Nintendo Wii turns one, gamers split on its success (News)

Blake Snow, GamePro (online)

20/11/2007 11:07:09

Nintendo was too cheap to send us a cake, but the Wii still turned one today. Happy birthday, little fella!

According to VG Chartz, the Wii has already managed to outsell the older Xbox 360 despite Nintendo's continued shortages. Nintendo also displaced Sony as the largest first-party software maker, iSupply said in October.

In short, a lot of people (including core gamers) enjoy Wii for what it is -- a unique system with a focus on fun.

"The only next-gen system I've seen is the Wii," said famed developer Will Wright in an interview last month. "The PS3 and the Xbox 360 feel like better versions of the last, but pretty much the same game with incremental improvement."

Notwithstanding Wii's mass popularity, many gamers remain unconvinced, if not alienated by the motion-sensing console. It was the first home system to buck the industry trend of a graphics upgrade every five years, leaving Wii's current library of unfamiliar games lacking in visual appeal when compared to the more realistic looking titles found on Xbox 360 and PS3.

Furthermore, many long-time gamers fear that conventional games may decrease over time as casual games readily found on Wii and DS rise in popularity.

Whatever the case, the Wii marks the return of Nintendo as the dominate console leader -- a position that Sony formerly enjoyed over the last 10 years.