SEGA exec: Wii will be dated in few years
Friday, June 15th, 2007 at 9:56am by Jack
If the news about sales numbers seem to be getting a little stale, then so too are the stream of executives and analysts who continue to hark on the Wii for having inferior graphics and hardware.
Sega’s Scott Steinberg, vice president of marketing for SEGA US, is the latest guy to “just not get it”:
Steinberg, vice president of marketing for SEGA US, has said he is “concerned” about the future of the Wii - suggesting that PS3 is more likely to be the market leader in this console cycle. “I am a little concerned about the creative depth of the Wii pool,” he told Reuters. “I’m not sure if they will top out in 2008 or 2007.”
For now, we’ll conveniently forget that some of Sega’s own IP has already topped out (ahem *Sonic* cough cough). Instead, I once again have to reiterate the most obvious point about the Wii: it’s not a hardware powerhouse; it was never marketed as such; and to say silly little things like this is both indicative of an industry that has still not come to grips with the disruptive strategy behind the Wii and another exec who has been so confused by the Wii’s current success that he has digressed into making a apples to oranges comparisons. And since when is “creative depth” tied to graphics and horsepower?! WTF?!
Newsflash: The Wii already looks dated! This would certainly be an issue if Iwata got up on that stage two years ago and said “Nintendo is entering the next generation full steam ahead. We will deliver a superior graphics chipset and a true HD gaming experience.” But…. he didn’. Not even close.
The Wii’s success or failure will be based on the merits of its software; on game play and fresh ideas. Attempting to group it in with these hardware behemoths like the PS3 and Xbox is like comparing an airplane to a blender. Sega, apparently, is still trying to figure that out.
June 15th, 2007 at 10:22 am
At first I thought the complaints/concerns were valid (and in some ways they still are), however now it’s starting to come across as these analysts and executives are begging for the Wii to fail. With Sega, I’m not really sure why he would say that since they work with Nintendo. Sony and Microsoft I can see.
I just don’t see the big surprise though…the Game Boy was by far the biggest handheld that beat out graphically superior handhelds and the DS is kicking the crap out of the PSP, which is graphically superior. Nintendo has merely brought that mindset to the consoles and is winning big. And the PS3 will never win anything at that price. It just won’t happen.
June 15th, 2007 at 10:33 am
When it comes to hardware, Sega should keep their mouths shut.
June 15th, 2007 at 10:42 am
The Gamecube has been around for years and is still doing very well. However, the Wii and Gamecube are completely different in that Wii has games that are entriely new to people. Games that everyone can really have fun with. Also, it can play those “normal” games. I just think these companies are acting under the moment but they can be laughing at Nintendo all the way to the bank.
June 15th, 2007 at 11:00 am
As I’ve been saying for a while now, Sega are the single most routinely dumb company in the industry. Jet set radio for Xbox and not GC? Myst for PSP and not DS? Sonic for all systems except Nintendo? There are a lot more but I’m having brain block at the moment. Either way, the point is Sega routinely favor PSP over DS and apparently PS3 over Wii, even in the face of absolute logic. Worryingly it seems to be a growing trend in the industry, what with SCIII and SCIV not seeing Nintendo systems (their biggest audience), Katamari, original Resident Evil content, Okami, Time Crisis… whatever.
As for reffering to the long term success of the platforms, I’d put this to all those 3rd parties spouting the same tired retarded longevity argument:
IF WII IS SUCCESSFUL NOW BUT GONNA TAIL OFF IN THE FUTURE, WHY IN THE FUCK AREN”T YOU GIVING IT TOTAL SUPPORT NOW WHILE THE OPPORTUNITY”S THERE???????
