To: Bash
From: Crecente
Re: About Sammiches
I spent the day riding shotgun as my wife drove Tristan, the dogs and I back home from El Paso, Texas. This time the uneventful, no rain, no high winds, no hail. Thanks to a cell card I spent the day posting, talking to folks and carrying on with business as usually mostly. I got into a short, though interesting discussion with MTV's Stephen Totilo about my post on the Wii Fit and whether it is a sign that the Wii is really more about clever marketing than it is about clever or innovative game design.
I don't have a problem with the Wii or Wii Fit, but it does feel to me that some of the more unusual games coming out of Nintendo lately have more to do with tapping new markets than play and having fun. Shigeru Miyamoto joked years ago that Brain Age was about finding a game that Nintendo's board would find interesting. Maybe he wasn't really joking, maybe it is really just about that. Not that there's anything wrong with identifying a new market and going after it, I just have an issue with Nintendo then implying that they are the gaming industries salvation.
Totilo seems to disagree with me, but it's a pretty fine line. The whole thing is really a fine line. Does it matter if the Wii's tremendous success is driven more by good marketing than good game design? I don't know. I do know that if you ever had doubts about our readership's ability to deal with potentially fanboyish topics maturely you should drop into my post from the morning. That's one hell of an interesting and intelligent conversation going on in there. Makes me proud.
Ps. The Ubisoft embargo lifts tomorrow morn-ish. Expect lots of impressions and interviews about HAWX, Far Cry 2, Hells Highway, etc. etc.
What you missed:
Wii Fit: Innovation in Gaming or Marketing?
Nintendo Invades Japanese McDonalds With WiFine
Sega Reups Unreal License for Secret Game
Grand Theft Auto: DUI
Winners Named for Teen Dating Violence Prevention Game Design Contest