Yes Wii Can vs. R3ady

The word ‘unprecedented’ has been thrown around a lot lately when describing the race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic presidential nominee, and for obvious reason. If Obama became the first African-American nominee of a major party, it would be unprecedented — likewise if Clinton became the first female. And, as demonstrated by the record voter turnouts for states that have already been contested, there is clearly an unprecedented level of interest for an individual party’s nomination process.

But if you’re wired a certain way, then the Obama vs. Clinton contest might seem oddly familiar. Obama, the fresh-faced, out-of-left-field candidate, promises a new approach toward uniting a politically divided country. Clinton, with her direct ties to a prior administration as well as one of the most recognizable political brand names in the country, was the seemingly unstoppable behemoth whose rise to the presidency is now up for grabs. This narrative has been undeniably captivating. But it’s also one that has recently been playing itself out on a global scale for the past 15 months in an unrelated, yet high profile field: the latest video game console war that began in earnest on the third weekend of November in 2006. Yes, Barack Obama vs. Hillary Clinton has an awful lot in common with the principal battle of this war, Nintendo’s Wii vs. Sony’s PlayStation 3.

The Wii, known as the Revolution during its developmental stages, was always the most intriguing entry into this generation of consoles. When word spread that Nintendo’s follow-up to the disappointing GameCube would revolve around a wireless, motion sensitive controller that rested in one’s hand like a TV remote, the gaming community’s response consisted of equals parts enthusiasm and skepticism. Those who were willing to praise the Wii’s innovations before actually testing them out were ready for a new experience — a more immersive, cooperative, and accessible style of gaming based upon natural, physical movements rather than needlessly complicated button mashing. The flip side was that, from a processing standpoint, compared to the PS3 the Wii seemed rather impotent. While Sony was all too eager to boast about the PS3’s blazing framerate, massive storage capacity, and gorgeous high definition graphics, Nintendo tellingly abstained from revealing the actual technical specifications of the Wii. This raised doubts by some as to whether the Wii could rightfully be considered a “next generation” console.

In short, the PS3 is a powerful computer in a gaming console’s clothing, while the Wii is a step beyond the GameCube, but little else. Chris Hecker, a programmer for Electronic Arts and Maxis, infamously called the Wii “two GameCubes stuck together with duct tape.” No matter. Nintendo, buoyed by the successful 2004 launch of their handheld DS system, was confident that the Wii would attract a new breed of gamer. With an emphasis on pure and simple fun, Nintendo’s crucial objective was to tap into previous gaming non-markets such as females and adults (in other words, 95 percent of the world). It was a risky bet, and one that — 20 million consoles later (to date) — had paid off quite handsomely.

Obama has built much of his campaign upon the premise that he is a different type of presidential candidate. He promises to span the stark partisan divide that has become a hallmark of this era’s politics. Because he has not spent the last decade-plus embroiled in party-rooted squabbles, he claims he is more equipped than Clinton to bridge the Republican-Democrat divide. The key is that this approach has relied not only on winning over those who might have supported Clinton or any other opponents, but also those who may have otherwise sat out the primaries altogether. And that’s where Obama’s approach mirrors that of Nintendo. It’s long been felt that, when push comes to shove, young people just don’t vote in equal proportion to the amount of noise they make at political rallies and protests. And why bother to market video games to an older demographic? If they were interested in gaming, wouldn’t they have picked up a controller at some point in the previous two decades?

Nintendo and Obama weren’t deterred by these stereotypes. Nintendo realized that no adult with a full-time job and kids could be expected to devote somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 hours to beat Final Fantasy VII. But with a game like Wii Sports, anyone can pick up a controller, swing their arm, and play through a game of bowling or tennis in five minutes. And by emphasizing that his presidency would transcend the longstanding battles of prior generations, Obama has energized his young followers in a way that goes beyond merely being their candidate of choice. The result of breaking through these respective barriers has been to capture the attention of the population at large. The shortages of Wiis during each of the past two holiday seasons became national news (Nintendo’s limited production capabilities were as much of a factor here as heightened demand), while the unfettered enthusiasm of Obama’s early adopters fueled an interest in his campaign that was lacking for that of many other Democratic candidates.

But all fads die out eventually — at least that’s how Clinton supporters and PS3 fanboys might feel. What’s made the simultaneous rise of the Wii and Obama so noteworthy is what and who they’re both going up against. The Clinton political juggernaut needs no explanation, if only for the fact that phrases like “the Clinton political juggernaut” exist. With that in mind, Sony’s first twelve years in the gaming business were nothing to sneeze at. The original PlayStation shipped over 100 million units worldwide, and its successor, the PlayStation 2, surpassed that figure by another 20 million, and is still selling strong to this day. That Sony came from nowhere to dominate the video game console market was astounding, a testament to their cultivation of critical relationships with third party game developers. During the reigns of PlayStation and PS2, a must-have game was always right around the corner.

