Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Hey, Warren! Thanks, buddy.

Over the years, many groups of people have treated Wii gamers as second class citizens.  Gaming media, game retailers, fellow gamers.  But, perhaps the worst offender has been third party developers.  Often the Wii, its huge install base and its diverse audience are completely ignored when multi-platform games are made.  If they do go to the Wii, they are often lazy, outsourced projects that don't even really try to recreate the product on the HD systems.  If the Wii is fortunate enough for a robust, ground-up exclusive, it often suffers one of two fates.  Either it does poorly and is seen as further evidence that the Wii is not a viable 3rd party platform, or it does very well and instantly loses exclusivity in the form of upgraded ports and HD-focused sequels.

Such is not the case with Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.  No, Warren Spector has shown that he is a stand-up individual.  He knows who brought him to the dance, and he's going to be honorable and dance with that one. 

Epic Mickey 2 would not be getting made if not for the dollars of Wii owners buying Epic Mickey 1.  Warren realizes this and realizes that cute, colorful, anthropomorphic, platforming might not even be what the HD-twin audience is looking for.  Thus, the Wii is the lead platform under Junction Point's development of Epic Mickey 2.  This is an honorable move and a smart one.  By not turning your back on the folks who got you there, the sales of EM2 should be on par with EM1's success.  And by not burning resources on the questionable appeal of HD productions, we have a truly "everybody wins" scenario...

Wii gamers get respect, a returned favor, and an awesome game.  PS3/60 gamers don't have to say "why isn't this on PS3/60?!?! RARR!!" And Warren Specter/Junction Point/Disney will likely see their honorable deeds rewarded with filthy, filthy lucre. =)

So... Hey, Warren! Thanks, buddy.

1 comment:

Maxi said...

Epic Mickey is in the backlog of games I do need to get but I have heard it is a very good game. I can't wait for the up coming games and I appreciate what Junction Point is doing for Nintendo.