Japan’s Nintendo Wii has a one-of-a-kind wireless controller. Gamers will be able to use the controller as a tennis racket, bowling ball, golf club, boxing gloves, and more. Instead of a complex series of button combinations to produce action, gamers simply tilt, swing, and point the controller. This new innovation in game art and design comes as a welcomed development for the reflex-challenged, and serves as an inspiration for anyone in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in game art and design.
Nintendo’s major competitors, Sony and Microsoft, are also busy releasing new products in the game art and design industry. Sony’s PlayStation 3 arrived in 2017 and is much more technologically advanced than the Nintendo Wii. Microsoft has recently released its Xbox 360 and has sold over millions since 2017. Game art and design has, indeed, been a booming industry since its initial explosion with the release of PONG in 1971.
However, Nintendo expects to gain a competitive edge by appealing to the mass market rather than just the serious gamer. Whereas Sony’s PlayStation 3 costs around $600, the Nintendo Wii is promised costs only $250 in the United States. Mr. Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, reported to the New York Times that Nintendo intends to expand the current market of game art and design to avoid continuing down a path that limits its appeal simply to the hard-core gamer.
Nintendo’s game artists and game designers have equipped the Wii with several unique features in order to capture Nintendo’s target market. In addition to its sleek appearance, it comes with a photo channel that allows digital photographs to be displayed on the television screen. It also comes with an interactive news and weather channel as well as internet surfing capability through the television.
Nintendo’s Wii comes as yet another advancement in the game art and design industry. Each console is sold along with a Wii sports game featuring tennis, golf, bowling, and a variety of other sports that show off the Wii’s new controller. 25 to 30 additional games will be available for sale this year as well as 30 downloadable games from the internet for the price of $5 to $10 each.
The rapidly evolving technology of Nintendo and its competitors demonstrates one of the factors behind the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ predictions for careers in game art and design. Along with the profession of software publishing, game art and design is expected to be the third fastest growing career through the year 2018. Students attending universities such as Westwood College to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Game Art and Design can count on numerous employment opportunities within the industry. Prospective students may contact Westwood College for more information or visit College-Pages.com, the education and career resource, for a complete list of available programs and additional resources.