I had my first Wii experience today when I got to play ExciteTruck at my local EBgames. The kiosk was casting it’s blue light into the hallway, but no one else was ensnared by its gleam. I walked up to the counter and said, “Can I take this for a test drive?” Gave the guy my license and was handed the Wii Remote. First impression, “Man, this thing is small .. but fat!” I walked back over to the kiosk where someone was looking at it saying, “Where does the controller go?”
ExciteTruck was loaded up already, so I hit 2 to start, waited (kinda longish load time, but far less than an Xbox or PS2), and the race starts. Initially the control had me flying all over the road, but I quickly adjusted to steering with just a slight tilt and not as wildly as when I started. After a little while someone was watching me, “Have you played this before?” “No!” “Well, you’re pretty good!” “It’s really not hard.”
Quickly, there was a crowd of 5 or 6 people watching. One mall thug was pretty impressed with the control after he realized the way I moved it was actually controlling the truck. “Man, I’m’a get me one of these!” But then his buddy told him he was nuts and to, “…be a man and get a PS3!”.
ExciteTruck was fun, but I hit a LOT of trees. It almost made me doubt that the game would ever be “easy”. Regardless, it was a good time and I can’t wait to play again.
The part of my experience I keep thinking about was the exchange between the two tough guys. It caught me off guard and I’m left wondering… Do you think peer pressure will have an effect on who does or doesn’t buy a Wii?
These are the same kids mucking up Xbox Live with homophobic rants and braindead cussing. I likes me some cussing, but not with the likes of people who think buying a PS3 will "make you a man"It'll make you a poor man, that's for sure.
Yeah a poor man indeed! Though, for some reason I think this whole "wii" thing will be the cool thing to run with. Think of how rap has sort off takin over, which is listeined to by mostly minorities…….I think? But, my point is with minorities on that spotlight,any of them that plays games, will make the "wii" a hot must buy item!Instead of shelling out a savings account for the ps3.
YesPeer pressure will have an effect.There's a reason Sony and MS demonised family gaming. There's a reason PS3 is named after playstation, playstation 2 and playstation portable.There's a reason Nintendo barely mentions their own name anymore.Negative campaigning is very effective, and Sony and Microsoft are both very negative competitors, brought to court multiple times on anti-competetive charges. Of course, so were Nintendo, but then again videogames would have been dead 20 years ago if it weren't for their actions.Having said all this, there is NO reason Xbox360 is called Xbox360 in Japan. If MS marketing had any brains they'd realise they'd actually see higher sales if it DIDN't have the name attatched.Anyway, my point is, Sony made purchasing video games as much about your own image as having fun. That is of course what Sony does best, and being the lambs that we are, it worked.
I don't know about you all, but I'm getting a Wii, and I have very heavy testicles, So this doesn't work like that. It might make you look gay if you ARE ALREADY GAY, but so does talking.
"be a man and get a PS3!"ijal at that
this has nothing to do with who buys a wii…butme and a friend played excite truck last week; he played that same level with A LOT of trees: tropical, wasn't it? and then i played some place covered in snow and had a lot easier time ( i only crashed into 2 trees and flew off the road once) idk…it's a REALLY fun game though 😀 can't wait for sunday
peer pressure still drives dumb teens to buy PSP's… i've seen it… don't doubt these stupid insecure people will try to cover up their flaws with a 600 dollar black playstation foreman grill… one that apparently animates baby dolls… so cool…
i dont see why nintendo fanboys can be possibly be worried about nintendo or the wii AT ALL.care not about dumb peer presure. you're nintendo fans, you're smarter than that.- exsony employee
Be a man. Make up your own damn mind, ya know? Peer pressure is for wusses.
Peer pressure is an influence…If my friends don't buy a Wii, they're not real men =PSeriously though, the guy who told the othe to be a man for the PS3 has issues… (maybe the type who'd break up with her girlfriend to camp for a ps3)
Sure peer pressure is a factor. But you know what? Being able to wrestle a Nazi for his gun or swing a katana by actually doing it is cool. And there's nothing Sony or MS can say about it. All they've got is to point at Nintendo's kiddy image and to its graphics which aren't crappy, just less amazing than theirs.
yeah, i doubt the ability for some people to recover from the public humiliation of geeking out with ray-man in front of their friends… but that said, i'm sure they will play with their wii in private.
@ex-sony employeeYou should know better than anyone here that genuine 'mindshare' influences more than we care to admit, and that image can be more powerful a purchase driver than quality. Nintendo, who are the bastions of gaming quality through creative experimentation, have seen market share loss after market share loss, off the back of the 'kiddy image' thrust upon them. Of course quality instilling a strong fan loyalty, combined with frugal business models has ensured their everlasting profitability. But just like Apple, Nintendo are going to have to regain markets, or create new ones, through a new kind of marketing, not through high quality products alone.