One of the less than flattering parts about the gaming industry that’s manifested itself into the both consumers and the professionals who make it is the ‘bro’ culture. It can be seen from gamers who enjoy nothing more than trolling owners of a different console or from executives who get on stage and deliver keynotes filled with mudslinging. Luckily for you and I, whether it’s because of the collective age of the industry going up or a sea change due to those who lead these companies, the situation has improved. In fact, Xbox head Phil Spencer has repeatedly praised PlayStation publicly and called out those in his own camp who’ve looked to fan the flames.

Now Jack Tretton, former Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO has some praise for one of his previous competitors.

 I think this industry wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for Nintendo, so everybody respects the fact that they had such a hand in building this great industry that we’ve all
been able to work in, but from generation to generation, you never knew what you would get with Nintendo. You just knew hat you couldn’t could them out. And I think everyone discounted the Wii initially, and it really took the world by storm. I’d say there were a lot more people in the surprise camp then there were in the ‘I told you so’ camp. Maybe a few people at Nintendo, but the vast majority were skeptical when that came out. 

Of course it’s a lot easier for him to say this now when he’s not the one in charge of PlayStation who at the was getting hammered by Wii which cost $299 while PS3 was priced at $599. But as Ron Duwell writing for TechnoBuffalo notes:

 sustaining that success is what proved to be difficult. In a console generation that lasted much longer than anything Nintendo had ever dealt with, using the motion controls to continuously make meaningful improvements to the Wii’s library ultimately did in the Wii. The mainstream lost interest after two years. A decrease in quality software clashed with an increase in quantity, leading to a very spotty library. The Xbox 360 also shook up the industry enough to bring the focus on HD gaming to the forefront, leaving the Wii behind technically. 

The Wii was all about hype and Nintendo rode it very smartly, but it’s hard to argue that a majority of units sold didn’t start to collect dust soon after. Heck I know people who bought 2 units just to have them available in different parts of the house for party nights. On top of that, it didn’t take long for 3rd party developers to abandon the Wii which lead to a drought of games for the majority of its life on store shelves which then lead to the disastrous Wii U.

But as the ‘console wars’ heat up again with the arrival of Xbox One S, PS4 Pro, and PS VR, I hope more execs set an example like Spencer and Tretton that your competitors don’t need to fail in order for you to enjoy success.

Discuss:

Do you think there is too much mudslinging in the gaming landscape?