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Nintendo’s revolutionary Wii console has had an interesting life so far in the current generation of video gaming. From its heckled beginnings as a symbol of a great developer finally lost the plot to its realisation of motion gaming and the true dawn of family gaming. Nobody, regardless of personal opinion on the Wii, can deny it’s been an exciting few years so far. Yet anyone who is looking forward to future years of development and excitement to come should probably look away now… because while Microsoft readies its NATAL system, and Sony in turn prepares the Arc motion controller for release, Nintendo is doing… well… nothing.
The Wii is grinding to a halt and the games developers behind its success are aware of this. Sega and Capcom have spoken out recently, declining to offer the console any new IP’s aimed at mature gamers, and now Ubisoft has followed suit explaining an interest in developing for only the Playstation and Xbox consoles. As such, the number of Wii related games in production are likely to hit a huge downturn shortly. The figures have been laid out in black and white for all to see by the Game Developer Research Survey. The long and short of it shows development for the Wii to be down 12% on last year and now standing at just 30% of developers being involved in a Wii related project. In comparison to this, the 360 and PS3 have over double the developer interest, with 69% and 61% respectively. Interestingly, and for the moment at least, this is only a side note, the development of iPhone games has risen to 15%, making it a real contender in the handheld gaming market.
Is this the one solid release for the Wii in 2010?
It’s not all bad news for fans of jumping around to games aimed at helping you lose weight and look a fool all at the same time. The huge Super Mario Galaxy 2 is expected later this year, and the motion controlled games in production for Sony and Microsoft may see some minor ports onto their console, but ultimately, the beginning of the end may well be insight. Why does this interest us here at gamer syndrome? Is it our distain for all things motion related that sees is thrilled the Wii’s days may finally be numbered? Or our fanboyism towards other consoles? No. It’s neither. Honest.
What’s most interesting about the steady decline of Wii related development is that it suggests Nintendo may be concentrating on the future.
What comes next for Nintendo will be super important. After appealing to the masses with innovation, the follow up to the Wii must add stability and firepower to a console that is technically overshadowed by both its rivals. Nintendo must add HD, a strong Hard Drive, and some media capability to its console to even keep up with the current gen PS3 and Xbox360. As such, imagining the leap required from them necessary to remain a key player in the next generation is near impossible. The one thing looking certain at the moment? Nintendo are likely the first to pitch a console onto the next-gen battlefield.
What are your thoughts and feelings on the future of the Wii? Do you play it? Do you hate it? What would you like to see in Nintendo’s next console to encourage you to pick up a Wii remote? Or should Nintendo forget about a Wii2 and focus more on a handheld market it is in danger of losing grip over with the advent of the iphone and future PSP releases Sony will surely have in the pipeline.
Let us know your thoughts.
Article from Gamersyndrome.com
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Im Mike Q, or hanmike as you'll better know/come to know me.
Im 22, wildly into gaming, and looking forward to bringing you cool news and features on your favorite games consoles. And inbetween that im all up for playing a few round with y'all, so add me up on either PSN or XBL. My user, surprise surprise, is hanmike.
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I’ve never really liked the Wii, they’re most suited for Birthdays or parties.
thats kind of weird since almost everywhere I go the Wii is sold out due to the recent price cut.
The Wii seems to lack solid RPG and strategy at the moment. I’m sure it will improve though.
Maybe we’ll get another Fire Emblem? *crossed fingers*
@3 I agree with this. RPG wise the Wii needs a certain catch up, and I think that may be coming soon, via Kingdom Hearts 3. Call that a random stab in the dark.