digg

Facebook Connect Join Digg About

Wii: What Happens When the Novelty Wears Off?

wii.advancedmn.com — Nintendo’s new-generation console is all the rage now, but what happens when it doesn’t feel so “original” anymore?

Who dugg this? Made popular May 4, 2007

Digg DudeWhat is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Digg surfaces the best stuff as submitted and voted on by the community. Take the Tour to learn more.

348 Comments

show profanity settings
expand all
  • FishyJoe, on 10/12/2007, -18/+99Didn't people say the same thing about dual screens and the stylus?
  • CheezIt9109, on 10/12/2007, -22/+77"once the novelty wears off you still have a great control scheme"

    Agreed.

    Personally, I picked one up because it looked, and proved to be, *fun*.

    If you want the best graphics pick up a brand spanking new PC (or upgrade).

    If you want the most games, good graphics or MS exclusives, pick up an Xbox360.

    If you want good graphics, Sony exclusives, or to fold, pick up a PS3.

    If you don't want to spend an arm and a leg, enjoy retro games, enjoy Nintendo IP, or want a new way to play games, pick up the Wii.

    That's how I viewed it, I have the PC for graphics, Wii for fun. Any of you nerds talking about the Wii losing it's edge obviously haven't discovered the girl factor yet. My girl actually enjoys gaming now.
  • DBiz, on 10/12/2007, -25/+70What happens?

    You sell it to a friend who hasn't owned one yet, like I did. However, I kept my SD card for later, when I re purchase one. As of right now, the software doesn't justify me buying ONE new game every 4 or 5 months and it took its toll.

    I'm as big of a Nintendo fanboy as anyone, but it's so frustrating when I buy 6 XBox 360 games, 3 PS3 games, and 1 single Wii game in a four month span.
  • Edrick, on 10/12/2007, -12/+50That "crap" you refer to are some of the biggest system sellers to grace the DS so far.
  • ICSU, on 10/12/2007, -8/+40Novelty for DS wore off? sales:
    Q3 2006: 26.82 million
    Q4 2006: 35.61 million
    Q1 2007: 40.29 million

    "Crap like Brain Age and Nintendogs"
    Top-selling game: Nintendogs (13.6 million worldwide)
    "As of October 26, 2006, Brain Age and Brain Training combined have sold 8.51 million copies worldwide, making it the third best-selling DS game."

    Wikipedia has references for those numbers.
  • moman, on 10/12/2007, -23/+53I've been saying it all along, but I'll say it again. The Wii will only be successful so long as Nintendo keeps up the innovations. Once that stop, and alot of games for the system have the same "feel", the Wii will be dead. Can Nintendo do it? I dunno...
  • yvonna, on 10/12/2007, -4/+31I was actually just talking about this last night when I reconnected it after getting some new TVs & switching consoles around. The lack of new games does indeed kinda put a bit of a lull in the excitement. I am anxious for some new games!!!
  • jlebrech, on 10/12/2007, -3/+28There's a thing called timing, and when the novelty wears off, they will release Mario Galaxy to drive sales.

    I have to get a Wii before Mario, otherwise I'll never be able to get one.
    They will sell another 10million when Galaxy comes out.
  • Nixxo, on 10/12/2007, -49/+72once the novelty wears off you still have a great control scheme.

    bottom line
  • drjekelmrhyde, on 10/12/2007, -4/+25Wii is selling so hot cause they still have a nice size gamecube library which people last gen didnt buy(cause they didnt buy a cube) but are on sell for 20 bucks or less, then they have virtual console games , add in the price of the Wii its a no brainer 250 plus a game or 300-600 without
  • rompom7, on 10/12/2007, -13/+34What will happen? The same thing that happened when the novelty of iPods wore off... Nothing, it'll just stay popular.
  • crsd36, on 10/12/2007, -36/+56You must be joking...

    Please tell me ONE thing you learned from that article.
  • cambrown99, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20Nintendo needs to get their third parties to tighten up the controls and gameplay. We gripe about Nintendo delaying their big guns months or even years, but when those games release, more often than not, they are extremely well built.

