Wii U 'slightly confusing', says Molyneux
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Former Microsoft executive Peter Molyneux says Nintendo's new system is "good, but it's not great"; successful Wii U needed for industry growth.
Former Microsoft executive and now cofounder of independent studio 22Cans has sounded off on the Wii U. He told GamesIndustry International that he is generally pleased with Nintendo's first high-definition system, though he does have some reservations regarding its two-screen approach.
"I think the Wii U is good, but I don't feel it's great," Molyneux said. "I've played the experience, I've played Nintendo Land, I've played ZombiU, and they're good. I find holding the device in my hand--looking up at the screen and looking down at the device--slightly confusing as a consumer. It's good, but it's not great."
Molyneux added that the industry needs the Wii U to be "great" because competition is no longer solely in the form of console makers. Now, he said, competition comes through devices like Amazon's Kindle or Apple's iPad.
"And people like Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft need to match that. They need to match that in my mind, and exceed it. And I'm not sure the Wii U really did that," he said.
Despite his misgivings about the Wii U, Molyneux said a wise person would not bet against Nintendo, considering the worldwide phenomenon it created with the original Wii.
"I've got unbelievable respect for Nintendo," he said. "They created our industry in a very real sense. I can remember everybody in the industry laughing and giggling about how stupid the Wii was, what a stupid name it was, and who would want motion control. And then it went on to sell what, 60, 70 million copies? It got people who never considered computer games to play them."
Molyneux's Wii sales estimation is actually well below the system's actual figures. As of September 30, 2012, Nintendo has sold 97.18 million units of the aging console. Additionally, just this week, Nintendo announced the Wii Mini, a slimmed down, $100 version of the Wii due next week exclusively in Canada .
The Wii U launched in North America on November 18 and sold 400,000 units during its launch week. The system released today in Europe and Australia, and will launch in Japan on December 8.
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
329 comments
Heh I suppose he would know considering "good, but it's not great" is how most of his work has been.
Too confusing? lol. I guess something like this WOULD confuse him. "all of this, with just one button". Haha
I will get one of these before I get the next playstation...hopefully after the price goes down for both....frikk xbocks
1 Like I dont care what u think Peter Molyneux, im still getting one and im going to enjoy it to!
3 Like Oh, that's quite a insightful article... wait, Peter Molyneux? "Broken Promises" Molyneux? The guy who did Fable? Who cares what he says, when he can't even do all of the stuff he plans on his games?
3 Like hmm well 360's were failing and breaking down for YEARS after it was first released....even AFTER the FREEEE repairs...so I don't know why anyone would be so quick to judge the Wii U yet...o yeah they're STUPID
@DoomglooM That's not the same thing. The 360 had great features and was interesting, but had somewhat of a crappy hardware. The WiiU has a strange basic concept that makes it difficuly to play a lot of the games (talking bout the screen adn the fact that you need to look down at your MASSIVE controller, which also has got a pretty poor touch screen). And btw, not all 360s broke, while ALL WiiUs have this problem since it's part of the system's features.
2 Like Poor touch screen? Pretty much no person who's extensively used the Wii U would say that. Also I think it's funny how way too many people seem to think that the Wii U's only feature is the dual screen play, uh no, there's asymmetric multiplayer, different roles, touch controls (where you don't have to look at the screen).
1 Like Compared to the Wii, the GamePad's features can only really add to the gameplay without taking away (unless the developers implement it in a weird way). With the Wii, traditional controls were sacrificed for motion controls, that's no longer the case with the Wii U.
And yeah, I've had almost no issues with the screen, it's responsive and very accurate.
@s2i2p2i2o it justs p me o when people bash on nintendo and everyone acts like the 360 is a godsend...not saying you in particular...
@s2i2p2i2o I'm not usually a douchebag or whatever in real life but....on the internet...you can be anybody! ;D
@s2i2p2i2o and no I don't have many real life friends, sad...maybe...but that is because they have all been taken away by the virtual world! and they're babies....and jobs....and slavery...but yeah if I did probably focus my anger towards them more and not people like you...I am sorry if you are getting offended...sticks and stones my brotha
@DoomglooM You don't have many friend right? And I mean real life friends, not people you play games with online. You just really seems like a douchebag.I have only whatched 3 reviews of games and the console itself, they all said that. Not like it's a dealbreaker, but things like you needed to push pretty hard for it to register everything which made it difficult for games like Zombie U when you have to drag and drop shit when using your inventory.I have never said that the 360 didn't have problems. And I have never defended Microsoft for that great fuck-up! They messed up big time and it cost them dearly.
@s2i2p2i2o @abHS4L88 a lot? probably not the whole half mill who've got one in 2 or so week period it's been out....a lot...a lot....hmmm 360 had a lot of failed consoles....much more than 500,000 and way longer than 2 weeks
@abHS4L88 Pretty sure a lot of them have said that. I havn't used it extensively so I can't be counted as one of them. But I have used it, and reviews of it has stated this fact. I agree with them based on my....3-4 hours of using it.And yeah, those differend roles, "You are able to place blocks (!) to help, or hinder your friend". Not really something that makes me want to buy the game. A few games might be able to impliment the screen in a nice way, just like some games used the motion feature for the first wii, but most games will probably not. I hope I am wrong, but I just don't see it happening.
