(Games) After Wii...

Here's a random thought.

For Nintendo, what comes after the Wii?

The way I see it, the answer to this question can be determined by one of two outcomes.

Outcome 1: Wii Fails

Assuming that Wii fails, what comes next? Worse case scenario is that Nintendo goes the route of Sega, which is higly doubtful considering their large base of global support. What is likely, however, is that Nintendo will have to ditch the Wiimote idea and revert back traditional controls to maintain some level of competition with Microsoft and Sony. This is a possiblity.

Outcome 2: Wii succeeds!

If (and hopefully, when) Wii succeeds, what is the future of Nintendo, and gaming in general? Assuming that Wii takes off and opens up the gaming market to new consumers, will Microsoft and Sony follow? My immediate assumption is probably not, at least not right away, but rest assured that there will be some Wii copycatting going on, as has always been the case with Nintendo innovation.

But what is in store for Nintendo in particular? By the time Wii finishes its run, around 2010 2011, will the Wiimote still be fun, fresh, and exciting? I would assume that it will be second nature to me by then. In this situation, Nintendo must decide to either continue innovation, or stick with the Wiimote for the future console generation. I can't predict the technology of that time, but I would hope that Nintendo has the means to make something more innovative than the Wiimote and continue their path of innovation. I feel very strongly that by the end of this console generation, the Wiimote will no loger be as fresh as it is today, and developers will have exhausted many, if not all, possiblities of exploiting the wiimote's capabilites.

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At this point, I do not consider a Wii failure as a possiblity. Thus far, the lineup of games and third-party support seems like the Wii will gain Nintendo some ground on their competitors and this should warrant a continual flow of quality games from developers.

However, what if people dislike the Wii controller? What if it comes off as gimmicky or hard to use? The simple truth is, people are afraid of lots and lots of buttons tht can mean different things in different situations (a game controller). The Wii definitely takes a lot of this fear away, but aside from Wii Sports, I haven't really seen Wii games that look like anyone could pick it up and immediately play it without having to push a lot of buttons and memorize what they do. If this is the case, and developers just start using the wiimote's motion sensing capabilities as "virtual buttons" or button-substitutes rather than building games around the capabilities, then the Wii will very much be a gimmick system.

The best hope for Wii's success is based on Nintendo's, or third party developers', willingness to step out of the norm and build games that allow the gamer to truly experience the capabilites of the wiimote with minimal button reliance (1 or 2 max). This will truly revolutionize the way games are played and made, and will really be a victory for Wii.