    I enjoy the 9 holes in Wii Sports golf so much more than the dozens of holes in Tiger Woods because Tiger Woods was released as an incomplete and glitchy game with one of the worst menu systems ever in any game--all of the problems could have been fixed by working on it for a couple more months. From all indications, Brunswick Bowling is going to be even worse. Take the time and get it right!
  • alvinrod, on 10/12/2007, -7/+23When I couldn't find any new Wii games that I really wanted to drop $50 on, I started buying Virtual Console games. I've purchased 7 so far and they probably cost around $50 in total and I'm having a blast playing those. It's similar to some of the people who got bored with their Xbox 360 games early on and bought Geometry Wars and spent more time playing that than anything else.

    Right now I'm working my way through Legent of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and I've already finished the original Legent of Zelda and Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. I've been having just as much fun replaying these old classics from my youth as I've had with any other game I've played in the past few years. I can't wait for some of the games from the Metroid series to be released.

    Even though there aren't any Wii games out that I'm interested in buying right now, I'm still finding a lot of ways to have fun with the console.
  • chrono13, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17Just as this article concludes, software is the reason to own any console. I would still be waiting to purchase a Wii if it did not play GC games. I did not own a GC and I have purchased several of the top GC games and have enjoyed them. The backward compatibility was the safety net and selling point, the virtual console was a bonus and Wii titles like Sports, Zelda, and Super Paper are icing on the cake.

    So, while I am playing GC games more than Wii games, I do not regret my purchase and have not stopped playing the system. I have still dozens of high quality previous gen titles to hold me over until the 3rd party support hits. By its sales numbers alone the console is an attractive choice for 3rd party developers. The games are coming, but you can rest assured that the best games will be the ones delayed. What we are seeing now are the gimmick games and shelf-fillers. A developer can generate a lot of sales because any title will be on the shelf. Now that there are enough titles to fill the shelves, as time goes on, they will fall away to the higher quality titles.

    Some of the absolute worst games I have ever seen for any console are created as release titles or shortly thereafter and make great financial returns as shelf-fillers. The Wii is no exception. That phase, however, is almost over.
  • Comatose51, on 10/12/2007, -4/+16Sure, horseless carriages are all the rage now but what happens when the novelty wears off?
    -Horse and buggy manufacturer, circa 1900
  • Joryn, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14Purely anecdotal but I know 3 people who own Wiis and who currently don't play them at all. I think that the one thing the article does have right is that the games that are currently available (Twilight Princess aside) do not offer a whole lot of depth or anything to keep you hanging on the game for extended periods of time. Even games like mario party, smash bros, strikers, etc are "pick up and play" games which do not require a lot of time before you've fully explored most aspects of the game. When Galaxy, metroid, or RE: Umbrella chronicles come out we'll have a better idea what kind of staying power this console will have. Bear in mind that the Gamecube had all the great nintendo IP and it didn't help them one bit.

    Again only time will tell, just my .02 for now
  • betterth, on 10/12/2007, -32/+43@linkedlist

    Natural evolution implies improvement. I don't consider the Wii better than my 360, only different. Different input style for different games.

    I would never want to play Halo, Forza or GTA on the Wii, unless they adopted a standard multi-button joysticked controller to do so. Waving around the Wiimote is great for like, bowling, and mini games, but I prefer standard gaming for standard games, and most gamers agree with me.

    The reason why the Wii will succeed though, is not because innovation will continue, because half of their market base isn't gamers. Sure, some of us have Wii's and we're frustrated by the lack of great titles. For every one of us there are three people who literally bought the console for wii sports and mario party and don't even know what Super Smash Brothers is.
  • Jaymoon, on 10/12/2007, -10/+21In all honesty and fanboyism loyalty aside... You really can't just keep saying "Well wait until X is released, then you'll see..."

    Too many of that was going around for the Gamecube and look were it ended up today. Sure Mario Kart DD, Resident Evil 4, and Super Smash Brothers were awesome games for the GCN, but would you consider the console a success based on just those three? No.

