Wii has certainly slowed down of late, and Nintendo is putting more focus on its newly launched 3DS handheld. SCEA boss Jack Tretton has taken the opportunity to issue some of the more fiery comments we've seen in quite some time.
He basically said the Wii is fading away and that Nintendo's portables are simply "babysitting tools."
On the Wii, he told CNN, "They're starting to run out of steam now in terms of continuing to be relevant in 2011 and beyond. I mean, you've gotta be kidding me. Why would I buy a gaming system without a hard drive in it? How does this thing scale? Motion gaming is cute, but if I can only wave my arms six inches, how does this really feel like I'm doing true accurate motion gaming?"
As for the 3DS and Nintendo's history with DS in general, Tretton wasn't any kinder. "Our view of the 'Game Boy experience' is that it's a great babysitting tool, something young kids do on airplanes, but no self-respecting twenty-something is going to be sitting on an airplane with one of those," he remarked. "He's too old for that."
18 Comments
April 8, 2011
"No self-respecting twenty-something is going to be sitting on an airplane with one of those," he remarked. "He's too old for that."
Holy mother of gawd, is he out of touch! Apparently he hasn't been to PAX. Or the mall.
April 8, 2011
...I haven't seen a 20+ year old with one. And I've been to both quite often. If you want to argue 17 year old we can. But mid 20's? No.
April 8, 2011
I'm 32, and I am not at all embarrassed to take out a DS or 3DS in public.
April 8, 2011
no hard drive? i know plenty of people plugging 1 or 2tb hard drives into wii's...
April 8, 2011
This just made me laugh. You launch day/date with Nintendo and they outsell you at least 2:1, then call them irrelevant? Hey Jack, thanks for the Friday comic relief.
April 8, 2011
I would be caught dead with one of those in public, hell I have a PSP and I don't bring it out the house. And as much as you don't like it, he has a valid point. And James, you bring yours cause of your job. They probably would outsell them from the start, but like always the novelty goes away and you are left with something that collects dust.
April 8, 2011
Ironically isnt that what most parents use a Sony tv for --- babysitting?
Isn't that the main reason most parents allow children to play video games for hours on end?
Isn't that what Sony should be doing if they want to keep childrens attention for a long period of
time?
And oh yeah, I have not seen a 20 year old with a PSP in public either.
April 9, 2011
Actually, it's Jack Tretton and his wife's experience with the Game Boy. They are letting their kids play the Game Boy for extended periods of time while he and his wife do something in the bedroom also for extended periods of time.
April 9, 2011
What's a "hard drive?"
April 9, 2011
I know that the Wii has been losing steam over the last year or so but ironically they are still outselling the PS3, especially in the US. As for the DS reference, it just goes to show how out of touch Jack is with the real world. I've been to plenty of anime conventions where people in their 20's, 30's and 40's were happily playing DS games together.
April 10, 2011
In this interview he disses motion gaming calling it "cute" All the while forgetting how Sony brought out the PSMove in stride to compete with the Wiis success, I mean seems like Jack Tretton forgets how the gameboy revolutionized the gaming world... seems like hes trying to do anything he can to try and make people wait for the NGP... I really thought we were well past the days where companies would blatantly attck one another... Takes me back to the days of Genesis Does what NintenDont...
April 10, 2011
He thinks all gamers are stupid, that is why he will make such statements (sadly SOME gamers are stupid), but not all gamers are stupid.
April 10, 2011
Nintendo used to be good, i would play Pokemon games on my GB when i was younger but the games they have now don't interest me, i like the more adult orientated games. The only thing keeping Nintendo up is the nostalgia effect of the old games they have now and maybe some of the new games they have now. But it depends on the person though and the likes and dislikes of each individual.
April 10, 2011
I realized i've been saying his name wrong. I thought it was Trenton all this time.
April 11, 2011
Heh, as soon as PS3 sales started to improve (Wii still sels more) and PSP sales beated 3DS sales during one week in Japan Sony is all exuberant and cocky. What will they do when Nintendo announces Wii2? They will compete with Move2? :)
April 11, 2011
All of this is setting up the feud for Tretton vs. Fils-Aime for the heavyweight championship of the world at E3. :)
April 11, 2011
Typical Sony ... I'll admit I'm not a typical 27yo, but I took my 3DS to the bar, restaurants when I'm eating alone - I played my DS on the plane, at the mall, at Starbucks and in the Pittsburgh area I've seen a fair number of others doing the same. It's not babysitting tool--its pretty complex as far as hand-helds go, and despite the abyssmal battery life, definitely worth what I paid for it.
What is it with Sony that they can only justify their existence by how much better they are than Nintendo? Nintendo which has proven again and again to have crazy staying power, innovative machines that change the way we play games, and a solid following of people. They can't seem to be content with "we appeal to a different audience," it has to be "We are so much better than everyone else! Just no one knows it yet ... but you will! ... you will....."
April 11, 2011
I"m well into my 30's and I play my 3DS plenty in public. In fact, one if my favorite things to do is go to my local watering hole on a Sunday afternoon and play my 3DS. It's how I get chicks!