Opinions on 2009?

[hisak]

We're two-thirds of the way through what has been a somewhat uneventful year in terms of both this site and the amount of exciting things happening in the video game industry. Still, I'm interested in hearing what people think about how the Wii, DS, and Nintendo in general have been doing this year, and how it stacks up to previous years.







Personally, I think Nintendo has been really lazy with its first-party releases this year. We got the critically-approved Punch-Out!!, the unsellable Excitebots, the casual-focused Wii Sports Resort, and the re-released Metroid Prime Trilogy, and we're still getting Wii Fit Plus and New Super Mario Bros. Wii later this year, but we haven't gotten much in the way of huge gamer-focused releases since Brawl, something that looks to be changing next year.

Thankfully, third parties have been much more supportive of the Wii than they have been of past Nintendo systems, and they've provided plenty of decent games this year, although some of them may have been overhyped. In particular, Sega's releases of the much-hyped MadWorld and The Conduit were somewhat disappointing. Some reviewers loved MadWorld and some were okay with it, but gamers as a whole had a rather lukewarm response to its "repetitive" nature. The Conduit got a mixed reception from both reviewers and gamers alike, with most people disliking it criticizing its generic plot and online modes, and with those liking it usually doing so on a Wii-exclusive basis.

A lot of third-party releases, however, did live up to managed expectations. Little King's Story, Cursed Mountain, and The House of the Dead: Overkill were both well-received, though they were mostly recommended to people who liked the respective genres. In addition, the Wii build of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is widely hailed as one of the greatest golf games ever developed, and is probably the best-received Wii game of 2009 so far.

There still remain plenty of third party releases for the year. Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Dead Space: Extraction release next month, and both have left good impressions on gaming journalists. Other upcoming releases have varied levels of promise, including the reimaginings of Silent Hill and A Boy and His Blob, Capcom's brawler Spyborgs, and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. There are also some games that haven't yet been confirmed for 2009 but look to be coming this year, including the post-apocalyptic RPG Fragile and the WiiWare sequel to LostWinds.

I think it's safe to say that third parties have saved 2009 from being one of the most disappointing years for Nintendo in recent memory. If I were the type to give letter grades, I'd give Nintendo of America's support a D+ and the Wii in general a B-. Of course, I'm interested in what other people here think so please speak your mind. (You don't have to type a wall of text like I did.)

[Bidet to you sir]

The best game I've played this year on the wii came out in 2008.
Before than it was on the PS2 and came out in 2007.
So I'm going to call the wii like it is.
It's shit.
Not a single game has come out this year for the wii that has interested me.
Wii sports resort only interested me slightly due to wii motion plus.
And while that is pretty awesome, the games around it are lacking.
Maybe 2010 will have something better, but I'm not holding much hope for it.
The wii has been drowned out by thousands of awful party games and platformers, all the good games go to the PS3 and XBOX360 because all the good developers don't want to put money into making the games wii compatible when they know the majority of their audience will buy the game with a control system that isn't mostly random flailing half the time and has HD graphics.

[hupla]

Batman arkham asylum won 2009, Everyone should now stop trying.

[hisak]

The best game I've played this year on the wii came out in 2008.

Tell me it's World of Goo. It is, right?

It's shit.

Not if you pay attention it isn't.

Wii sports resort only interested me slightly due to wii motion plus.
And while that is pretty awesome, the games around it are lacking.

Unless you like golf games, I suppose. Which I do, even though I haven't gotten Tiger Woods yet.

Maybe 2010 will have something better, but I'm not holding much hope for it.

Galaxy 2 and Metroid and Red Steel 2 look good. If you like those kind of games (which, if you spent $250 on a Nintendo console, hopefully you do.)

all the good games go to the PS3 and XBOX360 because all the good developers don't want to put money into making the games wii compatible when they know the majority of their audience will buy the game with a control system that isn't mostly random flailing half the time and has HD graphics.

I'm actually more annoyed when they make a half-assed attempt to port over a game from PS3 and 360 (Modern Warfare and Dead Rising are two of the laziest ports I've ever seen) rather than make a game that's built from the ground up for the Wii's hardware and controls, even if it isn't a mothership title (Dead Space: Extraction, Resident Evil Chronicles).

And I'm really excited for Silent Hill. It looks fantastic.

[Bidet to you sir]

It was Okami, hence why it was on PS2 in 2007.

[DarkLink]

Batman arkham asylum won 2009, Everyone should now stop trying.

Agreed, Batman AA is definitely a winner.

[hisak]

It was Okami, hence why it was on PS2 in 2007.

Then you need to play World of Goo as soon as possible.

For all the trouble people give them for supposedly only caring about casual gamers, Nintendo has never really flooded its release schedule with casual games. We've only had two Wii series games this year, one of which is just an expanded version of last year's Wii Fit. Hopefully this means the rest of their teams are all working on exciting new things. I also hope that people will remember that Nintendo has always been tight-lipped about upcoming games, and that this doesn't mean they aren't working on anything (what else would they be doing?), but in doing so I'm not keeping my expectations realistic.

