Nintendo U.K. chief David Yarnton had some kind words for rivals Sony and Microsoft, saying that both offer “really powerful programs and games” on their consoles that have helped drive the videogame industry to where it is today.
Hearing a Microsoft executive zing his Sony counterpart, or vice versa, is always fun but rarely surprising. The console wars is a take-no-prisoners conflict, after all, and everyone’s playing for keeps. What is a little surprising is when somebody says something nice about the other team, which is exactly what Yarnton did today at the Learning Without Frontiers event in London.
“As an industry we can provide people with a lot of different options across formats with the view of having something that can appeal to everyone,” he said. “Really powerful programs and games that come from Sony and Microsoft” can help game developers and encourage growth of the entire industry, he added, pointing to the PlayStation 3 exclusive LittleBigPlanet as a “fantastic example.”
Yarnton said that although Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are all part of the same industry, each brings something unique to the party, noting that Nintendo in particular has expanded the videogame market far beyond old stereotypes. With so many options on the market today, the “old image” of gamers as anti-social teenagers hooked on violent games has been largely wiped away. “That might be true for some games,” he said. “Everyone I’m sure has heard of Call of Duty, but the industry is far more diverse than that.”
Source: MCV
