I’ve been carping a lot lately on DP and in a few other places about how the litmus test for a new game console for me isn’t brand loyalty, hype or advertising – it’s about showing me a game that I have to have. A few years into the Gamecube’s lifespan, Pac-Man Vs. finally got me on board, and I belatedly discovered the joys of Rogue Leader not long afterward. Those games and the Game Boy Player boot disk make up pretty much the entirety of my ‘cube library. They are why I have that machine. Same deal with the Katamari games and the PS2. Do I have other Ps2 titles? Yes – the usual suspects: Namco Museum (disappointing compared to the original PS1 versions), Taito Classics, and so on. But rolling stuff around into big balls and launching them into the heavens, that’s why I have a PS2. (If this sounds even less economical than those little joysticks with a limited number of built-in games, bear in mind that I got both machines at a substantial discount; in fact, I traded for the ‘cube and considered it an insanely good deal.) To get my attention, a new console has to show me a game that I absolutely must have in my library. Something unique. Something that I’m going to play again. That being said…I have to say that the ads for the Wii have already got me mentally budgeting for that machine in the new year. I’ve been telling everyone that I’ll spring for the Wii when Nintendo and LucasArts give me a kick-ass lightsaber game, but having seen RedSteel and a couple of others…wow. The kinetic controller really does appear to change the face of things. When the thing actually launches, I’m going to make it my mission to head down to Wal-Mart or someplace demoing the thing, and play it for myself before I go home and say “Honey, let’s blow $250 on yet another game console to put in our house!” But at least on a conceptual level, I’m in love. The last time I just saw a game and thought to myself, “Man, that looks fun. I’ve gotta get one of those,” it was Katamari. I haven’t gotten this enthused seeing people play Guitar Hero.
Clearly, some hands-0n research is warranted, but yeah, for the first time in…um…kinda like…ever, I may actually get a new console within half a year of its launch. (To put things in perspective, the last/only time I’ve ever been an early adopter was with the original Game Boy. I was still in high school.) And all this because, so help me, the Wii looks fun. (Or maybe this is yet another indicator that I need more sleep.)
Regarding RedSteel, I don’t know if it will change your mind, but in this year’s Videogame Buyer’s Guide, they actually listed this game in their short list of Wii “Games to Avoid”. The others were Barnyard, Open Season, Blazing Angels and Far Cry: Vengeance. For myself, I’ve been a fairly early adopter on some systems (including the original PlayStation) but the GameCube was the only system I’ve bought on it’s “Launch Day”.
I think I’m more of a modern gamer than you are, Earl (my GCN collection stands at over fifty last time I counted), but I’m also not an early adopter. It was almost a year before I got my GameCube, well over two years before I got an XBOX (and only because I got a “Halo Edition” cheap) and I still do not have a PS2. (It hasn’t reached that “must have” status yet.)
In fact, the only time *I* ever bought a system at or near launch was the Dreamcast (the true “Next Gen” leap of the last cycle). I bought my Japanese model two weeks before the US launch and promptly spent over a year waiting for a boot disk that would allow me to play US games. (As I side note, at the time I bought my Dreamcast, I still didn’t own a PlayStation. That platform just never clicked with me.)
The Wii could very well be the second early adoption for me (although I obviously missed the actual launch). I played “Excite Truck” at an EB Games the other day and I thought it was OK. I can enjoy racing games like that if they have a hook like “Star Wars” or “Cars”, but otherwise, they never grab me. Still, even knowing that “Excite Truck” is *not* a game I’m terribly interested in owning, that controller sold me completely. Just the thought of what that input device means for “The Legend of Zelda” is making that money harder and harder to not spend. (Full backwards compatibility with my expansive GameCube library also helps ease the burden, as I had already been contemplating getting a second GCN for the downstairs.)
Do you have a Game Boy Player on the second ‘cube? I’m contemplating keeping my ‘cube right where it is, so that if I get a Wii in here, the ‘cube can be used as the “GBA” for Pac-Man Vs., which…if you haven’t played it…well, I’ll bring it right over. 😆
Actually, at least report, there will supposedly be a Wii at the next mid-south gaming get together (anyone within sane driving distance of Bentonville, AR should check it out), so I’m definitely looking forward to trying it out.
I definitely have the Game Boy Player for my GCN and it’s the primary reason I won’t be getting rid of it when the Wii comes along. (So far, no Game Boy Player has been announced for the Wii.)
And “Pac-Man vs.” is hella fun. That the kind of thing you get when you turn Mario’s daddy loose with someone else’s toys.
That being said…I have to say that the ads for the Wii have already got me mentally budgeting for that machine in the new year. I’ve been telling everyone that I’ll spring for the Wii when Nintendo and LucasArts give me a kick-ass lightsaber game, but having seen RedSteel and a couple of others…wow. The kinetic controller really does appear to change the face of things. When the thing actually launches, I’m going to make it my mission to head down to Wal-Mart or someplace demoing the thing, and play it for myself before I go home and say “Honey, let’s blow $250 on yet another game console to put in our house!” But at least on a conceptual level, I’m in love. The last time I just saw a game and thought to myself, “Man, that looks fun. I’ve gotta get one of those,” it was Katamari. I haven’t gotten this enthused seeing people play Guitar Hero.
Regarding RedSteel, I don’t know if it will change your mind, but in this year’s Videogame Buyer’s Guide, they actually listed this game in their short list of Wii “Games to Avoid”. The others were Barnyard, Open Season, Blazing Angels and Far Cry: Vengeance. For myself, I’ve been a fairly early adopter on some systems (including the original PlayStation) but the GameCube was the only system I’ve bought on it’s “Launch Day”.
I think I’m more of a modern gamer than you are, Earl (my GCN collection stands at over fifty last time I counted), but I’m also not an early adopter. It was almost a year before I got my GameCube, well over two years before I got an XBOX (and only because I got a “Halo Edition” cheap) and I still do not have a PS2. (It hasn’t reached that “must have” status yet.)
In fact, the only time *I* ever bought a system at or near launch was the Dreamcast (the true “Next Gen” leap of the last cycle). I bought my Japanese model two weeks before the US launch and promptly spent over a year waiting for a boot disk that would allow me to play US games. (As I side note, at the time I bought my Dreamcast, I still didn’t own a PlayStation. That platform just never clicked with me.)
The Wii could very well be the second early adoption for me (although I obviously missed the actual launch). I played “Excite Truck” at an EB Games the other day and I thought it was OK. I can enjoy racing games like that if they have a hook like “Star Wars” or “Cars”, but otherwise, they never grab me. Still, even knowing that “Excite Truck” is *not* a game I’m terribly interested in owning, that controller sold me completely. Just the thought of what that input device means for “The Legend of Zelda” is making that money harder and harder to not spend. (Full backwards compatibility with my expansive GameCube library also helps ease the burden, as I had already been contemplating getting a second GCN for the downstairs.)
Do you have a Game Boy Player on the second ‘cube? I’m contemplating keeping my ‘cube right where it is, so that if I get a Wii in here, the ‘cube can be used as the “GBA” for Pac-Man Vs., which…if you haven’t played it…well, I’ll bring it right over. 😆
Actually, at least report, there will supposedly be a Wii at the next mid-south gaming get together (anyone within sane driving distance of Bentonville, AR should check it out), so I’m definitely looking forward to trying it out.
I definitely have the Game Boy Player for my GCN and it’s the primary reason I won’t be getting rid of it when the Wii comes along. (So far, no Game Boy Player has been announced for the Wii.)
And “Pac-Man vs.” is hella fun. That the kind of thing you get when you turn Mario’s daddy loose with someone else’s toys.