What do you expect in the next generation of consoles

At the handheld front
Nintendo has launched various iterations of its Nintendo DS (including 3DS). Sony launched its PSVita in some region recently.

At the console front
So far only Nintendo has come forward to announced its WiiU, the other two companies are still keeping mum on their next gen consoles. The current gen of consoles were likely to be developed in 2002 to 2004 when some of the latest development in technology are not yet available. E.g. SATA 3, USB 3, 28 nano, Phenomenal graphical processing power.

As a result, some of the companies try to add these functions to extend the life (or rather sales) of their consoles. Since these consoles were not 'born' with such features, the implementation would not be as natural and the results would not be as perfect as one wants it to be.

E.g. Kinect has a scaled down built-in camera. It has more laggy responses due to its limited ability to transfer huge amount of data between it and the console.


Nonetheless, there are a few features that will surely be found on the new consoles

• Motion control e.g. Kinect like controls.
  
• Full HD graphics
• USB 3.0 ports (maybe)
  
• Blu ray
• Bigger internal memory and h
  
• Wireless N technology
  

Is remaking games the latest trend

In recent month, we have seen lots of last generation console games being remade for the current generation console. Though some of the current gen console offers backward compatibility with older games, games developer probably find it more profitable to touch up on the old game and give the title a new lease of life.

As we can seen from all the remakes, the efforts that developers put into converting the game into a HD experience varies greatly. Let's recap some of the remake titles:

Shadow of the Colossus + ICO
God of War collection
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection for XBox 360 and PS3 (includes MGS3 which used to be PS2 exclusive)
Prince of Persia Collection
Splinter Cell collection
Tomb Raider Trilogy
Resident Evil 4 HD
Final Fantasy X (announced)
Okami Wii (formerly a PS2 exclusive)
House of the Dead Overkill Extended Cut

Remake Hybrid
Ninja Gaiden Sigma for PS3 (HD version of XBox Ninja Gaiden)

The trend of remaking a last gen console game for the latest gen console is not something new. E.g. various capcom, sega genesis collection, various Final Fantasy series. The risk involved in creating a franchise from scatch is big. Lots of money are involved and there's no promise that it will sell enough copies to recoup the monies committed.

Remake are usually are attempt to cash in on the newer generation of gamers that were too young to played them when they were first released. Most of the remakes have not become huge hits. Partly because majority of the gamers would have played them if the original game was released on a last generation console. (E.g. MGS2, Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia, RE4).

Though the remake leverage on HD version of the older game as selling point, the graphics are usually souped up version of the SD game. It will not be as crisp and sharp as those created solely for the current gen console. Some of the remakes are perceive to be half hearted attempts. E.g. Resident Evil 4 HD does not support Playstation Move.

On the other hand, games like House of the Dead Overkill Extended Cut (not really a remake since it was only released on Wii) leverages on PS3 processing power and Playstation Move feature to deliver a truly HD rail shooter.

Remaking is not a new trend. We see it to a certain extent in fashion, movies, TV drama and songs. It is not something good or bad. Its just a natural response to tap into a tried and tested formula that had worked in the past.

As at 25 Jan 09, XBox360 sold 27.9 million worldwide while PS3 sold 19.9 million units.

The figures seemed to suggest that Xbox360 is a much more popular and successful console than PS3. Is this the truth or a myth? Let's investigate.

The following figures were extracted from vgchartz.com (as at 25 Jan 09)

PS3 XBox360
Grand Theft Auto IV 5.34 mil 6.74 mil
Call of Duty 4 3.97 mil 6.98 mil
Assassin Creed 3.29 mil 4.48 mil
Guitar Heroes III 1.86 mil 3.96 mil
Need for Speed Prostreet 1.54 mil 1.87 mil
Fallout 3 1.17 mil 1.93 mil
Devil May Cry 4 1.30 mil 1.19 mil
Far Cry 2 0.82 mil 1.24 mil
Burnout Paradise 0.88 mil 0.93 mil

Since XBox360 has sold more console, it is not surprising that it sold more games than PS3. But when one takes into account XBox360 larger user base, one should expect XBox360 to sell much more games than the numbers shown above. Nevertheless for games developers, its the absolute number of games sold that counts.

