When it comes to video games, Nintendo completely dominated the gaming system market for years.
However, in the current generation of consoles Nintendo has been fairly weak. Visit your local Gamestop and the Wii section is made up of mostly licensed games based on children’s movies and endless retreads of Nintendo’s past hits.
I have yet to see what is so “new” about “New Super Mario Bros. Wii,” or understand why someone would want to play a Zelda game by waggling a controller around like a moron.
Nintendo has insisted on changing the way we play games and implementing new features and controllers, but it always seems like they forget that they have to make some actual games for the damn thing.
Now we have the “WiiU,” another bafflingly named console that was a must-buy product during the consumerist trample-fest that is Black Friday.
Mere hours after stating their thankfulness for the things they already own, millions of Americans rushed out to purchase a new video game system they don’t need.
Once again, Nintendo has changed the controller around, this time adding a massive touch screen between the analog sticks on the first player controller for a “two screen experience.”
The problem with this is that the controller feels absolutely massive when you’re using it to play a game.
Anybody who remembers the first generation Xbox controllers can tell you that something bulky and heavy in your hands really takes away from the whole experience.
What happens if you accidentally break your giant touchscreen controller?
Bad news, you’re going to have to shell out around $150 for a new one. That’s just for another controller, and it’s about half the price of the system itself.
People need to realize that Nintendo is using gimmicks and gadgets to distract from the fact that they can’t really make any interesting and innovative games anymore.
People who argue for “video games as art” are going to have to avoid the WiiU because it looks like it’s going to be populated with remakes of Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 games with unnecessary added touch screen features.
Why do I need a second screen to play my video games on? I can’t look at both screens at once, so what’s the point?
The only time the two screens really interact is when you have to hold the touch screen up to the TV, which is uncomfortable and awkward due to the weight of the thing.
Nintendo also advertises that you can ignore the TV and instead play the entire game on the gamepad.
So why is this even a home console at all? Why not just make a gaming tablet if you don’t even need the television to play the games?
This whole console is just stupid and unnecessary, but judging by the turnout on Black Friday, it looks like Nintendo will never learn from their mistakes.
Gamers want story and depth and innovative gameplay, but nobody was asking for all this stick-waggling and heavy touch screens. Before you buy your kid one of these things, make sure he or she actually wants it. They might just want an iPad.
Matt Grippi is a senior journalism major and the diversions editor for the Daily 49er.