Gaming The Wii will come out on top in the next generatio

[Arm73]

I found this interesting article on IGN,
SOURCE

Japanese Developers Take Next Gen Survey
Wii, PS3, Xbox 360 -- which one comes out on top?
by Anoop GantayatÂ
October 6, 2006 - Wondering what the Japanese development community thinks about the next generation of gaming? The latest issue of Japan's Weekly Famitsu provides a few clues.



The magazine conducted a survey with 58 developers at 19 Japanese game companies. Included in the mix were directors, programmers and designers -- the people who are making the games, rather than the people making the business decisions.

First up, a question on how much the developers expect out of the next generation systems. For the PS3, 48% said that they have extremely high expectations for the system, with 32% having just high expectations. 18% said that they don't expect much of the system at all.

The Xbox 360 got a poorer rating, with 45% saying they're not expecting much of it at all, 40% having high expectations and 13% having extremely high expectations.

And then, we come to the Wii, which seems to have the favor of the entire Japanese development community. 36% have high expectations for the system, with 63% claiming extremely high expectations. Only 1% of responders said that they weren't expecting all that much from Nintendo's new system.

Moving on to games, of the PS3's lineup, most developers were excited by Metal Gear Solid 4 (12 votes). This was followed by Final Fantasy XIII (10 votes), The Eye of Judgment (7 votes), Afrika (6 votes) and Heavenly Sword (4 votes). Other games mentioned include Bladestorm, Gran Turismo HD, Lair and Resistance.

Not surprisingly, Blue Dragon took the top spot for Xbox 360, with 18 votes. This was followed by Lost Odyssey (14 votes), Culdecept Saga (8 votes), Dead Rising (4 votes) and Gundam Operation Troy (4 votes). Other games mentioned include Lost Planet, Gear of War, Riot Act and Idol Master.

For Wii, Zelda was the overwhelming winner, with 26 votes, followed by Super Mario Galaxy (8 votes), Wii Sports (5 votes), Animal Crossing (3 votes) and Smash Brothers X (3 votes). Other games mentioned include Wario Ware, Fire Emblem, Sonic and Elebits.

The survey takers were also asked to name their favorite parts of each system. Visual power took the top spot on PS3 with 19 votes, followed by overall hardware specs (10 votes), Cell's computation abilities (9 votes), the built-in hard disk (3 votes) and the use of Blu-Ray (3 votes). Some developers also mentioned PSP connectivity, online functionality, the 6-axis control system and even the brand power associated with PlayStation and Blu-Ray.

For Xbox 360, Xbox Live was mentioned the most, getting 18 votes. This was followed by the system's ease of development (13 votes), connectivity with Windows Vista (12 votes), visual power (6 votes) and overall hardware balance (4 votes). Developers also mentioned the system's demo download service, ranking system and strength of sales in the North American market.

Nintendo's unique controller was mentioned most for the Wii, taking 34 votes. It was followed by Wii Connect 24 (9 votes), the Virtual Console (6 votes), ease of development (4 votes) and the console price (3 votes). Other developers mentioned the hardware size, the concept of moving your body, and the focus on light users.

Finally, Famitsu put all three systems against one another. In the category of system sales, 60% of those surveyed expect Wii to come out on top. PS3 took 37% of the vote compared to Xbox 360's 3%. The PS3's price point was cited as reason for the low expectations.

Most developers want to try out Wii development. 63% selected Wii as the system they most want to develop for, compared to the PS3's 32% and the Xbox 360's 5%.

Wii also won out in the category of which system the developers want the most, personally. 49% selected the Nintendo hardware. PS3 was chosen by 42%, with Xbox 360 coming in last at 9%.

I really feel and hope that this is going to happen for real.
After all if it wasn't for the innovation brought by the Nintendo DS I might as well give up gaming for good by now.....

 

[Westside]

I find it funny how they expect so much more out of PS3 than 360.

 

[Opium]

There's a girl who never plays video games at all lying on my bed right now playing my DS Lite.

She's yelling some profanity at it while playing the mini games on New Super Mario Bros. She's been playing for about an hour.

I think Nintendo's onto something

Lets hope the wii does what they promise.

 

[leehom]

I find it funny how they expect so much more out of PS3 than 360.

How is it funny? 360 bombed in Japan. There's no possibility the PS3 could do any worse. If you don't believe me, here's a picture...

In fact, the 360 is selling around $200 USD in Japan and it's still not selling....

 

[Hadrian]

There's a girl who never plays video games at all lying on my bed right now playing my DS Lite.

She's yelling some profanity at it while playing the mini games on New Super Mario Bros. She's been playing for about an hour.

I think Nintendo's onto something

Lets hope the wii does what they promise.

My girlfriend was never into games either, aside the likes of Tetris and Bookworm but shes on the DS more than me and now has made plans for us to cue up to get a Wii on launch!

Nintendo has cracked the female market, not by doing barbie games and all that but by just offering something different and something that none gamers would find appealing.

For the first time since the N64 do I feel that Nintendo could own the market.

