This news story is likely to seem a little surreal. Why? Because in the next few moments, you will witness the unthinkable; a universally recognised industry name complimenting the competition!

Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime is famously known for "taking names and kicking ass", pushing Nintendo's products ahead like they the behemonths of modern gaming that they are, and generally hailing Nintendo as the everlasting godfathers of gaming (overaggeration not withstanding).

So it may come as a surprise to some to hear of the eccentric but always likable industry figure sitting down with the San Francisco Chronicle for an interview, and spending a large portion of it give props to the competition for their achievements and innovations.

We all know of the Wii's general drought of titles, despite some unquestionably high quality exclusives on the horizon or already released, and one of the questions aimed at Fils-Aime during the interview concerned what titles he would like to see on the console, if circumstances were different. His answers were humble, to say to the least.

Of the PS3 camp: "I've been very intrigued with LittleBigPlanet (from Sony)," Fils-Aime admitted "I don't know that it belongs on their platform."

Although so might see that as a sly poke, it's undeniable that LittleBigPlanet is a major departure for Sony, and despite it's quality and potential for innovation, a dangerous move for the console.

On the Xbox 360: Halo was the obvious choice here, but Bioshock was always complimented for it's unique approach to mature and immersive gaming;

"Anyone who would look at [Halo 3] and say, 'No, I think we could live without it,' probably doesn't think real long about this industry," Fils-Aime pointed. This is unquestionably an intentionally ironic statement, as Sony once attempted to compare Killzone 2 and Halo 3, and considered Microsoft's first person shooter as not being "a big deal".

Fils-Aime went on to call BioShock "tremendously clever," and an example of the kind of intellectually stimulating the industry deserves, and frankly needs more of.

One question hit a little closer to home during the interview, and questioned the Wii's status as a "fad" that won't last.

Mind you, they said the same thing about the DS.

Fils-Aime called concerns of the Wii as a fad "overblown."

"What we've found is people are playing their Wii consoles frankly more today than the day we launched. We are finding that consumers are playing a wide range of software much beyond Wii Sports."

Tags : Bioshock : DS : halo 3 : Little Big Planet : Nintedo : nintendo ds : Reggie Fils-Aime : Wii

Comments

By: Corrine On: 04:31 Oct 30th, 2007 Offline	He's such a good speaker. Knows just what to say. I think it's pretty kickass that he was talking of his competitors in a respectable way; it shows grace. Then again, it's quite easy to be graceful when you're on top. :lol: But he did have some good points about Sony and Microsoft.

By: Evren On: 09:48 Oct 30th, 2007 Offline	There's a man I want to shake the hand of. At last, some maturity in the big wigs, Sony and MS are like children in a playground with thier insults. This, this, I am impressed with.