means it has not clicked with those individuals. To understand why such gaming is equally substantial one really needs to experience it for themselves and there is no other way to properly get that message across. It is something to pay attention too, all those fans that defend the Wii to the death aren’t crazy. Even if you think they are, you must admit that passion has to be driven by something very, very real.

As I mentioned some people are more accustomed to or enjoy the process of learning to play games in new ways. This, on its own, is just as substantial or even more substantial than how we currently play games. One could argue that these games are deeper due to the fact entry into the game requires a new set of skills (admittedly we must focus on the good and ingenious games, not the shovelware to do this). Agree or disagree on this matter though, entire cultures have been born from the flexibility that peripheral gaming offers. Click here to check out just one example. It is hard to deny how much legitimate entertainment that is provided by it. Peripheral gaming is not some sideways fad that leeches off the industry and its depth is located in elements not thoroughly understood by every gamer in the world.

What prompted the creation of this article is a discussion that is currently taking place on the internet. The Wii wheel that comes bundled with Mario Kart Wii. Current discussions have really highlighted the ignorance and lack of open minds towards what I have tried to describe here. It is all too often to see people complain about an inability to hold items behind the kart or to use the control the same as they did in Excite Truck. Comments like this highlight, to me at least, how far we have to go before people stop calling the Wii a gimmick. You can, in fact, perform both of these feats, as well as others that people commonly complain they cannot do. Some people are passing judgement without having even pressed every button on the control! Just as worse they are giving up after the first day. There is no chance these individuals have clocked the hours needed to properly analyse the Wii wheel’s usage in Mario Kart Wii.

There are ongoing debates about which is better, the Wii wheel or one of the alternative control methods. Those who unfavoured the wheel mention precision control and so on to drive their argument. My personal view is that no, it does not provide better precision. Pointing back to how one simply cannot expect to have the same talent for a task they have performed for tens of thousands of hours. Fun is subjective too, so as to which is more enjoyable comes down to preference. However one cannot deny the difficulty there is in pressing the A button to look behind you while at the same time pressing down on the D-Pad to fire an item backwards, something easily performed with a different controller. While I am an advocate for fun controls over anything else I cannot deny the existence of this obstacle. This, my friends, is another prime example of when people make split decisions. They either classify the wheel as inferior or decide to continue despite the handicap.

To overcome this problem, myself and others who do not care about how they appear when playing games use other parts of their body to press the A button. The knee, the chin or even in my case the lower lip. The solution to my problem is kind of strange and there may be much better ways to solve it. Fact the of the matter is this process of discovery, the communication amongst players and even the possibility I can do it a better way is just one aspect of peripheral gaming. It is the same thing as those awesome DDR dancers.

So now I am playing video games using my face. As amazing or un-amazing you might find that, this example analogues many of those old habits of turning the controller on its side. A sign that a control method is still in its infancy and gamers are either doing without or obtaining the necessary kills. There is the social impact it has, promoting discussion and driving competition. It forces the player to obtain new skill sets and think differently. Since when did all these constitute as something we should dismiss out of hand? When was it decided that it these were ‘gimmicks’ and fads? It was a result of the shovelware blinding the less accepting gamers. As mentioned earlier many have already discovered the legitimate depth to the Wii remote. A false sense of inferiority has been generated around the Wii remote by shovelware and many critics hold strong views the Wii is not a machine for die hard gamers to own.

Who can blame these people for not understanding? A new technology unproven in their opinion, flooded with shovelware and terrible ports. Plus the element of learning controls has been absent from games so long many people are not familiar with the sensation of ineptitude. It may not be fun to them. Not being as good as you know you can be isn’t necessarily an enjoyable feeling. So we can at least forgive people for not having the open mind necessary to accept the Wii remote as an equal to the gamepad. There is however, reason to continue fighting against the term gimmick being used to describe the Wii. Anyone who refuses to play using the Wii remote is missing out on a large amount of serious gameplay.

