2 posts tagged “wii”
Ok, so it's not my usual lightweight fare, but I've been thinking recently about this (what with the huge round of media coverage in the UK following record GCSE results that was then followed by the usual backlash from Universities and businesses saying that more and more children have low literacy rates and no actual knowledge of the subjects they have just gotten all A* grades in). Now, I for one do believe that the current government is more concerned about pass rates, especially with the idea of having higher pass rates than their predecessor administration, and less about the quality of education given, but I also realise that this is not the fault of the children and that if they were given the appropriate tools and support, they would no doubt be just as intelligent and capable as earlier generations.
So, what does this have to do with computer games? Well, first of all, you'll know that I have no real issue with computer games as I frequently review them here and I make my living in what can loosely be called "the computer industry". With that i mind, it is safe to say that I don't think that games should be banned and I certainly don't want us heap games consoles on a bonfire in some grotesque parody of the book-burnings in Nuremberg. No, I think what really sparked off this line of thought was the fact that I had recently wandered over to the Macintosh Garden (a great repository for old abandonware games) and grabbed a few text adventures as something to do on the train home from work instead of the usual Sudoku book. As I sat staring at the opening screen of The Hobbit, waves of nostalgia washing over me, the thought suddenly struck me that this would be a great way of encouraging imagination and reading skills in the child(ren) I hope to raise with my wife soon. Not only that, but it's a great way of spending an hour or so with a child that doesn't involve sitting in front of a DVD of "In The Night Garden" or "Bob The Builder".
As I thought about it more, I realised that, as a thirtysomething, I had played such games as a child, often with a friend, and we'd talk about them, draw out maps and make notes, work out the puzzles and enjoy the storyline. I also remember the fun to be had with the old Fighting Fantasy adventure books (recently republished), but I digress. The fact is that these games made literacy, reading and logic fun for us, without trying to be "educational" and, whilst such learning titles might be worthy and even viewed as the best option for entertainment at school, the truth is that anything labelled as "educational" is likely to be avoided at all costs by children unless they are forcibly made to play the game. So, instead they sit in front of their Playstations or Wiis and watch colourful event unfold that, whist they teach logic and hand-eye coordination, do not promote literacy in any way. Ok, maybe the child has to read the menu system, but that's about it - the fact is that most of their leisure time is spent pressing buttons repeatedly whilst shooting zombies, or collecting stars, or whatever.
Books such as Harry Potter, the Alex Rider and Young James Bond series' and the like have proved that, if it is done correctly, there is money to be made in things that get children into reading and using their imagination, so why is the computer industry so reluctant to revisit the parser-based interface? With PCs in every school and most homes having some sort of computer, there is no barrier to accessiblity and, if the technology used was, say, Flash-based, then there would be no reliance on having to have the latest hardware. Costs would be lower due to reduced development work being required and you could always combine conversation using a text parser with point-and-click interactions in the way titles such as Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic did. Providing the interface was simple enough, the graphics appealing enough and the script/gameplay enjoyable, I see no reason why such a venture wouldn't gain momentum - think of something like Monkey Island, but with more interactive dialogue, for example - wouldn't you want to give it a go? Of course you would, so your kids would be happy to try it too, especially if Mum and Dad joined in.
I might even dust down my copy of Flash and see if I can build something myself!
So far, the XBox 360 has failed to dazzle me, despite the fact I had one on pre-order - Amazon failed to deliver it and I got the PSP instead; a decision that I have not regretted at all. My best friend got one and tried to convince me that it was awesome, but Blazing Angels looked poor and many other efforts looked prety much as they would on the Xbox I had already. Another two friends have either sold their 360 or put it in a cupboard and gone back to the old XBox, as there are so few decent 360 games and the backwards-compatibility is evidently rather hit-and-miss.
The Playstation 3, then, looked to have things stitched up - after all the Gamecube got hammered by the XBox and PS2, so surely the powerhouse from Sony needed only to make its release date to romp home to victory? Well, it's true that the demos look far more convincing than those for the 360. A couple of those games look amazing, not least of which is Metal Gear Solid 5. The power of the machine appears to be truly a step-up from the XBox/PS2/Gamecube, although developers are quite often criticising the machine and preferring the 360. That could be down to the 360 essentially being an Apple Mac G5 in a different box and, thus, easier to code for, however. Still, the release of the PS3 has been delayed in the UK until March(ish) and those countries that have had it at Christmas are reporting faults and backwards-compatibility issues. Hopefully it will only need a firmware update.
The rank outsider for the next-gen race is Nintendos' Wii. Yes, it's a funny name, but it probably means "console of much happiness making" in Japanese. The brains at Nintendo have looked at the market and realised that games are getting more and more expensive to make. The average top-flight title now has a credit list longer than a Hollywood blockbuster and can cost millions of pounds to make. This means there is little risk taken with new ideas, as a single flop could break a company. Compare this to the days of the Commodore 64 when a game was written by three or four guys in a room and you can see why we have more and more sequels and less and less new ideas. Nintendo have seen fit to try to change this by not chasing after ever more powerful (read:"expensive to code for") graphics, but have instead created a console that tries to break through the dogma that only a "gamer" can enjoy a games console. As with the DS, Nintendo are trying especially hard to get the so-called "silver surfer" generation (those who are recently retired, or approaching that age, with large amounts of disposable income and lots of free time) to use its products. Hence, we have brainteaser games on the DS and a new console that doesn't require you to learn how to use a joypad (not easy if the old fingers have a touch of arthritis, you see) - no, if you want to sword-fight, you wave the wand about, etc. So far, it seems to be working.
I am not going to say that all the Wiis sold are to older people, far from it. I do, however, think that when little Timmy opened his Wii on Christmas Day and insisted on playing Wii Sports, or Golf, then rather than fall asleep, or get bored (as was the case previously), then it might be the case that mum and dad, as well as grandma and grandpa, had a go. They probably had fun, too. That is what Nintendo have gotten right - the idea that a games console and its games should be, first and formost, fun. Yes, it's nice to have fancy graphics, but so many games now have great looks, but poor gameplay (an argument I can remember going back to the days of the Amiga and ST...), but honestly, if you have a racing game where the cars look like cars, the important thing is that racing is easy and fun, not whether you can read the stickers on the tyres. The boom in games like DanceDance Revolution or Donkey Conga show that more people are interested in playing games than are interested in learning how to use a gamepad. If you make the fun accessible, then people will play, it's that simple. It would seem, judging by the sales figures, that Nintendo have hit the nail right on the head. Let's hope the strategy works long-term and that we don't lose their consoles the way we lost Segas'. On current form, however, it looks like Wii and 360 have taken a huge headstart on the PS3 and Sony is struggling to make up ground. Don't count them out, just yet, though.
