Let's see,
Wii is nearly twice the power of the Gamecube, correct?
Gamecube is $100
Therefore, the natural MSRP of Wii should be $200, but it comes with a free game, and they need to make a profit so it bumps up to $200. How is that overpriced?
Wii has an awesome controller. I can play old-school stuff, with the modern games like Zelda, along with intuitive things like Wario Ware. Yet, in your logic, it sucks. Awesome PS3/360 games? Yeah. Ok. I'll have to pay $59.99 USD + a $600 console to play something that will likely last me a few hours, before there's another game to hype. You're missing all the software new to come out, like Super Paper Mario, Sonic, Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros., Metroid, Mario Party, Strikers, Batalliion Wars, Manhunt 2, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, along with a buttload of third party titles. Don't trash a console just because you don't like it. I have a Wii and a 360, and I'm well on my way to buying a PS3. Don't be a dumbass fanboy, be happy, buy your consoles, and enjoy video games. Now stfu =)

jjmusicman29

jjmusicman29

OH I'm hurt by that comment ;_____; But than I remembered that people who insult other people are just insecure about there own self esteem. Or they just got molested as a child.

@blacksamurai87:

Miyamoto is a guy who should be honored for the past. Iwata PISH I could care less.

Sailorcancer

I hope you don't own a PS3, or you're a super idiot.

Americana

Give it to me then.
My cousin's been looking for one.

John Lucas

johnlucas

Chris Hecker ain't even bubblegum on Miyamoto's left shoe.
A nothing, a nobody, a peon to The Rock.

John Lucas

johnlucas

luminus

Acute Gamer

"Wow Tons of Microsoft and sony fanboys who cal the wii all sorts of bad names and dont even have a single thing to back this name calling up."
Which you then proceed to follow by making threads of 'Well you just wait when x comes out in an indeterminate time, then you'll be sorry' arguements. Seriously, I mean, they're not backing their arguements up well, I'll give you that, but then you do the same thing and somehow we're supposed to believe you over them?

Well then, everyone has to believe everything I say. You just wait, I'm going to be God of this puny world, then you'll see.

K-OSS

i had a longer rebuttal but decided that dumbfoundedness comes off better for such a statement.

noneother

Let console gamers have those second rate franchises.

As for this speech, it's funny how EA cracked down on this, but even funnier how people are claiming this guy should have stuck to your guns.

He obviously believes the Wii sucks (as do many people) but EA wanted to make sure no one confused his words with the sentiments of EA, who clearly wants to crank out as much garbage for the gimmick machine as they can before folks realize the control scheme will never be responsive and the graphics will look good.

Nintendo fanboys are rad. They deserve the two Gamecubes duct taped together that they got.

fall

what i don't understand is why this can't equate to an "art form," as far as just not having the graphics there. if it was purely visuals, i'm sure you can achieve some amazing things with the current hardware in a Wii, with titles like Mario Galaxy looking amazing, and God of War II an example of older tech being used to it's full advantage.

i wish he had tried to come off more as a proponent for the system than a critic, venting frustration that "developers want to work with the system" rather than avoiding it because of weaker hardware.

noneother

I hate to stray from the topic since this is mainly a console discussion. Nevertheless, I find your comment quite comical as you act like PC is the end all of platforms yet it barely has a good variety of games. I shake my head at PC because most of the time PC will never get great console games (unless its on XBOX) but consoles will get most of the time great PC games.

Metal Gear Solid series - Probably no longer ever going back to going PC since 3 never did.

God of War series - Not coming to PC

SOCOM series - not coming to PC

Mario series - not coming to PC

Zelda series - not coming to PC

Metroid series - not coming to PC

Jak series - not coming to PC

Final Fantasy series - The single player games are no longer coming to PC

Kingdom Hearts series - not coming to PC

Gran Turismo series - not coming to PC

Dragon Quest series - not coming to PC

Forza series - more than likely not coming to PC

Pokemon series - not coming to PC

That list is just scratching the surface...

