What's Wrong With the Wii?

Metroid Prime was one of the most popular Gamecube titles, and has a strong case for being the best game on the system.  It was beautiful, atmospheric, well-paced, and groundbreaking.  There's nothing I can say about the game that hasn't already been said: it was awesome.  Metroid Prime 2 came as well, and it was good enough.  Then, in 2007, Retro Studios released Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for the Wii.  The game was great, had lots of great reviews, sold well, then just kind of dropped off the face of the Earth.  

My question is: why?  Metroid Prime 3 did something that no other game has done: convince me that the Wii's motion controls were a good idea.  We had gotten a Zelda game where moving the wii remote vaguely would make Link swing his sword, and a Mario game where flicking your wrist was just another way of hitting the attack button.  But Metroid Prime 3 utilized the Wii controls absolutely perfectly.  Like the previous Metroid Prime games, you had a lock-on button, but in this game you have to keep your hand steady to stay in the action.  Never before had I played a game where I felt so intensely IN the action.

Not only that, but Metroid Prime 3 attempted to characterize Samus long before Other M did.  In essence, it confirmed a lot of the theories people had came up with about Samus: that she was a tough but quiet soldier, who's perfectly willing to face Ridley face-to-face as they fall, but still human enough to mourn the loss of her comrades.  All without speaking a single word.  It really refutes the arguments that Samus had no characterization prior to Other M, and even contradicts her personality in that game.

My problem is that Metroid Prime 3 should have been a great example of game evolution, but instead it fell to the wayside as being just another good game.  When I played it, I thought that this was the future of the Wii.  Motion controls being worked into games we all loved, allowing you to really immerse yourself in the game and the action.  Instead, the opposite happened: after the success of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii, developers just gave up on motion controls.  There is the occasional game here and there that uses the Wii's controls wisely (Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and Red Steel 2 come to mind), but in those cases it seems like the control scheme was prioritized over the game itself.

There are plenty of excellent, innovative titles for the Xbox 360 and PS3 that have no motion controls at all.  Games like Assassin's Creed or Fallout 3 just simply aren't possible on the Wii.  But it seems like developers just don't care about the Wii at all.  Dead Space is released on 360 and PS3 to critical acclaim, but the Wii gets the half-hearted rail shooter in Dead Space Extraction instead.  DSE goes on to sell poorly, and developers assume it's the Wii fanbase, not the game itself that is the problem.

Why are publishers so hesitant to release good Wii games?  Kirby's Epic Yarn and Donkey Kong Country Returns sold well, and that's because they're both fantastic.  Just because Carnival Games sold well doesn't mean fans of the system don't appreciate AAA titles.  We just don't buy them because there are so few.  Gamers were encouraged to buy games like MadWorld and No More Heroes, because those were "mature" games designed to appeal to a different demographic than the Wii is usually known for.  However, both of those games were simply not that good.  They're repetitive and immature, with little lasting value.  Why would anyone bother?

With the rumors of a Wii HD around the corner, I have mixed opinions.  I do want Nintendo to be taken seriously, as I still believe they're one of the best companies making games today.  But on the other hand, I really want to see great games that let me play in new ways, not just with prettier graphics.  I passed on The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks because I felt the series was becoming stale and repetitive, but because of the controls in the upcoming Skyward Sword I'm rather excited.  With this, and Nintendo's attempts to shake things up with the 3DS, I think the company is really trying to win us back.

Also: make an online system that works well.  Please?