Nintendo Wii, revisited

Since I made the prior posts about Nintendo's upcoming success, I had no idea how successful Nintendo's Wii would become. I do pride myself a bit in believing that it would be successful, when the industry seemed ready to write it off, but it has since exceeded most people's expectations.

This writer has put together a good set of article explaining some of the business strategies that are behind the design of the Wii, and helping to explain its success:
Disruption Chronicles.

I found these articles interesting from both the commentary about the current console generation, as well as the larger theory of business strategy. I think most people are familiar with how different technology can change the playing field, like the transistor. But it's not just that the technology was new, it was inferior, and yet so much cheaper. It only has to be Good Enough. I think Good Enough is something people constantly lose sight of. We think we need the fastest cars, or the biggest cars, not just one that is Good Enough.

It is interesting to read complaints from people on the Internet that the Wii is not "hardcore", when, in some ways, it is the most hardcore of all of the current gaming systems. It is not distracted by the ability to play movies, its ability to get on the 'net is second rate, it can play some media files, but it has its limitations... Playing games appears to be its primary focus... and at a lower price-point. It's main problem with many gamers is that it doesn't have the types of games that they are interested in.

Mind you, I like the extra features of the other consoles -- higher res displays, playing movies, etc., but it does cost extra for these features to be included. Nintendo was able to bring the game-playing experience home for less. And then there was that cool controller. The result is a system that is more accessible to more people. If you take one of the other systems and add a $150 driving wheel, that is the niche market (or at least should be). A market that I may be part of as well, but that does not lessen the fact that Wii is able to bring gameplay that is Good Enough to more people.

The main negative I have with the Wii is that so many games seem to make inadequate use of the motion controls, and some of the games seem too substandard, perhaps in an attempt to gain a quick sale. You can get crummy games on any system, but the Wii seems to be attracting quite a few. Keep in mind, though, that some games that are being called poor are actually good, at least considering the target audience. How many of us liked Tetris, and yet simple games like that are being called inferior "casual" games by the "hardcore" gamers. It's a different type of game, but whether or not you like it is personal preference. The Wii is short on really good driving simulations or First Person Shooter (FPS) games, for example, so I don't think it's unreasonable to say that the Wii is heavy towards "casual" games and light in other categories.

I think if you're truly a hardcore gamer, you'll need both the Wii and at least one of the other systems.

Free surround sound?

There is a long-known technique for creating a matrix soundfield with just a 2 channel amp. It's called a "Hafler circuit".

One of the things I've been doing for years is wiring rear speakers in my car so that they just play the "surround-sound" or ambiance information. I think it's just personal taste whether or not it's worth the bother, but I think it adds a bit of "space" to the closed-in environment.

This technique these days has more application in a customized car system than in the home, in my opinion. But, if you have an old-fashioned beefy amp, it might be worth looking into.

'70's technology at work. :-)

Nintendo's Wii

A lot of time has passed since I posted the comments that hinted at Nintendo's direction. They've taken a unique approach, concentrating on the unique controller and only modestly upgrading the graphics. They claim that this is enabling them to concentrate on the games. In reality, I wonder if it just wasn't practical to compete. How would a 3rd console compare if it were also $500 or so and had graphics and CPU power about as good as the other console? It would probably be lost in the shuffle, and still not quite as good, since Nintendo is lacking some of the technology of Microsoft and Sony. They pretty much had to take the low end; even so, they made a pretty nice machine. They could have made an even cheaper, more basic, design, if they chose.

What is amazing about the Wii is the controller. It really does work. It will take a long time for other companies to deliver similar functionality, and it'll be obvious if they're copying Nintendo.

I think their strategy might just work. This is a great machine for the more casual player, and is pretty fun, even if just to watch others swing their arms around like crazy. We'll have to see if it's still fun months down the road, but for now, it looks like a winner!

On the other hand, I can see where hard-core gamers are going to be disappointed. It's not HD, the graphics aren't as detailed as the other systems, etc. But, the graphics are still really good, and better than the last generation (if not by a whole lot). And if you don't have an HDTV yet, it's probably a non-issue.

Configuring Linksys Router a different way

Picture the scene. You get a nice shiny new Linksys router, and try to follow the instructions, and it doesn't take long before they are suggesting changing your DSL modem settings. What gives?

Here's what they are trying to do -- make it so that only one machine on your network creates IP addresses for your network. I imagine it's a hair faster to do that than to have both machines doing the same job, translating the IP on the routed packets.

The Problem

However, what happens if your router dies or otherwise is removed? Now you have to recall what you did to your DSL modem and redo it. Not too hard, but you might not be the person sitting at the computer performing this operation.

On one setup, I wasn't able to get the recommended changes to work at all! Then, I had no choice -- I had to set up the Linksys router to work with my existing DSL modem's setup.

