The Wii. Nintendo’s money-printing, motion-controlling little white box. The Wii is a console that has quickly become one of the most popular of all time, yet, it is also the target of much ridicule by gamers on the internet. Much of this ridicule is unjust and unfair. I grow incredibly tired of these people’s constant whining so I decided to write this.A lot of gamers, most actually, like to take themselves far too seriously you see. They walk about the place, barking their obnoxious opinions and often one-sidedness as though they rule the medium they claim to like. They have an immensely undeserved sense of entitlement.

These people will go on and on about how the Wii is “too casual” and a “dust collector.” Often times, they think they’re being witty with it. But there is nothing witty about childish name calling.

Anyway, their accusations are due to the fact that Nintendo has tried (and succeeded) to gain the attention of a more mainstream market with the Wii by making more accessible games.

These games, which include the likes of Wii Sports, Wii Fit and Wii Play, are what most people call “casual games.” That is to say, they are games made for those who only play games casually, as apposed to a primary hobby.

While most of Nintendo’s casual output has still been of quality (seriously, Wii Fit is a well put together and fun game), it has unfortunately suffered a little bit of backlash by third party publishers, who seem to release half-hazard attempts of casual games by the dozens.

Now I’m the first to admit that too many of these third party casual games are lackluster, but the problem is, too many gamers see the Wii only for these games, and not the high quality games that are available for the console, of which there are many.

I seem to remember that the PS2, one of the all-time greats, was also littered with much “shovelware.” The difference is that the shovelware of the PS2 usually involved a generic looking commando ready to kill something on the cover art, whereas the Wii’s usually involves a chipper fellow ready to play a game of baseball.

The Wii, much like the PS2, suffers from the low quality titles that are bound to head for the best selling console on the market. It comes with the territory.

But people mostly ignored the existence of these games on the PS2, and only focused on the many high quality titles the console offered. Why don’t people do the same for the Wii? The answer is likely due to that little guy longing to play some baseball.

As I’ve said, today’s gamers like to see themselves as some big shots simply because they spend more time in front of the TV with a controller in their hand than other people.

Now don’t get me wrong, by any standards I myself would be deemed a “hardcore” gamer. I’ve been playing video games since I was able to hold a controller, and I’ve played countless titles since. But I like to think myself as appreciative towards the medium, as apposed to entitled.

Because the Wii has a lot of shovelware titles that were made on the “casual concept,” that makes gamers label it as an inferior console. Again, they completely ignore the great titles that are there.

There are plenty of games that have received considerable acclaim that should prevent these “dust collecting” arguments. Games like Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Zak and Wiki, World of Goo, Monster Hunter Tri, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and many others provide plenty of challenge and value for hardcore gamers, and the Super Mario Galaxy games are (rightfully) ranked amongst the best video games of all time.

And games like Mario Kart Wii and New Super Mario Bros. Wii have succeeded in bringing together casual players and long time fans with their accessibility and old-school charm.

But people seem to want to acknowledge them as little as possible, opting instead to rank on the Carnival Games lot. It’s the negative mindset of today’s gamers: If it’s different, focus on the bad, ignore the good.

I’ll also admit that Nintendo’s past couple of E3 presentations have left something to be desired to be sure. They started to focus too much on the casual games and relegated their higher profile titles to simple video previews. But with that said, this year’s E3 was dominated by Nintendo.

They had a new Zelda, a new Donkey Kong, a new Kirby and even a new Kid Icarus (among others)! Now, all the video game publications and every reasonable person out there has raved about Nintendo’s E3 showing this year. But alas, there are still somecomments I have read online that are embarrassingly ignorant. A prime example would be a comment about Donkey Kong Country Returns in which the misguidedly pretentious poster remarked:

“I, for one, cannot and will not trust Nintendo again simply because they are throwing around names from ‘before’ They’re merely counting on the ones that jumped ship after finding out the Wii was not what they expected to buy one again, just because they make it look like they’re going back to their roots.

Well, I see right through their little charade. These games aren’t there to please their fanbase of yore. No, this isn’t Donkey Kong Country. No, that other game isn’t a true Metroid. And no, that abomination over their is far from being Kid Icarus. No, these games are simply there because their new ‘fans’ will buy games simply buy these games because it features “character X” or “character Y” they recognise from Brawl.”

Apparently to this ignorant fellow and all those like him, no matter what Nintendo does, it won’t be enough. Apparently to these hardcore whiners…. *ahem* …Hardcore gamers, it is clearly impossible that Nintendo could ever again make a game for their fans. But wait a second, could it be possible that Nintendo is revitalizing the Donkey Kong Country lisence because fans have wanted it for over a decade? And they’re simply adding some extra accessibility because they do have new fans now?

Apparently, they are supposed to solely make games for those of us who have played Nintendo games from way back in the day. Apparently having more fans today is a bad thing. They shouldn’t try to please everyone, only those of us who have been playing games for a considerable number of years.

But wait, wouldn’t that be a horrendous business move? No matter how many fans they have had in the past, anyone should want to bring more and more fans along as time rolls on. But apparently, these people think us “elderly” gamers are the only ones who matter, and bringing on new fans is some kind of sin.

I for one (like any reasonable human being) thought Nintendo’s presentation at E3 this year couldn’t have been much better, it was fantastic. I’m glad they brought forth so many of their favorite franchises back, and I’m glad they are adding new features to them that will want new players to join in on the fun.

I suppose I’m just generous, I actually want to see others enjoy the same medium I enjoy. I don’t want to think the medium revolves around me.

But a lot of these hardcore gamers on the internet are insufferably ignorant, and will never accept the Wii as every bit the worthy competitor to the PS3 and 360 that it is. The Wii is home to many great games, and they tend to be the most unique and creative bunch on any of the current consoles. But these people will only see it for the shovelware.

It’s their loss.