As for reffering to the depth, I’d say that sticking with the same control mechanic for 15 YEARS STRAIGHT would be significantly more prohibitive to creative game design than being able to handle 10,000,000 polygons VS 300,000
June 15th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
This sentiment can be made only if the games that are coming out in the next few months/years don’t really innovate the gaming industry. If all your gonna see is games we’ve seen before, then yeah, I’m sure another console will dominate at some point, as they have the upper hand in graphics. But, that is not Nintendo’s goal. At some point there is going to be this amazingly innovative game that just knocks our socks off. Wii Sports 2 may be that game. Once that comes out (or some other game like another Nintendogs), people are going to go ape-shit. They won’t care about the graphics. It will become the talk of the industry, and graphical prowess on the Wii will all be forgotten. We basically just have to wait until that one game that nearly defines a generation is released.
The thing that interested me was Michal Pachter’s response to this. He predicted a Wii 2 to come out, with full HD graphics, to sedate the harsh criticisms that are coming from companies that don’t know what to do with the Wii’s newfound “non-gamer marketshare”. I don’t believe that will ever, but how effing popular would the Wii be if it had the innovation and the graphics at the same time? All the games that are made for 360 or PS3 exclusively would find their way to the Wii, and we would still have games like Wii Sports and Elebits as well. It would be the best of both worlds. Interesting idea to think about.
June 15th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
What elmer said…
I’m surprised by Steinberg’s comments given that consistently, throughout every console and handheld generation, it has been the weaker hardware that has sold the most units and became the most popular… Let’s not forget that used to by Sony’s strategy: the original PlayStation and the PS2 were both had the weakest processing power under the hood!
Could it be that, contraty to what Steinberg is assuming, a stronger and more complex hardware stiffles creativity by default? Of course, as far as creativity and originality is concerned, Wii still has some ways to go, but DS and PS2 proves Steinberg’s comment is dead wrong…
June 15th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Like everyone else I’m also baffled by this statement.
Btw, what happened to that uber-hardcore VF5 game Sega? Sold in the mid tens-of-thousands before dropping off the charts.
I really think, by-and-large, hardcore games have had their day - particularly in Japan.
June 15th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
“I don’t believe that will ever, but how effing popular would the Wii be if it had the innovation and the graphics at the same time?”
Crono, I understand where you’re coming from, but I’d argue that the answer to that question would be “not as much as it is now.” With those upgrades comes an upgrade in price, development costs, and usability (from a non-traditional gamer’s perspective anyway). Each of those would have an effect on the popularity of the console.
Here’s my wild prediction: The Wii 2.0, whenever that may be, will be like the current Wii — absolutely unimaginable to us today.
June 15th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
“With those upgrades comes an upgrade in price, development costs, and usability (from a non-traditional gamer’s perspective anyway).”
Oh definitely, I totally agree. It’s easy for me to say how cool it would be, but it becomes a much larger problem when trying to determine the things you just specified. If Nintendo could somehow keep all the problems you stated to a minimum, like what they’re currently doing with the Wii, then it would be a smart idea to upgrade, but I can’t imagine it would be that easy.
June 15th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
As a Wii owner who has only played Zelda and Super Paper Mario I’m at least slightly worried he’s right. It won’t affect me too much because it’s my second system and I’ll no doubt have plenty of first party Nintendo titles to play, but the long term future of the Wii is far from clear.
@InvisibleMan
You’re jumping to invalid conclusions IMO. The PS1 and PS2 were slightly less powerful systems, while the Wii is comparatively puny compared to the Xbox 360 and PS3. Also, unlike the PS2 versus Xbox/NGC the Wii didn’t get a year head start. Not saying the Wii won’t end this gen as the winner, you’re just ignoring too many factors when you say the least powerful system won the last two generations.
