Feature: Wii – Novelty or New Age?
As we enter the final weeks until the launch of Nintendos new console the Wii there are still many questions that are yet to be answered, including queries regarding the online component, controller limitations, hardware capabilities, and future 3rd party support. However perhaps the biggest question on most peoples lips is whether or not the Wiis controlling mechanism is the dawn of a new age of gaming, or simply a gimmick that will eventually be superseded and over-shadowed by other consoles with superior processing and media power.
More Inside Of course, the answer lies not with the hardware specifications or speed at which the Wii operates, not even the control system itself will dictate whether this system will be a quick blip in Nintendos wallets or a solid performer, but rather the answer lies with the people that utilise what Nintendo has given them thats right, the developers.
While Nintendo has provided a very conservative system in terms of brute graphical power – and lets face it, it is probable that Nintendo has neither the resources or support to match the other big console names in this area – it has gone out on a proverbial limb with its controlling apparatus. However, while the new controller is somewhat of an escape from the traditional and, to some extent, mundane mechanisms of the past, it remains to be seen whether or not developers will be making games based around this controller, or alternatively adapting the controller to the game.
If we take a look at some of the games that will be in the launch window of release with the Wii, we can see some that utilize the controller to its full extent, however there are many that are simply adding the controlling benefits as a side-note at the end of development.
What does this mean? Well, to begin, as outlined earlier, you will not be buying the Wii for the hardware in the box, most will be buying it for the Wii-mote and Nun chuck controllers and the possibilities these could bring to gaming. If the majority of games on the Wii are merely ports from other consoles, then the whole concept of the Wii has been miss-understood. The Wii isnt in the same evolutionary line as the other consoles, instead it sets a more revolutionary precedence, and thus ports of games that have come from other consoles are missing that complete chunk of revolution that the Wii was designed for. In other words, theyve missed the point.
Sure, games might still be fun if ported over correctly, but by porting over to the Wii they are missing the full advantages of proper controller-game development while also lacking on the graphical power that the game was originally designed for. You would expect that games developed around the controller will be of more importance and have the potential to be of greater entertainment value for the Wii, however to get more 3rd party developers on board Nintendo have got to change what they have done in previous generations.
What Nintendo MUST do is cultivate a good relationship with 3rd party developers in a way that is both supportive and profitable to both parties. This is a crucial period for Nintendo and also a giant step, as Nintendo hasnt always been a 3rd party developers best friend, with heavy censoring of games evident in the past. With the announcement of LiveMove a development tool released by the Californian based company AiLive in partnership with Nintendo it is a sign Nintendo are taking their first steps in ensuring that 3rd party development for the Wii is both palatable and unique, but most importantly is well supported.
Apart from 3rd party support there is one undeniable difficulty which Nintendo are going to have to over-come and thats numbers. In what has become a solely profit focused industry, with large numbers of competing consoles it is only logical for developers and publishers to be sweating over other consoles which – to be realistic – will far outnumber those of the Wii when combined. Hence, the more people that own something, the more there will be to buy games for it which means more profit for publishers, and because at least 2 of the competing consoles will follow the same path of evolution, they can do this.
So will the Nintendo Wii be a short-term distraction or a long-term success? If 3rd party support consists of porting a game over from another console, the answer will be the former. If it involves the lateral thinking and dedication of developers, the answer could well be the latter in a capacity that Im sure most gamers might not have expected a year ago. The question is though, will there be enough up-take of the Wii, both forecasted and current, to warrant developers branching out, and will Nintendo pursue and support developers to invent games that break the mould which has become a little too familiar? Once the passing of Nintendos own big games has graced us, and the dust has settled, then we will know has the Wii realised its full potential?
