Will Wright Opines That Wii Is the Only Next-Gen Console 381
PhoenixOne writes "In an article that will probably tick off a lot of PS3 owners, Will Wright calls the PS3 and 360 'incremental improvement(s)'. 'The Wii feels like a major jump - not that the graphics are more powerful, but that it hits a completely different demographic. In some sense I see the Wii as the most significant thing that's happened, at least on the console side, in quite a while ... I still, for the most part, prefer playing games on the computer - to me the mouse is the best input device ever. Every generation it's like 'the PC's dead! The PC's dead!'. But it carries on growing when consoles are flat for five years. At the moment I can get better graphics on my PC than I can on the PS3.'"
Re:I agree... (Score:5, Interesting)
I kinda disagree (Score:5, Interesting)
The only console I'd really bag on at this point is the PS3. Whatever they tried to do with it, it ended up a failure. I don't really see that conclusion changing any time soon, a late lifecycle resurrection or the like.
I'm still happy with the idea of multiple game systems vigorously competing against one another. The last thing we need is a video game monoculture that stifles all development.
Re:I agree... (Score:2, Interesting)
As for the other points:
I've been a PC gamer my entire life, but the rat-race of keeping up with the hardware is getting absurd. And while today's $2500 PC puts a PS3 to shame, you can buy a PS3 and a couple of games for the price of a PC video card.
What happend? (Score:4, Interesting)
The Wii does something new and exciting, yes, but so do the PS3 and the 360...it's not just "shinier graphics", there are many things that game developers are able to do now that they were unable to do before...that extra computing power can go towards smarter AI, larger level design (for example, compare the size of the levels and objects on screen in Beautiful Katamari to the first three Katamari games.)...it's similar to CGI in movies...it is allowing us to achieve things in movies that were previously nigh-impossible.
And let's not forget the online portion as well. Yes, Live was around with the original Xbox, but look at what Live has grown into...a massive marketplace, tons of video and game demos right at your fingertips, not to mention Arcade titles...ditto for the PSN, so much stuff it's nearly overwhelming. The Wii has done well with the Virtual Console in this area, although out of the three I would have to say it has the furthest to go.
The Wii has made some baby steps towards innovation, but it's going to take games where the waggle is no longer labeled as such (Prime 3 is a great example of this, btw.) More powerful CPUs and GPUs don't just make things extra shiny...they make gameplay possible that was not possible before...just like a Wiimote.
Re:Sure, Will. (Score:5, Interesting)
Wright had as much to do with Sims expansions as John Carmack does with community Quake mods.
Re:I agree... (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:I kinda disagree (Score:4, Interesting)
though, honestly, i don't think he's referring to next-gen in these terms. he's talking about gameplay. as much as you want to say the live services are going into new realms, when you get down to it, its only changing the way you interact with the other players. the gameplay theory is the same. if you played a game on the xbox, you're going to have a very similar learning curve on 360 games as you did on the xbox. however, the whole theory used to develop the Wii was completely different. you could be a master on all other consoles, but be no better than a beginner on the wii.
the gameplay on the PS3 & x360 is *not* that revolutionary. yea, the ps3 uses motion-sensing, but barely. you're talking about added features, which Wright isn't talking about. All of those things are just bells & whistles. The Wii is different. The gameplay is completely different. The way you socialize may be different on the 360. But that's not really next-generation. It may change the way you communicate or plan attacks, but again, its just modifications on a pre-existing framework.
At least, thats my opinion.
Re:From a certain point of view, he is right. (Score:3, Interesting)
Link?
4) - My Gamecube and Dreamcast both did 480p, big deal. Dreamcast did it before the xbox.
How about reading what I typed?
5) - Dreamcast came with standard modem, upgradable to network. Gamecube supported networking, and Atari supported more networking features in their Jaguar than any company since. Shortwave Radio, modem, and direct serial connections. Only thing I see noteworthy is the xbox building the network adaptor into it.
How about reading what I typed?
The only thing being done differently with this generation of consoles is Nintendo's Wiimote, and everyones' built in storage. Everything else has been done over and over again since the begining of consoles.
If the Wiimote (a different control scheme) is enough to be declared (in Will Wright's opinion at least) that it's in a new console generation, then so is a built-in harddrive.
Re:Poor 360'ers (Score:4, Interesting)
It's not that the 360 or ps3 are bad systems. It's that what they really added to the previous generation was a little better graphics, a little more storage space, small upgrades in individual aspects of the product.
What the Wii did was introduce a really different way of playing the games, and in the process has tapped into a market the ps3 and 360 couldn't dream of. Ergo, the impact of the Wii on the console gaming genre is larger even through the technological advances involved aren't.
