Slashdot Mirror
Game Industry Folks Siding With the Wii
Gamasutra's semi-regular feature taking the pulse of folks in the game industry turns its attention this week to the PS3 and Wii launches. From the comments submitted to the site, it seems that many industry vets are generally more excited about the Wii than with Sony's offering. From the article: "'Definitely a Wii (already pwii-ordered). The price point of the PS3 and the lack of enticing launch titles makes me as interested in a PS3 as I am interested in getting a root canal.' — Ryan Conlon, Gearbox Software. 'I am buying a Wii because Sony is too arrogant, from their dev tools to the price point.' — Ed O'Tey, Electronic Arts. 'Wii — pre-ordered. I applaud the attempt to expand and explore game interaction with the Wii. I will not be purchasing a PS3.' — Jim Perkins, EA Canada"
I wonder... why I have seen no media stories about loads of people camping out in front of stores, for a chance to snag a new Wii? All you ever see is PS3!, PS3!, blah blah.
VOTE!
When talking about why developers will love it, you forgot:
1) a separate (and wholly unconventional) control style must be developed for multiplatform games
2) lower quality textures for multiplatform games
3) smaller potential markets if you develop solely for the Wii.
One thing we saw in the last console generation was massive cross-platform development. Most of the most successful games appeared on at least two of the three consoles, and sometimes on the PC as well. We saw developers basically shooting for the lowest common denominator (the Gamecube) with maybe a few graphical enhancements for the other platforms (though this wasn't the norm, it did happen on the most popular and anticipated games). Even many "exclusive" games were only exclusive for a short time, and eventually appeared on other platforms (Resident Evil 4, for example).
With Nintendo branching off and 'improving' their console in a different direction from the rest of the players, this is bound to change. The lowest common denominator is simply too low and has a different control scheme from the other players. Yes, Wii is innovative. Yes, it has the potential to turn the gaming industry upside down. But it also has the potential to flop horribly due to a lack of titles, since targetting the PS3/Xbox360/PC is probably going to be much easier than targetting the PS3/Xbox360/PC/Wii. If adding the Wii and Wii-specific features doesn't make sense financially, it won't happen, leaving the Wii in a draught of titles. If companies do develop for all 4 platforms, it's likely that the control scheme on the Wii will be a joke, tacked on simply to make use of the controller, or even simply ignored and requiring a "classic" controller to play, making Wii only slightly better than a Gamecube (given its only slightly better CPU and graphics).
I'm really pulling for the Wii, but I'm being realistic at the same time. There's a very good chance that it will flop. I hope not, as I plan for it to be my only next-gen console. Just try not to buy into the hype too much.
You're only talking about launch numbers, though. The Playstation has a huge fanbase of loyal fans and a good number of fairly exclusive and wildly popular franchises (Final Fantasy XIII, Metal Gear Solid 4 are two examples--although there have been FF and MGS games for other systems, the latest sequels have been Sony-only, I believe).
The Wii will probably be quite popular, but if developers can't sell it early, support might die off as fans stop buying crappy games.
(if you have a HDTV, which I don't)
You are not the target market. Call us when you get one.
From the perspective of an atypical slashdot-college student (very very casual gamer). The only system I ever really hear talked about on campus was Playstation 2 and now Playstation 3. I know you all hate Sony and are convinced that Wii will be a better system (and I have no idea, it'll probably be a long while before I ever play it). You'd be amazed at how many people use PS2 only in order to play Madden. These kids don't want innovative new controls, they like to challenge each other where they don't have a learning curve. They want to have the cool system, and that's been Playstation. Nintendo has a stigma I'd say as being nerdy and childish. No one even cares really about xBox or Wii around here, they just accept that "playing videogames" probably means sports games Playstation. You guys may focus on the casual gamers, but the real focus should be on the ultra-casual gamer, the Madden/Jock crowd of college students and young graduates. Most of these people just buy the next PS and don't even question it. Little kids will ask for PS3 because their older pbrothers say they should. In short, you guys vastly underestimate Sony's branding I think. That's really the most important aspect of a consoles success. People griped about PS2 being difficult to devolop for in the begining, and look how it did- it just rode PS1's coatails. Look at Corona, the beer sucks...but people buy it because of the branding and how it is marketed as exotic. It's gained a reputation for being good and now people treat it like it is good.
According to what I've read at various video game sites and forums (such as GAF), Xbox 360's Gears of War cost lest than half to make as did Wii's Red Steel, both of which are shooters. Gears of War blows Red Steel away. I think you're underestimating Microsoft's skill at providing better developer tools than their competition, which lowers development cost. Also, Xbox 360 uses DirectX, which many are already familiar with.
-- "I never gave these stories much credence." - HAL 9000