14 DAY TRIAL // I am not exactly a fan of Nintendo's console. Actually I tend, just like many other hardcore gamers I know, to consider the Wii a console for kids - unworthy of getting my attention, time or passion for games. However, Nintendo's system couldn't care less and sells better than ever, keeping its comfy spot of best selling console of the moment. And its success seems far away from even getting close to an end. And, at first, I could not understand why.
In my humble opinion, the Wii's main attraction, its motion sensitive controller, is not exactly that "sensitive" - I find it quite laggy, frustrating and far from being what it is supposed to: a next-gen way of controlling games. The delay recorded between your actions and the on-screen ones, as well as the not-so-responsive control make playing games on the Wii quite frustrating - and I wonder if I really am the only person in the world noticing that (it seems I am, since nobody else is complaining).
Except from that, I personally don't like the childish graphics, the repetitive gameplay and the "same old" game repeated over and over again, in a casual-like manner. I won't insist on the matter because, as I've said, it's a personal opinion. However, I can't help but wonder how come, since it brings the worst visuals, gameplay and concepts, Nintendo's Wii is the best selling gaming system.
In order to try and find the answer, you have only one thing to do: turn the console on and start playing. I have absolutely no idea how Nintendo did it or what the developers inject in their games, but you will find yourself put under the spell of most Wii games in no time.
Even though I considered it to be the laggiest game ever released for consoles, I started playing Endless Ocean. Two hours later, I was still in front of the screen, exploring the ocean and stroking the same fish for the hundredth time. Of course that, afterwards, I told to myself, "That was a really bad game, boring, repetitive, hard to control". But I did spend two hours playing it and I am completely sure the same would happen if I started all over again.
And the examples can go on forever: Wii Sports, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Samba de Amigo or even Bomberman Land can keep me in front of the screen for many, many hours. And after a gaming session, I would always say that the game is poorly done, that I did not like the controls and that the Nintendo Wii is not a console made for me.
That's the strange thing, that's the reason why Nintendo manages to be the manufacturer of the best console on the market at the moment: it magically turns even the most hardcore gamers, who say that they would never play a casual or "kids" game, into obsessed, peaceful little maniacs ready to spend countless hours playing a strange, way too cutesy title. That's the secret, in the end, that's what gaming is about: the experience. And the experience as a surprise, innovation, novelty is best provided by the Wii - the console which makes you believe you hate it because it's child's play, but keeps you hooked on as soon as you grab the Wiimote. Probably that's Nintendo's secret and what we, gamers, need: fun, easy ways to spend our free time. Probably that's why we love the Wii console (even though it is something us, hardcore gamers, find hard to accept).