Is the Wii Running Out of Steam?

The NPDs in the video game industry are the sale's numbers for the hardware and software sold in a certain month. Since it was released, the Wii has been at the top of that list just about every month. Things changed when the February NPDs came out though.

As you can see in the numbers below, the Xbox 360 outsold the Wii and PS3, which came as a shock to everyone since a big title didn't come out in February to move the systems. This was the first time that the 360 sold more than the Wii since the release of Halo 3 in 2007.

-DS: 613K191K (45%)
-360: 422K89K (27%)
-Wii: 398K68K (-15%)
-PS3: 360K83K (30%)
-PSP: 133K33K (33%)
-PS2: 102K60K (143%)

This is probably going to be just a blip in the radar of Nintendo and when we look at the March NPDs, we will most likely see the Wii on top again, but could this be signs of the Wii slowing down? At some point the sales phenomenon of the Wii is going to stop and if I had to bet on anyone taking them down, my money is on Microsoft and the Xbox 360.

Why Digital Distibution Won't Work

There have been talk over the past few years about the video game producers moving to a form of digital distribution to get their work out to the public. No more going to your local video game store to pick up the new games that has just been released. Instead you turn on your system and download the game straight to your hard drive. This idea in the video game industry has come along ever since the invention of Itunes and the ability to download smaller games on your Xbox, PS3 or Wii. I don't believe that this can work for video games though.

The first problem that I have with this is I actually like having a hard copy of a game that I bought. For some reason it makes it seem more official for me that I can see the game and it's case instead of the game just being on my hard drive. I love going to a video game store at midnight or early in the morning to get a game I'm anxiously waiting for. It seems like an event when I do this and with digital distribution for all games, that won't be possible.

Another problem I have with digital distribution is whether or not it will work properly and efficiently online. Anyone who has tried to download a popular game demo that has been released on the Xbox or PS3 knows that when it is released and everyone is trying to download it at the same time, it takes forever to complete. And demos are only a small amount of MBs compared to a full, retail game. Can you imagine everyone trying to download Halo: Reach or the next installment of Call of Duty at the same time? It would take hours before you can finally play the game. Because of this, I will continue to hope even if digital distribution does become the norm in the video game industry that they will give people the option of buying a digital copy or a hard copy of a game.

When Trash Talking Goes Too Far

I, like most gamers, tend to talk some trash when playing someone in a video games. Five to ten years ago, it would probably have been some fun, good natured jokes passed back and forth between you and someone you knew. Now, this has all changed.

With the invention of online gaming on consoles over Xbox Live and the PSN, trash talking has been taken to another level, and it is not a good thing. Most of the things that come out of people's mouths online are the worst expletives and even racial slurs that anyone can say to another human being. Because we can't match a face to the voice that we hear online, people feel like they can say whatever they want. They say things they would never say in real life if someone was actually sitting next to them playing the game.

If I had a child that wanted to play video games online, I would have to think twice before allowing them to do it because of what is said by people. It seems impossible, but something needs to be done about how people conduct themselves online in these games. Trash talk used to be good, clean fun, but online, it is anything but.

Welcome to My Blog!

My name is Nick and this is my Video Game Blog. I'm here to give everyone my thoughts on some of the games I'm playing and general feelings on video games as a whole and the current state of the gaming industry.

First, I'll start off with what kind of gamer I am. I've been playing games every since I was able to hold a controller in my hand as a little kid. Some of my fondest memories as a child are playing Nintendo with my older brother. Today, I'm a big First Person Shooter fan, spending most of my time currently on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and I love most sports games that are out there, especially the Madden franchise.