Wii Owners, No Silent Hill For You!
By Steve on Saturday, October 20th, 2007 at 10:43 PM PST In Games
In a recent interview with long time Silent Hill Sound Designer, Akira Yamaoka, Wired News found opportunity to discuss with the master how he comes up with those spine-tingling sounds we have all come to loathe and love. Mr. Yamaoka sheds light on the history of his design process with the SH series, how the tools of the trade have changed, and more recently, how he pulls-off working with a UK-based development group almost half way around the world (apparently lots of emails). Yamaoka gives explanation why Silent Hill made it onto the PSP, as well as his confirmation that he will be working on Silent Hill 5 for “next-gen” consoles. Yamaoka also states why the 360 will be the most viable platform for Silent Hill, and, more interestingly, how 80% of Silent Hill sales are outside of Japan. The most interesting part of the interview was when the topic of Silent Hill for the Nintendo Wii was brought up. Here’s what went down:
WN: What is the future of the Silent Hill series?
AY: We’re making Silent Hill 5 for next-gen consoles. Are there any other platforms besides that? [laughter]
WN: There’s the Wii.
AY: Ah, the Wii. Wiiiiiiiiii… Silent Hill Wii. Can we do it? Will players like it?
WN: Yeah! There’s a lot of potential there, using the remote as a flashlight, or a knife…
AY: Yeah, there’s potential.
WN: But no plans.
AY: No plans. The Wii user isn’t a hardcore user.
So there you have it. Konami thinks the Wii is too “kiddie” for Silent Hill. Ahh well… that’s their loss, right?
Via Wired.com
I agree with them…………BUT they may not want the ManHunt 2 fiasco
Manhunt fiasco happened to both the Wii AND the PS2. AO rated content won’t go out on any console, be it Sony, Nintendo or (maybe) Microsoft.
Haven’t played a Silent Hill game, not sure if it’s the game for me. I really didn’t like RE until RE4 (which is probably close to 800,000 copies sold for the Wii version). So I dunno if I care about this for PS3, 360 or Wii.
“AY: No plans. The Wii user isn’t a hardcore user.”
and never will be if developers never take the wii seriously and bring ‘hardcore’ titles to the system.
“AY: No plans. The Wii user isn’t a hardcore user.”
Yeah, I’m sure Twilight Princess was a walk in the park. Metroid Prime 3 sure was too. And I’m sure Manhunt 2 will be a happy little casual affair as well. No More Heroes, Smash Bros. Brawl, Fire Emblem, Soulcalibur Legends, Sadness, Guilty Gear, Fatal Frame etc. etc. I’m sure that all of them are just casual games since they’re on the Wii. Makes perfect sense.
@(blank):
You realize there are more games on Wii aimed at the traditional demographic then there are casual titles, right? Or are you just that stupid?
Its absolutely amazing,to the point of being ludicrous,the perception game developer and publishers have about who is buying the Wii . This perception is further exaggerated by the popular media .
“AY: No plans. The Wii user isn’t a hardcore user.”
The Wii user isn’t a what ?? Crikey mate am I the only Wii hard core gamer . Of course not!!!!!
The real question is, what percentage of Wii console sales need to be sold to hardcore Wii owners in order to match that of X360 and Ps3 sales at the same point? Does that make any sense?
Just speculating , but I would think that the Wii has a hardcore install base every bit as large as its rivals , if not larger .
That could be the real story for Gaming Today to hunt down .
Konami is full of shit.
Not hardcore?
Then what’s the meanin of hardcore!?!?!?
I play my Wii constantly…and I only own 2 games(excluding wii sports[I have many reservations])!!!
(blank) is right…if Developers don’t make “hardcore” games then the Wii never will be…Silent Hill…would fit perfectly on the Wii…
I think we should start a petition.
These blokes never played Resident Evil 4 for the Wii?
Clearly they are worried about not being able to squeeze the standard Capcom has squeezed out for the Wii and meet it?
They must have also seen Capcom’s Monster Hunter 3 – graphically also an impressive game for the Wii. Skeptics of the Wii’s ability to perform for that game were converted in a fashion, at a presentation event.
Apparently Capcom and Square have scared this small fry skeptical developer into cowardice, into running away from the challange.
i mostly agree with what he said, of course there is hardcore gamers who own the wii, but i believe that the majority of wii owners is not hardcore
NOT Hardcore?!
who do they think they are to judge the wii!?
