Your 5 Reasons why the Wii is great

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

Ok... I think we need this, and coming from me. :p Not to 'reconfirm my allegiance' or anything grotesque like that but just because, yes, I still think the Wii is great. Here are my five in no specific order:

 

1) Smash Bros Brawl -

Just an incredible game, rich in absolutely everything. Just the soundtrack alone seems like it would normally be on about 5 discs.

 

2) Mario Galaxy -

A joy to play, and that feeling is felt throughout the gameplay.

 

3) Virtual Console/Backward Compatibility -

I probably play VC games about 50% of the time, and it has introduced me to great games I missed, namely Paper Mario and LttP and reunited me with golden oldies such as Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Being able to play old GC favourites is also a joy, and it again also introduced me to great GC games which i missed such as Paper Mario 2 and Skies of arcadia Legends.

 

4) Wii Controller and options -

Playing on a traditional pad for so long makes me appreciate the Wii controller even more when you come back to it. Beautifully crafted, and provides the perfect feel when playing a game like TP (bow and arrow). I also like the classic controller for playing VC, the design is very appreciable in that retro-modern style. Its also appreciable being able to play with the GC pad with games like Brawl.

 

5) The Future -

To be honest, I am ALWAYS interested with what Nintendo will pull out the hat for the future. Zelda, Pikmin and the whole horde of possibilities keep me tied to Nintendo moreso than any other company.

 

So, in all honesty, I appreciate what the Wii has offered and will offer. Sometimes you just gotta take a step back and see.

[Darkspine S]

Nice idea, here's my list;

 

1. Brings back and revitalizes old Franchises

 

I guess at this moment in time this one only really applies to Sega. Without the Wii, chances are we never would have had a new NiGHTS, or Samba de Amigo, and House of the Dead probably would've stayed in it's grave. Even Punch-Out!! is on the way back, thanks to the Remote and Nunchuk.

 

2. Virtual Console/Wiiware

 

For the former, a chance to relieve and experience classics (worth it for Sin & Punishment alone), and for the latter, a new ground for underdog developers to prove their brilliance. Hell, LostWinds and World of Goo make that service worthwhile.

 

3. Impact

 

Without something as off-the-tracks as Wii, I dread to think of what the console generation would have become. Over-expensive consoles, games with nothing new except spruced-up visuals, and Identikit-genres. Nintendo gave the industry a wake-up call, and it shows.

 

4. Potential

 

And lots of it. Mario Galaxy and Monster Hunter 3 prove that Wii has more grunt under the hood than many would give it credit for, and future games will only get better. Thanks to motionplus arriving very soon, the true ability of Wii controls can be realized.

 

5. Endless number of great games

 

Cast away that idiotic stigma of so-called 'casual' games, and any sane person would realize there are heaps of great titles you can play on the Wii. Through Gamecube backwards-compatibility, Virtual Console, Wiiware, Wii Channel features, and of course Wii games in general, there is a lot you can do with that little white box.

[D_prOdigy]

Go on, then. Anything to temporarily detract from the sad state these boards have descended in to.

 

1) "Quiet, Affordable, Reliable"

 

It's inexpensive, it doesn't piss itself every six minutes and it doesn't turn your room into Hiroshima after being on for half an hour.

 

2) Simple interface

 

Goes a long way. Having everything on one screen as channels is so much more hassle-free than having to navigate several menus just to tell the time (ok, so a bit of an exageration). That Microsoft have been influenced by this in their latest Dashboard update goes to show what a difference some people think an easy interface can make.

 

3) "Playing is believeing"

 

It's the most simple ethos. In layman's terms, it's "gameplay over graphics". So many lazy developers have used this as an excuse to pump out cynical cash-ins, but every so often, we do get an exceptional game that would be totally different and not nearly as engaging on another platform. Zack and Wiki, Boom Blox, PES 2008, Wii Sports, LostWinds and more recently, World of Goo all fit into this bracket.

 

4) The games, the games, THE GAMES!

