Wii too casual for Assassin's Creed
Recently, the folks over at Guardian Unlimited sat down for an interview with the creative director of Assassin's Creed, Patrice Desilets. When asked if the popularity of the Wii and the growth of the casual market had any impact on the game's creative process, the Ubisoft employee had some not-so-nice things to say about our favorite console.
"The Wii is all about casual games. In terms of processing power and graphics capabilities the Wii is roughly equivalent to the PS2 and the first Xbox ... I like the controller and the fact that the Wii is bringing a new audience to games but Assassin's creed [sic] would never run on the Wii hardware. There's a big audience that's looking for immersive gameplay and a cinematic entertainment experience with graphics that rival the best CG."
Oh, snap! Now, we know that the Wii can't compare graphically to the PS3 and Xbox 360, but to bring the Wii to the level of last-gen consoles just seems like a low blow. Also, if the cinematic experience is such an important aspect of Assassin's Creed, one wonders why the team decided to make a version for the Nintendo DS.
Surely, we can't be the only ones bothered by Desilets' assessment? Many developers seem to be under the impression that the Wii is only for casual gaming and ignore the fact that there are games coming out that aren't tailored to the casual market. In fact, Ubisoft themselves are publishing one as we speak. Furthermore, a game like Metroid Prime 3 has shown us that the Wii can deliver good graphics and an immersive experience.
We hope this isn't a sign of what kinds of games to expect from Ubisoft. We're not saying that Assassin's Creed should be released for the Wii, just that the Wii should not be dismissed as a console for casual games. Maybe Ubisoft's developers need to take notes from the company's publishers and give us the type of games that we've been clamoring for.
