Will Wright: Wii Belongs in "Toy Department"
Sims creator Will Wright thinks the Wii is more of a toy than a gaming device.
For a guy who's seen his share of revenue on Nintendo hardware, Sims and Spore creator Will Wright made a surprising comment in regards to the Nintendo Wii console. Wright spoke with IndustryGamers during the Game Developers Conference this week, touching various subjects such as motion controllers, the impact of social gaming, and more.
However, IndustryGamers on Wednesday posted a portion of the interview that focused on the Wii console, and how developers are frustrated with the platform... or at least, Wright's take on the subject. Wright said that, in many ways, the console resides more in the toy market than the video game arena despite its uniqueness.
"That's why it's been so successful – because it's pretty clearly different than the Xbox or the PlayStation," he said. "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 goes on to talk about the life cycles of consoles in general, and how the market has changed in regards to predicting the arrival of the next generation. He doubts this will be the last generation, however it will no longer be the clockwork-like, predictable business of the past. He thus returns to the subject of the Wii console, saying that developers struggling on the platform in a business sense isn't "necessarily indicative of the Wii" console itself.
"What we'll be seeing going forward is that the console businesses will each have a very specifically defined niche," he said. "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."
Is that the case? Are "hardcore" games difficult to sell on the Wii because owners would rather play toy-like games?
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the Wii may not be the latest and greatest in terms of hardware, but they still have better games then PS3 so could it be considered a toy???
*how could it
I have all three systems (PS3, 360, and Wii). I can tell you the family uses the Wii allot more than the other consoles. I don't think its a toy.
... and this is exactly the reason i got rid of mine and bought a PS3...
Because it's fun? *doesn't understand*
I think what he meant was that, generally speaking, people tend to play the wii for shorter periods of time. This makes it more of a short term diversion, which can be interesting for a while but doesn't exactly compell the user to all night game sessions. I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but just speaking generally.
better games than the PS3? no way, Wii games are downright terrible overall. VERY VERY few gem games from the top selling gimmick... cough... I mean console.
Maybe Will Wright should make better games. Spore lacked the customize-ability it was promised and the game play was incredibly shallow. Combined with ridiculous 3-install limit and DRM, it was an utter disappointment.
i agree 100%, a 'toy' to me is something that is fun to play with, but not worth large investments of time or money; a console gaming platform is worth larger monetary investments and considerably more time invested. example: i play super mario wii, mario kart, etc on wii with my wife for no more than an hour at a time, whereas assassin's creed, bioshock, etc all wind occupying my time for hours upon hours.
Aren't all consoles inherently designed to be toys? I'm not sure you can make a distinction.
Sure, a lot of the games for teh Wii are VERY casual. But the Wii has a lot of potential for modders. I've never done it myself, but it's pretty cool to see a lot of the stuff you can use the Wii for; like emulators. Even so, its status in the market doesn't suggest that Wii consoles or games are absolutely horrible; regardless of whatever people they appeal to. I'm not so much a casual gamer myself, but I wont lie that once in a while I may play on a friend's Wii and have a blast while doing so. There's nothing wrong in enjoying a game, regardless of the console.
Still, I have yet to see any console that's worth buying over playing PC games, just my opinion.
But arent all consoles toys by definition?I mean you do draw entertainment and fun from them and that is thier primary purpose is it not?
I completely agree... it's a nice toy when the kids come over. Otherwise it just collects dust.
The Wii is taking on a part of the market the PS3 and XBox originally didn't, and it's because of that it's been successful. Still, because it's less powerful than the PS3 or 360, it's not seen as a platform for the hardcore gamer.
The Problem for the Wii now, is that it's the "1hr fun time" system, while when people want to play a more hardcore game they will turn to the 360, PS3, or PC. Even if the Wii started targeting hardcore gamers, it's a hard sell if it's sitting next to a PS3 or 360 when those systems are constantly putting out graphically superior games.
Ha i totally agree. I only found mine fun when having a party.
I'm not too sure why i bought mine, i think it was because i could continue playing the mario karts and whatnot. eventually i got bored of nintendo reinventing the wheel.
Most of my friends bought it for the same reason aswell i think. None see much usage, not more than our xbox's or pc's.
