IGN's Daemon Hatfield bashes Wii

@42:50

Levi: But if you're a Nintendo fan, how could you have been unhappy that morning.

Daemon: Because the Wii is stupid, Levi. No, because any games that are coming out for the Wii are going to be dumb.

Hilary: The truth comes out now that he's not on Nintendo.

Daemon: Yeah, the Wii is stupid. Super Mario Galaxy 2 will be another great game that should be controlled with dual analog sticks.

@ 43:25

Quote:
Hilary: The problem with me for Nintendo Conference is that no matter how awesome the game is that they announce, the fact of the matter is that I don't even really care to hook up my Wii anymore. It's been unhooked since Mario Galaxy came out, and I don't really find anything that interests me in playing it anymore.

Daemon: I know. Like even when they make a great game like Mario Galaxy I don't want to hold the Wii remote. It's stupid.

Wow, a lot of people flipped the strawberry float out after i called the Wii "stupid" on last week's Game Scoop! I was pretty surprised by the response, as this is hardly a controversial statement. The Wii was supposed to be a GameCube peripheral. Then Nintendo decided it wanted to turn the gimmick into its own system. The result is a library of outdated, contrived games that many of us don't want to play. There are definitely great games for the system, and i fully support them. World of Goo was one of my favorite games last year. I play Boom Blox regularly. Tomorrow Swords & Soldiers is coming out on WiiWare and i gave it an 8.9. But all of these games could have been GameCube or "WiiHD" titles played with a motion control peripheral.

On the IGN podcasts you'll find the editors at their most relaxed, casual, and honest. It is, in fact, the perfect environment for me to share my opinion that the Wii is stupid. And that's all it is: my opinion. What do you care if i think it's stupid? I'm not pushing an agenda. I'm not trying to take your Wii away from you. If you're happy with your Wii, that's great.

What bothers me most about the reaction is that gamers don't seem to realize i'm on their side. I've been a Nintendo fan all my life; Mario 64 and Majora's Mask are my favorite games of all time. You and i deserve better than what Nintendo is delivering these days. Nintendo used to be the company we could count on to bring us the most technologically advanced games, packed full of the most fun and interesting game mechanics anywhere. When it arrived in 1998, Ocarina of Time was probably the greatest achievement in videogames' short lifespan. What do we have now? An underpowered system that adds goofy waggle controls to last-generation games. As i said, some developers are still producing great games with this modest hardware. But the other systems are moving the industry forward with Fallout 3, Dead Space, The Orange Box, Modern Warfare, God of War III, Uncharted, Mass Effect, Alan Wake...

All of this is, of course, still just my opinion.

The other problem is that all the anger is aimed at me, despite the fact that most of the other podcast participants agreed with me. And the IGN Nintendo team is constantly calling the Wii and Nintendo out on everything that is wrong with the platform. They might not have come right out and called it "stupid," but you're just arguing semantics at this point. And to anyone who thinks we were being mean to Levi: Levi is one of my favorite people in the world. We're great friends. He's a big boy and can handle a little spirited discussion -- unlike a lot of people out there.

A lot of comments on the podcast article feel it is unfair to call the Wii stupid without backing up my argument. To this i can only sigh, because i've been very vocal for a couple years now about all the problems I see with the system. In countless podcasts and articles on IGN i've related what a disappointment i think it is and why. once again for the hard of hearing: it's an underpowered gimmick system that plays ugly last-gen games (with a few notable exceptions).

But if you like your Wii, I think that's great. I have to wonder, though: if you're secure with your purchase why are you spending time and energy commenting on message boards about how upset you are? If you like the Wii, what do you care what i think? To get all bent out of shape makes you seem insecure -- as if, deep down, you know I'm right.

To get all bent out of shape makes you seem insecure -- as if, deep down, you know I'm right.

What bothers me most about the reaction is that gamers don't seem to realize i'm on their side.

Raze wrote:Daemon? More like, Daemon Tools.

Mafro wrote:Demon, more like

But the other systems are moving the industry forward with...Dead Space, Modern Warfare, God of War III, Uncharted...

To get all bent out of shape makes you seem insecure -- as if, deep down, you know I'm right.

Hero of Canton wrote:

But the other systems are moving the industry forward with...Dead Space, Modern Warfare, God of War III, Uncharted...

Okayyyy...

Hey, hey, no need to get upset. This is just my opinion, and it's fine if you disagree. But if you disagree, then your insecure about the Wii. And your sexuality. And you faith in religion. And you probably smell. And I bet you like to dress up as a woman.

The Alchemist Penguin wrote:

Hey, hey, no need to get upset. This is just my opinion, and it's fine if you disagree. But if you disagree, then your insecure about the Wii. And your sexuality. And you faith in religion. And you probably smell. And I bet you like to dress up as a woman.

melatonin wrote:EDIT ah, strawberry float it. Sardonic statements just aren't worth the inevitable forum over-reaction.

Alvin Flummux wrote:Daemon: Yeah, the Wii is stupid. Super Mario Galaxy 2 will be another great game that should be controlled with dual analog sticks.

Hilary Clinton, in an official statement: The fact of the matter is, I'm too much of a lazy banana split to hook up my Wii. Sure it's got games, but are they worth the five minutes it takes to get it out of the cupboard? When you weigh up the hours and hours of fun Mario Galaxy 2 will provide against the five minutes of time it takes to set up the Wii then the answer is obvious: No."

Drawlight wrote:

Alvin Flummux wrote:Daemon: Yeah, the Wii is stupid. Super Mario Galaxy 2 will be another great game that should be controlled with dual analog sticks.

That one got me.