Another way of looking at the numbers is to consider how many each game sold as a percentage of console user base:
PS3 XBox360 % of PS3 user % of XBox360 user
Grand Theft Auto IV 5.34 mil 6.74 mil 26.8 24.2
Call of Duty 4 3.97 mil 6.98 mil 19.9 25.0
Assassin Creed 3.29 mil 4.48 mil 16.5 16.1
Guitar Heroes III 1.86 mil 3.96 mil 9.3 14.2
Need for Speed Prostreet 1.54 mil 1.87 mil 7.7 6.7
Fallout 3 1.17 mil 1.93 mil 5.9 6.9
Devil May Cry 4 1.30 mil 1.19 mil 6.5 4.3
Far Cry 2 0.82 mil 1.24 mil 4.1 4.4
Burnout Paradise 0.88 mil 0.93 mil 4.4 3.3

From the sample selected, about half of the time there is no material difference between either console. However for titles like FPS (e.g. COD4), XBox360 has commanded a clear lead over its rival. This could be due to Microsoft strength in supporting a seamless multiplayer experience.

Can cheap and good coexist?

Its basic human instinct to look for the best deal when buying things. Customer will feel good knowing that they are not overcharged. The seller also hope that the customer will spread good things about their shop to others.

However this assumption does not apply to shops that are not concerned about reputation and goodwill. They will try to extract whatever they can get from the customer but resorting to deceit and misrepresentation. If customer complains, they will resort to brute force. If there are more complaints, they will close the shop and open another one under a different name.

Well established game shops are known to offer good service at fantastic prices. However when black sheeps beckons to unsuspecting customers with unbelievably cheap prices, the latter trust in well established game shop began to waiver. Some customer will confront the game shop with "if THAT shop (i.e. black sheep) can offer me such prices, why can't you match it. So much for my faith in you!"'

Recently there was an account of a couple traumatic experience at a popular forum. They visited a shady shop in Sim Lim Square. After refusing to pay more monies to 'increase the internal memory' of their newly acquired PSP, things turned ugly. The male customer was badly assaulted by three of the shop assistant.

The irony is the customer had done his research and is well aware that its a shady shop. But they were too tired after comparing prices at shop after shop. So they just want to get over and done with the purchase. They thought that might not be so unlucky.

There is a popular saying, if the price is too good to be true, its probably fake. Remember this golden rule well.

Games Region Coding

Do you ever have a problem with console games bought overseas not running on your console. If yes, chances is you are a victim of region coding.

Like DVD, all console games are region coded. The grouping of the region code is different for different type of media. E.g. according to Wikipedia, DVD has 8 different region code. On the other hand, PS2 games only have 3 types of region code - NTSC/U, NTSC/J, PAL.

Region coding the media is futile if the hardware are not region coded. Hence all the consoles are also similar coded. Hence it ensure that games bought from one region cannot be played on console from another region. If a US gamer wants to play games that are only launch in Japan, they will have to buy a Japanese console.

If all games were available at the same price and released on the same day, region coding might not have been such a big issue. However in reality it rarely happens. Some games are exclusive to a region. Other such as Nintendo's Super Smash Brother Brawl was released in Europe/Australia in June 08 - 3 months after it was launched in the US (and 6 months after it was launched in Japan). The price of game also varies widely across different region. Games are cheaper in US than Australia/Europe.

Companies have leverage on 'overriding' region coding to sell their products. Datel's Freeloader allow Wii user to play games from another region. However Nintendo didn't take it lightly. It promptly issue System Update 3.3 which cancel the loophole exploited by Freeloader and render the latter a white elephant.

There are others that uses hardware to overcome the region coding it. e.g. modchip. Console manufacturers responded by making their console harder to mod.

If it is the same game, why don't they just do away with region coding?

Region coding allows software developer to customise their product to a particular.
The controversial Manhunt 2 was deemed too violent in the EU and Rockstar had to launch a "tone down" version of the game there. Suda51's No More Heroes (PAL version) was also customised to address the same concern. Games from different region can also have slightly different content. E.g. PS2's Final Fantasy X.

