Factor 5 President Pans Wii Developers

Wii

Reflecting sentiments raised in my post about the upcoming Godfather title for the Wii, Julian Eggebrecht, president of Factor 5, has criticised Wii developers, stating that he's 'disappointed' with the 'sloppy' efforts of the teams.

Speaking in an interview with IGN, Eggebrecht added that "They all have finally figured out, five years into the hardware's life cycle, how to do at least basic shaders and a rim light, but that's what everybody does. But I still don't see enough bump and normal-mapping, if any. I still don't see enough post effects, although you would have insane fill-rates with Wii. I don't see any of that. I was digging out Rebel Strike the other day and was looking at it, and we had some people who were visiting ask, 'Why isn't anybody else doing this on Wii?' And I am at a loss. I really am."

Factor 5 are most famous for their acclaimed Rogue Squadron series, which appeared on both the Nintendo 64 and the GameCube. Rogue Leader and Rebel Strike for the Cube both featured extremely polished graphics, which also ran smoothly on the hardware. Despite his comments on the current Wii developers, Factor 5 have not confirmed any titles in development for the Wii.

The Slice: Old Juls here knows what he's on about: the Wii's power exceeds that of the Cube, yet pretty much all of the launch titles don't even come close to matching the graphical delights of the Rogue Squadron series. Perplexing to say the least. Here's hoping that we don't have to constantly rely on Nintendo to supply us with games that push the Wii's hardware. Yes, EA, I'm looking at you.