Riccitiello: EA should have bet on Wii; PS3 and 360 still 'meaningful'

All three consoles last gen were exactly the same.

It's so delicious. If you're mad that you're losing, change the rules of the game and go into denial

It puts a smile on my face every time

yup... exactly... and this is why i believe that this gen killed gaming.. i mean think back to last gen... when devs still made exceptional games (multi platform games as well)

although... when has EA ever made a good game? i wish they WOULD have bet on Wii, and leave the shitty games/sports-games-ports-(are they ever different enough to warrant a purchase EVERY YEAR?) off my 360/PS3

@Mr Khan.

Not sure if that was to Ass or Nintendo. It has to be Nintendo because otherwise the statement doesn't make sense. You used the word "you're" as to signify Ass maybe losing. Losing what?

Nintendo changed the rules with releasing a technically inferior console with a gimmicky controller. It seems to be working out for them but I can honestly tell you I don't know one person with more than two wii games. Want to guess which ones?

The "you" was used in the plural form. To not only refer to Ass but to refer to everyone who has declared the numerical facts to be void based on some sort of condition

And also to Sony and Microsoft, who are doing the same

Here it goes again. Just because theres is a new market out there which is easier to appeal to does not mean that your money is going to vanish

You have money, someone will cater to your interests, its rather simple

Right, just like there will be a mass of comedies that DON'T rely on shit and fart jokes. I mean, once a company realizes they can invest a minimum of effort and maximize profit (Wii games, any casual games, Apatow movies, etc) they keep putting in that extra effort and expense because it's the honorable thing to do.

One word for you: KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNN!!!!

Yeah the failure in sales that Boom Blox was pretty much guaranteed that whatever effort EA puts into the wii now will be horrible, lazy, and even more casual than Boom Blox was.

@Jonah Falcon

just an FYI from a quick google of the term "Jonah Falcon"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah_Falcon

http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?story=53917

*gasp!*


*GASP!*

***GASP!!!***

Well LOOK AT THAT. Boom Blox is seeing pretty strong sales.

But...*I* thought good games didn't sell on the Wii? Oh, it must mean Boom Blox sucks.

Boom Blox is still a casual game. What is your point???

It is fucking Jenga with cute characters

You are mistaken my friend. EA has stacked its portfolio to have its big releases at the end of this calendar year. The majority of big developers do this because traditionally the holiday season is the best time for game sales.

If you really want EA pumping out more Wii games, well, ... Just be careful what you wish for ... The games will probably not be for you

I did not se your reply to me or I would have responded earlier.

The main advancement that the PS3 & 360 have ushered in is the graphical capabilities. Take some game's into consideration for our little conversation. Metal Gear Solid 4, Lost Odyssey, Ratchet And Clank Future Tools Of Destruction & Mass Effect. These games are all graphical masterpieces and nothing short of modern marvels in terms of their sheer beauty to look at. However, that is simply one of the things that the PS360 have helped to continue to push the envelope in.

Look at the physics & AI available on these two consoles. In previous generation you would have to play games on your super PC to get any sort of feeling of having smart AI. I do not think cranking the difficulty on hard passes as good AI. I am talking about games like Rainbow Six Vegas 2 that give the player the ability to control their squads every move and it actually feels real now unlike previous years. This advanced architecture makes this possible on consoles. Remember, this may be possible on some PC's but the purpose of consoles is to bring video games to people in their homes & on their TV.

Look at the way these two systems connect gamers together in one coherent package (LIVE & PSN). Not only do they include a real storage solution for content available on these networks but they also offer the ability to chat and network with new friends like never before on a console. Because Microsoft pushed the online envelope it forced Sony & Nintendo's hand to actually put up some sort of a comparable service. If not for these advancements and storage solutions we would not know online console gaming as it has become and will continue to evolve into.

Extra Features. You are talking about two consoles in the PS360 that can and do also function as an all in one media center. Stream content from your Mac or PC, play movies in multiple file containers, download movies and television shows (as well as DLC for games) from the network, watch DVDs, HD DVDs, Blu-Ray movies and play & rip CD's to your HDD.

There is no comparison in the hardware between the PS360 & Wii. I do not agree with you that waggle and IR have changed anything or added anything to gaming that has moved the industry forward. I think they struck a perfect chord with the perfect marketing campaign and they are going to make a shit load of money. If the Wii model is the future of innovation in consoles I am truly afraid of that type of innovation. I agree with you sentiment that you can't just increase the specifications and call it next generation. I do not feel as if the PS360 have done that. I am of the opinion that the PS3 is the most complete piece of consumer electronics I have ever owned. If all you want to do is play games, and not many at that, maybe the PS3 is not the console for you. It has DVR functionality coming soon to select regions as well as other enhancements in social networking like HOME.

We can agree to disagree but I do appreciate the conversation. I feel I have made my case for why I feel the Wii is moving the industry backwards. It lacks basic functionality that has come to be expected (by myself and many others) as gaming consoles have moved from the bottom shelf of the entertainment center to the only device needed. I did not even mention the small touches (PS3) like the memory card readers, built in LAN & WiFi, all in one design, web browser, keyboard & mouse support, Linux & having HDMi out of the box for my HDTV.

