The IGDA’s Kyoshi Shin tells the Los Angeles Times that Japanese game developers are shifting their efforts to Wii development. Um, duh? Developers make games for whatever system they think is going to make them the most money, which is why they’re supporting the Wii right now, and didn’t support the GameCube last generation.
However, the Wii is definitely a “right now” type of machine. When people talk about the graphical and technical disadvantages the Nintendo DS has in comparison to the PlayStation Portable, it’s easy to forget that Nintendo was coming off the Game Boy Advance. The DS might not match the PlayStation Portable’s power, but it was still a significant improvement for Nintendo handhelds. The Wii on the other hand is only marginally more powerful than the GameCube, which has prompted many people to suggest that the system will age much more quickly than its two major competitors.
The link below talks about how a Sony CEO believes the PS3 was designed to last a long term. Sales might be slow now, but they see it as a case of the tortoise vs. the hare – they want the PlayStation 3 to last 10 years. Why? I don’t know, maybe it’s because they put several billion dollars into its development, and they sure haven’t made that back yet. The Wii definitely won’t last 10 years, at least not as Nintendo’s primary console.
Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? I’m inclined to think that technological advancements in even just the next few years and price drops that come with them will allow Nintendo to come out with a new system in 4 or 5 years that will be far more innovative than the Wii and will visually be able to take on anything a 6th generation PS3 game can dish out, all for an affordable price.
