Saint’s Row developer Volition has stated that one of the reasons we will likely never see a Saint’s Row game on the Wii is because the addition of motion controls would make it far too controversial.
“With games like ours you get much more controversy when you add motion controls like you saw with Manhunt 2,” stated producer Dan Sutton. “We have weapons like chainsaws, satchel charges, stuff like that. I can definitely see people having a problem and outcry towards that because it does actually feel like you’re using weapons that way.”
Anti-games lobbyists will use anything they can to pretend that videogame violence is worse than any other medium. The motion controls of the Wii have certainly been brought up in the past to lend a false sense of credence to the “interactive violence is evil” argument. Manhunt 2 was, of course, refused a rating in the United Kingdom, before the banning was overturned in courts.
Sutton also claimed that the Wii’s graphical prowess, or lack thereof, was a barrier to getting the THQ-published game into the hands of Nintendo fans. “At Volition we’re really about pushing really good graphics and with the Wii you just feel like you’re playing on an older console,” he claimed. So, while Reggie Fils-Aime would like to get his hamburger hands on GTA IV, it looks like Saint’s Row is far beyond his savory grip.
