Nintendo Wii Fanboy

If you happen to also follow our shenanigans over at DS Fanboy, you might have noticed the yogathon we just wrapped up, courtesy of Let's Yoga, a DS yoga trainer. With the release of Wii Fit, we've now got a great opportunity to compare two entirely different games that include yoga lessons. Five years ago, did you think you'd see that on a gaming site? Viable exergaming options -- we never thought we'd see the day. But how do the two titles stack up to one another? Check out our handy comparison chart, available after the break.

Already having Okami for the PS2 is the most valid excuse for not buying the game on the Wii. If you fall into this group, you're probably still tempted to make the purchase because of the added motion controls. Should that not be enough to get your wallets in action, though, you might want to check out this side-by-side comparison video. We already knew that the Wii version looked better, but seeing the two compared with each other shows just how much.

The colors are much more vibrant on the Wii, and for a game that's main draw is its beautiful artistic style, that's kind of big deal. The 16:9 support doesn't hurt matters, either. Have any of you played both Okamis and noticed the difference for yourselves?

The PlayStation 2 is one of the most wildly successful video game consoles to have ever graced the face of the earth. It's the highest selling system worldwide, and if you're a gamer, there's a good chance that you own one yourself. Amazingly, though, the Wii has been even more successful in Japan during its first full calendar year than the PS2 was in its first or third (see the above graph, which was made by NeoGAFfer JoshuaJSloane and is based on figures from Famitsu). Also, since the chart only tracks the first 51 weeks of Japan's Wii sales in 2007, it's entirely possible that the numbers will exceed those for the PS2 in 2002 as well.

The success of the PS2 led to an extensive games library for the system, full of almost every genre imaginable. But, the question remains: Will this happen with the Wii? Clearly, it's too early to tell, but as you can see from the graph, the Wii is off to a good start. In any case, cheers to a good 2007 for the Wii, and let's hope to see more to come.

[Via NeoGAF]

We haven't laughed this hard since Seinfeld was new (actually, a couple of episodes of Arrested Development had us laughing this hard). Cruis'n on the Wii is kind of like the joke that never dies here at the Wii Fanboy offices. Now, as if from some kind of divine intervention, we have more fuel for this fire of comedy. Why would anyone do a comparison video of these two games, anyway? Are they trying to have us laugh ourselves to death?

Someone should turn this game into a sitcom. We'd watch it.

Perhaps you heard a loud rumbling sound several moments after our friend, Krazy Kutaragi, took the stage at the Sony E3 press conference and revealed what was, according to him, a big "secret" regarding the new old and improved PS3 controller. The source of the noise was undoubtedly the countless gamers rolling their eyes in unison at a new "innovation" that, if you're at all interesting in gaming, is unlikely to have struck you as very innovative at all. It's arguable that Nintendo's Wii merely uses parts that have been around for ages and isn't particularly innovative in that sense, but it's difficult not to raise an eyebrow when a competing console manufacturer decides to implement a control interface that, until recently, was considered unorthodox. It was pretty shameless.

But there's no need to be pointing fingers and gyroscopic contraptions in an effort to blame one for stealing from the other. A better reaction would be to consider how the two devices compare, though the technical qualities are less important than the factors related to gaming. Consider that Nintendo's system has been built to utilize the more wobust wiimote right from the start, with every single game being created to take advantage of the primary controller in some way or another. The Sony press conference gave the impression that the opposite was true with the PS3, with Phil Harrison stating that Warhawk had been "adapted" to take advantage of the Dual Shake's newly announced abitlies. How late was the decision made to add the new functionality to the controller? My guess is that the idea can't have been implemented too long ago, as none of the other PS3 games at the conference seemed to make use of motion sensing. In which case it seems that, at least initially, the Wii wil simply have a greater quantity of games that boast integration with the unique controller. Given the increased development time, it's fair to expect Nintendo's first volley of games to be a good deal more intricate in those regards as well.

Sony's strategy of combining a traditional controller with a weird one is valid (it's an added feature, after all), but it may end up being more limiting, almost to the same degree that Nintendo's controller is limiting when it comes to traditional controls. While Nintendo's controller allows for more aerobic activities such as swinging a sword and aiming a gun (note the examples my violent mind immediately conjures up), the Dual Shake's design makes that sort of thing somewhat less practical. This not only puts a confinement on what developers can do, essentially forcing a balance between traditional and non-traditional controls, but puts Sony in an unpleasant position of being put alongside a competitor that's likely to have a much cheaper product. If you want to play unique games built upon motion sensing concepts, it's clear which system is the better choice (hint: the cheaper one).

On the other wand-waving hand, however, one could argue that those who prefer traditional games and have less interest in unusual mechanics would be far better off with a system that, in a sense, offers a glimpse of both worlds. As always, it boils down to the games and how well each system takes advantage of its specific capabilities. The Wii doesn't have much choice in that area, but the PS3 does run the danger of having a host of games that have tacked-on motion sensing functionality as opposed to more elaborate experiences. But then, the games on the PS3 don't depend on the controller nearly as much as Wii titles do. It'll be interesting to see which games will make the most out of the controllers they're given and we expect to be able to add more to this discussion after Nintendo's press conference tomorrow. Nothing stopping you from adding to it right now, though.