DigitalHero

Smiteswift

i give him credit for at least trying to apologize even though it probably wasn't sincere...

entisp

Spare_Change

EA pledged support to the Wii (I believe..). Now that this loose cannon-mouth has shot itself off, their company has lost face. The company quickly reigned in the problem, and the man has elected to apologize, rather than be fired and apologized for.

The man is entitled to his opinion and feelings, but insulting a system your game is coming out for is not a good way to drum up sales for that game (on that system.) Not with me anyway. I think this applies to Nintendo fans in general, as well.

PTTSeven

Bicro

mandarin

Maybe it's just the Nintendo fanboy in me, but I'm all about the Wii. Have you had a chance to play the VC games? And think about what's coming out for the summer and fall for this system... We're going to see a lot more than "shit" games in the near future.

blacksamurai87

Infradead

After yesterday's uninspiring Nintendo presentation, and no sign of the lack of games letting up anytime soon (Paper Mario! Yeah, great, one game), I'm starting to agree with him.

KaneRobot

@yetanotheruninspired...

I agree 100%. I know a group of guys that are all swinging on MS's nipples right now because of the graphic quality of the 360. They're pissed because they can't understand why I never had the desire to buy one and wasn't going to support the next (now current) gen. "look at the graphics on 360" is all they shout about. To me, the graphics of the PS3 and the 360 are good, but not good enough for me to lose my mind over. The most impressive game I've seen in recent weeks is God of War 2 and that's because of the art direction and the gameplay. Graphically, it's one of the best games on PS2 and as a overall presentation, it destroys a large number of games in the "better hardware, next gen" circle. Ask these same MS fanboys about God of War 2 and they have no comments about it. The trained eye can see and understand what it would take to make that collossus battle work...or truly appreciate the real time generated scene with the desert Titan in the first God of War.

PCs have been pumping out great graphics for well over a decade. We've seen developers push inferior hardware to do amazing things for generations. God of War2 is added to a long list of these "above and beyond" games...on PS2, not PS3, not 360....PS2. The masses are too easily swayed by more polygons on screen and more shaders and too quick to ignore a game that may not have the flavor or the month in tech (Unreal 3 Engine) but is an absolute blast to play. That's why many PC gamers just shake their heads at console gamers. One of the 360 fanboys I know goes on and on about FPS games on 360. One day I asked him did he ever play Unreal Tournament 2004. When he said no, I just shook my head. He stood there with an idiot expression on his face...total lack of understanding.

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

the fact that he was forced to apologize was kind of funny.

dcartist

Josh*

Kadugen

Custom Reality

Blakkheim

"I also hate Reggie, the guy is such a jackass. He tries to look all kick ass when all in all he's a pansy. I could take him on in any game or anything in life and make him eat his words."

I may be confused with your gender, but one thing is for sure.. your a fucking loser. Only a loser would post on a gaming site, and comment about a game company's NA Prez's looks, and whether or not you could "take him on in any game or anything in life". Look at the size of him, he could probably strangle your scrawny little neck with his dick.

Oh and by the way, I am a Nintendo FAN but not a fanboy. So many people use that term its fucking sickening. I havn't rushed to buy a system or game since the SNES, and was dissapointed with the gamecube so I'm going to wait at least another year until I buy anything. Either a Wii or 360, but not both because although I'm on the internet a lot, I do have a regular job and a girl. Basically a normal life that doesn't revolve around gaming. And the only thing sony in my apartment is my TV cause it was on sale. Read "The Console Death Spiral" on the inquirer. Sony is not what it use to be, and so far it seems like Nintendo is getting back to it's roots in a new way.

Blakkheim

cakeordeath

We know what he really thinks. An apology is always a graceful thing to make, but in this case, it was an obvious cop-out. If you're going to say something so extreme, you have to have an extreme apology if you hope to counteract it. He didn't even come close.

Oh well, sucks for him. He didn't offend ME one bit. :) It's just too bad a close-minded person has to be working on something as open-ended as Spore.

