not at all.  i'm really excited about the possibilities of the wii-mote.  i can't wait to see the wonderful things that are done with it, and am more excited for the wii than any other new console.
if you read any of my previous posts, the only thing that you'll find me worried about is mis-use of the wii-mote in some of these very early titles.

i've already used the controller, and quite like how it feels, but not how the games i've played feel.  i'm hardly making conjectures.

i don't deny that we'll all enjoy it when it's rocked the right way  :D
and, from what i've seen and heard, elebits is going to really put it to proper use.  that's a game i really am excited to get my hands on for the first time.

Because unfortunately, they are to a certain degree required to actually sell the console and widen its games library. If Wii's the only system which doesn't have a particular large set of games (as happened slowly with the Gamecube towards the middle-end of 'recently'), that can't be a good thing.

I'm just playing devil's advocate here - I'll still most likely get one, I'm just not sure it's the Nintendo holy grail people seem to think it is...yet.

I'd be pretty hard pressed to get a Wii at launch. I just can't justify the price. $250 for a slightly-upgraded Gamecube isn't worth it. Remember that Nintendo was making money with the Gamecube too, so the Wii should be $150 max. That said, I think Nintendo priced it really well because people will buy it anyways. 350 characters? WTF?

If you do decide to get a 360, here are some titles that I found enjoyable that are out:

Call of Duty 2, Kameo, Project Gotham Racing 3, Condemmed, Hexic HD, GRAW, Dead or Alive 4, Geometry Wars, Oblivion, Chromehounds, Outpost Kaloki X, Dead Rising, Saint's Row, Rockstar Table Tennis, Fight Night Round 3, Uno, and more but 350 characters

Slightly upgraded Gamecube?  Don't buy into all the PS3 / 360 fanboy hype - the Wii is a bit more than that.  And though $250 is just on the brink of a little more than small beans, it isn't really all that bad considering the alternatives, $400 - $600.  And that's just for hardware.

I suppose if you can't afford $250, then you're definitely not planning on picking up a PS3, but if for some reason you are, be ready to drop between $800 - $1k.  A PS3 with a couple games and 3 extra controller will cost you 1 grand.  Wii doesn't sound so bad now, does it?  :P

The 360 has some good games in its pipeline too (as well as the Wii, but you know what those are):

Gears of War, Viva Pinata, COD 3, Fable 2, Forza 2, PGR 4, R6:V, BIA 3, Assassin's Creed, Lost Planet, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, GTA IV, Mass Effect, Halo 3, Alan Wake, Bioshock, Banjo-Kazooie, Splinter Cell 5, 350 characters...

It is just a slightly upgraded GCN. Keep in mind I'm talking hardware. Yes it does have online now and other features, but what you're paying $250 for is the physical console, the others have more power which can be used on AI, physics, and such. Don't assume that the gameplay will be better on the Wii, because the above can make a big difference.

you know what's actually really dissappointing?
nintendo actually had all plans and intent to release the wii at 200 bones.  however, retailers pressured them to raise the price so that their percentage cut wouldn't be so small (since they recieve a percentage of all sales).  and the retailers are, afterall, the ones who divvy out shelf space, so what's an n to do?
i find it noble that they still managed to keep it sub 300.

And I'm not paying $350 more just to have my character's model have twice as many polygons. Many people are getting a Wii for its pricing, controller, first-party games and various online features, which you refer to as not important. It's also quite beneficial for a company to actually sell its products at a profit.

That's what people said the last two generations too, seven years ago, and I STILL play FPS with enemies running straight at me or using predifined "intelligent" manouvers that could've been done on a PS, and RTS with the AI being unable to employ an even remotely human-like strategy in a skirmish setting (other than using obvious game mechanics like putting long-range attackers at a distance, or hiding in a structure if it's beneficial). There's no way anyone is going to use that much horsepower on AI - and someone still has to be good enough to actually code it. You don't get advanced neural networks in a game just because the hardware supports it. As for physics, I couldn't care less. Developers will groan about having to spend even longer on building models and programming physics to meet the new demands (or just do their job sloppier - you could even ignore some nasty bugs and patch them up later like PDZ). On the subject of power, the 360 has notable loading times when reading the simplest things from its own hard drive. How did they manage that?

preach it, ultimortal  :D

http://eocommunity.co.uk/community/index.php?topic=923.msg7563#msg7563

my snes still gets more loving than any other platform.

i couldn't agree more with the statements in ultimortal's last post.
and, to add to the ai commentary - i dread the moment that "games" become even 1/1000th as intelligent as a human.  to me, that's the point when they really stop becoming games at all (and turn into simulations, instead).  one of the core fundamentals of a game is a learnable set of rules.  the moment something thinks as dynamically as a human being, learnability and rules go out the window.  how do i as a player learn and master a game - how do i gauge my own progress and accomplishments?  of course, there are certain types of interactive entertainment/simulations that can benefit from more human-like ai, but i'd hardly classify them as games (to note, i don't consider everything running on a console/handheld/pc a "game").