But with such success comes a price, and Sony has lost some of its luster as a console maker. As described earlier, the PS3 is a tremendously powerful gaming machine, and the first time one plays it, it’s hard not to be taken aback by its gorgeous visuals. But Sony clearly underestimated the public’s desire to experience something new. At its best, games on the Wii give the impression that a new gaming threshold has been reached, framerates and storage capacity be damned. The rapid change from new-kid-on-the-block status to the defining symbol of generations past (a common tale in the tech world) has been difficult for Sony to deal with. Still, it’s not as though the PS3 is without its supporters. Sony devotees have had trouble understanding the Wii frenzy, noting that the system’s games often have very little substance once one gets through the veneer that is the new control scheme. The signature style of game for the Wii has been the “casual” genre. Casual games are intuitive to learn, and require a minimum time investment to sit down and play. These are the games that all those Grandmas in Nintendo commercials are playing. Compared to epics like the Metal Gear Solid series, the traditional gamer hardly views this transition as progress. Their view is that the world will one day wake up and realize that while Wii owners were flailing their arms around and shattering countless TV screens, the gaming industry’s growth was stunted during this era.

Clinton’s backers have similar reservations regarding Obama. Sure, he gives wonderful speeches, but, they ask, what has he actually accomplished? His time in the Senate has spanned only three years, a year of which has been devoted to his campaign, whereas Clinton is already into her second term as a New York senator, not to mention her eight years spent in the White House as first lady. Dealing with the fanaticism of Obama’s following has been a major challenge for Clinton throughout her campaign. What’s more, her husband Bill, as the first baby boomer elected to be President, once ushered in a generational change in American politics much like Obama threatens to do now.

Now Clinton finds herself representing the old guard, a role reversal identical to Sony’s. Another difficulty shared by Clinton and Sony has been dealing with the premature conclusions of outsiders. After Obama’s victory in the Iowa caucus, many were ready to bury Clinton and exalt Obama as the party’s imminent nominee. Polls that predicted an easy victory for Obama in New Hampshire ended up being inaccurate, and the race has since become a dead heat. And while the Wii has been outselling the PS3 by a two-to-one margin, it’s far too early to declare Nintendo the winner of this generation’s console war. That will not be known for at least another year or two, when each system can boast a full slate of games to offer to prospective buyers; there are still huge name games to be released on both sides.

Of course, this analogy is obviously not perfect. Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which was released a year prior to the Wii and PS3, has gone without mention. Out of this generation’s consoles, the 360 may very well end up selling the most units, much like how John McCain may eventually become President, but there is no direct equivalent to it for this essay’s purposes. Additionally, there were business related reasons outside of our narrative that have added to the PS3’s difficulties, like the fact that a middle class family needed to take out a second mortgage in order to afford one at launch. And there definitely is no equivalent to Clinton’s numerous and vocal detractors. No one goes out and buys a Wii solely because of how much they loathe the PS3 (or because of how much they loathed the PS2, for that matter). Perhaps most importantly is that, in the grand scheme of things, Nintendo remains the grizzled veteran when it comes to video game consoles. The iconic Nintendo Entertainment System was the first true console to appear in millions of homes around the world, so it’s crucial to note that Nintendo has been down this market expansion road before. Lastly, the PS3 thankfully refrained from lobbying criticism at the Wii for writing a kindergarten essay about how it hoped to win the seventh generation console war.

Four years from now, the fervency of these contests will exist only as a memory. The political world will be swept up in the primaries of whomever’s party loses the general election in November. Clinton or Obama (or McCain) will be spending every waking second fundraising and touting achievements from their first term in the Oval Office. The gaming world will likely find itself in a spot similar to that of 2005 and 2006, filled with drooling anticipation for the next generation’s consoles, with Nintendo and Sony preparing to butt heads for a fourth time.

Should Obama and the Wii win out, it will be a testament to the potential gains that are to be reaped by mobilizing the previously unengaged. Obama needs young voters and Nintendo needs nontraditional gamers, and any potential victories would come on the heels of these two critical subsets. And should Clinton and Sony manage to fend off their challengers, it will speak to the power of each entity’s proven record of success. To this point, the Clintons don’t know how to lose a national election and Sony doesn’t know how to lose a console war. Perhaps great changes are afoot, but there’s a decent chance they won’t be coming at the hands of these two established winners. Either way, 2008 is a more interesting year for having both the Wii vs. PS3 and Obama vs. Clinton battles play out in its midst.