Wiimpressions

I’ll admit, when I first saw the Wii (then called by a better name, the Revolution), I thought it a bit gimicky. It seemed more a toy than a full-fledged, powerful next-gen console. It certainly didn’t seem to have the power of the 360 or the (if it ever comes out) PS3. I’ll also admit that I’m not completely sold on it not being a gimmick, even after reading and watching several reviews (the best I’ve seen is this one from IGN, taken from Nintendo’s booth at the Liepzig gaming show). The controller is more or less a light gun with motion detectors: this isn’t amazing, 21st century technology. After seeing an official teaser trailer (found here on Youtube), I got pushed even farther into the gimmick camp.

All this, of course, isn’t going to deter me from getting one on launch date or as soon as possible thereafter. The reasons for this are two. One, I’m a huge fan of Nintendo’s franchises. I’ve been hooked on Zelda, Metroid, Mario, F-Zero, Smash Bros., etc. for years now. I like what Nintendo’s developers have done with these franchises. I’ll use Metroid as an example. I loved the old 2D scrollers and generally hate the entire genre of 1st-person shooters but love the Metroid Prime games. These franchises have kept the basics of solid gameplay that made them great in their first iterations and successfully updated them for modern gamers. I simply cannot go on gaming without these familiar faces and solid gaming franchises.

The second reason is that I think Nintendo’s gimmicks work. Look at the DS. At heart a simple device with no mind-blowing technology or graphics, it has succeeded to be a great handheld with a growing list of great games. Nintendo seems to be on the right track as regards innovation in interaction between gamers and their gaming environment. I am not saying that they are the only innovative company in the gaming market. I am not hard core enough to judge this nor do I think it is true: many companies come up with unique and interesting games all the time. I’m saying that Nintendo is changing how we play games, first with the DS and soon, I believe, the Wii. This is why I’m desperate to get one as soon as it launches, because the Wii looks to introduce a fun, new way to play games, even if these games are not all that different than ones I’ve played before. For hardcore gamers, this should be fun because of the challenge. For casual and non-gamers, this will make games more approachable and intuitive to learn and play. I won’t be able to judge if I’m correct until November 19, but I’m excited to try.