Braben: Wii a dying fad just like the Eyetoy

Wii - Image 1 

It’s no secret that the Wii’s enjoying the limelight in this leg of the next-generation console race, all thanks to its motion-sensing capabilities with the Wiimote that had not only gamers off the couch and moving around, but also got the non-gaming demographic into the hobby of playing video games. However, David Braben, veteran games developer and the mind behind titles such as A Dog’s Life, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 and Thrillville, thinks that the Wii is merely a fad, and will fade into obscurity after the public has had enough about it.

In an interview, David Braben compared the Wii with the EyeToy, in the sense that people also thought highly of the PS2 camera, but soon got tired of it. His statement, snipped from the interview and in verbatim:

What’s interesting is that people are talking about the novelty of the Wii as if itÂ’s something completely revolutionary but actually we went through this same process with EyeToy, which allowed for gaming where you can stand up and do active physical things, but the EyeToy as a device lasted maybe eighteen months before people got bored with it, so thatÂ’s something that we should bare in mind with the Wii.

While I personally can agree that the EyeToy was indeed revolutionary for its time, it didn’t get quite the amount of software support from Sony. Of course, there are the titles such as Eyetoy: Play and so on, as well as the games where they feature the EyeToy as an optional control device, but it didn’t really get the sort of support that the Wiimote’s having right now. We need only to look at some of the games (i.e. Manhunt 2, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, Super Mario Galaxy) to see how well the “gimmick” is supported.

Well, that’s Braben’s and yours truly’s two cents about the Wii. How about you, dear reader? Have anything to share about the Wii being a fad? Let us know by your comments!

Wii - Image 1 

It’s no secret that the Wii’s enjoying the limelight in this leg of the next-generation console race, all thanks to its motion-sensing capabilities with the Wiimote that had not only gamers off the couch and moving around, but also got the non-gaming demographic into the hobby of playing video games. However, David Braben, veteran games developer and the mind behind titles such as A Dog’s Life, Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 and Thrillville, thinks that the Wii is merely a fad, and will fade into obscurity after the public has had enough about it.

In an interview, David Braben compared the Wii with the EyeToy, in the sense that people also thought highly of the PS2 camera, but soon got tired of it. His statement, snipped from the interview and in verbatim:

What’s interesting is that people are talking about the novelty of the Wii as if itÂ’s something completely revolutionary but actually we went through this same process with EyeToy, which allowed for gaming where you can stand up and do active physical things, but the EyeToy as a device lasted maybe eighteen months before people got bored with it, so thatÂ’s something that we should bare in mind with the Wii.

While I personally can agree that the EyeToy was indeed revolutionary for its time, it didn’t get quite the amount of software support from Sony. Of course, there are the titles such as Eyetoy: Play and so on, as well as the games where they feature the EyeToy as an optional control device, but it didn’t really get the sort of support that the Wiimote’s having right now. We need only to look at some of the games (i.e. Manhunt 2, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, Super Mario Galaxy) to see how well the “gimmick” is supported.

Well, that’s Braben’s and yours truly’s two cents about the Wii. How about you, dear reader? Have anything to share about the Wii being a fad? Let us know by your comments!

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