[IndustryGamers would like to thank EA Sports for sponsoring our trip to GDC this year]
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During the Game Developers Conference this week, IndustryGamers had the pleasure of speaking with industry legend Will Wright about the latest happenings at his company Stupid Fun Club, the legacy of The Sims (which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary), the impact of social gaming, the upcoming motion controllers and more.
We hope to bring you the full interview soon, but in the meantime we thought you'd like to hear Wright's thoughts on the Wii's place in the market and publishers' difficulties on the platform. Wright, who is trying to converge gaming and toy experiences at Stupid Fun Club, pointed out that the Wii in many ways belongs more to the toy market than the video games space.
"I think the Wii is a very unique platform, and that's kind of its core value. That's why it's been so successful – because it's pretty clearly different than the Xbox or the PlayStation. I think the Wii provides very fun experiences for the most part, but it's kind of a different level of experience; it's not like these 40-hour involved RPG games as much as it is like these fun toys to pick up and start playing in five minutes. And it's really fun with a group of people sitting around... It really is more into what I would call the toy market, because most of the Wii games I've enjoyed felt more like toys than like games," he stated.
Wright continued, talking about the now clearly longer console cycle the industry is in: "But in a broader sense, I think that whole model [has changed]. We've gotten very predictable in terms of when the next console generation is coming along – it was usually on a 4-year cycle and then it was in a transition cycle... but that's been shattered. I don't think this will necessarily be the last console generation we'll see, but I don't think it's going to be this clockwork-like, predictable business that it had been. I think the fact that people are struggling on the Wii in a business sense isn't necessarily indicative of the Wii. What we'll be seeing going forward is that the console businesses will each have a very specifically defined niche. And Nintendo is just about the only manufacturer that invests in much as software as they do in hardware – or probably even more in software than hardware actually. So it's always been a very unique platform in that sense because the biggest competitor as soon as you go into that market is always going to be Nintendo."
We followed up by asking Wright about developers or publishers feeling somewhat limited in making Wii games if they can't build core experiences on the console. He responded, "I think it's the direction that Nintendo chose to go down. I think if you have a hardcore gamer that's 22 years old and he wants to play a first-person shooter, he's going to go buy an Xbox to play Halo. Microsoft has done a great job of covering that market. So Nintendo said, 'Ok, we're not going to go head-to-head with that.' So Nintendo decided to lean younger and they took the industry in a really interesting direction, where we have games appearing on the Wii that people never would have dreamed of five years ago. And that broadened the market in really interesting ways. I think it's kind of cool that they decided to go off and find a different sandbox to play in; I think it's been very good for the industry."
Ultimately, although the Wii has helped expand the industry audience, its biggest strength (its unique design) has also been its biggest weakness it seems. Wright continued comparing the three console manufacturers: "Sony, on the other hand, is really in the same kind of mindset as Microsoft for the most part - except that Sony was looking to build an entertainment center for your living room a little bit more, with Blu-ray discs and all this other stuff. Microsoft has been working their hardcore fans, or more considerably their Halo players, and working their way out from that, building up their online services, etc. They've also been leveraging their accessibility as a development platform relative to the PS3; the fact that the Xbox is basically a PC provides a certain type of developer advantage that allows them to do things like Xbox Arcade and stuff like that. So I think that each of these platforms is kind of finding their specialty. It's just that Nintendo kind of tripped over an unexpectedly larger void. If you're a publisher and you can do a hardcore thing on an Xbox, PS3 or PC, those are more in the same ballpark than the Wii, which is way over here in left field."
