Nintendo Talks Community, Availability and 3rd Party Partners
Forbes.com's Game On column sits down with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime this week, covering a wide range of topics. Fils-Aime touches on how Nintendo plans to build a community for Wii users, the chances of getting a Wii at retail this holiday (not bad), the chances of getting a copy of Wii Fit (don't count on it) and the troubles third-party publishers have had with finding success on the Wii.
Quote:
"I will be able to say our licensees 'get it' when their very best content is on our platform," says Fils-Aime. "And with very few exceptions today, that's not the case."
Lol, eat it Nintendo, never thought I would say that to you for my love was great. But ....eat it.
You don't exsist to me except when im thinking of what my nephews and mom might want for christmas. Even then not going to buy, ill tell others to do it.
Yup..im mad at you. Sony looks golden to in terms of games and fun compared to your shit.
His comment on community - "We don't see it the way our competitors see it, we'll bring something unique, etc." is the EXACT same line we heard when XBOX and PS2 were going online. Nintendo's solution was GBA connectivity. Or the storage issue - you can download direct to an SD card. Good one. I have a feeling that their community "solution" is going to be equally impressive.
His comment on community - "We don't see it the way our competitors see it, we'll bring something unique, etc." is the EXACT same line we heard when XBOX and PS2 were going online. Nintendo's solution was GBA connectivity. Or the storage issue - you can download direct to an SD card. Good one. I have a feeling that their community "solution" is going to be equally impressive.
I'll let the quote speak for itself. Source: Edge Online:
Quote:
Speaking to Forbes, Fils-Aime conceded that the Wii hosts a range of third-party titles which, with a few exceptions, largely do not exemplify quality software for the platform. The reason for this, he says, is that certain developers and publishers still don’t ‘get’ the Wii’s design philosophy.
"I will be able to say our licensees 'get it' when their very best content is on our platform," he says. "And with very few exceptions today, that's not the case."
Oh Reggie... Last console generation, Nintendo couldn't get the 3rd parties to make anything for the Gamecube. Now that you've got them pumping out tons of stuff, you tell them they don't know what they're doing. GG.
They get the design philosophy. It just doesn't seem to work for non Nintendo product.
Actually, With WiiMusic's disappointing sales so far, perhaps people are getting past the Wii being the hottest thing out there.
You can't place your "best" content on a platform that is not tailored for the experience.
Poorly implemented waggle in place of button mashing is not what I signed up for.
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Gamertag: Phelan Kell
PSN: Flatpicker
How is poorly implemented waggle getting their design philosophy? It seems to me that they clearly don't.
Even at it's best which I consider "No More Heroes" to be in terms of motion control on the Wii, it's still waggle to replace pressing a button.
Even WiiSports, when you break it down was lacking in control. General motion is fine. It's the fine motions that broke the experience for me.
Look at The Clone Wars lightsaber game, which was a perfect concept for this system,fitting in with the "philosophy" they are exposing, except, it doesn't work well and is not fun.
I'll give everybody the fact that the Wii is great in concept. I believe it's concept is valid for future control methods, but the implementation this round is not good enough. Fine control is missing.
If it was, Nintendo would not be looking at revising the Wiimote with that new add on pack.
__________________
Gamertag: Phelan Kell
PSN: Flatpicker
Even at it's best which I consider "No More Heroes" to be in terms of motion control on the Wii, it's still waggle to replace pressing a button.
Even WiiSports, when you break it down was lacking in control. General motion is fine. It's the fine motions that broke the experience for me.
Look at The Clone Wars lightsaber game, which was a perfect concept for this system,fitting in with the "philosophy" they are exposing, except, it doesn't work well and is not fun.
I'll give everybody the fact that the Wii is great in concept. I believe it's concept is valid for future control methods, but the implementation this round is not good enough. Fine control is missing.
If it was, Nintendo would not be looking at revising the Wiimote with that new add on pack.
But that is where I have to differ with you. There is nothing, NOTHING, more satisfying than doing a motion to finish off an enemy in No More Heroes. Pressing a button would never give that awesome rush that using the wiimote does.
Also many devs don't understand how to use the wiimote outside of just waggle like crazy, that Star Wars game included. You give a AAA dev team a wiimote and they can do amazing things.
The Wiimote made Resident Evil 4, already a super amazing game ever BETTER. Zak and Wiki uses the wiimote better than half the wii games out there. The Wiimote is hands down better for FPS games than dual analog.
