Sid Meier on XBLA, Wii, and the ESRB

In an interview over at Shacknews, Sid Meier, creator of Civilization and Alpha Centauri games, had a bunch of interesting things to say about the Xbox Live, the Wii, the Nintendo DS, and the ESRB.

When asked about his opinion on the criticism that gaming has hit a plateau, Meier says that he doesnÂ’t really agree with that sentiment. He cites Xbox Live Arcade as a good example of “gaming moving forward”. He says that XBLA enables developers to create new games on a shorter development cycle and then deliver them inexpensively to gamers. While most of the games on it for now appeals only to casual gamers, in time, more robust games can be made on it and it can appeal to those who are a bit more “hardcore”.

He also thinks that the Wii is a very innovative and fun system. He says that the Wiimote is a very intuitive controller and should work well with games that require individual character movements like tennis, baseball, sword fighting, etc.

When asked if weÂ’ll see some of his titles on handhelds, he says that his philosophy has always been to deliver games on platforms that make sense of the game. He says that if they can make a game fun for the handheld then theyÂ’ll do it.

When asked about his take on the current “video game war” that is happening in Congress, he says that he strongly believes that itÂ’s the developers’/publishers’ responsibility to make sure that the content they deliver is appropriate for the intended audience, and that it is the parentÂ’s responsibility to make sure that the kids are playing the games they feel are appropriate for them.

He goes on to say that he believes GTA is a great example of a game series that is appropriate for its intended audience. He also says that it’s obvious “M” rating should make it clear that it is not for kids.

He believes that once people (parents in particular) become more aware of the ESRB system then all this hoopla should subside.

Did you hear that Jack Thompson?

In an interview over at Shacknews, Sid Meier, creator of Civilization and Alpha Centauri games, had a bunch of interesting things to say about the Xbox Live, the Wii, the Nintendo DS, and the ESRB.

When asked about his opinion on the criticism that gaming has hit a plateau, Meier says that he doesnÂ’t really agree with that sentiment. He cites Xbox Live Arcade as a good example of “gaming moving forward”. He says that XBLA enables developers to create new games on a shorter development cycle and then deliver them inexpensively to gamers. While most of the games on it for now appeals only to casual gamers, in time, more robust games can be made on it and it can appeal to those who are a bit more “hardcore”.

He also thinks that the Wii is a very innovative and fun system. He says that the Wiimote is a very intuitive controller and should work well with games that require individual character movements like tennis, baseball, sword fighting, etc.

When asked if weÂ’ll see some of his titles on handhelds, he says that his philosophy has always been to deliver games on platforms that make sense of the game. He says that if they can make a game fun for the handheld then theyÂ’ll do it.

When asked about his take on the current “video game war” that is happening in Congress, he says that he strongly believes that itÂ’s the developers’/publishers’ responsibility to make sure that the content they deliver is appropriate for the intended audience, and that it is the parentÂ’s responsibility to make sure that the kids are playing the games they feel are appropriate for them.

He goes on to say that he believes GTA is a great example of a game series that is appropriate for its intended audience. He also says that it’s obvious “M” rating should make it clear that it is not for kids.

He believes that once people (parents in particular) become more aware of the ESRB system then all this hoopla should subside.

Did you hear that Jack Thompson?