DaveKap

If you ever heard Chris talk or have talked to him personally, you would know that he litterally says things as though they are the accepted facts. His comments about the Wii etc. etc. were not thought of by anyone at the conference, to be tongue in cheek in the slightest and his tone wasn't giving that impression either. He also came across as the statements being an accepted view of Maxis and made no moves to deny or clarify this.

It's one thing for an independent or Fanboy to trash things for no reason. It is quite another for an industry insider to trash a console, company and represent this as fact until caught out! I doubt Chris has worked on the Wii in any way shape or form.

penhalion

Oops, I ranted, I now apologize to those I offended.

spookytooth

questworld

stuflustr

questworld

jayen

Frankly, the idea of making a speech about how you hate *any* console at a developers conference is pretty dumb. I mean the guy is working on Spore and I can read fanboy rants anywhere.

itcomesinwaves

What does the PS3 have to do with this? I never mentioned it in my statement.

DigitalHero

mkay.

I also hate Reggie, the guy is such a jackass. He tries to look all kick ass when all in all he's a pansy. I could take him on in any game or anything in life and make him eat his words. Though I have to say that I don't need to show off myself by dating someone 20 years younger than I.

Iwata... OH Iwata... He killed the Gamecube. Nuff said

@scepia:

MMM Phil Harrison... He makes me all puffy down there! DAMN talk about pounding the veal home on that one!

OH what can I say! If I ever saw Phil Harrison there would be a restraining order on me faster than Reggie acting like a dumb ass.

Sailorcancer

I might not have agreed with everything you said in your original rant, but you did raise some legitimate points and the only real responsibility you should've taken for your words was to stand by them. How you went about your comments isn't an issue considering the specific GDC session in which you participated.

By compromising the intensity of your opinions, you have lost my respect and become less of a man.

Dickless.

Ivan M.

Deep down inside he really does think it's a piece of shit.

Come on man, tell us the truth! do you like it or not?

Ixero

Dhighness

I don't get this mind blowing graphics mentality. Surely the past three console generations should have beat this dead horse enough.

There is nothing mindblowing about seeing sweat or any of the other garbage. For all this elitist talk about graphics the characters and environments still look like some poopstain with it's brown overtones bleeding into everything or it looks like some shiny reflective surface with the people being made of plastic.

I saw better graphics ten years ago on cgi computers and that was only impressive due to the time. Video game graphics aren't impressive if you are versed in the art or have a good memory.

AI depends more on programming then raw power. You have games five years old that still beat out anything produced today and that is because those dev teams back then did a fantastic job with the limited hardware they had.

Whenever some dev talks about how more power equals better AI I know that the dev is just speaking out of their butt.

Yetanotheruninspiredscreename

humilitybecomeshim

dev: It's a piece of shit!
*SMACK*
dev: It's a wonderful piece of hardware!

Lyme

The stupid part is that it's clear he didn't mean even the first part--he said it was just to provoke people. In reality it was just so he could get more attention. Good for him for setting things straight today and being a grown up.

flyingtaco

With the Wii being underpowered, it will hopefully force developers to think of other ways to impress gamers other than with mind blowing graphics. Hopefully it will spur a revolution (pun intended) in the game industry that will increase the overall quality of the games, not just for the Wii but for all other systems.

Personally, I own a Wii and I currently use it to play gamecube games that I bought for cheap until some good ones for the Wii come out. Before then I strictly played games on the PC.

danjo1

First off, Go tell me the graphics on mario galaxy are bad,

WThird obviosuly sony and microsoft fanboys are not in the majority otherwise the wii would not be sold out like it is right now.

I can't wait till ssbb comes out and all these people who are bashing the wii change there minds.

Al lot of people are insecure about there console purchase that a $250 dollar console ahs a fighting chance of being number one.

Why else would the be calling the wii these curses and calling it bad hardware.

I bet if nintendo went third party these same people who are bashing nitnendo would all of a sudden become nitnendo lovers.

majortom1981

Admittedly GDC's transformation has been a gradual trend over the past couple of years as more of the gaming press started to take note of it and the conference got bigger, but I think this year in particular it has taken a sharp turn as most people in the industry have moved on to treating it more like a substitute for E3. The high ticket prices are no longer enough to dissuade those not subsidized by their companies from attending. Maybe they should make it 'invite only'. Oh wait, that's the new E3. It would be pretty funny if the two events sort of wound up swapping positions.

