Will Online be the Wii's Achilles Heel?
Mar. 29
Hardcore gamers complain about the Wii a lot, and sometimes for good reason. Their most serious complaint is that the Wii is a terrible system for online play, and... well, you know, it is. Friend codes and extra codes for individual games? That's really just ridiculous.
Anthony Swinnich at GamersMark has nailed what's so infuriating about Nintendo's insistence on online baby steps: Nintendo in many ways originated the party game style that modern multiplayer games draw on with Rare's Goldeneye 007. Why won't they focus on multiplayer games now?
The Nintendo 64 had a unique advantage in the 90s it was the only system with four controller ports. ... That made the N64 the natural leader and system of choice for developers looking to create a multiplayer experience. The Wiis unique control possibilities could be an advantage if used correctly, but Nintendos current online scheme does little to make use of that. How much fun would a worldwide Wii Sports tournament have been?
Of course, Nintendo's current view of their multiplayer success in the 90's seems to be highly ambivalent at best. Maybe they just don't want hardcore multiplayer fans on the Wii? But how does turning people away from a console make any kind of financial sense?
Isn't inclusion what the "blue ocean" strategy is all about?
Comments
Personally, I get the impression that Nintendo doesn't want to just "open the flood gates" and have to deal with issues that you see on a lot online gaming such as harassment and instability.
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