One of the biggest criticisms routinely thrown at the Wii is related to the amount of shovelware that has popped up on the system, yet not everybody is convinced that the likes of Pool Party and Rig Racer 2 are a force for evil. Chatting to Next-Gen.biz about his company's forthcoming Major League Eating: The Game, Mastiff chief Bill Swartz seemed to defend the wealth of filler software that appears on Nintendo's machine, arguing that a wider range of games will ultimately yield more gems, and that consumers are perfectly capable of making their own choice.
For what it's worth, we agree that bigger libraries generally produce a greater number of top-drawer titles -- the PlayStation 2 is a fine example of this trend -- but we're not so sure about the second part. Are consumers really educated enough about games to make a good choice? Game Party's continued success in the UK suggests not.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-13-2008 @ 11:12AM
Roto13 said...
The ones who don't know the difference between shovelware and actual decent games probably don't care.
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5-13-2008 @ 11:14AM
mgroves said...
I would argue the most successful systems are the ones that draw the most crap. This is a correlation, not a causation: but PS2, NES, SNES, all have an asston of junk games for them.
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5-13-2008 @ 11:15AM
TheCoats said...
How much is an asston?
5-13-2008 @ 11:16AM
mgroves said...
Around 0.90718474 metric asstons.
5-13-2008 @ 11:19AM
TheCoats said...
^^AH
5-13-2008 @ 11:14AM
TheCoats said...
Chances are if you are on this site (or the internet in general) you know the diffrence
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5-13-2008 @ 11:16AM
mgroves said...
But it's entirely subjective. The average casual gamer doesn't care about the same things you or I care about.
5-13-2008 @ 11:19AM
TheCoats said...
This is about quality not type-of-game....I understand it is relative but i will admit sometimes i feel like just chilling out and playing a casual game.....and i have to say there is an easily see-able line of the quality of these games
when a company rereleases ninjabreadman and puts a new skin on it so it looks egyptian.......That is pretty bad quality.....
5-13-2008 @ 11:30AM
Jumbo said...
I think there's an easily see-able problem with your grammar.
5-13-2008 @ 11:15AM
mgroves said...
And Game Party is a great game for...parties...at a great price.
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5-13-2008 @ 11:19AM
samfish said...
Game Party actually isn't terrible. I wouldn't buy it, but it's fairly fun to play with other people.
I think we label shovelware too easily these days in general.
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5-13-2008 @ 12:51PM
Mike D said...
I find it strange that this blog shuns Mario and Sonic & Game Party but praises Deca Sports?
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5-13-2008 @ 2:34PM
SoshiKitai said...
Mario & Sonic is actually really fun and challenging among friends! Dunno why people hate it so much. :|
Never tried Game Party, but with everyone saying "It's pretty okay", I think I should just shut my ideas of the box cover and give it a try someday.
As for Deca Sports: People have been waiting for a Wii Sports 2, and this is basically the only one that delivers better than the rest.
If I had money, I'd get it too... after reading more user reviews.
5-13-2008 @ 2:35PM
velocitystrike said...
People, Game Party's constant "being-in-the-charts-ness" is completely unnacceptable when there are much better games hitting #37 then falling out of the chart completely (Zack and Wiki) (slight exaggeration).
Also, why is there a Hannah Montana game in that header pic? She's the HAWT.
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5-13-2008 @ 4:18PM
Spekkio said...
Breep-breep-breep! Jailbait! Jailbait! Jailbait! Breep-breep-breep!
5-13-2008 @ 3:53PM
Kamek said...
haha my sister got the Horsez game in the picture...It was just as bad as you'd think...
Anyway, I guess its true that consoles should have a wide range of games, but the wii just has too many of these cheap games and it's like a stereotype for all wii games.
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5-13-2008 @ 4:32PM
SoshiKitai said...
There we go! Someone finally hit the nail on the head!
It's not so much that a lot of shovelware - It's that THERE'S SIMPLY TOO MUCH!
There's such a thing as "putting TOO much shovelware".
And the Wii's crossed the line.
5-13-2008 @ 5:44PM
TheOverlord#2 can has Mario Karts?(MK:2578-3517-9859) said...
The guy on that box art for "Telly Addicts" reminds me of Chuck Norris a bit.
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5-13-2008 @ 9:36PM
nintendo1889 said...
Hey, that guy DOES look like Chuck Norris. But, about the shovelware, I mean Ninjabread Man? Don't make me laugh!
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