2007 in Review No. 8: Wii beats PS3 and Xbox 360

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wii-2007.jpgPart of our series of festive posts looking back at the key happenings in 2007…

Who’d have thought the champion next-gen console would be the one made by Nintendo? Yet the Wii has gone from strength to strength this year, despite continued stock shortages that have won it the dubious distinction of being the parent-panicking product of two Christmases in a row.

When they have made it to the shelves, Wiis have been flying off because they’ve reached a tipping point of appealing beyond the traditional console gamer market. And of course, their low price means many gamers have seen them as the ideal ‘second’ console.

Wii also got some much-needed quality games in 2007, although it could have got a few more, if I’m honest. The key for Nintendo now is to get more innovative games onto Wii in 2008, that make full use of its capabilities. Oh, and to build a few more factories, obviously.

Check our other 2007 In Review posts by clicking here

Stuart Dredge

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Comments: 7
  1. Del Source
    4th January 2008 at 1:12 am

    ________________________________________

    Hilarious, Rich. Thoroughly entertaining.

    Sales mean nothing. Good: very glad to hear that from a Wii fanboy (thou doth protest too much, by the way). Now I can continue to point out the Wii is a crappy, childish gimmick and its popularity is completely and utterly irrelevant and no indication of quality or value. And the PS3’s low sales mean nothing too! It is still awesome, regardless of console sales. As you said, sales figures mean nothing, right? Popularity – which by definition also includes the game scores – are bunk, so why do you immediately fall back on your totally arbitrary games scores to “prove” your point? What an utter idiot: talk about provide the rope you get hanged with.

    Sony was killing Nintendo right from the start of the PS brand. Live with it. Nintendo’s answer was to produce a console so easy to play (sic) that I can score 186 on Wii Bowling sitting in a chair with my eyes closed, not changing the initial bowling position given on-screen and simply flicking my wrist – and nothing more. (I did it to prove a point to a Wii-boy who peddled the old “physical exercise required” Wii-myth.) If this is the future of gaming then god help us all.

    Jay’s right. If you want to “socialise” with a three year old at their level, spend 20 squids on a Fisher-Price entertainment system. Leave the rest of us to be challenged.

    PS BTW, if you can’t take it, don’t dish it out so readily you hypocrite. You fired a volley at Sony, then when another person sent a shot Nintendo’s way you scream and protest like a whining b****. Not a fanboy? Yeah, right.

    PPS Wipeout? Okay, you want to talk crap games? Cooking Mama, anyone? How about My Horse And Me? Another length of rope………

    People like you give Gamers a bad name.

    PPPS Tech Digest – can you improve this posting system so it can be read easily?

  2. Rich
    2nd January 2008 at 1:49 pm

    No Sony don’t know what they’re doing – they’ve taken their market share for granted and look what’s happened.

    The only reason people claim Nintendo make better consoles are the games, look at statistically the best games of all time – 3 of them are on the N64 – Mario 64, Goldeneye and of course the Ocarina of Time, what did you get on your Playstation? Wipeout? Tony Hawks 39? Give me a break – Sony were lucky Square made games for them else they’d have had no good games on the console full stop!

    “230 million plus PlayStations 1 through 3 prove you to be an utter fool.”

    You really are stupid. If sales are indicitive of quality the Spice Girls are one of the best bands of all time.

    “You all sang about previous advances in Nintendo graphics over the competition, then, all of a sudden, the “7th Gen” (yeah right) Wii comes out with it’s PS2-level graphics and guess what?! That’s right: “Graphics don’t matter!” howl the Wii-boys (and ten year old girls, and bored housewives, and old age pensioners). My, how convenient for you.”

    Nintendo fans singing about graphics? Since when? The N64 may have been more powerful but blurry textures, compressed on a cartridge do not make for supreme graphics nor do Nintendo games require them – if polygon shifting is what turns you on (Playstation 2 and it’s “emotion engine” *snigger* remember that?) Then enjoy playing your dull, drab, oft repeated games in High Def – and I’ll go and enjoy a game of Zelda 😛

    “I’ll tell you a little secret. Nothing the Wii does is new to the home video games’ market. That’s right, including the controller.”