My young counsin found much more fun in it than I, and i gave it to one of them for a birthday presant.
If it wasn't for the Mario games, I wouldn't even have a Wii.
Mario Galaxy was the reason I got one and it was worth it just
to play that game. Now Mario Galaxy 2 is coming out and I can't wait to play it if I ever get away from playing FF XIII.
Well, when I see people flailing their arms around it does look a bit childish and silly.
Also, most Wii games are kids friendly or family oriented.
It's a gaming console for casual gamers, not the hardcore stuff.
Don't you see, everything is a toy. PS3 is a toy. Xbox is a toy.
nuff said...
Will Wright has issues...........
The irony is that being a toy makes it more of a console suited to adults. Real adults don't have (or don't make) the time to sit around leveling up a character or playing through what is essentially a terrible action movie shot from 1st person. They have work, night life, stuff to do. The wii is perfect for company or just to play for a few minutes here and there.
Aren't consoles toys? I mean this person might have been in the industry for a while but imo all video game consoles are toys, meant to entertain me, but I still PLAY them.
Aren't consoles toys? I mean this person might have been in the industry for a while but imo all video game consoles are toys, meant to entertain me, but I still PLAY them.
Depends on what you use them for. A computer is not a toy - but it can be used exclusively for playing games. Does that make it a toy? An xbox or ps3 can potentially do more than just play games, granted, not as much as a personal computer. The wii, on the other hand, by design and very deliberately avoided being a do-it-all device and stuck with just playing games. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
What he means is that the Wii doesn't appeal to hardcore gamers, or people who don't like thier charcter to be made of 7 pixels.
I got all three consoles, my kids actually enjoy the PS3 and Wii more than anything, the motion controllers of the Wii appeal to them more.
With the soon to be released motion stuff for PS3 and the Natal for Xbox, this all may change.
I wish they would release a normal multi button controller (similar to the classic wiimote) and create games that have you pressing more than the giant A button.
The system is great for old school RPG's but the controller sucks.
It's funny to read some of comments above of guys taking themselves a little too seriosly. "Oh.. I'm not playing, I'm gaming .." Get off your high horses people. You are all playing with toys whether you spend a few bucks on a console or a few thousand on a computer. And there's nothing wrong with that just don't fool yourselves.
Actually I want to play "serious" games on Wii, but the platform does not seems to be popular amongst game developers to release for. I can imagine playing Assassin Creed and using my wiimote to cut and slash, something you can't do wtih PS3 and XBOX360 yet.
The game developers should exploit the capabilities of the 3D interface that Wii present instead of treating it as a additional development cost.
Lastly, Nintendo should license the Wiimote so all the games developer just need to develop one control interface to play games with.
I, too, largely agree with Wright, but that's not to say there aren't some "real" games on the Wii as well. I thoroughly enjoyed Mario Galaxy and even Twilight Princess wasn't bad. On the other hand, Nintendo's focus is clearly on the casual market, so these so-called "real" games are far and few between. It doesn't help that the hardware is underpowered either, though perhaps necessarily so to appeal to the mass market. Not that the casual market couldn't handle better hardware, but to keep costs low, which is very important for wide adoption. The reason I think Wright's distinction is good, though, is that the Wii clearly isn't competing in the same category as the PS3 and Xbox 360.
I actually may buy a Wii, but it's for my nephew. =D
If the Wii had more games with chainsaws, them maybe, but only a couple right now isn't enough for me.
Almost all of the "good" games you can play on the PS3 you can just play on your PC and in my opinion be more comfortable playing them. The Wii has two things going for it that help it sell very well, it targets the short period gamers, the group gamers, and it has all the Nintendo exclusives that the involved gamers have come to expect.
So if you want to use them targeting the short period gamers and group gamers to qualify it as a toy you can but really the Wii targets a larger group of people than the Xbox or PS3 target.
The real issue is that because the Wii doesn't support HD video and has such a different control design the cross platform developers that are putting out their games on the Xbox, PS3, and PC at the same time don't want to have to do the intense redesigning required to accommodate the Wii's processing limitations nor to take advantage of the control advantages.