Recently, details from the Playstation 3 launch – and Microsoft’s various attempts to distract gamers – have left good ‘ol Nintendo on the outside looking in. For those who’ve forgotten, the Wii is set to release in just a few weeks, and although it isn’t about to blow your eyes through the back of your skull with radical new visuals, the system is trying some new angles by making use of motion sensor technology.
If you haven’t heard, Nintendo’s new controller is sensitive to movement. Some of its games take full advantage of that, and considering Nintendo’s unparalleled first-party strength, it should mean that the feature is well supported. Expect to be virtually swinging golf clubs, baseball bats, tennis rackets, and even axes in your living room for some time.
Still, those interesting details have been available to gamers for some time. New to techie ears are the specific titles that will become accessible to gamers in the coming weeks. By year end, some pretty cool games will be making their way to the Wii, including:
- Call of Duty 3
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance
- Madden NFL ‘07
- Need for Speed Carbon
- Far Cry: Vengeance
- Splinter Cell: Double Agent
However, all of these titles, in some variation, are available to Nintendo’s competition. Although each is likely to sell a solid number of copies, few will take advantage of the technology that sets the Wii apart. In fact, you can be pretty sure that if a gamer owns an Xbox 360 or PS3, they’ll pick up the above titles for those more powerful consoles.
The real buzz surrounds Nintendo’s first-party titles, which, in case you’re unfamiliar, are games developed by the company itself. These will almost surely be the most polished of the Wii’s launch games, and should take advantage of the interesting features that set the console apart.
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
- Wii Sports
- Excite Truck
In addition, finally shining through the haze created by Sony and Microsoft are the details surrounding Nintendo’s much anticipated “Virtual Console”. Taking a page from the Xbox Live Arcade, the Wii’s online download system will give gamers the chance to download a variety of Nintendo hits from yesterday. Some historic titles available before New Year’s include:
- Mario Brothers
- The Legend of Zelda
- Ice Hockey
- F-Zero
- Super Mario 64
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Golden Axe
- Toe Jam and Earl
- Bonk’s Adventure
Many of these titles span multiple systems, including the NES, SNES, N64, Sega Genesis, and even Turbo Grafx 16. That’s an incredible lineup, covering many of the titles that shaped the way we play games today. However, nostalgia isn’t always the best judge of video games; I can guarantee that the original Ice Hockey, although fun in ’88, isn’t quite as entertaining (or deep) as NHL 07.
Still, Nintendo has a lot going for it this Christmas. With some strong first party support, it provides tough competition for the Playstation 3, which at nearly three times the cost offers almost no games developed by Sony itself (generally the titles exclusive to a system, and the ones that simply sell consoles).
…Golden Axe, though? How many quarters did I sink into that one…
