Dave Perry: 360, PS3 to eventually steal Wii gamers

Wii News | It's all about the graphics, stupid.

Dave Perry, founder of Shiny Entertainment, creator of Earthworm Jim, and Director of a community-made MMO through Acclaim Games codenamed Top Secret, gave a somewhat different take on the Wii control system in a recent interview with Disposible Media (warning - big download).

After being asked about his views on the importance of simplicity of control in a console context, he stated that while the Wii is a good starting point to encourage the all-important focus on better gaming interfaces, it isn't necessarily the best. Speaking of unique approaches to control systems, Perry said, "Y’know, I’ve followed controllers for a long time. I remember in the late eighties there was a machine called the Konix. The interesting thing was it was a steering wheel, but could take off the steering wheel and pull up some handlebars for a bike, or you could pull the handlebars right up and have it as an aeroplane yoke, and so on and so on."

More damningly, Perry added, "My point is, is that the Nintendo Wii isn’t the final solution to that sort of interactive interface. I think we’ll always see more and more interesting approaches to interface, and I really don’t think the Wii is the ultimate solution to that."

To Perry at least, graphics are key to capturing the hearts and minds of gamers. After debunking the Wii Remote as the be-all, end-all solution to interface flexibility, he added, "But I also think that the 360 and PS3’s graphical power is essential in attracting the Wii’s userbase. The fact is, gamers are attracted to beautiful looking games, they always have been, even back when the Konix was thought up. When a game comes out - a game like a Halo or something, something they haven’t seen before - they’ll drop everything and they’ll drop their Wii controllers when it does."

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25 Comments

?oe?oe

4 years ago

ugh the boot

4 years ago

Perry has made a comment similar to this before.

Personally I think towards the end of this gen Ps3 will once again be the winner but with the start the wii has gotten it does seem like it's gonna be tough, especially when the Ps3 is almost triple the price. I think the Ps3 will be the top seller in most countries but the Wii might remain the top seller in Japan(please don't argue this is just my opinion). I think motion control on the Ps3 is something not a lot of people know about and yea I understand that Sony did steal the idea from Nintendo that's not gonna make a scrap of difference to the mainstream.

I think it's ALL about the price.

Jedi.Jell

4 years ago

The guy makes a valid point, but you have to consider that the Wii is aimed at the non-gamers in the community, and right now they don't care about graphics, they care about something they saw at the shop or on TV that looks like a bit of fun. I doubt Nintendo will have such problems.

pdaddy

4 years ago

I dont think the motion control in the PS3 really matches the Wii's remote.. The PS3 control 'feels' tacked on.
I can see your point though. The Wii just DOESNT have the games that will keep people's interests like the other 2 consoles do. I mean I know a lot of third parties have said they will develop for the Wii, but that has really meant a lot of crappy PS2 ports with 'wii exclusive features' like waggling the controller instead of jumping, BIG DEAL!
As sad as it is to admit it, people ARE attracted to graphics. I dont agree with it, but it's the truth.. The Wii is capable of more, and I certainly hope more is coming..

döppelgangbang

4 years ago

Ths coming from a guy that hasn't made a gooD game for over a decade.

A transparent interface is an important thing, but games with crap controls are still being made... many on the Wii. The Wii has highlighted and underlined interface as its primary selling point. To some degree developers have taken this on board and are putting the effort they SHOULD to make sure it controls right. The PS3's graphical selling point is just as clear whereas the SIXAXIS sends out a convoluted message. The reason PS3 motion controls feel tacked on is because they are not the primary focus.

For me the greatest thing about the Wii is the pointer, all this shaking and waggling gives me the **** (about as much as the overloaded SIXAXIS). Playing RE4 makes me never want to go back to c stick aiming ever again. Sometime in the glorious future I'll get into Gen HD gaming.

I think there really is a line in the sand. I think Nintendo really has proved its concept of a blue ocean marketing strategy and while Perry might be right the the PS3 will steal Wii 'gamers', it will not steal its customers who would never identify themselves with that term.

littlemo

4 years ago

What Nintendo has yet to prove is that "non-gamers" buy games... and given that there is no proof that they're selling the majority of hardware units beyond hardcore Nintendo fans it's too early to tell what's going to drive "non-gamers"

renegadesx

4 years ago

@ döppelganger

Agreed, what Perry is saying is what most people were saying a year ago and most of them have shut up. A significant high percentage of the core audience will no doubt get a HD box, stick to their PC's or both (as in 90%-95%.

Personally the PC/Wii combo works for me for now (all 360 and PS3 games coming combined do not even come close to the anticipation levels I have for Starcraft II alone)

The Wii will (and is) sell well to the core audience as well, obviously not as the ONLY platform as due to its momentum, more developers will want to jump on the bandwagon and will see more content but its the casual gamer audience that dont care about graphics that will give it its real edge as in "the singstar audience" as well as the non-gamer audience.

