Waggle On You Crazy Cowboy

I am Evil Stoat and I am a hardcore Wii gamer. Take a second on that one. I am a man who loves gaming and loves his Wii. On weekends, I get together with Santa Claus and Bigfoot and we talk about how irritating it is that no one believes we exist. Amidst the soccer moms and hip geriatrics, we, the hardcore Wii gamers, tend to get overlooked. Occasionally you’ll see us in out of focus shots near Loch Ness or once every hundred years in the highlands of Scotland. Don’t be fooled though. We’re out there.

Nintendo has served me well over my many gaming years. It first brought me into the gaming world and has provided me with countless hours of entertainment ever since. I will admit to being a Nintendo fanboy. Not the kind that is blind to reason and capable of shattering a sane person’s mind with the sheer force of his inconceivable hyperbole, just the kind that really enjoys Nintendo products. What sets Nintendo apart from the rest is that they are a gaming company, pure and simple. Sony has a wide variety of focuses and Microsoft only recently extended their reach into the gaming world. Not Nintendo. They’ve been doing it since the ‘80s and have been all about the gamer that whole time. Who developed the idea of a joystick on a controller? Vibrating feedback? Thank Mr. Miyamoto and his team. How about picking up a product you won’t need to replace? Buy from Nintendo and you can beat it to hell and turn it right on. No red rings of death or any of the various Sony related bugs. The Big N has been good to me. So when they moved into the current generation, I went right along with them.

So on to the Wii. Let’s get a few things out of the way first. The Wii is not the most powerful machine on the market. The graphics aren’t the most awe inspiring. They cater to the “casual” gaming crowd. Waggling your Wiimote is seen as a pointless gimmick. These are the primary arguments against the Wii. To many a gamer, they render this console meaningless. I, however, dare you the reader to consider these points in more detail.

Graphics mean different things to different people. I have never been the kind of person to judge a game based on graphics alone. It’s great to see a game that blows you away with amazing visuals. However, in another year or so, some new game will come along and blow that one away. Then you’re just left with a game that used to have amazing visuals. Graphics are fleeting. Gameplay lasts forever. When I pick up a game, I intend to keep it. I never know when I’ll have an urge to jump back into a long forgotten title and relive the joy I once had with it. Were I one to be so hung up on look alone, I would never even consider busting out my old PS1 for a rousing bout of Chrono Cross out of disgust at its notably dated appearance. And then a sad individual I would be. The Wii may be less impressive graphically, but that doesn’t mean its titles are instantly hideous. Furthermore, developers have used this impediment to create more stylized games that are fascinating to watch for their unique style (take for instance No More Heroes or the upcoming MadWorld). I am in no way advocating that designers get lazy and make no attempt to create something visually stimulating. Laziness in any part of the process detracts from the final product as a whole. However, if given the choice, I would rather have an ugly game I can’t put down over a gorgeous gem that bores me to tears.

Many gamers over the past year or so have decried Nintendo for turning its back on the hardcore gaming crowd in favor of the easily placated casual crowd. There is some truth to this statement. With the Wii and the DS, Nintendo has managed to bring gaming to those who previously never even considered it. And with that came money. Lots of money. We’re in a recession right now and Nintendo executives can pull off a Scrooge McDuck style nosedive into their piles of cash. As such, this has affected them. Nintendo is running a business after all and it would be financial suicide for them not to capitalize on this market. Sadly, the past year didn’t have them churning out that many titles for the hardcore crowd. They started off with their big guns then kind of petered out (not to mention their dismal showing at the equally dismal E3). However, Nintendo knows this. They have heard the cries from the gamers. A whole host games designed specifically for the gaming community are poised and ready to be unleashed during 2009. Nintendo is an ambitious company. They essentially created the casual gaming audience. However, they were the ones who kept gaming afloat and have been about just that for the past twenty-odd years. They have always been about the gamers and they will never just leave us out in the cold.

The Wii is nothing but a gimmick. There are many titles out there that do little to challenge this comment. Many developers see that they’re creating a Wii title and add in unnecessary waggling or imprecise motion controls for little more reasoning than “because”. When implemented poorly, these mechanics come across as gimmicky. They add nothing to the game as a whole and often prove downright irritating. That is not to say that all motion controls are unnecessary. The Wii is an innovative system, particularly in regards to its control. Nintendo decided to try and change the way people thought about and played games and the Wiimote is a direct result of that. However, it’s still new. Having used a standard button press for all controls previously, it’s going to take some time for developers to get a strong grasp on the best way to implement the Wii’s uniqueness. Fortunately, it isn’t impossible. Games such as Wii Sports showcase its attributes phenomenally and produce games that truly can’t be played any other way. Furthermore, the controls scheme of Metroid Prime: Corruption and the Wii version of Resident Evil 4 further demonstrate that in capable hands, motion controls are capable of engaging gamers on new and intuitive levels. Bear well in mind also that the Wii Motion Plus will soon be arriving to bring the 1 to 1 ratio of input to action officially into play. Lastly, the Wii also offers a plethora of options for play controls. In many titles, motion controls are optional, allowing the player to decide their own level of “gimmick”. Whether you’re using the Wii Wheel or standard controls, Mario Kart is still damn fun. And that’s really what it’s all about.

While Nintendo has always been a company for the gamers, it has never been about being excessively “hardcore”. You may not find game after game of continuous bloodshed, but I’ll tell you what you will find: Fun. Nintendo is exceptionally skilled at not only creating games that are amazingly entertaining, but transcending so many barriers to do so. Anyone can pick up a Legend of Zelda title and have days’ worth of fun. Truly, when Nintendo puts its mind to making a quality product, you can bet I’ll be interested. They also are interested in handling things their own way. In the modern gaming world, online play is all the rage. True, Nintendo’s system is not the most ideal. However, unlike how everyone else immediately rips them off, Nintendo has taken its time to find the best possible solution for their system. Anxious to avoid the horrendous vulgarity and shamelessness present on XBox Live, for instance, they have refrained from simply using that model. As an important side note, I am far from a prude (you pretentious whoremongers). However, being assaulted by a hideous amalgamation of racial epithets and staggering ignorance is one of the reasons my experiences in online battles have been less than enjoyable. Nintendo may not have the answers yet, but I trust them to consider it thoroughly before throwing out their retort.

So yes, I love my Wii. It’s true that multi-platform titles aren’t best represented here and that developers haven’t quite gotten a full grasp on its potential, but it’s got it where it counts. It’s fun. And to me, that’s the mark of a true success. To the naysayers out there, bash me all you like. It won’t make me enjoy Smash Bros. any less. And to my Wii-centric brethren, hold strong my brothers and sisters. You have found something that touches on that inner part of your being that is full-fledged entertainment. The best is yet to come.

-Evil Stoat