Epic: We aren't planning on any Wii projects
by David Hinkle 
{ Oct 5th 2007 at 11:20AM }
Mark Rein is talking about the Wii again, this time commenting that his company is sticking to work on consoles that can push the graphical envelope. Even though a lot of developers and publishers are looking to the Wii for some future projects due to its success, Epic could care less.Rein comments "I don't think there's a lot of money on making engines for the Wii because the big software dollars right now are being earned on Xbox 360 and they're going to be earned on PlayStation 3, and I think unless you're going to sell your engine to Nintendo, you're going for scraps on that platform." Rein also states that he thinks the big bucks are to be made on the Xbox 360 and PS3, where the budgets for games are a lot higher.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
chad @ Oct 5th 2007 11:24AM
bastard!
Jonathan Tran @ Oct 5th 2007 11:43AM
360? yes
PS3? no
01 @ Oct 5th 2007 11:59AM
Really is too bad... I'm surprised/disappointed that devs like this aren't more interested in developing an engine for the wii; if nothing else, MP:3 showed us that a FPS can work on the wii AND look good. id and crysis, I'm looking at you now, you may be our only hope. (unless Retro releases their engine...)
Jeremy @ Oct 5th 2007 12:00PM
Hey he needs economics 101. The Wii has more owners and the cost to develop a game is less. That should tell him larger customer base and less costs equals more income.
Also why would anyone even make that comment unless they are getting something in return?
Chris @ Oct 5th 2007 12:26PM
The 360 can have only so many FPSs til they start to bore.
Mr Khan @ Oct 5th 2007 12:26PM
Such is to be expected, Epic is primarily a PC development company, and those companies (cough *iD* cough) have always been incredibly hostile to Nintendo consoles (not so much to their handhelds, but definitely to their consoles)
samfish (MSDF- Nurse Outfit!) @ Oct 5th 2007 1:18PM
Just because you're the head of a company doesn't mean you have an ounce of business sense.
...not that it matters. I can't imagine I would personally be interested in any games Epic makes anyway.
Prof_Chaos @ Oct 5th 2007 1:23PM
Also, the main reason the budgets are higher for 360 and PS3 games is that the costs are astronomically higher, with, in the PS3's case a much smaller install base. Nevermind that there's still differing numbers on how many PS3's were purchased as Blu-Ray players first and foremost. Note that as the prices for stand-alone players came down so did the PS3 sales. Probably not the whole reason, but at least part of it.
steve @ Oct 5th 2007 2:41PM
who's Epic and who's Mark Rein? who cares?
CaptainAmericaX @ Oct 5th 2007 2:59PM
What an idiotica fat piece of lard.
It doesn't a take a genius to figure out the potential the Wii has for sales given that one actually makes a GOOD GAME and not some shitty half baked piece of turd.
j17 @ Oct 5th 2007 4:20PM
And that's exactly why I own a wii and a ps3. As much as I like Nintendo, I like to play games that push the graphical quality also and 3rd party support for the wii seems to be slacking or non existent in the graphics area. Companies like Retro are a perfect example of how to push the Wii's hardware to it's limits and apparently is the ONLY ONE currently doing something about it. Hate to say it, but it's true...
Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Oct 5th 2007 5:14PM
> [...] where the budgets for games are a lot higher.
The guy forgets: that means also that there would be fewer games.
Wii most likely would be king of inexpensive games. I frankly bought for that. (Though right now I envy those who have Xbox and access to XBLA.)
Hobo Joe @ Oct 5th 2007 6:01PM
It's "Epic COULDN'T care less."
Duscrom @ Oct 6th 2007 5:13AM
This guy know what he's talking about. They make Middleware... So Nintendo is a) The company making the money off the Wii. So.. unless they sell it to Nintendo they won't have any buyers.. because 3rd Parties aren't going to spend alot on Wii games.... including the purchase of Unreal Tech. Much like they didn't on the gamecube.. I mean seriously.. What would Unreal Engine do for brain training 3, or any of the Mini-game fests that Wii specializes in.
They sell technology, THEY are making money off the 360 and PS3, because of the High development costs... the cost of buying THEIR ENGINE..... They survive off the sale of Software, not Hardware. Selling Software is what the 360 is good at, Selling Hardware is what the Wii is good at.