Not to say the press doesn't have a place there, but GDC wasn't originally designed to be a press event. A lot of the more minor speakers probably don't even consider the possibility that their speeches could wind up on the internet within an hour. Though I bet after the stir Hecker caused, a lot more of them will be watching their words and staying away from the controversial topics.

It's not a big issue now, but it's a sort of troubling trend. The games industry needs a private event without the press (or just limit their presence to one day of the conference, maybe) so that they can get on with business, rather than having to worry about public reaction or their PR team breathing down their necks every time they participate in a panel or give a masterclass. That's just my opinion, of course. Have Tokyo Game Show fill E3's shoes. Please leave GDC the way it was, and then (idiots) like Hecker can express their opinions and ideas without worrying about the repercussions.

ParanoidIndividual

Actually, my Wii is collecting dust, while I actually use my PS3. Resistance, Virtua Fighter 5, Motorstorm, F1 Forumla one (online F1, hells yea), Tekken Dark Ressurection, Flow.... and some goodies coming up. 360 has a bigger line up, but really out of all 3 consoles, the Wii is really looking pathetic.

I'm sorry but I never regretted anything more than rushing out to get a Wii.

Kyle81

EnigmaNemesis

sweetie55

p_hon

CalcioFool

n00b f. nation

pandaman1982

lwelyk

pengie

even if you're a nintendo fanboy, you have to admit that the wii IS basically an overclocked gamecube with a motion controller. i think at this point, that much is pretty undeniable. my girlfriend owns a wii which i got for her. i think i was more excited than she was when we got it. but it's not living up to the hype that it's garnered in my opinion... but nothing's perfect. i could somewhat agree with everything he said, save for the games as art thing. you don't HAVE to have the latest and greatest hardware to tell an artful story. also, i think the wii's overpriced for the hardware you're getting.

like it or not, these opinions each hold some validity. it's stupid to dismiss them without at least considering their merit.

oh, and it's fucked up that they made him apologize.

coin_operated_boy

n00b f. nation

He should've gone further in his original statement and given the pathetic Nintendo fanboy army a good roasting -- at least give them something bigger to cry about before they deface his Wikipedia article, flood his email box, etc.

n00b f. nation

Virgil Tibbs

MGS4, FFXIII, RE5? They aren't coming out until 2008 at the earliest. I see the Wii's selection of games as superior to the PS3 atm imo.

moonfirelol

moonfirelol

RiceBandit

Arsenal

Karttikeya

And for those of you who say Wii is so crappy/Nintendo is so crappy, want to back that up with some evidence? Or is it merely an opinion with no reasoning behind it?

edgeblade

SpaceWhale

iwanttobeasleep

devilmoon

MJDeviant

Now now. Gagamus was just speaking with passion. Anyhow, he is mostly correct. I own a Wii and think its lackluster and borderline crap.

DigitalHero

Gagamus

be a real man Chris!

MiKe Hawk

...sorry Phil Harrison. Didn't mean to stir up the trolls.

Skeep

MishoM

thesillyone

It's his backpedaling that people are up against. Here's an example:

"You are a serious fucktard."

"I do not think you are a serious fucktard."

I think that behavior would tick off just about anyone, IMHO.

laputaquelepario

However, it's sad that every gaming conference is now a major publicity event. With the media an omnipresent force and corporate big brother monitoring your every word and action, anything that does not fit into the marketing plan is less and less likely to be known, which is not only limited to the games industry.

aka Bitter

Judging consoles right now is too soon lets wait a year and see what happens and if wii does turn out to be a turd. Honestly I've been worried about the lack of new announcement but atleast Mario galaxy has put my mind to rest about its graphics abilities.

About this guy hes entitled to his opinion lets not all be idiots. If he thinks wii is shit then good for him. I think the Ps3 is shit so whats the Hoolaa about.