Console manufacturer priced their console differently in different geographical region. If it desperately want to penetrate a market, the console will be priced more cheaply there. Some times, it can be up to 30% cheaper. If there is no region coding, a shrewd businessman would buy consoles from that region and sell it elsewhere for a handsome profit. However region coding prevents them from doing so. E.g. Wii are sold very cheaply in Korea. However, there is little incentive for one to import a Wii from that region. Firstly it can't play games from your region. Secondly, few people can understand the Korean System Menu.

However in recent years, there appears to be a trend towards "region free" . E.g. PS3 console can play games from any region. Some of the popular Xbox360 titles are also region free. E.g. Assassin Creed, Left4Dead, Fable II, Red Alert 3, Call of Duty: World at War.

Will this trend continue? Only time will tell.

Do you know that your Xbox360 can be different from your neighbour's

A number of potential XBox360 buyers are waiting impatiently for the latest XBox 360 that is equipped with Jasper motherboard.

Majority of the XBox360 gamers or PS3 gamers does not know that Microsoft and Sony changes the motherboard inside their console over time. If all XBox360 can run the same game, then they should have the same hardware. Right or wrong?

No. They use hardware that possess the same capability but are smaller in size than their predecessor. Unlike PC upgrades, the motherboard changes does not increase the console's CPU or GPU power.

Nevertheless such changes are good for you. They leverage on technological advances to consume less energy every time you play. Lower power consumption also mean less heat being produced. And hopefully lower the risk of getting RROD.

Such changes also open up the possibility of giving your XBox 360 a new design. Sony has done this numerous time to its PSX, PS2, PSP. Nintendo has also done it to the DS.

Microsoft benefits too. They can price the console more competitively as newer motherboard are cheaper to produce.

More PS3 predictions

Looks like my hopes of a slim PS3 didn't come true this time round. Nevertheless Sony presented us with a 80 GB PS3 equipped with a 65 nm Cell and smaller 65 nm RSX, bundled with DualShock3 controller.

After Xbox 360 price is slashed to US$199. Prepare to expect some price cut in PS3 should the new 80 GB model fail to propel PS3 sales. Possibly happening closer to X'mas this eyar or early 2009.

It is reported that a 45 nm Cell would be produced next year. My guess is it would be equipped with a 65 nm RSX. This is likely to happen in Q3 2009. By then the PS3 would be 30 months old and its time for a new look.

A new look coupled with a 45 nm Cell that consumes 40% less power than the 65 nm Cell would certainly be great news for any new PS3 owners.

Smaller PS3 soon?

News

1. Sony PS3 is expected to be involved in some cost cutting measures including a reduction in a number of its parts. (26 Jun 08)
   
2. PS3 will start using 65 nm RSX graphics chips this autumn (26 Jun 08)
3. PS3 heat sink producer announced a smaller heat sink. (25 Apr 08)
4. IBM announces plans for 45 nm Cell (7 Feb 08)
5. Toshiba is planning to produce 65nm followed by 45nm.(27 Nov 07)

Prediction

• Expect a slimmer PS3 model (bundled with DualShock 3) soon.
  
• The PS3 was launched in Nov 2006. To celebrate its 2 year old birthday, it would be great for the slim version to appear before Christmas 2008. The 40 GB model (that uses 65 nm Cell) was launched in Oct 2007.

Why do I think so

1. Sony is losing money selling PS3 console. To achieve profitability, it need to reduce cost. Its much cheaper to produce newer generation of chips like 45 nm Cell and RSX.
2. Rising energy cost. Among the 3 next gen consoles, the PS3 consumes the most energy. It consumes 10 times more energy than a Wii. Most of it is used up by the Cell processor and RSX graphics chip. These chip generate lots of heat and heat sink are then used to dissipate them from the PS3. Newer chips use less energy.
3. Sony PS3 sales is lagging behind XBox360 and Wii. Consoles usually boost their sales when a slimmer version appears. (e.g. It happens to DS Lite, PSP Slim.)
4. Launch of recent blockbuster titles like GTA4 and MGS4 failed to boost PS3 sales significantly. Some of the recent Ps3 exclusive games were a major letdown e.g. Haze. No more exclusive must have titles scheduled for the rest of the year. The earliest must have PS3 exclusive mega-blockbuster might be arriving is in 2009. (E.g. FFXIII, GOW3,GT5)
5. Rising cost coupled with a weakening dollar and heightened risk of recession might curb consumption. If so, demand for luxury entertainment like PS3 might be cut
   

