"The Wii Is A Virus"

[soniqstylz]

http://www.gamingunion.net/news/former-dice-ceo-the-wii-is-a-virus--1107.html

Despite the Nintendo Wii dominating sales charts and setting records left, right and centre, it's still never really won over the games industry. Comments from Sega and Capcom have only helped to fuel the negativity surrounding the console, and it's apparently a feeling that's echoed among other developments too.

We recently had the opportunity to catch up with Fredrik Liliegrin, the former CEO and co-founder of DICE, who is currently running a new company called Antic Entertainment. Amongst other things, some of which can be seen in part one of the inteview, we were able to ask him about his opinions on the Wii.

Gaming Union: Are you surprised with the negativity surrounding the Wii from various groups, even after all this time and its success? Would you develop a Wii game if you were a traditional developer?

Fredrik Liliegrin: If I got paid to develop a Wii game I would do it. I would not put an original IP on the Wii today unless I thought I had an absolute home run.

Gaming Union: Why not?

Fredrik Liliegrin: Because the Wii, to me, I would describe it as a Virus, that doesn't stick. Everyone comes home, it's a toy, people have got to realize the Wii is a toy, not an entertainment focused product. People come home, someone, they play Wii for a bit, feel it's really cool, blah blah blah, they go out and buy one. Ask people how often they play the Wii, that are not the core game consumer that buys one because they have an Xbox 360 and a Wii or a PlayStation 3 and a Wii. The people that only own the Wii, ask that consumer how often they use their machine. They just don't use it, it was cool, but they're not gamers, so they put it away. Other than the Wii Fit phenomenon that helped a lot of people get a nice cutie voice telling that they're fat and need to go work out, they need to find other alternatives. Nintendo is smart in that way in that they realize this is not a video game machine, this is not a games game machine.

[RuudJacobs.NET]

He does have a point, most people I know who own a Wii, don't use it so often anymore after the first 3 months...

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

Yup, the Wii is a gimmicky console which doesn't have a place with the rest of the gear surrounding most TV's.

Our Wii has been relegated to the 26" TV in the Conservatory - and that room only gets used in the summer. It's got Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus. And one person uses it hardly ever (My mother).

[D!ABOL!C]

That's definitely the case for me. I got it and enjoyed for a bit, but there were months where is just sat there collecting dust. I was telling some people at work I was planning on dumping it, so one of the guys ofter to buy it off me. Now he and his family hardly play it now. I guess it doesn't matter as Nintendo is laughing all the way to the bank with over 50 Million units sold.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Yup, Nintendo are slowly going to lose all 3rd party support.

[iamwhoiam]

IMO (notice the opinion part), the Wii is no more, or less, of a gimmick than the 360 or the PS3.

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

IMO (notice the opinion part), the Wii is no more, or less, of a gimmick than the 360 or the PS3.

Sort of agree, but the Xbox 360 and PS3 are mainly used for internet play nowadays - at least there is always something interesting going on. The Wii is like a console to switch on for a few minutes, wave a stick in the air, and then get bored and ignore all the other totally pointless features it has. You can play online with it but it's a lot of messing about and not many games support it.

[D!ABOL!C]

IMO (notice the opinion part), the Wii is no more, or less, of a gimmick than the 360 or the PS3.

I always felt that the Wii was meant for group play, ie. Getting a bunch of friends togther and playing Wii Sports or any of the other party games. If you notice in the advertisements, at least in the US they focus on this aspect. However, the true Nintendo Core fans will know about Zelda, Metroid, and Mario etc., but when you have Parents and Retirement homes purchasing these systems, they will only play the "gimmicky" games, so to speak.

I will say this, the code name Revolution was absolutely perfect, because they hit an entirely untapped market for gamers, but that also lies the problem for game developers because the major titles sell better, generally, on the PS3 and Xbox.

[The Gunslinger]

I may be mistaken, but I remember seeing an article stating that quite a few 3rd party games have sold over a million copies on the Wii.

I think these guys are still stuck in the old way of thinking, i.e. go bigger and better in terms of action, graphics, gore, etc. If they innovate, there is money to be made on the Wii.

[Growled Member]

Sounds like a massive whine to me.

[spartyjohnson]

I still play the Wii. My Kids play it almost everyday. I don't consider myself a "hardcore" gamer though. I am a casual gamer and I like the Wii.

[shakey]

I'd like to think of myself as a gamer. I only have a PC and a ps2 at the moment though. I see no need for a 360 or ps3, as most games come out for pc now (even though they are crappy ports). The only real system I have had my eye on lately is the Wii. I have friends over all the time, and we are always multitap playing the ps2. I could only see the Wii being used almost every day , depending on games, and having a lot of fun with it. It is more of a party machine than those who sit at home alone. Either you have ur friends sitting next to you, or miles away in their own house. It's up to you.

[speedstr3789]

what I find ironic about his hate for the wii is his "mission statement".

"Developer of casual games for the hardcore player"

and strange that this is a quote about his web based game Junk Battles:

GU: Do you see yourselves moving to consoles in the future?

Liliegren: We want to stay small and focused, but we also want to take whatever intellectual property that we do, and look at it in a long run. Initially Junk Battles was planned for the Wii, and we scaled it back to get an initial title on the marketplace, and learn the micro-transaction space with a smaller title, but we still have that original design and idea in the back pocket. Once Junk Battles establishes itself as a viable IP, then we can take that and have that as an additional value to say, "hey, we have a community of x number of players, here's the feedback that we know, we know the model, we know the design works, we now want to put it on Wii or something else," we take that to a publisher to get funding.

