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http://wii.ign.com/articles/771/771051p1.html

March 7, 2007 - During a session at GDC this morning titled 'Burning Mad - Game Publishers Rant,' time was taken about half way through to allow developers a chance to spew their own rants. One speaker, Chris Hecker, currently working on Spore at Maxis, took the opportunity to call out Nintendo for not taken games seriously. "The Wii is a piece of shit!" Hecker began his talk, which was called "Fear of a Wii Planet." He blasted a few bars of Public Enemy to set the tone. Hecker said the Wii is nothing more than two GameCubes stuck together with duct tape, and that the console isn't powerful enough to provide the next-gen experience he has been waiting for. Although he stated the system is "severely underpowered," Hecker noted that he wasn't simply referring to the Wii's graphical capabilities. He wants to spend a console's CPU making games more intelligent, and he has found the Wii doesn't have the power to process things like complicated AI. Hecker also took Nintendo to task for not taking games seriously enough. "It's not clear to me that Nintendo gives a shit about games as an art form," he said. To illustrate his point, he searched for references to games as art on all three console manufacturers web sites. While he found numerous such references on both the official PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sites, Wii.com had none at all. He then shared quotes from executives at Sony and Microsoft talking about games as a serious artistic medium, and then a quote from a Nintendo executive saying the company only wanted to make "fun" games. Hecker ended his spirited rant with two demands for Nintendo: First, recognize and push games as serious art. And two, "make a console that doesn't suck ass."

I think he's full of shit, and just has major issues with the company itself. Can't wait til he has to help on Spore the Wii version.

All other comments aside, he's most off base about the art angle. Of all the companies to level that argument at, Nintendo is near the bottom of the list.

HHHHHHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA.

What a tard. He seriously sounds like he was acting like a living manifestation of a GameFAQs post.

I suppose he subscribes to the idea that "games as art" means "games with better graphics." That really must be it, because I'd hardly call your average PS3 game art.

Well, that's OK. The sales numbers are really the bottom line here, and Wii's got 'em. He can believe what he wants, I guess.

who? exactly.

Now, if this was Will Wright, or someone else IMPORTANT...wait. I still wouldn't give two shits.

He's either really, really stupid, or this is just some bet he made with his friends about going on stage and bashing someone.

Originally Posted by mtxbass1 who? exactly. Now, if this was Will Wright, or someone else IMPORTANT...wait. I still wouldn't give two shits.

Yeah, seriously.

I think he's just trying to get his 15 minutes of fame. I'd love to see his reaction in a year when they decide to bring Spore to the Wii.

Sure, the Wii isn't as capable... but I think he forgot to mention that it has a controller unlike any other and costs a lot less than the competing systems.

And Nintendo not serious about games? They've proven to be more serious than anything... if you can make grandpas and soccer moms play games, you know you've made a hell of a game.

I like how Sony and Microsoft are more serious about games simply because they refer to them as art somewhere on their website. When their real goal is to infiltrate the living room as an entertainment hub.

And I hate the fact that Nintendo is trying to make fun games. We need less fun games in the world. In fact, I think Sony needs to scrap Little Big World right now because it looks damn fun.

Doesn't matter, Wil Wright seems to like it.

Let's all laugh at the fact that this guy wouldn't even be able to being say this shit if it wasn't for Nintendo. They've done a lot for video games. And also, Twilight Princess = art.

what a douche

What's the point in pushing games as art? Is that really the gauge of videogame legitimacy? I don't get it. I go see the mona lisa and I say, "that's cool." I can read a comic book and get much more enjoyment over the same period of time. If games are more like comics, are they any less entertaining? This guy is sufering from an inferiority complex.

As someone very smart once said, "I don't know art, but I know what I like!"

He hates Nintendo and the Wii? That's NOT allowed.

Lets instead imagine he said that about Sony and the PS3 "He is so right" "QFT" "lets put him in SSBB" "He rulez"

Hecker spent many years working independently on a game based on the sport of rock climbing. In 2004, he took a job with Maxis, working with Will Wright on Spore. It is interesting to note that though Hecker is respected within the game industry, as of 2005 he still has not shipped a single game (this will likely change when Spore is released).

Yeah... nothing more than a pathetic attempt to gain attention.

Originally Posted by whoknows He hates Nintendo and the Wii? That's NOT allowed. Lets instead imagine he said that about Sony and the PS3 "He is so right" "QFT" "lets put him in SSBB" "He rulez"

That sort of response is getting old too, by the way.

Originally Posted by whoknows He hates Nintendo and the Wii? That's NOT allowed. Lets instead imagine he said that about Sony and the PS3 "He is so right" "QFT" "lets put him in SSBB" "He rulez"

It's not that it isn't allowed, it's that he saying the Wii is a platform that cannot produce artistic material. Because Nintendo doesn't use the word "art" in their discussion of gaming and because it's not as beefy as the 360 or PS3, it's not art.

The major flaw in his argument is that if the Wii cannot produce art, you'd have to make the logical jump that no game produced for a system before the Wii is art since they were all underpowered. hat argument in and of itself is quite frankly, insane, as is he. I think we can all think of ten games easily that could be argued as artistic right then and there. Furthermore, I do think that the Wii has had an "artistic" game in Elebits already. T The Wii is just as capable of producing an artistic experience albeit different from the one's you'll see on the PS3 and 360.

Originally Posted by whoknows He hates Nintendo and the Wii? That's NOT allowed. Lets instead imagine he said that about Sony and the PS3 "He is so right" "QFT" "lets put him in SSBB" "He rulez"

Way to win the thread. It's perfectly fine to hate Nintendo if you have a valid reason, but this guy doesn't even have a realistic idea of what he's talking about.

Originally Posted by David85 Doesn't matter, Wil Wright seems to like it.

Exactly. Hasn't Will Wright, this guy's boss, publicly stated many times that he loves the Wii (no pun intended)?

I thought game were supposed to be fun, you know, entertainment? Not that you can't be artistic in that endeavor, which Nintendo kinda leads the pack in that regard. He must never have seen Wind Waker.

Most of the time I feel like game labeled as "Art" are done so because they're 1/2 assed, really pretty pathetic games, that some people love and claim that others "don't get it" so that their opinion is more "important" than others'.

The closest I've had to having fun with a game labeled as "for art" was Electroplankton, and even that I would call more "toy" than "art."

It's impossible for a lower-sepc platform to make an artistic game. I mean, Okami and Shadow of the Colossus are nothing compared to Blazing Angels on the 360 and Gundam on the Ps3.

Also "Hecker spent many years working independently on a game based on the sport of rock climbing[...]as of 2005 he still has not shipped a single game" is a nice little cross-section of the real issue. This basically means:
"I'm working with Will Wright, someone who actually has a sense of creativity, thus I am an artist!"

him.

I don't give to shits about games as art myself, it's a stupid goal IMO.

Games to me are nothing more than a silly, fun diversion to unwind after a long day at work.

If I want Art I'll go to a gallery, or pop in a DVD or CD, or pick up a great book.