Spanish site MeriStation has posted an interview with Will Wright. In the interview he talks about why he's at a presentation of the Nintendo DS. That was first and foremost to promote the Urbz on the DS, but also to hold a lecture about Will's vision on the evolution of games. Wright's been in the industry since he created Raid on Bungeling Bay in 1985, and he's seen games develop and improve over the years. The DS is a jump forward again with the new features, and Will hopes that the platform will give videogames more variety that's necessary in the industry. The platform should attract both adults and youngsters, as it's easily accessible. Even people who aren't usually able to enter the complex world of videogames but are more easily hooked to games like Snake or Solitaire are able to use the DS and play games on it. Wright also comments on Nintendo that it has the capacity to innovate, and that they are very eager to create something different. But there's a lot more he has to say...
Going back to the Urbz on DS, Will says it's incredibly addictive. It has the same spirit as other Sims games by its unique characters - even if the DS version doesn't use the microphone. That was mainly not done, as the game had to be finished on the same day as the big console version. An in-game radio network will be implemented in a future game - if I understand that correctly.The Sims Online - and mainly why it never really was a success like the offline version - is also mentioned. Will says that this was mainly because the gameplay experience is very different, and some factors like not being able to speed up time limit the creativity. But also the monthly fee you need to pay to play the game is a factor that makes the game less of a success than it could have been. Also, the fact that the subscription requires a credit card which generally people younger than 18 cannot have turns off a lot of young players. Even though people want to have almost everything for free, they must at some point also understand that things have to be paid for.
Going back to Nintendo, Wright isn't sure if the platform will bring more innovative games. It is up to the developers to use the tools from Nintendo and the features of the platform to the maximum. The rules of the games have already been redefined in a certain way, by using new techniques like the Nintendo DS, but the horizon can be extended even further. For example by having to control the two screens simulatneously, by controlling games by blowing, etc. Sony's EyeToy also has a lot of potential that has been demonstrated, but simply hasn't been implemented by games yet. A reason for that could be that the features are too complicated to develop.
Will Wright doesn't consider himself to be a visionary, but he says it's good that Nintendo can still stand firm against bigger companies like Sony and Microsoft, whose core businesses are not videogames. Nintendo has to make an effort to stay popular, or else the company will not survive. He can't say who has won the battle of the third generation consoles.
Finally, there is some interesting information regarding the E3 that takes place 17-20 May. Meristation asks if there will be a new game from Will Wright demonstrated there. Although the game is still a secret, he will be showing something new there, that he hopes will be great. It's unsure whether this is the Urbz 2, SPORE, or SimCity 5 he's talking about, or perhaps an entirely different game. Only time will tell.
The entire interview is in Spanish, but if you want to read it or see the included photos, head over to it.
Written at 22:44 on Thursday, 10 February 2005 by ChEeTaH.
