[quote name='Pylis']Wii Fit is an interesting idea, but only if properly utilized. The sad truth is that it's very likely to end up as yet another high-potential, under-used expensive peripheral.[/quote]
I'm not so sure about that. We're no longer in the era of the powerpad and "fitness" games being glorified Track 'n' Field deals. Yourself! Fitness was surprisingly (refreshingly!) functional, and i think the only reason it didn't see widespread use was because it was only released for the PC and Xbox -- platforms you can't rightfully imagine as having a widespread appeal. If Wii Fit is anywhere near as and well done as Yourself! Fitness, i can very easily see it as being a solid seller given the Wii's nature of being a family console.
With the install base growing, there's definitely a lot to capitalize on if developers are willing to take a chance with an innovative title or solid new intellectual property, but innovation doesn't sell as well as a blockbuster, high budget game backed by a powerhouse graphics engine and marketing hype, and the Wii was not built (in the eyes of developers) to provide a foundation for those types of games. I'm worried because the games I'm looking to purchase for the console are all produced by Nintendo--I'm not really seeing any third-party software that I feel warrants purchase, and I'd be very curious to see the software attachment rate of the Wii versus that of the 360 and PS3.
Iffy information i've collected so far suggests that most people just buy one game when purchasing a system.
Two things to remember are that the 360 had jack shit for a while after its launch, relying on rather pathetic Live Arcade offerings. It took about a year for the 360 to get up to speed, and if cheap bullshit like Geometry Wars can float a brick like the 360, i'm not that worried about the Wii.
The other is that Nintendo now has time; MS can't afford to rush into another console if they actually want the Xbox division to be profitable, and Sony can't rush into a new console period. I think that if they aren't rushing into bigger hardware every 3-5 years, developers have time to figure out how to use the Wii, and publishers have time to get their head screwed on right and realize that maybe their profits would look better if they didn't cater specifically to a demographic that's used to conventional console game dogma. Actually, i think the net benefit of this generation's consoles is that everyone will take the time to learn how to work with what's available.
The flipside to that is that they'll also have to learn that they can't just toss out minigames. Normally they'd get discouraged and think that nothing can be done, because they're that stupid. But, i think with Nintendo and a few others showing that it can be used for more than throwaway fluff, they'll have to acknowledge that they just need to do a better job and come up with something more innovative.
Ultimately, you're right. The Wii's competition essentially is not with the other two consoles. It's with the industry itself.
[quote name='zewone']I'm not sure what that has to do with anything.
As I said, I was not talking about the PSN.
See, they have thing thing on the PS3. It's called a Blu-Ray drive, and when you insert a PS1 or PS2 into it, it allows you to play them.[/quote]
GameStop also has this thing where they've removed the bins of PSX games from most stores. Being able to play the media from previous generations is nice only when you have easy access to that media. Being able to play PS2 games matters a little less when people likely already have a PS2, and on top of that still have a few reasons to keep it around.
ing matter who wins? The reality is we all win by having variety in the marketplace...