I’m a more hardcore gamer than anyone on here!
I own a good pc, so I dont want an xbox or ps3 the only thing worth getting is a wii
Just cause I play wii, dont assume that I am a casual gamer!
Also, I use a Wii-mote on my pc.
WN: What do you think of the WIi vs. PS3 right now — do you think that PS3 will start doing better because of its users being more hardcore?
AY: Hmm. If Sony makes it easier for creators to create games for PS3, I think it will pick up. It depends on Sony’s programming tools.
WN: A lot of developers say that it’s too expensive unless they’re doing multiplatform. Do you see Silent Hill being multiplatform from here on out?
AY: Yes. It’s more challenging, but if we can do it, we’re going to.
WN: How important is the foreign market right now to the Silent Hill series?
AY: Overseas players are about 80% of our sales. It’s a lot more popular outside Japan.
WN: With that in mind, do you think that the 360 version of Silent Hill 5 will be the most popular?
AY: Yes, I believe so.
No such thing as a hardcore console, it’s the games what decide the audience of a console, if developers pull their fingers out their rears and make some games for the ‘hardcore’ user, then the wii users will be ‘hardcore’ ones.
Sounds to me like Konami suffers from a case of the sour grapes.
Think people…. Konami’s favorite game company for the past decade, Sony, is no longer at the top of the heap. Their PS3 console is far behind the Wii in terms of sales and installed user base. And on top of that, Konami invested millions in order to be able to work on the PS3.
So guess what? Konami is obviously going to be pissed about the success of the Wii. They’re going to insult the potential costumers they could have if only they had the imagination and creativity. It’s so easy to keep selling the same manure (blood, gore infested games) using the same old gameplay mechanics. They do as EA with the Madden series and it’s so safe to produce the same old stuff for the same old crowd. So that’s why they feel they can insult casual gamers.
Good thing casual gamers don’t know about Konami or any of their “hardcore” franchises… Konami doesn’t need any of their money… right?… right?
Wii is marketed to kids, it’s cartoonish. No SH for Wii. Buy a fucking PS3 X360 and fucking get over it.
silent hill will never be a wii game. even twilight princess had a hint of casual and that was a game cube port
Given the way Silent Hill V looks, I say it’s a mixed blessing.
@ Stevo
The Wii isn’t marketed to just kids, it’s marketed to non-gamers. Old people, girls, jocks, the like. And they still want to appeal to the gamer market.
Stevo, buy a fucking clue and get over it.
I don’t know why the wii seems to be considered “not hard core enough”, it’s not like it is made only for playing little kid games. I was hoping that they might come out with a silent hill game for the wii, I haven’t had the opportunity to play one of the games yet since I don’t have any of the systems that support them, but I like the idea of the games. Maybe somebody could recommend a good horror or thrilling sort of game for the wii? I am still researching.
Who cares about Silent Hill. The Wii got Resident Evil 4 and 5 is going 2 come on the i think
What the FUCK is that guys problem if you ask me hes got a big dick up his asshole and he should pop it out and fucking just make silent hill 5 for the wii come on just think about it that would be pretty cool to use the aimer as a fucking flashlight even if the graphics arent as good as the ps3 or xbox 360 i bet you it could top the intensity of even the “great” xbox 360 come on ask yourself if you have played resident evil 4 wii edition dont you think it was fucking kick ass i own it and i love it but dont get yourselfs wrong mario games and zelda games are still the the best and classics and you cant beat them but if people made more intense and bloody games for wii i would purchase and play those things all the time enough said in these sentances right here
stevo im a hard core gamer i think the wii is the best i also say that konami is the bigest moron ever for not puting silent hill on the wii its so stupid i mean come on it has so much potention im saying that it could be a flashlight then when you wield it the weapon oh and konami f you
i think they should make silent hill for the wii they r stupied if they dont alot of us prefre the wii and i think it would be awsome to play silent hill on the wii. i think konami should kiss a
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Coming this Fall for Wii.
Looks like you got it wrong, Spanky.
