GigaOm’s Wagner James Au tells iuwii.com what games he’s looking forward to, why he doesn’t see Nintendo’s pesky Friend Code process changing any time soon, and why there is reason for Nintendo to take PS2’s price drop seriously.
What games are you currently playing?
Wagner James Au:For the DS, the latest Fire Emblem
What do you think was the most exciting news from Nintendo during GDC? Why?
WJA:The expanded menu/save capability. Least exciting: Nintendo still acts like the DSi isn’t competing against the iPhone and its huge buzz.
What do you think will be the most exciting game releases for DS and Wii this year?
WJA:I’m most interested in seeing the DSi itself, and how it delivers DSiWare. Also, Rock Band: Beatles.
EA’s upcoming release, Boom Blox Bash Party will let users upload and download player created levels without friend codes. Nintendo’s friend code process is somewhat cumbersome especially with games like Animal Crossing. As more players go online do you think Nintendo will start to rethink their online game play process in order to create a better game experience?
WJA: I hope they do, but I’m very skeptical, their corporate culture really seems dead set against truly enabling multiplayer and socialization.
John Koller, Director of Hardware Marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America said in an interview with Game Daily Biz, that the Wii will lose market share to the PS2, now that the price has been lowered to $99. The PS2 is a 9 year old console and lacks the features that makes the Wii unique. Do you think that Koller’s prediction is plausible?
WJA: It’s possible if Sony adds new functionality like Net connection and new Wii-style motion controls and games to go with them, and keeps putting out Rock Band/Guitar Hero titles. In this economy, $99 versus $249 is a serious consideration. Ultimately however PS2 sales won’t do much to slow the Wii’s growth, in my opinion.
Wagner James Au is a contributing editor at GigaOm and reports on gaming news. Read his articles here.
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1 » Interview: Wagner James Au on DSi, Friend Codes and the PS2 Price Drop [Voices] // Apr 7, 2009 at 9:55 am
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