Nintendo continues the yawn fest

July 11, 2007

What is with E3?

First Microsoft, now Nintendo. Nintendo held their media event today at E3, and I gotta say, I’m disappointed. The presentation was ok as Reggie has decent speaking skills, but the actual content was my issue. Sure Nintendo is doing very well in terms of sales of consoles (even though they refuse to ramp up production to meet demand), and they have captured the “essence of casual gaming” if you will. I’ll agree to that. One of my issues with Nintendo has been their lack of *good* 3rd party support. All of their killer titles are Mario or Zelda related, every single one: Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Brothers, and Mario Kart. All of these titles are coming soon and were showcased. There were also a bunch lame videos displaying something we already know. Non-gamers like the Wii. What about those of us who don’t care for these Mario titles? Nintendo offered Wii Fit. Hunh?!?!

Wii Fit uses another type of controller which allows you to do these “mini games” that keep you in shape and track your progress. Nothing groundbreaking, as physical fitness has all kinds of neat toys you could utilize. I understand that Nintendo is trying to encourage “active” gaming, but there’s a much bigger gaming world out there guys, and you’re losing it. Oh and speaking of controllers, they released a cheap looking plastic gun and a driving wheel. You’re at E3, and you’re announcing controllers. This guy on Joystiq comments said it best:

This needs to be said: This was an abysmal showing indicating the future of Nintendo and the Nintendo platforms. Truely a depressing realization for any true gamer. Nintendo is not going to focus on innovative gaming they are just going to sell you more peripherals and mini games.

Whether Wii Fit will “sell” or be “successful” is irrelevant in my mind. The direction Nintendo is going is not one that I like. That’s it folks. That’s all the meat at E3 for Nintendo. There were some 3rd party titles announced: Soul Calibur and Geometry Wars are a couple that come to mind, but nothing impressive. These are ports with the, dare I say, “gimmicky” controls tacked on with a tiny bit of new content. Where is the Gears of War for the Wii? Where is the Resistance Fall of Man or Motorstorm for Wii? Where are the games Nintendo?

Sigh, anyone want my Wii? (LOL)