In the past if someone didnt like the Dance Mat for Dance Dance Revolution then all they missed out on was Dance Dance Revolution. Never heard of the Nintendo bongo drums? Never mind about Donkey Konga and Jungle Beat then. Unlike past examples of gaming peripherals though, the Wii is more than a just peripheral or franchise. It is the most popular console of this generation. The home of many great intellectual properties owned by Nintendo and many other publishers. Entertainment open to those who like the Wii remote but locked shut to those who do not.

So the two views in this debate; one that the Wii is at least equal in control to the gamepad and the other that it is inferior. Argue all you want amongst each other, disagree and ‘prove’ myself wrong as much as you feel is necessary. Ultimately, and this is where it gets interesting for online debates: neither side is correct.

It is very similar to the graphics versus gameplay argument. It is not a black and white issue between better or worse, it is a matter of wether it has made an impression on you yet. Many gamers have already had ‘that game’. Those who have only begun playing video games with the Wii will testify that the Wii remote is in fact a better control than the gamepad. Should we dismiss their views because they have less experience? No, their lack of experience with traditional controls is just the same as our own inexperience with the Wii remote. Many new gamers are better with a remote than with a gamepad and hold reverse views. All that ultimately matters is what the individual prefers. Games on the Wii have shown the Wii remote is of equal build, we just need to set aside all the shovelware and ports since it is the good games that prove it’s merit.

So what about those of opposing view? Those who are not interested in discovering this mentality or genuinely believe they have no taste for it? If someone does not have fun learning new controls then that is not through any fault of that individual. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer and developer to cater for their audiences. There is opposition to the Wii remote because Nintendo did not cater to the traditional controller crowd when first developing the Wii. The Wii went far beyond a new peripheral. It was a console that promoted a new direction for video games without catering to the current direction and as a result has excluded many gamers. This should not have happened; Nintendo could have and should have included those that were excluded.

The conclusion to all this is quite simple, its a conclusion many of us had already made years ago independently and one we now know Nintendo has recently made for themselves. The best way to experience games is with freedom. The freedom to choose our preferences and to actually play with those preferences. Nintendo’s latest two hits Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros Brawl both allow the player to play using the controller of their choice. Enough compliments cannot be paid to Nintendo for finally realising their dream of ‘evening the playing field’ should be an option and not forced upon us. At least in these two games, everyone can get the experience they want and choose to enjoy them their own way.

This is a very positive sentiment, complimented by Nintendo’s choice to leave traditional buttons on the Nintendo DS. We should not get carried away with confidence though. The Nintendo DS has face buttons because it is backwards compatible with the Gameboy Advance and Nintendo probably will not make a habit of supporting multiple control schemes for all of their Wii games. They have merely acknowledged the importance of traditional controls in traditional genres. Shovelware and terrible ports will continue to pour onto the Wii and the debates will continue. All of these and more are reason enough to pass on a Wii purchase, but it is important to make the distinction between a gimmick as they say, and something with far more substance.

The message of this article is that the Wii is not a gimmick (well it is, but you know what I mean). Instead the Wii is a return to the lost age of uncoordinated attempts at success and meagre dexterity. The re-emergence of ineptitude and the will to improve. The Wii remote is a very commendable and legitimate alternative to how we play games. It and other peripherals are proof that there is substance and depth to the whole process, culture, entertainment and overall value of peripheral gaming. Hopefully one day all gamers will recognise the Wii as the most credible gaming peripheral we have seen for years. The only fad going on right now is the one where people call the Wii a gimmick. Just like with cell shading the the term will eventually be dropped. It will take a little longer, probably past this current generation but it will eventually stop.

In a perfect world everyone would drop the gimmick debate entirely. It is up to the individual to decide their own preferences. Anyone uninterested in the Wii should find comfort in their decisions not because they believe the Wii is a gimmick, but because they know they simply do not like it. Those who want to convert others will continue to try, but should always be aware that across all the platforms from PC to the Playstation Portable very few of us get to experience it all. In the end it is not about which is the best game to play or the best controls to play with, but the freedom to choose what games we play and how we play them.

Anthony is the owner of EcoGamer.com and we thank him for his time on this article.