Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht sees potential in the Wii's graphical hardware, despite its technical inferiority to its competitor's consoles.
Speaking to RevoGamers, Eggebrecht laments how Wii titles whose aesthetic is more geared toward "traditional, more photorealistic" visuals do not push the hardware. "There you really have to push it," he said, "and they're really not pushing it. Why not? Hmmm. I don't know, the hardware is very, very easy to understand."
As for the reasons, Eggebrecht speculates it's a mixture of developer's laziness and a publisher's unwillingness to provide a large enough budget, both related to the Wii's image. Factor 5 has previously shown the GameCube hardware more than capable of gorgeous visuals with the Rogue Squadron series, and Capcom has also shown off technical prowess with Resident Evil 4.
If more games show off the Wii's graphical capabilities and consumer expectations increase, perhaps developers and publishers might be more eager to step up their own visuals / budgets. Imagine the possibilities now that there's more memory (and duct tape!).
As for returning to work with Nintendo, Eggebrecht showed willingness but revealed no plans. "We're honestly at this point thinking about several titles in development and we haven't settled quite yet on which platform or which platforms if one of them is," he said. "So might be PS3, might be Wii... we're totally open to that."
[Via CVG]
Reader Comments (117)
Posted: Sep 12th 2007 4:32PM hvnlysoldr said
The developers aren't charging their lasers enough. Nintendo takes its time to charge their lazers before firing them. So too should other developers.
Posted: Sep 12th 2007 4:37PM religiousjedi said
3 billion comments, perhaps?
Whenever Wii and graphics are mentioned, it is sure to yield somewhere around those numbers, because of the fanboys and haters... :/
(And now I've started an explaination from both sides...)
Whenever Wii and graphics are mentioned, it is sure to yield somewhere around those numbers, because of the fanboys and haters... :/
(And now I've started an explaination from both sides...)
Posted: Sep 12th 2007 5:26PM (Unverified) said
its funny how RE4 on gamecube looks better than the wii version and wii is supposedly more powerful lol.
Posted: Sep 12th 2007 5:50PM (Unverified) said
I actually bummed the GC version off my friend and played both for a little while through 480p, and the game looks better on the Wii. Its not something thats clear from the moment you see it, but looking at the game up close you see improved textures, better-looking models, etc.
Reply
Posted: Sep 12th 2007 8:53PM (Unverified) said
Let me guess, you played GC RE4 on an SDTV, and then played Wii RE4 on an HDTV without realizing that SD signals always look shittier on an HD set than an SD set.
Reply
Posted: Sep 12th 2007 4:39PM (Unverified) said
I am probably going to get flammed or blurred out or whatever, but I love whenever there is a ps3 issue, everyone seems to think its Sony and the ps3 cell design flaws, but when its a problem with the wii its nobody fault but the "Lazy developers".....we should encourage all developers to push the hell out of all the consoles and not pick and chose for whatever fanboy reasons,
whenever I say "developers should shut up and try to take advantage of blu-ray, cell and whatever, I mean can you imagine God of War 3 running on that stuff"...I get millions of people telling me I am a sony troll and the 360 pwns.....but here when its a wii issue everyone seems to agree that ALL developers should just shut up and get to business....funny how no one agrees with you until the problem affects them....
again..all developers shut up and make games...leave the "I think this console is better then that one" wars to us
whenever I say "developers should shut up and try to take advantage of blu-ray, cell and whatever, I mean can you imagine God of War 3 running on that stuff"...I get millions of people telling me I am a sony troll and the 360 pwns.....but here when its a wii issue everyone seems to agree that ALL developers should just shut up and get to business....funny how no one agrees with you until the problem affects them....
again..all developers shut up and make games...leave the "I think this console is better then that one" wars to us
Posted: Sep 12th 2007 5:52PM (Unverified) said
While the Wii is a weak system, there is nothing stopping developers to put the power it does have to good use (which they haven't been doing). On the other hand, while the PS3 is powerful, the architectural design of the PS3 stops it from being able to pump out visuals better than 360 efforts often.
Reply
Posted: Sep 12th 2007 6:27PM (Unverified) said
"Shittiest game? I still don't understand the outcry on Lair. "
Because it has horrible controls. Controls are how you interact with the game. Ergo, bad controls = bad game.
"Lair is not an "AAA" title by any means."
Yes it is, it was meant to be from the start of development. A triple-A title means it comes from a seasoned developer, backed by lots of funding. There *is* such thing as a "horrible triple-A title." Lair's one of them.
