The Nintendo Wii - just ports and party games?

Filed in archive Wii on February 5, 2007

Just about anyone will agree, the Wii is an exciting system to own. Unfortunately developers seem to be reluctant to invest too much in the console. So far, most of the games released have been either movie cash-ins, party game collections or franchises from Nintendo themselves. With a shocking lack of "real" gaming content on the system (with the exception of Twilight Princess, of course), is the future of the Wii confined to mini-game collections and ports with tacked-on motion control?

If the DS has anything to teach us, the answer is no. At least, I hope not. When the DS was first released people were extremely skeptical and even critical of the system. It wasn't as powerful as the PSP, didn't look as cool, and two small screens versus the large sexy PSP screen didn't cut it. And to top it off, the first wave of games were ports, mini-game collections or just plain gimmicky.

That was over two years ago, and now the DS is a firmly established gaming system. It survived the rather weak launch and now a wide variety of games are available, both pick-up-and-play titles and longer, involved games. Developers have hopped on the bandwagon and are supporting the system with unique and sought-after games. Square Enix even promised the exclusive follow up to the Dragon Quest series for the dual screened console! Naysayers have vanished, the the DS is dominating.



Hopefully the Wii will follow suit. As the user base expands and developers begin taking tiny risks, the game library will grow. It will slowly become less risky to invest in bigger, better games and developers will create better, longer, original franchises for the system. Remote wiggling gimmicks will give way to genuine motion control entertainment.

How long will th ewait be? Look for more substantial games late this year. Nintendo is releasing several big games , including Metroid Prime 3, Super Paper Mario and Super Mario Galaxy. Other developers are gradually venturing into the realm of "real" games, such as Sega's Sonic game due in March (though it still has party games). Give it some time and the Wii will be as versatile as the DS has become. And 2008 should be even better!