EA just announced that the Wii is getting The Sims 2: Pets and really, we can't say we're particularly thrilled. In fact, we're officially torn. The Wii, as a system, is terribly young, despite all the SuperCube remarks some folks like to make. The Wii only has a couple of years behind it, after all. Because of that, we're trying to be patient. One can't expect a revolutionary control system to immediately take root and manifest itself in awesomeness. So we're waiting. And while we appreciate the urge to throw us a few bones while we're waiting, we think we may speak for everyone when we say that, really, we have enough ports. Games that released year are ... well, they're pretty much last year's games, and if we wanted them, we probably played them then. Sure, we understand that if there's a buck to be made by printing a few more discs, someone's going to rush in to make it, but it just seems more and more gratuitous with every new generation. Enough already!
Or are we alone in this sentiment? Maybe we just don't have enough love for the Sims any longer. It's hard, when we're so busy thinking of MySims.
There is one thing that's interesting about The Sims 2: Pets, and that's the possibility of online features. Hurray!
[Thanks for the Sims tip, Limpit!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-20-2007 @ 9:38AM
Brandon said...
I, for one, couldn't agree with you more, Alisha. Ports have always been a problem for Nintendo fans (we always have the least powerful hardware and so get the port with the most "boxes unchecked" so to speak), but I think you correctly observed that it gets more gratuitous with each generation.
The latest atrocity is giving a game some rudimentary motion controls and a new name. I think the Prince of Persia: Rival Swords debacle is the most disingenuous port trick I've seen yet. At least the new RE4 has not been renamed RE5. If you're giving us the same game, at least be honest about it. SSX Blur turned out to be nothing new except some very basic motion controls, which by most accounts were gimmicky and unreliable (I didn't play it myself).
In fact, I don't really see a motion control addition as an upgrade right now anyway considering the most developers seem to have figured out how to use the sensitive instruments is "shaking" the controllers violently in lieu of a button press. That's not innovation yet. If that's all you're adding to a game, just make it a straight port, give it the same name, and sell it to us honestly.
Third parties: Somebody please deliver an all new Wii game this year. Reggie clearly lied about the "droughts" that would go between major first party releases this generation.
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4-20-2007 @ 10:31AM
Loban said...
Brandon - "we always have the least powerful hardware and so get the port with the most "boxes unchecked" so to speak"
You should really do your research. The GameCube was more powerful that the PS2. The N64 was also, in most ways, more powerful than the PSone. It is only recently that Nintendo has decided to put power on the back burner and let innovation and fun shine through.
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4-20-2007 @ 11:38AM
GRT said...
Put my mark down under the Agreement column. Although after an initial month or so of fun, I've generally cooled to the motion controls. My favorite Wii game so far is Super Paper Mario and it barely uses the motion controls.
And any game that makes me shake the thing violently gets a mark against it now. My new mantra is "Controller shaking is bad." It just seems like a cheap way to 'shoehorn in' motion controls. In my opinion motion controls need to be a bit more smooth than random shaking to be fun.
Wow, I went off on a tangent, didn't I? But I have a Wii and a PS3 and both of them are getting mostly shoddy ports right now, and its depressing.
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4-20-2007 @ 12:07PM
Chocolate Starfish said...
Remember that we, as readers of an online Nintendo blog, are gaming enthusiasts. Also remember that the Wii is being marketed to, and purchased by, an overwhelming number of tradionally-non-gamers. As non-gamers, they have not played these games before; so to them, something is better than nothing. Besides, having a lot of shovelware and ports makes the Nintendo aisle longer, and the length of the games aisle is something the ignorant masses use to make their purchase choice. As a fan(boy?) of Nintendo, I like to see them sell more units than the other guys.
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4-20-2007 @ 4:11PM
Rakuen said...
Ports aren't a bad thing. Bad ports are a bad thing. If all the developer does is take a game and add a Wii control scheme to it, it's a bad port (1:1). If instead, the developer takes the game and adds new, exclusive content to it, it can range from a decent to a good port (1:Many).
That given, I wouldn't mind seeing a 1:1 port of Ikaruga come out for the Wii.
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