Wii Sports Resort and Wii MotionPlus enabled controllers.

I picked up Wii Sports Resort for the kids Sunday. They seem to enjoy it, but I have not had time to give some of the new games a try myself. Curiously enough, the game requires you have use the Wii MotionPlus accessory if you are going to have concurrent multiplayer gaming sessions.

If you only have the bundled Wii MotionPlus controller adaptor, multiple player gaming is limited to turn based gaming (you first, then me, then you, etc). I did not check things out to see if that was actually the case, so it is possible that my kids swindled me into ordering another Wii MotionPlus accessory from Amazon, which will arrive today.

I hope to have some time later this week to see how the games play. I am looking forward to basketball, archery (because that seems cool), and to compare how the new bowling game plays vs. HVA (PS3). I know that Wii Sports Resort is just a bunch of mini games, but much like Wii Sports my wife is already playing this one with the kids. I have childhood memories of my dad playing some Colecovision games with us, and my step father playing the various Intellivision sports games, but my mother never stepped up to the TV. Strong days indeed that my wife plays the Wii. Casual gaming has truly arrived.

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Wii wins popularity contest over the PS3.

I have never visited Helium before; I found this article via some obscure search looking for something entirely different than a combination PS3 vs. Wii article and poll.

Now consider the Wii. The Wii is the least advanced of the 3 major consoles on the market. Its dated technology means it cannot cope with today’s ever advancing games industry. Instead, it is forced to rely on a gimmicky gaming style. The Wii cannot handle the level of gaming that the PS3 does, so it instead has to turn to games in which the actual gaming experience is less important.

The style of games that the Wii promotes is not one that will last. Sure, the Wii can be very fun at first, but how long could you control Indiana Jones with nun chucks before you start to wish you had a proper controller, and a fuller, richer gaming experience? The novelty value of interactive aerobics and simulated bowling will soon wear off, and gamers will be left wishing for something more substantial. And substantial gaming is not something that the Wii provides.

Silly rabbit, everyone knows that the Wii, with great first party games from Nintendo, compliments a PS3 or Xbox 360. And I guess the writer has failed to notice that this casual gaming craze keeps on keeping on. iPhone games. Granny games on the Wii. It is kind of the Tetris phenomenon, minesweeper, or solitaire all reincarnated.

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Reviews for grannies.

Wii Sports Resort was recently reviewed at usatoday earning 5 stars (out of 5).

We tested this game with players across generations, including an 88-year-old grandmother and kids of many ages. And while not every game was a slam-dunk winner, every game was enjoyable to explore. No one ever felt like they couldn’t play (although the canoeing was particularly challenging for some) and all of our testers developed their favorites. All thought the archery game was impressive because it felt realistic (including having to adjust for wind), and everyone loved the one called “Frisbee Golf.” For families with young children, you might want to skip the swordplay as it has mild cartoon violence.

I have not seen any overly critical reviews of Wii Sports Resort. My kids finished up their summer sticker charts today, so Wii Sports Resort will be a weekend purchase.

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Spinning the numbers.

Console sales data is always a hot topic at N4G, so it is no surprise that this article from Gamezine [UK based] is burning up the charts. What I find surprising [actually this should come as no surprise] is the ridiculous spin everyone puts on this type of data. For example,

Although it’s odd to tout that the PS3 wasn’t that far behind the Xbox 360 during the quarter, it’s surely relevant for those who toot the horn that the Xbox 360 is beating the PS3 with a stick.

Microsoft’s console only sold approximately 100,000 more units than Sony’s PS3 (since the numbers are rounded to the nearest 0.1, the difference could be as little as 20,000 units) and though neither have had a great quarter, the differing price points for the consoles might raise some questions for Microsoft.

Compare that to this article from Gameplayer [an Australian based site] that takes the same data and comes to a somewhat different conclusion.

While Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft all reported a fall in total profits, it was only the latter that still showed a year-on-year increase in the sale of its console. Where 8.7 million consoles were sold during the same period in 2008, 11.2 million made it out the door in 2009. By comparison the once dominant Wii has seen sales more than halved in Q1 of 2009, dropping from 5.17 million units in 2008 to 2.23 million this year. The PlayStation 3 followed suit although not as dramatically dropping from 1.6 million sales, to 1.1 million in a Q1 comparison.

