I hit full screen and then closed the ad. But overall, not his best review. He doesn't like the Wii, big surprise. He didn't even mention the guy in blackface that shows up in every level.

maybe he was just reading them the wrong way

There are many reasons to criticize the Wii (and I own one):

1. The controller. The Wiimote is a VERY inaccurate control device. If the game takes this into account, fine, but many don't. Further, a great many games would be better if it didn't use the Wiimote's motion sensing at all (i.e. Mario jumping in Super Mario Galaxy).
2. The hardware. Compared to other consoles, the Wii is terribly limited in its ability to render graphics. This means fewer objects on screen at once and less realistic textures/environments.
3. It's for the casual gamer. While Popcap and solitaire games do rule the time-wasting mountain, they're not "Portal" or "Saint's Row 2." There's nothing wrong if that's your market, but most attempts to make or adapt a next-gen game fail miserably ("The Force Unleashed" and "Dead Rising").

Do they sell well? Yes. Does that mean it's better? No. It sells to families because it's "safe," parents with no talent can actually play/win at the games, it carries the legacy sales from those addicted to Nintendo's bigger franchises, and it's "cute."

But if I want a game that's immersive and has more options, I reach for the XBox.

Because it's a goddamn Gamecube with a goddamn stick for a controller and a bunch of bad games.

The controller/the hardware/the casual gamer things you just listed are the reasons -why- the Wii is good for the video game industry. I'm actually surprised someone so involved in the video game industry such as Yahtzee doesn't recognize that.

Before the the Wii was released any game designer with half a brain knew that the video game industry at the time was completely unsustainable. Games (and systems) were getting increasingly (and prohibitively) expensive while the number of people playing video games didn't change that much. It basically guaranteed the release of lots of sequels and the stifling of innovation and new ideas.

The Wii is helping save the industry by introducing new gamers to the market while refusing to continue the console hardware cold-war.

...Even if the games for the Wii suck.

"It basically guaranteed the release of lots of sequels and the stifling of innovation and new ideas."

Like Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart, Punch Out...

The smartest thing Nintendo ever did was to avoid numbering their sequels. Except for Mario Party, which interestingly enough gets blasted by the critics for being just an iterative upgrade while the others are hailed as re-inventions every time they add a new attack move. Hm...

Last year, we visited some friends who have two kids and a Wii. I showed the husband Yahtzee's reviews, and the wife was indignant over his Smash Bros. review. How DARE anyone hate the Wii.

This year, she said she was ready to huck the thing into a wood chipper. She finally gave into her hate.

The thing about Nintendo sequels, for the most part anyway, is that you can always point to some new idea or gameplay element within them. Excepting the Mario Parties again, there is always some creative justification to bring them back. Especially in the Miyamoto helmed series, namely Mario and Zelda.

Nintendo are sequel whores, but let's be realistic here: they release one Super Mario game a GENERATION. They could run the franchise into the ground by giving us one new rehash per year like, say, every other game company does with every other franchise. The only reason people rag on Nintendo's sequels is because they've been around longer, and thus there are naturally more of them.

Meanwhile, Sony gleefully craps out a new Ratchet and Clank every ten minutes and Microsoft will be giving us bi-annual Halos until the apocalypse, with or without Bungee's involvement. Nintendo is nowhere near the biggest offender here.

The Wii does need more games, though. It's getting kind of sad.

They close fine for me, too. I'm fine with him making fun of the Wii.

I think the problem was the banner was too big - for me the X was mostly off the screen and I had to hit the left 3 pixels of it to close it.

Yeah, and he didn't like the game muchly! What a plot twist!

do you hate films for their overbearing tendency to show moving pictures and be accompanied by a synchronized soundtrack?

I HATE THIS JACKET IT HAS ARMS AND BUTTONS

GOD WHAT A SHITTY KNIFE IT HAS A HANDLE AND A SHARP EDGE HOW FUCKING PREDICTABLE