Xbox Europe Boss Calls Wii A “Toy”
In an interview with GamesIndustry, Xbox Europe CEO Neil Thompson said some harsh things about the Nintendo Wii, calling it a “kid’s toy”.
“…in the same category as mobile phones and MP3 players. It has the potential of taking consumers spend and wallet share away from us in general, but at a product comparison level it’s not competing with us at all. It’s an innovative, low-definition product.
“People will make a clear decision probably as to whether they want that sort of product – a kid’s toy – or they want high-definition gaming and entertainment and all that it brings.”
This indicates that Microsoft primarily sees the Sony PS3 as competition, although Nintendo has always pointed out that the Wii is not a next-generation console, but instead a “new-generation” console. Maybe Thompson is right about this, or maybe he’s just being cocky. Either way, the war has just begun.
November 23rd, 2006 at 10:31 pm
lol… what alcohol can do to some people!!!
November 23rd, 2006 at 10:35 pm
ALL video games are childish. That’s why we PLAY them. We like to be children every now and then. The idea that there are “adult” or “mature” games is complete BS.
November 24th, 2006 at 12:57 am
Oh no!! A representitive from the company that thought that the internet wouldn’t catch on thinks Wii sucks! Well they must be right again.
November 24th, 2006 at 1:52 am
if a console isn’t a toy then what category does it go on? furniture?
November 24th, 2006 at 2:20 am
Well according to Sony their console is a home entertainment system/computer … so they obviously don’t consider it a toy … and the same really with the 360 especially now that the HD-DVD companion hardware is available .. by the way it works flawlessly and the picture looks fantastic. The only difference is MS doesn’t consider their console to be a computer … yet. I have to say from my perspective the 360 is NO toy even though it plays games … with that HD-DVD attachment a whole new world has been opened to me.
November 24th, 2006 at 3:23 am
The xbox360 is not a home entertainment system by any means, it only supports the formats Microsoft supports, and you can even use standard keyboard and mouse, like you can with the PS3.
November 24th, 2006 at 7:37 am
Well I don’t agree with that … too me it is definitely a home entertainment/high end gaming system. And I won’t repeat myself since I already stated why I NOW feel that way. HD-DVD and DVD are pretty broad standards so I feel comfortable calling it a HES. But hey call it whatever makes you feel happy for lack of a better word. It doesn’t really matter to me.
November 24th, 2006 at 5:48 pm
I think he makes a fair point in so much as that Xbox360 offers more than just gaming…. i mean it has a built in cooker lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tc98XEYiW8
Honestly though this is just a case of Microsoft realising it has shot itself in the foot by spending the last six months bigging up Wii
November 24th, 2006 at 10:09 pm
Sony is dreaming. It may be a high-tech toy, but it is a toy nonetheless.
November 24th, 2006 at 10:10 pm
Excuse me… I mean, Microsoft is dreaming.
November 24th, 2006 at 11:42 pm
Well then that means all DVD players, HTS, recievers, digital recorders and home electronic gadgets, including the latest 1080p plasma/LCD HDTVs are high-tech toys if you apply that logic. So to me that is an inaccurate and over simplistic POV … though of course you are welcome to your opinion … it just doesn’t appear to me it can hold much water.
November 25th, 2006 at 1:28 pm
Arn’t all video games toys?
November 25th, 2006 at 6:04 pm
If all the 360 did was play video games like the Wii then I would not have even bothered posting to this thread. Maybe once you get the HD-DVD attachment and start using it to watch movies like “Pitch Black” (Now isn’t that funny when you think about it … c’mon think and you’ll get it is so funny) you won’t feel that way. I dunno but speaking for myself as I usually do it’s not just a toy anymore. Or maybe when you use this in conjunction with a media center PC you will see that it is so much more. I don’t consider my computer a toy and I play tons of games on it … but I also use it for other purposes (like watching standard DVDs and playing music) …. much like the 360 is used for things besides gaming (and now for me that is not even it’s primary use … now it will be used primarily to enjoy HD movies).
But enough … I am not going to try and beat you down to my POV. I will simply leave it at this and respect others rights to call this versatile console system a toy if that is how it honestly appears to you.