There’s a lot to say in hindsight about this: it was overblown. It was bizarre. The presentation certainly didn’t help, and the game wasn’t great to begin with. But even ignoring that, the question of whether it was worth getting angry gets overlooked. Because, truth be told, it wasn’t.
To be clear, this a defence of Wii Music. Not only have I not played it, I have no interest. I’m not an instruments person, and I can’t read music. I also have enough on my plate with Wii Sports, Wii Play and Wii Fit, the latter of which I can’t use anymore because my Wii sensor bar’s broken. Trying to salvage the game’s reputation, therefore, would be dishonest.
What I can discuss, however, is the criticism Nintendo received, as well as the reverberations 15 years later. For one, not only was the backlash extreme, it was vile. And two, that backlash was an early red flag for something much more unsettling. But I’m getting ahead of myself. For now, I’ll focus on the reaction to Wii Music, as well as why it was unfair.
Let’s start with expectations. I think everyone had their hopes set too high. It’s not like there wasn’t a precedent, it’s Nintendo, but people can be unrealistic about a company that has to satisfy both their base and their shareholders simultaneously. This was especially true for the Wii, which had been marketed to individuals who didn’t have a lot of time for video games. It’s hard enough catering to your pre-existing base, who expects the same three franchises constantly, without ignoring that.
Nintendo fans were being unfair at the time. They were also being selfish and self-centred, demanding that Nintendo cater to them alone. This fear of the casual gamer that’d permeated the community was a driving factor behind Wii Music’s backlash. Let’s face it: if you overhype something, and it doesn’t meet expectations, whose fault is that? Is it the company’s, or yours?
This leads to my next point, that being the aftermath. Ignoring how overblown the initial reaction was, the subsequent whining and petitions weren’t doing anyone favours. Nintendo, remember, can only do so much. It’s hard enough catering to new fans without forgetting older ones, and Nintendo had a tricky juggling act. Even if they were focusing too much on casual gamers, though I’d argue they weren’t, complaining wasn’t going to fix anything. The game was already made, so being mad did no one favours. If anything, it made gamers look spoiled.
Nintendo fans were being unfair at the time. They were also being selfish and self-centred, demanding that Nintendo cater to them alone. This fear of the casual gamer that’d permeated the community was a driving factor behind Wii Music’s backlash. Let’s face it: if you overhype something, and it doesn’t meet expectations, whose fault is that? Is it the company’s, or yours?
This leads to my next point, that being the aftermath. Ignoring how overblown the initial reaction was, the subsequent whining and petitions weren’t doing anyone favours. Nintendo, remember, can only do so much. It’s hard enough catering to new fans without forgetting older ones, and Nintendo had a tricky juggling act. Even if they were focusing too much on casual gamers, though I’d argue they weren’t, complaining wasn’t going to fix anything. The game was already made, so being mad did no one favours. If anything, it made gamers look spoiled.
But the biggest consequence was that, 15 years later, the impact of that reveal is still being felt with 1-2-Switch. You know, the game where you play with other people in head-to-head battles? The game that’s perfect for people with vision problems? The game that also had a silly debut? That game?!
I don’t think people appreciate how toxic gaming gatekeeping is. So a high-profile video game isn’t to your liking? Okay, and? No one’s forcing people to play Wii Music, regardless of quality, and not every game is for everyone. I’m not big on sports games, but you won’t see me trashing them left-right-and-centre. That’s not only unhelpful, it’s gross! Wii Music, quality aside, is no different.
It doesn’t help that the backlash, like I said earlier, was an early warning sign of the gaming community’s insularity. Perhaps it’s a generalization saying this, but many of the same people who complained about Wii Music would later attack Anita Sarkeesian and spearhead GamerGate. It’s not hard to connect the dots, especially when these “scandals” were responses to outsiders daring to penetrate the gaming world. Even now you see that in far-right politics, particularly the kind that led to Brexit and MAGA. That, I think, is far more concerning than programmable plastic.
I don’t think people appreciate how toxic gaming gatekeeping is. So a high-profile video game isn’t to your liking? Okay, and? No one’s forcing people to play Wii Music, regardless of quality, and not every game is for everyone. I’m not big on sports games, but you won’t see me trashing them left-right-and-centre. That’s not only unhelpful, it’s gross! Wii Music, quality aside, is no different.
It doesn’t help that the backlash, like I said earlier, was an early warning sign of the gaming community’s insularity. Perhaps it’s a generalization saying this, but many of the same people who complained about Wii Music would later attack Anita Sarkeesian and spearhead GamerGate. It’s not hard to connect the dots, especially when these “scandals” were responses to outsiders daring to penetrate the gaming world. Even now you see that in far-right politics, particularly the kind that led to Brexit and MAGA. That, I think, is far more concerning than programmable plastic.
But perhaps the biggest issue is that the fallout of Wii Music, aside from all the above, was unnecessary. So Nintendo made a silly video game about instruments for little kids? Okay, why’s that the end of the world? So the game wasn’t good? Again, why’s that the end of the world? So Nintendo marketed it in an awful way? Why’s that the end of the-you see what I’m getting at?
There are real issues in gaming. Expensive, broken titles that require patches at launch is one of them. A lack of preservation of older titles is another. Anti-competitive behaviour’s a third. But a game not being for you? If that’s really your biggest concern, then you live a privileged life. That, and you should probably get out more.
There are real issues in gaming. Expensive, broken titles that require patches at launch is one of them. A lack of preservation of older titles is another. Anti-competitive behaviour’s a third. But a game not being for you? If that’s really your biggest concern, then you live a privileged life. That, and you should probably get out more.
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