CrimemasterGogo

moonfirelol

USA: dickwads

England: wankers

laputaquelepario

r1nce

"I buy art because it makes my walls look pretty and projects a bit of my personality around me. Games, well, I play them to be entertained."

Exactly!

I had the misfortune to meet Chris once at a conference. He is so full of himself I don't think he has any genuine friends. He really did (when I met him) think he was right about everything. Most of us there thought "God what a prat does he even know how stupid he sounds"

I guess now he does. Nice wake-up call from reality there I think.

penhalion

Torusan

Nintendo has changed, they used to be cool and stick to what they say. Now all they do is make Mario Party games, and say one thing and do another after making us belief that its true wht they said.

I blame it all on Iwata.

Sailorcancer

moonfirelol

"The Wii is a piece of shit!"

[ today ]

"I do not think the Wii is a piece of shit."

Cut him some slack, guys. I think more than anything else, he need to see a psychiatrist, as he cleary suffers from multiple personality disorder.

laputaquelepario

Who the f*** is Chris Hecker?

http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,...

You're not big sh** just cause you're working on Spore. Get off the stage.

dannah

It sounds like he wasn't inspired by the NES era at all. Maybe his first game machine was a PlayStation or Xbox.

I buy art because it makes my walls look pretty and projects a bit of my personality around me. Games, well, I play them to be entertained.

k.ro

It is ok Chris your first thought was correct....

giddieon

ridleysaria

Rayzak

Gagamus

I have no sympathy for him and given that he isn't that good of a programmer I'm amazed so many are so ready to listen to him in the first place. He effectively used the Maxis name to further his cred where no cred is due....meh there seem to be a lot of people like that in our industry lately.

penhalion

Dansolo

hatramroany

Demaar

I've made jokes about all the consoles if it was going to be funny.

I don't know when saying that its shit would be very funny, but then again I've never been to GDC so who knows?

:D

live wire00029

woodenturkey

Maxis and/or EA has made a very wise move by forcing this person to apologize. Nintendo fans tend to be the kind that blackball entire companies' games on a single infringement (Rare), at least, in my experience.

I -really- wanted to play Spore, and this guy almost ruined it for me, because I would have boycotted it, and recommended to my Nintendo-fan friends not to play it either, if they had allowed that comment to stand.

PTTSeven

Janaff

天雷

Nintendo is bugging me now, but you all know how I really feel.

mustang

Dynamic_Entry

I have a Wii, and admire forwardness. Especially when it leads to drama.

I don't think the biggest problem with the Wii will be its power. You can make great games for it regardless of how powerful it is.

I think the control scheme and sensitivity issues will be the main reason a game is good or bad in the coming months. I wish them luck, because it means a better experience for me and 4 million+ other adopters.

Scuba Steve

Yeah he should have stayed with his anti-Wii stance. It was his opinion.

DigitalHero

Now he looks like a moron with a Tourette Syndrom:
-It's bull****... No no it's all good. I hate you Nintendo, you killed my dog.... I'm trully sorry, I didn't mean..... Wii is crappy hehehe!!! Ok my boss told me to relax and apology

slimky

He's entitled to think the wii is crap, regardless of how many times I'd kick him in the balls for saying so if I had the chance, he shouldn't have made his statements in that stupid childish way.

aden.exe

"Hey! It's that Wii sucks SH-- guy! How's it going Wii sucks SH-- guy?"

zealousd

Dragoonkin

Anthropomancer

Wernstar

He outright said those things.

What a phoney, worthless, and awful little bout of damage control.

Chebwa

synce

Either stick to your guns and stand by your (stupid) comments...

Or don't make them in the first place.

Is he a friend of Ann Coulter?

KeyonSumner

I would have far preferred if he simply pointed out that his comments were his alone and not those of his company. Being as he was making a statement at the GDC,

I am not even certain that he was at the proper venue for his remarks. I miss the days when people took ownership of their statements and stood by them. Now a days, we have people make all sorts of outlandish statements and then they quickly release an apology at the first sign of controversy.

Hengst2404

NighTrekr

Americana

Barbara

Dragoonkin

moonfirelol