How They're Surviving the Wii

Surviving the Wii: Super Smash Brothers

Super Smash Brothers is also a game that shouldn't really be on this list, since it wasn't avaliable on the show floor. However, it makes the list because it shows that Nintendo is willing to acknoledge that not every game needs or should play on their new controller. Instead, Nintendo has acknowledged that some games are better with the system that's already in place.

After a number of hours on the Wii playing games like Tennis and Metroid, I don't really feel more informed about how the system will perform than I did before. Really, it's not the sort of thing that shows off well in a short demonstration. In order to really appriciate the unit, we have to have an oppertunity to sit down, swing it around, and become comfortable with the new interface. The Nintendo DS touchscreen was the same. Without more time with the system, it's hard to say if Zelda will be better or worse with the new controls. So much depends on how the final game is calibrated and tweaked, how sensative the controls are, and so forth.

It's possible we simply won't know until the unit has shipped, and the Nintendo Wii is sitting in our living rooms.