The Wii is a crazy fun console with a lot of great games. But it has its share of warts. Particularly its clunky menu and submenu channels, which feel like they were designed by a Japanese toy company instead of a usability expert. And connecting with friends online is way more tedious than it should be (although play with strangers is as easy as on other consoles).
I’m sure there are more, but those are the two that quickly come to my mind. What about you’what do you dislike most about Wii?
Where do I begin? The worst thing about the wii to me is definitely the online mediocrity, at least compared to the other systems. Putting friend codes in every time just sucks. The WiiSpeak is hardly used in the online capable games which makes it even harder to have friends online. The service itself is very slow compared to ps3 and xbox 360. Not very many games are online.
-On a side note it is disappointing to me to see Nintendo not bringing anything fresh and new as far as games go. What I mean by that is that they haven't introduced any new characters or franchises, it's always Zelda, Mario, or Metroid, (and not that I don't like these titles) I would just like to see them bring in a new franchise.
To start, I really like my wii. What I like outweighs what I don't like…but –
Lack of a hard drive, for one. Lack of DVD functionality…though it can be "added."
The online thing bugs me too, although I do give the big N kudos for having a browser available (and now making it free.)
The UI is a little wonky too, as you said.
Having "channels" You can download but only having like six or seven…total.
However…
I think nintendo is, in its own slow way, fixing some of these issues. You can now use a 32 gig SD card. (I Do like the expandable memory, btw.)
The way they redesigned the nintendo channel, recently, I think is a clue to how they are looking at the UI thing. We'll see.
They know they have competition and are acting on it…though Nintendo always seems to be slow to act.
I also want a fully online MMO version of Animal Crossing, dang it.
I love the online of wii, I'm not fussy, I just like to play with random people, friends never seem to be online so as long as the games have a random opponent option I'm happy. I never know what to say when playing against random people online on PC/PS3 so lack of wiispeak usage doesn't matter to me.
They've fixed the space issue, upto 32GB of storage is more than enough.
There's no issue with amount of good games at the moment, I have a big backlog, and more good games on the horizon.
lack of DVD playback is no issue either I have a PS3 for blu rays, and every other room in the house that has a tv, has a DVD player attached to it already, the DVD function in a wii would get totally ignored by me. It'd be treated purely as a gimmick, the wii is a games machine and just a games machine, it was never marketed as a home entertainment device, but a home games console, live with the fact that a GAMES COSOLE is there to play GAMES on, people.
I think the wii is great, there are a few gripes obviously, could do with games looking a little better, not bothered by HD resolutions, but more of an effort with making games look pleasing, twilight princess looked great to me, likewise for Tales of Symphonia, The Conduit, Mario Galaxy. Also Kingdom Hearts on PS2, FFX, X-2 and XII as well, they look great even when playing them now, it actually feels like the developer has made an effort to make it a clean experience.
My biggest gripe isn't towards the Wii, but towards the company, Nintendo, I always thought of them as the company that fought for its people, if there was a problem, they'd see to it. Now they just seem like every other money grabbing video game company out there *cough*Sony*cough*Microsoft*cough*EA*cough* they make good games from time to time but they don't listen, they do whatever their accountant think is good, not what their fans of over 15 years think is good.
The only thing thats a little naggy for me that the wireless classic controller has a wire….and it doesnt vibrate….and has no handle 🙁 i bought a nyko classic grip thingy for $3 but still! I just want my classic pro controller in america already >:-(
Having to wait for Super Mario Galaxy 2, Arc Rise Fantasia, Metroid Another M, Monster Hunter 3, Fragile and Muramasa. Wait, Muramasa just released, so scratch that last one.
Other than that I'm good.
What I dislike most is no DLC for MUA, MUA2, and other games that PS3 and XBox360 get.
I'm actually pretty fond of the menu – except the fact you have to go into another menu to get to SD games and that their is not enough space to have all your games in the internal memory at once. I would love the menu if only for that.
Dislike? Monday is the only day for Downloadable updates, and it's only two or three things a week – it takes release date control from the developers and leaves us waiting for great games that are already completed, at Nintendo's discretion. After talking to some of these developers, I'm convinced this is bad: as a lot of them don't even know when their own game is coming out.
Nintendo's lack of courtesy for the Wii owner. The Wiimote doesn't come with rechargeable battery packs, the nun chuck doesn't rumble, nor have the ability to wireless by removing the cable. All the peripherals have to be tethered to the wiimote. The classic controller is a crappy version of the SNES controller, has no rumble and is greatly inferior to the Gamecube controller.
