First, to Jared, a few things. The post is written as stream of consciousness, which is why it does seem to cover a large number of topics. I’ve been working on this post for a while, so that’s another reason why I have a lot of thoughts in there that aren’t just about my thesis.

As far as graphics are concerned, they aren’t that important to me, and probably not to you, but they are icing on the cake. Delicious, delicious icing. However, I would argue that we are the hardcore audience and not a good sample of Average Joe Gamer that buys his games at Walmart. That’s right. I said it. Walmart! Walmart is the leading retailer of video games in the US. Yes, that blows my mind, but that’s something to think about. The average gamer is not interested in the future of the medium. They aren’t interested in games that expand the boundaries of interactive entertainment. They buy the big smash hit blockbusters that are often rehashing the same darn game they’ve bought 10 times. The real question is do graphics matter to them? I’d say yes. It’s hard for me to know for sure because I am much more passionate about games, but I’d speculate they like games to look really realistic.

I strongly dislike Wii Bowling and Boxing, and I don’t really care for Wario Ware. Boxing seems like it rewards whoever flails their limbs more wildly and Bowling seems like there is some hard coded perfect throw motion that you have to try to match. I had a party recently with game developers and their non-gamer significant others, and I expected Wario Ware to be a hit with both groups of people (the hardcore guys and their non-gamer girlfriends), but to my surprise, neither group cared for it. Part of the problem was that we had a bunch of people crowded around for Wario Ware and getting them all in the sensitivity area of the Wii-mote with my room layout was impossible. The other problem was they really didn’t think the minigames were interesting. Wii Tennis was not a hit either even with a non-gamer who plays real life Tennis. So, I’m not the only one who isn’t impressed with the Wii.

I think the games can’t get much worse at this point. There’s a bunch of current gen ports with Wii controls shoehorned in. This includes Nintendo’s first party output with Zelda, Super Paper Mario, and the recently re-announced DK Bongo Blast. But, I think by the time the output is actually good, I think people will feel burned by a lot of bad titles and uninterested.

To Joseph – I’m a big fan of non-realistic games, but I think that you can do non-realistic games better in HD with great technology. Look at Viva Pinata or Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. That’s not to say you can’t do very stylish games in EDTV (480p) like Okami, but I think more is better. I think “need” is a little bit difficult to define. I guess I agree they don’t need them, but they certainly can benefit from them. I would argue though that we don’t need GTA looking any better than Virtua Cop, but it certainly helps. I guess the difference between us is I’m not satisfied. I’ve been spoiled though because I’ve had a 360 for a year, and a PS3 since launch. Maybe once you’ll pick up that 360, you’ll understand where I’m coming from.

That’s cool that you’ve enjoyed the Wii games so far. I probably am in the minority of people who are horribly frustrated. The odd thing is, I normally love gimmicky games as evidenced by my collection of zany peripherals, but the Wii just doesn’t do it for me. Hopefully I was clear with my explanation of why I find them frustrating. I have heard though from another friend with similar frustrations that Zelda allows you to calibrate the Wiimote, which addresses some of my concerns, but it’s not implemented at the OS level. Hopefully they can add that with a later system update, but I kind of doubt that they will. That seems like a core feature to include from the beginning and making it so the games are able to read the calibrated data may or may not be easy depending on how the OS has been implemented.

I think you strayed away from your thesis with your theories on Wii sales and production.

Regardless, I’m not convinced that HD gaming is the wave of the future, even if Microsoft and Sony keep trying to jam it down our throats. You make a good argument that HD will further penetrate the market over time, and that HD owners will want HD content, but what about gamers? Is there any data to suggest that gamers — hardc0re or casual — are willing to prioritize high definition graphics over other factors like upcoming releases, brand loyalty or, dare I say, innovative controls? If, as you predict, high-def TVs become more commonly used, then having HD content may become less important. They may not be as likely to say “I shelled out for this, I need to get my money’s worth.”

I share your conflicted feelings about the Wii, but I’m also optimistic, having thoroughly enjoyed Wii Bowling and Boxing, Wario Ware and Trauma Center, even if the latter two are DS ports. It feels good to have some of the magic back in gaming, and I imagine that’s what your girlfriend and other non-gamers are feeling, too. Down the line, I don’t know of those people will lay the fad to rest, as is suggested in the Kohler article, but if the games continue to improve, I certainly won’t.