 

If number 3 sounds a bit nappy-pappy, then there's no denying the appeal of this one. It's such a huge misconception that there are no gamer games worth getting on Wii. Okay. People can debate that, but don't disturb me while I play through Twilight Princess, Excite Truck, Metroid Prime 3, Brawl, Okami, No More Heroes, Mario Galaxy, SSX Blur, The Godfather, Scarface, BWii, de Blob, PES 2008, Sonic, Super Paper Mario, Resident Evil, Trauma Centre, Wario Ware, Mario Kart Wii, Endless Ocean, House of the Dead 2+3 and Wario Land.

 

Once I've finished playing through those few games, don't disturb me some mor, because I must pre-order MadWorld, The Conduit, Monster Hunter 3, HotD:Overkill, ToS: DotNW (plus a new Tales), Deadly Creatures, Little King's Story, No More Heroes 2, Arc Rise Fantasia, Fragile, Cursed Mountain, FF:CC, Sin and Punishment 2, Punch Out!!, Dynamic Slash, Cosmic Walker, Muramasa and Wii Sports Resort.

 

But yeah, apart from that I guess there's not a lot.

 

5) It's not PS3/360

 

It's the simplest argument. We don't buy our Wiis because we want Gears of War with motion controls or GTA with waggle. Wii has always, and will always have a certain charm that its competitors lack. Maybe it's because we're all Nintendo gamers at our core, but perhaps it's just the simple idea that games are made to fun.

[Hellfire]

No order either

 

1) Fun

Might be a cliché, but the Wii controls unless they're done horribly wrong can turn mediocre games into worthwhile experiences that are a lot of fun. It's great that a lot of developers understand that not everyone has the time to commit to 5 hour playing sessions everytime, there are a lot of good games I can play in short bursts and that's a huge plus.

 

2) Innovation

Another cliché, but I enjoy playing games differently from what I've been doing the past years, be it one handed gaming, motion controls, IR, the balance board or just being able to have my hands far from each other while playing nunchaku+wiimote

 

3)The games

Duh. First of all, the Nintendo games. Always polished with that extra care that little or no devs do, these games guarantee a Nintendo console purchase. TP is my favourite game ever, SMG fave Mario, MK my fave Mario kart, Brawl my fave smash, MP3 somewhat tied with MP, Excite Truck one of the best arcade racers to me, Mario Strikers is a blast, etc... So far so win.

Then there are quite a lot of quality 3rd party games to be played. This is obviously helped by the previous points.

 

4) VC/WiiWare

Yes, we know you can play these games illegally for free, but having some classic games instantly acessible, playable with good controls, legally and for a cheap price is great. Even games I already own but I don't have near me are worth the purchase, not to mention never released games (here) like Mario RPG or S&P. Wii Ware is a great place for indie's bright minds to shine and it's been awesome so far, totally worth it.

 

5)Cheap and doesn't melt

So the cheapest 360 might be cheaper now, but it wasn't always, plus I don't have to buy HDDs, online subscriptions, 70$ games, etc... It also helps that it isn't prone to destroy itself.

[dazzybee]

Good idea and some great responses.

 

1. Control

 

This is the biggest for me, I was bored last gen; I was getting older and I thought I was just too old for this gaming malarky. How wrong was I. I was just very bored with what was happening, just spruced up games, licenses ruling the roost and just generic game after generic game. There was some gems - Animal Crossing, Wind Waker, Metroid Prime but it wasn't until Jungle Beat were a game 'excited' me. The DS got me back and the Wii sent me over the edge. The wiimote makes average games good and great games amazing. I hate playing FPS on PS3/360, same with football games, adventure games and...well...pretty much everything. Every great game I play on my next gen console I just wish I could play on the Wii.

 

2. Accessibility

 

Call it casual, call it what you like, all I know is that I LOVE the fact that my non gaming friends love playing the Wii, my game hating family love it, my girlfriend is obsessed with it. It's great I experience gaming with these people I never thought I would. I also love all the new software it's brough that people feel so free to hate on - Wii Fit, Olympics, Rayman etc.