The last console I owned was an original NES,* and I do not, as a general rule, play games. I don't even have any installed on my computers (okay, well, there's the free Chess game that comes with OS X, and I might have an old copy of EV Nova around somewhere). I was pretty content to just sit this whole console generation out, until my very much anti-videogame S.O. declared one day that she wanted a Wii. That in itself says something about the Wii
That said, so far we haven't found any really drop-dead awesome games other than Wii sports. We rented Rockstar Games' table-tennis game, thinking it would be like a continued/advanced version of Wii Tennis, but it was much more of a skill/twitch game than something you could pick up and have fun with immediately. And frankly, spending an hour learning how to hit a ball in a table-tennis videogame does not strike me as a productive use of my time. If I'm going to do something that feels that much like work, I'd best be getting paid, or at least producing something tangible. That's what I like about Wii Sports; the games don't feel like work. They're just fun. Plus, you play them standing up, which makes them feel more like lightweight VR than a regular video game.
I think the big challenge for the Wii is whether Nintendo can get a stream of games coming for it that give people who purchased it essentially just for Wii Sports something to do. I have no idea what their margins are on the consoles themselves, but if they're going for the usual razors-and-blades model, selling the consoles for little profit and hoping to make it up on games, they'd best do something about getting some more Wii Sports-like games out there. Otherwise, I know a lot of people who may be content to just never eject that disc and treat it as a single-purpose machine. (And I don't think that any of them will regret the cost, either; Wii Sports really is worth $250 in my estimation; any more games would just be gravy.)
The Wii was a ballsy move for Nintendo, because it essentially lets Microsoft and Sony have the 'hardcore' market. But I think it's proving to be a smart one -- or at least a popular one -- judging from the sales figures. I see a lot of parallels between the Wii and the NES, including the pack-in game being one of the best (and in the long run, the defining) titles.
Re:I agree... (Score:3, Interesting)
Will is Wright - and I'm glad my son bugged him (Score:2, Interesting)
Now, a more intriguing question is - what will the next gaming console be when America converts over to 80 percent HDTV somewhere in 2009?
I've seen how the PS3 is now shipping features that are part of the Wii in an attempt to catch up - what other features do we think we're likely to see? One can assume it will be an HD-DVD version capable of running both DVD and HD-DVD, with probably a base aspect of 720p, but will it be designed for 1080p for optimal usage?
And will we see things like lightsaber and gun attachments become standard add-ons (much like the Guitar Hero III addon) or will the controllers morph into this usage (traditional Wiimote and nunchuk used as if they were those add-ons).
And will I be able to use my Barbie and Bratz Princess Fairy and Wicked Pr1nc3zz controllers as well? (no, I don't have them, but if more than half of the market will be women and girls
Re:Hrm... Will may be right.... (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm honest up front here no trolling intended. The PS3, I only play PS2 games on it currently. I have a lot of them, they look much better, and not having to swap memory cards is a world of difference. I've put in 160 hours playing Persona 3 (when will it end damnit?)
No trolling intended I'm going to sway in the favor to Will, the PS3 and 360 are upgrades not seriously next gen. Better graphics, CPU, memory, networking, internal storage, upgraded sound.... It's all "upgrades" nothing seriously innovative.
Sure PS3 and 360 feature multicore CPU's and wireless control. But there is nothing seriously new with either console aside that it now has a mini OS that you can web browse, stream music and video and stuff. but that's not really next gen either. My computer has done that since 1999 or even earlier.
The Wii on the other hand Is as close to a true "next gen" platform as you can get. It has an entirely different controler scheme, multiplayability and simply fun. Nintendo brought in seniors who've never played video games into the fold. They've widened the audiences and are adding in a slew of different addons that will expand on the Wii's everyday non gamer usability "wii fitness".
I'm sure Sony could easily add in a Wii style controler with Ease. update their system software to support a new bluetooth device and add a wireless sensor bar....
But So far Nintendo took the edge. They took a risk, made a new style of console, and opened up gaming doors to millions more who never dreamed of gaming. That's an achievement.
All 3 consoles have their place though. Not everyone will get all 3, and not everyone shares the same needs. So each console serves it's purpose.
in close, I'll agree with will that the Wii is the only true next gen, and the PS3 and 360 are mere upgrades. None though are trash. I love my PS3, even though it's only being used for PS2 games (ugh persona)
Re:Hrm... Will may be right.... (Score:3, Interesting)
It's kind of like claiming that a laptop is the next generation of desktop computers. They can do a lot of the same stuff but they aren't designed for the same target markets.