Second thoughts on the Wii name...
You know, as much as I griped when the name was announced, following the whole E3 week, I've got to admit the Wii name is really beginning to click with me. I think it's all the fun people are having with the name - I mean, if just saying the consoles name is that much fun, the thing itself must be a blast!

In fact, forget about all the stuff Nintendo officially has said about the name, that should be their answer. "We wanted a name that could at least begin to provide you with the fun our console will."

Wiially. :)

Just how serious is Nintendo about the Wii concept?
Here's something to think about regarding the Wii from both a logical and a marketing standpoint. Basically, I look at it as seeing just how well thought out the whole Wii name really is...

If pronouncing Wii as "we" is supposed to represent how the Wii will bring people together to share an experience, etc. and...

The two i's represent two people playing together as well as each "i" also represents the 2 piece stick and pointer controller...

Shouldn't the system provide 2 sets of controllers by default? - one for each i? After all, it's the Wii, not the Wi.

Further, if it's all about bringing people together, then 2 controllers make more sense as well - after all, how can you play together with only one controller?

If togetherness is what the console (and hence the name) is all about, then not including 2 controllers goes against the very branding of the console. So the question becomes, how many controllers will Nintendo include as a default?

Just something to think about - look at it as a barometer of where Nintendo's head is... if they package the Wii with 2 controllers, at least we know they're somewhat serious about the concept as a whole. If they don't... well, then it's probably going to be a short generation for Nintendo.

UPDATE:

A friend just reminded me that the "togetherness" could also imply online gaming, which to be honest, completely slipped my mind as Nintendo is the last thing I think of when I think of Online gaming. Still, I just think it would seem counter-intuitive to the whole Wii concept to not include 2 controllers, y'know?

Wii? Are they kidding me? WTF is a Wii?
Well, that was the big news of the day. Nintendo shoved it's thumb right up it's collective corporate ass and came up with perhaps the worst name for a console in gaming history - I guess you'd have to call it the "Snakes on a Plane" of console names. It's just that bad... and this time there's no Samuel L. Jackson to save it.

Sure, Nintendo gave some decent reasons as to why they wanted to move away from the Revolution name and embrace... Wii. The ones I believe they listed today were;
1.) Revolution had too much in common with 360 (A full revolution is 360 degrees)
2.) Wii doesn't need to be abbreviated
3.) Wii can be pronounced the same in any language
4.) It focuses on the "everyone's included" aspect of the console ("We")

Now don't get me wrong, but Wii has the stink of a marketing deparment all over it - it's one of those names that you just know a gamer didn't come up with. Aside from the lame "Wii need to..." type statements the ads are already presenting, you can already imagine the commercials with people playing the console and shouting "Weeeeeeeee" at the top of their lungs... and I don't mean that in a good way.

The problem I have with the Wii name is that I felt Revolution was perfect for what Nintendo was trying to do. Here was the "old guard" of the modern console industry trying to fundamentally change the way we play and perceive games. If that's not a Revolution, I don't know what is.

I'm not the biggest believer in the entire Revolu...err Wii concept by a longshot because I just see too many problems in my mind with the way the controllers work, and like 99.9% of the rest of the population, I haven't had any hands on experience with the... Wii... hardware to change that opinion. I just picture it as being something that's a great idea, but utterly unsuited for the way most people play games and for how their gaming areas are set up.

That said, if for some insane reason someone from Nintendo is reading this blog, in which case they must be extremely bored or accidentally typed the wrong address somewhere or clicked the wrong link, I'd be more than willing to get a hands on demonstration with the... Wii hardware so you can prove me wrong. Just don't be offended if I keep referring to the system as the Revolution.

So tonight as you try to fall asleep, don't be alarmed if you hear ever so faint and ever so distant sounds of screaming... it's just the Nintendo faithful expressing their loss.

Counting the generations
A question came up today on the gaming forums I visit most frequently, Gamer's Lounge, about what exactly is the proper way to count the console generations due to information in the Wikipedia.

Now I'm a believer in the fact that you count the pre-crash generations as one set, and the post-crash generations as another. What I found was that apparently that notion has become less popular of late and it's now in fashion to count from the very beginning.

So what we've got here are 3 separate ways of dating the exact same thing, and none of them really seem right. Let me give you my take on where we currently are in all of this.

If I was using the system described over at Wikipedia, this would be the 8th generation, not the 7th (As there were 2 generations of cart based systems pre-crash). So based on the Wiki Entry, I would call it;

1.) Dedicated Systems (Pong, Combat, Telstar Ranger)
2.) First Cart Based Systems (Atari 2600, Intellivision, Odyssey2)
3.) Second Cart Based Systems (ColecoVision, Atari 5200, Vectrex)
4.) 8 Bit Era (NES, SMS, Atari 7800)
5.) 16 bit Era (SNES, Genesis, 3DO, Neo Geo)
6.) CD Era (Saturn, Playstation, N64, Neo Geo CD)
7.) Current Gen (Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Gamecube, Xbox)
8.) Next Gen (Xbox 360, PS3, Revolution)

Generally though, I’m used to seeing the pre-crash times referred to by date and then the generation references start after the crash.

