Wii would like to provide you with another chance to view Nintendo as something only for children and adults with sick Princess fantasiesAllow me to preface: I do not own a Wii, nor do I play one on a highly frequent basis. Both of these can be justified by the fact that the Wii’s pricing point, when compared with the game selection, is simply not reasonable. Before I buy a console, I have to be able to mentally list off fifteen games I know I cannot get on a system I already own, that stand a reasonably good chance of staying exclusive titles. This, in turn, is why the Wii has been a problematic buy for the hardcore gamer audience, in addition, in a multiplatform universe, the Wii is often underwhelmed button-wise to handle control schemes of more “button demanding” titles, and has to result to gestures commonly utilized to signal ships via a system of flags back in 1800s. This is where the Wii could have developed a niche in the market, in the realm of intuitive controls. Instead, they induce carpal-tunnel, and generally result with a Wiimote embedded in one’s television.

It can’t compete visually or control-wise, and so, by definition, the only games that tend to fare well on the Wii are those that are custom developed as an exclusive Wii title. Again, one would be inclined to believe that when working with a laid-back set of hardware that many employees were already quite familiar with from the previous generation, this would encourage developers that wanted to lower their development costs to develop games for the Wii. Instead, developers saw the Wii as a veritable “dumping ground,” a place to “recycle” games of the past generation by porting them to the Wii, without any optimization for the Wii’s (while limited) increased capabilities, either in the controls or visuals department. There will be exceptions, like Okami or Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, but for the most part, this holds true.

If you played it on the Gamecube, you’ve got a lot of bonus conent and a completely new satisifying way to play it here. If you didn’t play it on the Gamecube, wellcome to civilization, consider this your passport.Of course, the natural intuitive response is to play the blame game. Just who is culpable for this scenario? While most hasten to blame the developers, or Nintendo themselves, I’d first point the finger at the marketing team of Nintendo, as well as the public. There is no denying that Nintendo has repeatedly marketed the Wii as a system that is played as a family, as their initial advertising campaign clearly demonstrated. Two Japanese men show up at the quaintly suburban home, suggest that “Wii would like to play” and are invited in, to demonstrate to the non-threatening white family just how much clean wholesome fun can be had on the Wii. We’ve (pardon the pun) all seen such an ad. Perhaps this can be contributed to Nintendo’s launch titles, which have never really incorporated more than one or two “Mature” games. Due to such, they’ve always “set the stage” for each system as another “safe” buy for parents, only to have to sporadically defend this image as Mature games went through the production cycle.

Now, let me be clear, there is not a 1:1 understanding between Mature games and hardcore games. Titles like World of Goo and Braid clearly demonstrate that a game can be hardcore without utilizing the tropes that a mature game generally does. But, for the most part, this tends to be the case. Consequently, game developers are afraid to release more “hardcore” titles on the Wii, they tend to not sell well, and frequently are admonished for placing a “profane-laden” title on the doorstep of Mario and the Princess. Someone needs to get the message to the public that the Wii is no different than any other gaming console: it sells games for varying age groups and demographics, and it is the parent’s job to display the basic understanding of the alphabet to discern whether or not the child should be playing the game. Parents are inherently lazy however; they assume that in selecting the Wii as their console, that Nintendo will do the rest to make sure their kid has a 0% chance of encountering something objectionable. But that’s not Nintendo’s job, to be a digital babysitter for today’s youth. The Wii should not be scared into pigeonholing itself to the pre-teen or “bingo and bedsores” demographics. Sony brought us God of War and Killzone, but also Crash Bandicoot and Katamari Damacy. We don’t see anyone calling them out on this theoretical act of hypocracy.

However, a few brave souls have ventured to provide Wii owners with exclusive titles that are genuinely good, but perhaps don’t have the marketing bucks or mass appeal of Wii Sports. Then again, what does? This doesn’t excuse the fact that games like the wonderful port (to call it a “port” is a disservice to the title, perhaps “reimagining” is more appropriate) of Okami, or the recent entry in the Fire Emblem series should have to fight to crack a half million sales worldwide. Hardcore gamers may complain and bemoan about the relative lack of “hardcore” games, but when given the chance to “vote with their dollars” they’ve abstained. This is why No More Heros, Suda51′s masterpiece of meta-gaming criticism couldn’t even sell four-tenths of a million copies, or why Steven Spielberg’s Boom Blox was left straining to sell a million copies. Even a new entry in the Resident Evil series, The Umbrella Chronicles, which attempted to capitalize on the “light-gun” capabilities of the Wiimote, was barely able to reach 1.5 million copies sold. These are numbers that the decidedly “above average” Army of Two and Perfect Dark Zero were capable of on the Xbox 360.

