Nintendo Wii Fanboy

As you can probably tell from the image above, this sort of project wouldn't be safe in the hands of a wiring novice. Wii-FTW forum admin Sir CRX hacked his Wiimote and Xbox controller to accept bluetooth commands, sending them to his 360 console. The mod doesn't yet incorporate any of the remote's "waggle" functions and only supports four of its buttons, but Sir CRX has hinted that there will be updates and a possible tutorial coming soon. Head past the post break for video of the cross-console controller in use.

It's not quite hard numbers showing combined Wii/360 ownership, and it's not quite ZOMG WII60 CONFIRMED TOTAL, but we'll take anything that suggests that the Wii may be awesome. According to a survey conducted by Magid Media from March 20th to the 27th, Xbox 360 owners are somewhat more likely to be interested in buying a Wii because of their 360 ownership.

66% of surveyed 360 owners indicated that they were "neutral or more likely to buy a Wii because they now own an Xbox 360." Compare that to the 52% who were "neutral or more likely to buy a PlayStation 3." 19% of 360 owners were "somewhat or much more likely" to buy a Wii.

Wii owners, strangely, were slightly more positive about Sony's system than Microsoft's: 53% were "neutral or more likely to buy a PlayStation 3 because they now own a Wii", versus 44% of Wii owners who felt the same way about the 360.

We think we may have spotted a subtle troll in Gamasutra's writeup: "Results for PlayStation 3 owners buying other consoles were not disclosed in the survey results, presumably because the sample size was below Magid's acceptable levels." Either that's a joke at the PS3's expense, or reality is a joke at the PS3's expense.

There's a beautiful set of scans on Beautiful Katamari from the most recent Famitsu, but there's no sign of anything Wii-related; all the news is about the PS3 and the 360. It's enough to make a Nintendo fan weep. We want to roll up big balls and hear the screams of the city folk. We want to roll our big balls online, and we want to use our Wii remotes. What gives? Throw us a bone here, people!

Does this mean the rumors are dead? Not at all; the game is only half-completed, after all, and from the scans, we can't pick out any reason to avoid the Wii and we don't seem to be alone in that sentiment; many of the comments at Jeux France seem to share that view. Let's hope that, as Beautiful Katamari nears completion, the folks at Namco Bandai figure out that there is extraordinary demand for a Wii Katamari.

[Update 1: That was fast! Looks like we were tossed a bone after all 1UP has the following quote from Jun Moriwaki, director of Beautiful Katamari. "The Wii is also one of our platform choices .... However, the controller for Wii is quite unique so being able to overcome the different issues will be the key." That'll do, director. You go work on that, and we'll be waiting.]

We don't often speak of real competition around here -- that is, competition with Microsoft and Sony. There are a lot of reasons for this; after all, Nintendo themselves claim (quite rightly) that when it comes to this market, they're not competing with the other guys. They're looking to do something new.

But the fact remains that for a while, Nintendo has been in third place when it comes to the console wars. Is that really so bad? According to the New Yorker, when you're Nintendo and the other guys are bleeding money, it's just fine to come in last. We know, it seems strange on the face, but once examined, it makes sense. Without the pressure of out-processing and out-performing the other guys when it comes to power, graphics, and sound, Nintendo is free to do whatever they want -- and that shows in the Wii. We don't mean just in the innovative turn the system design took, either. It means Nintendo is free to wield their money where it counts, and in return, they reap the reward of profiting on every system that sells.

We've heard most of this before, but rarely in a context that compares the video game industry to other businesses. The New Yorker draws a comparison to car companies by posing the question of who one would rather be in that market: GM or Honda? The choice is easy. Staying near the top is a benefit when it comes to making and selling cars. But the business of games doesn't seem to follow all the same rules -- and it's interesting to look at what's going on in the industry from that perspective.

