The Netflix Illusion, or How the Wii Won 2009

by Michael Edwards, COMMUNITY WRITER

Monday, November 23, 2009

Tags: Wii, Infamous, Xbox 360, Forza 3, street fighter iv, PlayStation 3, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, DJ Hero, Netflix, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Metroid Prime Trilogy, GOTY

Editor's note: The Wii rules 2009? Well, it does for Michael, who after looking at his game database (it's OK -- I have one, too!) realized that the Xbox 360 wasn't really his favorite console for gaming. How many of you have given your Wii more love than your PS3 or Xbox 360 this year -- or have found that you use your HD systems for Netflix and Blu-ray more than for games? -Jason

Being the organized nerd that I am, I decided to look at my game database and figure out what I thought were the best titles of 2009 thus far. The first thing I realized is that I buy way too many games. I then thought how sad it is that I have a game database.

More important, I came to the conclusion that my opinions on the three major consoles may have been way off.

My Xbox 360 is on every day, but I'm only now realizing why: Netflix. If it wasn’t for Netflix, I would've hardly used my 360 this year. I considered not renewing my Gold subscription to Xbox Live. I then thought, "Oh, yeah. Netflix."

Now that the PS3 has a Netflix option (along with a fan that doesn’t sound like a jet engine), I’m not sure that I'll use my 360 that much anymore, other than for Media Center as a DVR and to stream video.

The only 360-exclusive games I purchased this year were Forza 3 and Halo 3: ODST, and the only reason I got ODST was because I couldn’t decide what free third game I wanted during the Toys 'R' Us sale.

Of the multiplatform games I purchased, three were for 360 and PS3 and one was for PC. I purchased three PS3 exclusives. The Wii beat them all with four exclusives. The crazy part is, aside from Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, those four titles are the best games this year that I've played this year.

As much as I complain about Nintendo, some of the most enjoyable gaming experiences in 2009 were Punch-Out!!, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Metroid Prime Trilogy, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Sure, two of them are rehashes of games for the NES, one is a compilation with some new controls, and another is a 2D brawler, but I stick to my statement.

Then there's my PS3, which I usually refer to as my Blu-ray player. My current choice for game of the year, Uncharted 2, is a PS3 exclusive, along with other great titles like Infamous and Demon’s Souls. I chose The Beatles: Rock Band and DJ Hero for my PS3 because Sony's box is quieter and for storage space, and I chose Street Fighter 4 for the controller.

If my favorite games of the year are for Wii, and I've purchased so many PS3 games, why was I calling the 360 my favorite console? It had Netflix.

I decided to ask some friends and coworkers about their console habits, and they all agreed that Netflix is the No. 1 thing that had them turning on their system this year. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 recently supplanted Netflix in their console-use habits.

The conclusion here is what I thought was my favorite console ended up being just a vessel for video streaming, and what I thought was the disappointment of the year actually delivered some of the best games -- and when others really step back and look, a lot of them realize this too.

The one thing everyone can agree on is our excitement for what gaming will bring in 2010.

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Comments (10)

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Derek Lavigne

November 22, 2009

Welcome to Bitmob Michael!

It really is funny how your view on things can change dramatically when you take a step back. The 360 is unfortunately the only Next-Gen console that I own, but I think that even if I had a PS3, I would still be getting multi-console release games on the 306 because that's where the majority of my friends are.

Andy Bates

November 23, 2009

I had a similar experience when a friend asked me which next-gen console he should buy. I showed him both the 360 and the Wii, with the firm belief that he would see the 360 as the clear winner. And yes, the 360 has Xbox Live, which is a great service for playing with friends. (But then again, it doesn’t have wireless networking, which makes it more difficult to set up.)

But when I started showing him games, something odd happened: I realized that a lot of the 360 games were very similar, while the Wii games were very different. Gears of War, Halo 3, BioShock…all great games, but all generally first-person shooters. Meanwhile, the Wii games I showed him were Mario Kart, Boom Blox, Super Mario Galaxy…even Wii Sports seemed more gripping! After a while, I realized that the Wii had a better variety of games, and was cheaper overall.