Crestfallen

4 years ago

littlemo wrote

Someone did a report which said that only 10% of Wii owners have NOT previously owned a console.

So its definitely up in the air right now.

Evan

4 years ago

crestfallen wrote

Someone did a report which said that only 10% of Wii owners have NOT previously owned a console.

If that's true, then by extrapolating that out, that means that of the roughly 160 million people who bought a console last generation, by the end of this lifecycle there's potentially an additional 16 million people who will buy a Wii who did not own a console previously. Gross oversimplification, I know, but it highlights an important point - that's a huge number by any means. It's almost as many as who bought the GameCube or Xbox in total.

littlemo wrote

My own personal anecdotal experience is that I know three people who would never have bought a console ever, yet they've gone out and bought the Wii. Two data points doesn't make a trend, but if you buy what people are saying, it seems fairly reasonable to believe that some proportion of Wii purchasers are from Nintendo's target market.

Crestfallen

4 years ago

Evan wrote

crestfallen wrote

Someone did a report which said that only 10% of Wii owners have NOT previously owned a console.

No, I think your mistaken. 16 million is 10% of ALL last gen console gamers. It doesn't signify the amount of non-gamers who will own Wiis in any way.

All that stat means is that currently, about 0.9 million Wii owners (Wii has sold 9mil now) can be properly categorised in the 'non-gamer' segment.

legend166

4 years ago

Honestly guys, I've made this point before.

Why didn't the GCN sell at this rate, if they've got the exact same buyers?

Hell, the GCN was cheaper, so it should have sold faster, right? In Japan, the Wii will surpass the GCN LTD by the end of the year.

arbok

4 years ago

Jedi.Jell wrote

I believe the Wii is a fad, a phase where people are buying the Wii on the 'potential', because they had a quick go at their friend's place and now they want one.

If developers don't really start to push the boundaries of the controller, its just going to get bad word of mouth, and its not going to sell any games.

The problem is that ever since the N64, nintendo controllers have become limited in their function so much so that it was not the preferred option to play the game as opposed to the playstation. Right now for most of the Wii games, its about shaking the controller in some way, and alot of the time its clumsy. Even the DS most of the good games use the Dpad as opposed to the touch pad, even though you would think the touch pad would be easily implemented.

Its just in this day and age, games are about the challenge of mastering the controls, sports games, fighting games, adventure games etc. The Wii remote limits this because the accuracy of human movement is not as precise as a couple of thumbs on a dpad. In the end - this equates to short inconsequential casual games.

littlemo

4 years ago

Evan, I can say that I've shown upward of 20 non-gamers my Wii and while they all loved Wii Sports/Play and most of them said they'd consider buying a system none of them have done so, because in their eyes it's still too expensive and games just aren't they're chosen entertainment medium.

To change a "non-gamer" that enjoys a game or two of Wii Sports/Play when friends are home into "gamers" (whatever a gamer really is) will take a change in attitudes towards games as an entertainment medium and will require huge price reductions in software and hardware (DVD player/movie prices for example) and that's something I'm not convinced we'll see for a long time if ever.

What strikes me as ironic about this whole "non-gamer" vs "gamer" debate is that just about anyone will pick up, sit down in front of an arcade machine and play games at TimeZone etc. I've seen people of all ages playing games in the arcade; "Non-gamers" dig arcade games just as much as "gamers" yet for some reason they would never consider paying money to have that same experience at home, its only a guess but I think it's because it's seen by "non-gamers" as a once off thing to do for a laugh but is too active/involved for to be considered a viable entertainment option.

I think the industry is wise to be looking to expand the range of games on offer and make the whole thing less intimidating but I'm not convinced that gaming is ever going to rival movies, books, tv, etc in terms of pure individuals who pay or own games because of the reasons mentioned above.

Evan

4 years ago

crestfallen wrote

I realise that, I just think it's very early days. And, a 10% lift in non-traditional markets is absolutely nothing to be sneered at - most companies would kill for that kind of success, doubly so if it's acheived profitably. The Australian Direct Marketing Awards have awarded prizes for the best Australian marketing campaign with lifts of under 10%.

I understand what people are saying regarding price points, gaming vs. traditional entertainment activities, and so on. However, I personally think the "gamer" vs. "non-gamer" dichotomy is a false one. Everyone's a gamer - socially and psychologically, we all participate in and enjoy games. The real split is between "those would buy a console" vs. "those who wouldn't". The people in the second group are far more price sensitive than the first. That's not to say they're totally averse to buying a console though - have you seen the price of a Trivial Pursuit game lately? Upwards of $80, and many people don't have any issues with dropping the money for that. It's not the games, it's the price that's a discouraging factor.