SHATTERED MEMORIES, WHAT NOW?!?
filefront why censer posts and why not add a post that states honest fact BECAUSE THIS SITE IS RAN MY BIASED OUT OF TOUCH HARDLY CORE IDIOTS
EXPLAIN TO ME THE VASTLY SUPERIOR GRAPHICS AND CONTROLS AND SEAMLESS LOADING OF SILENT HILL WII
if wii is only as powerful as xbox please explain the shading and dynamic lights if wii is fixed function gpu EXPLAIN FILEFRONT
why does monster hunter 3 look lush
why does metriod other m look stunning
why are wii games coming with seamless loading thru out the games
how come the grinder is already pushing 65 ememys on screen 1 year before release if not longer
wm+ 1600 degrees motion vs 300 degrees cam motion cough ps3 cough natal
wii+ could release 2010 2011
BUT IM WRONG AND FILE FRONT IS CORRECT AND ALL THERE MICROSOFT JUNKY FANBITCHES ALSO
NATAL = GIMMICK
WM+= PRECISION
NATAL= GIMMICK
IR MOUSE POINTER= CORE
NATAL = GIMMICK
WIIMOTE = RUMBLE FEED BACK/SOUND SPEAKER FEED BACK
NATAL= GIMMICK
WII= ANALOG STICK IN LEFT HAND COMBINED WITH MOTION AND POINTER OH I THINK IV JUST BITCH SLAPPED THE WHOLE FILE FRONT HARDLY CORE COMMUNITY AGAIN
NATAL = GIMMCK AND 300 DEGREES MAXIUM SENING AND LAG AND CAMERA ISSUES AND NO FEED BACK OR ANALOG STICK = CASUAL SHIT FEST
WII = WM+ REAL WORLD 1TO1 AND REAL WORLD PHYSICS AT THE POINT OF MOVEMENT THE HUMAN HAND
IR MOUSE POINTER = FPS PERFECTION
RUMBLE SPEAKER WE NED ARE FEEDBACK ANALOG STICK SO WE DONT NEED TO JOG INFRONT OF A CAMERA IN FPS GAMES NATAL THE JOKE
WIIBOY101 HAS OWNED FILEFRONT YET AGAIN
WII FSB = 243MHZ PLUS PEAK 4TO1 COMPRESSION = 7.7GB BANDWIDTH
XBOX 1 = 133MHZ NO SUCH COMPRESSION = 1GB BANDWIDTH
XBOX 1PU CATCH = 128K
HOLLYWOOD GPY CATCH = 3MB
BUT HONESTLY XBOX IS MORE POWERFUL BECAUSE A BUNCH OF IDIOTS AT FILE FRONT SAID SO
SILENT HILL WII GREAT GRAPHICS NO LOADTIMES 3D MOTION CONTROLS = NEXT GEN
NOW GO WAVE AT UR NATAL CAMERA YOU SO CALLED MICRSOFT CORE GAMERS
WII OFFERS A MOTION CONTROL THAT BLESSES FPS ETC MICROSOFT OFFER A CASUYAL AS FUK MOTION
YET NINTENDO IS CASUAL YEAH RIGHT GO LOOK IN THE MIRROR MICRSOFT FAN BITACHES
Actually we don’t censor posts, but we do moderate them for foul language.. I’ve let this one through so we can comment on it and in hopes of achieving something useful.. I’m sorry the opinion of writer was counter to yours however you might actually entertain a more productive conversation where you can make your points and Steve can respond if you approach this a bit differently.
Additionally you might notice the original posting date on this is October,2007. So its a bit old but maybe still valid from Steve’s perspective… I’m not sure.
I’d enjoy a rational discourse on this is you’re willing to write one up.
Thanks,
Shawn Sines
News Editor, Gaming Today
FileFront, can you explain to me how Crysis @ 480p looks better than doom3 @ 1080p if HD IS GRAPHICS?
I KEEP HEARING THESE LITTLE GNATS BUZZING IN MY EAR THAT X360′S COCK IS A WHOPPING 14 INCH BEAST BECAUSE OF A MAGICAL ABILITY CALLED HIGHER RESOLUTION AND HIGHER RESOLUTION NOW MARKETED AS HD IS THE “BE ALL AND END ALL” OF IMAGE QUALITY!
IF THAT’S SO, THEN WHY DOES QUaKE3:ARENA AT 3X 1080P RESOLUTION LOOK CRAP COMPARED TO CRISES @ ONLY 480P!
PLEASE FILE-FRONT AND YOUR OBSESSED WITH STUPIDITY FANS, STOP CALLING RESOLUTION GRAPHICS. YOU’RE SHOWING HOW DUMB YOU ARE AS IN BLORGE.COM DUMB! AS IN JOYSTIQ DUMB! GAMESPOT DUMB!