Games production cost

Well made next Gen console with pretty graphics does not come cheap.

GTA IV released in late last month reportedly costs US$100 million to produce. Halo 3 cost about US$65 million in production cost. The risk associated with such project is high. Games takes time to develop. During the development stage, the studio must have deep enough pocket to sustain the project. It must have enough money to cater for overrun in project costs.

Another aspect of the risk is associated with the customer. Will the game get sufficient support from customers? Will the game sales generate enough revenue to cover its production costs? For a game costing US$100 million, it must be able to sell more than 2.5 million copies to break even. Furthermore pirates have found a way to allow one of the high end next gen console to play backup games. It can result in further revenue losses.

To minimise risk and ensure a decent on their investments, more and more console games that used to be exclusive to certain console are going multi-platform. E.g. GTA IV and Devil May Cry 4. When Ubisoft's Assassin Creed was first announced, it was meant to be a PS3 exclusive . However, the game was subsequently launched as a multi-platform game.

Activision's Guitar Heroes series started off on the PS2. Subsequently it also appears on XBox360. Konami's Metal Gear series used to be Playstation exclusive. However MGS2 was also published for XBox. If MGS4 does not do well on the PS3 platform, Konami might launched it on XBox360 too.

PS3 Power consumption

According to Sony, their launch model i.e. PS3 60 GB which is based on a 90 nm Cell processor and 90 nm RSX graphics chip consumes 380 Watts.

The PS3 40 GB model which was launched in late 2007 uses a 65 nm Cell processor.

It is reported that 90 nm Cell consumes 200W. On the other hand, the 65 nm Cell consumes 135 watts. It is also reported that 40 GB motherboard is only 2/3 the size of the a 60 GB model motherboard. This is probably attributable to a lack of backward compatibility with PS2 in the 40 GB motherboard, the adoption of 65 nm Cell and the redesign on the circuit board within.

In early February 2008, IBM announced that it will be producing a 45 nm Cell. It is definitely a much more environmentally and electricity bill friendly chip as it only consumes 80 W.

IT enthusiaist knows that a very powerful GPU is power hungry and can draw as much as 80% of the energy from the power supply unit. Therefore PS3 powerful RSX chip which is based on the 90 nm technology is likely to consume lots of power. It can also generate lots of heat which causes the PS3 to get heated internally rapidly. Prolonged exposure to such hot temperature is certainly not good for a PS3.

I'm sure lots of us would love to see the RSX being produced on a sub 90 nm technology. We should not have to wait long as Nvidia is already using the 65 nm technology to produce the current 9xxx series GPUs. With that we are likely to see another corresponding decrease in the power consumption of the PS3.

A 40-inch full HD LCD TV draws about 240 Watts of power. And the PS3 draws another 380 watts. So it can caused a significant dent on your utility bill if your PS3 game over a pronlonged period of time.

However, PS3 uses a 45 nm Cell processor and a 65 nm RSX chip, the PS3 that once used to consume 380W is likely to consume less than 220W. With rising energy costs, we certainly look forward to Sony leading the way with a more energy efficient PS3.

Why Sony PS3 80 GB does not do well in Singapore

Sony PS3 80 GB model was probably launched in Singapore Nov 2007 at $799. It replaces the 60 GBb model. However almost of the shops in Singapore don't carry the 80 GB model anymore. What happened? Why does it fade to oblivion within such a short period of time?

Let's venture a guess.