@s2i2p2i2o durrr interesting huh? hahah o yeah...the feature where it ruined your games was pretty cool huh?(they only costed $60 right)! o and the one where it would die! Awesommmeeee! I felt like a parent wrestling with a redheaded stepchild to get ready for school in the morning, every time I wanted to play a stupid game(and we missed the bus a helluva lot so it just sat around with me and gave me the feeling it shouldn't be here...oh yeah what about when I put a 360 game in my 360 console it would say... "To play this 360 game, put it in a 360 console" Whoooo so mysterious and puzzling! what a craaaaazzzzyyyy system!....I remember when I first got my...first one...through the mail...my memory card came like a week late after it and I figured no big deal... just can't save my progress right???...I had the "slightly less than stellar" Core model....and I couldn't even PLAY any of the stupid games I bought, without the damn memory card!...without making a profile prison or whatever...so it sat around my room like a useless hobo...oh yeah, that is a GREAT feature btw....never had to do that with any other system I know of....real REVOLUTIONARY! pah! I can see your point of view...but I think your eyes must be stitched shut
1 Like see i think the complete opposite. i think the Wii U needs to fail, and fail hard, taking Nintendo out of the hardware market and forcing them into a developer/publisher role like SEGA.
multiplatform Zelda on PS4 and XBOX720? your damn right that would be awesome. Nintendo has always made great games, but their consoles have been lackluster after the super nintendo.
@Geminon all of you down there are morons lol ps3 cam 3rd party even with out being broke cuz that would bring revenue to them lol ps3 is not broke and nintendo is too big to even go publisher/developer they make money like microsoft does every nintendo shirt you buy makes then a few dollars! it would be impressive to see which machine is capable of holding betting graphics and FPS an so on
1 Like Not saying you're lying, just saying that I find it hard to believe, but like I said, we'll just have to wait and see ;)
@abHS4L88 i know a bit about the gaming industry and about gpus... but it's not my career so i can't really comment on amping up the overall hardware. i'm nothing close to an expert, my speculations on the industry should be viewed as a novice. i'm just telling this forum what i happen to know (not think) and i already explained my source. think about it, i have no reason to lie to you, even if u were jessica alba its not like ud sleep with me for telling u... and i'm not trying to make friends or slam nintendo even... i love nintendo its what i play with my nephews... but believe what u will... this rumor is a whole hell of a lot more legitimate than the crap ive read on IGN...
2 Like I do think anything over $399 would just help the Wii U even more.
BUT we'll just have to see, but I honestly don't believe that Sony would be wiling to repeat what they did with the PS3 because if you have a powerful graphics card, you're going to need to amp up the overall hardware to support that, making the system much more expensive.
@abHS4L88 if he knows that he didn't tell me... hes not a part of ICE team... the amount of security those guys go through... like 3-4 months of backround checks... i'd say that since ps1, 2 went for 399 its a possibility... but i wouldnt be too surprised to see another 499
If they're using a $250 graphics card, then how much are they planning on selling this system?
@abHS4L88 what u should calll me is someone who is close friends with someone who works in the same building (i wont disclose the actual studio) as the ICE team (ps4 hardware devs) ... look dude, ill stake my "online rep" on it... remember my name, come hollar back after this years e3
1 Like I don't doubt that considering how lucrative the gaming industry has become, but Sony still needs to play it smart, the industry has changed a lot because of this generation and simply repeating what they did with the PS3 could prove fatal for the company.
1 Like $250 graphics card? Okay I guess Sony really wants to run themselves out of business. Unrealistic is what I call people like you.
@Phazevariance @kkushalbeatzz @abHS4L88 @Geminon compare that to the 75 dollar gpu in the wii u...
@Phazevariance @kkushalbeatzz @abHS4L88 @Geminon yeah right... if ur expecting a 7670 think again... ps4 will at least be rocking a 7800... the tahiti rumor very well may have been too good to be true... but u never know... last i heard from my dev buddies quite a while ago was something about a 250 dollar graphics card...
2 Like @kkushalbeatzz @abHS4L88 @Geminon
Except they lost so much money that it really wasnt profitable for Sony, and will mean drastic changes next time around. don't be expecting super power from ps4
1 Like Okay fine, they're much closer to pulling out of the gaming industry than Nintendo is.
Let's see, Sony's been in the red for about half a decade, they have less money than Nintendo despite being a much bigger company (about 4-5 times bigger), and their credit status is "junk."
And seriously? That's all you have to say? Of course, I don't want Sony to go 3rd party, but being realistic here, they're the only one of the big 3 who's in big trouble.
2 Like @Geminon and after that! we could probably shrink real tiny, and live like amoebas so... we won't have a brain to make dumb ideas anymore! duuuuuuuuuuuuddddde
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