Comments on: Sports games showing signs of life on the Wii

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 03:39:13 +0000

It’s unfair to compare the sales for Madden NFL 08 on the Wii with those for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 because the Wii version EA developed was so awful, and word quickly spread about it. It was clearly released without finishing the testing phase. In my years of playing videogames, I have never played a worse, more glitch-filled game in my entire life. There are dozens and dozens of major glitches that make some game modes almost unplayable and others extremely frustrating.

Here’s a list of some of the more major glitches:
http://forums.ea.com/mboards/thread.jspa?threadID=321220&tstart=15

Hopefully, EA gets its act together and actually puts the same amount of effort toward NCAA Football 09 and Madden NFL 09 on the Wii as they do toward the other systems. If they do, the Wii sales will be strong. But Wii owners are not going to shell out $50 for a game just because it has the Madden name on it.

The Wii’s controls are perfect for football sim games, but when third-party software doesn’t utilize the controls correctly, the result can be a horrible frustrating game.

By: Nick

Nick — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 03:32:56 +0000

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=230244

Gamestop is now accepting preorders for ncaa on wii.

By: soonerhomie12

soonerhomie12 — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 18:08:17 +0000

I thought that it was confirmed that ncaa 09 was for the Wii.

By: soonerhomie12

soonerhomie12 — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:46:23 +0000

I think ncaa 09 NEEEEEEEEEEEDS to be on the Wii.

By: soonerhomie12

soonerhomie12 — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:42:35 +0000

plus motion would be so fun. like throwing, pitching like on options, big hits and other stuff. Maybe like a telestrator. Now that would be cool.

By: soonerhomie12

soonerhomie12 — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:39:56 +0000

when I had an xbox I thought I was never gonna play ncaa 09 because xboxs are goin’ outta style. So Im glad you mentioned ncaa 09 being on the Wii because I got one for christmas.

By: Bukktown

Bukktown — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 22:12:22 +0000

[quote comment="8358"]The reason things are not working out is the other developers are not using the Wii to their advantage. Put Wii sports on any of the other consoles without the use of the controller, and nobody would play it. The control is the innovation and whats drive people to play it. I think that is the reason other games have failed as they do not take advantage of the controller and innovate the gameplay. Wii sports II is what I am waiting for myself.[/quote]

The Wii controller is so much fun that I have no interest in playing games that dont use the motion sensing exclusively. Wii sports is a great foundation for other titles to start from. Games like NCAA are too complicated to use the motion sensing.

By: ddeweil

ddeweil — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 20:37:01 +0000

I think once a developer really takes their time and is creative with the Wii controls, it will be reflected in the sales. Take a look at what Konami is doing with Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 with the Wii. The controls actually open up the game to be more free flowing.

Madden’s sales may have suffered due to several bugs and omissions in the 08 title. A number of people were frustrated by Madden 08’s lack of create-a-player/team/etc (which was in 07) coupled with several bugs in the game. Perhaps this word of mouth weakened initial sales?

An NCAA title would be a blast on the Wii. Running the option and faking a pitch with the Wii remote could be fun. Imagine holding B while “pitching” with the remote to fake the pitch but if you release B, you pitch it. Stuff like that could be fun. But EA will need to include create-a-school and the various other options present in the PS2/Xbox version. The casuals (and hardcore) love that stuff.

By: Papernut

Papernut — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 20:10:09 +0000

The reason things are not working out is the other developers are not using the Wii to their advantage. Put Wii sports on any of the other consoles without the use of the controller, and nobody would play it. The control is the innovation and whats drive people to play it. I think that is the reason other games have failed as they do not take advantage of the controller and innovate the gameplay. Wii sports II is what I am waiting for myself.

By: DLane

DLane — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:16:25 +0000

A friend of mine, who rarely plays video games, bought one for his Dad on Father’s Day and for the about the first week the family could not get enough of it now it sits in their living room collecting dust.