This is a quote taken from a post on the 2008 and beyond, prime years for the Wii thread on this site. I have been meaing to post about this for a while now, and I finally decided to do so.

The last sentence is a FACT: The PS3 and the Xbox360 are known markets, meaning, 'traditional' gameplay. In the current issue of the Game Informer magazine, there was a feature called "the BIG questions". It addressed such things as "Has the PS3 already lost?" and "Does raw power matter in the console war?", both of which spark heated debates on forums. One question especially caught my attention, for it has been something Nintendo is known for: "Can anyone make good Wii game other than Nintendo?". The short version of the response is this "Valve Software's Doug Lombardi thinks it is just a matter of time. 'I think most publishers have already been convinced. In the next year, it's a safe bet that we will see a flurry of Wii-only product announcements from all the major players.' " This is in light of the overwhelming response it has recieved, which is, of course, reflected by high sales and demand.

Newsweeks's N'Gai Croal was quoted saying this in regard to creating innovative Wii experiences: "It's hard to make quality games [on the Wii]. The paradox of the Wii is that the very features that made it easy for Nintendo to make it stand out are the ones that are going to pose a tremendous challenge for third parties. The problem is that third parties are oriented around making triple-A games for traditional controllers. That's what they're good at." No suprise there. They have been doing it for years now. They are not the only ones who share these thoughts.

A member of the Capcom development team behind the new Wii-exclusive title Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles was quoted saying "We had to change the gameplay elements of the game in order to fit the Wii. This resulted in an on-rail gaming experience which differs greatly from the previous Resident Evil 4. It is difficult to make complex games on the Wii." (I apologize, as I do not have a link for this. However, it really is just reinforcing the previous quote)

Sadly, these are my thoughts exactly. Though the Wii is doing great, developers will try to use the Wii as a means of selling games to the casual market, while using the PS3/360/PC for their big hitters. These casual games do not need to be 'complex' and appeal to a larger audience. All 3 of EA's exclusive titles are targeted at the casual gamer. There sports titles coming to the Wii are merely ports of the PS2 version, though I believe the experience of the Wii controls will make those titles more enjoyable. The rest of EA's projects, most notably Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, will be on the PS3 and Xbox360. That is not to say that it cant be ported on the Wii on a different engine, but it is still just a port.

Even Nintendo's own Shigeru Miyamoto was upset at the fact that game companies are puting their "third-string team or their fourth-string team" on Wii development projects. Could this be the future of the Wii?

It is only one possibility. I know that there are good games exclusives coming that will cater to the more hardcore Wii gamer (Red Steel 2), as well as very unique experiences on the Wii (Dewy's Adventure). In reality, only time will tell. However, I still expect American development companies to work on casual games for the Wii/DS and leave the rest of their work on the PS3/360/PC.

Even this generation, I still expect the biggest games to come from the Big N. It is what they are good at. I also expect alot more third party support (obvious).But, other than ports, I expect much better quality projects. The low development costs will also allow for alot more small third party and independent developers an opportunity at new and unique experiences, more than we have seeen in past years.

Feel free to post your thoughts.

Edit: In response to a post, I will say that the type of 'complexity' of games on the Wii will be different. This is to be expected. It then becomes the developers responsability to create a complex experience, which is where the innovation will come. However, it is all a matter of WHEN they will put their BEST foot forward.

the devs are having "problems" because they are afraid to take a chance on the wiimote. of course they could and can develop a traditional control scheme game-if they want to. the wii DOES have a normal controller attachment & can use the GC controller....i heard SSB is using the tradition control scheme.

If the Wii did not -- or does not in the future -- maintain its commanding lead on the console market (Yes, I'm aware that the Xbox360 currently has more consoles sold, but it's clearly going to be eclipsed at the current rate), then I'd agree with you.

The problem is this: if the Wii has, let's say, a 2:1 console advantage (or more) over other consoles, and its developmental costs are half that as for other consoles (this is a much bigger deal than most gamers realize, simply because these costs are just big, abstract numbers to us), then most companies simply can't afford to ignore the system. I'm sure many people feel it is hard to make good games on the Wii, but if the profit margins are profoundly and noticably larger for good Wii games than for good (for example) Xbox360 games, we'll see a lot of people developing anyway.

Simply put: if you're staring at millions or even tens of millions of dollars more for a highly succesfull Wii game, CFOs aren't going to like the "but it's hard!" excuse for choosing to make PS3/Xbox games. 

I totally agree with you it's possible that your scenario will happen: I'm just giving a counter argument. It's amazing how much creativity can come out when theres money to be made :p

Yeah. That is what I am trying to get to. They are afraid of change, to an extent.

 This is a large part of it, too.

 The video game industry has formulas. Certain things work, and certain things don't, and even people who may not be visionaries can make fairly good games by simply following those formulas. You know those games with, say, 80-85 percent metascores that are pretty good and pretty succesfull? Many of those are incredibly generic games that went to "how to make an adventure, action, or rpg game" school, and were given enough time to recieve polish. 

The Wii upsets that model. People who aren't especially creative -- just simply effective -- will have trouble adapting. And I totally agree it might be the downfall of the console.  As Zelda: Twilight Princess showed us, the Wii can most definitely create a complex and interesting title. It's possible, obviously. But that may not mean that every Joe-shmoe developer can adapt.

That is why I called it a possibility. I basically want to see if people agree, that this could happen, and what the other posibility is.

I agree with you on everything you posted, you have valid points, whether wii owners want to admit it or not, it is true. I love my wii, like my ps3 and want a 360.

Your last paragraph is very well put and aside from the hard hits from 360 and ps3 there might be a place for all systems to co exist, just at different levels. When the PS3 and 360 come down in price over the next years I can see the majority of gamers, owning more than one, if not all systems. You have to look at something else, the wii might break new people in that havent played before.

But how long will it take for someone to play a wii, and wonder.....what does the ps3 or 360 do???  The wii might help sell other systems in the next coming years, it could be a gateway system.

 Yep, I totally agree it's possible. The other possibility -- the money is too good to ignore. If there is a ton of extra money in it (that is, extra compared to what one would make developing an PS360 game), then the creativity will follow. Again: it's amazing how creative people can be when they stand to make millions and millions of dollars doing so. 

I will sum it up with this statment. The money is there/ has been there. Nintendo took a huge risk going for it with the Wii, and it will pay off. Developers do see the money, and the possibility. And with low development costs (less risk), it is just a matter of WHEN will they put their BEST foot forward. 

I would not say that EA's MySims is a simple game.  In fact it looks to be a complex game by most metrics.  It allows for user generated content, it has tons of customizability, it has complex computer-human relationships, etc.  MySims is also aimed for a more casual market than the usual "hardcore" staple.  I think MySims demonstrates that a complex game can be made with to work on the Wii.  In fact I think it goes further and demonstrates how a complex game built for older input schemes can be adapted to work on the Wii.