People, this looks beautiful. Yes, it’s violent, I get that. Just wait until your kids are asleep to play it. Set their bedtime earlier if you can’t wait.Perhaps Wii gamers don’t realize that passing up every one of these in apathy, and waiting for the next dyed-in-the-wool Nintendo mascot game is intrinsically damaging to the system. For every title that fails to sell (many of these do fine becoming critical darlings, mind you) it sends a message to the developer that creating Wii games that don’t follow the exploits of plumbers with high blood pressure or a mute sexually androgynous protagonist with a green windsock for a hat, is a waste. It tells the publisher that investing in developers with these interests is unprofitable. It tells Nintendo that, despite whatever cross-demographic plans they might have had in mind, adhering to the model that the abovementioned individuals have doctored up for them, is the only way to survive.

To those who want to see a revival of the utopia that was the Super Nintendo era, BUY House of the Dead: Overkill or Madworld, or The Conduit. Send the message that these games can sell on the Wii. People need to realize that if these games were on the Xbox 360 or PS3, none of this “killing simulator” talk, or complaints of excessive violence would be levied. But until these games can sell well, and provide a foothold for Nintendo as a company to cater to the hardcore gamer once more, they will be forced to cater to their only other stable user base: Wii Fit users and Mario fans. Hurry! before all that’s left is the Mario Party series and Wii Bowling: The Sequel.

White is the author of A Vastly Ironic Life, which covers the gaming industry and game culture

A review of M. Ward’s new album Hold Time

M. Ward’s been busy. Between collaborations with artists as varied as My Morning Jacket, Norah Jones, Bright Eyes, and Cat Power, to producing, playing and arranging in his side project, the critically-acclaimed She & Him, he somehow had time to put out a new album.

Hold Time, M. Ward’s seventh release, serves up a steaming-hot platter of intricate, carefully well crafted songs, the likes of which we’ve come to expect from this Oregonian.

http://www.mwardmusic.com/It has staples of past recordings, with brilliant collaborations and a sense of loneliness and melancholy tinged with hope and joy, a signature accomplishment Ward has been able to carry throughout his discography.

Past releases focused on a theme, like 2003’s Transfiguration of Vincent, inspired by and about the life of folk legend John Fahey, 2005’s Transistor Radio, a yearning for the golden years of AM radio, and 2006’s Post-War, a look at life during and after wartime. On Hold Time, M. Ward delves deep instead into broad ideas about time, death, faith, and love.

Ward’s inquisitive songs about faith and God are executed with confidence, although the topic is almost taboo in today’s indie music scene, with Sufjan Stevens a rare exception. Stevens, however, is asserting his faith, whereas Ward is questioning his Catholic upbringing and what he believes in, recalling Jenny Lewis’s masterful first solo release, Rabbit Fur Coat, which M. Ward co-produced.

M. Ward’s introspective look at his own mortality allows him to maintain an intimate, familiar feeling throughout the album. The listener feels like M. Ward is on the front porch, finally opening up after a few beers. This album marks a shift in M. Ward’s personal presence on the record- it’s as if he’s finally okay being M. Ward, the musician, as opposed to M. Ward, invisible creator of music.

Hold Time is not remarkably different than any of his previous albums, with a certain thoughtfulness that weave the record together, creating a cohesive, comprehensive collection of music as opposed to stand alone songs. The whole album has a timeless quality, with songs that seem simple at first, but unfold to reveal intricate, subtle complexities that sound effortless.

He excels in his producing capacity, expertly layering guitar finger picking, his signature sound, with swelling strings, dissonant noise, bells, feedback, and his gravelly voice–low-FI in the midst of polished production. The album is well constructed, and although the songs blend into each other, it never becomes boring.