As the Wii starts to come down in price, I think we'll see that whole price sensitivity issue gradually diminish. It's cheap hardware, and they're already selling it at a profit. Nintendo's not dropping the price at the moment because, simply, they don't need to. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Wii + Wii Sports / Wii Fit bundle early next year at around $420 - $450. And, I'd be calling a price drop sometime around July next year to maintain their aggressive growth.

Having said all that, I think the 360 is going to end up with a slight halo sales effect from the growth the Wii is experiencing. It's priced at a point where people who enter the market and become more interested in gaming by doing so can afford to purchase more "complex" games. The Wii60 isn't a bad concept.

Anyway, enough of that. I'm going to go nurse my fever now. Seems the purple elephants want to talk to me ...

admeister

4 years ago

döppelganger wrote

The PS3's graphical selling point is just as clear whereas the SIXAXIS sends out a convoluted message. The reason PS3 motion controls feel tacked on is because they are not the primary focus.

That may be true, but it does add a nice element to the games, sort of a replacement for rumble really, and something you can't experience on the 360 (motion control). Also, the motion capabilities of the sixaxis are certainly not being ignored, Super Rub a Dub anyone? Excellent use of it, comparable to the Wii.

SMASHED

4 years ago

Quote

I believe the Wii is a fad, a phase where people are buying the Wii on the 'potential', because they had a quick go at their friend's place and now they want one.

Dont mean to be arrogant, but the PS3 is based off potential as well.Its just people aren't buying it as much

I say this generation:
PS3>Wii>360 In [b]MY[/b] preferred console. Though I couldn't care less if Microsoft came on top, I dont care if my teams wins, aslong as they cater for me.

3mt

4 years ago

its not about graphics, cause you can easily get a good graphics card under $800

Karai Pantsu

4 years ago

3mt wrote

its not about graphics, cause you can easily get a good graphics card under $800

Sure you can. But then you also need a 'good' motherboard, a 'good' CPU, a 'good' set of RAM, a 'good' soundcard, and a 'good' HDD - which all adds up to a whole lot pretty quickly.

Vervain

4 years ago

Karai Pantsu wrote

3mt wrote

its not about graphics, cause you can easily get a good graphics card under $800

Sure you can. But then you also need a 'good' motherboard, a 'good' CPU, a 'good' set of RAM, a 'good' soundcard, and a 'good' HDD - which all adds up to a whole lot pretty quickly.

Also, don't forget the need to buy all new 'good' items again at least every year or two to keep up with the really good PC games, especially with DirectX 10 starting to be implemented.

?oe?oe

4 years ago

For one if the Wii owners Perry speaks of wanted graphics they'd get a PS3/360 already since they are already much better looking (GoW). I don't know about you people but if a game has unbelievable graphics, you are wowed for about 10 minutes, then you are used to them, then the gameplay will either shine or will not. Graphics always came second to gameplay.

Kaboth

4 years ago

I agree about graphics not amazing for long. But I find interesting artwork can little things like that can keep you interested in checking out your surroundings. For example I found Resident Evil 4 had far more interesting and beautiful environments to explore especially in the castle than a game like Gears.

I do question however if there will be such a big blockbuster ground breaking title this gen though. There doesn't appear to be anything on the horizon that will have the selling power to really stand out from the crowd except for perhaps Wii Fit.

ittekimasu

4 years ago

While the wii doesn't have strong graphics like the ps3 and 360, i'm sure that it will still hold alot of the current adopters which have taking a liking to it's fun and friendly interface.

While in the future where both consoles take advantage of their system being able to bring out some of the more detailed unimaginable type gameplay it might fail to bring in the casual player, or something i like to think as families who adopted the wii.

ugh the boot

4 years ago

joejoe wrote

uMM nO! Graphics will impress me right down to the last few seconds of a game (usually that's when a finale plays out so it's even more amazing) if they're done well whereas a crap game will always look crap and I will constantly analyze it's look. I do admit well designed games that don't look too crash hot do also grow on me but a great looking game will keep me impressed to the bitter end.

Gears of War for example much much later in the game there is a greehouse will all these apple trees inside....man that part had my mouth on the floor and almost every corner I rounded I would say to Zarnoss (was playing with him online at the time)...."Can you see this!?!?!"

?oe?oe

4 years ago

Well that's true. It will impress you again if there is a change in environment. Sucks for generic games or games in one section - Good game or bad. Then again, people get lured to pretty games anyway. That's one plan of action to an impressive looking game, obviously. That still doesn't stop the game from then being sold or traded if it's crap.

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