No matter how you spin things, the Wii still has a substantial market share, the 360 is still dominating the next generation market, and the PS3 is still in desperate need of a price cut.

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Wii Sports Resort?

My kids want this game. In fact this afternoon they told me that they wanted this game for completing their summer sticker charts. First a little digression is in order. My oldest son went to a private school for kindergarten through second grade. When it was time for my second born son to start school, my wife and I gave it careful consideration and decided that she would try home schooling both of the boys. My wife is not only a very brave lady, but a saint. There is no way I would have the patience for being “stuck” [my word, not hers] with the kids all day. Not only does she do a good job, but they are about to start home school year three in a couple of weeks.

That is a lot of digression to say that during the summer break my oldest son earns some stickers for math activities, while the middle guy gets stickers for reading activates. Last year they decided to double team mom and dad, complete their charts, and ask for Mario Kart Wii. This year they have decided that they want Wii Sports Resort. As a gaming dad it is kind of hard to say no to this type of motivation. Do good in school and dad gets to play a new game? Sounds like a great use of a motivational sticker chart to me.

This brings us to GamerDad. It has been a while since I linked to one of their articles, but their review of Wii Sports Resort has me convinced that I will enjoy this game. Rather my kids should earn this one for completing their sticker charts.

If my overly glowing review hasn’t convinced you to try the game out, there’s very little I have left to tell you. It is definitely a casual game and not one that has deep strategic decisions or require hard core gaming skills. However, all the games present an enjoyable activity to learn and master, and players who simply must have a challenge can try to perform well enough to acquire all the stamps. Perhaps the only negative I can find to say about the game is the lack of online support in any manner. However, this style of game is far better suited for head to head competition when players are in the same room. In a typical Nintendo fashion, the game is not groundbreaking in what is presents, so much as how final result is a polished and fun game with a strong appeal to a wide audience.

Seems like good clean fun for the boys (and maybe they will let dad in on the action).

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PS3, Rumors, State of the Console Market, and more Eric Lepel

I love these quick sound bites. According to Reuters, Sony Corp Chief Executive Howard Stringer says no PS3 price cuts anytime soon.

Asked about the logic of not cutting prices, Stringer said, “I (would) lose money on every PlayStation I make — how’s that for logic.”

Does that really mean no price cuts for the current PS3 models? There is that Slim thing we keep hearing about. Then you also have the silly rumors about the PS4 arriving in 2011/2012, which falls right in line with Activision saying that they may no longer support the PS3 in 2011.

JC’s Quick Take on the Console Market
I agree with most of the pundits that a price cut is really needed if Sony wants to make any sort of push with the PS3. A $299 price point in the U.S. in time for Christmas would make for a serious spike in sells, but these days I am not sure if Sony really knows their head from their ass. It is almost like there is no real focus or direction, and most of the time the Sony brass are in reactionary mode.

The good news is that I think the videogame market is fairly healthy. Consumers have their choice of the 360, Wii, and PS3. Competition is a good thing; I would hate to see one of the Nintendo, Microsoft, or Sony drop out of the hardware arena (i.e. Sega). Just think, a few years ago we lost Sega, and many experts thought Nintendo was next. Sony was dominating the market, and everyone was speculating if Microsoft has the wherewithal to make another run at Sony with a second console. Time marches on.

Eric Lepel … again
Sony’s Eric Lepel is making the interview rounds; this time with PCWorld.

You’ll definitely see another firmware update this year, but it won’t be like what the rumors say. We’re working on some consumer features that consumers will definitely like, but it’s nothing like what you’re reading about, and at this time I don’t want to confirm any of those features because they’re not completely locked down yet. We’re looking pretty good, and timing is a little rough, but just in terms of that rumor, it’s not the case.

At least now the rumor writers have more room for rumor speculation and blogging. After all, just what is Sony hiding with the next major firmware revision? Whatever it takes to keep the bloggers blogging.

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