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Xbox man says the Wii is "a novelty"

Greenberg believes players will move on

Talking to Gamasutra, Xbox boss of product management Aaron Greenberg has opened a whole can worms, the exec describing Nintendo's best selling system as a novelty that will wear off.

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He believes that players will eventually move on to 'proper' systems, like the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Meanwhile, we assume Nintendo shareholders are nodding away in agreement, while quietly counting their mounds of actual gold.

"Everyone says that eventually the novelty will wear off, right? I think that a lot of the people that are buying that console today are not people that have generally bought consoles in the past, right?

"You see they're not buying games on it, right? They're buying it, it's like something they break out when people come over, and it's maybe a fun thing, but it's almost like the same people that buy a karaoke machine, you know? They're not really buying it for games, they're just buying it as a novelty."

1. Like Yebba-debba-doo, the Wii is for you! Poor Dino can't help but run when we have the Rubbles over! He just can't stand that baseball game! He uses his tail to swing, but the poor guy just can't seem to make contact! Betty is the best so far, but don't tell Wilma that! Even if Wii is a novelty, we still will have Wii nights here in Bedrock!

   Fred Flinstone. Sunday, 6 July 2008, 04:03:40

2. At last, someone has the guts to speak the truth - shame he's from a rival company. At the moment all the Wii offers is the innate fun of waving a stick around, which, let's be honest, wares off quite quickly. Unless they can come up with a game that can go beyond the self-serving purpose of showcasing motion controls (mostly built around hitting or throwing balls - take your kids to the park, for god's sake). Funnily enough, we did bring the Wii out when we last had a party, but after everyone nearly wetting themselves with excitement initially, they all got bored of actually playing with it in under an hour.

   FayeFaye Monday, 7 July 2008, 06:17:24

3. This statement seems in keeping with Bill Gates' famous line about 'nobody will ever need more than 640K'.

   Granted, the Wii is a party console, and yes, games are limited (at present, but according to the laws of supply & demand, how long will that last?). It is new technology. And since when has it been a rational extrapolation that because a product is popular and has garnered a new market it is necessarily doomed to fail?! My boyfriend and I have a credit card-twanging collection of consoles: PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, PSP and yes, a Wii. We are hardcore gamers. There is no comparison between the 'proper' next-gen consoles and the wii in terms of graphics handling and unadulterated power, but in terms of immersion, of that pure loss of the 4th wall - being a _part_ of the game, physically, nothing has come close. Just look at Resident Evil 4, where they actually managed to _improve_ another console's game! Lets all just take the padlocks off the fences surrounding our minds, shall we? If only for a moment, let in the stray animal of perspective and give it a saucer of milk. Perhaps it'll stay.

   (PS: congrats, Play.tm, on an awesome website and a fine group of reviewers, you guys give me something to rave or rant about on a regular basis - thanks!)

   TrulyNushi Monday, 7 July 2008, 10:55:8