Will Wright proclaims that "Wii is the only next-gen console"

Wii News | Also confirms Spore in development for the Nintendo console.

In an interview with UK newspaper The Guardian, Maxis head Will Wright has made his opinions about the new generation of consoles abundantly clear.

"Somebody asked me what I thought next generation meant and what about the PlayStation 3 was next generation. The only next gen system I've seen is the Wii – the PS3 and the Xbox 360 feel like better versions of the last, but pretty much the same game with incremental improvement." he explained. "But the Wii feels like a major jump – not that the graphics are more powerful, but that it hits a completely different demographic. In some sense I see the Wii as the most significant thing that's happened, at least on the console side, in quite a while."

Mr Wright also took the opportunity to confirm that his upcoming game Spore is also under development for the Wii. "We're doing Spore on the Wii, and we did MySims. It takes signifcant re-thinking to work out how you're going to do it. PS3 and Xbox 360 are similar enough that you can. So it comes down to what the interesting major platforms are and which markets we want to hit."

Spore is currently set for release in the second quarter of 2008.

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15 Comments

bradc1988

2 years ago

Quote

not that the graphics are more powerful

They are?

I see what he is saying how that the new generation is the casual gamer, they've taken a step forward with innovative hardware and a broader market but a step backwards with software.

Can't wait for Spore though! If there aren't any incentives to get this on the 360 or PC I might get it on the Wii, the controls seem pretty much perfect for it.

Spanca

2 years ago

When did video games become such a topic for philosophical discussion? They're all bloody next generation consoles, they just have different target markets. Saying that one is or isn't "truly next gen" is truly a load of crap.

SoxyRob

2 years ago

Does this mean that the 360 and ps3 aren't next gen??

I've got a wii. so why do I keep spending all my money on slightly better improved games instead of buying them on the next gen wii??

I don't really care about casual gamers. I don't like the Wii.... yet. I'm loving the games of xbox and the ps3.... So maybe what I like about the "next gen" consoles isn't the same as the "casual" gamers. It doesn't mean that the Wii is the only next gen console.

Since when did targeting a different demographic make a console next gen?

Jellyfish

2 years ago

But hang on, the SNES was only a better version of the NES, the Playstation 2 is only a better version of the Playstation. Will Wright makes some awesome games but when it comes to consoles he's got no brains.

Passa

2 years ago

I don't understand how someone from a PC background like Will Wright can call the PS3 and Xbox 360 only slight upgrades?! PCs have had keyboards and mouses since Windows 3.1 became huge, yet I'm sure he wouldn't dare say that today's PCs are only slight upgrades of the PCs we had back in the early 1990s.

imagremlin

2 years ago

Then the Wii is also ahead of the PCs as well, which are never anything else than an incremental improvement.

IISpacebreakII

2 years ago

I dont know, Im starting to think that he is referring to HD here, but either way his not really one to talk. Ofcourse the creator of casual simple stuff such as sims will find other consoles obsolete.

However though, I don't get why everyone hates the PS3, I like the games Ive got.

armageddon12

2 years ago

PS3 is much the same as the 360 was after it had launched, there was a long drought of absolutely nothing worth playing except XBLA titles, PS3 is still in that drought imo (and is even suffering a drought of downloadable content). In fact so is the Wii.

I think that's what makes next gen consoles, a huge drought until 1 game hits, purchaser's decision is buoyed by the drip feed of downloadable content until that time. Downloadable content is this gen's new feature - all 3 consoles have it, and didn't before (except in limited scope, as with the BS Satellite and Xbox Live).

I disagree that the Wii is next gen, or rather the only next gen console. It has introduced a wider variety of people to games, in much the same way as the NES + GameBoy had a similar effect. For that reason you could claim it to be some sort of new gen, or claim previous increments that failed to attract a broader audience as inferior generations thus creating a new hierarchy of generations (i.e. 8 bit, 32/64 bit, Wii-bit). I'm opposed to such a narrow view of generations and believe the incremental improvements are generations, even though they can be viewed as slighter than a previous generation.

Regardless HD is worthy of a generation of it's own, the increase in visual fidelity is outstanding when viewed on a ludicrously big screen (that's HD enabled). For the rest of us, there's no truly distinguishable difference between this gen and last gen. This is probably where Will Wright is coming from, while not strictly true, I dare say that's how most casual players would discern the difference, and thus why Will Wright would suggest such a motion.

Windburn

2 years ago

Spanca wrote

He does actually make a few decent points about the evolution of society in relation to games, and how games and education can come together. In that respect, I think the philosophical discussion was pretty fresh. But yeah, his comments on the next-gen consoles just totally derailed his credibility- it's pretty obvious he's only pushing it as a selling point for Spore.

Embracing visual technology is a major factor in the journey for development progress (in that visuals are one of the most effective means of immersion). The Wii is a bit of a popular diversion in that respect, in that it focused solely on user-interaction (which is another important part). But Nintendo will have to make the graphics technology leap too at some stage, just as the other two will have to try harder beyond sheer graphics power next time to captivate audiences.

Aside; is Spore even coming to x360 and PS3? His response to that was unintelligible.

DancesInUnderwear

2 years ago

Spanca wrote

Spot on... though actually they're current gen. All 3 of them. And the two handhelds.

Its not really that hard.

Dracusis

2 years ago

I don't care what he thinks of consoles, quit giving interviews and finish Spore already!

Lazy bastard.

NegativeZero

2 years ago

Will Wright has said in a lot of places that he considers video games to be toys, so a comment like this doesn't surprise me at all.

I'd have loved to have played spore before he decided to dumb it all down and rip out the complexity.

InvivnI

2 years ago

NegativeZero wrote

I'd have loved to have played spore before he decided to dumb it all down and rip out the complexity.

What? When did he decide to do this? So far I've heard the basic structure of the game has remained pretty much the same since its first showing at E3 in 2005.

NegativeZero

2 years ago

Read some of the recent news around it. They've pulled the teeth out of every phase of the game to make it 'accessible' to people who found the Sims too complicated.

Skiller

2 years ago

Wii is only next gen console said by the brains behind spore? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I bet the developers of spore are constantly telling him that features from the Wii version spore are needed to be dropped and it'll be the worst platform for the game. Spore will push the Wii way too hard if it's going to be using all the procedural stuff, best case scenario is that it'll all just be pre-processed on the Wii otherwise I have NFI how they'll get it done.

NegativeZero wrote

Read some of the recent news around it. They've pulled the teeth out of every phase of the game to make it 'accessible' to people who found the Sims too complicated.

WTF!? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo!!!!
*crosses spore off list of games to look out for*

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