Sony Ps3 comes in 2 flavours: 40 GB and 80 GB. Apart from the obvious difference in storage space, the main difference lies in their ability to play PS2 games. A 80 GB model which costs $240 more allows the owner to play PS2 games. However the catch is you can only play PS2 games that are coded for your region. So a PS3 80 GB owner in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand can only play NTSC-Japan PS2 games. Most of the games under this region coding are in Japanese. So they can play popular games like Devil May Cry 3, Oninmusha 3, Final Fantasy XII and Metal Gear Solid 3 in Japanese. Sadly almost all the people in these 3 countries are not literate in Japanese.

So it does not make sense for one to pay a princely sum for function that they rarely use.

Apart from the PS2 backward compatibility, the differences between these 2 models are subtle. E.g. there are 4 USB ports on 80 GB model but only 2 USB ports on 40 GB model, only the 80 GB has a built-in card reader. No worries, just connect an external card reader (cheap, cheap) to one of the USB port.

What? 40 GB model cannot play SACD. Sorry I don't know what this is. Since I don't it, I probably won't use it. Great! Ignorance is bliss.

So if one is given the choice, he is likely to go for the 40 GB model. Save the $240 for something else. E.g. buy new PS3 games like GTA4, MGS4, COD4.

Wait.... somebody just reminded me .. How can I missed that out. The 80 GB model has double the storage space of the 40 GB model. Hmm.. .. ..

Let me see. Buy the 40 GB model, pay S$240 less. Use S$15 to buy a card reader. Spend another S$200 for a 320 GB harddisk and you get a PS3 320 GB model !!

And we shall call it.. ..

PS3 Elite Edition !!

Wii in Singapore

Many people had hoped that the drop in USD exchange would cause imports to be cheaper including Wii games. Sadly this isn't true for Wii games and the game console.

Wii was launched in April 2007 in Singapore. One had to pay S$649 (about USD424) to get the game console bundle which is bundle with 3 games (Wii Sports and 2 selected games which include not so popular games like Shrek 3, Spiderman 3). In July 2007, the price of the same bundle increase by S$10 to S$659. Customers usually pay another S$70 for an additional Wiimote and another S$40 for the Nunchuk. So the total bill worked out to be S$769.

For S$30 (USD21) more customers can get a state of the art real next gen console like PS3 80 Gb model (with a wireless six axis controller!!!). Customer does not need to buy any bundle games. They can use it to play the state of the art Blu-ray movies, DVD or music CD. It can even play DivX movies and MP3. Ps3 customer can also download demo games from Sony network for free!! (Update: Its no longer worthwhile to buy PS3 in Singapore. On 24 Apr 08, Sony raised the price of PS3 by USD 35. Now the price of PS3 is more expensive than that in the USA

Quality PS3 titles cost S$10 to S$15 more than quality Wii titles. But the extra price is worth it. PS3 customers are greeted with high definition graphics and solid online experience.

Lots of fantastic games are lined up for PS3: GTA4, MGS4, GT5, FF13, RE5, and maybe SF4.



Lots of fantastic games have been released on Ps3: COD4, Assassins Creed, DMC4
.

But where is the lineup for Wii games?

Some quality Wii games have been released in the past. Mostly from Nintendo. A Wii Bestseller GH3 is available on the PS3 and Xbox360, and they come with much more enjoyable online experience.

USD exchange rate has fallen by more than 13% over the past 12 months against S$. One would expect to see the price of Wii console bundle to fall corresponding to about S$570. However this did not happened. The price of the bundle is very resilient and refuses to budge.

The sole distributor of Wii games in Singapore is Maxsoft Pte Limited. There has been posting on various forums that it is more interested in protecting enforcing Nintendo corporate rights i.e. copyright laws. In the past it has taken swift action against sellers of a type of special catridge which allows Nintendo DS users to play downloaded games.

Sadly Nintendo customers in Singapore are neglected. Nevertheless Maxsoft does appears to be bother by it so long as they enjoy the increase in earnings brought about by the favourable exchange rates.

And to add insult to injury, the games here are much more expensive than in the USA.

