Nintendo: Wii Critics Are Overly Harsh

Reggie Fils-Aime says reviewers are giving some games, such as Red Steel, too much of a hard time.

It's not easy trying to convey the worth of games on a new system, especially not one that bucks the trend like the Wii. And while reviewers have been nearly universal in their praise of Wii games such as Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, others haven't fared as well, and Nintendo thinks critics aren't being fair.

One of the games that has divided critics is Ubisoft's Red Steel - one of the games being pushed hard at launch. The game has come in for criticism for its controls, which aren't as intuitive or smooth as many people would like. Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime says some reviewers aren't giving these new ideas enough room to breathe.

"I think a lot of the reviews [of Red Steel] have been overly critical," Fils-Aime said in an interview with MTV. "Does it take you a few minutes to get used to the control scheme? Yes. Once you get used to it does it play extremely well? Absolutely. I think a lot of those reviews are overly harsh. Just like the, what was it, the IGN review of Wii Sports. They're negative on the graphics of the game, but we always said what the graphics would be. I think that's people just being hypercritical."

It's clear, though, that Nintendo wants to strengthen the relationship with its core fan base - something the company has built over the course of more than 20 years. One of the ways Nintendo says it is doing that is by being open and honest about its new system.

"We're not arrogant," says Fils-Aime. "We don't view success as a right. We feel we need to earn success every day. And we're going to do that by being true to the gamer."

One of the surprises waiting for those core fans is that the online-enabled Wii actually doesn't have any games yet that are playable online. Fils-Aime didn't name the bellwether, but he did say that the Wii would have its first online game in the US "very early in 2007".

And while you can't play games online yet, you can visit Nintendo's online store to buy games for the Virtual Console. Already there are good games for all the retro systems covered, but key games, such as Rare's GoldenEye for Nintendo 64, are mired in legal issues. Fils-Aime admitted that Nintendo would love to see the shooter on the Virtual Console, and it is "exploring all the rights issues", which are tied up in Microsoft's ownership of Rare and Activision's hold on the Bond license.

Still, issues like these aren't putting off gamers. Nintendo said this week that it is seeing unprecedented interest in the Wii ahead of the console's UK launch on 8 December.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo