Wii viewed as 'intriguing' to BioWare
Speaking to IndustryGamers.com, BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka said that the renowned RPG dev is "intrigued by the idea of developing on Wii," but that it has "nothing to announce right now." Right now?
"We do have some unannounced projects that we're not ready to talk about yet, and they are different from some things we've done in the past," Muzyka continued. He stated that "[BioWare's] goal, really long-term, is to broaden our base and continue to differentiate and have diversity of choice on different platforms, because we know there are different audiences on platforms like mobile and Wii."
If it were to create a title for Nintendo's console, BioWare would strongly consider "[what] the Wii audience [is] looking for, and what would we want to deliver that has emotionally powerful narrative?," adding that it "probably wouldn't be exactly the same as everything else we do; we did a DS game and that was already very different from what we've done before." Actually, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (the game in question) was an RPG -- and a very good one at that -- that exploited the DS hardware nicely. We imagine Wii owners would be plenty happy to play something that is as tailored made for their systems.
"We do have some unannounced projects that we're not ready to talk about yet, and they are different from some things we've done in the past," Muzyka continued. He stated that "[BioWare's] goal, really long-term, is to broaden our base and continue to differentiate and have diversity of choice on different platforms, because we know there are different audiences on platforms like mobile and Wii."
If it were to create a title for Nintendo's console, BioWare would strongly consider "[what] the Wii audience [is] looking for, and what would we want to deliver that has emotionally powerful narrative?," adding that it "probably wouldn't be exactly the same as everything else we do; we did a DS game and that was already very different from what we've done before." Actually, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (the game in question) was an RPG -- and a very good one at that -- that exploited the DS hardware nicely. We imagine Wii owners would be plenty happy to play something that is as tailored made for their systems.













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sony boy @ Jun 18th 2009 9:29PM
A 7th Heaven Game would be nice for the wii.
rowd149 @ Jun 18th 2009 9:39PM
Don't even bring the concept to their attention. ._.
sony boy @ Jun 18th 2009 9:39PM
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ds/sonicchroniclesthedarkbrotherhood
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 18th 2009 9:43PM
Hey what a surprise, Edge and Eurogamer are near the bottom of the review list of a relatively big and hyped game again.
gordo @ Jun 18th 2009 9:33PM
Jade Empire at the Winter Olympics
Rob @ Jun 18th 2009 9:38PM
Yeah, stop trying to port 360/PS3 games, it never seems to work. Also make something and advertise it right, don't assume just because it exists people will buy it, you have to sell it.
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 18th 2009 9:41PM
I'm intrigued to see what they can do. It is Bioware after all, and I put my full trust in them.
But how many freakin projects can they work on at once? They have a massive MMO in the works, their "main" team is on Mass Effect 2, and they have Dragon Age coming too which is no small game.
cosmitzian @ Jun 18th 2009 9:54PM
It seems popular these days.. look at Cryptic. They are doing like 3 MMO's and some other things too. Kinda makes me think knowing that 450 people work on Assassins Creed 2. >.>
Sly [PSN SniperChameleon] @ Jun 18th 2009 10:25PM
isn't saying massive MMO redundant?
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 18th 2009 10:27PM
Yeah it is, just realized it myself :\
What I meant was it's going to be big even for MMO standards. I mean, they're trying to get every word in the entire game to be spoken on top of whatever else they have planned.
Mr Khan @ Jun 18th 2009 10:43PM
They have at least two studios, as in physical locations. I'm not sure about their capacity beyond that, but they have the one location in Alberta (forget exactly where, Edmonton or Calgary), and then another in Austin
Pretty sure their MMO studio is separate from their non-MMO studio
Sly [PSN SniperChameleon] @ Jun 18th 2009 10:55PM
oh, i know what you meant. i just thought that would sound strange if said massively multiplayer online instead of MMO. actually, now that i think of it, it would have sounded stranger just because you said massively multiplayer online. seriously, who says that?
uncle jesse @ Jun 19th 2009 10:15AM
FYI - Bioware is in Austin, Montreal, and (my home) Edmonton
time @ Jun 19th 2009 12:12PM
Dragon Age should be out in October. They might be using that studio for this game.
Fernando Rocker @ Jun 18th 2009 9:54PM
I hope they develop, together with Nintendo, Super Mario RPG 2... that would be nice.
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 18th 2009 10:13PM
That would be awesome. I've been wanting a proper sequel to that forever. The paper mario series is ok, but I always loved the original more.
NintendoJunkie @ Jun 18th 2009 10:15PM
Are you referring to the one on the Wii being the first? Paper Mario...or a sequel to the Super Mario RPG that was on the SNES?
Fernando Rocker @ Jun 18th 2009 10:18PM
Try the Mario & Luigi series too... the GBA game is very good.
One thing I enjoy about the Mario RPG games is the fact that Mario is usually famous in the Kingdom, kinda like a famous hero, very well known for his mustache and jumps. In fact, in the Mario & Luigi games, there is a "Stache" stat...
Sly [PSN SniperChameleon] @ Jun 18th 2009 10:26PM
i agree with this idea. a bioware-made super mario RPG 2 would make me get a wii.
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 18th 2009 10:29PM
I did play the GBA game and it was pretty good too, but I still prefer the old one. Not sure how story intensive bioware could make it with Mario characters, but it'd be interesting to at least see it.
WREturns @ Jun 18th 2009 11:08PM
Bowser: I surrender.
I thought you might see things my way.
/
Mario: --- You're going to answer to the laws of the Mushroom Kingdom!
\
You don't have that luxury anymore!
*player picks third dialogue option*
Mario: Burn in-a hell, mother-a-fucker!
*Mario gives Bowser a fire flower enema*
Rob @ Jun 18th 2009 11:36PM
Now that is a game I can get behind!
ohyeahcola @ Jun 19th 2009 1:30AM
@WRE
lol
Foetoid @ Jun 19th 2009 2:37AM
"That would be awesome. I've been wanting a proper sequel to that forever. The paper mario series is ok, but I always loved the original more."
I was the opposite for some reason. I started out on Paper Mario 64, loved it to death, finished it like 6 times, then on to the GC and Wii versions, loving them all. When Super Mario RPG hit the VC i grabbed it immediatly, but havent gotten very far and haven't felt like getting very far either. I guess playing that after the Paper Mario games has kinda spoilt it for me.
shadowbender @ Jun 18th 2009 10:15PM
Nice.
FunkyFlyChicken @ Jun 18th 2009 10:26PM
This just in... More Cash viewed as "intriguing" to BioWare...
lol
Seriously though, did anyone NOT see this coming? Every company just about out there now, wants to figure out how they can get a piece of the Wii pie.
Unfortunately though, a lot of the games companies are trying to make for us gamers looking for deeper gameplay experiences, aren't really doing all that well, unless they are made by the big N themselves it seems.
Lets hope BioWare isn't going to try to make something like "Lets Catch: Dragons", and instead can deliver a really cool RPG for the system, something the Wii could definately use imo.
Sly [PSN SniperChameleon] @ Jun 18th 2009 10:27PM
so any new games for the ps3 besides dragon age?
mercy @ Jun 18th 2009 10:49PM
Are you lost?
Sly [PSN SniperChameleon] @ Jun 18th 2009 10:56PM
in many ways, yes.
Sly [PSN SniperChameleon] @ Jun 18th 2009 10:56PM
in more ways than one.
Sly [PSN SniperChameleon] @ Jun 18th 2009 10:56PM
god dammit, you see what i mean?
Mr Khan @ Jun 18th 2009 10:50PM
I was only partly pleased by Sonic Chronicles. The core gameplay was very addictive. Turn-based combat, but the QTEs kept you focused, and the tactical foundation of it was very sound
The problems lay in presentation. The music was dismal, especially given what they had promised, and those "cut-scenes" looked like they were made by someone who had 3 days of experience using Flash Player. BioWare especially dropped the ball on their best capacity: story. Something that should have been a slam-dunk
Chad Vanderbilt (Moptimus in Disguise) @ Jun 18th 2009 11:01PM
actually, I think the games biggest failing was being a RPG starring Sonic and His Shitty Friends
Sly [PSN SniperChameleon] @ Jun 18th 2009 11:31PM
agreed with moptimus.
Sean Bowman @ Jun 18th 2009 10:54PM
Why the criticism? I thought the statement Bioware made was very reasonable in that people aren't exactly standing in line for all the lousy ports they keep pushing on Wii.
And of course Bioware is out to make money. Guess what, they have to operate like a business since they're paying people to work there. So as long as they're out for our money, it's not a bad thing as long as they release a quality product designed with Wii in mind and not just another port.
Though this comes from someone who has generally liked Bioware games to date. I understand some might not agree.
Feba @ Jun 19th 2009 9:58AM
Star Wars: KOTOR 2
With IR pointer for blasters.
And Motion Plus for lightsabers.
Screw it, don't bother developing blasters, nobody will care.
Kvak @ Jun 19th 2009 11:07AM
A litle OT, but Motion Plus is out now: http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-buyj-71-10u-49-en-15-wii+motion+plus-84-j-70-3eu3.html
uncle jesse @ Jun 19th 2009 10:21AM
I just hope that they don't think they have to make it 'toned down' or 'family friendly' to be successful. They should just go ahead and make the game that they want to make. They can do no wrong.
As cool as it would be to have them work on classic franchise or bring KOTOR over or something, I think it would be even cooler if they made their own new IP that was only available on the Wii. The Wii needs more original, well made games that owners can be proud of or show off. Slim pickin's out there...
jONEz @ Jun 19th 2009 2:16PM
EQ2 already has spoken dialog for every quest and NPC. Really adds to the atmosphere IMO.
jONEz @ Jun 19th 2009 2:18PM
That was meant as a reply to a previous post, but once again Joystiq's marvelous comment system crapped itself.
xGearSecondx @ Jun 19th 2009 3:43PM
Pokemon MMO/RPG. that is all.
Lmda @ Jun 20th 2009 6:59AM
I think if they focus on a family adventure game with great narrative that should land them a winner.
It could be a new IP with the same kind of appeal as these family-friendly movies like Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Carribean, etc. (of course a license like Pirates of the Caribbean would help - but nah _i like new IPs) . I think if they go down this path they could fill a hug gap in the market.