 

3. Nintendo Games

 

I've always loved Nintendo and their software; they have a quality that only companies like Ghibli, Pixar, old Disney, The Beatles.....a timeless quality that no one can realy match; theres the odd exception but generally Nintendo just amaze me with their products. Even their worst (Sunshine, Wind Waker etc) is better than anything else; and all these games on the Wii are proving to be as incredible as ever, with some great wiimote touches.

 

4. VC, Channels, WiiWare

 

Just amazing to play through all the games I grew up on (not just Nintendo but all, even C64), it's great to see some really creative games on the WiiWare and I also love all the channels (if only Nintendo made it so I can store EVERYTHING!!!!). I love all this stuff and the future is only going to get better as WiiWare improves and more consoles and games get added to the VC.

 

5. The Future

 

I'm not afraid to admit it, I LOVE that Nintendo are back on top. Yes some of their decisions concern me but generally the future is frighteningly good. I think the Wii will echo the DS so the Wii looks to hold some amazing pieces of software, already 2009 looks insanely good. Add that to more Nintendo franchises, developers getting more of a handle of how the wiimote works then things just look too good. And that's not even mentioning what will happen with motionplus and the balance board!! Fact is, I couldn't be more excited about owning the Wii!!!

[Pit-Jr]

Ill take a stab at this

 

 

The Wii Remote- I love what it does for menu navigation, item management, text input and FPS. Without a doubt the Wii's ace in the hole

 

Metroid Prime 3- a great introduction to how the Wii remote can transform the FPS shooter. There were a few hairy spots but overall i felt a great sense of control and precision

 

Reliability- minus a few sensor bar issues, the Wii does its job and does it consistently. I never had to worry about whether or not my Wii was gonna randomly croak

 

Future- while the current package feels a bit bare-boned, I look forward to seeing how Nintendo refines the Wii's basic blueprint (motion control, simple internet connection, retro catalogue and WiiWare) for its next console

 

Software- disregarding the PS3 and 360, when you add up VC games, WiiWare games, and full retail games, theres no shortage of content and while much of it is tripe, theres still enough quality software on the Wii alone that i would never have enough time to play all of it

[Diageo]

IR Pointing

Motion controls

Cheap

Nintendo games

Reliable

[Emasher]

1) Nintendo Games

 

I'd rather play Mario, Metroid, and Zelda, than a lot of the games we see on other consoles. Many other companies make very good games, yet the ones Nintendo themselves make have charm.

 

2) Controller

 

Honestly, after playing a shooter on the Wii, I doubt I could play one with dual analogue.

 

3) Virtual Console

 

There are so many games I've missed out on in the past, though mostly due to not owning a gaming console until 2001, but I seriously can't believe what I've missed.

 

4) Quality Control (hardware wise)

 

When I bought my Wii on day 1, I had the assurance that it would work when I took it home and probably for the entire generation.

 

5) Affordable

 

If I had bought any other system, I doubt I would be able to have bought an iPod and a Monitor in the next two years.

[Jimbob]

In no particular order

 

1 - Controls

 

Ingenious. The hand on screen moves with every movement you make with your hand. A welcoming relief from a conventional controller.

 

2 - Games

 

Minus the casual games, there are some great games out including Mario Kart, Smash Brothers and Metroid. All of which are amazing.

 

3 - Affordable

 

At time of release was the cheapest home console available. With a 360 and a Wii bought together was/is cheaper than a PS3.

 

4 - Free Wi-Fi

 

Free online gaming with a reliable signal and hardly any lag.

 

5 - Virtual Console

 

The best bit really. A blast from the past. All the games you missed out on are available for a new generation to play as well as the older generation who wish to relive memories from the past.

