I'm not sure why Wii-lovers are so defensive about this guy's comments. I'm just going to sit back and laugh while the multitude of other middleware engines available for the Wii make a killing.

And alpha_dk, I agree that UT was the last great game Epic made.

famousringo said: I'm not sure why Wii-lovers are so defensive about this guy's comments. I'm just going to sit back and laugh while the multitude of other middleware engines available for the Wii make a killing. And alpha_dk, I agree that UT was the last great game Epic made.

 Umm...gears of war? no?

Kyros said: and for Epic themselves since they are losing out on easy money. Why is anyone here thinking that Epic could make money on the Wii? Epic is making beautiful Graphic engines and shooters. 1. Non party third-party games on the Wii are not exactly blowing of the roof in regard of sales. 2. FPS on the Wii are selling like mud 3. The current Unreal engine is defined by awesome effects and lighting by extensive use of current shader architecture. I think Epic knows that this is not their place. So badmouthing it may not be a bad business decision.

Yeah, Kyros, I completely agree with you for once.

The problem was the whole "nobody plays their Wii" and "virus" bash after he said he wouldn't develop on the Wii for those reasons.

 

So him, badmouthing the Wii, may be a bad business decision, wouldn't you agree?

 

I know a lot of Wii owners who have PS3's and 360's like me. They just lost a sale, because this guy is biased against my favorite console, NOT because he won't develop on it, but because he feels the need to bash it for no good reason. So yeah, I won't bash Epic, they make fine games. They just have hateful politics, and I simply can't support that with my consumer dollar.

ToastyJaguar said: Has anyone done any research on this. They don't see it as profitable for what they as a company are doing. End of story. The big games on the Wii that make money are the Nintendo ones, everyone else is just getting scraps. On the 360 Gears is their killer app, on the Wii they would have take a step back and fight for scraps. It's really quite simple.

Again, if that were the only thing at play here, it would be fine.

The thing that causes me to boycott their products is the fact that he feels the need to bash and hate the Wii simply because he is not developing for it.

I feel that he has a more deep seeded intent. Epic games have always been a PC company, all about the latest technology. I think they see the Wii as a threat to that. They see the Wii as a console that doesnt' see "games as art" and instead thinks "games are fun."

That crowd despises the Wii and speaks out against it at every turn. Oddly enough, the only "games that are art" this generation have appeared on the Wii as vaporware, ports, or Nintendo games, Oboro, Sadness, Okami, No More Heroes.

 

So yeah, I'm not very fond of Wii haters, especially when they're trying to sell me stuff.

He's probably getting tired of being asked the same question so he's making sure that everyone knows exactly how he feels (although he has done this in the past and yet boneheaded interviewers are still asking him the same question).

Sherlock99 said: http://www.megatonik.com/2008/04/20/mike-capps-says-epic-games-wont-ever-make-a-game-for-the-wii-we-go-forward-not-back/ Epic Games' president, Mike Capps, reiterated what Epic has previously said in an interview with IGN, stating that Epic won't ever be developing games for the Wii. It's not about the success of the platform to him, but what can be done on it. When asked whether there would ever be a time when Epic would be forced to give in and create a game for the Wii, Capps said, "no, we go forward, not back. It makes more sense for us to invest in the next-generation tech." As for why he believes the Wii has become so popular, he says it's like a virus that just keeps spreading: It's a virus where you buy it and you play it with your friends and they're like, "Oh my God that's so cool, I'm gonna go buy it." So you stop playing it after two months, but they buy it and they stop playing it after two months but they've showed it to someone else who then go out and buy it and so on. Everyone I know bought one and nobody turns it on. Obviously there's a large number of people who really love it and enjoy it and are getting into the games but I'm still waiting for that one game that makes me play it.

This thread makes me angry.According to this (insert insult here) he is waiting for a game that will make him play the wii.Just because the Wii doesn't have fps it doesn't mean it doesn't have good games in my opinion SMG and SSBB are far better games than Gears of War.

 

disolitude said: famousringo said: I'm not sure why Wii-lovers are so defensive about this guy's comments. I'm just going to sit back and laugh while the multitude of other middleware engines available for the Wii make a killing. And alpha_dk, I agree that UT was the last great game Epic made. Umm...gears of war? no?

 I'll admit I haven't played it. What I've seen of the game doesn't really grab me. It looks like a good game, but not a great one.

Sorry, I'm sure you weren't looking for a semantic split between 'good' and 'great.' Perhaps I should have simply said that UT was the best game Epic has made to date.

@legend

Hah! You might be on to something. 

ToastyJaguar said: ugg1020 said: That is unfortunate for both Wii gamers who would buy their games (yes they exist contrary to Epic's beliefs) and for Epic themselves since they are losing out on easy money. Oh well I guess.  There is a much earlier article from last year with Mark Rein. This should explain it all without causing fumes with the Wii owners. Please read this because this has got out of hand. Before you decide to hate Epic then read this.   Not everyone is planning on riding Nintendo's money-printing coattails. In an interview with GameTrailers (embedded above), Epic Games Vice President Mark Rein stated that, as he has on multiple occasions before, that the Unreal and Gears of War developer has no intention on providing middleware support for the Wii. Rein cited resource concerns, saying that the company is more focused on pushing the limits of PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Interestingly, Rein also commented how making Wii graphics engines is not that profitable. "I think unless you're going to sell your engine to Nintendo, you're going for scraps on that platform," he said. That point has been brought up before, how developers are not interested, and possibly lazy, in developing for the Wii platform and that their budgets for that platform are pretty low. However, from the perspective of a game developer, perhaps Epic could find a way to convert Unreal Tournament 2004 onto Nintendo's platform. The software alone would be profitable, we imagine, and then they'd have Unreal Engine 2 to license out. Update: As it has been pointed out in the comments below, some Wii titles such as Red Steel do utilize Unreal Engine 2 -- optimized for the GameCube (keep the jokes to yourself, for now). However, we'd be interested to see Epic take the engine an optimize for the Wii's hardware upgrade. Also, some people seem to be confused by Rein's profit comment. The profits for Epic wouldn't come from game sales but from licensing out the engine. Since most developers don't focus on the graphical prowess of their Wii titles, Epic would not be able to charge much for their engine -- hence why Rein doesn't feel the Wii would be a profitable venture for them.   http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/05/epic-still-not-supporting-wii/

I'm not hating on anyone, I am simply stating that a great game, such as Gears of War, would sell well to Wii owners. I am not talking about game engines, I am talking about releasing even one game the Wii. Cannot a developer make a profit on a game or a series? While I agree that the Unreal Engine won't make lots of money on the Wii, I highly doubt that a game with the calibur of Gears of War wouldn't make some sort a profit on the Wii.

yeah, right.

So when Wii has near 100m (2009/2010) and are nearing 60% market share. Epic will choose PS360/PC only. hahaha. Not unless they are getting big kicks from MSony.

Only the dumbest CEO's would choose that route once Nintendo hits 50%+ market share. Its not fanboyism, its just simple economics and the desire, no absolute requirement, of your company to be as profitable as possible.

So Epic is a lazy developer, If they weren't they would see it a as a challenge that needed to be conquered