Not a flattering opinion of the Wii, to say the least

[Murph]

http://www.gamestooge.com/2007/03/07/sp ... i-as-s***/

Chris Hecker, one of the developers working on Will Wright's Spore, blasted Nintnedo's console during the morning "Burning Mad - Game Publishers Rant" today. In his speech entitled "Fear of a Wii Planet", he called the Wii "a piece of sh*t". Among his gripes, he called it "severely underpowered", not just in terms of graphical capabilities, but in terms of its ability to feature any sort of good artificial intelligence. He claimed, "It's not clear to me that Nintendo gives a sh*t about games as an art form," pointing out that while Sony and Microsoft viewed video games as an art form, Nintendo was only concerned with making the Wii a toy, and that ".the way you manufacture a Wii is you take two GameCubes and duct tape." To close, he made the ultimatum: First, recognize and push games as serious art. And two, "make a console that doesn't suck ass."

[ddtrane]

http://www.gamestooge.com/2007/03/07/sp ... s-wii-as-s***/

Chris Hecker, one of the developers working on Will Wright's Spore, blasted Nintnedo's console during the morning "Burning Mad - Game Publishers Rant" today. In his speech entitled "Fear of a Wii Planet", he called the Wii "a piece of sh*t". Among his gripes, he called it "severely underpowered", not just in terms of graphical capabilities, but in terms of its ability to feature any sort of good artificial intelligence. He claimed, "It's not clear to me that Nintendo gives a sh*t about games as an art form," pointing out that while Sony and Microsoft viewed video games as an art form, Nintendo was only concerned with making the Wii a toy, and that ".the way you manufacture a Wii is you take two GameCubes and duct tape." To close, he made the ultimatum: First, recognize and push games as serious art. And two, "make a console that doesn't suck ass."

Wow!!! Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the rock.

I get the fact that he dislikes developing for it, but come on, get over it.

I wasn't too thrilled about the Wii until I saw the Tiger Woods commercial, and now realize that I must have one(unfortunately just for TW and Wii Sports).

[pigpen81]

I love the fact it is a toy. This toy has brought my family together for some super fun gaming which no other machine has ever done.

I take the Wii for what it is, a family toy.

[mobiggins]

Saying that Nintendo doesn't give a s*** about games as an art form simply based on the fact that that phrase isn't found verbatim on their website is such a dumbass childish argument. Over the years, Nintendo has consistently cranked out the highest quality first party software of any manufacturer, and has the most recogniseable and fleshed-out mascots and characters of any manufacturer. I think their new focus on expanding user interaction in videogames with the DS and now the Wii also knocks his argument down a peg. Calling video games art only and strictly based on an arbitrary definition of 'graphic power' and AI prowess is moronic. I'm certain he will be proven wrong. And just because the Cube wasn't the biggest consumer hit doesn't mean that it wasn't a good system that didn't have artful software. What a brat!

[Airdog]

Sounds like somebody lost their local "PS3 is going to kick Wii's ass" bet.

[kevinpars]

Based on what I am hearing about this conference, I would say that developers need to spend more time developing and less time yapping.

For example, I have a lot of respect for Warren Spector, but he needs to quit challenging the industry and frigging make a new game. His last few efforts were flawed and disappointing. Deal with it and quit yapping about everyone else.

And it is still pretty hard to see most games as art. Cliffy B isn't going to make me forget Hemingway or Faulkner anytime soon.

[FatPitcher]

I heard that much of Spore's core team up and left recently because the project was managed poorly.

Consoles are made for customers, not for developers. And customers don't think the Wii sucks ass, from what I can see. Sure, it's not really designed for complex games, but why have 3 consoles that all offer the same pros and cons? Good to have something different.

Also, Shiggy saying that games should all be happy lends itself to the theory that Nintendo doesn't consider games to be art. No one goes around saying that all music should be be bright and cheerful, or that all movies should be heartwarming comedies.