Wii has much more inferior graphics and functionality than its next gen counterparts. It has been repeatedly slammed by game critics for its online capability and lack of a larger storage space. Does customers deserve to pay such high price for such a system? Its a matter of time before Xbox360 and PS3 comes up with their version of the innovative controls. And its a matter of time before more and more fantastic PS3 games are released onto the market.

When Canon sells its printer, they price it very cheaply. Sooner or later, customers have to buy ink catridges from them. On the other hand, after customers buy a Wii console, sooner or later they have to use it to play games. Because they can't use it as a DVD player to play DVD !!

Wii games pricing

Strangely Nintendo Wii games are sold more cheaply in more affluent countries.

For example, in the USA, a NTSC Wii games such as Super Smash Brother Brawl (SSBB) are sold at USD 49.90. However in Asian countries like Singapore which also uses NTSC Wii, the same SSBB game is sold for S$79.90 (about USD 57.50).

Is this 'observation' unique to SSBB? I'm afraid not. The highly rated game from Capcom, Zack and Wiki, is selling at USD 29.90 in the United States. However in Singapore, the same game retails at S$ 65.00 (about USD 46.80). Why is there such a great price disparity?

Singapore has a lower GDP per capita and standard of living than USA. The cost of living is also much lower. A Big Mac cost S$3.30 (about USD 2.35) in Singapore. On the other hand, the same burger probably cost USD 3.20 in the States. If so, one would expect the price of Wii games to be corresponding cheaper in Singapore.

Unlike PS3 and XBox 360, Wii games rarely produce high quality graphics. They are much cheaper to produce than their next gen counterparts. This lower barrier to entry has caused Wii to be flooded with tons of shovelware.

In Singapore, all Nintendo products (including Wii and NDS hardware and games) are solely distributed by Maxsoft. If Wii does not sell as well as PSP, PS3, Xbox 360 in Singapore, maybe one should consider whether it is due to the amount of money that one has to pay for these last generation standard games.

New software that allow you to play Wii games from all region

Great news for all Wii users. A new Wii software 'Freeloader' has been published. For as little as USD 19.90, users can use it to play any Wii discs from any region. Fantastic news.

Implication: Like DVD Region coding, Wii games also comes with region coding. They are:
a) NTSC - Japan
b) NTSC - USA
c) PAL - For European and Australia/New Zealand

So if your Wii console is NTSC- USA, you can't use it play a Wii game that comes from the PAL region.

Differences in region coding is a minor issue if the same game is launched at different region at the same time. Unfortunately it does not happen in reality. Some games take as long as a few months before it is launched on another continent.

Worse still, some games may not be launched at all at another region. E.g. Gottlieb Pinball Classics and Wii Chess are only published in PAL. So if you own a NTSC Wii, you have to buy another PAL console to play these wonderful games.

The newly launched Freeloader from Datel take care of all these problems. To play games from other region, 'load' the Freeloader disc before inserting games from another region. Simple. (Update: According to Internet, Nintendo is aware of this loophole and has taken steps to plug it. Maybe this is the reason why Freeloader price has crashed.

丑奴儿·书博山道中壁 ·辛弃疾

少年不识愁滋味，爱上层楼。爱上层楼，为赋新词强说愁。
而今识尽愁滋味，欲说还休。欲说还休，却道天凉好个秋。

Why so many poorly rated Wii Games?

Welcome to my blog. I am facinated with games, be it handheld, console or PC. Currently all three next gen console are fighting for a bigger share of the market. I follow them closely and try to analyse trends and development. Among them my pet interest is Wii.

Wii was widely expected by the market to be a flop. Fans cried foul our its name, other scorn at its lack of HD quality graphics, while others feel that it might go down like Gamecube due to lack of third party support.

However contrary to popular belief, it only took Wii less than a year to reclaim the throne as the best selling next gen console. With this came a proliferation of games. Some of them have exceptional quality like Twilight Princess, RE 4 Wii Edition, Zack and Wiki. At the other extreme end, we have games that are a pure waste of your time and money. Incidentally some of the company are more prone to produce such titles than others.