Wii have to use separate friend codes for each game instead of the whole fc system being tied to the console. We have a limit on the amount of Mii's we can make, it's hard as hell to make compatible video's for theWii to use on the photo channel. We have no real account recovery system for our Wiiware and Virtual Console games. Gamecube games don't show up as even being played in our calendars and play-time.
The SD card menu should just add to the regular menu, and just display an "SDHC" logo in the corner of the displays of the channel. Wii should be able to transfer saves via our wiimote just like our mii's can be transferred. We were promised this. The system menu should take up the entire screen.
The whole friend code is a pain… But for me, the worst part is the fact that Nintendo doesn't have official representation in Brazil, and the games are sold for more than double their US price. 🙁
In general, it has to be its online components.
But, ironically, what bothers me the most is not the Friend Codes: it is the fact that you cannot tell if a friend is online or not, and what are they playing at the moment. The lack of a common "hub" for online gaming is the biggest problem with Nintendo's Wi-Fi.
Another fail for Nintendo is the pricing of their downloadable content and its frequency. With the advent of $3 downloads for full games on the iTouch, charging $8 – $10 for a similar game is just not reasonable.
Nintendo, here's an idea: port and release your whole GameBoy, GB Color, and GBA library for the DS on the downloadable content store, and charge $1 – $2 for the GB games and $3 – $5 for the GBA games (they can't be that difficult to port since it is done on PC emulators all the time!). You will make millions, and double your install base!
The little things that could be easily solved.
Like friend codes (they could search from the Wii menu your saved games and compare it to your friends, and do great stuff form there), video playback, the inability to download apps from other publishers, other than opera (I would love an official downloadable media player or youtube player).
I don't like that there are no downloadable free games, weekend discounts or game updates (like TF2 gets).
The virtual console sometimes seems pretty expensive to me, this week you can download Bioshock from direct2drive for PC for 5 bucks…
Peripherals. Just stop.
I have no problem with the menu screens. I find them easy and intuitive.
The online system is not a concern as it isn't important to me at all. Us 'expanded audience' don't play online. We have our friends over to play and make an evening of it. When I have the odd hour or two I would rather play solo and have some quiet 'me' time.
I am glad Nintendo 'do whatever their accountant think is good, not what their fans of over 15 years think is good.' because they would be in the toilet now if they listened to the 'core' audience. They make money and are growing gaming. It is all good.
The one thing I don't like is that I don't have the ability to load my store-bought games onto the console. When I buy a CD I load it on my computer and listen to it their and on my iPod. The original CD gets put in storage for safe keeping. Why can't I do the same with my Wii games?
If I have 20 minutes to play a little something I will look to WiiWare or Virtual Console games for a quick fix. The alternative is to go through the collection, crack it open load it in and wait. Not a big thing but with limited time I just go for the quick and easy solution instead.
Plus, I have six kids who don't take such great care of the game CDs or cases. I'd like to put them away (the games not the kids) for safe-keeping.
That is my only (small) pet-peeve.
Graphics I guess. It would be way better than PS3 and 360 if it had both controls and graphics. (and the online sucks)
I love Nintendo as much as any other Nintendo fan boy but there are definitely some things I would change about the Wii. I would Change the online. I would ad a trophy/achievement system and do away with friend codes. I would have it so that there can be multiple user accounts on one Wii. I would also like a sweet interface where you would have your friend list with there "gamer tag" Mii and achievements and with nintendo they could do it on a game by game basis where you can compare what you and your friends have done in a game you have played. Also I love the fact that they are a game company who makes consoles that play games. I don't care if my console can do Netflix, play DVD's/Blu-Ray's, or have facebook. I play my games to play games all I'm asking for is a better online experience.
Couple of things:
-Definitely agree with most here the online support is terrible and friend codes need to go away. There are plenty of other ways they could implement parental codes so no need to make everyone suffer. How the competition could be offering so much and Nintendo just stands by there like this is beyond me.
-Lack of innovative games… other than Wii Sports I haven't seen anything really use the Wii controller that's made me feel like this is really something "new" and not a gimmick. Definitely agree they need new franchises. I can't say I was happy to hear about Mario Galaxy 2 rather than something new. I can understand wanting to get more of a return on investment into the engine but you could rework that into something new.
-The hardware… first Nintendo machine I've had that's broken on my (GPU overheat). Definitely light years ahead of the competition on that one but I'm still a bit disappointed.
I hate all sports games on the system. They forced me to buy a 360 for those games, and shooters.
