-273: Wii Momentum

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Wii Momentum

So it looks like the Wii is beginning to take off. The demand for the system^*, obviously, isn't really news, but we're finally coming into a period with plenty of new, desirable titles coming at us. I've added the release dates for Mario Strikers Charged (July 30), Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (August 27), MySims (September 18), Jack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (October 12), Guitar Hero III (October 19), Geometry Wars: Galaxies (November 6), Soul Caliber Legends (November 6), Super Mario Galaxy (November 12), Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (November 13), and Super Smash Bros. Brawl (December 3). Obviously, I'll need to wait for actual reviews of all of these titles before I commit to purchasing them. Especially since were talking about $500 worth of games here. But its nice to get into a phase with the Wii where it looks like game development momentum is building even as the console sales take off.^** Hopefully Nintendo is able to keep this going beyond the Christmas shopping season.

On the topic of Wii games, I recommend that you pick up Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition. Yes, it's a GameCube port. But it's only $30 and the Wii controls are flawless. I've been playing the game rather obsessively since Andy brought his copy over for me to try to Monday. And it is great. Since the Wii launched, the best games I've played have been Zelda, Excite Truck, and Super Paper Mario. I now add Resident Evil 4 to the list. And this comes from someone who didn't like Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube at all. I found the controls awkward and hard to use and quickly gave up on the game. But the Wii edition is awesome, so check it out.

^* It is somewhat amazing that the Wii launch was one of the best times to get a Wii. There were large quantities of Wiis available and people knew when and where to go to get them. Since then, you pretty much have to just be lucky and chance across a system to get one.

^** The Wii is less than half a million units, in global sales, behind Microsoft's Xbox 360. This is pretty impressive for a console that launched a year after its rival. However, keep in mind that this is at least partially due to the 360's extremely poor performance in Japan. But the interesting thing about this is that once you settle at the top of the heap, developers will push lots of games onto the system, which will then spur further console sales, which will cause more titles to come to the system. It's a cycle that could repeat over and over and make it very tough for the competitors to the top system to seriously compete.

Posted by on 27 July 2007 at 8:54 AM

Comments

How far have you made it? I'm just starting Chapter 5 now...it's getting noticeably harder now...

The neat thing about "RE4," I think, is I had about as much fun watching you play it as I had playing it myself... It has a good enough story that it's still fun to watch, let alone play (although playing is still best, of course...). Glad you enjoyed it!

Posted by Andy on 3 August 2007 - 12:11 AM

I'm somewhere in chapter 4, I think. I haven't played for a couple of days because I was trying out Mario Strikers Charged.

The story really is pretty interesting, and I usually find videogame stories to be pointless. But the controls are just perfect. So much better than Red Steel's it just isn't funny. And the third person perspective is much better than the first person perspective you get in most shooter games. It gives you a wider, more realistic field of view that makes it a lot easier to figure out who is shooting you and where you need to go.

Posted by david on 3 August 2007 - 7:58 AM

Speaking of "Charged," what do you think about it? I haven't rented it quite yet, but am planning to in the next few weeks...

Posted by Andy on 3 August 2007 - 12:25 PM

Charged is pretty addictive. It doesn't really leverage the uniqueness of the Wii controller very much, but it's still quite fun to pass the ball around and take shots. And it's really cool that we finally have a game with online matches. If you want to come over sometime and give it a try, let me know.

Posted by david on 3 August 2007 - 12:43 PM

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For Chad Faceridge Everyone Gets an 'A' You Should See the Other Guy HRC Thinks I'm Second-Class Natural Doesn't Mean Good I-64 Update 2005 Chateau Beychevelle The Jefferson Bottles	David is an occasional blogger, software engineer, Nintendo fanboy, liberal, news magazine addict, voracious TiVo user, and bibliophile. He was born in St. Louis, grew up in southern Indiana, and returned to St. Louis to attend Washington University. He hasn't managed to escape yet. He's a fan of free wine tastings, too many tv shows to name, and eating out. David makes his living developing web applications used internally by his employer. He doesn't blog about work because he's heard too many stories about that causing workplace troubles. There's more on the about page.	archives features links photos contact
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Charged is pretty addictive. It doesn't really leverage the uniqueness of the Wii controller very much, but it's still quite fun to pass the ball around and take shots. And it's really cool that we finally have a game with online matches. If you want to come over sometime and give it a try, let me know. Speaking of "Charged," what do you think about it? I haven't rented it quite yet, but am planning to in the next few weeks... I'm somewhere in chapter 4, I think. I haven't played for a couple of days because I was trying out Mario Strikers Charged. The story really is pretty interesting, and I usually find videogame stories to be pointless. But the controls are just perfect. So much better than Red Steel's it just isn't funny. And the third person perspective is much better than the first person perspective you get in most shooter games. It gives you a wider, more realistic field of view that makes it a lot easier to figure out who is shooting you and where you need to go. How far have you made it? I'm just starting Chapter 5 now...it's getting noticeably harder now... The neat thing about "RE4," I think, is I had about as much fun watching you play it as I had playing it myself... It has a good enough story that it's still fun to watch, let alone play (although playing is still best, of course...). Glad you enjoyed it!
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