    The only thing that keeps me playing my Wii is when I have people over that have never seen it before... (Which the list gets smaller every day) And sad to say it, but the Wii Fitness on Wii Sports. Other than that, it's just the same old "X number of mini-games on one disc" titles that are being released, or ports of games I already have for other systems without a clunky control scheme.
  • Groovester, on 10/12/2007, -14/+25I just know from personal experience, I don't play on my Wii like I used to. Not enough compelling software right now. Of course, Nintendo will step in with their franchises but 3rd parties are still a big question mark. Even if they do catch on (like they did for the DS) I don't know if I'll find software that is compelling for me. I hate to say it but my DS is the handheld that is collecting dust for me while I get miles out of my PSP. Is that my personal preference? Sure, but I'll wager there are others that feel the same way I do.
  • silverwolfe, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13I know several people who are in this same situation. One of my friends who was absolutely gung-ho for the Wii has his sealed back up in the box right now, awaiting something to play on it. He's even done the unthinkable and bought himself a PS3 for Oblivion and Motorstorm!

    The Wii is a fun console, but it's seriously lacking very compelling software to take advantage of the motion controls. Other than the very high quality first-party contributions, the Wii has been stale. With third-party developers still not picking up the slack and Nintendo's IPs getting delayed repeatedly, hopefully it doesn't fall into mediocrity as the Gamecube did before it.
  • Murdats, on 10/12/2007, -9/+18"Then 3 months down the line, your bored of playing the same games over and over, bored of the child like graphics and simple game play, you want something with some meat in it. You look for the next big game and its months away from release, so you put down the console and go play something else."

    HAHAHAHAHahahahahahahah
    oh you were serious?

    I have about 12+ games for my DS, if I had my way, I would own more, Club House games provides infinite replay, but ignoring that, I havent yet finished final fantasy 3 or yoshis island, and just recieved pheonix wright 2 (which is awesome) and pokemon pearl today (which I havent started just yet), now ignoring the fact that between those my DS gets lots of use, if I were to somehow get sick of all those. then there is a heap of content in castlevania portrait of ruin I havnt unlocked

    my problem with the DS is it has too many good games on it, can you say the same about the PSP?
  • QuestForGlory, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13Yeah I am too.
    They just announced like 13 new games and to not put out to many in one season
    they have like 45 in the works right now.

    They need to hurry up with Metroid Prime 3....Wii sports is getting really boring.
  • JohnyD, on 10/12/2007, -31/+40I came away with nothing from that article. It should have been titled, "Speculation From A Sony Fanboi"... I mean comon. Mario Party 8 is comin out in 2 weeks.... and I JUST discovered Excite Truck.... which just may be the greatest racing game ever. Just wish it woulda had multiplayer... perhaps the next iteration (which I'll be waiting for).

    @Humm1977
    1) The Wii can pump out rather good looking graphics too... the gap will not widen but will most likely stay as wide as it is now.
    2) The price gap will not close. Nintendo made a profit off the Wii from day 1.... from that I can say with confidence that Nintendo will be ready to price the Wii accordingly (read: competitively) against both the PS3 and the 360. PS3 Sells for 299... Wii sells for 149.99. ;)
    3) While Nintendo has said they've targeted the 'casual' gamer... they have also captivated many a hardcore gamer, myself included. From your statement I can extrapolate that you believe a positive correlation exists between graphics and hardcore gamers. That could not be further from the truth. Great games do not need great graphics but then again I'm a long term gamer. I still play ADOM at work... why? Cause it's a fantastic game! The Ultima's were another unbelieveable series. Graphics don't make a good game..... gameplay does. Gameplay gameplay gameplay. With the Wii's fantastic control scheme (which has only begun to be tapped) Nintendo has a world of potential to explore.

    Don't get me wrong though... I still love ooey gooey graphics and hump the hell out of my 360 games too. ;) I just really think that 2007 is the year of Nintendo.
  • Splitt3rxx, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13What a poorly written article...