[GothicPlague]

No More Heroes

Smash Bros Brawl

No More Heroes 2

Madworld (assuming its good)

No More Heroes 1 + 2

[Nicktendo]

1. Revitalised my love of gaming

Was getting progressively bored with video games, and in 2004 I pretty much gave up with the exception of playing Animal Crossing GC with my girlfriend. But I still subscribed to NGamer out of habit and gradually liked what I saw from the wii. Launch day was amazing. I was purely blown away by Monkey Ball and Red Steel. Loved Wii Sports and Twilight Princess. Also got to play Sonic 1, Ristar and the original F-Zero for the 1st time. All classics. Since then I've fluctuated a bit but the Xbox/Sony offerings are so stale and many games just feel like "polished turds." Graphics and online based yearly updates of last gen franchises wore thin with me VERY quickly.

 

2. Offered something wholly unique

I have played some great games in the past 2 years, but I think many highlights have been those games exclusive to wii. Everytime something original came along I've loved it. I compared Red Steel to playing goldeneye for the first time. I loved that game to pieces, the controls, the story and the learing curve, not to mention the beautiful and stylised graphics. Games like MySims, Zack and Wiki and Boom Blox really strike a nostalgic point with me and IMO feel like modern day SNES games. Obviously not because of the technology, but because of the level of fun and accessible simplicity they offer which is cleverly disguised in a package that is progressively more diffucult yet addictively rewarding, similar to many games of the 16-bit era. The control scheme adds a huge amount of intrigue to many games with titles like The Godfather and Excitetruck which probably wouldn't have been as good with "classic" controls.

 

3. The Virtual Console

As mentioned by many others... The classics will never die, I have played all 3 sonics to death! Been through Zelda LTTP and Mario World and countless others that I love, whilst picking up new games like Mario RPG and S&P. Having never owned a Sega I am finally able to play what I missed out on and it's great. I also spend about 50% of my time on the VC. Fantastic addition for everyone, but particularly the hardcore gamers! But DAMMIT I want to play Plok and TopGear again! (2 of my SNES faves, aged 9)

 

4. WiiWare

In all honesty I think this has to be separate from the VC... Allows anyone to create a game, something which the up and coming world of goo demonstrates perfectly. 3 people made a game that IGN gave 9.5. Need I say more? Give this a year and it will have exploded. I just pray we get a Super Mario Word: The Lost Levels or Sonic 4, as honestly, that's what we all hoped WiiWare would provide.

 

5. Nintendo

Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Smash Bros, Wii Sports. The 5 best Games on Wii. /Discussion

[Cube]

1. GameCube Re-releases

2. Last year's games.

3. Virtual Console

4. Sonic and the Black Knight

5. There's still slight hope for F-Zero, Star Fox, etc. (you know, all the "secondary" games that makes Nintendo so fantastic).

[Guest Jordan]

Not to put a downer on this thread, but I honestly couldn't think of five reasons why is the Wii is great.

 

Don't flame me for being a 'fan boy', but right now nothing interests me outside of Another Code 2...

[Ashley]

Not to put a downer on this thread, but I honestly couldn't think of five reasons why is the Wii is great.

 

Don't flame me for being a 'fan boy', but right now nothing interests me outside of Another Code 2...

 

Didn't they teach you any English wherever you came from. Five reasons why the Wii is great, not five reasons why it will be great :p

 

Personally;

 

1. Fun for everyone.

As much as this seems to aggrevate the 'hardcore'/'dedicated'/'angrycore' it comes in useful when I (last year) lived in a house which consisted of four completely different people and this year random people coming and going.

 

2. Mario Kart (all four on the Wii :p). Still addicted to it.

 

3. Cheap. Fair few titles knocking around for cheap now (maybe due to xmas but im not complaining).

 

4. Variety.

(Again aggrevating the groups above) but its nice to be able to switch from something like Tomb Raider to Mario Kart to Wii Fit.

 

5. Exclusives

Everyone console's got them obviously, and some are better than others but, well... "Zackuuuuuu!"

[darkjak]

1) Nintendo

Nintendo guarantees me classic franchises like Metroid, Zelda, Mario and Starfox. And Nintendo games have a higher overall quality than any other developers games.

