I feel a MASSIVE change in the gaming industry

[Bodhesatva]

TalonMan said:

Bodhesatva said:

I'm not even sure Legend disagrees with that, Happy. The original topic was about a "MASSIVE change" in the industry, and what you're suggesting is much more of a gradual and predictable shift in industry resources.

Maybe he disagrees with that, but I doubt it. I certainly don't.

I'll be honest, and maybe I need to go back and read through the 100+ other posts in this thread, but I don't see where the OP's description of 'massive change' was ever directly pointed at 3rd party support and who will or will not get the most of it. I took the post as an 'overall assessment' of all things videogame related...

...and if you can sit there and say you don't think the entire videogame industry has been put on it's ear by Nintendo at this point, I don't think you've been paying attention. You, of ALL people, have been witnessing this stuff first-hand at your TRU - with the crazed shoppers and the decimated Nintendo ailes - it's all there for you to see.

No, and hopefully ArtOfAngels will correct me if I'm wrong, this is simply about how the entire viewpoint of the videogame industry has been changed - and it has, in fact, been MASSIVELY changed. The amount of news reports ALONE (regarding the Wii, of course), is astounding - when, in the recent history of videogames, have you seen coverage like this? Maybe when the PS2 was released, maybe even at a 'Halo event' or two, but nothing on the scale of Wii news - and it's been ongoing since last November! But this is just the tip of the iceburg. I've got coworkers at my job, the same ones I'd try to chit-chat videogames with in the past and would roll their eyes at me, telling me that they are leaving work early so they can get home and play Wii Tennis with their daughter!! Buddies of mine that were HUGE PS2 fans, kinda dropped out of the scene for the past couple of years because they weren't ready to plunk down the money for a PS3 and looked at me cross-eyed when I showed them the Wii last year, who's eyes were GLEAMING right before Christmas 'cause they managed to score a Wii 'for their kid' (believe me, they couldn't BS me and I could see right through them - they looked just like a 10 year old on Christmas morning!!!).

And this is not about to stop anytime soon - if anything, it's just going to pickup steam and keep rolling on. Will 3rd parties dump 360 and PS3? Of course not - but that doesn't mean they don't wish they could!! ;)

Ok, the last sentence was a bit extreme, but I think you catch my drift - we as gamers are ALWAYS excited about the latest and greatest videogame experience. But when the casual audience gets geared up for something like the way they currently are with the Wii, watch out...

 

If this isn't just about third parties shifting all their resources to the Wii, then I stand corrected and agree.

 

 

I absolutely agree with your assessment, Talon. Yes, I have seen it for myself; Nintendo is warping the entire industry around themselves. There's no question at this point. The best examples are EA Casual and Ubisoft Casual: two of the biggest third party companies in the world aren't just focusing their developers on the Wii, they're creating divisions -- entire divisions -- pretty much as a direct result of the DS/Wii success.

But these supreme examples should only emphasize the common ground between Legend and other posters here. EA, Ubisoft, and other companies (I know Activision has a casual-like division now, too) aren't just telling their Assassin's Creed or Metal Gear developers to start making Assassin's Creed or Metal Gear for the Wii; instead, those Assassin's Creed style games are still being made for the PS3/360/PC -- and I think that will be true for the forseeable future -- and new teams and creative input are being harnessed for Wii/DS development.

In other words, Legend (if I'm understanding him correctly) is probably right that these major, traditional third party games -- particularly the "grittier" ones that focus on shooting and sports -- will likely continue to be published primarily on the other consoles, and the new, innovative, and sometimes more casual stuff will be published on the Wii. At the same time, the very fact that these new divisions and developers are all being focused on the Wii automatically means that the industry is warping around Nintendo at the same time that these more traditional enthusiast games are being made. In essence, I still think we agree, we're just coming at this from different angles.