Wii Sports Concerns and Obligations

A jet ski game would pwn, but whether its Wave Race or not, who cares.  I am buying Wii Sports at launch, period.

When Nintendo first unveiled the Wii line-up during its press conference at this year’s E3, it was met with mixed opinions. For some, the Wii was the prefect example of pure innovation, mixing an all-new gameplay format with an equally intriguing marketing strategy, specifically when dealing with the Wii Sports franchise. When we caught our first glimpse of the series we were a little shocked, as the graphical design was far simpler than we were expecting. After hearing that Nintendo was using the Wii Sports design as a simple introductory product line that offers approachable entertainment for both gamers and non-gamers alike, we started to believe. There is, however, a very thin line that now needs to be walked, as Nintendo is setting a software standard for the entire lifespan of Wii. In short, there’s a right way to do this kind of game, and a wrong way.

The Facts:
Since its unveiling at E3 we’ve come to learn a ton about what Wii Sports is all about. First of all, Nintendo has informed us that the Wii Sports title will represent a collection of smaller sub-games, each with its own basic gameplay hook. As it stands right now, most of the official “Wii Sports” titles (Golf excluded) are multiplayer, which is seemingly the standard for Wii games. After all, Wii is supposed to symbolize community and plurality, so kicking the system off with only single player games would be a bit hypocritical. For the basic package, Wii Sports currently offers Wii Sports: Baseball, Wii Sports: Tennis, and Wii Sports: Golf. How these games will be distributed is still up for grabs. 

  It isn’t Tiger Woods, but then again it isn’t trying to be.

In addition to the three primary games, other possible Wii Sports candidates are already beginning to show up. Nintendo has made mention of a second Wii Sports product, tentatively named “Wii Motor Sports,” which would include the already-playable Wii Airplane from E3, as well as a Jet Ski design. As a pleasent suprise, Wii Jet Ski is being headed by the creator of Wave Race 64, which is great news for any N64 fans. Both the Wii Sports and Wii Motor Sports games are being pushed as separate packages, and are essentially collections of addictive, low-budget titles. There are still key details that we don’t know, however, and they may prove to be the success or failure of the products.
More at: http://wii.ign.com/articles/717/717268p1.html

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