Another disadvantage is that if you hook it up the recommended way, you can no longer log into your modem directly via a web interface. If you need to adjust something on the modem, you'll need to unplug the LAN connector from the router and plug it directly into a computer.

The Solution

The DSL modem is already configured to act as a DHCP server and hand out a new IP address to your computer when needed. The actual IP address that is seen on the internet is probably completely different than what your computer is using locally.

The router is designed to do the same thing. I wanted to set it up so that the router got the IP address from the modem, then the router creates temporary IP addresses for the rest of my home network (which includes wireless devices).

The trick to getting this to work is to put the router on a different subnet. So, when configuring the router, I needed to force it to a IP address that didn't interfere with the modem: 192.168.2.1.

That's it, as far as what differs from the normal router setup -- everything works great! And if I need to pull the router out of the loop, I don't need to mess with the modem. The only downside is that it might be affect performance slightly, but if it has, I cannot tell the difference.

Playing the classics. [games]

In recent months, I picked up a bunch of classic compilations for the PS2. I know some of these collections are on other consoles, but the PS2 seems to get everything, so I think I'm going to make my PS2 the go-to machine for playing the classics. :-)

Taito Legends -- great compilation! Good number of games (29), and a few that I really like, making it worthwhile. Many people will get it for Space Invaders, but I like Super Qix, Phoenix, Bubble Bobble, and it's always fun to try the others just to see what they were like.

Sega Classics Collection -- Just 10 games (I think). I have heard that some people hate this game because they re-did/updated the graphics. Well, it still looks like old-school! I don't know what they fixed up. Well, Monaco GP gives you the option of classic style or "original" (which means "updated" in this case, and not what I would generally think of when I hear the word "original").

Capcom Classics Collection -- This is still in the shrink wrap. Yet another Street Fighter II release, along with various games, most of which I'm not familiar with. I think 1942 and Ghouls 'n Ghosts will be the most popular.... (I already have SF II in one or two other releases! Ugh.)

Midway Arcade Treasures 3 -- Various arcade racing games. I expect to play this mostly for San Francisco Rush 2049. Mine is still unopened.

Three out of the 4 above I picked up for $15. I think they're all $20 retail.

Underworld Evolution [movies]

We saw Underworld Evolution. I heard a review by a critic who just panned it; he said that it wasn't as good as the original. Well, it wasn't, but it is still worth seeing. I'd compare the 2nd one more to Blade -- higher on the gore factor than actual storyline. The first one wasn't perfect, but it seemed a lot more clever.

I liked how we got some continuation of the storyline from the first film, and see a bit more of their secrets. There is less in this film about the societies and personalities, and a lot more monster mayhem.

Interviews with some info. on the direction of the new videogaming systems. [games]

IGN's Shigeru Miyamoto (Nintendo) interview.

...why is the home console necessary? What functions in a home console would make everyone in the family say, "Yeah, we need that and want that."

As a software developer, this attitude appeals to me. The bottom line should be to solve the client's issues first. In this case, it's make a good gaming experience; if you can do that with less-expensive hardware, then you have a business advantage.


Engadget's interview with Steve Ballmer (Microsoft).

... But we’re going to out perform Sony in a lot of things. We’re faster on integer than they are, they’re faster on floating point than we are.

New gaming systems, and the mystery [games]

Ok, you can find the announcements of the new videogame systems on all sorts of gaming-related sites all over the 'net. Even the newspaper had photos of the Xbox 360, which will be released first, this year. The other two competitors (PS3 and Nintendo's Revolution) will be released next year.

What I find interesting is that Nintendo won't show what it's controllers look like. They claim that they are going to have something unique. I've read some speculation that maybe it has a touch-pad, or maybe it is a wireless gaming system! I think those ideas are pretty rediculous, as to do a good job of that, it'd be too expensive. Plus, you don't want to be pushing TOO much data between the controller and main unit if you're going to be wireless.

No, think of the name "Revolution". I think it'll have some sort of built-in steering wheel control, like a rotary controller. OK, you've heard it here first. :-) I think since the Atari days, gaming companies gave up on the paddle type controller for the most part, except for these expensive steering wheels. I think a small rotary controller, particularly if you could give it some force-feedback, would be great!

Between that and playing your old games, it sounds like a must-buy.

Racing on the GBA [games]

I have been waiting for a really good racing game for the Gameboy Advance. Now with the release of Nintendo's Gameboy DS and Sony's PSP, it would seem that I should give up hope, that the age of the GBA might be over... or is it?

Sometimes a system's best games become available after companies have spent years developing on it, and near the end of its life-cycle.

I just purchased Need For Speed Porsche Unleashed, and it has a pretty good 3D effect! (If you remember the 3DO, the graphics look similar in that the 3D is not as accurate as that in later machines.) The graphics look pretty good for the GBA. There's no comparison between this and the newer (and more expensive) handhelds, but this is real 3D!

