Dear Torrey #1

It has been requested that I start an "advice column" of sorts on the ole blog so here's my first attempt at an entry:

Dear Torrey,

What is the deal with the Wii? The controllers look odd and I am not entirely sure how they would work. Do you hold a vendetta against the Wii, as you do for the PS3?

Sincerely,
Wickedly Confused

Dear Wickedly Confused,

I will start off by stating that I haven't yet used a Wii console. Most stores didn't get interactives (for fear of injuries and lawsuits, among other things) and I haven't purchased one for myself. So everything I know is based on information I have read and from people who are playing the Wii for themselves. In summary, it's basically a souped-up Gamecube with funky new controls. The controller is shaped like a television remote and contains gyro technology that translates your movements to the images on the screen. If you're playing a golf game, you swing the controller like a golf club. Baseball? Swing it like a bat. The major push for the Wii is the promise that simpler controls make the system more accessible to a general audience. It's supposed to be a gaming console that the entire family can play with ease.

As far as my feelings about the Wii are concerned, I give Nintendo a lot of credit for trying something new. The system is extremely gimmicky but it does promise to offer a gaming experience you can't get elsewhere. It strives to be a "party" console and I can't fault it for that. I think they will succeed in reaching a lot of people who tend to shy away from the more "hardcore" systems. Judging from the amount of people I see clamoring for one at work, it seems like they have a hit on their hands; at least for the time being.

My ill-will for the Playstation 3 is based on months and months of negative press and ridiculous moves made by Sony. They have carried themselves as pompous and untouchable when they had no right to be either. And now it's coming back on them and I feel it is more than deserved. The PS3 "launch" was the worst I can remember and had such a low impact that it almost feels like it never happened at this point. Sony wasn't ready, isn't ready and now the future of their gaming division has an enormous up-hill climb ahead. Sony makes decisions purely for Sony's sake- they aren't thinking about the gamers who are laying down the cold hard cash. It's a system built to sell Blu-Ray and anyone who says differently is a fool.

And more important than all of this is the fact the Xbox 360 is better anyway.

Thanks for writing!

~Torrey