Nintendo Wii

[kate1976]

My son wants this for christmas, worth it or not? He has a gamecube at the moment, is it true that the Wii will take the gamecube games?

[AHApartridge]

The nintendo wii can play gamecube games and if you have wi-fi you will be download any former nintendo game directly onto the wii's hard drive.

[Mattk]

as usual with nintendo this is one for the younger gamer imho

[SarCaustic]

It will most definitely be worth it! From the outset it seems to be the most original and innovative of the next generation consoles and will be the cheapest by far. It also has a lot of industry backing, so it should be a safe bet.

[AHApartridge]

nintendo are actually trying to appeal to all ages by having a wider variety of games, i even saw a orchestra conductor game!

[dave_c]

As far as I know, it's actually not that powerful compared to the xbox360 and the forthcoming PlayStation3 with the 'insides' actually just a slightly more powerful modified version than the gamecube and you can't even play it in a HD TV set. Don't know if the case is true or not.

[Llamatron]

Mattk - Are you saying it's for kids because Nintendo games tend to use cute graphics and there's not enough violence? Surely that in itself is immature?

Dave_c - Of course it'll work on an HDTV, it just wont output HD graphics. The DS is hugely underpowered compared to the PSP yet has a far better selection of games and is more popular.

Am I the only one bored with the constant stream of sequels just with better graphics?

[Baseley09]

For sure its worth it, despite it not being near 360 & PS3 graphic power, it sure is strong enough to have excellent looking games.

Its highest resolution is ED, 480p which is fine.....got my pre order down.

[kate1976]

Thanks guys for your input, I think I'll go for it, it should keep him quiet for a while!!

[Mattk]

llamatron - I am saying that the vast majority of nintendo games are aimed at the younger gamer because of their content.
nintendo lack innovation in their games and keep recycling tried and tested game characters.
violence in video games CAN be un-necessary but there is more to gaming than mario you know !when you get right down to it,even cutesy nintendo games contain violence albeit dealt with in a soft fashion.

[Llamatron]

The only games that spring to mind as being deliberately aimed at kids are the insultingly simplistic lazy movie cashins, the devlopers being too lazy/short of time to make a proper game. And most of those are found on the PS2.

I think Nintendo try to be age group agnostic.
The colourful graphics are just a product of trying to appeal to everyone.

Don't get me wrong, I bought my PS2 for the GTA series and have played them all to death. But I've spent more time on my cutesy DS games in the past month than I have on my PSP since I got it. My DS games are just more fun. Simple as that.

[Mattk]

hey its all horses for courses !
i never have liked nintendo and i doubt i ever will.the last resi evil game that was on gc before eventually arriving on ps2 has been the only game to ever make me even consider buying a nintendo console.that said,i would agree that their simplistic approach to games does lend itself well to handhelds hence the amazing success of the gameboy.but with sony bringing the more powerful psp to market and with microsoft soon to follow,will ninty's handheld domination last over this next generation?

[WoWo]

"nintendo lack innovation in their games and keep recycling tried and tested game characters. "

Sorry, but thats the most ludicrous thing anybody has said in the Gaming section.

Recycling Characters yes, recycling games definately not.

The reason Nintendo is still going is simply because of it's inovation, the DS and Wii being the prime examples.

Whats inovative about the 360 or PS3? The most inovative thing about the PS3 was the controller and they even wimped out on that, "recycling tried and tested controllers"

Just for the record I have a 360.

[Baseley09]

Mattk, the PSP has shown power isnt everything, its has BEEN beaten already by DS with sales of 5 to 1 on figures released this week. Furthermore EA have threatened to drop their support if Sony doesnt do something baout the PSP quick.

Lack on innovation ?? Thats pretty funny right there, you see the same characters yes, but the games they appear in are usually fresh.

If you wanna see lacking innovation see GTA, any EA sports franchise and most of the abysmal Eidios catalogue.

[FrancisB]

There seem to be a number of sensible arguments on here.

Look at the PSP and the DS. The PSP is far more powerful; just look at the graphics. And yet, the DS is outselling it because it has a better, wider range of games.

Sony are trying to put games that were intended solely for home consoles onto the PSP. In one slip-up, a main person at Sony even admitted that the PSP isn't meant to be played outside the home. Whereas Nintendo have decades of handheld experience behind them.

[jimmothywats]

he has a point there like... plus I think the PSP is badly designed... I mean have you tried to play an FPS on it? its shockingly stupid to control! Now metroid on the other hand, what a game! the touch screen makes it a breeze to play!