So what does that mean will happen if Nintendo continues the roll they're on with the Wii and the DS and catapults back into the spotlight as the biggest and baddest of all? Will their profitability slip? Or is Nintendo just the best business model gaming has to offer, regardless of the standings between the big three?

Americans, brutal creatures that we are, love to see things get the snot beat out of them. Just look at the daily entries on eBaums World, which routinely feature slightly insane teenagers destroying their own bodies or various pieces of physical property. Generally, though, that property is not a delicious piece of hotly-anticipated hardware.

Come launch day, sadomasochistic website Smash My Wii will document the pointless destruction of a brand-new Nintendo Wii. They will camp out for inordinate amounts of time, be the first to pick it up, head outside and smash the living daylights of the thing in front of dozens of horribly confused fanboys. They did something similar with an Xbox 360, so you can check that out to see what to expect. Ridiculous.

Market research firm IDG recently published a huge report detailing their predictions for the next-gen console wars, as well as PC games and the handhelds, through 2010. But however long-reaching the data may be, it isn't far-reaching, as it only covers North America and Western Europe. Unsurprising -- they list the Wii as the big loser. Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before, but we fully expect to convert our North American brothers. What is more suprising is that the 360 is just barely coming out on top here, with the PS3 poised to take the lead soon after. Of course, after 2010, we'll all be driving rocket cars for our robot masters, so will the console wars really matter?

[Via Joystiq]

According to our patrons at Joystiq, who never let us in on any of their fun, the Wii's Call of Duty 3 may not boast the power of its rivals on the PS3 and 360, but it brings something far more important to the table: fun. Yes, an actual fun video game! Try not to wet yourself with glee. Joystiq's Kevin Kelly got to spend some time with all three, and has written up a great comparison of what each version can offer.

Unlike the last minute twists and turns on the PS3 controller, the "Battle Actions" performed with the Wiimote and nunchuk feel natural, Kelly reports. It pulls you into the game. Does that mean we're all going to look like the guys in the various Red Steel trailers? Probably. Draw the shades and drop the blinds before you pick up the Wiimote.

But while the Wii is kicking eight sorts of ass in the controls department, it's not all sunshine and roses. The Call of Duty franchise really benefits from online multiplayer, which is a feature we will not have. And the graphics are not quite up to the quality of the other consoles, though from the screenshot above, we're not seeing much to complain about.

Will the tiny Wii muscle aside the 360 and the PS3? Who would win in a steel cage match? And does size really matter when considering a new console?

Far-reaching philosophical questions about size aside, we stumbled across a chart comparing the heft of the three next generation consoles -- and the original NES is thrown in for good measure. In fact, Nintendo owns the smaller end of this spectrum -- even the old faithful NES is smaller than the 360 or PS3.

We'd like to see some other comparison charts, like heat or noise emissions, amount of damage inflicted by a thrown controller, functionality of each console after the family pet knocks over the entire entertainment system, etc. ... but we guess that we'll have to wait until after release date for some of those. Check the chart out after the jump.

Japanese media giant Enterbrain recently surveyed retailers, as reported by Gamefront.de, about their expectations for game system sales this holiday season. We know you're not surprised, but right now? The show is all Nintendo.

Retailers were asked, "Which next generation console do you think will sell better this Christmas?" The results lean heavily toward Nintendo -- 88% thought the Wii would boast better sales, and 11% settled on the PS3. We're not sure if it's worse that Microsoft wasn't even listed (perhaps because the Xbox 360 was released last year) or that Sony only garnered 11% in the poll.

The Wii loses, however, when it comes to all systems ... because 60% of retailers queried thought the Nintendo DS would be the top dog of all holiday console sales. Only 32.8% chose the Wii ... and a shocking 3.3% picked the PS3.

Back at E3, it seemed as though Microsoft and Nintendo united against the big dog, Sony. Peter Moore, one of the big faces in the Xbox world, had lovely heaping praise for Nintendo's machine, recommending that players could get the high power of the 360 and the originality of the Wii for the same cost as a single PS3 (note: this is no longer true, unless you use the $300 core 360 and the $600 PS3 model). Nintendo also commented on the bundle, saying that it was a great idea.

