Nintendo Wii games to get sophisticated graphics?

By Stan Beer
Tuesday, 22 April 2008 03:37

Entertainment

Having shipped more than 20 million consoles, Nintendo Wii is already wiping the floor with both Sony PS3 (10.5 million) and Microsoft Xbox 360 (18 million with a 1 year head start). If Wii has a weakness it may be a lack of sophisticated graphics for games that appeal to hard core gamers. However, games developer High Voltage Software plans to change that.

The Chicago-based High Voltage Software has issued a release announcing a new proprietary graphics engine for Wii called Quantum3 which it claims will enable games to be developed that look like Xbox 360 and PS3 titles.

High Voltage claims that Quantum3 will provide a better Wii experience for gamers by enabling the development of games with "dynamic bump mapping, light effects, glossing and other visual improvements."

"We think it's a real shame that publishers and developers aren't taking advantage of the technical possibilities of the Wii platform. Most Wii games don't even look as good as the later day PS2 titles and that's a real slap in the face to consumers. We believe that third-party developers need to step up to the plate and deliver. The Wii platform is capable of a lot more than what consumers have seen so far. We're hoping to raise a new bar," stated Kerry Ganofsky, company CEO, in a recent IGN exclusive.

What is unclear, however, is whether High Voltage has any plans to license its technology to other Wii developers or is going to keep it exclusively in-house - a question iTWire has put to the company and is awaiting a response. If the technology is as good as High Voltage says it is, licensing could be a good way for the company to build the market for high quality graphics on Wii faster, while leveraging its revenues and market reach through other developers.

According to High Voltage Software, it has five Wii titles developed using Quantum3 planned for release in the near future.