Forget Power, Says The Guy Behind Ninja Gaiden 3—Wii U Is Next-Gen Because It's Innovative

The debate over the Wii U's "next-generation" status rages on. The latest combatant is Yosuke Hayashi, head of Team Ninja—the Tecmo studio responsible for the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive series, among others. While the console is technically "next-generation"—it did come after the Wii—Hayashi was still compelled to share his thoughts about it in an upcoming interview with Edge. Hayashi was responding to previous quotes by an executive at 4A, the people behind Metro: Last Light. Last year, 4A CTO Oleg Shishkovstov called the Wii U's processor "horrible" and "slow," justifying their decision not to release Metro on Nintendo's new console.

"If you're basing this on Wii U being a new idea that challenges existing platforms, then it definitely is next generation. It is a console videogame platform that is now independent of the TV. Nobody has done that before," Hayashi told Edge. "Players want new innovation that includes the environment in which you play and services you use, rather than just raw processor spec... Nintendo is at the forefront of that innovation. I'm looking forward to seeing what the other platforms come up with in the future."

Considering the extra-power we've seen devs wring out of the 360 and PS3 over the years, Hayashi isn't baseless in defending a console he likens to "an infant that's just been born." C'mon guys. At least wait until it's a tween.

Team Ninja boss defends Wii U CPU, insists console is "definitely next generation" [Edge via GoNintendo]