[River Devil]

I want to offer my opinion on this, but truth be told, it's going to be kind of skewed.  For me personally, it's not the Wii that has lost my interest, it's modern gaming that has lost my interest.  Maybe it's the little 90s kid in me that will never grow up, but the time I spend gaming (which really isn't that much anymore  ) is spent playing old games.  Super Mario Bros 3, Ocarina or Time, Mario Kart 64, etc.  The Wii is the only console of this graduating class I have, and it's the only one I have any interest in.  Very few games on the XBox or PS3 move me.  And none move me enough to buy either of the consoles.  I can possibly see myself getting a PS3 in the future now that the price is reasonable, but I'd get it primarily for blu-ray movies instead of the gaming.

That being said, I am actually looking forward to New Super Mario Bros Wii.  I'm stoked about the Koopalings making a comeback  .  They haven't been seen in, what, 17 years (SMW)?    ...I still wonder why the added a 2nd Toad as player 4 instead of Princess Peach or some other more distinguishing character, though.

[hisak]

That being said, I am actually looking forward to New Super Mario Bros Wii.  I'm stoked about the Koopalings making a comeback  .  They haven't been seen in, what, 17 years (SMW)?

Actually it's only been about six years. They were in Mario & Luigi on GBA (that sequel looks great, by the way). But having them return to platformers is brilliant.

There unfortunately haven't really been any breakout WiiWare titles like last year's Mega Man 9, World of Goo, and Tetris Party. I mean, a lot of reviewers liked NyxQuest but it was hardly as big of a deal as the other games. Maybe LostWinds 2 (if it gets released this year) can stand out.

Also I'm sad that Red Steel 2 and Monster Hunter Tri aren't coming this year anymore.

[Shin Illuminated]

I really didn't think 09 was so bad. I mean, I have a PS3 and a Wii and throughout the whole year I only bought 2 games each for both systems. Scratch that, I actually bought 3 for my Wii. I feel pretty satisfied with what I got.

Again more people are complaining about quantity than quality.

[hisak]

Which games did you get?

And I'll be honest, I didn't pick up as many games as I could have. Punch-Out!! still looks delightful, but I haven't gotten it. Same thing with MadWorld. Hopefully Silent Hill will live up to the hype; then I won't feel disappointed at saving my money for it.

[Shin Illuminated]

Heh, you actually mentioned the 2 games I bought for the Wii. The third game was Tales of Symphonia 2 (that was around the beginning of the year wasn't it?).

PS3 was Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5.

[hisak]

Is MadWorld any good? I know a lot of people thought it got stale quick, but there seems to be quite a few people who enjoyed it. It seems like more of a niche title.

And Tales of Symphonia came out late last year (though it still has yet to release in Europe).

[Shin Illuminated]

Oh, maybe I didn't buy it until this year...who remembers?

I actually have yet to finish MadWorld, though. But I liked it.

[hisak]

Sounds like we aren't getting a Media Summit this year. Which probably means no Pikmin, no Wii Zelda, and no more information on Galaxy 2 or Other M for the rest of the year. But I'm okay with it. There's plenty of games to distract me until GDC. Hopefully the rest of the internet can wait that long.

[Shin Illuminated]

What a bitch! Dude should have smacked her.

IGN: We know there's a Nintendo Media Summit in Europe soon. What about America?

Denise Kaigler: Hmmm. Really, Matt? Is the IGN community really dying to know whether we're having a summit for the media? Or is that more of a question from you? [Smiles]

Anyway, as for 2009, Play Muramasa.

[hisak]

I'll be playing Mario & Luigi and Scribblenauts first (this month is packed with great releases), but yeah, I'm going to pick up Muramasa too.

What a bitch! Dude should have smacked her.

I'm pretty sure it's done through e-mail but I know what you mean. I think a lot more people were interested in that question than she realizes.

[Be_yourself]

What a bitch! Dude should have smacked her.

IGN: We know there's a Nintendo Media Summit in Europe soon. What about America?

Denise Kaigler: Hmmm. Really, Matt? Is the IGN community really dying to know whether we're having a summit for the media? Or is that more of a question from you? [Smiles]

Anyway, as for 2009, Play Muramasa.

urgh, i can't stand kaigler...those nintendo minutes are of no use whatsoever thanks to her...

as for 2009 there wasn't really anything that i really thought stood out that i got, actually the only thing i did get was madworld...which was fun for a very little while, then it got extremly repeditive...other then that i didn't pick up anything because none of it interested me, muramasa does though...not sure if i can be bothered to pick it up...

[hisak]

none of it interested me, muramasa does though...not sure if i can be bothered to pick it up...

If it interests you, you should pick it up.

No one's really mentioned the DS yet. It's having a pretty good year. Hopefully everyone picks up at least one of the two big titles coming out next week--they both seem to deserve to sell well. And hopefully Spirit Tracks will live up to its potential.

[Poewarrior]

Things that have made me happy in 2009:
-Bit Trip Core
-uh...urm...(no, those games were released last year...hmmm...) Yeah, I'm kind of drawing a blank.

Things that will probably make me happy in 2009:
-Muramasa (more for the visuals and soundtrack than the gameplay methinks)
-Bit Trip Void
-Lostwinds 2
-Spirit Tracks