No ‘Godfather II’ on Wii because Nintendo console isn’t next gen
The Nintendo Wii may be hugely successful in terms of sales, but it cannot compete with either the PS3 or Xbox 360 in any other department. In fact, it’s almost last gen in its capabilities. Developers are now starting to eschew creating games for the Wii because of this lack of processing power.
The original Godfather game was released on every console known to man in 2006 and 2007, and well, it sucked. All versions got a bit of a roasting from the gaming press but the Wii version was cited as the best, thanks to some new features over the earlier released PC, Xbox 360, and PS2 version.
The sequel is being released in February, 2009, but this time only three platforms are getting the game of the film, those being the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. While it’s understandable that there is no PS2 version being developed, the lack of a Wii version of the game was a bit of a mystery. Until now.
In an interview with TheGameReviews.com, Godfather II Producer, Dave Woldman, explained the reasons behind the decision to leave the Nintendo console out of its plans for the game.
We felt that in order to truly deliver on the vision of The Godfather II we really had to focus and take advantage of what the next gen hardware has to offer, including online connectivity. The next gen hardware is simply more robust and allows for a higher visual bar and immersive experience.
A next gen hardware focus enables higher-resolution textures, longer draw distances, and better frame-rates. But we also harnessed the power of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 to make gameplay improvements as well. We were able to create an all new Artificial Intelligence system to make our characters act and react more intelligently.
The Wii is, of course, technically a next gen console alongside the PS3 and Xbox 360, with them all belonging the seventh generation of home consoles. But developers are obviously starting to realize the impact of trying to develop for the Wii alongside the other two consoles – it just doesn’t work.
I’m sure there aren’t many Wii fans that are actually bothered that The Godfather II isn’t coming to the console, but that’s not the point. This is one game that could spell the start of a trend. There are already numerous games that exclude the Wii because of its technical limitations but when even developers who have had success on the console start to abandon it, there could be a cause for concern.
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8 Responses to “No ‘Godfather II’ on Wii because Nintendo console isn’t next gen”
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January 27th, 2009
It wasn’t THAT bad, worth a hire, definitely not a purchase though.
January 27th, 2009
The Wii could sell more than the PS3 and 360 combined due to its sales, except for the fact that it is geared more towards children’s/family titles, not “hardcore” titles. It makes sense they moved this to the PS3 and 360 not only for their tech specs but also because both of these consoles are geared more towards an adult audience. Nintendo admits this and Konami agrees, I don’t see why EA would be different. Especially when hardcore titles like Call of Duty are selling over three times as much on 360 and PS3, it’s better to focus efforts on the two consoles that have the sales proven audience and the specs to make the game everything it can be.
January 27th, 2009
the Nintendo branded money hats say otherwise…
anyways… I loved the first Godfather… it was awesome…
January 27th, 2009
This is basically the same reason why there will never be a Grand Theft Auto for the Wii. The Wii can not support the game.
Even smaller games like Guitar Hero, COD, Madden, etc, etc, are not capable on the Wii. Most multiplatform releases get an inferior version ported to the Wii.
January 27th, 2009
Barnabe Jones,
“there will never be a Grand Theft Auto for the Wii”
I don’t know… now that I think about it, if Chinatown Wars can come out for DS, then there could be a version of GTA on Wii as well.
January 27th, 2009
For some reason, I knew China Town Wars would come up after I said that… It’s possible, that the Wii could get a spin off. If RockStar were to make a completely new game and tailor to the Wii’s specs, it could happen. I don’t think it’s possible to port GTA IV down to the Wii though. It would have to be severely gimped in order to try and accommodate the Wii. The finished product would be a shallow shell of the true game.
January 27th, 2009
Who cares? Wii owners like myself purchased it for the family and kids games like Mario, Rayman and Zelda.
As long as they keep making fun family games then I could care less if they make games like Godfather 2 on the Wii. People who want to play these types of games buy a 360 or PS3 (myself included).
The Wii plays games and is current gen just because it isn’t as powerfull as the other 2 does not make it any less this gen.
That’s like saying my 21 inch TV is any less of a LCD TV then my 52 inch.
They both display video just like the consoles play games.
January 27th, 2009
this is why wii is a good secondary (or primary) console because some PS3/360/PC games cannot be ported to Wii (or can be ported but the game will be a really dumbed down version) and some Wii games just cannot be ported to PS3/360/PC (games that requires a specific controller for it to be played). unlike if you already have a 360, most of the games are also available on the PS3 and PC and vice versa.