I'm appalled at the number of Wii games within this category. Once in a while, other next gen console might get some poorly rated titles. But if one were to go through any game review, if there is a poorly rated title, most of the time they came from Wii.

Why is this so? What could the root of such proliferation of poor quality Wii games be? Nintendo and some of the top third party company (e.g. Capcom, Konami) has produced hit after hit on the Wii. It appears that they know what goes into making a fantastic Wii game. Metroid Prime 3 show that high quality graphics can also be produced on the Wii. Wii sports and Super Mario Galaxy show that Wii games can be fun and entertaining. No one complains that RE4 is less fun on the Wii. Though RE4 appears on Wii's predecessor and several other platforms (e.g. PS2 and PC), when RE4 for Wii was launched, Capcom still manage to sell more than 500k copies.

So what's wrong with the other third party software company. Why is Wii flooded with so many poorly rated games?

After combing tons of literature, forums, blogs etc, here's some of the possible reasons.

• cheaper to produce games for Wii than other next gen consoles, faster production time, no need to worry about HD graphics

• Wii has sold the most next gen console

• Wii appeals to a greater demographic spread thereby increasing the chances that someone will buy the game

• companies cashing in on the current craze for Wii. Similar to the dot.com boom, they hope consumers will grab anything they throw at them

• or could it be the poorer quality of approving games for release on the specific platform

• lack of understanding and implementation of next gen control functionality in the games

• companies formerly producing games for last gen console creating or porting their games onto Wii to catch the Wii fever. Its definitely cheaper than to produce the games from scratch.

• game rating company having unreasonable expectation of Wii games. E.g. lamenting its lack of HD graphics, lack of online features, comparing them against their PS3 and Xbox 360 simultaneous releases
  

Most of the time its should be a combination of the above factors.

Games in this category suffer from one or more of the following

• N64 era graphics
  
• poor Wiimote and unintuitive controls
  
• poorly plan storyboard
• boring and repetitive actions
  

In one of the recent issue of EGM, it highlighted that in the past Nintendo uses "Official Seal of Quality" sticker on all games. Now it no longer uses the label choosing the "Official Nintendo seal" on all games instead. Why was "quality" dropped?

Wii has seen too many mini games. There are not many games in other categories and developers can consider them:

a) Survival horror e.g. RE4 and hopefully RE5, Silent Hill
b) RPG (Kingdom hearts, Tales of series, Dragon Quest IX)
c) Arcade Shooters like Geometry War, 1942, Raiden
d) Stealth action e.g. Metal Gear Solid (Twin snake on GC was fantastic), Tenchu
e) Sports (Virtua Tennis 3, Boxing, Top Spin)
f) Action (Ninja Gaiden, PS2's God's hand)
g) RTS (Warcraft - with Wiimote as pointer and the A-B button, it can function like a mouse)
h) FPS (COD4, COD3 was great)
i) Time Crisis

For mini games, developers can consider developing games like
i) Photo hunt (and other from DS's Touchmaster)
ii) Zookeeper or known as Zoo Puzzle in PS2
iii) Whack a mole

In conclusion, we hope that now that Wii is the most popular console, we hope many more company will put in their effort to produce many good Wii title for consumers.

Top 5 Wii Games of the Year

Welcome.

This my first blog posting. Since its end of the year below is my pick of Best Wii Game for the year.

Zack & Wiki - Quest for Barbaros Treasure(Capcom)
Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition (Capcom)
Metroid Prime 3 Corruption (Nintendo)
Carnival Games (Global Star)
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Capcom)

Interesting observations
------------------------
Wii has been labelled as a console for non-hardcore gamers. Oddly majority of the games that made the list are considered hardcore games.

Nintendo is known to be producing solid titles and there are always allegations that third party games are not as good as first party games. Not true. Among the titles shown above, only 1 came from Nintendo, the rest are made by third party developers.

Two of the titles came from the Resident Evil franchise. Sadly, there are no more announcement of new RE titles coming to Wii.

Among the games, Carnival games is the only game in the list that has been slammed by critics. Some critic even give it a score lesser than 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. On the contrary, users appears to be enjoying this game. The average rating is in the region of 7 to 8.