    "at one time, pressing buttons and having an on-screen image respond was “new.” That novelty eventually grew old, and people wanted more depth. Won’t the same be true for Wii? "

    So video games grew old? I am pretty sure every system since pong involved pressing buttons and having an on-screen image respond.
  • peestandingup, on 10/12/2007, -7/+15Well, I have a feeling you ONLY know about gaming from the last 10 years or so if you think Sony & MS are bigger "innovators" than Nintendo. Especially since you threw in PS3s "motion" controller. Please, junior.
  • skywake, on 10/12/2007, -10/+17I don't think the "novelty" will wear off
    because I don't think most people buy consoles based on the "novelty"
    I got the Wii primarily to play quality games like Wii Sports, Zelda and Mario
    if anyone brought it for the "controller" then they are an idiot
    as much of an idiot as the Sony fanboys that got the PS3 for its "graphics"
  • DiggingDeep, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11what about the digg novelty? we're still here...
  • mikecap, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Super Paper Mario is pretty great, try it out.
  • daridave, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10What happens?

    I don't know. I still play my NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS, PSP, PC (from the 486 era to the present) (and some more) games regularly and now even more since Xbox Live Arcade and the Wii Virtual Console, so I don't know the definition of "novelty wears off" as far as games are concerned.

    The "masterpieces" of this industry have never been attributed to hardware, but to software. It's the GAMES that make the consoles, and if a game is really good, it never gets old.

    Love or hate them, Nintendo is famous for just that, so I wouldn't be worried.

    Besides, you all know it deep down inside -- all that Nintendo has to do is create a version of Wii sport that goes online and it's madness all over again.
  • Gizza, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11When the novelty wears off they will need to have some really good games that make genuine good use of the remotes features. Then they won't be relying on novelty.
  • AzzX, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8You could apply "name console or gadget here" to that article and argue to you are blue in the face.

    Novelty? - its a games machine lol
  • MikeD606, on 10/12/2007, -6/+11@admirabumblebee

    so you spent $600 on a ps3 to play ps2/ps1 games? You do realize a ps2 plays ps2/ps1 games and sells for $129 new or about $100 used on ebay.
  • DarkJC, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Yeah, 3rd party or nothing for Sony and Microsoft. Take off your fanboy goggles.

    Sony's got God of War, the team that did ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, new possible hits like Heavenly Sword and Lair on the horizon, and a bunch more titles.

    Microsoft has arguably one of the biggest gaming franchises to date, Halo. I would say each company is pretty strong on their first party titles, the problem with Nintendo is that their third party support STILL sucks.
  • freetyme, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5The way I see it 2007 is the year where Nintendo introduces everything and gets things started, if Nintendo is to believed we will be getting games like Metroid (defining shooters), Super Mario Galaxy (defining platformers), Super Mario Strikers (starting off sports games and having online), Batallion Wars II (starting huge multiplayer online and wireless LAN) and others. Then 2008 will be the big 3rd party year as the Wii's run-away success was a surprise to many. I mean they're already making a Red Steele 2, with online, hopefully the controls will be better this time though...

    What happens when the novelty wears off? (Hint: see NintendoDS)

    It's a system in which the graphics gap will probably stay the same. It's games will improve, and the 360 and PS3 games will improve visually keeping the gap around the same. So what you will get is a cheaply priced, fun system, with a good control scheme which [hopefully] will prove to be superior to dual analog sticks. We will see though, wait for Metroid Prime, that's suppossed to come out this year and "prove the Wii-remote".
  • Lemonblood, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Is something original until its copied?
  • Hamflank, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9It has very little to do with novelty; the control system is very sophisticated and offers absolutely loads of possibilities for developers. It's just a shame that many developers didn't expect the system to outsell both the PS3 and XBOX 360 at launch, which is the main reason for the severe lack of decent games at the moment.
  • ipodsweatshop, on 10/12/2007, -6/+10The casual gamers may put up with the extremely lacking game library for a while, but the hardcore gamers will jump off the train if the best they have to offer on the first year is a GC ported Zelda, a REMAKE of an aging RE4 and Mario Galaxy.

