Time Magazine plays with the Wii.

[Andre]

Nintendo gave TIME the first look at its new controller–but before I pick it up, Miyamoto suggests that I remove my jacket. That turns out to be a good idea. The first game I try–Miyamoto walks me through it, which to a gamer is the rough equivalent of getting to trade bons mots with Jerry Seinfeld–is a Warioware title (Wario being Mario’s shorter, fatter evil twin). It consists of dozens of manic five-second mini games in a row. They’re geared to the Japanese gaming sensibility, which has a zany, cartoonish, game-show bent. In one hot minute, I use the controller to swat a fly, do squat-thrusts as a weight lifter, turn a key in a lock, catch a fish, drive a car, sauté some vegetables, balance a broom on my outstretched hand, color in a circle and fence with a foil. And yes, dance the hula. Since very few people outside Nintendo have seen the new hardware, the room is watching me closely.

It’s a remarkable experience. Instead of passively playing the games, with the new controller you physically perform them. You act them out. It’s almost like theater: the fourth wall between game and player dissolves. The sense of immersion–the illusion that you, personally, are projected into the game world–is powerful. And there’s an instant party atmosphere in the room. One advantage of the new controller is that it not only is fun, it looks fun. When you play with an old-style controller, you look like a loser, a blank-eyed joystick fondler. But when you’re jumping around and shaking your hulamaker, everybody’s having a good time.

After Warioware, we play scenes from the upcoming Legend of Zelda title, Twilight Princess, a moody, dark (by Nintendo’s Disneyesque standards) fantasy adventure. Now I’m Errol Flynn, sword fighting with the controller, then aiming a bow and arrow, then using it as a fishing rod, reeling in a stubborn virtual fish. The third game, and probably the most fun, is also the simplest: tennis. The controller becomes a racket, and I’m smacking forehands and stroking backhands. The sensors are fine enough that you can scoop under the ball to lob it, or slice it for spin. At the end, I don’t so much put the controller down as have it pried from my hands.

John Schappert, a senior vice president at Electronic Arts, is overseeing a version of the venerable Madden football series for Nintendo’s new hardware. He sees the controller from the auteur’s perspective, as an opportunity but also a huge challenge. “Our engineers now have to decipher what the user is doing,” he says. “‘Is that a throw gesture? Is it a juke? A stiff arm?’ Everyone knows how to make a throwing motion, but we all have our own unique way of throwing.” But consider the upside: you’re basically playing football in your living room. “To snap the ball, you ’snap’ the remote back toward your body, which hikes the ball,” Schappert says. “No buttons to press, just gesture a hiking motion, and the ball’s in the hands of the QB. To pass the ball, you gesture a throwing motion. Hard, fast gestures result in bullet passes. Slower, less forceful, gestures result in loftier, slower lob passes. It truly plays like nothing you’ve ever experienced.”

But the name Wii not wii-thstanding, Nintendo has grasped two important notions that have eluded its competitors. The first is, Don’t listen to your customers. The hard-core gaming community is extremely vocal–they blog a lot–but if Nintendo kept listening to them, hard-core gamers would be the only audience it ever had. “[Wii] was unimaginable for them,” Iwata says. “And because it was unimaginable, they could not say that they wanted it. If you are simply listening to requests from the customer, you can satisfy their needs, but you can never surprise them. Sony and Microsoft make daily-necessity kinds of things. They have to listen to the needs of the customers and try to comply with their requests. That kind of approach has been deeply ingrained in their minds.”

Source: digg
-----------------------------

Cool! This confirms many things, such as Twilight Princess capabilities, Wario Ware Wii, and a great sounding Madden. I've got to say, I'm getting excited.

[DevilBottles]

Dang. That sounds too cool.

Twilight Princess Revolution Capabilities... That just sounds like a whole new game, eh?

Hopefully we'll see a lot more at e3.

[Gruntling]

Originally Posted by Andre / Time Magazine

But the name Wii not wii-thstanding, Nintendo has grasped two important notions that have eluded its competitors. The first is, Don’t listen to your customers. The hard-core gaming community is extremely vocal–they blog a lot–but if Nintendo kept listening to them, hard-core gamers would be the only audience it ever had. [/url]

I think that raises a very good point.

[LaorBR]

*Must ressist the urge for flaming Nintendo for not listening when everybody asked for online multiplayer modes*

Well, besides that "We don't hear our customers. But whoops, we did listen when we made Twilight Princess, and when we made that Nintendo DS network thingy" hipocrisy, yeah, pretty good article.

Just pointing something out, you made a mistake when doing the [url] tags. And even when copy-pasting the link in my browser, the page won't open. Might be just my PC, though.

[Gold Jinjo]

Originally Posted by LaorBR

*Must ressist the urge for flaming Nintendo for not listening when everybody asked for online multiplayer modes*

Well, besides that "We don't hear our customers. But whoops, we did listen when we made Twilight Princess, and when we made that Nintendo DS network thingy" hipocrisy, yeah, pretty good article.

