Microsoft Boss says Wii-U is wannabe Xbox 360
As cloud-gaming quickly turns console development into an arms race, a Microsoft boss has decided that Nintendo’s next-gen console won’t compare to theirs or Sony’s.
Microsoft Game Studio vice-president Phil Spencer told Games Industry International that Nintendo is not upping its game as much as other gaming companies.
"They are building a platform that is effectively a 360 when you think of graphical capability. Now they are really making an on-ramp for the back catalog of games that are on 360,” he says.
The claim that Nintendo’s next-gen console, the Wii-U, will not feature the graphical power of Microsoft and Sony’s next-gen efforts is not a major one – however Spencer believes Nintendo are creating an experience similiar to that of the Xbox 360.
"I think their Pro Controller makes a lot of sense with the platform they’ve built…it is easy for those games to move over the Wii U. They’ve moved the buttons around, and they’ve made a controller that feels familiar for 360 gamers, so I get why they are putting those pieces together.”
The Pro Controller Spencer refers to is the re-mastered version of the Classic Controller for the Nintendo Wii, which is rarely seen in use. The Pro Controller has the same boomerang-shape as the original GameCube controller and, coincidentally, the standard controller for the Xbox 360.
A Nintendo spokesman gives little credence to the claims, issuing a statement in response to the suggestions.
"The Wii U Pro Controller is an enhanced version of the Classic Controller Pro that has been designed specially to work with the Wii U console. It simply offers another way to play and more options for developers to use. We do not compare ourselves to the other consoles.”
The real message here is that while Nintendo will focus on telling stories and using a platform they are more familiar with, Sony and Microsoft will plow forward in terms of graphic development – which do you think is more important? Or do the two go hand in hand?Let us know in the comments below.