"But it SURELY isn't the "shittiest game in recent memory". I doubt you even played the game. You probably saw all the reviews and came to the conclusion that it sucks."
Easy tiger, don't get so defensive. Have played it. The controls suck, period. I'm in the majority and the majority decides if a game is good or bad. This is one bad game, buddy.
I can't think of another title that had so much hype, funding, marketing (including dev interviews) fail so miserably, to the point where the first-party backer ran physical damage control (in the form of "how to review Lair" pamphlets).
Daikatana. Only one I can think of.
Because it has horrible controls. Controls are how you interact with the game. Ergo, bad controls = bad game.
"Lair is not an "AAA" title by any means."
Yes it is, it was meant to be from the start of development. A triple-A title means it comes from a seasoned developer, backed by lots of funding. There *is* such thing as a "horrible triple-A title." Lair's one of them.
"But it SURELY isn't the "shittiest game in recent memory". I doubt you even played the game. You probably saw all the reviews and came to the conclusion that it sucks."
Easy tiger, don't get so defensive. Have played it. The controls suck, period. I'm in the majority and the majority decides if a game is good or bad. This is one bad game, buddy.
I can't think of another title that had so much hype, funding, marketing (including dev interviews) fail so miserably, to the point where the first-party backer ran physical damage control (in the form of "how to review Lair" pamphlets).
Daikatana. Only one I can think of.
Posted: Sep 12th 2007 6:43PM (Unverified) said
O.M.G.!! DID SOMEONE JUST SAY THERE'S A NEW GODZILLA GAME COMING OUT??!!!..........................aw for fuck sakes. lol
Posted: Sep 13th 2007 12:31AM (Unverified) said
hvnly- Wow, just tried the new Wii trailer on Gametrailers.com and it's a beaut! More polished 3D-nice graphics, great weather effects-and....and...the clouds actually move! It looks sweet! The last of the great Japsocky DinoRumble games. Pure classic funzo!
Posted: Sep 13th 2007 1:31AM (Unverified) said
Gold diggers! That is exactly what they are. Make a quick buck selling ported crap for a hot item before people catch on.
Posted: Sep 13th 2007 2:32AM Fullmetal Salchemist said
"I think some poeple have overlooked a major reason for the less-than-stellar graphics on the Wii- The fact that the average Wii owner couldn't care less."
It's not that we don't care, it's that Nintendo says we're not supposed to; but what that means is that the average consumer doesn't own an HDTV, not that the average gamer wants their games to look like ass.
It's not that we don't care, it's that Nintendo says we're not supposed to; but what that means is that the average consumer doesn't own an HDTV, not that the average gamer wants their games to look like ass.
Posted: Sep 13th 2007 2:04PM Sarge said
Ironically, while I would be tempted to discount Eggebrecht's word after Lair, I remember one thing:
He's speaking from experience.
If the Wii truly is two Gamecubes duct-taped together, then that means Factor 5 is acutely aware of what the machine can and can't do. Add additional speed and more RAM into the mix, and it's obvious that there's some lazy devs out there.
That being said, I'm pretty sure that lazy devs exist on all platforms.
Pretty graphics are nice for a while, but I've found that after the "oooh, ahhh" period has passed, you're left with the same experience as before. Generally graphics are a great hook to get you into a game, but you can get right back out when you realize how shallow some of these "beautiful" games are.
And an SNES-style graphics Ocarina of Time? Where do I sign up?
He's speaking from experience.
If the Wii truly is two Gamecubes duct-taped together, then that means Factor 5 is acutely aware of what the machine can and can't do. Add additional speed and more RAM into the mix, and it's obvious that there's some lazy devs out there.
That being said, I'm pretty sure that lazy devs exist on all platforms.
Pretty graphics are nice for a while, but I've found that after the "oooh, ahhh" period has passed, you're left with the same experience as before. Generally graphics are a great hook to get you into a game, but you can get right back out when you realize how shallow some of these "beautiful" games are.
And an SNES-style graphics Ocarina of Time? Where do I sign up?
Posted: Sep 15th 2007 9:50PM (Unverified) said
For those saying this is because of Lair's reviews, this was taken DURING THE GC, before all that criticism. So I don't think he's asking Reggie for marriage.
Featured Stories
Super Joystiq Podcast 004: 38 Studios meltdown, Gravity Rush, Civilization 5: Gods & Kings, Dragon's Dogma
Posted on May 25th 2012 3:30PM



