According to American McGee, the Wii is the ONLY Next-Gen Console.

[KentaRawr!]

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/15/mc...xt-gen-is-wii/

Eurogamer quotes game designer American McGee in an upcoming interview by CVG as saying, "The only truly next-gen console out there is the Wii. Everything else is just a video card and processor upgrade."

McGee, whose next game Bad Day LA hits the Xbox and PC in a few months, says Nintendo will "capture the hearts" of gamers while "Microsoft and Sony stab each other in the neck" as they compete over market share.

We've heard one developer pick the 360 over the PS3 before, but this is the first time we've seen someone in the biz say that the Wii is the only step up to next-gen.

I understand that this news isn't exactly important, but I think that it might offer an interesting discussion. I will post my own opinion as the topic rolls on.

[Yamaneko]

One man's opinion who happens to have never really made a great game.

[Moon Rabbits]

One man's opinion who happens to have never really made a great game.

LIES.

[Flying Mullet]

"The only truly next-gen console out there is the Wii. Everything else is just a video card and processor upgrade."

95% of all next-gen game systems have basically been a video card and processor upgrade. I don't see how he can stand behind that statement.

[Duncan]

One man's opinion who happens to have never really made a great game.

You've obviously never played Alice.

[Roto13]

"The only truly next-gen console out there is the Wii. Everything else is just a video card and processor upgrade."

95% of all next-gen game systems have basically been a video card and processor upgrade. I don't see how he can stand behind that statement.

I guess that makes it true, then. :P

[Madame Adequate]

"The only truly next-gen console out there is the Wii. Everything else is just a video card and processor upgrade."

95% of all next-gen game systems have basically been a video card and processor upgrade. I don't see how he can stand behind that statement.

I guess that makes it true, then. :P

True, and entirely irellevant.

[XxSephirothxX]

I dunno. I'd say the evolution of the controller from the NES to the SNES, and even to the N64, really made a considerable impact on how videogames were played and designed. That's not just a boost in performance power.

[Arrianna]

I just can't get past the name long enough to care.

[Flying Mullet]

But now you're into a discussion of what makes a game system "next generation":

Is it a new way for the user to interact with the system; a controller with more buttons, an analog stick, Eyetoy, motion sensors, etc...?

Is it a large enough increase in graphical horsepower that the game can be presented in a new manner; Mode 7 graphics on the SNES, a move to 3D graphics, 3D graphics with the ability to add a lot of realism to the graphics or show a lot of seperate independent entities on the screen at once, etc...?

Is it a new way that the system interacts with the user; stereo sound, surround sound, a rumble pack, etc...?

[KentaRawr!]

Personally, I think Next-Gen just means it's the next generation's console. If a system with about the power of the SNES was to be released, would we say it's from a few generations ago? Of course not. But we CAN say it basically has the same power of a system from a few generations ago.

Does the dictionary have "Next-Gen" in it?

[Moon Rabbits]

If American McGee said pigs could fly, I'd believe him. K? K.

[Duncan]

The whole thing depend on what the definition of "next-gen" is. The generic version of the term simply means the next generation of a console. So, by that definition his statement is invalid. However, if you take "next-gen" to be more like a defining aspect of the console, or maybe something that helps define the market going forward then his statement makes more sense. I believe that is how he meant it. Other "next-gen" defining aspects would have been the Playstation's use of CD's, or the X-Box's extensive online capabilities. With this generation, everybody's got online and CD/DVD media so the Wii controller could possibily be the defining aspect of the "next-gen". Course we'll have to wait a few years to see if he's right or not.

[Zeromus_X]

"The only truly next-gen console out there is the Wii. Everything else is just a video card and processor upgrade."

Pretty much.

[Markus. D]

I can agree with that n_n"