Xbox vs. Wii: Guess who strikes out?

I tried to like the Wii. I really, really tried.

Wii was great for some things -- playing Wii fishing with the kids, or setting up Wii tennis and Wii boxing matches when friends came over. But for serious gaming, the Wii simply hasn't been able to compare to the Xbox, the Xbox 360, or PC games.

There are two things that are holding the Wii back. Ironically, one of them is the thing that makes it so special -- the motion-controlled apparatus which allows users to employ gestures and arm movements to complete actions on the screen. While the Wiimote/Nunchuck pairing is great for games that depend on a single repetitive action -- swinging a racket or bowling a ball -- it stumbles for more complex games. For Wii's Legend of Zelda, the storyline and characters were interesting, but every level came with a new set of motions to learn. Some tasks required very precise movements and button combinations which proved frustrating. After a certain point, it became a headache. I didn't want to go on.

The second thing that is holding back the Wii is graphics. I am not someone who gets worked up about GPU specs and ray tracing minutiae, but the Wii is ridiculous. Forget about comparing it to the Xbox 360 -- I don't thing the Wii comes close to the original Xbox. For the simple games in Wii Sports and Wii Play, graphics not a major issue. But for immersive environments that are typical for MMOG games and first person shooters, Wii's cartoon world won't cut it. I've been playing FPS titles since Doom I, and can't imagine the Wii doing justice to something like Return to Castle Wolfenstein or Half Life 2.

So, even though we've had a Wii in our house for about 9 months, I don't think wii'll (Geddit?) be using it much in the future, except when the kids are exceptionally bored. For the games that I like, I'll instead be using an Xbox 360, or playing PC games that my old iMac can handle. So far, I've only tried one Xbox 360 title -- Fallout 3 -- but have been very impressed. Microsoft gets lots of grief for Windows, but I have to say that the Xbox team really put together an impressive gaming platform. That's where I'll be for the foreseeable future ...

Image: Nintendo