Christmas Is Over! Tougher Times Ahead?

Merry the-Holidays-are-Almost-Over! Six days to go until we're all wrapped up and retail tanks back into the ground again. Video games have been fairly resilient up to this point, but will it last into the new year? I suspect we're going to see the economy affecting sales more next year than they have this year, especially on the lower-income side end of the spectrum. Less hours at work coupled with higher food prices means those of us riding the poverty line aren't going to have the luxury of disposable income until some time later in the spring. What am I supposed to do without a new toy every two weeks? Flash games!?

There is one demographic of gamer out there who wont find themselves aching for entertainment over the course of this crisis: The Wii player. For the third year in a row I find my mind boggled by how incredibly entertaining a friendly gathering can get when Wii Sports is involved. My aunts, grandparents, and cousins all manage to take something away from the experience, whether that is derived from the observation of a relative fumbling with the Wii-mote or in the demonstration of their bowling talents in front of the family. Our obsession with a two year old bundled title isn't doing much for Nintendo, but it keeps my faith alive in their ability to keep this new market entertained. How does one truly topple the giant we now know as Wii Sports? I don't think you can. I think you have to add games to it, upgrade it graphically, and re-release the thing on the next console if you want your new audience to come along for the next console. Oh, and keep it under $300!

I don't get much out of the Wii myself... I did own one, at one point. It lasted about six months before I pawned the thing off for rent money, and I think I may have only turned it on about ten times from the day I bought it. Nintendo isn't appealing to an action-oriented demographic with their library, and they aren't doing much better with story-telling. Tales of Sympohonia was to RPGs as Castlevania: Judgment was to Action Adventure titles; Both were strictly passable in play through. All the same, Nintendo is holding on strong in the sales among those of us who aren't necessarily looking for an incredible single player experience. As wonderful as Mario and Zelda are, there aren't so many first party Nintendo games out there that we can justify purchasing a Wii over either of its technologically superior counterparts. No, it isn't the single player titles that keep Nintendo in business, it's the party games.

One console, one extra controller, two years of continuous entertainment. The Wii has earned our investment and our hearts through its ease of accessibility, and even in times of economic distress is still selling as quickly as it can be stocked onto shelves. Maybe the lesson here is that good things should come in smaller packages, in that they make happier customers who aren't stuck at the store looking for the next best thing every two weeks. Maybe it's that the family-focused party games spread the interest in a console faster than all the hype and marketing of a Halo title. Whatever it is Nintendo has demonstrated that a small number of fun games can outlast more than two years of hype and technological advances. $250 isn't a lot to bring the family together for the holidays, and the memories are priceless.