 

2) Potentially the best controlls EVER

If developers quit just using the Wiimote for wagglathons, they could create games with the best controlls throughout history. The Wiimote can acheive better controls than any other console in the FPS genre, sword games, lightgun games and surely a whole bunch of others.

 

3) Quiet, cheap and reliable.

The Wii is more or less like a Toyota. It's cheap, quiet, and it doesent break down. EVER. While beemers get rare after 15 years, you can still find LOADS of old 70's Celicas roaming the streets. I think the same situation will happen with the 360 and PS3.

 

4) Virtual console/ Wiiware

The ability to download old classics kicks butt, and Wiiware enables small studios to release their low-budget games and grow.

 

5) Not embarrasing

While the PS3 and 360 are behemoths which shout out on the top of their lungs "LOOK, A GEEK LIVES HERE!!!", the Wii is discrete, and looks stylish. Like just about any gadget. Perfect when you have female company. Especially since she'll be interrested in playing because she can easilly learn.

 

 

And here are my minuses (couldn't think of 5):

 

1) Variety

Although the Wii speaks out to a lot more people, that doesen't automatically mean that the variety of GOOD games is that great. The Wii has no beat-em up in the classical meaning (the only one AT ALL that I know of is Mortal Kombat), and a lack of first person shooters that aren't about WWII. I mean, where are the at least somewhat realistic racers?

 

2) Kotakus R suxxorz

Nintendos constant complaints against their old fans, that the storage problem is exclusive to kotakus, and then changing their mind as soon as it's clear it isn't exclusive to the kotakus was just stupid. A surefire way to loose fans. And then to talk about the core being insatiable is just as clever as going to the UN and say "Our country hereby has declared peace as stupid, so we're gonna go to war just cuz peace sucks".

 

3) Technically inferior

Although I put the low price as a plus, the inferior technical specs are still a big minus. Not that I personally care, but it does mean that there are lots of "multiformat" games we're not getting, or get crappy PS2/PSP version ports we're getting.

[Cube]

3) Quiet, cheap and reliable.

 

I disagree with the "quiet" and "cheap" parts. The price at launch was fantastic, but it's been undercut now. It makes business sense to keep the price the same but Nintendo must be making a massive profit of each Wii now. I wouldn't be surprised if they would still have a profit if they sold it for £80.

 

Also, the Wii is the loudest console I've ever owned.

[Chris the great]

hum, well, i'll try and make this ballenced 5 good, 5 bad.

 

1) Unique. The motion controles have led to a new way of playing games, it could be said that certain asspects are just old methods presented differently, like aiming by pointing being essentaly the same as using a mouse, but no outher console can offer anything like the wii sports package. An actual swing to return the ball is alot more satisfying then a button press.

 

2)Free online. Both the Wii and PS3 offer online gaming for free, rather then asking for a membership fee (this may not be true of all game, so may require membership) which, after buying the console and game only seems fair to me. Mario Kart online is currently one of the best, smoothest running and easily accessable online games around.

 

3) Get in shape. We gamers used to be a terribly unfit lot, with the most exercise many of us got being a quick blast of dance dance revolution at the arcade, but no more! With the Wii, you actualy have too move around, and not just for Wii fit. Remember the first few rounds of boxing on Wii sport and how sweaty you got? Did that ever happen on PS3 or the 360?

 

4) Nintendo games! Metroid, Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros, Mario Kart, all the old favorites are hear, with more on the way (even if they arnt in the public eye).

 

5) Everyone wants to play. Gaming may have gotten more acceptable in recant years, but the Wii has gotten every one playing, from your granny to your little cousin, every one wants a blast, and if they happen to be attractive female friends, well all the better!

 

and the bad

 

1) Dumbing down Yes, I know none gamers are getting intrested in games now, thats great, but does that mean I should be able to breeze through a game as easily as Chuck Norris would fight his way through a childrens hospital? I get that some people never see the end of a game, and that you feel the need to change that. Heres an idea- difficulty settings, you may have missed it, its only been around 20 or so years.

