Game industry on console wars: Wii FTW
Gamasutra's moles are popping out of their holes, reporting on Wii versus PS3 woes. In a series of blurb-sized industry interviews, developers, publishers, reporters, and others state their personal choice between the consoles. While some choose neither -- or the Xbox 360 -- the significant majority are buying Wiis.
We wish more of the quotes were attributed; most name-brand developers didn't want to be on-record dissing one of the systems. (Some statements even complain about company arrogance.) But depending on how much you trust Gamasutra -- we give them the benefit of the doubt -- this may be a fair sampling of the whole industry.
Does industry support for the Wii, or skepticism of the PS3, mean anything? Maybe. As much as anyone, we like the blockbuster games that are expected on the PS3 and Xbox 360. But we balance those with smaller, quirky games; voices in the industry have also been pushing for gameplay and fun over movie-sized budgets and 80-hour weeks.
Sure, the HD consoles have accessible, fun games, especially in the download channels. And the Wii will have epic, AAA titles. But Nintendo is talking big about the Wii being the paramount console for gameplay, and that may speak to the ideals of the industry. If that emphasis speaks to consumers, however, remains to be seen.