ALL THE OTHER DUMB-DUMB SITES THAT UNDERSTAND NOTHING!
GIVE ME A SUPER WII WITH HUGE FILL RATE BANDWIDTH AND AA CAPABILITY AT 480P 60 FRAMES SOLID, THEN SUPER RES AND SCALE THAT IMAGE TO 720P 1080I/P FOR HD TV DISPLAY AND WATCH YOUR MOUTHS GO WOW!
BECAUSE RESOLUTION ISN’T GRAPHICS YOU IDIOTS!
SILENT HILL WII = GREAT GRAPHICS, GREAT CONTROLS NO LOAD TIMES BUT ACCORDING TO THIS GIMP FEST SITE, IT DON’T EXIST
GO WANK OF A HD TV SALES MAN YOU RESOLUTION OBSESSED MONKEYS
(Note: I’ve edited this post to make it coherent – but the words are still the same… unedited post appears below – Shawn)
filefront can you explain to mii how crysis @ 480p looks better than doom 3 @ 1080p if HD IS GRAPHICS
I KEEP HEARING THESE LITTLE NATZZ BUZZING IN MY EAR THAT X360S COCK IS A WOPPING 14 INCH BEAST BECAUSE OF A MAGICAL ABILLITY CALLED HIGHER RESOLUTION AND HIGHER RESOLUTION NOW MARKETED AS HD IS THE BEEEE ALLLLL AND END ALLLL OF IMAGE QUALITY
IF THATS SO THEN WHY DOES QAUKE 3 ARINA AT 3X 1080P RESOLUTION LOOK CRAP COMPARED TO CRISES @ ONLY 480P
PLEASE FILE-FRONT AND UR OBSESSED WITH STUPIDITY FANS STOP CALLING RESOLUTION GRAPHICS UR SHOWING HOW DUM YOU ARE AS IN BLORGE.COM DUM AS IN JUYSTIQ DUM GAMESPOT DUM
ALL THE OTHER DUMDUKM SITES THAT UNDERSTAND NOTHING
GIVE ME A SUPER WII WITH HUGE FILLRATE BANDWIDTH AND AA CAPABILLITY AT 480P 60 FRAMES SOLID THEN SUPER RES AND SCALE THAT IMAGE TO 720P 1080I/P FOR HD TV DISPLAY AND WATCH UR MOUTHS GO WOW
BECAUSE RESOLUTION ISNT GRAPHICS YOU FOOOOOOOKWEED IDIOTS
SILENT HILL WII = GREAT GRAPHICS GREAT CONTROLS NO LOADTIMES BUT AVCCORDING TO THIS GIMP FEST SITE IT DONT EXIST
GO WANK OF A HD TV SALES MAN YOU RESOLUTION OBSESSED MONKEYS
Actually, I can explain this to you in technical terms the reason Doom3 does not look as good as Crysis at 480p is because Crysis uses a graphics engine that handles far more complex geometry for objects, mor mipmaps as well and far higher resolution bitmaps for texture mapping, and it supports HDR lighting and bump mapping ..
You are unfairly comparing “modern” games against one or two generation old predecessors. Crysis looks amazing even at lower rez compared to any game that was produced in 2003. Doom 3 and Q3:Arena are both ancient by the standards of graphics technology and the engines they run on are no where near as sophisticated.
I’d personally love to see a Wii with all those specs – but frankly the aging ATI video chip is not capable of doing the same graphics fidelity as the 360 or PS3. That’s what Nintendo chose to do.. they want to accentuate gameplay over image and that’s fine.
When this post was written Silent Hill Wii was not in existence. Please consider that this was posted in October 2007. Silent Hill Wii was just announced this year at E3 2009. The Wii version, as stated in the original article was dissed by Konami, not Filefront. Since then the market share of the Wii has forced many developers like Konami and EA to reconsider their stance and begin development on the platform. I don’t see where Steve insults the Wii, in fact he sounds disappointed when he says Konami is making a mistake for discounting the Wii audience if you read the last line.
Thanks for commenting though, I’d love to continue this discussion.
Did You all Know that Silent Hill Shattered Memories for the wii is in production? Also, there’s the grudge game (Ju-On) and another game called Cursed Mountain. The three triplet games that is in the making for the wii is a must for wii players. I really want to get those!