Wii, the Chicken, and the Egg

The Wii seems to have a bit of a Chicken and Egg problem.

This interview with Jonathan Smith, producer of Lego Star Wars, really steams me. In it he states:

The game will feature co-op online play for both the PlayStation 3 and the 360 but not for the Wii. Smith explained the decision by saying, "Our reservation is not many people play the Wii online. Let's see what happens in the future."

Uh, what??

How many games can you really have a great online playing experience on the Wii with? If I recall properly, there aren't a whole lot. The only way online play on the Wii is going to be popular is if someone like him, the game developer, actually puts online play into the game. I don't recall being able to magically add online play to any game I desire.

So come on game developers, let's get with it and start putting real online play into Wii games.

Pretty please...

Wii games worth waiting for

I finally saw video of the two games that I think are going to have a strong influence on what people are going to want to buy for the holidays when it comes to game consoles. I say want because, by Nintendo's own admission, there won't be enough Wii systems to go around for Christmas.

Either way, you owe it to yourself to take a look at Super Mario Galaxy and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. They are two very different games but I think they'll have universal appeal for a lot of reasons.

First, Super Mario Galaxy looks to be one of the most original platform games I've seen in a long time. It appears to utilize the Wii controllers in new and interesting ways too. The best part is that it lets people play in a cooperative mode that makes for a very good time. Nothing is worse than watching someone else play a game.

Second, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games looks like the game that the Wii was invented for. Everything about this game says, "Play Me." Believe me, I do. I know my kids will. With 24 events covering a lot of Summer Games territory, something is bound to appeal to everyone. The best part is that it looks like they've tweaked the game to allow someone to jump in and play with no experience but gave subtlety to the controls so you can finesse yourself to higher scores. I really can't wait to get my hands on this one.

One big question mark is the game Link's Crossbow Training. This looks like it could be a lot of fun but I'm not sure how long the fun will last. It appears to be a family version of some of the bloodier and more violent shooters that are popular in the arcades such as Ghost Squad. I hope it works and they don't botch it but I'm not holding my breath.

I'm actually excited about some Wii games finally!

Now if they could only get more Wii's in the hands of more people.

Stay down window! Stay DOWN!

I swear if I have another pop-up window from an application force itself to the front and continue to insist it stay in the front, I'm going to hunt the developer down personally!

Please stay down! I mean it!

Universal Music has a screw loose

It is absolutely amazing how blatantly idiotic the higher ups of a company can be when they let their emotions drive them instead of basic business sense or perhaps even just common sense.

Reading this article on Business Week's web site demonstrates this perfectly.

Just to quickly summarize the stupidity of Universal Music:

• UM doesn't want to renew with Apple on iTunes.
• UM thinks Apple getting 29 cents for every 99 cents is too much. (That's 30% markup.)
• UM doesn't like making a "paltry" 70 cents (yes, 70%) on every single sold on iTunes.
• UM thinks making yet another music store is necessary for some reason.
• UM thinks no one really wants to own their own music and that subscriptions are best for us.
• UM believes that the makers of MP3 players will pay $5/month in royalties to give free music to all of us.

What is with these people?

Let's take this one by one shall we:

UM doesn't want to renew with Apple on iTunes

Why not? Because they are pissed that Steve Jobs really pulled the online music sales thing off and in a big way and UM didn't do it themselves. Emotions are driving this. The best part is that they are doing this not to better serve the customers but because Apple wouldn't let them charge MORE for the very same product they are currently selling.

You'll notice that they are still selling their stuff on iTunes. That's because they reacted emotionally and had no plan. If they had a plan, they would have yanked their stuff immediately and had another option in play at that very moment.

UM thinks Apple getting 29 cents for every 99 cents is too much. (That's 30% markup.)

Since when did a 30% markup become highway robbery? I've got news for them, clothes and jewelry resellers make a lot more than 30%. So do a lot of other businesses. Not so much if you sell electronics goods but Apple is managing the entire front end of this business and probably deserves 30% cut. I don't think 30% is asking too much.

UM doesn't like making a "paltry" 70 cents (yes, 70%) on every single sold on iTunes.

70%! What is so bad about that? Granted, they have to divide this up with the artists but other than that, there isn't a lot of other costs here besides the ones they incur themselves on marketing. There are a lot of other businesses that would love this kind of profit.

UM thinks making yet another music store is necessary for some reason.

Yeah, this makes sense. We need another source for electronic music when there already is a good one out there. Worse yet, since when does selling through one method preclude selling in another? I fail to see why it has to be an all or nothing solution. It isn't like any brick and mortar store has an exclusive. (usually...) Either way, I highly doubt UM has the resources or talent to make something better than what is already out there.

One thing you have to wonder and after looking at Amazon's MP3 Store, is what happened to all the higher priced music that UM wanted? There is a lot of their stuff at 89 and 99 cents still. How is that any different than what Apple wanted in the first place? What they are doing is pushing the Amazon store to dig into iTunes market share and then guess what, they'll pull a fast one and up the prices if they can do any measurable damage. Let us not forget that they want to do this on a trial basis too. I think they originally said they'd test DRM free music until the end of the year or early next year.

UM thinks no one really wants to own their own music and that subscriptions are best for us.

What makes them think I want to pay forever for music? I tend to like certain things and like to keep them around. Plus, if I ever dislike the service I'm on, I want to make sure I can at least still use the music. You could argue this point with iTunes I suppose but I can burn those tracks to CD and I'll have them to use forever.

UM believes that the makers of MP3 players will pay $5/month in royalties to give free music to all of us.

