"The Wii is a piece of sh**" GDC Article

[Professor Watkins]

Not my words. I don't even have one. But still an interesting read.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/771/771051p1.html

From the Article:
Hecker also took Nintendo to task for not taking games seriously enough. "It's not clear to me that Nintendo gives a s*** about games as an art form," he said. To illustrate his point, he searched for references to games as art on all three console manufacturers web sites. While he found numerous such references on both the official PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sites, Wii.com had none at all. He then shared quotes from executives at Sony and Microsoft talking about games as a serious artistic medium, and then a quote from a Nintendo executive saying the company only wanted to make "fun" games.

Hecker ended his spirited rant with two demands for Nintendo: First, recognize and push games as serious art. And two, "make a console that doesn't suck ***."

[The Draykin]

I don't have a wii either, but there are some interviews on gametrailers.com where they discuss the differences between consoles and where they think they'll lead gaming.

http://www.gametrailers.com/bonusround.php

[ProfClayton]

Not my words.

From the Article:

... and then a quote from a Nintendo executive saying the company only wanted to make "fun" games.

But what if you like "fun" games? ;)

[The Draykin]

But what if you like "fun" games?

most true, I don't know if I've every played any serious games or artsy games.

artsy= word ?

[ProfClayton]

The only game folks consider artsy is Okami for the PS2.

... unless you want to count this:

[The Draykin]

hmmm. looks like a perfect recreation of a rembrandt. Haven't played Okami, might have crack at it during spring break, if the lord wills it so. amen.

[Jeremy]

The Wii is alot of fun and all, it's cool to have friends over and play for a while instead of droppin' $50 a person at dinner and a movie... but at the same time, its not something i would do for fun by myself, the graphics are just horrible. we have a few games for it and i have never played it unless my gf or a friend is over...

[molina]

The Wii is alot of fun and all, it's cool to have friends over and play for a while instead of droppin' $50 a person at dinner and a movie... but at the same time, its not something i would do for fun by myself, the graphics are just horrible. we have a few games for it and i have never played it unless my gf or a friend is over...

agree with you ... i dont really play it unless there's a friend ...

[ProfClayton]

Looks like his bosses made him apologize:

http://lnk.nu/kotaku.com/dvc.php

I do not think the Wii is a piece of ****. Nintendo needs to be applauded for trying to interface on the controller front, the user interface front, on making games accessible, on making a console that you don't need to mortgage your house to afford.

Secondly, it's totally obvious—and I'm sorry that I implied otherwise—that everyone at Nintendo is passionate at making great games. Some of the games give me hope that we will be seen as an art form on par with movies and books.

Apology accepted. ;)

[vtecjerry]

I haven't played with my wii in months

[novitsch]

There aren't alot of really good games out for the Wii yet that are fun to play alone. There should be some good ones later this year (hopefully).

Zelda is probably the biggest one, with maybe Xcite Truck, Red Steel, and now Sonic might be up there (haven't played it yet so I'm not sure).

[Bucket]

agree with you ... i dont really play it unless there's a friend ...

I have to agree with this as well. Friends and family only.


It's just not a serious game system to me. I sold mine three days ago. I don't miss it. I would've only played the nintendo games anyways. Which of course is a problem because it is more apparent now than ever that Nintendo is going to the bank with rehash. The controller is a stupid gimmick, it gets old fast and doesn't work as good as you'd think. The wii, IS a piece of sh**. I'm glad somone in game development acknowledged it publicly. The stupid wii can't even do normal mapping. It is literally, a gamecube with a faster processor, no shaders, no nothing. It's gamecube version 2.0 with a remote. The remote is also uncomfortable to hold. Nintendo did not research the design assuming that remotes have been in use forever. People do not channel surf for an hour or more. If people did channel surf for more than an hour their hands would hurt like hell. I've flip flopped on a lot of nintendo stuff but it was foolish of me to expect nintendo to change with this recent console.

[The Draykin]

What does everybody mean by "serious console?"

[Erik]

I bought the Wii because of word of mouth. Everyone was so exicted about it. After having it for awhile I find myself only turning it on when company comes over or if the wife wants to play. Its a great idea but I don't see myself playing it like I would the ps3 or 360. The controls got old fast and unless its a party game I don't want to learn how to control each game. I feel it is more of a family system since anyone despite of age or gaming experience can pick it up and play it.

[Professor Watkins]

Generally in the market place the game industry recognizes "hard core gamers" who are after better graphics, most realistic interaction, and intense game play. Generally, these are also folks who put in quite a bit of time on one game. These folks are after serious consoles as they are the only consoles that would be able to provide all of the above. The XBox 360 and PS3 obviously are after these folks.

Alternatively, they recognize the "casual gamer" - someone who plays hit or miss, isn't so interested in bleeding edge graphics as the are in just sitting down for an hour and having fun with a game. If they finish the game, cool - if they don't - it's alright too. Nintendo used to be competing for the serious gamer too - but lately they've made the conscious decision to focus on fun game play at cheap prices and not worry about playing the hardware race.

So far it's worked pretty well, the Wii in January outsold XBox and PS3 nearly 4 to 1. The speculation always is whether it'll have staying power. While the XBox and PS3 games will just get more sophisitcated and people find how to get more out of this new hardware - the Wii is pretty much maxed out. Will people always be happy with the casual gaming experience, or will they (like some of the descriptions above) get tired of the Wii controller and be more interested in more visually rich games.

Some interesting reading about what the industry thinks the future is in:

http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2007/2/12/7015