Didn't PacMan tell a story in it's intermissions? Or was that Ms.Pac Man?

Anyway...

Yeah, I love love LOVE Bioware, but this thinking it terribly flawed (assuming nothing here is taken out of context).

BW places a great emphasis on story, which is why I love them so, so I can understand why they WANT to think games are all about story, but by that definition, Great Expectations is more of a game than poker.

Valve wouldn't because Gabe has said in the past he likes the Wii.  The 360/PS3 are too similar to PC gaming for him and Wii actually branched out into something different.

 Okami and Fire Emblem say hi

In all seriousness though, it sounds to me like he thinks a market is being underserved.  You know what you should do with underserved markets?  As proved by the Wii's success, the answer isn't "Ignore it".

 I don't think his comments in that respect are that off-base, but if he wants to tell me that a game without a strong narrative isn't gaming, I would just laugh in his face and go play Galaxy.  A story does not make a game. 

So the people at Epic who make engines are mad at the Wii for graphical prowess and the people at BioWare who make stories are mad at developers for lack of story.

And any game which makes me scream "FUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKK!" when I die is most certainly gaming (I'm looking at YOU, No More Heroes).

Zelda, RE:4, Okami, Guitar Hero Aerosmith :).  Okay the last one was a joke.  But seriously the Wii is certainly as capable of story as a PS3 or Xbox360.  Which, coincidently most of their games don't have stories anyway.  The bigger point is that I see the cycle as this. 

NES - > PS2  Talking to a random person on the street and letting them know you game for 10+ hrs a week would pretty much categorize you as a nerd.

Wii -> A console finally comes along that appeals to everyone.  Maybe it doesn't have as many "hardcore" games as the PS3 or 360.  Frankly, I don't care because opinion will vary and I don't want to go there.  But adults, women, kids, and the hardcore all have significant interest in this console.  I talk about the Wii at work quite a bit with people who would not be interested in a traditional console.

Developers now -> That's not gaming.  You all suck!! I'm glad you don't play our games.  Your money is no good here!!  If I would have to develop in 480p I'd quit developing. 

So you see the point?  There is no reason for the comment at all.  If you don't think there is a market for your games fine.  The Wii definately has a different demographic.  But to tear down the Wii as uncapable of story is A. idiotic, and B. stupid from a business perspective.   If their is an application that involves video output, has interaction, and is somewhat fun, I don't know how you cannot categorize that as a video game.  Like you said, the gaming world largely grew up on the Donkey Kongs, Super Marios, Sonics, even pongs.  None of these have any true story. 

If a single NPD report can spark such rage in the hearts of the guardians of videogame orthodoxy, God only knows what they'll do after Nintendo's financial report is released.

God, I wish the gaming industry would stop putting on airs and admit that everything they make is a toy!

I suppose you could argue that Brain Training and Wii Fit have some kind of utilitarian purpose. Ironically, these are the products which are vilified and cast out by the hardcore as 'non-games.' Not enough toy in them to satisfy the elite.

Developers who make absurdly expensive, graphics-heavy games for PS3/XB360 are beginning to realize that they are not making making the crazy profits Wii/DS developers are making for their cheaply made kiddie games. (see Carnival Games sales almost equaling Mass Effect Sales, or sales of any DS training game)

This makes them mad, and they need to criticize the Wii for not being powerful enough for their visions (Epic), or Wii games not being good enough to even compare to their Masterpieces (Bioware). If the Wii/DS were not crushing everyone in sales, none of these developers would even care.

lol .... whats with all the arguing ? Its clear that Nintendo fans will allways fight so the Wii to be treated as a hardcore console ... I agree , it could easily be , but at this point the library is lacking a lot , and untill Nintendo will give us a couple of more games like Metroid Prime or Eternal Darkness it will have this issue . Also , why cant developers finally bring to it some real killer games . Like not Resident Evil port , or a casual-oriented shooter , but a real , brand new RE game that uses the Wiis cool new abilities ? Or A real soulcalibur game , and not a crap beat-em-up ? Or and actual GTA game , that is even bigger than SA was , because its clear that the Wii could be capable .