Gamernode: News - Aaron Greenberg calls the Wii "a novelty"

Aaron Greenberg calls the Wii "a novelty"

Category: Wii, Posted: 07/04/2008 at 11:25PM CDT by Eddie Inzauto, Senior Editor

Ahh, industry figures taking jabs at rival companies' products like basement-dwelling fanboys never gets old, no matter which side it's coming from. This time around, Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft director of product management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, has some unflattering words for Nintendo's little white box, the Wii.

In an interview with Gamasutra, he claims that it is little more than a starter console and novelty for non-gamers, and that Wii owners "are eventually going to want to graduate to an Xbox 360 experience." Greenberg says:

"Everyone says that eventually the novelty will wear off, right? I think that a lot of the people that are buying that console today are not people that have generally bought consoles in the past, right?

You see they're not buying games on it, right? They're buying it, it's like something they break out when people come over, and it's maybe a fun thing, but it's almost like the same people that buy a karaoke machine, you know? They're not really buying it for games, they're just buying it as a novelty."

I can't say that I agree or disagree with him 100 percent, but I will say that the man has perfectly described at least one sector of Wii gamers -- just not all of them.

[via Gamasutra]

Posted by CUatTHEFINISH on 07/05/2008 at 12:42AM

I have to admit, I haven't played on the Wii for awhile, but with RB2 on the horizon, I know I'll be playing it again once I get the money to buy games.. lol

Posted by Brendon on 07/05/2008 at 05:34AM

I'd argue that his description could cover a large chunk of Wii gamers. There are plenty that actually buy the games and play it like a console, but I know far too many in relation who only play it when certain company comes over and haven't touched it in half a year otherwise to write his comments off.

Posted by Leonick on 07/05/2008 at 07:51AM

Well sorry but i am going to prove him wrong... I am getting myself a Wii to experience the kind of game neither the pc nor the 360 can give me and i am not "upgrading" to a damn 360 to play they type of games i can play on a pc with better control, specially not this late into the generation of the consoles if i buy a 360 now there would be some damn 520 or whatever next month or something

Posted by southAussie on 07/06/2008 at 10:13AM

I have a Wii and have absolutely no desire to buy a Xbox 360. Does that make me bad?

But seriously, it's a bit childish to say something like that. Yes, the Wii is catering to a different level of gamer. However, it is in no way a "starting point". Everybody has their own preferences, and may not necessarily want to "upgrade", or whatever the hell it is.

Posted by ninjalegend on 07/06/2008 at 03:00PM

The wii remains the only other console I had ever bought, and been totally disappointed by. The first was the 3do(I never fell victim to the 32x, sega cd, or the phillips machine). It's underpowered, has no HDD, is loaded with shovelware, and even above average games are few and far between. When I bought it, I thought SSBB and Galaxy were just the tip of the iceberg. Now I realize they were just lone sirens, looking to part me with my money.