Jon Brittan
Newcomer
First of all, let me start by stating that this is not an attack on the Wii, merely my musings on its possible effect on the games markets in the near future and is intended to prompt discussion rather than any form of "console competition".
Right, with that out of the way, onwards...
While discussing games development with some colleagues last week it struck me that the Wii, for all its current expansion of the gaming market, may actually be harmful for the development of the games market in the short to mid term.
There is no doubt, in any regard, that the Wii as a system has expanded the current games market to a very noticeable degree, however this was already an expanding market, simply not at that rate.
To someone either in the industry or with any interest in the future of the industry it is important not only to see the market expand, but to see it both develop and also expand in a sustainable manner.
My fear with the Wii is that we have made a short term gain which could eventually lead to a slightly longer to at least mid term loss in terms of both the expansion and development of the market.
The games industry has been expanding in a near linear fashion, with the core of the industry being made up of "hardcore" games and a regular selection of more niche or casual games being available for what are, at their heart, pure (in the traditional sense) gaming machines. With each generation of consoles a number of new users joining the market, whether it be for a Grand Theft Auto, a Guitar Hero or a Gears of War, usually they enter the market and will stick with it into the coming generations as their interest in "core" gaming grows, this is demonstrable through the continuing, growing fan-bases of core franchises.
With the arrival of Wii and "mainstream casual" gaming we have seen a very rapid expansion of the market, with many people who would otherwise have not bought into the console market suddenly introduced and, almost un-doubtably, a number of the would-be new entrants caught up with "Wii fever" and using that as their entry to gaming instead of the "traditional" design consoles in 360 or PS3.
In terms of initial market numbers this is a good thing, the problem is (and this is where this becomes very much my opinion) the majority (only?) of the good games on Wii still fall into the "traditional" mould, Mario Galaxy, Zelda : TWP etc. While the games that appeal most to the "casual" gamers, like Wii Sports (admittedly free) and WiiFit are not, in my opinion, retained value games, these are not franchises where there is a great value in upgrading to Wii Sports 2 or WiiFitter and, given that traditionally new entrants to the games console market tend to buy fewer games than established gamers, it is likely these will be the only titles played by these new entrants to the games market. While some will pick up a Mario, a Zelda or a Metroid to flesh out their collection, is there not a very real danger that, as has happened in other "fad" markets in the past, those who stick to WiiSports and WiiFit may feel that £240 (Wii console + WiiFit at current UK prices) was not good value for money in the end if that is all they get out of it and will not buy in to the next generation of consoles?
Now admittedly, a lot of these people were not likely to enter this round of consoles anyway, but there is a possibility that some of these people would otherwise have bought a "traditional" console and started to enter the core gaming market. It is possible that we end up with people feeling disenfranchised by the gaming market because they bought into casual gaming rather than buying into core gaming.
Further to this, simply look at the current games development market/schedule. Wii has (alongside some admittedly good titles), unfortunately and due to its hardware sales success, seemingly drawn a large number of publishers into the "me too" market and there is a far greater than usual volume of titles clearly developed for not much reason other than to try and sell into the huge Wii installed base. Anything which motivates and seemingly does nothing to deter the development of games which are only ever going to make consumers wonder why they spend money on games is certainly detrimental the longevity, success and image of the industry.
As this is getting quite long now I'll allow other people to post their thoughts.
I'll take this chance simply to remind you that these are merely my musings and stand for nothing more than my thoughts on how this *may* effect the market and is also not necessarily a good reflection on even my own personal thought on Wii...
I appreciate some, if not all of you, may feel I'm completely wrong, but a structured argument on why Wii can be nothing but good for the industry is far more constructive than "you're a fool".
Right, with that out of the way, onwards...
While discussing games development with some colleagues last week it struck me that the Wii, for all its current expansion of the gaming market, may actually be harmful for the development of the games market in the short to mid term.
There is no doubt, in any regard, that the Wii as a system has expanded the current games market to a very noticeable degree, however this was already an expanding market, simply not at that rate.
To someone either in the industry or with any interest in the future of the industry it is important not only to see the market expand, but to see it both develop and also expand in a sustainable manner.
My fear with the Wii is that we have made a short term gain which could eventually lead to a slightly longer to at least mid term loss in terms of both the expansion and development of the market.
The games industry has been expanding in a near linear fashion, with the core of the industry being made up of "hardcore" games and a regular selection of more niche or casual games being available for what are, at their heart, pure (in the traditional sense) gaming machines. With each generation of consoles a number of new users joining the market, whether it be for a Grand Theft Auto, a Guitar Hero or a Gears of War, usually they enter the market and will stick with it into the coming generations as their interest in "core" gaming grows, this is demonstrable through the continuing, growing fan-bases of core franchises.
With the arrival of Wii and "mainstream casual" gaming we have seen a very rapid expansion of the market, with many people who would otherwise have not bought into the console market suddenly introduced and, almost un-doubtably, a number of the would-be new entrants caught up with "Wii fever" and using that as their entry to gaming instead of the "traditional" design consoles in 360 or PS3.
In terms of initial market numbers this is a good thing, the problem is (and this is where this becomes very much my opinion) the majority (only?) of the good games on Wii still fall into the "traditional" mould, Mario Galaxy, Zelda : TWP etc. While the games that appeal most to the "casual" gamers, like Wii Sports (admittedly free) and WiiFit are not, in my opinion, retained value games, these are not franchises where there is a great value in upgrading to Wii Sports 2 or WiiFitter and, given that traditionally new entrants to the games console market tend to buy fewer games than established gamers, it is likely these will be the only titles played by these new entrants to the games market. While some will pick up a Mario, a Zelda or a Metroid to flesh out their collection, is there not a very real danger that, as has happened in other "fad" markets in the past, those who stick to WiiSports and WiiFit may feel that £240 (Wii console + WiiFit at current UK prices) was not good value for money in the end if that is all they get out of it and will not buy in to the next generation of consoles?
Now admittedly, a lot of these people were not likely to enter this round of consoles anyway, but there is a possibility that some of these people would otherwise have bought a "traditional" console and started to enter the core gaming market. It is possible that we end up with people feeling disenfranchised by the gaming market because they bought into casual gaming rather than buying into core gaming.
Further to this, simply look at the current games development market/schedule. Wii has (alongside some admittedly good titles), unfortunately and due to its hardware sales success, seemingly drawn a large number of publishers into the "me too" market and there is a far greater than usual volume of titles clearly developed for not much reason other than to try and sell into the huge Wii installed base. Anything which motivates and seemingly does nothing to deter the development of games which are only ever going to make consumers wonder why they spend money on games is certainly detrimental the longevity, success and image of the industry.
As this is getting quite long now I'll allow other people to post their thoughts.
I'll take this chance simply to remind you that these are merely my musings and stand for nothing more than my thoughts on how this *may* effect the market and is also not necessarily a good reflection on even my own personal thought on Wii...
I appreciate some, if not all of you, may feel I'm completely wrong, but a structured argument on why Wii can be nothing but good for the industry is far more constructive than "you're a fool".
