April NPD or Everyone Drinks except Nintendo

[Aladuf]

I classify a non-game as:

Wario Ware
Game Party
Wii Sports
Wii Play
Wii Fit
Carnival Games
and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on...

Basically, mini-game collections (edit: games you wouldn't actually sit down and play by yourself), games where you don't actually play (Wii Fit). Shovelware.

[Renwood]

Originally Posted by BreakABone

Yeah, it's a Ps2 port and figured it would be the one you mentioned, but hell it didn't sell well the first time around.

I hope there's not any subtext here about Okami not deserving to sell more. It's fantastically amazing and shoehorns waggle controls in as well as Twilight Princess, which sold a criminally higher amount, relative to their comparative quality.

Originally Posted by Aladuf

Basically, mini-game collections (edit: games you wouldn't actually sit down and play by yourself), games where you don't actually play (Wii Fit). Shovelware.

There is a distinction though. Wii Play is very much a traditional game. Pong and Duck Hunt are games. Wii Play focuses on local multiplayer to a high degree, but its games are all squarely within the realm of traditional game mechanics. Its more a retro collection with a motion control gimmick than a party game.

You can make an arguement that party games are the ancestor to non-games, but there isn't a logical cut-off. If you start down that road, many genres become very murky, because it is all semantics. The action category and the puzzle category and the RPG category do not exist in vacuums anymore. Ditto non-games and party games. Most things are a meld of multiple design disciplines at this point.

Synergy, daddy.

[Dyne]

Wait, what? Last time I checked, Wario Wares took skill, because the shtick was that it was a TON of microgames thrown at you at once. I don't really agree that it could be considered a non-game based on the flow of the randomized gameplay. However, the GCN one and the Wii one added the whole "party" kind of gameplay, which ruined it for me, personally.

I would consider a non-game different from shovelware as well. They have different terms for a reason.

[Aladuf]

Originally Posted by Dyne

I would consider a non-game different from shovelware as well. They have different terms for a reason.

I would consider them different but most shovelware seems to be mini-games these days so it just seems to be an negative association I have. I'm ignorant towards the Wii, what can I say? My blind hate for the system prevents me from knowing anything past first party games.