 

2) Friend Codes Yes, online is now safer, but god almighty its a chore. I know this person, they are on my friends list, am I some how ment to be ok with them able to send messages over the wii, yet fear they may try and rape me if we play smash bros? And what if I face a really strong opponent online, on the PS3, I remeber their name and can then send a message to them, setting up more games. Via Wii, I simply have to hope we meet again.

 

3) Infearior Hardwear GRaphics dont make a game, thats true. Nor does the amount of stuff going on at once, or the physics engine. But it really can make a difference. Some Wii games look pretty good, but they dont hold a candle to the outher consoles, and for the love of god, would HD kill you nintendo?

 

4)Tacked on motion controles OK, so every one loves being able to controle the action via motion, but don't use it just becase you can. The console gives you a huge possibility to be creative, yet you chose to ad a waggle into the combat just to tick the right boxes.

 

5) Game shopping Dear lord, the shelves in GAME and outher establishments are like a sea of turds, with a fw gems peeking out. To find a half decent game, you have to sift through a mountain of crap, aimed directly at parents and grandparents who coulden't spot a good game at the golden joystick awards. Its always been a problem, but the wii seems particularly afflicted by shitty agme syndrome.

[Rummy]

I'm kind of with Jordan on this, I feel like I'd be scraping and looking for reasons, not just having them pop into my head(which they should, if it truly is great). There's a few reasons why it's great, but the reasons themselves aren't all that great, so I don't know if I can call the Wii great. The only one that actually jumped at me, was Brawl.

 

Brawl.

Backwards Compatibility

Virtual Console/Old Titles(tho a bit moot considering the others have similar)

Motion Controls(not always a plus though)

The 5th feels too much of a forced struggle.

 

I can think much easier and faster of criticisms, though I guess everyone is quick to criticise.

[david.dakota]

Also, the Wii is the loudest console I've ever owned.

 

When sending my Wii back for a grinding disk drive, i was speaking to the customer service chap and mentioned a few issues- loud fan being one of them. I even commented thats its far louder than my old Gamecube "yeah, he said, we'll fix that". My Wii is now magically quiet.

[Tellyn]

When sending my Wii back for a grinding disk drive, i was speaking to the customer service chap and mentioned a few issues- loud fan being one of them. I even commented thats its far louder than my old Gamecube "yeah, he said, we'll fix that". My Wii is now magically quiet.

 

Grinding disk drive? Mine makes loud grinding sounds but never damages the disks or refuses to load... Channels sometimes stay on a blank screen for a few minutes before loading if I haven't been on them for a while, but that's it.

[dazzybee]

Hang on, this is 5 things we love, dont add 5 bad things too

 

Not to put a downer on this thread, but I honestly couldn't think of five reasons why is the Wii is great.

 

Don't flame me for being a 'fan boy', but right now nothing interests me outside of Another Code 2...

 

So why post?

 

I disagree with the "quiet" and "cheap" parts. The price at launch was fantastic, but it's been undercut now. It makes business sense to keep the price the same but Nintendo must be making a massive profit of each Wii now. I wouldn't be surprised if they would still have a profit if they sold it for £80.

 

Also, the Wii is the loudest console I've ever owned.

 

Only if it's faulty, and then it STILL is WAY quite than the atrocity some people call the 360! And we have the fan to cool the beast down, we struggle to hear each other speak!

[Guest Maase]

1 - Nintendo

2 - Inovation

3 - WiiMote

4 - For everyone

5 - Fun to troll about in 4Chan

[Rummy]

Worries me a bit how many people in this thread list 'Nintendo' as a reason for the Wii being great...

[Hellfire]

Worries me a bit how many people in this thread list 'Nintendo' as a reason for the Wii being great...

Why should it, they're fantastic developers, the best in many people's eyes, that alone can be reason to justify a console.

[Shino]

Worries me a bit how many people in this thread list 'Nintendo' as a reason for the Wii being great...

 

Nostalgia can be a reason too, and many of us also believe that Nintendo stands for some quality games.