Bare Knuckles: An Achilles' heel for Wii's popularity?

Awhile back, I had questioned the staying power of Nintendo's Wii. An almost ridiculous notion considering the eye-popping sales numbers the console continues to enjoy. Selling more than 750,000 units in February (Xbox 360: 391,000, PS3: 276,000) is just insane.

Yet, one of the reasons for my concerns about the big N winning a 12-round decision was based on questioning friends about how often they used their Wii. The answers weren't very encouraging.

Now, Nielsen Media Research has published the results of a poll in which console owners were questioned in the fourth quarter of last year about the time they spent playing. The numbers are as I had suspected.

According to Nielsen, the average sessions for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii owners were 78, 64, and 58 minutes, respectively. Wii owners also were less likely to use their consoles more than once a week compared with owners of the 360 and PS3.

To be fair, it must be remembered that 360 and PS3 owners also can do other things on their consoles (watch movies, for example) that the Wii camp cannot. Unfortunately, there isn't a breakdown in this poll to separate non-gaming time from gaming time.

It really doesn't matter too much, though, and services offered are services offered. The fact of the matter is that the Wii is selling like mad but isn't being used as much.

Is it such a big deal? To third-party developers and publishers, I would think so. If I buy Madden on the Wii but don't play it half as much as the person who bought Madden on one of the other consoles, which gamer would be likeliest to get the next Madden game?

I wonder how much Nintendo really cares, though, as it counts wads of cash, day in and day out.

Company officials know that casual gaming can attract the largest pool of gamers. Heck, Nielsen also claims Solitaire and Free Cell were the top-played games for December, so Nintendo is definitely onto something. I just can't help feeling that when all is said and done, the Wii will lose its luster sooner than, say, the 360, because on any given day many Wii owners can take it or leave it when it comes to playing. Owners of 360 and PS3 consoles seem to think, and most definitely play, differently.

The Canadian province of Quebec always seems to go to extremes to prove to everyone just how French it is. We get it. You guys are special. You folks are not Canada. Blah, blah, blah.

This may seem harsh, but the provincial government has just passed a law that makes the selling of English games illegal if there is a French version of the game available somewhere else in the world.

Now, that means if the next Grand Theft Auto game comes out in the States, with production schedules for the French version six months later, gamers in Quebec will be très malheureux.

Microsoft lives and lets . . . Live?

One thing few can argue against is Microsoft's complete control over its Xbox Live entertainment portal. It is a closed system, there are uniform online standards set by the company (and it alone), and a bunch of other dictatorial-like practices make it good for the ease of gaming but not necessarily the most creative.

That's why many have found it curious that Microsoft has given its blessing for Amazon to open its own Xbox Live store. Gamers can buy Xbox Live points (the currency used in all things Live) and Xbox Live Arcade games on the Amazon site.

One thing is for sure: Amazon will bring more gamers to the table when it comes to purchasing. It also will be a lot easier for, let's say, my friends to cop games and points for my birthday. Just sayin'.