    Hmmm, a system with only 1st party titles worth playing and a few party games, this smells like a Nintendo console.
  • openaddy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7The article admits that "interacting with video games through motion and pointing-based controls is something that’s here to stay." So even after the novelty wears off, the Wii remote was a still move in the right direction. Guess we'll just have to wait until the library matures, since "traditionally, consoles do suffer a drought of new software shortly after launch." Did anyone not already know this before reading the article? Hmm.
  • huarifaifa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4After I finished Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, I had no more games to play. Since I never had a GameCube (nor any other console except the Wii), I decided to buy some used games. I bought Zelda Wind Waker and Pikmin 2 and they have kept me busy since then. The last week I bought Super Paper Mario, so now I have 3 fun games and not enough time to play :) The only downside is that my DS Lite has been collecting dust thanks to the Wii.

    It's all about the games, so yes, sometimes the novelty wears off, but the novelty of the games, not of the Wii.
  • LandStander, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6This will kinda be like the GameCube to me. Not that they are anything alike, it's just that the only reason I bought the Gamecube was to play Zelda and Super Smash Bros. Those 2 games are the only games I still have for it. But I still play the damn thing. I can see the same thing happening with the Wii for me a few years from now, only reason I still have it is to play Zelda and SSBM
  • brotherfranciz, on 10/12/2007, -7/+11@ sputt87: "Wii isn't a significant step over Gamecube."

    Not that argument again. Dude, I think you've been blinded by your fanboyism...
  • DevilDunkard, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6When I got my Wii, I played Zelda everyday till I beat it. Lately, I only play it when we have friends over on the weekends and (nothing like Drunken Wario Smooth Moves). So, I have to say I don’t play it as much as I used too. My XBOX has become my daily system again. Maybe that will change when the new Mario comes out.
  • Shanobi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4What happens when the novelty of Joypaddles, Joysticks, d-pads, analogue, dual analogue, mouse keyboard wear off?
  • freetyme, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4More like MAKE the game. You're really missing the point of the whole point of the wii aren't you?
  • echonull, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@dslungstar, "The best games on the DS are the ones that dont rely on the gimmicks."

    Hotel Dusk. Ouendan. Contact. These games would be drastically worse on any other platform.
    Granted, things like Brain Age don't appeal to the typical hardcore gamer, but they're not meant to, and they are doing fantastically in the markets to which they ARE targeted -- mostly the formerly nongamer adults and elderly.

    Things like the Castlevania games and MegaMan ZX, albeit well-designed and enjoyable, don't make effective use of the DS, and could just as easily have existed on older systems. The new games, the ones that use the system's capabilities instead of having thrown-in gimmicks, are the ones that push gaming into new directions, and actually change how we play, what kinds of games exist. I'll take that over yet another sequel any day.

    @knuckleskin,
    I think Elebits is actually the best FPS experience on the Wii as far as control scheme goes. HalfLife 2 x Katamari Damacy.
  • KingGoonie, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Phil... Godfather on wii blows away every other version. SSX Blur is damn good. Warioware fun as hell, especially multiplaer. Elebits great, Madden best version, Trauma Center great... SPiderman 3 coming out today supposed to be best version...

    You were saying?
  • AdamGott, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Maybe I suffer from old fart's disease (I am 40) but I think that once the Wii control novelty wears off we will see system sales plummet. One thing that is keeping it hot is the 'limited availability.'

    To be fair, I don't own one but I have used a neighbor's.

    And to be really fair, I thought the thing would tank when it was released so maybe I don't know everything! (duh)
  • Zinite, on 10/12/2007, -7/+10I haven't played my Wii since I beat Twilight Princess in December :(
  • coheedcollapse, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Closed minded? Sony has allowed some of the most innovative and interesting games onto their console when others didn't want them. You don't need a gimmicky controller to be open minded.

    Also the fact that you said "the reason it's selling isn't because of the remote, but the games and the gameplay which the remote allows" is pretty ridiculous. If the remote wasn't there, the gameplay wouldn't be there. Also the fact that the controller is there doesn't make games good. I mean look at a good chunk of Wii titles that have sucked ass. I own one and I only have 3 games for it after five months.
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 100 of 349 discussions

  • Add a Comment

    Login or register to comment!
    Or, sign-in super fast with your Facebook account ...


© Digg Inc. 2009 — Content created and posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain | Terms of Use Updated | Privacy Policy
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.