I suppose you think they crammed so much into the PS3 that the console was doomed from the start. Since I purchased it shortly after launch it has seriously become my all in one entertainment computer. I bought it as a video game system but I get so much more out of it.

John,

Here is the problem with your argument.

1)your first argument is better graphics and improved physics. This is exactly the type of thing the original poster was talking about by improving specs every year. Every single generation has improved graphics and physics. It is not revolutionary, it is basic evolution. You could say the same exact comment about every single generation.

2) many of the things you list are last gen imports. Hard drive storage (xbox), network play(dreamcast), voice chat(xbox/ps2), DLC(xbox), media player functionality(started as early as the sega cd), web browsing (dreamcast), linux(ps2)... all of these things were implemented in the last generation of consoles (or earlier). Now they have become standard features. In many cases they have improved. Again, this is evolution.

In addition, many of these things are also implemented on the wii! Voice chat, DLC, network play, web browsing - all of this exists on the wii. Whether or not it is implemented as well as the other consoles or not, it is moving forward with this generational leap along with the others.

3) one of your arguments is that it is superior because of being a media center. The majority of gamers at the beginning of this gen would consistently bash this approach (sometimes in terms of 'appealing to casuals') because they cared about games, not playing movies. Nintendo has always maintained that they want to focus on games. Sony and Microsoft are both conglomerates with media divisions. Nintendo is a game company. It makes sense for the other companies to expand into media centers because it fits their corporate business models. Nintendo only cares about games. They made this clear when they chose to use mini-dvds in the gamecube. I think the rise of the digital household is turning this tide against them, but I don't fault them for not being media-centric.

4) So summing up, I fail to see the evidence that Nintendo is "moving backwards". Did they not improve their overall hardware from last year? "Doubling" the power of the gamecube, standard wifi, etc seems like a step forward. They hedged their bets and didn't move as far forward as the other consoles. They couldn't afford to be in an IT race, and they thought that increasing to where they were was "good enough". The "good enough" claim was wide spread when the Wii was revealed. I honestly believe it. I'm part of the Wii's demographic. An old school hardcore gamer who doesn't have much time for games. I could not justify the price of a 360 or ps3 but probably could for a wii. The graphics capabilities are better than anything I've played before (stopped buying consoles after the last gen) and make the games look and feel "good enough" with the added bonus of bringing a NEW slant to games. Not an evolution of the same old thing, but something new. Notice that as arcades die, they moved to the same idea of coming up with new ways to interact with the games.

Be honest. The differences between Deus Ex and Bioshock are 99% cosmetic. I've already played Deus Ex. I can load it up and play it again if I want to. I, and many people like me, needed some reason to continue to care about games.

xyz put it pretty well how I feel about some of what the 360 and PS3 brings to the table. I own all three and the PS3 only with the recent price drop from the Wal-Mart special. The reply system sucks as my first post was suppose to be a direct reply to a previous post of yours.

Discounting the hardware issues with the 360, all three are good consoles with pluses and minuses. Again, discounting the hardware issues of the 360, the 360 is probably the most balanced in terms of features and performance. The Wii is IMHO the system with the most risk due to Nintendo trying something new and different. The PS3 tried to throw in the kitchen sink and failed miserably as a console but I feel they are on the upswing. I do think they might never recover the development and subsidizing costs of the PS3 though.

The PS3 and Xbox 360 brings nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, new to the table in terms of furthering gaming to such a degree that it is impossible to do on last gen consoles. That's not even counting the fact that everything these two consoles can do...the PC can and already did. I don't feel it is right to exclude the PC simply because it's not a "console" when the main difference between a console and a PC is that the PC is (for the most part) an open system hardware wise than can be changed for difference performance levels and for different uses that range from gaming applications to productivity applications and everything in between while a console is a closed system hardware that runs a very specific set of applications.

Don't get me wrong, to a degree all graphics and general computing power increase will obviously increase the realism in games. However, the increase in the case of the PS3 and 360 is just evolutionary. It is just a few steps further on the beaten path on the plains so to speak while Nintendo took that small fork in the road leading into the woods that leads to parts unknown. Stuff like higher levels of AI and graphics might seem revolutionary but it's an evolutionary step. Once you strip away the pretty eye candy, is the game play it provides truly on an evolutionary scale. By that I mean does it advance games to a degree that it creates a new genre or redefines a genre? I have to say no to that question for the PS3 and Xbox360 while the Wii remote already has a few games that are simply unable to be emulated the same way on either the PS3 or 360. Sure, the games themselves can be emulated and remapped to button pushes on the 360 and PS3 but then you'd lose the appeal of games like Wii Sports and Boomblox.

With all that said, I still don't think we're there yet with the waggle controls. I think motion sensitive controls can be defined further and it might not be until the successor to the current generation of consoles to hit before we see those refinements hit.