Iconic game designer Will Wright has described the Wii as more of a toy than a gaming console, and believes the system should be considered as such. Before you get your torches and pitchforks though, bear in mind that he doesn’t mean that as a bad thing.
“I think the Wii is a very unique platform, and that’s kind of its core value,” he explains. “That’s why it’s been so successful — because it’s pretty clearly different than the Xbox or the PlayStation. I think the Wii provides very fun experiences for the most part, but it’s kind of a different level of experience; it’s not like these 40-hour involved RPG games as much as it is like these fun toys to pick up and start playing in five minutes.
“And it’s really fun with a group of people sitting around… It really is more into what I would call the toy market, because most of the Wii games I’ve enjoyed felt more like toys than like games.”
Funnily enough, the Wii is starting to get quite afewinvolved RPGs and there are plenty of traditional games if you know where to look. I totally see what he’s saying though. The Wiiisa gimmick and a toy, but that’s not a bad thing at all. It is, after all, why Nintendo is so effing rich right now.