Am i really the only person smart enough to figure that out?
wiiboy101gezza2007 @ Oct 6th 2007 9:54AM
people people people see thru the smoke and mirrors first mark rain talks up ps3 and trys to say hd is next gen wen infact its natural evolution of a console that makes it next gen.....
he says ps3 is the console to back ""WHY"" BECOUSE HE SPENT ALL THAT MONEY ON PS3 DEV KITS AND UNREAL 3 PS3 SUPPORT...
becouse as a ignorant 3rd party baffoon he or they at epic thought playstation brand was going to walk over wii and 360 that didnt happen (predicted by anyone with commonsence including myself) yet epic and epics mark phatboy rain didnt see comming due to there own lack of industre knoledge and a typical out of touch 3rd party mentallity.....
now there all eggs in the ps3 basket bussiness plan has BACK FIRED MASSIVLY
he thinks banging on about wii in a outright childish way is some how magicly going to stop wii selling and kick start ps3 sales
THIS GUY IS A COMPLEAT IDIOT
NOW PS3 HAS FLOPPED HE NOW SAYS X360 IS WERE ITS AT FUNNY PS3 SUPPORT HAS COST EPIC DEAR AS ITS A FLOPING SYSTEM
now they say x360 not ps3 is were its at for devs hmmmmmm
FUNNY MARK THAT YOU SAID THE COMPLEAT OPERSITE LAST YEAR AND NOW 360 IS THE ONLY VALUABLE CONSOLE WITH UNREAL ON IT YOUR NOW BIGGING UP 360 TO MARKET YOUR ENGINE AND NOT PS3
AND AS YOUR A OUT OF TOUCH STUPID COMPANY YOU DIDNT BACK WII AND NOW BLAIM WII FOR YOUR OWN STUPIDITY
MARK RAIN TAKE A SHOWER YOU PHAT FOOK
Hobo Joe @ Oct 6th 2007 3:28PM
^ Ahahaha, what?
Squall7 @ Oct 6th 2007 6:42PM
I wonder if this is his personal opinion or professional opinion. If Mark Rein was not in charge of Epic, I wonder if they'd still make the same decision...
To be fair though, he's already made his views perfectly clear. Now he's just coming off as a fanboy.
Also, just one more thing: he says that the big dollars are being earned from 360 and PS3. How would he know there's none to be earned from the Wii, if he has had no experience in selling stuff based on it?
L @ Oct 6th 2007 8:40PM
Men like him are what's wrong with the video game industry. I saw that interview and I could count at least four things he said that were just wrong, and I mean morally. It's just worng to push the industry towards the big budget, big team, high stress, no heart, soul, or spirit arena where flash and hype trump quality. I may not like some of Nintendo's choices, but I thank God they're there to counteract such foolish ideology that stifle fun and creativity. He gets a taste of success with Gears of War and now it's gone to his head, and that's the problem; "Gotta replicate that success, fuck anything new and original. Fuck trying something different cause all I sees is dollar signs!" Well fuck you, Mark Rein.
Mathieu Bonin @ Oct 7th 2007 7:04PM
I know this blog is called Nintendo Wii Fanboy, but the comments really hurt in the common sense department. Let me break it down for you.
Most comments claiming the guy is "wacko", "stupid" or "fanboyish" rely on partial information. First, yes the Wii has an incredible amount of units out, and that's great for all of us. But what's bad for all of us, is the low attach rate. People buy Wii's, but they don't buy a lot of games along with it. That's probably a result of having an affordable console with a packed-in game that can keep most casual gamers busy for a good long while - but I digress.
And added to that Attach rate factor, is the fact that even when the attach rate manages to climb - historically, and still true - Nintendo first-party games are the one being bought. And the age old argument about the quality of the game making this a reality holds very little water: Many multi-platform titles fared extremely well during the PS2/Xbox/NGC era, and for the notable exception of Soul Calibur 2, they always sold poorly on the NGC. So even with a decent attach rate, third parties are still getting screwed.
And to a lesser extent, Developing an engine for both the X360 and the PS3, involves much less work than porting it to the Wii. Even with different architectures, their capabilities are roughly the same, so less work - even if the PS3 is lagging behind.
So there you have it, while we all love our Wii's, you still have to consider that it's a business. And they're still out there to make money...
And besides, big deal if one company doesn't want to put the effort, there are many, MANY companies who have shown their support yet - and with WiiWare we should see smaller third parties showing what independents know about innovation.
maxnyc @ Oct 8th 2007 2:49AM
he's obviously a greedy, fat, fat headed, fatty pants, a fatso.
Decker @ Oct 8th 2007 5:54AM
What's with the personal attacks? A glance at what Epic's doing should reveal their stuff just wouldn't suit the platform at all.
They're a single dev-team company AFAIK. Taking a drastic sidestep to Wii would mean devoting the entire group away from where they've been successful for so long, and are busy pushing UE3 for the next few years.
Where would Wii fit in?
alex @ Oct 8th 2007 8:39PM
well we all know he's got a mental problem or just sucks at economics. The Wii is out selling the ps3 5 to 1 and is about to overtake the 360. Selling an engine to Nintendo would make them millions