So yes, it’s good to self-examine every now and then. The results may surprise you!

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Suriel Vazquez

November 23, 2009

Muramasa is definitely one of my top games of the year. Punch-Out!! was also fantastic.

Joe Handzik

November 23, 2009

I'm on the other side of the fence. I own a 360 and a PS3, and absolutely love them both. I had a Wii, but after Super Smash Bros. came out, I really didn't see any reason to keep it. I ended up selling my Wii through Craigslist and buying a PS3 the same day, and haven't regretted the decision one bit.

On the 360 side of things, I picked up Resident Evil 5, Borderlands, Prototype, Halo 3: ODST, Modern Warfare 2, Dead Space, Halo Wars, and Beatles: Rock Band. For the PS3, Infamous, Killzone 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Uncharted 2, and Mirror's Edge. I don't think I would trade either of those lineups to play Wii Sports Resort, Metroid Prime Trilogy, New SMB Wii, and Punchout.

Also, outside of the occasional Blu Ray rental for the PS3 and streaming music through my 360, I don't do much else other than playing games with my consoles.

Aaron Ekman

November 24, 2009

Great article.
I agree.

Of course, Netflix doesn't work on Canadian 360's, so mines on even less.

Tabitha Sheehan

November 24, 2009

Huzzah! I agree with your assessment. I don't own a PS3 or a XBOX 360, but never felt I was really missing anything. I will soon buy a PS3 now that the price has come down though since there are a few games I would like on that system, plus for the blue ray.

Richard Parkinson

November 24, 2009

I think things like Netflix can certainly effect your view of a console. I use my PS3 almost constantly because of blu-ray and watching TV (PlayTV over here in the UK). However, that "jet engine" fan that gets used in the 360 is the main reason my xbox sits collecting dust. I'm not sure if using the PS3 all the time means I'm just not used to the 360 but whenever I turn it on it's very noticeable. Yeah, it's a fairly trivial point when choosing between a console, I'm sure I'd get used to if I was forced to. The thing is the PS3 does most of the stuff that I want so why would I settle for a noisy fan?

The fact that Assassin's Creed II is supposed to be better on the 360 irked me slightly because of the noise, until I realised how stupid that was. Maybe I just need to get myself a decent sound system.

I'll be awkward and say the iPhone/iPod Touch won this year. Although I also turned to the DS a lot during the usual barren gaming months. Now the new Mario & Luigi game taunts me from the shelves just as the other consoles become overloaded. I almost feel like apologising to it when I walk past the DS sections in the shop. Why didn't you come out earlier!

sean kennedy

November 24, 2009

You know, this is the FACTS about the WII. Whenever people quite acting stupid and look at the system for more then just graphics, they see the light. There are some REALLY good games for the WII, just as many as for the other consoles.
Yes, there are good games on the PS360, but this idiotic notion, and that's what it is, that the WII is for babies, soccer moms and grandmas is stupid.
When people put their stupid prejudices aside and look at the games for what they are, they'll find a LOT of good games.

Here's some more great games for the WII- Dead Space: Extraction, Deadly Creatures, Mad World, Wii Sports Resort, Little King's Story, House of the Dead: Overkill, The Conduit, Lost WInds: Winter of Melodias, Excite Bike World Rally. (All these games came out in 2009)

It's time for people to quit bitching about the WII and take a look at the quality games that are on the system.

Frank Anderson

November 24, 2009

That is funny. This year killed my opinion of the Wii. Other than new Super Mario Bros, almost every Wii game I bought sat there half played.

I hate waggle, and most Wii games just don;t draw me in.

At least the Virtual Console is worth the time and money.

I love Nintendo, but I really want all Wii games to start giving me the option to use a classic controller. Motion Control sucks.

Joshua Henderson

November 24, 2009

Man, we are the complete opposite. I spend almost all my gaming time on my 360. In fact, the last time I played my Wii was when my 360 was being repaired. I do plan on giving my Wii some love this Christmas when, hopefully, I'll be getting NSMB Wii. I can't wait to play that.

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