Why does the Wii need better graphics?

Mike Bantick
Friday, 25 April 2008 13:56

Opinion and Analysis

Whether it is a fad or not, it is a long lived fad, and with games such as the ubiquotous Wii Sports, and other enjoyable treats such as Super Paper Mario , Mario Galaxy and Twilight Princess it is obvious that the Wii is not about graphics power. It is more about the total experience, including interaction with other players in the room.

It is great that a company such as High Voltage are making the effort to push the existing technology housed within the Wii, but I hope they don't expect to garner a whole new crowd of First Person Shooter or Real Time Strategy fans, those folks are locked into the PC or other consoles where a wealth of proven titles are available.

And will bump mapping add to the experience of games such as Mario Kart or the next Zelda? – Perhaps a little, but the reality is that the games that are being produced for the Wii right at this moment are filling the niche that Nintendo have carved out – well perhaps not Ninja Reflex .

Will this technology spark developers to produce or port more hard-core orientated games for the Wii?  Probably not, because the marketing folks will not let them.  My feeling is that by enlarge the demographic picture of a Wii owner does not sit well with games such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare or similar

Owning a Wii coupled with one of the other consoles or PC gives a total gaming experience that not one particular company can offer today.  Regardless of how the Quantam 3 engine progresses, this won't change before we start talking seriously about the replacement generation of gaming devices.