I’ll be the first to admit that Wii hasn’t had the best year ever. Nintendo has tested large sections of its core fanbase this year - certainly in the last six months - with very few first-party titles which appealed to a non-casual audience. While Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl - among others - meant Wii got off to a great start this year, the fact that Animal Crossing was considered to be Nintendo’s big Christmas game for the hardcore gamers (at least, according to Reggie Fils-Aime it was) arguably showed the company was starting to get a little out of touch with that fanbase which had kept the faith during the GameCube years.

Yet while the Wii undoubtedly has more than its fair share of shovelware and disappointing multiformat ports, it’s become all too easy for videogame commentators to dismiss the Wii’s software line-up without even pausing to consider some titles which should be exempt from criticism - or, preferably, highlighted as bright spots amid a sea of casual-pleasing nonsense. Major websites are starting to perpetuate the myth that Wii has little compelling to offer core gamers, seemingly happy to ignore some well-crafted titles from third-parties. To paraphrase Edge (in their case discussing the ill-advised contempt for the PS3 from some quarters) this then breeds idiotic comments from the gurning cretins which populate the grubbier recesses of the internet. It’s little wonder that publishers struggle to sell their titles when the gaming press is happy to lazily fall back on sweeping generalisations. Some of these games don’t have a chance because it’s all too easy to play follow-the-leader and join in with the braying consensus of the internet ignorants.

What’s more disturbing is that it’s not just the fratboy witticisms of large corporate websites or fanboyish utterings from biased fanzines. Even places like Eurogamer - a site I hold in high regard - are starting to slip into this lazy hazing of Wii games. While Ellie Gibson’s round-up of some of the casual titles available this festive season is undoubtedly amusing in places, it’s become all too commonplace for Eurogamer to review the tat on the console while ignoring some far superior titles. So Goldenballs gets a 1/10 review while I still await EG’s opinion on Art Style CUBELLO and ROTOHEX, not to mention MySims Kingdom, while Wii versions of multiformat titles either get very short shrift or aren’t mentioned at all - for example, Call of Duty: World at War, reportedly a really quite accomplished port. 

As I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve a lot of time for Chris Kohler, whose Game | Life blog for Wired.com I visit on a daily basis. Yet I was disappointed to read a post of his about Wii’s forthcoming schedule, where he ignores several potentially-interesting third-party titles to focus on the lack of fresh Wii content from Nintendo. Sure, there’s definitely a story in that, but it’s a shame that even quality journalists like Kohler fail to highlight the good stuff on its way in early 2009.

I don’t want people to turn into dribbling sycophants, happy to praise Nintendo even as it metaphorically kicks us in the teeth. I’m just calling for a little balance for a change. Wii might not be keeping everyone happy at the moment, but it’s hard to see things changing to any great degree if we all focus on the negatives and perpetuate this generalisation that there’s nothing to play. There are quality games out there - and it’s our responsibility as journalists to get the word out about them.

I like my cynicism with a side of occasional positivity is all. I don’t think that’s asking too much. 

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The internet is never going to let cold, hard facts get in the way of a good furore, so a Kotaku report (discussed on Casualgaming.biz) that Nintendo of Europe issued a press release politely asking “publications” not to use the old red logo, but the ‘new’, grey one is naturally causing some tears and tantrums before bedtime.

Of course, anyone who’s purchased a copy of the Official Nintendo Magazine in the last couple of years (or, indeed, any Nintendo-published game, though it’s marginally less obvious there) will be aware that the logo’s been grey for ages. It’s just that with this email it’s now sort of official, and it represents Nintendo making further steps towards the Dark Side in some people’s eyes.

While grey isn’t the most inspiring of colours, Nintendo has increasingly wished to position itself away from its previous ‘kiddie’ image towards something a little cooler and more sophisticated, so the abandonment of red makes sense, really. Of course, certain internet-goers see it as further evidence that Nintendo is neglecting its fanbase, who apparently adored the original colour so much that this move is akin to erasing the golden memories of their childhood. Boo frickin’ hoo.

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Platinum Games’ forthcoming Wii-exclusive actioner MadWorld has come under fire from the Daily Mail (no link here, because I refuse to give their site any more traffic), suggesting parents are “horrified” at “the most violent video game ever”.

“The decision to release a violent game on a console which has based its reputation on family fun has shocked anti-violence pressure groups” claims the article, adding “Nintendo’s Wii has enjoyed phenomenal success as an innocent alternative to complex - and often violent - role play video games.”

Further gems: “With a repatoire (sic) of mostly sports games (sic) the basic graphics and easy-to-use motion sensor remotes have become hugely popular with young children and families.”

Oh, and this beauty: “MadWorld is significant (sic) departure designed to appeal to ‘hardcore’ gamers who they claim have been clammering (sic) for a more adult theme (sic) action game.”

Quality reportage, there. Still, with the Mail likely to raise awareness of MadWorld, hopefully this will help increase sales rather than prevent the game from being sold. Still, expect a big red ‘18′ on the box when MadWorld arrives on these shores early next year.

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Desperate to scotch the myth that third-party games don’t sell on Wii, Nintendo has released a set of figures and graphs (which they’re getting rather fond of recently) showing that they do.

Though the percentage pales into comparison with the equivalent amount on Xbox 360 and PS3 (representing 56% of total sales, compared with 84% and 82% respectively), the amount for third party sales sits at 33 million of a total of 60 million software sales, compared with 29 million of 35 million, and 20 million of 25 million - though this only represents the sales for the first twenty months at market. Naturally, Microsoft’s third-party sales are likely to look a lot healthier at present.

Yet Microsoft has countered with some figures of its own, suggesting that third-party games sell significantly less on Wii because those figures represent a greater number of titles.

The total third party sales for the Xbox 360 since launch sits at 67,929,999 units, with the Wii on 33,394,311 units and the PlayStation 3 in third place, on 19,976,325 units. Microsoft suggests if we divide the units sold by the number of titles released since November 2006, then the Wii sales look less impressive, with each software unit shifting an average  of 132, 517 copies, compared to 156,065 on the PS3 and 217, 252 on 360. “No matter how you slice it, the Wii third party game story is not a pretty one” said MS spokesperson David Dennis.

Three things which are strange about all this:

1. Why are the TOTAL figures being divided by the number of games released since November 2006? Because that’s bound to skew the figures in favour of Microsoft, that’s why.

2. Why is Microsoft not boasting about its own figures, instead of concentrating on those released by a rival? Surely it would make sense to put positive spin on its own situation rather than badmouthing Nintendo? Seems a bit silly, really.

3. But hang on - didn’t Microsoft suggest a while back that Nintendo wasn’t a rival, and was essentially competing in a different market?

Curiouser and curiouser. Expect this to rumble on a while longer, especially as we’re due the NPD figures soon, which tend to send the PR machines spinning into overdrive.

Thanks to Joystiq and VG247

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