Cliffy B's brother concerned about Wii dominance

Tyler Bleszinski, older brother of Gears of War designer Cliffy B, and SportsBlogNation president, has expressed concerns that the success of Wii could have a negative effect on videogames for hardcore gamers like himself.

In a chat with msnbc's N'Gai Croal, elder Bleszinski said: "I'm not saying that the videogame industry shouldn't strive to bring in as many new people as possible. It most definitely should, because new gamers mean a nice, healthy business. My problem is what this new crowd appears to be drawn to."

He goes on to explain: "Games like Wii Sports, Wii Play and Cooking Mama have become some of the biggest sellers, and that is what has me worried. If these are the type of games that become blockbusters, then you can count on other gaming companies who cater to the more hardcore gamer - aka me and the millions of others who've been driving this business - to promptly change direction.

"If we've learned anything about videogame companies, it's that they all are quick to follow each other if one is successful with something."

His rant continues: "If Nintendo winds up outselling the 360 and the PS3 by a wide margin, how soon will it be before we gamers are using the Sixaxis to chop up onions with in Metal Gear Mama? How long before we're frantically swinging waggle remotes for tennis, bowling and golf in Halo Sports?"

Don't commit suicide though, because he does stress: "I am not saying that the more hardcore games are going to die out."

Minigames and life sims will inevitably become more common, but we'll still have our driving and shooting games, so there's no need to panic.

June 8,2007