June 15th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
going to input my thoughts i have had for a long time.
i predict that to keep development costs and price down, in 3 years nintendo will unveil the HD wii, in 4 years(sticking with a 5 year cycle) they will launch the wii HD.
they will make it top at 720p (that sounds small compared to 1080p, but until this year, and even this year, 720p TVs have dominated HD sales, and while 1080p prices are coming down, i see 720p still being rather dominant in 4 years. also upscaling to 1080p wont be too bad, nor will downscaling be. its about balance in power vs price in hardware and development either way)
i suspect with ram prices dropping so fast they will put in 4 times the ram at least, and 4gb flash drive, maybe 8 depending on its price at that time, probably will go with whatever they can get for $10-20. cpu is tough, but maybe dual core ppc 1.5-2ghz.
yes, these specs would still look mediocre compared to the other consols futures.
but it would give people HD. $250 price tag, ps1, dreamcast, and all CD based games before them added to VC. Unique controller.
and something to remember that allows nintendo to compete with others so well, what made the gamecube so competitive with the xbox. there cpu is more specialised then the others. sony is using a cell that is also meant for TVs and other nongaming devices, its a general purpose cpu. nintendo only has in their cpus what is useful for gaming, and its focused on just that fully.
they use t-1 sram, much better then gddr3 or dd2 which the others use. though they are also using gddr3 in combination with t-1 for the best of high performance while keeping price down using the cheaper gddr3 for extra. they also have more hardwaree experience for creating better balance, which the wii has a big advantage over the gamecube with. they looked at the bottlenecks of the gamecube and fixed them.
wii 2 will be a more solid hardware platform then the competitors allowing them to do more with the same numbers then you would get from the others.
in the end nintendo system based games will still not look as good as the competition but it will again look good enough, will push art direction over realism which honestly is what i like. and will still have nintendos unique controller, however it looks. and nobody makes controllers like nintendo does. i have prefered them all over any competitions.
i dont think nintendo will rush into it like some think, they will be able to ride the wii all the way to the proper launch time.
June 15th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
brian, to address your concerned. in fact, if you input the fact that the wii looks even more inferior to the other 2 current gen systems then the ps2 did to gamecube/xbox, then the future looks even brighter for wii. you prove the point that your also ignoring factors that make the future quite clear.
right now you can go to wal-mart, target, gamestop/eb, etc… and see the big graphical difference between the ps3/360 and the wii, yet what are people buying? what are people right now playing on movie theatre screens? the wii right now is standing up to HD systems, even with HD owners, and its kicking their butt. the other systems graphics wont get so much better in the future that the worlds players will have an apiphany and see the light and think they are wasting their time with the wii. DVDs will still be sold in 5 years, LQ/MQ videos will still be watched on the internet, retro games will still be played, and peoples eyes will still be the same as always, their view of fun will still be the same. SD TVs will still be dominant. and the wii will still have gorgeous games that the average gamer, just like today that play ps2 over 360, will enjoy without HD.
and even if you think the other systems dropping price will help. the 360 has a chace of getting under $200 in 4 years. but by then the momentum for the wii will be too great. it needs to get their in 2 years, we will see what happens. second, the 360 game library is not diverse enough. its so small and growing so slowly compared to the wii that the wii will the the system to reach the most people through variety and amount of games alone. even now the amount of wii exclusives is outnumbering ps3 by far, and catching up to 360 fairly fast. the diversity in games coming to the wii are going to pull in players the 360 just camt handle.
the fps will come to the wii and once people get used to wii shooting, HD will mean so much only to a part of the shooter base. my roommates and their friends all play with low to medium graphics, and in the case of quake 3/4 with bland character maps to make the characters easier to see. graphics dont matter to all shooter fans, the action does. sports titles on wii will maybe always have the choice of control styles making wii sports games the definitive version, because their is no greater feeling then feeling more a part of the game acting out the play not just in your mind, but physically. unless you just want to sit down and relax, where you can go button pressing. you will have online support too.
you think of a reason besides graphics that the wii will fail and maybe you have something.
and it wont be online that defeats it. ps2 numbers show online doesnt matter to the majority, slow 360 sales show online doesnt matter to the majority. 360 online membership not being even 80% on a system focused on online more then anything shows online doesnt matter to the majority. in fact we dont even know how much of that 360 60% online activity is gold membership. and nintendo will have online, whether you like its implimentation or now. mario strikers activity for the last few weeks has shown that nintendos online is satisfactory to people, enough so that it is selling plenty of games, and getting satisfactory use. hasnt slowed them down or sped up the competition at all.