[pk500]

When a flat-screen display showing clips from Gears of War or Halo 3 shows up on permanent display in the Louvre, the Met or the National Museum of Art, then maybe video games will be considered art.

Until then, they're f*cking games. No more, no less.

This industry has a serious inferiority complex masked as self-importance. Every time one of these assholes screams about games as art, they're basically whining, "Why isn't my work put on a level with Scorsese, De Mille, Cezanne, Monet, Renoir and Picasso?"

Because they're games, that's why. And there's nothing wrong with that, considering millions worldwide get enjoyment out of them, including every one of us.

The game industry needs to get over itself.

Take care,
PK

[matthewk]

".the way you manufacture a Wii is you take two GameCubes and duct tape."

No, you manufacture a Wii as quickly as possible because more people are buying them than PS3s or 360s.

The comment about it not being powerful enough for AI is pretty funny, especially after reading about all the simple AI issues that developers couldn't get right in 360 & PS3 games like MLB 2k7

[wco81]

I wouldn't be surprised if there are some video game installations or exhibits. Not at the Louvre but maybe at MoMA or some other modern or contemporary art museum.

As for this guy's rant, it could be that because of the success of the Wii, they're belatedly trying to port Spore to it, which they hadn't planned to do before.

And this guy is coming up not only against the limitations of the CPU and GPU but RAM as well. Not to mention storage. So they probably have to scale back features and graphics and AI compared to the other platforms they're targeting.

But it's always been a complaint when PC developers go to consoles or port to consoles. At least the X360 and PS3 closed the gap with the PC, for now at least.

Lets see in a few years, as this generation draws to a close, whether the Wiimote lasted beyond the novelty stage. If it does, then this guy and everyone else will be scrambling to concoct new control schemes. But if the current enthusiasm becomes a distant memory, then you could say Nintendo made a strategic design mistake when it chose not to advance the performance of the console.

[Murph]

And now the guy apologizes, probably at the insistance of his employer.


http://kotaku.com/gaming/wii/spore-deve ... 242822.php

[LAking]

I wouldn't be surprised if there are some video game installations or exhibits. Not at the Louvre but maybe at MoMA or some other modern or contemporary art museum.

I read about a video game exhibit in Chicago if i remember correctly. I think they were planning on touring it around the country but i'm not sure. It was more of a historical/science exhibit but it's something. Goes to show you how far games have come.

I don't blame the guy for wanting games to be taken more seriously and for the industry to strive for greater things than just entertainment. He's wrong to put down the Wii though. It's a superb system and i don't see any reason why a developer couldn't create "art" with it. You don't need pixel pushing power or human-like AI to create art.

[FatPitcher]

I don't blame the guy for wanting games to be taken more seriously and for the industry to strive for greater things than just entertainment. He's wrong to put down the Wii though. It's a superb system and i don't see any reason why a developer couldn't create "art" with it. You don't need pixel pushing power or human-like AI to create art.

Yeah, video games are generally not created to be art, they are created to entertain and make money. They contain art, but typically taken as a whole are not art.

Interactivity in general is not a part of any mainstream art forms. However, I wouldn't say that the medium of video games can't be used to make art, just that very few video game creators approach it that way. Mainly because the audience wouldn't appreciate it anyway, and then you'd have to do something else for a living.

Also, the platform does affect your ability to realize your vision. For example, fractal art would not exist without computers.

[Danimal]

Guys there was a big video game exhibt going aroudn the country for the past two years. It was at the museum of Science and Industry here in Chicago for quite some time. Science and Industry is one of my wives accounts, sorry can't recall what it was called. I will find out.

The exhibit was huge and it basically had every game system ever made, and you could play lots of the games, see how they were made etc, etc. I usually don't go down for many of the openings, but this one was a lot of fun if it comes to your city you should chekc it out.

Ok back to your regularly scheduled Wi support group