[Xenomorph]

What a bunch of crap.

I've been gaming since the early 1980s.

The Wii is as much a real system as any other.

I have an Atari (the original VCS-style 2600), an NES, a Super NES, a Sega Saturn, N64, Sony PlayStation, PlaySation 2, GameCube, and a Wii.

I've even kept up with gaming PCs. Always dumping money into tons of RAM, a fast CPU, and a capable 3D card.

I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars on video games. I have hundreds of games. I play games a lot now (when I have time). Growing up I played games with all my friends, and now I play games with my daughter when I can.

Every now and then, me and my friends get together, and we play Wii. One friend has an Xbox, but that is the "toy" that gathers dust until his kids play Spongebob or whatever on it. We never touch it.

I have stacks of Wii games that get played a lot. Not only that, but the game has the built-in Virtual Console (the 1985 Super Mario Bros. just got some playtime this week) and a lot of fun Channels like the Vote for Mii, Everybody Votes, and the Nintendo Channel (with videos and stuff).

Just because companies keep releasing CRAP and un-fun games on the system has nothing to do with the system or Nintendo. Just check Metacritic to see how many junk games keep getting released.

I've avoided the Xbox 360 and PS3 now. The original Xbox rubbed me the wrong way (it was dropped by Microsoft too quickly). And I've read tons of horror stories about the unreliability of the 360 hardware. The PS3 had an insane $600 starting price, and now at $300 is has dropped all PS2 support (good thing I have 50 PS2 games I was hoping to play on it). I don't have a big HD TV or anything, so it's not like I can really take advantage of the systems' high def. Why would I buy another console when the Wii already provides me with way more games than I have time for?

The Wii is for people who love games.

It has new games, fun single-player games, online games, great group-games, lots of retro-style games, lots of arcade-style Shooters, and even real retro games with its Virtual Console.

NES, Super NES, Master System, Genesis, NeoGeo, N64, TurboGrafx16 games.

If it's a "gimmick" to PLAY TONS OF FUN GAMES, then sure, the Wii is certainly a gimmick. But so are the other systems.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Yet again another topic of overreacting about people defending their enjoyment of the Wii.

It's nothing to do with someone telling you the Wii had no good games, or isn't fun, it's 3rd party developers abandoning it because they can't make money off it.

[Chasethebase Reporter]

I have to agree on the fact that I don't use it at all now. But since my Xbox 360 has died I plan on using it once again and buying new releases for it. New Super Mario Bros is first on that list.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Yup, Nintendo are slowly going to lose all 3rd party support.

That won't happen, not for the Wii or the next console they release.

They might not have the "big boys" support, but they'll have someone's support. And as long as they have that, they'll make money.

[Sethos]

Yet again another topic of overreacting about people defending their enjoyment of the Wii.

Mirror, mirror on the wall ...

:p ?

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

That won't happen, not for the Wii or the next console they release.

They might not have the "big boys" support, but they'll have someone's support. And as long as they have that, they'll make money.

That's why I put "all" in italics, most people care about the big boys, as most of the time they make the best games.

[iamwhoiam]

it's 3rd party developers abandoning it because they can't make money off it.

Maybe they should make those party types of games that the retirement and younger generations seem to enjoy. There's lots of both.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Maybe they should make those party types of games that the retirement and younger generations seem to enjoy. There's lots of both.

Nintendo make those games best, and how many rip offs of party games do we already have? It's a saturated market within the console, so developers try new things all of which fail as the hardcore gamers are all softmodding their Wii's and a large part of the audience only buys Nintendo related software/Only play WiiFit & WiiSports.

Carnival Games for example reviewed pretty badly but sold like 5 million copies - However the market is now teaming with mini game rip offs it's getting harder to keep recycling them year after year to make money out of Wii development.

Developers have to set aside specific resources for the Wii, the killer thing is the Wii cannot be ported to as the gap between technology in it and the 360/PS3 is too large.

[Chasethebase Reporter]

That's why I put "all" in italics, most people care about the big boys, as most of the time they make the best games.

Even though the big boys do make some of the best games, you can't deny NSMB Wii is a great game, same with Brawl and SMG. Most of Nintendo's releases are top quality, it's just 3rd parties dragging down the quality of the console.

If only it had proper HD and a decent independent classic controller. :shifty:

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Even though the big boys do make some of the best games, you can't deny NSMB Wii is a great game, same with Brawl and SMG. Most of Nintendo's releases are top quality, it's just 3rd parties dragging down the quality of the console.

If only it had proper HD and a decent independent classic controller. :shifty:

Yes but this topic is about 3rd parties dropping support yet again, 1st party software is never going to go away and yes Nintendo are good at it, but again we're talking about the 3rd parties in here.

[Joel]

In the grand scheme of things, does it matter to the user of the game what party made the game? I mean, unless you have in said company...

[jerzdawg]

Yes but this topic is about 3rd parties dropping support yet again, 1st party software is never going to go away and yes Nintendo are good at it, but again we're talking about the 3rd parties in here.

Perhaps if the 3rd party released a 1st party quality game they would be more successful. Granted a 1st party title like Zelda will always sell a ton but a good game will sell on the Wii if it comes out. These companies need to stop complaining and release a great title.