June 15th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
The reality is Sega is lagging behind western creators like Ubisoft & EA making money. They seem to put all their efforts behind Virtua Fighter as their money machine after blowing every franchise ip they had,, they have nowhere to run but hide inside the next-gen exclusive deals, with are very important for Microsoft right now. Sega used to be a mayor gaming force but have slowly turned into a hole in the video games’ pocket. I don’t want to say it but it’s looking more like Atari than Nintendo, and predictions say how badly the Sonic & Mario game will be, one of their big budget titles. And these guys are the creators of 50+ historic games, and barely make one above a 7.0 anymore.
June 15th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
You know what ?
If Nintendo DOES continue to focus mostly on Mini-games and Mii’s the Wii WILL become boring and feel outdated in the next say, year or so.
Of course Nintendo needs to please the casual gamers with mini games, but they need to also not forget to be innovative and hardware pushing ina decent amount of hardcore games at the same time. The apparent death of Project H.A.M.M.E.R. so that they can make more mini games is a bad move in a dangerous direction. Lets hope Nintendo sees that and Day of Crisis is not canned as well.
Nintendo and the Wii need BOTH the mini games for the casual market AND innovative hardcore system pushing games in order to keep things going as well as it is now for them.The Wii is a super console.
I just hope it stays that way.
June 15th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
I dunno , but whats the future some talk about ? what is it ? 6,7 or 10 years ? they should think about the moment , the moment would lead you into the future or by looking at present you will have an idea of what the future may look like.
I dont buy a console to play games later in the future I play for what is now ..
But anyways it comes from Sega what else you expect ….poor Hegde Hog.. he seen better days.
If can predict the future I would be a millionare..
June 15th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
BlockSS is right, they are making a lot of mini games and I don’t like that. But Nintendo is no fool, they are making a few great hardcore games and getting some hardcore games from third parties. The unveiling of manhunt 2 will be great for the hardcore market of Nintendo, the politics will hunt it and Nintendo will be in the news once more. Later No More Heroes is promising to be even more goreish and looks fun.
Nintendo is promising us MP3 to be a PERFECT game, for multiplayer and story modes. And maybe PERFECT for Nintendo would be like at the level of HALO 2 or 3.
And they have been developing SMBB for a long time too so it will be a great game for sure (given the history of SMBM and SMB)
Every Hardocre game Nintendo is making seems pretty good, they are taking their own sweet time.
I believe they have all the Wii posibilities planed for the next 5 years. I knew that with the controller, wich was on the news and the “stupid name” the Wii. They know how tu disrupt the market and make something good come of all of that
June 15th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
What this guy said actually makes me think he hasn’t been in the industry very long. I’m sure he has been, but something has put blinders on him for some reason.
First, from a sales perspective, it’s the RULE, not the exception, that technically inferior systems beat out their closest competition. The Atari beat the Intellivision. The Colecovision beat the Atari 5200. The NES beat the SMS. The PS1 beat the N64. The PS2 beat the Xbox. Only once in the last 30 years has a machine with a technical edge come out on top, and it was the SNES, which took almost 3 years to take the lead from Sega.
Second, from a creativity perspective, the PS2 had some of its most interesting and creative games show up in the year before the PS3’s release, the most obvious being Okami. Yes, some people think of it as a Zelda ripoff, but just look at it for christ’s sake. And that was with the same basic controller design that the NES had already had 20 years earlier. This phenomenon also goes back to previous generations…. Ocarina of Time came out 3 years into the N64’s life, Donkey Kong Country 4 years into the SNES’s life, etc. all the way back to the Atari again.
