He says that the software is the problem, but isn't it the hardware (wiimotes) that really differentiate the Wii from the other platforms?
I am currently working on a project that uses the wiimotes to get 3D motion tracking for a demo game as well as artists interested in animation. The fact that the wiimotes come with 1024x768 hardware interpolated 100 FPS wireless cameras is something that can be continually improved upon. Does anyone remember Johnny Lee?
I think your comment really points out the fact that Wii critics often miss the point entirely. I agree with the article, but don't see how that is going to affect its success.
Yeah, when you put it all together you have the software stack of a last-generation console, but so what? Most Wii gamers (those nebulous "casuals") are never going to use online multiplayer, download firmware upgrades, etc.; the person who I bought mine used from had no clue that it could get online. These people are not going to pass up a Wii because of these missing features; they are going to snatch it up from stores because it's got that bathroom scale you do yoga on, or that Super Mario Karts game where you turn the wiimote and it's like a steering wheel, or that tennis game we can play with our friends who, you know, we see in person. This all adds up to Nintendo having next-to-zero incentive to make the leaps and bounds their competitors are making in the firmware arena. The "everything on the DVD" approach is probably also a side-effect of the underpowered design they were aiming for at launch.
Perhap he's not trying to argue that the Wii sucks and will fail, and instead just making a purely technical argument. I'm grateful for the analysis because I don't pay much attention to consoles.
Exactly. Nintendo changed what the player has in her hands. They did it with the N64 (analogue control) and they have done it more radically with the Wii. I think it is Peter Molyneux who has said if you want to innovate in gaming change what the player has in her hands.
Software is important, but ultimately secondary.
I think this will probably be the case in any big changes we see in personal computing as well. The mouse and keyboard work really well for some things, but as new input systems like multitouch and who-knows-what-else come along real changes will begin to pop up in software; not the other way around. Of course you might argue multitouch is a software innovation...
I am currently working on a project that uses the wiimotes to get 3D motion tracking for a demo game as well as artists interested in animation. The fact that the wiimotes come with 1024x768 hardware interpolated 100 FPS wireless cameras is something that can be continually improved upon. Does anyone remember Johnny Lee?