As far as gameplay, I have not used it enough to pass judgement. Seems more "arcade" than "simulation", but the tracks seem to be surprisingly long!

I have read that Need for Speed: Underground uses the same 3D engine, so that may also be worth looking into.

Old Arcade compilations [games]

One of the best things about arcade machines is that you not only have state of the art graphics, etc., but also have unique and quality controllers. In the old days, a lot of games came with trackballs or rotating controllers. Now we can play the old games at home, but why don't we have the fun controllers?

I do have a trackball from the Playstation 1 days, but most of the emulated old arcade games on the Playstation 2 do not support it.

Atari Anthology is one such compilation. Still, it's worth having, as it probably has games I don't already have on earlier compilations. But it looks like I need to hang on to those PS1 discs, so that I can play certain games with the controller that the game was designed for -- or at least one that is better suited to the game!

More on needing creative ideas more than CPU power in videogames [games]

He ... proposed that we focus on making software richer instead of trying to design the next-generation console.

Games Developer Conference speech

Some of his views are a bit peculiar. For instance, I think there is a place for art, but he seems very unsure! But, he is another voice that suggests that games are limited by creative ideas more than raw processing power.

Even the weakest of the current generation, the PS2, looks pretty good with some of the latest games, such as Gran Turismo 4.

Voting [politics]

I keep having this creepy feeling like if they can have "early voting", maybe they'll start having "late voting", where you can vote after election day. ;-)

I'm just glad that the voting season is over! Let's hope that counting the votes isn't a mess.

More on the next generation of video games [games]

...he is confident the complexity of developing for next-generation consoles will promote interest in reusing code.

Game Publishers Sweat Console Change

Some people in the industry are betting on software resuse (reusable software components) to help defray the increasing cost of the complexity needed in the new games. What they fail to mention is that since a major part of the cost is in building 3D models and artwork, you'll have to reuse graphical components as well, leading to games that look the same. Perhaps that doesn't matter for certain items -- trees, for example -- but if you see the same kind of trees whether the game is in the snowy alps or the Amazon jungle, won't that be a problem? ;-)

Perhaps given enough years, developers will have enough of a library of graphics and sounds that it will reduce costs, but my gut feeling is that the initial couple of years of the next generation are going to be rough!

The other problem is that game programmers are used to creating original code partly to make their game unique and to get the last ounce of power out of limited consoles. Even the current generation is being pushed close to its limits, so some customization might make a noticable difference. If given enough processing power, perhaps game developers can finally take a different attitude, and not have to spend as much effort trying to optimize every bit of code. The next generation could end up being easier on the programmers (well, until they add complexity to the AI and physics elements), while being much harder on the rest of the team.

As I've mentioned before, my only concern with a new console generation is that a lot of time, effort, money is spent with a lot of people just re-learning a new platform, dealing with problems, etc. But when you get those first games, even though they aren't the best that the machine can do, all you see are that the newer games are far and away superior to those on older machines. As long as average consumers feel that the upgrade is really worthwhile, the game industry will continue. My fear is that a lot of average people are going to see 3D games that are similar to the 3D games they already have been playing for years, and not feel compelled to upgrade; the industry needs more than hard-core gamers.

Look at how slow people have been adopting HDTV displays. What is the point in having more graphics power than a traditional analog TV set? Don't get me wrong, the hard-core gamers will enjoy all of the resolution they can get, but I think you have to look at average consumers when considering large sales. I suspect that most current HDTV users don't know what cable to use to improve the picture on their games; don't underestimate the resistance (of the average consumer) to buying a $35 cable just to have sharper images on the game machine.

What are game companies going to say to consumers? "Even more 3D! The enemies are even tougher!" Ok, that's way too concrete. Probably more like, "More involving interactive experience!" People will scratch their heads; expect an initial delay in the purchasing of new machines while most people get over the confusion factor, but I think they will still sell. And if the games industry thinks that developing on the new machines is too expensive, they'll cut back the number of polygons until they can afford it. Things will still look better than the previous generation, but just not as good as it could be. Then again, here's that danger of not giving the consumer a feeling of a worthwhile upgrade for something that's only somewhat better.

Hot rods [tv]

For some reason, I have really enjoyed these shows where they're fixing up people's cars, not just to restore them, but to put in all sorts of crazy but wonderful modifications. Namely, Overhaulin', Pimp My Ride, and Rides. I suppose you could also throw in Monster Garage and American Chopper too.

Mind you, I don't really want to do any of these crazy things to my car (I'm mostly content filddling and adjusting my car audio system), but I'm fascinated with the extent to which people will go to make something unique. Is it a form of art on wheels? I don't think anyone's gone that far, but it sure takes some creative ideas. Great craftsmanship.