14 DAY TRIAL // This one, you won't believe: NanaOn-Sha boss thinks that the PS3's failure as a console is its size. The man reckons it's just too damned big. Although this seems quite hard to believe, Eurogamer points out another console lagging behind and apparently from the same reason: the Xbox 360 and its big-a*s AC adapter.
Masaya Matsuura told the following to GamesIndustry.biz, in an interview at the Nordic Game conference: "It's too big for the Japanese" referring to the next-gen console from Sony. "Wii is a very good piece of hardware. Many talented people from Nintendo make great ideas for game hardware, of course. Already I've been starting to think about Wii software, but it's very hard sometimes because can you keep shaking the controller for hours?"
OK, but that's a different aspect altogether. What have the controllers got to do with anything? Matsuura continues: "Players can't spend a long time on gameplay, so this can be tough. So I respect Nintendo's activities, but for software designers like us, it's very hard."
The thing that Sony's PS3 is just too big (this being the reason why it's not selling in Japan) just struck me in the face like a cruising 747. Sure, Japanese gamers may be a little ahead of us dumb ol' boys down here in Europe, but I think they're the first to comprehend the capabilities of such powerful hardware. So my guess is that its size hasn't got anything to do with it. Not majorly anyway. Its price however, just might.
Matsuura also said that he is planning to develop a new game for the Wii, but when he was asked for more details on the new title, he declined. All he said was: "Maybe the publisher will announce the release soon," Matsuura said. "It's a very simple game, but I hope it will be successful." Like that's just the publisher's decision...