DoesWhatNintenDont said:
I appreciate this comment. We do need to clarify the definitions of developers and publishers and associate the desires of each with the stated title. Although, much like artists, graphics don’t necessarily mean attempting to reach the epitome of completely realistic representation. Many of the worlds most famous and influential artists were not apart of the representation movement of art. Duchamp or Pollack anyone? Don’t fool yourself into thinking that the only holy-grail left for gaming is going to be true VR. Once this is accomplished, the art will only be moved by the people who think outside of the box for awhile. Much like what happened to the art world with the advent of the camera; the rise of impressionism, cubists, the dada movement and abstract art alike started to change the very definitions of art itself. If you see video games as an art, yet think that single handedly graphics are the most important aspect for gaming, you prove to know very little about art as a whole. As to the main question, I think most third party developers were just as doubtful about the Wii as most analysts and insiders were. Of course most of them will be changing their tune rather quickly, and supporting the Wii, if it establishes the largest user base. That is simple business. Not all of them want, and or care to focus on the Wii as some developers have chosen to take the HD path of gaming more intesely. It is said to take 2-3 years to make a game on PS3/Xbox right now were as it only takes about 1 year for Wii. Personally I see more PC cross over developers wishing to use the HD consoles more, as they naturally are working with bigger beasts by the nature of the PC business and those consoles prove a good place to port their work and expand their own market share. Very few traditional console developers are interested primarily in the HD consoles, but they have established interests they are pursuing. Don’t let this fully convince you though, as their bottom line will dictate many things for them in the end. For instance, Kojima is still letting the likes of Snake branch out to the Wii is he not? He did the same for the Gamecube even though it narrowly came in last as expaning the marketshare for his games is sound business. Although this might not fully prove to be the best example as MGS4 is an established franchinse guaranteed seller this gen. Thing is, most developers and games don't share this rare quality. |
I completely agree with everything you just said. I think overall the Wii will end up with the majority of big money titles by the end of the generation, but it won't be anything like the difference between the amount of PS2 games to Gamecube and 360 games. After all, every single developer started the generation expecting the 360 and PS3 to be top brass, and all these games (GTA included) began at least a year ago, most 2 years ago or more. A visible shift in developmental focus shouldn't be expected any earlier than 2008, though we are seeing early signs already (much earlier than I expected).
