Epic Games CEO Mike Capps is somewhat in awe of the Nintendo Wii's ability to win over consumers despite the console's shortcomings, calling it "kind of like a weird virus."
The Wii's virus-like nature comes from its ability to infect new players with instant enthusiasm, Capps explained to IGN.
"[Y]ou buy it and you play it with your friends and they're like, 'Oh my God that's so cool, I'm gonna go buy it,'" he said.
You soon run out of games to play, but by then your friends have perpetuated the cycle by buying their own Wii, says Capps.
"[T]hey stop playing it after two months but they've showed it to someone else who then go out and buy it and so on," said Capps.
"Everyone I know bought one and nobody turns it on," he said.
Though he says he has yet to play a Wii game that he wouldn't rather have played on another platform, Capps still admires the Wii's ability to bring families together, noting that the first time he played a videogame with his parents was back in the days of the Atari 2600.
"The next time I played a videogame with my parents, 25 years later or whatever, was Wii Tennis." Here's where the haters will insert a joke about the graphics not being much different.
Despite the popularity of the Wii, Epic won't be bringing games to it any time soon, said Capps. "[T]hey don't run [Unreal Engine 3] and they can't."
"It makes more sense for us to invest in the next-generation tech," he said.
See Also:
- Gears of War 2: November 2008
- Harmonix: Wii Needs a Hard Drive
- Epic CEO: 'Talent Without Business Is Dangerous'
Image: Epic Games/Wired.com
