Next Generation has this interesting article.
The article discusses how Gamecube games would work well on the Wii and how the Gamecube didn't go far enough. This is certainly a fascinating read. But what it brings up is less the triumph for the Wii and more the redundancy of the philosophy of Nintendo itself. The company obviously needs to move on with their thinking. The idea that Nintendo's philosophy of changing the controls for consoles and how this concept alone seems to be the motivating force in Nintendo's games foreshadows the Wii and describes a real problem for the Gamecube's core design.
This seems to be why Nintendo seems happy to go against the ideas of Microsoft and Sony by trying not to make anything resembling a traditional system. Problem is that developers still have the need to make traditional games. Which means that the Wii will still be the shovelware system until Nintendo decides to limit development to games designed specifically for the Wii. The hope on this horizon is that games like Guitar Hero 3 are just as good on the Wii as on XBOX 360 or PS3.
Currently however, this is the exception not the rule. The real question seems to be that with the market evolving so quickly how will the Wii faire in a year or two when the games on other systems look worlds away and make the system look like Atari 2600.
This is wonderful news for Wii owners. But unless there is more quality than shovelware come this time next year; I don't think even millions of casual gamers will be able to save the Wii from the Gamecubes fate. Problem with history is that it repeats...
No comments:
Post a Comment