Wolf Tracking

I’ve never been as obsessive about video games as most of my friends, in fact I’ve never bought a video game console. It’s not that I don’t like playing video games, I can get as addicted as the next guy once you hand me a controller or Wiimote. I just haven’t seen the need to spend hundreds of dollars to get a console and library of games that I’ll probably ignore within five years.

There are millions of people just like me who haven’t seen the need to keep up with latest video game consoles, particularly as the competition to attract hardcore gamers with graphics and elaborate roleplaying scenarios made the games too complicated for casual players to enjoy. That’s why Nintendo’s strategy to get out of the graphics rat race and simplify their games was such a brilliant stroke - rather than compete directly with Sony and Microsoft for a limited market, they broke down the walls of that market and went after all the neglected fans like me who prefer simplicity.

Last week at E3, the premier video game event of the year, Microsoft made a few announcements that show they’re not going to let the Wii keep all the unconventional gamers for themselves. This includes adding family-focused games like “Scene It?”, complete with less intimidating controllers. But the announcement that caused the most chatter was their partnership with Disney to offer 35 movies for download through the Xbox.

It’s no secret that the Xbox’s endgame is to become the central item of a full entertainment system in the digital home, and in that quest Microsoft will find itself butting heads with numerous media heavyweights. Cable giants such as Comcast and Time Warner are currently the main source of television entertainment in the home, and will fight tooth and nail to squash “over-the-top” threats to their position from Xbox, Apple TV and Vudu.

And what is there left to say about the PS3? It’s been a rapid fall from grace for Sony, who had astounding successes with the first two Playstation consoles but now can’t seem to find customers outside of the diehards who waited in line for over a week to get their calloused thumbs on a $600 monstrosity. As with the Xbox, the PS3 had a higher purpose for its parent company: tipping the scales of consumer favorability towards their Blu-Ray standard for hi-def DVDs. Yawn.

So do any of these changes make a skeptic like me actually want to buy my first video game console? I’m actually more intrigued by the news that there’s a new version of Mariokart on the way, complete with a wireless “Wii Wheel” to play the game, than the prospect of adding a third device into my home that can play movies. In other words, Nintendo is the only console manufacturer that doesn’t see their device as a stepping stone to larger media ambitions, so it’s no surprise that the Wii has proven to be most popular with today’s consumers. I hope it’s not too late to add it to my wedding registry.