Ok, I’m all for innovation in gaming and all, but really? There comes a point when you run a well dry, and I honestly think Nintendo is hitting it. Now, I’m saying this not as someone who hates Nintendo, but as someone who camped outside in twenty degrees in November of 06 to get a Wii, only to have probably not touched it for the past nine months.
The thing that comes to mind for me is that is has so much potential, but it keeps getting wasted. When the Wii launched, it was an amazing underdog. The motion controls were so new and unique, everyone wanted it. But, nearly three years and only a few shiny gems for titles into the consoles life, it seems like we’ve already hit repetition.
Wii Sports, undoubtedly one of my favorites, was indeed groundbreaking. The next chapter, Wii Sports Resort, was also greatly entertaining. Somewhere in the middle we got Wii Fit, which everyone ran out to buy and quit playing a month after they bought it. Then came Wii Fit Plus, which you could call a fancy rennovation, or even what should have been on the initial Wii Fit launch.
And now, we’ve got Wii Sports Cyberbike. Set to launch in 2010, it’s another sports/fitness game, except it comes with an exercise bike. Now, my immediate thought was how pissed retailers are going to be as the massive scale of the box, considering they’re still riled up over Guitar Hero and Rock Band taking up so much valuable shelf space. My second immediate thought was, haven’t we seen this before?
I mean, really we haven’t. But isn’t it the same thing from Nintendo we’ve seen the past two years. Let’s take something you do in real life, emulate it, and then find something else and do it again. Granted we do live in a culture of technology ADD, we’ll jump on board for a while, then move on. So my thought is, maybe I’m just bitter because I’m not seeing innovation I want.
After all, Nintendo is marketing a new motion controlled game at a large target that’s still completely fascinated with motion control. But at the same time, it’s not catering to those of us that have been Nintendo loyalists since the 80′s, who remember everything from the Konami Code to the invisible ink booklet in Star Tropics. But, then you have to wonder how successful the Wii would have been if it catered to those of us that always want more and always want it harder and better.
The idea of a brand living in the middle is a tough one, much like trying to keep both sides happy when you’re in politics. Half will think you’re being too safe, and half with love you for what you do. And then some of you (who demanded wristguard cushions for your Wiimotes) won’t think it’s safe enough. However, a brand should try its best to appeal to everyone in some form. Brand loyalties come and go, but if you can find a way to keep everyone occuppied on one level or the other, they won’t forget about you, or move on. Which is what is slowly happening to Nintendo’s hardcore fanbase.
When we played Wii Sports, we were all amazed at the motion controls. When we started playing Wario Ware, the idea of moving your hand like you were sharpening a pencil was funny and entertaining. But two years later, when you make an excercise bike and call it gaming innovation, a lot of us will just yawn.
