Wii: Why have you left me to die all by myself?
It's amazing how well Nintendo can support a system of their own when they want to do it. Remember back in 2007-2008 when the Wii had Metroid Prime 3, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Galaxy and Mario Kart Wii released within 8 months of each other? What happened to that kind of support now in 2011? There has literally been nothing worth buying on the Wii since last Christmas with Donkey Kong Country Returns. Nothing at all. Nintendo's attitude toward the Wii this year has looked very much like "ok we're done".
How can Nintendo afford to abandon the Wii with still a year left over in-between the launch of Project Cafe? I'm really hoping for Nintendo's sake that they have a decent catalog of support up until early next year, otherwise they would really need to hurry up with the launch of their next console before everyone forgets about the Wii name and Nintendo consoles in general (people won't forget, but Nintendo will be out of the spotlight).
What can they do from here on out to ensure support? Well one thing would be to announce at least 3 big games for the Wii at E3. The Wii needs more than just Zelda to survive for a year longer. Also, Nintendo should try to encourage the buying of Wii software for the fact that those games will be able to be played on Wii 2. An added incentive to purchase these games would be to announce that all Wii games will be able to be played in 1080p on Nintendo's new console, ensuring that your Wii purchases right now will look better than ever in the future. Third Parties have given up on the Wii, that much is crystal clear, but Nintendo needs to keep it going with their own games for just a little while longer.
What else can Nintendo do? Leave your suggestions in the comment area
Yeah, I'm hoping for some kind of "upconversion" process for the Wii library. Better yet, some kind of "re-rendering" process similar to those emulators like Dolphin.
ReplyDeleteI am hopeful because of the reports of Nintendo's R&D budget - it was supposed to have tripled.
Re-outputting Wii games in 1080p via emulation should be very possible if the Wii 2 is as powerful as reported on (it will be). That little extra effort could boost Wii software sales right now and in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think Nintendo will give the console its last great run for the end of the year. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is still being confirmed for this year, and I read that Xenoblade and The Last Story are in the process of being localized. Let's hope those, as well as Pandora's Tower, come to the States.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they want to announce those unlocalized games (last story, p. tower, etc) for their e3 presentation, but that would kinda suck because those are games we already know and not everyone might be interested in them.
ReplyDeleteBut they know, they really know people are desperate for some new software for wii (c'on ninty! 6 months without AAA games?!). Guess they are building a strategy to provide continued launches in the next months? I sure hope so.
If they are presented E3, it should give them some good amount of exposure to elicit any interest. Not only that, Nintendo also has one more Kirby game down the pipeline for the Wii.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te-OqdKx8ho
For me, the Wii can be saved by Skyward Sword, Pandora's Tower, and one more surprise game. That's assuming Project Cafe comes out before the second half of next year with A) some good launch games or B) some better up-scaling Wii game graphics.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget The Grinder which is supposed to come out Fall 2012...
ReplyDelete