The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has been one of the most popular RPGs in recent memory; the Xbox 360 and PC versions each have taken home numerous awards and high praise for the game’s involving storyline, gameplay, and graphics. Developer Bethesda has revealed in an interview with ShackNews that it considered releasing Oblivion on the Wii, but decided not to because of the system’s limitations in graphics and processing power.
Peter Hines, Vice President of Marketing for Epic Games, said, "This time around we did Oblivion and again we designed a game that’s really going to push some limits and would do the things we thought next-gen consoles might be able to do. When 360 dev kits were available, we did it on them because it was available. It’s not really going to run on a Wii for example, but if it could we would put it there. Our philosophy is to make a game and make it available to as many people as possible. We’re not looking to limit who can play a game. We want to make something that’s fun and we want as many people as possible to play it."
The Wii’s popularity is unquestioned, as sales figures continue to confirm that it’s a tremendous hit with the public. But the Wii’s simplicity–and lack of power–may limit some game publishers from developing more complex games for it. So while more casual games are the bread and butter of the Wii at the moment, the lack of "deep" games may, in the long run, make a difference with the hardcore gaming community.