The second half tends to float off a bit, but a cover of Don Gibson’s “Oh Lonesome Me,” performed with Lucinda Williams, brings things back to the sweet spot. Critics either love or hate this cover, a strange reaction brought about by Williams’ raspy voice, striking the listener as out of place at first, before revealing itself as an effect compliment to Ward’s own voice.

Other collaborations include “Never Had Nobody Like You,” a 70s rock tinged track with Zooey Deschanel, the lesser half of She & Him. She also adds vocals to “Rave On,” a laid back Buddy Holly cover in the tradition of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” on Transfiguration of Vincent. Jason Lytle of Grandaddy appears on “To Save Me,” but fails to assert a presence.

In Hold Time M. Ward appears to finally be aware of his charm, and maintains his earnest introspection as he carefully winds joy, hope, and misery through his beautiful orchestral arrangements.

Stand out tracks: “Jailbird,” “Never Had Nobody Like You,” “To Save Me”

Boasting a tagline of, “New Model. Original Parts,” the fourth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise raced its way to an April box office record on its opening weekend. Reuniting Vin Diesel and Paul Walker as speed-hungry outlaw Dominic Torreto and undercover FBI agent Brian O’Conner, Fast & Furious takes it back to basics with high octane action sequences and a storyline that, while not riveting, is enough to keep the audience seated. However, not unlike the original and previous sequels, the film is in some ways highly problematic.

In 2005, exactly in between the original and most recent films, Cinema Journal published an article by Mary Beltran in which she used The Fast & The Furious to discuss what she referred to as “racelessness” in the modern Hollywood action film. In the article Beltran points to several features of the movie that at surface level appear to embrace diversity but in reality only reinforce racial expectations. These include the multi-cultural setting, casting of various minorities as extras, and a bi-racial lead (Diesel).

According to Beltran the main problem lies in the fact that the subculture of street racing explored by the first film is one dominated by Asian, Black and Hispanic groups, however the film presents the most successful team as being made up of four white guys, a Latina and one ambiguous but meant to be read as Latino man (Diesel’s Dominic). This relegates the actual dominant groups to the roles of extras and malevolent rivals. Considering then the abundance of minorities in the film but also their prop-like nature, Beltran begs the question, “Are we witnessing the beginning of a more racially egalitarian perspective or merely a bronzing of whiteness, repackaged to emphasize the aesthetic trappings of cultural creolization?”

While the change in setting (chasing those involved with a massive drug ring as opposed to drag racing through the streets of L.A.) may lessen Beltran’s relevance in the matter of Fast & Furious, what cannot be ignored is the clear scale of whiteness presented by the film. When laid out this issue should be fairly clear. Consider for a moment who the protagonists of the film are, Brian and Dom who are white and biracial (although according to Beltran it is probable that Diesel is read as white and even if studios have openly marketed him based on his “mysterious” ethnic origins) respectively. Now consider the string of antagonists the two encounter. First there is the Korean, low-level flunky David Park (Ron Yuan) in charge of spotting potential drivers for the smuggling ring, who eventually gets dropped out a window by Dom in his quest for vengeance. Then we are introduced to Campos (John Ortiz) who is Hispanic and from Dom’s perspective wholly amoral (he’s a business-is-business kind of guy). Finally we are introduced to the ultimate cause of Dom’s suffering, black lead driver Fenix Rise (Laz Alonso) who brings to mind words like “sadistic” and “evil,” and who, unlike Campos seems to be in it as much for the joy of killing as for the money.

While this type of casting may seem unacceptable, even bordering on racism, the polling done by Universal as reported by Entertainment Weekly seems to indicate that even diverse audiences can be sucked in, considering 46% of attendees were Hispanic, 28% Caucasian and 16% African-American. Although just what this means is arguable, it does get to the root of much debate over audience autonomy (do people just choose from what they are given or is what is produced a reflection of what people want?).

In the end the relevance of these casting practices comes down to a basic question: Is this just another low-quality aspect of mindless pop culture that is pointless to try to resolve or is it a larger issue of racial relations in America that ought to be addressed no matter what the outlet being discussed? Either way, now is the time for us, the audience, to start asking these questions.

Additional Sources:

Mary C. Beltran, “The new Hollywood Racelessness: Only the Fast, Furious, (and Multi-racial) Will Survive,” Cinema Journal 44 (2005).

Benjamin Svetkey, “The Need For Speed,” Entertainment Weekly #1043 (2009).