I guess my biggest complaint would be the VC. One of the things I was most excited about the Wii was the ability to play older games on it. I was hoping that we would be getting like 7 or 8 new games every week to choose from. Instead we are lucky if we get 1 (if 2 VC games come out the same week it's a miracle). I don't even mind paying 5 to 10 dollars for a game that I really like, but please give us more choices on a weekly basis. Is it really that hard to emulate these games? I just don't understand N's reasoning for not releasing more games.
I love the simplicity of the Wii, especially compared to the poorly designed 360 interface.
I agree with the online remarks, but I'd like to jump up a level to say that I think the Wii needs more options:
+ Let users change the size and theme of the Wii Menu. (It's way too huge for me.)
+ Allow users to opt of Friend Code confirmation (which could also be controlled in the Parental Settings). You can set whether to allow friends to see if you're online and what you're doing. You can also associate your name with the code so that you can add friends by their names.
I'd like to more and better online and local games. (Along those lines, I wish it were easier to discern if the games had "real" multiplayer and what type. Using the IR to collect stars sucks and the like.)
Blake, you're crazy. the Wii menu is so easy to navigate it makes the xmb and NXE look like complex coding. Everything you need is there at the point of a finger (literally).
Anyways. My biggest gripe about the Wii is the lack of HDMI and 1080p output. If that happened, I would be a happy camper.
The online is getting better, the storage isn't much of an issue now with the SD card update, and the graphics are actually quite impressive when the system is pushed.
I just want a better resolution.
and Mp3 support back.
but other than that the good outweighs the bad.
I think an online community would be nice (sort of like a forum/chatroom) where users from around the world can communicate. What would be nice with that is an "automatic profile" where based on the save games in your Wii a list of the Wii games you own will automatically be put in your profile as well as your friend code. Then to just add someone to your Wii you simply click their friend code. I think that would be the best way to share friend codes and play with more people online.
The fact that people compare it to other consoles and want it to be the same, when it's not at all.
Casual market or no, these are the things that *I* want on the Wii.
1) Friend codes – there's GOT to be an easier way to add friends. Oh wait, there is, and it's on both of the competition's systems.
2) A universal online HUB. I'm thinking of Xbox LIVE here, where I can see which friends are online at any given time, I can start a voice chat session with them in or outside any game, I can invite them to play with me at any time, etc, etc, etc. It shouldn't be which games are Wii Speak compatible or which games have online connectivity. There should be a standard for online for EVERY game. Not that every game needs online multiplayer but that I can interact with friends whenever I want. Xbox live feels like I'm in a room with my friends, while Wii online feels like I'm in an isolation booth with a single telephone line.
3) HD capability. No, HD doesn't make or break a game – far from it. But boy is HD pretty.
The lack of online playability, no chat program, no way to see who is online and what they are playing, no trophy mode, seamless switching between program (like using the web browser then I can quickly check something else out weather it be the forecast or news article, etc.), no media player (DVD, Divx, MP3/AAC, (I would love to listen to music and surf the web)), no implementation of sub menus for games (I would like to see a Super Nintendo Channel and in that channel have all the SNES games I bought, no need for a channel for every game), no game demos, no movie trailers, and lack of hard drive (well it's kinda fixed with SDHC).
I find the most limiting feature of the Wii is pointing at the screen and shooting/selecting. Basically anything involving the sensor bar. The accuracy is poor, and the tendency of the sensor bar to loose connection with the remote is frustrating (see how long you live in the Conduit when that happens). I usually avoid point-and-shoot games: I feel more like I'm fighting the controls than the enemies on the screen. Sure maybe I could improve things a little by changing the lighting conditions, but why should I have to rearrange my living room or close my curtains to play a game?
Anything else can be fixed in future consoles: graphics, online content, etc. But how do you fix this point-and-shoot? The MotionPlus tries by using the motion sensor to point and shoot (eg. the archery game in Sports Resort), but how well could that translate to a fast pased game like Metroid Prime or the Conduit?
Friend codes. (Just make all games use the Wii code and we're fine… Having game-specific FCs makes no sense.)
I change my answer to Aliasing.
The Wii is pretty fun, for what it is. However ,sometimes I think about what it COULD have been, or what's lacking.
Friend codes are garbage. No way to sugar coat it. Garbage.
The "last gen" feel of its games. Its becoming more and more of a problem as the 360 and Ps3 really start to get some amazing technical titles out. Waggle doesn't make up for the lack of tech. Not only are the graphics poor, the lack of HD is becoming more and more evident, but the SOUND capabilities of the Wii are what, 2 friggen generations behind now?…. ridiculous.
