Graphics Are Not Everything

The Wii keeps getting put down because its graphics are not on par with its competitors. If I wanted to exhibit the console wars mentality, I would simply point you to the sales numbers and leave that as my proof that it doesn't matter. As tempting as it is to just leave it there, I am not that kind of gamer. I'm going to explain to you exactly why it doesn't matter.

Video games are an art form, yes, and graphics are a big part of that artistic aspect of video games. But great art is not determined by how smooth or realistic it looks. The Mona Lisa is not clean, smooth, or realistic. Peter and the Wolf does not depict its story nearly as realistically as, say, a movie would. One of the most artistic games I've ever played was LocoRoco, a PSP game, and contrary to what some people will tell you, the Wii is more powerful than the PSP. The Guiness Book of World Records Gamers' Edition shows the stats. Anyway, the point is that a system doesn't have to be massively powerful to be artistic. Another case is Super Mario Galaxy, the highest-rated console game of this generation, according to Metacritic. The classic Mario graphic and music style was particularly praised in this game. Another game praised for its art is Okami, which debuted on the PS2 and is now on the Wii. And system power has nothing to do with music, other than minor differences in sound quality that are barely noticed when you're just listening to music, let alone when you're gaming. So I think I've done enough to establish, at least for now, that a powerful systems doesn't equal great artistic value.

System power also does not equal fun. Wii Sports is enough to show that; it's probably the most widely-used game for social gatherings these days (or at least one of them). And LucasArts has been putting a lot of emphasis on the Wii version of the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, because of the motion controls. The motion controls make the games more immersive, which helps make them more fun. True, more powerful systems can also make games more fun; something like Dead Rising would never work on the Wii. In other words, they are equal; they have different benefits over each other to make games more fun.

Probably the most important reason is that the system the game is on doesn't necessarily make any difference to the game itself. The highly-popular (especially at Grinnell) Super Smash Bros. Brawl does not use the Wii's motion controls at all, but it's still a lot of fun and very popular. Super Mario Galaxy, which is, again, the highest rated console game of this generation, makes little use of them. Bioshock, the second highest rated game of the generation, is just as fun on a PC with the lowest graphics settings as it is on an Xbox 360 or a PC with the highest graphics settings, and I know this because I play it on my PC with the lowest graphics settings, and I've played the 360 version.

Gamers and reviewers especially need to understand that graphics are not key to fun or successful games. They are one small part of many, and a system not designed around graphics should not be penalized for that if the games are fun. I'm tired of reviewers marking down Wii games for not having HD-quality graphics when it's not designed for that. Graphics that aren't as good as those on other systems doesn't necessarily make the game worse.