I'm betting the MP3 vendors are just laughing hysterically at this one. These MP3 units cost next to nothing now and then the vendor is going to just chew through revenue on the back end?? It'll never happen. No sane executive of an MP3 manufacturer is going to give away money like this. Even if they did, do you think this will encourage them to make a long lasting durable product? Oops, my MP3 player died after a year, surprise surprise. I'll need to buy another. This idea is by far the stupidest thing I've ever heard of from a business standpoint. Can you think of a way this would actually work? I can't.

Am I wrong here?

Someone needs to drill some sense into the head of Universal Music and soon. I didn't even mention the artists in this but the article says UM has the support their support? Right. Sure they do.

Pizza really IS the best food!

Yep. It is! It's the best!

I have hard facts to back it up and if I ever get my "Pizza is THE Best Food" book published, you can read it and learn all about it. Actually, you don't even need to read it, just buy it. If you buy it, I'll be happy. Whether you read it or not is up to you.

(OK, I'll let it slip just a bit..careful scientific measurements on availability, calories per bite, and cost per bite prove it.)

Disclaimer: I only have a high school diploma and have never left the country but with an audience of approximately 1-2 people it probably doesn't matter.

Wii are disappointed (sort of...)

Well, I finally made the jump and bought a Wii.

It was funny how it all happened, I was walking by the phone in my house and accidentally dialed the number for Gamestop.

They answered, "Hello. Yes we have Wii's in stock!"

I said, "How did you know I even wanted one?"

Gamestop dude said, "Because everyone wants a Wii!"
(He did that each time when speaking and it had the exclamation point too, very strange.)

Needless to say, I was forced out of the house by the kids and into the car. We drove for miles and miles and miles to the nearest Gamestop and 15 minutes later were walking in the store where we saw one of the most terrible sights. There, before us, was a customer with a Wii at the register!!

Panic of course set in immediately and I had to think and think fast. What was I going to do? We hurried ourselves to the end of the line and made like we didn't notice the Wii or the other customer. He complained a bit when I squished him up against the front of the counter and so I backed off having finally acknowledges his existence.

The we waited...

and waited...

Was anyone else coming in...no...thank goodness...

Whew, the guy in front of us finally left. It was our turn.

I asked, "Do you have any Wii's in stock?"

"No."

Gulp! What now.

Gamestop dude then said, "Unless you called earlier, did you call earlier?"

"Of course I did," as if anyone was going to answer that question any other way.

Well, we walked out with a Wii that day and took a few detours to pick up a copy of Wii Play with the extra remote. It was finally done. The console to end all consoles. The most wonderful thing ever devised by human hands. And it was ours!!! YES!

The sad part is that it was more exciting thinking about what the Wii might be than what, in reality, it actually is. Don't get me wrong, it really is very cool and the control scheme is revolutionary. However, they did everyone a major disservice including what I consider a substandard game and then botching the Wii Play product.

Of course, this is MY OWN opinion. My kids would tell you that it is a blast and so much fun. They can't stop thinking about it. That probably is all I should judge it on. The problem is, I know better.

Oddly, all my opinions of the product were based on what other people said and most of those people had Wii Sports and Wii Play. Some grandparents I heard were even addicted to the thing. Who knows, my own mother-in-law might be hooked like a drug to it at this very moment. I might even have to pry the controller out of her hands tonight. That said, I'm still not impressed and for reasons that will probably seem a bit too critical.

First, they have a built-in wireless interface on this thing and don't use it. Why don't any of the included games take advantage of this. For the first time in ages, we have a game bundled with a console. This is rarely done any more. Every Wii out there should be online and playing Wii Sports against the rest of the world. Millions of potential players would have been available on day one.

Even if I can forgive them for this, then they go and release Wii Play. A bunch of games that remind me a great deal of the Monkey Ball mini-games. None of them are spectacular but there are 10 games (I think) and they are fun to play in two player mode. Once again however, NO ONLINE PLAY!! What??? Why not? Surely by this time they had figured this thing out.

Sadly, if you look for multi-player online games there are almost none for the Wii. Maybe that'll change this Christmas Season but I doubt it. One can only hope.

Second, the Wii Play and Wii Sports could have done so much more. There were tons of opportunities to put in dozens of options to modify how these games could be played to spice things up and they did none of them. I really don't understand. Were they that lazy?

Third, if you look at the games that are available (I guess I should have done this first), the ratings for Wii games aren't really that great. Of course, you can never really tell what a game is like until you play it. The thing is, looking at the list of games, there aren't many out there that really work the controller scheme fully or even need it. Probably the closest thing a game taking advantage of the Wii control scheme is Metroid and I'm not much of a Metroid fan. Hopefully, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz will prove me wrong on this point. I don't have it yet but with a Wii control scheme virtually designed for this type of game and with 50 mini-games, it can't be all that bad.

I'm crossing my fingers all this will change and either Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, or the iFit will prove me wrong. The iFit really has the potential to take things up a notch and I like what I see in SMG. Only time will tell.

One thing, in Nintendo's defense, is that it took Microsoft about two years to get XBox Live games where the needed to be on the 360. Just look at what the developers are going to do with Need for Speed ProStreet. I'm sure it'll take about that long for the Wii to show its true potential. I'm just disappointed that they are wasting their super powers (wireless connection) on things like Weather and News and of course, the online poll which has a question a week (why is this?) and that's it.

Am I missing something here? Please tell me Nintendo is really going to pull out all the stops and soon. Tell me I didn't make a mistake. Tell me I just bought about 2 months too soon. (I actually would have waited but who knows if I could have actually gotten a Wii once the holiday season starts in earnest.)