It's not that Nintendo didn't listen concerning online gaming, it's just that... really... do you want to have to pay for it? The Nintendo WFC is free, as it should be, which wouldn't have been possible five years ago.

And now Nintendo is in a position where Microsoft and Sony will have to adapt to compete with the free service Nintendo already has set in place. How is that a bad thing?

When you play with an old-style controller, you look like a loser, a blank-eyed joystick fondler.

I like that line

[BoltDragoon]

Originally Posted by DevilBottles

Twilight Princess Revolution Capabilities... That just sounds like a whole new game, eh?

No, it sounds like the delay we've all been dreading.

[LaorBR]

Yeah, but Nintendo only came up with that Wi-Fi network idea after they finally realized they were losing money to M$ and Sony. Lots and lots of money, it seems. So, they had to adapt fast to this new market. I'm not saying that the Wi-Fi was a bad idea, it's just that in the end, Nintendo got screwed for not listening to their customers.
And now they are just being hipocrite about the "wii" name. I bet they aren't changing the name because they already have bought the copyright patents.

About needing to pay for online games... You made a really good point there, I never had thought about it. But then again, the only way the Brazilians can play NDS online is if they buy a *loud advertise voice* "Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector" so it's not really free for everybody

[holyice7]

Originally Posted by LaorBR

About needing to pay for online games... You made a really good point there, I never had thought about it. But then again, the only way the Brazilians can play NDS online is if they buy a *loud advertise voice* "Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector" so it's not really free for everybody

Well, that argument could be countered by the fact that even without the USB connecter, one would still need an internet connection and a wireless router. They would have to pay something to play online.

...Unless they ride a wireless connection from a nearby home or business, but that's neither here nor there.

[Hakey Wake]

Originally Posted by BoltDragoon

No, it sounds like the delay we've all been dreading.

I am so sure of Twilight Princess' "gone gold" status that I would gamble another member's house on it.

It should release very close to (if not on) Wii's launch day methinks.

[Soulreaper41392]

Originally Posted by LaorBR

*Must ressist the urge for flaming Nintendo for not listening when everybody asked for online multiplayer modes*

Well, besides that "We don't hear our customers. But whoops, we did listen when we made Twilight Princess, and when we made that Nintendo DS network thingy" hipocrisy, yeah, pretty good article.

Just pointing something out, you made a mistake when doing the [url] tags. And even when copy-pasting the link in my browser, the page won't open. Might be just my PC, though.

Are you saying that Nintendo isn't going to have online multiplayer now? Or are you referring to the fact that the 'Cube didn't actually have a online system? I mean, they did have an online adapter and all that, but it was only used for the Phantasy Star games.

But the Twillight Princess can be viewed as a good or bad thing. I mean now it's going to have all this cool new Rev based stuff, but on the other hand, if the Rev happens to be delayed again, then so will Zelda. They could release it before the Rev, but then you would be playing a game that you really can't play all the way because you don't have the hardware to play the game to it's fullest extent.

For once I am actually excited about a sports game, I might actually get this one. Imagine all those poor PS3 and Xbox 360 users playing all their dumb button based sports games............... I laugh at them

[LaorBR]

Originally Posted by Soulreaper41392

Or are you referring to the fact that the 'Cube didn't actually have a online system? I mean, they did have an online adapter and all that, but it was only used for the Phantasy Star games.

Yup, when Mario Kart Double Dash, Pokemon Colisseum and Starfox Armada came out, it was obvious that those games would do a great online campaign. But apparently Nintendo didn't agree.
=/

Originally Posted by holyice7

Well, that argument could be countered by the fact that even without the USB connecter, one would still need an internet connection and a wireless router. They would have to pay something to play online.

Okay, let me see if I understood. The hotspots you can find in Mc Donalds, etc. are free, you only need to be registered in the Wi-Fi network. But we don't have this stuff here. So in order to play the NDS online we will need to buy an USB connecter + a wireless router AND have an internet connection.

Heh, let's give some time to the pirating crowds and see what goodies they'll come up to beat this system

... Or maybe I didn't understand your post at all. What did you mean with "to counter that argument". It was more like you were proving my argument. Or were you talking about Gold Jinjo's post?

[DevilBottles]

Originally Posted by BoltDragoon

No, it sounds like the delay we've all been dreading.

Well, yeah, you've got a good point there, too.

[cyberen]

I think the name, the controller, the price,the WFC, the concept, they're all genius. Nintendo made a name for themselves again by doing something innovative, not just making better graphics and a bigger controller.

[DemyGod]

Originally Posted by DevilBottles

Well, yeah, you've got a good point there, too.

I honestly don't care how long this game takes. The longer it takes, the better the game will be.

[Thranjo-Kanewie]

That's a good way to think about it.
Can't wait for Wii, all the new games.
I should stop thinking about it. It's gonna make the wait longer.