Oh well. It is what it is.
lack of power, bottom rung online service, few first person shooters, no AAA fps
1. Lack of HD. 2. Lack of the other type of HD. 3. Inadequacies of the Wiimote without Motion Plus. 4. Wimpy online support and friend codes. 5. Lack of external HD storage via USB ports.
Firstly: @BlueRocks
Your gripe has already been answered, albeit in the form of homebrew. The reason that Nintendo (nor anyone else for that matter) doesn't do this is because all it takes is one person on the block to purchase a game and BANG! everyone else on that block now has it loaded to their Wii. Still, if you're willing to shell out for the cash for a USB External HD and track down some homebrew apps, you can back up your Wii games.
Secondly, My gripes about the Wii:
Well, firstly, while I know that online play doesn't really matter to the extended audience, I'd really rather not see Nintendo actively oppose online gaming. I'm not asking for XBox Live here, but if possible, remove friend codes, make it possible to chat with others in select online games and to add them to your friend list. Also, if possible, add some sort of central Wi-Fi hub where you can see if your friends are on and what they're playing and possibly chat with them (and join them if they're in an online match). While I know that Nintendo avoids this because of claims that they wish to remain "family friendly", they DO have a parental control system built in; just set it so that if parental controls are on, either online play is disabled, or online play is left as it is now.
I would also have to agree with Johsdad and David in terms of the Wii's online store. First, as far as pricing goes, it does seem a tad high (for VC games at least, I'll let WiiWare slide for the moment). Sure, $10 for an N64 game might not seem like much, but for the same price, using digital distribution for other platforms, that could net me anything from Beyond Good and Evil to Prince of Persia: Sands of Time to Half Life (I got mine when it was 99 cents). While Nintendo has the right to charge whatever it wants, the prices have kept me away from most of what they're offering (I've only bought Mega Man 9 and Super Mario: RPG). The GOOD titles seem to seep into the shelves rather slowly as well, which I never really understood.
These would be my two main gripes with the Wii. I still marvel at the fact that people complain about the lack of HD graphics. It's been shown time and time again that not only do most people not care about them, but integrating them as of now would only result in net loss for Nintendo.
Just though I'd mention this, but notice how the one topic that invites constructive criticism of the Wii is quickly becoming one of the most posted on topic of the week. Just an observation I made (and besides, the response here is approximately 95% more intelligent that what you'd find on say GameFAQS (I've yet to see one post slamming Nintendo for marketing to the expanded audience nor have I found a 2 page monologue that amounts to "Needs more Halo")).
Ok…
One
The virtual console by now, in my mind at least.
Should have all Nintendo Home-Console games
(NES, SNES, N64)
Two
Not enough storage
Like get a bigger Flash-Drive
(A Greener-Version of a hard-drive, the Wii has one)
Three
Add the Wii-Friend Codes to the Wii-Mail Channel
And have those effect the Games
Rather then having Friend Codes for each individual game
Four
Faster Online
Like OK, they resently did this with the Nintendo Channel
(Duh with the Update)
But make the Online overall Faster
Five
Stop making all those plastic peripherals
If people want them, get them off the Onlne store
Only release the Wii-Wheel
Six
Push harder, for Better Graphics
I know that the Wii has limited graphic capabiliies compared to other consoles
But they're good enough if 3rd Party developers make good graphics
Seven
DVDs have the capability to go DUAL LAYER
Make use of that capability
Eight
Update the Photo Channel
To be able to support NORMAL formats
Music= WMA, MP3
Video= WMV, AVI, MPEG
Pics= JPG, GIF, PNG
Nine
THE WII USES DVDS FOR GAMES
Give it the capability to play DVDs!
Nintendo's inability to support the WiiWare service with it's OWN titles. I'm talking about games like Super Mario Land 1 and 2, Wario Land 1, 2, 3, Donkey Kong '94 and Link's Awakening DX – instead we get cr@p like warioland shake which is a mere shadow of the GB Wario games.
I like the Wii. But here are my issues, most of which have been said:
1) Online. Nintendo still doesn't seem to "get" it. Friend Codes are idioitic. I would also like to see a way to see what friends are online, what they are playing, etc.
2) Lack of Innovation. Personally I feel the whole "motion control revolution" has actually been a pretty big letdown. As someone else stated, there really have only been a few titles that even use the motion controls well. Even for most of the good titles on the Wii, I don't feel they NEED motion controls. They could just as easily been made for a traditional controller. Wii Motion Plus hopefully will change this but I have to feel like those who say 2 and half year later, the Wiimote finally works like it should have from day 1.
3) Last gen feel of games. As much as I like many Wii games, I still feel like I'm playing GameCube games sometimes. It's not just about HD graphics and all, it's just it seems developers don't try to push the limits of the Wii.