It all comes down to the ability of the developer to understand how to use the wiimote to BENEFIT their games and that takes a really great team to do so. And that is slowly happening. I can only imagine how much better run and gun would be in GTA4 using the wiimote to aim.
As far as Reggie's quote, he's right. Dev can't keep ignoring the wii sales.
__________________
"What if the game gets delayed? You don't want this to become No More Heroes Forever do you?" -- Jeane from No More Heroes
Location: Hartsdale, NY (home)/Urbana, IL (grad school)
Posts: 384
Quote:
"I will be able to say our licensees 'get it' when their very best content is on our platform," he says. "And with very few exceptions today, that's not the case."
Just to emphasize what everyone seems to be missing. Basically he's saying that most publishers aren't even bothering to consider putting their best games on the Wii, which is more or less true.
But that is where I have to differ with you. There is nothing, NOTHING, more satisfying than doing a motion to finish off an enemy in No More Heroes. Pressing a button would never give that awesome rush that using the wiimote does.
Also many devs don't understand how to use the wiimote outside of just waggle like crazy, that Star Wars game included. You give a AAA dev team a wiimote and they can do amazing things.
The Wiimote made Resident Evil 4, already a super amazing game ever BETTER. Zak and Wiki uses the wiimote better than half the wii games out there. The Wiimote is hands down better for FPS games than dual analog.
It all comes down to the ability of the developer to understand how to use the wiimote to BENEFIT their games and that takes a really great team to do so. And that is slowly happening. I can only imagine how much better run and gun would be in GTA4 using the wiimote to aim.
As far as Reggie's quote, he's right. Dev can't keep ignoring the wii sales.
I'll tell you this, that Lightsaber game left a real sour taste in my mouth.
I wanted it to be good, so much so, I preordred it and ignored any reviews.
I'm sorry to have spent the money.
__________________
Gamertag: Phelan Kell
PSN: Flatpicker
The best use of motion on the system is actually Tiger Woods 09. EA is STARTING to get it, which sort of scares me since that's one of the signs of the apocalypse.
None of the swordfighting games have really used the controller well yet, and I'm afraid most of them will still fail after they get access to motionplus. The fact is that not a single one of them has bothered to design a system that discourages a user from simply waggling the controller as fast as they can. That's not the controller's fault, it's a problem with any fighting game. The only added issue with motion controls is that it's far more frustrating for your physical actions to disconnect from what you see happening on the screen than it is when you're mashing a button.
For swordfighting games on both the regular wii remote and the motionplus, developers need to implement a visible stamina system that governs the strength and priority of your attacks. Each swing of the controller diminishes the character's stamina, which only replenishes while they are not attacking. After this system is in place, you can build a much more strategic and balanced fighting game, but without it you're doomed to waggle at random.
How is poorly implemented waggle getting their design philosophy? It seems to me that they clearly don't.
Quite.
A good thing is that certain third-party mulitplatform titles have actually not been wasted on the Wii, lately. Middle-of-the-road games like The Force Unleashed and Sonic Unleashed (everything's unleashed these days) actually stand up to the same games on other consoles.
But the multiplatform stuff never has been and never will be what Wii's all about.
I don't think it should be considered "hard" to put original, creative, quality content on the Wii. Really, you just need to have a good idea, a competent development team, and some creative implementation methods. You also need to actually care about what you're putting on the system. The Wii's best third-party stuff has heart; it feels like the devs were actually passionate about not only using the functionality of the system, but also designing their games using the angle that Nintendo set out for the system; that is, creating a broad appeal so that anyone can enjoy the game, while also maintaining a level of quality that keeps people coming back. This whole "carelessness" that shows itself when devs just throw something that they think the "casual crowd" will enjoy on Wii is starting to get on peoples' nerves. Not only that, but the kind of "carelessness" that shows itself when devs create sloppy ports of X360/PS3 titles is worse, in many ways.
There have been improvements, of course, over the Wii's lifespan to this point. But it's still discouraging that the Wii still isn't fully perceived as "worth putting good games on." Really, with lower development costs, you'd think that it would be a fine platform on which they could do some more worthwhile experimentation. I mean really, games don't have to be big-budget top-tier development projects. Just look at the indie game scene, with titles like Braid and World of Goo. A little bit of focus, and a little bit of heart, go a long way. And the Wii's philosophy embraces that view. It's too bad that, thus far, it seems like only a few developers or publishers even care about that philosophy.