37 Comments
March 9, 2010
I was prepared to be offended as a hardcore Wii gamer, but the article doesn't have the same negative tone that the headline might initially suggest. I've come to accept that I am in a minority of Wii owners, but the size of that minority is very much up for debate. I think games like Red Steel 2 do a lot to try and fuse the so-called game and toy markets, by taking toy mechanics and applying them to what could be considered a AAA effort. I know it's a day one purchase for me. If titles like this succeed in the marketplace and become more common, I think the Wii will ultimately be looked back upon as success not just commercially, but creatively as well. Bringing about a new paradigm in game development is bound to cause some early stumbles and failures before it's done correctly. Just look at Red Steel the first compared to the impending sequel. Night and day difference not just in style and setting, but in gameplay mechanics as well.
March 10, 2010
Wow, way to misrepresent what he actually said with a "dramatic" headline. Will Wright totally deserves more respect than that.
March 10, 2010
I don't think they misrepresented it at all... He clearly said that it should be in the toy market and explained how that's not necessarily a bad thing but rather a specific decision that was taken. If you read the title with a pessimistic tone then that's your fault.
I agree though. Nintendo has, for the most part, always leaned younger, in the late 80's and 90's there was practically no one else to turn to so they were top dog across the board. Now the "maturity gap" has been closed by Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo will probably always do well by primarily focusing on kids and offering that toy-ish experience, but unless they get their game quality in check and stop pumping out trash they're going to alienate a lot of consumers.
March 10, 2010
You know what's funny?. I can't think of a game that is more of a toy than Spore.
Great job, Will, great job. Or should I say Chris "The Wii is a POS" Hecker?
March 10, 2010
With headline like that i was assuming it was writtne by David Radd, the article does take a different less Derogatory POV as the headline might have implied.
March 13, 2010
to be honest, the vast majority of people I know treat the Wii not as a toy, but as a dodgy exercise bike. You buy it with the best of intentions, but ultimately it sits there most of the time collecting dust until someone brings the kids around. Dont forget - most Wii purchases werent for the games - they were for Wii Fit. Nintendo's quest to broaden the market sure netted them some strange fish...
May 5, 2010
You need to read the fine print in your own articles, quote: "There's a balance between how long it takes to develop such an incredible title... and how long you wait for the [customer's] appetite to be both satisfied and whetted for the next title. That's something I think the company has done well." free driver updater
May 9, 2010
I believe that shows a very good reason his "analysis" was wrong, and needs to improve when making statements in the future if he's going to be considered a serious analyst.Email Lists
May 14, 2010
They want to give it to NIntendo. More lawsuits need to be filed. Everyone has a right to own their own stuff and not be cheated off the money that someone else could make off them by copying their work. ecommerce host
May 16, 2010
EA, MASSIVE, and IGA are all a bunch of money grubbing whor3s, because BF2142 is the most unpolished POS I have seen in years...
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May 24, 2010
Anyone that thinks Nintendo is not seriously working on the follow up to the Wii is a fool. Of course it might not hit for some time, but they're no doubt working on it.online fax
May 25, 2010
He clearly said that it should be in the toy market and explained how that's not necessarily a bad thing but rather a specific decision that was taken. If you read the title with a pessimistic tone then that's your fault.http://www.industrygamers.com/news/nintendo-not-interested-in-wii-hd-says-reggie/#comments
May 27, 2010
Wow, way to misrepresent what he actually said with a "dramatic" headline. Will Wright totally deserves more respect than that.identity theft protection rated
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June 20, 2010
We followed up by asking Wright about developers or publishers feeling somewhat limited in making Wii games if they can't build core experiences on the console.mezzi rifle case
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Real multi-player social gaming was just an impedance to that effort because people didn’t need to spam their friends..
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I’m pretty sure modern urban settings are more easily understood by more people than fantasy, and yet the MMOG landscape is not made up of games that resemble GTA..
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I’m pretty sure modern urban settings are more easily understood by more people than fantasy
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The creator of The Sims and Spore talks to IndustryGamers about the Wii's place in the market.placement argent
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July 16, 2010
F you Will Write!!! Wii titles are videogaming at it's near best!! I have never played a Wii game and thought "hmm, this should be a toy!" No, just NO! Screw you Unknown, I am deeply offended!!!