With all the dominant attention given by third-parties to engine prowess and how that propels basic graphics, it's easy to forget that there is one more beneficial component to a game's visual presentation. That component is artistic direction. And an issue with modern third-party projects, which naturally became an issue with the quantity and quality of Nintendo's outside support, is that the potential impact of artistic direction is often overlooked in favor of graphical flair. In turn, important modern third-party properties often enough, from a visual standpoint, rely too heavily on "real-world" elements to be compatible with Nintendo's hardware philosophy. This fact would lead many to believe that the Wiiu is under-powered and its predecessor the Wii was as well. But, such is not the case. Nintendo has never been a fan of realism overtaking artistic direction, and began to reflect that outlook more evidently in the Wii era. Artistic direction in games like No More Heroes, MadWorld, and Red Steel 2 managed to save the Wii's third-party support and it's going to take a similar effort to make the Wiiu's third-party support shine.
why are cutting edge graphics and artistic direction seen as mutually exclusive. look at the bioshock series for example, technological and timeless both. nintendo has managed to make a lot of games look good despite technological limitations. mario galaxy and metroid prime 3 looks great, as does skyward sword. but nintendo has focused so much on the controller, they forgot about the platform itself.
why are cutting edge graphics and artistic direction seen as mutually exclusive. look at the bioshock series for example, technological and timeless both. nintendo has managed to make a lot of games look good despite technological limitations. mario galaxy and metroid prime 3 looks great, as does skyward sword. but why exclude third parties with dated hardware? why not give them the choice? nintendo has focused so much on the controller, they forgot about the platform itself.
[QUOTE="drekula2"]why are cutting edge graphics and artistic direction seen as mutually exclusive. look at the bioshock series for example, technological and timeless both. nintendo has managed to make a lot of games look good despite technological limitations. mario galaxy and metroid prime 3 looks great, as does skyward sword. but why exclude third parties with dated hardware? why not give them the choice? nintendo has focused so much on the controller, they forgot about the platform itself. Yeah, I didn't mean that Nintendo or third-parties never seek a balance. I was just assessing how a popular trend has been contributing to Nintendo's third-party woes.
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