But if one does it all, and another doesn't, which one is gonna sell more units? I don't need another DVD or Blu ray player - but I do want my next console to be able to play them.
I don't need/want it to personally. I mean, does the fact that the Wii doesn't play DVDs really bother you at all? It's not like disc players of any sort are pricey. I hate fiddling with a controller to watch disc-based movies on a console, not to mention having to deal with the cumbersome UI every time I just want to pop a movie in and watch it.
I do like that I can use Netflix on the current crop of systems. But, unless Netflix finds a way to significantly step up the streaming content, I'm gonna cancel in the next couple of months anyway, so that feature won't be of any value to me for much longer.
I like older consoles because they don't do anything except play games, so developers did really concentrate on making the games.
I don't like consoles after PS2/Xbox that much.
Time for old person mini rant
Wii has manditory motion controlls, on many games the controls are just clued on and game would work fine without them.
PS3 and Xbox 360 don't have that many good games. Many look good but not many are actually good.
I admit online playing might be nice, but leads to less and less good single player games.
And developers don't bother to finish or test games before releasingthem nowadays.
Preach on! I'm with ya.
Buuuuut, I don't agree about the 360/PS3 libraries. I feel that all 3 of the current consoles have a great selection at this point (and they better, they've been out for 5+ years now).
Yeah I have to agree with you Arseen, which is why my library of 360 games is so small, and most of my Wii games are first party, usually with less motion controls. I don't think every game needs to have online multiplayer, and personally I've had more than my fill of gritty first-person shooters.
My 360 library is my biggest of the current gen and I don't play ANYTHING online. There are gobs of great single player titles, they just aren't as easy to track down as they would be on the Wii. On the Wii, you just look for Nintendo franchises and you're pretty much good to go. It's not that they have more single player titles, it's just that they're almost all the old tried-and-true franchises that we know and love. On the 360 you've got to do a bit of research, especially since the great single player titles on the 360 aren't the biggest sellers like they would be on the Wii. Plus, I don't have to be frustrated by waggle controls on the 360. I would KILL to play Skyward Sword with a 360 controller. I'm beyond done with frantically shaking my controller to swing a sword.
I've spent hundreds of hours playing Forza 4 and BK: Nuts and bolts. I personally feel that titles like those have WAY more re-playability than almost any 1st party Wii game. That's what
I'd like to see from Nintendo with the Wuu; customizable items, add-ons, or any other reason to go back into the game once I've played it through. Mario in outer space and Link trudging through the same old routine were great fun, but I would love to see both pushed a lot further than they have been in the last 10 years. Waggle controls were
technically "innovative", but I sure as fuck can't stand 'em. I want more game, not more exercise.
Either way, I'm still pretty amped for the Wuu. I really hope that 3rd party developers embrace it. It's been well over 15 years since we had a Nintendo home console that was embraced by 3rd party developers/publishers. Nintendo seems to find a way to alienate them in some way or another with every console since the N64.
As far as Microsoft goes and their insistence on adding more and more features that I don't particularly care about goes, well, they're a software company before anything. I expect them to do what they're doing. As long as it doesn't bog their machines down or interfere with my ability to just play a game, then they can add whatever silly features that they want IMO. I really, REALLY hope that they have some info on their next console in 2013. If they can squeeze their next box out a few years before Sony like they did with the 360, then I really feel that they'll be able to absorb a huge portion of the market.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not campaigning for a monopoly over the market or anything, but having watched them evolve as a game company, I feel really confident in their ability to keep gaming on a track that appeals to me more so than Nintendo who seems to be pulling further and further away from what I think of as traditional gaming (me, on a couch, with a controller in hand). And, unlike Sony, Microsoft seems more than willing to listen to feedback from the gaming community.
Sony insists on
telling us what we want (which has proven to be a very flawed method). Sony says: "Fuck physical media, take this DL-only POS because it will help us prevent pirating! That's a 'feature', or at least that's how we'll spin it."
Nintendo does essentially the same thing, but not in an oppressive way like Sony. Nintendo is the sole innovator in the gaming market IMO. For me, it's a good thing and a bad. I LOVE rumble controllers, analogue sticks, shoulder buttons, ergonomic sound controllers, and I even like motion control when it's appropriate (Bowling, Golf, Boom Blox, etc). Nintendo says: "Hey, we made this wacky new (insert wacky Nintendo idea) and we think you guys will really dig it and all it can do for your gaming experience!"
OK, I better stop. I'll go on forever if I don't tell myself to shut up.
In summation, I'm excited for the upcoming year in gaming
