Wii Fit rage: Gamers losing their strangehold on gaming

Post Reply New Topic

One of the things the Nintendo Wii is most well-known for is how it's managed to attract new customers outside of gaming's typical demographic (I.E. preteen males). While my mother was a fan of the original Legend of Zelda much like I was, she hasn't shown must interest in gaming until the Wii came on the market. She and her boyfriend currently have their own Wii in their house, and mostly use it for playing Pac-Man on Virtual Console.

When Wii Fit came out though they were intrigued and pre-ordered a copy for themselves. I recently tried it out when I was home for Christmas and found it to be a surprisingly comprehensive and effective work-out program (if the pain I felt the morning after doing some Jack-knives were any indication). I wondered idly if maybe gyms or school P.E. programs would include these in their workout programs the way they did with Dance Dance Revolution. I also found it surprising how easy it was to work and how accurately it measured things like weight, balance, and body mass index. A great example of Nintendo's recent use of motion sensitive technology and another great step forward in gaming technology.

On forums though I'm surprised by the amount of hate Wii Fit has been getting, and other Wii titles to boot. Chances are on most gaming forums you'll find people flaming Wii Fit even more than actual bad games like Too Human or Mirror's Edge. This is surprising to me because at it's core Wii Fit (like most Wii titles this side of Manhunt 2) is pretty much harmless. It's not like the games very existence implies that you're fat (although if you actually are and use it you might be more than annoyed). You'd think that in a time where politicians and media pundits keep going on about how video games have no redeeming value that a game that actually helps gamers tangibly improve their health would be embraced, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

It wasn't until recently that all the rage reminded me of something and I put it all in perspective. Being the comic nerd I am I remember all the rage people in the comic community felt when comics started being sold in major bookstores. Owners of comic books stores and their regular customers felt incensed, saying "that's our territory!". It wasn't just that they were selling comics. They were selling things like trade paperbacks, graphic novels, and manga volumes that appealed beyond preteen boys. Stuff like this appealed to all audiences, and was sold in a market that reflected this.

In short? Gamers are mad because games aren't being marketed to just them anymore. They're being marketed to everyone else.

I won't lie and say the Wii is perfect. The unnecessary graphical downgrades and underwhelming library leave a lot to be desired. But I can see why it's outselling the Playstation 3 and even the XBox 360 at such an exponential rate now. It's not just the fact that the PS3 is over-priced, or doesn't have many exclusives, or has poor hardware support. It's because everything about both the PS3 and 360 feels so "been there, done that". Online multiplayer is a great step forward for consoles but PC gamers have been all over that for years, so this just feels like a natural progression.

The Wii is the real deal. It's a huge step forward and makes people look differently not only at how games are played, but who plays them. It's still very much in the rough stages but it shows incredible potential come the next console generation. It's showed that not every game has to be about the cut-scenes and the combat. I feel rather than have the angry young men get territorial we should instead realize that like movies and music, we're starting to see games for all kinds of people.

In conclusion, one of the things I love most about the Wii is that my girlfriend loves playing it. Anything that can get a girl interested in playing video games (with ME namely) is alright in my book.

Last edited by jamesohgoodie on 30 Dec 2008, 12:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I think the way that the Wii is reaching out to people of all different ages and sexes is a good thing. I can say for certain that I would be alot more interested in sport if we could use the wii fit during lessons

The one problem I can see with this is the amount of 'girly' games that will probably come out. The only girly games I like are ones like zoo tycoon. Otherwisen bashing people up is more interested

I'll stick to SSBB. Nothing satisfies like a PK Starstorm to the head, or using Zelda's B-button attack to knock otherwise-skilled players off their game.

I like the Wii (ALOT), I just wish Nintendo would appeal slightly more to the SUPER gamers! Ex: I wish they allowed an option to let you download Famicom Disk System games here in the US, etc. One thing I like, however, is that they haven't seemed to intentionally brick a system, at least not to my knowledge. (I've heard of some SSBB brickings but I never looked into it) Nintendo did recently change their EULA rights & do have a line or two that say they have the right to modify your system & they can brick your system at the sign of unauthorized software, but I doubt they'll go through with it (they have the means if you use the Nintendo Channel; with all my DVD's in mplayer I wonder how much the Homebrew Channel has tallied up )

Fascinating, if you had said "angry Black boys" you'd be called a racist. I guess Whites are fair game.

Political correctness is going too far...

edited it to "angry young men".

I've never had a problem with the Wii being marketed towards everyone. I think it's cool to be able to talk about video games to people I normally wouldn't be able to. And you know how us aspies love to talk about our interests. ;]

Quick question though, what do you have against Mirror's Edge?

three words. "First Person Platforming".

The Wii is the prime vehicle that allows non-gamers to say that they ARE gamers... and that is what concerns me the most... Since the Wii has a much more massive market share (by marketing to the general public, instead of the loyal fanbase), the other console manufacturers either have to adapt likewise or be economically marginalized. Thus, the already sinking ship of true video gaming is finally sent to the bottom...

PS: Wii Fit is not a completely original product... DDR beat it to the punch a long time ago...

I like my Wii a lot, but sometimes it becomes hard to find good games for it. A lot of games are becoming mediocre, and just a marketing scheme to get people to buy the game. "Games" like "Imagine Fashion Shopping" are being released in a huge abundance, while really good games like "Zelda: Twilight Princess" and "Okami" are being released slowly. This is seen on other consoles though, with the release of high school musical games for the X360 and PS2/3.

The Wii Fit is alright. I don't hate it. Its good aspect is how user-friendly it is. Even my mom can use it.

i have heard that the only reason they have that red trail through the game is to prevent some peoples getting motion sickness. since the action is so fast and all.
never played the game because i don't have a PS3.

as for the Wii, i like the way it is marketed towards everyone, shows how user friendly it is. and it has some good games and some stinkers just like all plaforms do.
I have used wii fit sometimes. it is good. and yes DDR beat wii fit to the idea.

I never played Wii Fit for myself but it just seemed boring, I do however have Active Life: Outdoor Challenge which is a very fun game that does give you a workout. Also I read there is a new excercise game coming out for the Wii being created by EA... Im guessing it has to do with sports. lol

You mean runner's vision? Well, the game would be very confusing without it.

I think the gamer response to it is inevitable. To me it's the same thing as when a band goes from having a small following to going mainstream. The original fans get all irritated not only at the new fans for liking the wrong music (the new albums as opposed to the old) but also at the band itself for catering to the general public.