Mulled Marc

So I was able to Wii today. That sounds bad, maybe that’s not quite a verb for gaming yet (although Nintendo did ask for this with the name). I was able to game with Nintendo’s Wii console today. I’ve watched the announcements and read about the fancy controller and was ready to write it off as a joke. The features weren’t powerful, the controller seemed like a gimmick, it didn’t impress me. Then I played it…..

The controller is not a gimmick. It takes a little time to get used to it’s sensitivity, but it’s a very intunitive interface. The sports games that it comes with work very well with the controller and you can almost believe that you’re really participating in a sport rather than lounging at home playing a game. Dispite rumours, I did not almost knock over a TV while gaming, but had I actually been bowling it would have been a fault..

I didn’t get a chance to try out the classic controller, but it looks perfect for the downloadable classic games the Wii gives you access to. Buttons are laid out nicely, directional controller appears to be a nice 4-axis variety, although the colors could be more Nintendo-esque instead of Wii-like.

The fact that the console comes bundled with Wii Sports means that out of the box, this could provide a decent amount of enjoyment. $250 worth of enjoyment? I’m not sure, but there are other games and if Lucas provides a nice Star Wars light saber game, it might just seal the deal.

There’s not a lot to say about this, except that it’s been released. Full details about what it includes is available on Michael Swanson’s Blog.

The joy in this depends a great deal on Microsoft’s pricing, but apparently Microsoft is planning on offering video downloads on Xbox Live. Not just trailers and game video, but actual network television shows and theatrical movies; Not just standard definition, mind you, but real High Definition beauty. According to engadget the TV Shows will be purchased and the Movies will be rented, all using Microsoft Points. I question the TV Show “ownership” without an archive ability, but they say you’ll be able to delete and redownload any TV Show you’ve purchased. Movie rentals will last 24 hours before they have to be repurchased, but can be viewed multiple times within that 24 hours….if you wanted to.

If Microsoft and the content providers can resist being greedy, this could become a big deal. We’re seeing more and more alternate distribution channels opening up for video content and the A La Carte, always available method Microsoft is setting up makes a lot more sense than broadcast networks attempting to program what I want to watch at 9:30PM every Friday night.

If anyone from Microsoft is reading this (however unlikely that is), here are the keys to success:

• Price – Even though the format is superior they need to price the TV Shows on par with iTunes. Consumers now have a precedent for what a single episode should cost and I’m not sure this brings enough for the average consumer to convince them that it’s worth more.
• Price – Allow a season pass type purchase of TV Shows. Ideally this would include a DVD Set automatically sent to the user at the end of the season.
• Teasers – This is more for the content providers, but they need to give free sample episodes to get people hooked. Remember that we’re not talking about just getting people who missed tonights episode, we’re trying to replace NBC and the other networks entirely. There needs to be a new way to get people to try new shows.
• Portability – Select a show in the video blade, choose “Send to Zune”, magic happens to make sure that the video can be viewed and is optimized for the Zune, the user is alerted that they can plug in their Zune to their Xbox to transfer the video. Obviously none of this can effect the usage of the Xbox so rather than on the fly re-encoding, perhaps there could be a non-purchasable Zune optimized version of all video that the Xbox could download when needed.
• Space – 20GB…..please
• Stargate – The announced Stargate SG-1 movies should be pre-released in High Definition on Xbox Live at least a week before the DVDs hit stores.

via engadget