4) The VC. I thought by now I'd have several more games, but the rate at which they are getting games out is pathetic.
the lack of good adventure games
Online – Has been stated many times already. What makes the Wii's online capabilities so hard to accept is that there are already very easy ideas using components already available on the Wii to improve the online experience drastically. A hub like the living room chat room you get with Wii speak would be perfect for seeing who's on and playing what games on the tv, etc.
Channels – A brilliant and unique idea being totally underutilized by Nintendo. Why don't we have a:
-Friends Channel
-VC specific system channel
-Demo Channel
-World Wide Leaderboards Channel
-Help Channel
-Nintendo History Channel
-more Game Specific channels like those featured in wiifit and mario kart.
-Release 1 vc game for every system once a week (1 each day or all on 1 day)
Just basically lack of great online games. Too few and far between. And friend codes, which relates to online. Otherwise, an awesome console.
for me this was a no brainer.. Having been one of the poor souls whos Wii died an early death. I was a bit P O'd to learn after purchasing my 2nd Wii that all that DLC I bought, wiiWare and all those Guitar Hero tracks are NOT transferrable to my new wii. And Nintendo doesn't care. So from now on I buy nothing from nintendo via there Channel. If you're smart you'd do the same.
My main problem with the Wii is that the motion controls really don't work as well as I'd like them to. Even with Wii motion plus it's still a little wonky.
I'd have to say, it's the Virtual Console for me. Like ResidentialEvil said, it's very disappointing the rate at which they've been releasing games. And I'm not just talking about WiiWare titles, which I'm not really into anyway.
The retro games of the past are what drew me to the Wii above anything else about it in the first place. There are so many fun games out there that are being ignored for some reason. I'm beginning to worry that Nintendo will stop releasing stuff for that side of the VC pretty soon.
On the surface, the menu system is great. It's only when you have to dig in and move things around when it gets clunky.
@HyperPhazon
Thanks for the information about the Homebrew option. If it came from Nintendo, I would do it instantly. Until then, I will keep pining for the day.
i hate the fact that i love it so much lol!
online could be better.
I like the console and all but my problem is that when i play with it side ways for a side scroller like the wario game for instance i end up with my hand on the power button before i realize that i did it im in the middle of a level with no save area and the power turns off. and the other with the d pad on top of the wiimote when i have to use in remote mode parse i cant because my thumb is handicapped the ligament is cut and i cant bend it to reach the d pad correctly i have to move my whole hand and all to reach it appropriately and then i take damage from some enemies i couldn't avoid because i had to use the d pad. the other one is that you have to have the internet for half of the things you do or your not cool i don't like strangers and i don't like having to go online for multiplayer mode im bipolar and antisocial and you dont wont me online .sorry for the spelling/grammar but my keyboard ain't that great
one more thing is that they keep making games and you know what expect just like twilight princess you started off in a massive world once you get rid of the shock of the world its the same from then on and ganon was the easiest in forever on twilight princess i actually enjoyed tormenting ganon he kept aiming in the same pattern moving the same way and you could basically dance around for a few minutes without getting hit and you finally get bored and finish him off,on mario galaxy you beat bowser the same way he was easier than most bosses on the game theres really no reason to get all the stars its a waste of time get all the stars you get your brother blah blah. and mario kart the same the wii wheel will screw you over thats about it for mario kart. every single game is the same thing same pattern you know what to do as soon as you play. i havent gotten a new game in about a year or two. and then you realize you haven't played in a while you play and you realize why you haven't its like listening to a bed time story when you play any game. i need something new or something old with a big twist to it i have a zelda game in my mind if could make it it would blow your heads off in a good way if you could handle it. again sorry about the typing screwed up keyboard
well i like a lot my wii but suffer a lot for online service its ssssssslllllllllllllooooooooooooowwww like a matrix effect or something, if you see the latest games tey released is remakes (metroid prime trilogy, ALLL THE RESIDENT EVIL SERIES, the line ''new play control''….etc.) the entire stuff of friend codes, the hardware problems (smash brothers brawl) the channels that do noyhing (its free but all are useless considering that you can do it these days on other consoles) i realy excited when the console was new and the interactivity was awsome, but ,i think that nintendo have to do something to fix all this beacuse the ''competence'' its already doin it (project natal, ps3 controls )
Apple now has Rhapsody as an app, which is a great start, but it is currently hampered by the inability to store locally on your iPod, and has a dismal 64kbps bit rate. If this changes, then it will somewhat negate this advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month will still be a big plus in Zune Pass' favor.