Of course there’s a deep pool of…. something…. in the PS3. Every console has potential. But for every gimmicky collection of mini-games on the Wii so far, there’s a PS3 title that looks prettier than a movie and plays worse than “E.T.” on the Atari 2600. And with the Wii outselling the PS3 by 400%, it may just be that developers spend more money, and therefore time, on getting their Wii releases right.
Maybe Sega of America won’t. Their loss.
June 16th, 2007 at 5:14 am
“You’re jumping to invalid conclusions IMO. The PS1 and PS2 were slightly less powerful systems, while the Wii is comparatively puny compared to the Xbox 360 and PS3.”
Agreed - but compare the black-and-white, non-lighted original Gameboy to its bright-screened, full-color rival the Sega Game Gear. Yest the Gameboy won hands-down.
June 16th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
I missed the “comparatively puny” bit, and I think it needs correcting.
The PS1 was about a quarter the speed of the N64. The PS2 was about a third the speed of the Xbox. They were actually further behind their competition than Nintendo was with the NES (half the speed of the SMS) or Atari was with the 2600 (about the same clock speed as the Intellivision, but the Intellivision was actually the first 16-bit console.)
The Wii has about a quarter to a third the speed of the 360, though it’s harder to measure now due to things like multiple cores and GPUs than it was in previous generations. I’m sure it’s slower relative to its competition than the PS2 was, but it’s probably in line with the PS1.
In other words, while Sony was busy trying to build the most powerful machine ever sold (and who told them anyone had ever succeeded in the market with an expensive, brute-force machine, anyway?), Nintendo stole their old playbook.
June 16th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
I dont like put systems down, cus I might buy a ps3, but when a ps3 owner says, “wait till this game comes out you’ll see”, so far they have seen games come and go , Resistance: Fall of Man, MotorStorm, Virtua Fighter 5, Armored Core 4, Ridge Racer 7, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Fight Night Round 3, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom, ..just to mention a few ,these are pretty bad ass games there, So the question is how much longer do we have to hear the same thing …(WAIT UNTILL) we waited for so game and what happend? they all have beautiful cinematic graphics and vibrant characters.. and?
Now they haven to find at what to pick on the Wii , its the new say, “soon the Wii gets out dated”..
A high-end pc gets out dated within 2 years more or less, so whats the sweat?
June 17th, 2007 at 3:27 am
I think we’re getting away from the point everyone else has been missing. Nintendo disrupted the market. They changed the rules of the game that had previously stated the biggest innovation is graphics. They said ‘no, it’s the input that drives new games, and we’ll prove it!’.
Now, people have caught the bug, the fascination for this new experience. People who I never thought would want to do anything videogame related are starting to pick up and play Wii, and even more so the DS. It’s that spark point, the point where a phenomenon is created. Some will thrash it, say it’s a fad, others, such as Ubisoft, will jump on board, and others will wait in the wind, watching what happens. And what I think we’ve seen is nintendo was right, graphics don’t matter, it’s about gameplay and input.
What will Nintendo do as far as Wii 2.0? Whatever the hell they want to do. What do I predict will happen? I say they’ll make a slightly revised Wii, but no HD, no improved graphics. To think otherwise is no less than delusional. The next console will, however, have HD, it will be more powerful than the PS3, and it will have a refined control setup. But most important, the price of admission won’t be much different, I’d say around $300, if not less. At the same time the Xbox 720 will come out with a new control system, similar to Wii but Microsoftey. The PS4 was slated for a 2015 release, as the PS3 is suppose to be on a ten year cycle, however Sony may ditch this idea, or at least rip off the Wiimote with a new periferal.
As for now, I think it’s a matter of time before developers realise that this thing, this ‘Wii’ isn’t going away, it isn’t changing, and more games will come. We’ve seen a lot of promissing games announced, Super Mario Galaxy, NiGHTS 2, heck I’m excited for Harry Potter. The wand control with the Wiimote looks amazing. And with succesfull games, and even lots of bad exclusive games, come more games. We’ve just scratched the surface of imagination.