BeerFiles is a sometimes irreverent blog concerning all things to do with IT, technology, people and the media from the point of view of a hard boiled technology journalist and commentator. Stan has been in the IT game for about a quarter of a century. He has seen and written about the rise and fall of more than a few IT players and made many friends, some of whom he has even crossed swords with on occasions. Everything in this blog is purely Stan’s opinion so if you agree, wish to expand upon, correct a post or tell Stan he’s a clueless know nothing, please feel free.

Wii considered a hot toy - for kids

by Stan Beer

Thursday, 02 November 2006

Page 1 of 2 The Nintendo media release crowed with joy: "For the first time in history, a video game system is on the Toys R Us "Fabulous 15", the creme de la creme of the retailer's "Hot Toy" list." And added: "Toy Wishes magazine also includes Wii on its "Hot Dozen" list of must-have holiday toys." No doubt the Wii will be a hot toy for holiday shoppers but will it capture the additional market Nintendo's boss says he really wants - the adults who don't normally play games? Nintendo's media spin doctors have been working overtime to convince the market that the Wii will appeal to adults. For instance: "At a Denver retailer event, two sisters, one in her 20s, the other in her 30s, waited all night to be the first in line to place pre-orders -- for themselves." Despite being adults, however, I would venture to say that those two sisters don't belong to the new non game playing target audience that Nintendo is trying to win over. They sound like pretty committed gamers to me. A more realistic look at an adult non gamer's reaction to Wii can probably be gleaned from an article by Rebecca Morelle at the BBC News website. She was invited by Nintendo to try out a range of games on Wii. Although she admits to liking Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, she concludes that: "I'm not sure I am completely won over. Playing the games was fun, and I would like to have another go on Zelda, but I'm not sure I would spend £179 for a console of my own." I know that over on some Nintendo sites I'm the guy that the fanboys love to hate. One email I received described me as a "failure as a human being" because I had previously written a complimentary article about Nintendo's strategy of sticking to a pure games console and then later changing my mind. And there I was thinking that being a good human being was about following the Golden Rule! Other emails and comments demanded that I stop writing stories about Wii because I know nothing about games. Actually I have bought four consoles for my kids over the past 10 years - a Nintendo 64, a PS1, an Xbox and, recently, a PS2. I have had a few goes at Dual Heroes (which I managed to get through to the end on a couple of occasions) and some of the Mario style games. << First page <   1 2 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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