Did anyone really expect it to last? Recent comments by both Peter Moore and Reggie indicate that the companies have returned to their icy status-quo relationship. In a recent interview, Moore stated that he was worried that the Wii would only be fun for "a few minutes"...that punk! Reggie, when asked about the Wii60 combo, admitted that he thought that if gamers want to have another system to complement their Wii, it should be a Nintendo DS Lite. He then explained this comment with a very simple statement: "I'm greedy."

Honest to a fault! We love ya, Reggie. Who here is going to let this travesty of public relations deter them from their beloved Wii60 combo?

Japanese publishing company Enterbrain has tossed their hat into the analyst ring with a new set of longterm predictions on the outcome of the console war in Japan. President Hirokazu Hamamura predicts that the Wii will sell for about 20,000 yen and $170 in the U.S., and that over the next five years, the Wii will move 10 million units in Japan. This far outstrips the 4 million GameCubes the article lists as having sold in Japan so far. Hamamura also puts the PS3 at similar numbers, predicting a draw between Sony and Nintendo in systems sold over the next five years.

The Xbox 360, they said, doesn't really have a chance for success in Japan. Ouch. These predictions are far different from those made for the U.S., which reflects the vast difference in market -- at least so far as Japanese underdog Microsoft is concerned.

Oh, look. Another independent analyst stepped up to predict the outcome of the console war. This time it's Boston-based Yankee Group, and they're in with a win for Sony. According to their report, Sony will outsell the competition with 44% of the market share, and Nintendo will suffer a devastating loss in the "war" with 16% market share. They have Microsoft closing in on Sony with 40%.

The biggest (it was a tough call) problem with this report, from our fan-centric perspective, is not the numbers or the predictions or anything else. It is the fact that Wii is being compared to the GameCube. Sure, there are similarities in hardware. But for the purpose of comparing market share? That's not the same ballpark. It may not even be the same game. If a comparison must be drawn, look instead to the Nintendo DS. Nintendo has opened a new world of potential by looking beyond just the gaming community. The proof is in the DS -- and unless there's some outrageous mistake on an epic scale in Nintendo's future, it's probably a safe bet that Wii will be nothing like the GameCube. Whether or not it'll fare better in the console wars is still somewhat up in the air (though it has price on its side), but comparing the two from a marketing perspective is something of a stretch. And predicting that the Wii will sell fewer units than the GameCube's 21 million? That's laughable.

As for all these predictions ... in 2011, if anyone was right, will we even care?

[Update 1: 12 is totally not 21.]

The latest issue of Official Playstation Monthly featured a short interview with Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima. After comparing the three next-gen systems to food in a rather famous quote a year ago, Hideo now has a new view on the subject.

"Now, the PlayStation 3 is like a movie theater for people who want to see this movie on the big screen with THX and 5.1 audio, even if they have to pay a high price. The Xbox 360 is DVD. Basically, you don't know what movie you want to see, so you go to the store and see if you can pick up a good one. The Wii is like a TV for when you're home and you don't know what you want to watch but you [want to] have that variety."

Yeahhhhh. Not really sure what that means, but Hideo has shown some major love for the Wii in the past, so it must be good. Anyone have some of their own interesting analogies they'd like to share?

Despite having "Fanboy" displayed prominently all over the site, we generally try to avoid any of the negative connotations that usually go with the label. We're anxiously counting down the days minutes until Metal Gear Solid 4 is released, but we're also counting the money in our wallets. It doesn't add up to $600. This hilarious video, assembled from bits and pieces of Sony's E3 press conference, really illustrates how hyperbolic marketing and endless spin can quickly turn against you and reinforce your competitors. Had Sony just showed off a fine array of launch titles instead of trumpeting the arrival of their Blu-Ray trojan horse, they'd be in a much better position now.

[via Digg]