Having said that, Reggie is actually part of the problem himself. Does Disaster: Day of Crisis ring a bell? While the Wii is flooded with lackluster efforts, I've heard some solid things about Disaster. And guess what? It's a "core" game, but also has a premise that's familiar to a broad crowd. You said that it didn't seem like a $50 game, so why not release it for $30 over here? If the Wii is being bombarded with low quality third-party efforts, then you should try to put as many potentially-decent games on the system as possible.
The best use of motion on the system is actually Tiger Woods 09. EA is STARTING to get it, which sort of scares me since that's one of the signs of the apocalypse.
None of the swordfighting games have really used the controller well yet, and I'm afraid most of them will still fail after they get access to motionplus. The fact is that not a single one of them has bothered to design a system that discourages a user from simply waggling the controller as fast as they can. That's not the controller's fault, it's a problem with any fighting game. The only added issue with motion controls is that it's far more frustrating for your physical actions to disconnect from what you see happening on the screen than it is when you're mashing a button.
For swordfighting games on both the regular wii remote and the motionplus, developers need to implement a visible stamina system that governs the strength and priority of your attacks. Each swing of the controller diminishes the character's stamina, which only replenishes while they are not attacking. After this system is in place, you can build a much more strategic and balanced fighting game, but without it you're doomed to waggle at random.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rash
Quite.
A good thing is that certain third-party mulitplatform titles have actually not been wasted on the Wii, lately. Middle-of-the-road games like The Force Unleashed and Sonic Unleashed (everything's unleashed these days) actually stand up to the same games on other consoles.
But the multiplatform stuff never has been and never will be what Wii's all about.
I don't think it should be considered "hard" to put original, creative, quality content on the Wii. Really, you just need to have a good idea, a competent development team, and some creative implementation methods. You also need to actually care about what you're putting on the system. The Wii's best third-party stuff has heart; it feels like the devs were actually passionate about not only using the functionality of the system, but also designing their games using the angle that Nintendo set out for the system; that is, creating a broad appeal so that anyone can enjoy the game, while also maintaining a level of quality that keeps people coming back. This whole "carelessness" that shows itself when devs just throw something that they think the "casual crowd" will enjoy on Wii is starting to get on peoples' nerves. Not only that, but the kind of "carelessness" that shows itself when devs create sloppy ports of X360/PS3 titles is worse, in many ways.
There have been improvements, of course, over the Wii's lifespan to this point. But it's still discouraging that the Wii still isn't fully perceived as "worth putting good games on." Really, with lower development costs, you'd think that it would be a fine platform on which they could do some more worthwhile experimentation. I mean really, games don't have to be big-budget top-tier development projects. Just look at the indie game scene, with titles like Braid and World of Goo. A little bit of focus, and a little bit of heart, go a long way. And the Wii's philosophy embraces that view. It's too bad that, thus far, it seems like only a few developers or publishers even care about that philosophy.
Having said that, Reggie is actually part of the problem himself. Does Disaster: Day of Crisis ring a bell? While the Wii is flooded with lackluster efforts, I've heard some solid things about Disaster. And guess what? It's a "core" game, but also has a premise that's familiar to a broad crowd. You said that it didn't seem like a $50 game, so why not release it for $30 over here? If the Wii is being bombarded with low quality third-party efforts, then you should try to put as many potentially-decent games on the system as possible.
You two people got things right. Please, go ahead and apply for jobs in third party development studios for the Wii.
Reggie is right. Third parties are not putting their "very best content" on the Wii. They are putting shitty content and shitty remakes on the Wii. What if Rockstar made the next GTA designed from the ground up to be ran on this gen's top selling platform, the Wii? Nope, instead, they'll make some shitty ass GTA: The Drive garbage knockoff bullshit fuckup game and then complain when sales suck.
Reggie is right. Third parties are not putting their "very best content" on the Wii. They are putting shitty content and shitty remakes on the Wii. What if Rockstar made the next GTA designed from the ground up to be ran on this gen's top selling platform, the Wii? Nope, instead, they'll make some shitty ass GTA: The Drive garbage knockoff bullshit fuckup game and then complain when sales suck.
It's quite simple, actually. Sales suck just as much as the game.
To be entirely honest, Four Swords and FF:CC are still some of the absolute *BEST* time i've ever had playing a multiplayer game.
Left 4 Dead is good, but it's nowhere near as co-op centric love/hate your ally as Four Swords was. I really, really wish more people had a chance to give that game a try, it's probably in my top 3 multiplayer experiences i've ever had.