 

[Renegade_R]

Same goes for me...my wife has never ever thought of playing games before but with the introduction of the Nintendo DS, these kind of touch screen games make her really attracted to some of these games...Like Brain Age and Super Mario Bros.

I really really think Nintendo is onto something....I hope they can repeat the same success with the Wii...I long for the time to see Nintendo on top again...they'll make more games that way.

 

[adgloride]

I find it funny how they expect so much more out of PS3 than 360.

How is it funny? 360 bombed in Japan. There's no possibility the PS3 could do any worse.

In fact, the 360 is selling around $200 USD in Japan and it's still not selling....

I still say the idiot whos idea it was for Japan to be part of the world wide release needs sacking. Everyone in Europe and the USA was crying out for one and Japan had loads of unsold ones. I pre ordered mine the first day and mine had run out of stock. I had to wait 4 months before I managed to get one, I did cancel my pre order I'd probably have had to wait 6 months for the premium. Anyway back on topic how can you do a survey for the wii in Japan and based on what they've said in Japan about it say its going to sell well everywhere.

 

[Arm73]

If it sells well in Japan, Wii will see a lot of quality games coming out from the major companys, after all 90% of the games I like to play are from Japanese companys(like Konami, Capcom, Sega and of course Nintendo).
If the Wii it's a success at least in Japan, it will have a huge support from developers and that means more and more games.

 

[Vidikron]

I think it's a shame the Japanese won't give the 360 a shot. MS will never succeed over there because they won't buy the system unless it has more games that appeal to Japanese tastes, but the Japanese companies won't give the system more support because they feel like know one will buy it. I see no way out of that situtation.

For MS to succeed over there they need support from a company like Square Enix. Sure, Square Enix threw MS a bone with FF XI, but that game was already old news (had already been launched on PS2 and PC) and really isn't that good to begin with.

As this article states, developers acknowledge how easy it is to develop for the system. It also has far and away the best online service. I don't think Nintendo or Sony will ever be able to match Live with a free service. Yeah, we haven't seen all of what Nintendo is planning with their online stuff, but I have serious doubts it will match Live. Nintendo doesn't like to take losses, so they will likely only provide as much as sales of their virtual console games can support. And will we actually be able to have gamer tags that can be used across all games, or are we going to be stuck with the stupid friend codes we have on the DS? IMO, the 360 has a lot going for it, but it just won't make a difference in Japan. I think the gaming public over there has a bias against the system to begin with and I'm not sure MS will ever overcome that.

 

[OrR]

One friend code per console.

 

[science]

Wow, the Japanese really seem to hate the 360, where everyone over here in Canada loves it to death. If the price of the 360 drops here, I'll probably buy one of those alogn with the Wii, just so I could use it as a Media Center Extender.

For the first time since the N64 do I feel that Nintendo could own the market.

I thought Sony was on top of the market in that era, but I may be wrong.

 

[lagman]

Wow, the Japanese really seem to hate the 360, where everyone over here in Canada loves it to death. If the price of the 360 drops here, I'll probably buy one of those alogn with the Wii, just so I could use it as a Media Center Extender.

For the first time since the N64 do I feel that Nintendo could own the market.


I thought Sony was on top of the market in that era, but I may be wrong.

Wii60 that´s the way.

hadrian was just talking about his expectations, which are similar to mines

 

[Renegade_R]

Eh? How come no one is ever touting a PSWii?

 

[adgloride]

I think it's a shame the Japanese won't give the 360 a shot. MS will never succeed over there because they won't buy the system unless it has more games that appeal to Japanese tastes, but the Japanese companies won't give the system more support because they feel like know one will buy it. I see no way out of that situtation.Â

I don't think its just a matter of the games. If sony or nintendo made the 360 it would sell like hotcakes. The Japanese only seem to buy products that are made in their own county.

 

[Azimuth]

the 360 has a certain stigma in japan, the think that no american console can out perform their homemade hardware. Im also kinda sick of MS dominating everything first it was computers now its gaming and with the release of the zune their hoping to snatch the mp3 market

 

[lagman]

I don´t think so.
The XB360 is mostly a FPS console, the japanese are not really into that.
They´re not into GTA concept neither, but they have tons of really nice RPGs on Sony and Nintendo consoles.

 

[OrR]

The Xbox was an FPS console but the 360 isn't.

 

[lagman]

Which is the most anticipited game for the 360?
And the second?


Halo 3 & Gears Of War, right?

 

[OrR]

Well, there are things I find more interesting... Viva Pinata, GTA 4, lots of Live Arcade games, ...

 

[iza]

i love japanese games and culture, but on the 360 subject, they can kiss my american ass. i have a wii, and i've spent several hours on my friends PS3 (which he didnt like and sold on ebay)...and i still think that the 360 is going to have american market share, hands down. the games are great and the difference in graphics and controls dont make it worth another $200 just to get a ps3.... the 360 is an all around great system. Live is its favorite weapon, but, hey, its got great games too...Viva Pinata is awesome, btw.