While some may disagree, I think it's safe to say that the Wii was the first console to become a mainstream success. Everyone seemed to want one. They were sold out everywhere for months, which made them an even more prized possession. I personally had no trouble acquiring my Wii on release day. However, I did have to sleep outside of a Toys R Us to make sure I'd be able to get one. When I brought that thing home I was psyched for weeks. I thought it was the coolest thing ever, but it only lasted for a few weeks.
As soon as everyone needed a Wii I was already done with mine. After enough time with the console I realized that it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. The only game I really cared about was Zelda: Twilight Princess, which could have easily been a Gamecube release (It was also released for Gamecube, but in very limited quantities). The other games available at launch were poorly made, or they were mini-game collections. I wanted new games to play, but I couldn't seem to find anything that a gamer such as myself wanted.
It was around that time that I began to feel betrayed by Nintendo. They had left me out, they had left all true gamers out. We were the ones who had brought them to their new found success, but they weren't releasing any of the games we'd want to play. All of Nintendo's ads for Wii games catered to people who weren't into video games, which was, and still is slightly annoying. Despite my adolescent anger, Nintendo was making the right decision. Whether I wanted to admit it or not video games companies are about making money. The video game market was stagnating and Nintendo was out searching for new blood.
Nintendo's approach to the Wii was brilliant. Most people who don't play video games either think that games are too hard to play, or they just don't want to play games at all. Nintendo fixed the problem for people who thought that games were too hard to play. Everyone knows how to move their arms, and everyone knows how to push a large button. With this target in mind Nintendo created the Wii. People who had never been big into video games were playing Wii games and loving every minute of it. SONY and Microsoft have now followed in Nintendo's footsteps with motion control devices of their own.
To tap into this new market game developers have been trying to make their games easier to play and understand on all consoles. At the age of sixteen when the Wii first came out this would have infuriated me, but I've come to see it as a blessing. Games may becoming easier to understand, but that's a good thing. Video game developers can't get by on good feelings, so they need to make money. They need to try and expand the audience of their products. There are still many people who will try to tell you that casual gamers will bring about the death of video gaming, but I am no longer one of those people. The more money developers get the better the product I receive in the end. It's a winning proposition for everyone. Game developers and publishers get more money, casual gamers get their gaming fill, and I get more of the games I enjoy.
-Manny
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