But let me start from the beginning. (more…)

In the interest of fairness, the clarification points out that these numbers may not be generalizable. But I still think they’re interesting, and I have a few ideas about why the numbers might actually be lower:

1. Social Games Require… People: There are certainly some Wii games that are single player, but I tend to have the most fun playing multi-player games with a big group of people, like Smash Bros, Guitar Hero, Wii Play, or Wii Sports. This can only happen as often as I have people over, which isn’t as often as I play single player games.
2. Shorter Average Playing Time: I don’t have the numbers on this, but I can say that adventure games on the Wii (so far) have come nowhere near the 100+ hour behemoths of the Final Fantasy / Dragon Quest franchise.
3. New Markets = New Habits: The Wii is applauded for breaking into non-traditional gaming markets. Well, guess what: Non-traditional gamers probably aren’t as obsessed with games as hardcore gamers.

The last point is particularly interesting, because it begs the question: Who cares? Just because Wii usage might be lower doesn’t mean that gamers get less value out of it, or that it’s not as solid of an investment. Personally, I like that I spend less time on the Wii than other consoles. It lets me focus on the real world from time to time.

But as a designer, I’m constantly faced with people suggesting (often quite obscurely) that software should be more like a video game. There was even an article in the New York Times last year to that effect.

So here we are in 2008, and Spore and Super Smash Brothers Brawl are two of the most anticipated games of the year. What can they tell us about UI Design? My first impression is that they are each taking on quite a bit, albeit in different ways. Software designed this way is sometimes referred to as bloated, suggesting that the scope is too broad and not user-focused. Bloated software often falls victim to slipping on its release date, as well (Cough. Cough).

Time to scope out these games. Is the future of video gaming aligned with the future UI design? Or are these games falling victim to the same usability issues that UI designers have known about for years? I’m diving in after the jump.

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I’ve been a long time Dragon Quest fan, well before I was even aware of the Final Fantasy franchise, which has led me to buy any Dragon Quest game that comes along, even the blatant Pokemon ripoffs. But there’s plenty to be excited about with this game.

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Wow… it really took Nintendo over 8 months to come to the conclusion that some sort of Virtual Console update would be a good thing? As a Wii owner, I’ve got to say, I’m a fan of the Virutal Console. However, after 3 weeks of checking every Monday, just to be let down because random games from TurboGraphx got added to the mix, checking Virtual Console updates manually became my least favorite part about the whole system.

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One thing that I find interesting about checking the Digg headlines is the interest that the “mainstream” audience takes in knowing geography and history (especially given how poorly America tends to stack up in those areas). You may recall that a few months ago I mentioned the Geography quiz as a fun way to pass the time when you’re sick. These days I’m to the point where I can find any country on the map… except in Africa. Africa’s tough, but I’m getting there.

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Uh oh, you found the princess! -=Beeehhh=- She’s in another house, go away.

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This is exactly how I feel about Mario Party. The only exception is that the comic doesn’t mention the joy that I get watching Quinn try to play. She’s tops at jumping into pits repeatedly.