You could argue all day as to why that is, but since the industry re-started as a whole, the modern major players (ie Nintendo and Sega) entered the market then, most major franchises that exist today originated here and the shift went from US dominance to Japanese dominance of the industry, it’s as good of a place as any. It may jsut be because it's easier to differentiate generations after the crash as all the systems somewhat pack together.

So the way I’ve always seen it (and at least read about it before people stopped mentioning generation numbers during the DC/PS2/GC/XB era) is as follows;

Dedicated Consoles – Mid 70’s
First Cart based systems – Late 70’s
Second Cart based systems – Early 80’s
CRASH
First Generation – 8 Bit Era (NES, SMS, etc)
Second Generation – 16 Bit Era (Genesis, TG16, SNES, 3DO, Neo Geo)
Third Generation – CD Era (Playstation, Saturn, Jaguar, Neo Geo CD)
Fourth Generation – (Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube)
Fifth Generation – (Xbox 360, PS3, Revolution)

On the same token, I’ve also seen it counted just as the cart based systems, so

1.) First Cart Based Systems (Atari 2600, Intellivision, Odyssey2)
2.) Second Cart Based Systems (ColecoVision, Atari 5200, Vectrex)
3.) 8 Bit Era (NES, SMS, Atari 7800)
4.) 16 bit Era (SNES, Genesis, 3DO, Neo Geo)
5.) CD Era (Saturn, Playstation, N64, Neo Geo CD)
6.) Current Gen (Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Gamecube, Xbox)
7.) Next Gen (Xbox 360, PS3, Revolution)

So there you have it, depending on how you count it all, we're either in the 5th, 7th or 8th generation of gaming consoles. Which set have you heard used most often?

The folks who ruin food runs
While this is going to mainly be a gaming blog, I was surfing over at Chad Myer's Two Steps Back web comic and it got me thinking about those people who always make your life a living hell when you announce you're making a food run and want to know if anyone wants something.

Without further ado, I give to you my list of the types of people you wind up dealing with when you go on a food run.

The Soda-Jerk - Unless you’re going to be eating in the place you’re going, there’s no need to get a soda. Listen moron, buy a 2 liter bottle at the corner or something – don’t make the poor fool who’s been suckered into making the run have to do a juggling act between the bags of fried-goodness and that asinine cardboard soda holder all fast food joints seem to use.

Mr. Exact Change - This is the jerk who never brings money with him anywhere. He’ll give you the exact amount he got the item for last time (in change no less) and when you get there, you just know the crap’ll be more expensive this time. You wind up getting stuck picking up part of the tab for this fools lunch because you don’t want to hear the whining if you come back empty handed. Good luck getting your cash back too.

Ms. Special Order - Look, asking for your burger plain or something is one thing, asking for a burger with extra ketchup, half onions, no lettuce and double tomato with the burger medium rare on a whole wheat bun is another thing entirely. Look, it’s fast food, understand the concept? I ain’t burger king and special orders do upset me. Don’t even think of bitching when your stuff doesn’t come as you ordered it.

Kids Menu Kook – You know this fool, there’s one in every bunch. They want that stupid toy surprise and they’re going to make you ask for it. You have no clue what a Charazard is, but you know it’s the toy you’re supposed to ask for… and hope they have. My advice? Unless it’s you’re girlfriend/wife, a really hot chick, or an actual kid, tell them they’ll get whatever the hell the person behind the counter throws in the bag, you’re not going to have them play rummage through the promo box to see if they have this weeks, or last weeks or next weeks toy surprise.

Mr. Couldn’t We? … go somewhere else too. No, we can't. Look buddy, unless your lazy ass is going out to get the food, don’t start suggesting multiple stops... Asshole.

Twenty Dollar Bill Boy – Damnit, learn to have something smaller than what the blasted ATM gives out, okay. I cannot make change for 5 people who gave $20 bills and each bought $6 in food. Further, I don’t feel like looking like an ass placing 5 separate orders so I get the right change back, nor do I feel like asking for change after the order. At least try to keep it close to the amount you give me.

Hot Fry Guy – “Make sure you ask for fresh/hot fries, man” is this clowns motto. Look, I understand when people do it when they’re gonna sit down and eat in the place – it’s annoying, but I understand it. Look moron, by the time I get back, regardless of how hot your fries were when they left the place, they’re gonna be cold when I come in the door.

The Fry-Bag Inspector - This person swears that the fries tipped over in the bag and they got short-changed. Someone must have gotten some of their fries, ‘cause usually they get more than this. This is also the person who will accuse the runner of eating fries out of the bag on the way back.

Napkin Napper/Ketchup Krook - Look, if you want to steal napkins/ketchup from McDonalds so your cheap ass doesn’t have to buy them, go right ahead. But don’t ask me to do it on the food run.

Shakes the Clown – Some clown always wants a milkshake despite the fact that 99% of time the shake machine is broken in every fastfood place on the planet. Save yourself the dissapointment and just forget about the stupid shake.

Well if they don’t have this, then get me… Hey, it’s a food run, not a multiple choice exam. I’m not going to some magical, far off land, you moron. The menu is virtually always the same at any given fast food place – pick something and move on. If you’re not sure about it, make the backup choice simple – I have enough to do making sure everyone gets their shit without having to pull out a 15 page flowchart based on whats available and whats not.

So, do you know of any other Food-Run Fun Killer types? Let me know!