Reviewer Rodeo: Nintendo’s Project Cafe

Welcome to the ZTGD Reviewer Rodeo. Each week, we’ll grab on to the hottest issue, hold on for dear life, and wrassle it to the ground.

This week, the ZTGD Review Crew takes on Nintendo’s Project Cafe’, rumored to be the HD successor to the Wii. While details are scarce, it got us thinking about Nintendo’s place in the home console and handheld markets, the successes and failures of the Wii, and what we might want to see from Big N’s next home entertainment system.

John “Dubya” Whitehouse
I feel that Nintendo have no other option than to go ‘HD’ for their next home console. However, I think that simply doing a HD version of the Wii will end up in disaster as people won’t fork out again seeing as many Wiis are simply gathering dust.

Nintendo will need to come up with something new for the console, or simply go back to traditional controls and concentrate on a high performing machine. They may also need to consider adding media support to the console, such as BD/DVD players, proper internet browsing and high end applications such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer, to keep up with the competition.

Drew “Frustrated Fury” Leachman
I think that Nintendo has the hardware sales it needs with the Wii, but nowhere near the software sales. I hear rumors that it will be more powerful than the 360 and PS3. Even if it is, if it relies on motion controls as its primary control scheme, then I really don’t want to play it.

Let’s also not forget how awful their online capabilities are. The 3DS is a step in the right direction, but Nintendo REALLY needs to get this “We are always going to be family friendly.” mindset out of their heads. Don’t be afraid of voice chat. The only game that actually tried to have decent online was Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, and all of its online capabilities were done through Capcom. Online gaming is not only the present day requirement, it is also the future.

Mike “Red Pen of Doom” Futter
As John mentioned, my Wii, along with so many others, is gathering dust. I really enjoyed some of the early titles on the system. Raving Rabbids was a great party game. Twilight Princess deftly handled the motion controls available at the time. Super Smash Brothers Brawl was a fanboy dream. Unfortunately, the releases designed for the core gamer have been few and far between. The Wii was a rousing success in bringing non-gamers into the fold, but many of them have to be wondering, “what now?” Nintendo hasn’t offered much to continue the conversion of new and casual gamers.

As for The Wii HD/Wii 2/Project Cafe’, the one thing I want more than anything is for Nintendo to get it right the first time. The GBA had 3 different hardware configurations. The DS? 4. Heck, even the Wii was revamped with MotionPlus, segmenting the market. If Nintendo is going to stay in the home console market, it needs to stop nickel and diming consumers, clamp down on shovelware (bring back the Nintendo Seal of Quality!), and put part of the focus back on the core gamer.

Justin “Killer Wolverine” Testa
Back when the Wii first launched, you couldn’t find one for months. And, if you were lucky enough to find one, you didn’t have time to think if you should buy it or not as you were at risk of having it snagged out fom under you. At launch, the ground breaking motion control technology was alluring to hardcore gamers and the casual market alike. The fact that you couldn’t find a Wii anywhere made it that much more of a “must-have” system. Fast forward to today. The Wii sales have long since diminished and Nintendo is struggling to play catch up with the 360 and PS3. Knowing this, the gaming giant has finally decided to play ball and change its way of thinking.

This new Wii is said to be more powerful than the 360 and the PS3 and, supposedly, this will translate into more “hardcore” games will be made for the system. At this point, I don’t think that will actually happen. Nintendo’s “kiddy” image has existed for far too long and I fear that it may be too late for them to save face with the hardcore crowd. I admire them for what they have done for the gaming world because they pretty much single handily made video games mainstream. Without Big N, who knows where this industry would be. But while they were taking risks with new tech, they didn’t allow the risky software to touch the system; it is catching up to them. Its great that they want to cater to the family market, but leaving out the hardcore crowd is a huge mistake. So, I ask, is Nintendo doing the right thing by releasing this supposed juggernaut of a system and trying to make up ground that is lost, or is it too little too late for Nintendo?

That’s all for this edition of the ZTGD Reviewer Rodeo. Join us next week as we grab onto another bucking bronco of controversy and beat it into submission.

Got questions or comments? Drop ’em in the comment section below or hit us up via email. Suggestions for Reviewer Rodeo topics that you want our opinions on? Hit Mike up at michaelfutter@ztgamedomain.com.