E3 2009 Assessment: Nintendo Conference

A four-player 2D Mario for the Wii was a good start.

As with the other systems, in my pre-E3 assessment for the Wii I broke the console’s strengths and weaknesses down into three categories: Hardware, Software (Hardcore) and Software (Casual).  With the Nintendo press conference out of the way (which should cover all their significant announcements) I’m going to take a look at each of those categories again and see how Nintendo fared (in my opinion).  After that is an assessment of each individual item revealed/shown, and my verdict on the conference as a whole.  Click through for details.

Today’s Play: LittleBig Sim Kart Wheels

I haven’t played anything for a few days (which is why there were no Today’s Play entries).  Nothing in my collection particularly excites me at the moment, mostly because I’m tempted to buy something new.  Today, however, I did put some time into Mario Kart Wii, LittleBigPlanet and The Sims 2.

Mario Kart Wii

Being somebody who doesn’t generally like racing or enjoy driving, I’m fairly easy to please with the Mario Kart games.  As long as there are the familiar characters (especially Wario, my personal default choice), a healthy selection of tracks and the ability to race in the cups with friends/family then I’m happy, so Mario Kart Wii is exactly what I wanted from it.

Pre-E3 assessment: Wii

As mentioned in the PS3 and 360 posts, I’m taking a look at each of the consoles ahead of the E3 event next week and discussing what I perceive to be their weaknesses, and what they could announce at E3 to improve things.

As before, each console will broken down into three categories: hardware (concerning the actual console itself), hardcore software (with “hardcore” being shorthand for the dedicated gamers who read video game news sites and are part of gaming communities) and casual software (with “casual” being used to describe both the gamers who enjoy the hobby but don’t immerse themselves in it, and the expanded audience that has been attracted to gaming by the Wii).

Wii

Hardware

Current Problems: There aren’t really any.  The console is acceptably cheap for the masses (and makes a profit on each unit sold) and is relatively free of hardware trouble.  Generally the main criticisms that could be levelled against it are that it’s not HD (making it forever unattractive to a certain portion of the hardcore market), its storage solution (using SD cards as additional storage space) is inelegant, and its online and community features are lacking.