    I’ll tell you a secret, without Nintendo and their innovations home consoles would still be dead from the original crash Sept 29th – 1983 was a dark day.

    Here are a few Nintendo innovations you may have heard of:

    1) Nintendo invented the D-pad. Used one?

    2) Nintendo innovated with shoulder buttons.

    2) Nintendo added analogue.

    3) Nintendo added rumble.

    4) Nintendo creates the first successful and competely reliable wireless game controller based on radio (RF) technology as (wavebird) as opposed to the touch and go infra-red.

    4) Nintendo adds motion sensing.

    5) Nintendo invents the dance mat. Power Pad (NES).

    How many of those innovations does the new Sony machine have?

    Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a blinkered Nintendo Fan, I own a 360 and enjoy Rainbow Six Vegas, but most the games are generic and poor – whereas my Wii, is constantly a source for good fun. That’s what games are about.

  3. Sarah
    30th December 2007 at 1:15 pm

    +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

    Sony don’t know what they are doing?! LOL!! The PlayStation brand killed the SEGA home console and nearly killed the Nintendo home console; I think they have a pretty good idea. 230 million plus PlayStations 1 through 3 prove you to be an utter fool.

    Nintendo fanboys are just like Apple fanboys with your highly selective memories, myopia, historical revisionism and holier-than-thou smugness. You all sang about previous advances in Nintendo graphics over the competition, then, all of a sudden, the “7th Gen” (yeah right) Wii comes out with it’s PS2-level graphics and guess what?! That’s right: “Graphics don’t matter!” howl the Wii-boys (and ten year old girls, and bored housewives, and old age pensioners). My, how convenient for you.

    I’ll tell you a little secret. Nothing the Wii does is new to the home video games’ market. That’s right, including the controller. Again, the Apple analogy is true here: it now depends on which company does it that determines success these days: why? because of the pathetic partisan fanboys who make up a significant proportion of the market. (Just ask LG’s mobile phone division about how that works…..). It’s the “Sony/Microsoft/LG etc are too mainstream now, I want to be different!” cry that sounds like a dull teen desperate to stand out and be individual at all costs.

    Sarah, proud owner of a PS3 and…..a DS Lite!

    PS PS2 = 120 million; N64 = 30 million. Yet every Nintendo fanboy I know claims the N64 was much better. What’s good for the goose, eh?……..

  4. Jay
    30th December 2007 at 12:32 pm

    Yeah Rich, I only ever play alone because the PlayStation brand has no multiplayer games, right? What a moron.

    If you want to “socialise” with a three year old at their level, spend 20 squids on a Fisher-Price entertainment system.

  5. Rich
    29th December 2007 at 12:46 pm

    My mate’s three year old scored 220 on Wii bowling Xmas day. Can someone tell me why they spend 175+ squids on something a pre-school toddler can master
    ————————-

    So everyone can play, even those who normally wouldn’t be able to – they call it socialising – heard of it? You geeks who like to sit there on your todd, playing your graphically perfect (but gameplay diminished games) can go and cry elsewhere – the winner here is the video game industry – the company that revived it, and revolutionised it multiple times are still alive and kicking – so our choices don’t belong to just Sony who don’t actually know what they’re doing (rumbling pads is so last generation – let’s remove it!) and the Big fat noisy pc in a box.

  6. Jay
    27th December 2007 at 11:56 pm

    Christ, comparing the Wii to the PS3/X360 is like comparing a Fiat 500 to a Lamborghini Gallardo.

    Now we have all this crap about how Wii-Fit revolutionises gaming by getting people to jump up and down and move about. What, like the PS2 dance mat I bought The Wife about five years ago?

    My mate’s three year old scored 220 on Wii bowling Xmas day. Can someone tell me why they spend 175+ squids on something a pre-school toddler can master?

  7. OMEN
    27th December 2007 at 8:14 pm

    who cares.wii is like buying a 30 cent candy,and the fun ends fast.

    ps3 or 360 is like buying a nice restaurant meal that $90 and going to a club adn the fun never ends.

Stuart Dredge
27th December 2007 2007 In Review
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