Ex-DICE boss Fredrik Liliegrin has labeled Nintendo Wii a "virus" - and said that the platform holder knows it is "not a video games machine".

Liliegrin now runs a company called Antic Entertainment, which produces 'casual games for the hardcore'.

He told GamingUnion: "Wii, to me, I would describe it as a virus, that doesn't stick. Everyone comes home, it's a toy, people have got to realise the Wii is a toy, not an entertainment-focused product.

"People come home, someone, they play Wii for a bit, feel it's really cool, blah blah blah, they go out and buy one. Ask people how often they play the Wii, that are not the core game consumer that buys one because they have an Xbox 360 and a Wii or a PlayStation 3 and a Wii.

"The people that only own the Wii, ask that consumer how often they use their machine. They just don't use it, it was cool, but they're not gamers, so they put it away.

"Other than the Wii Fit phenomenon that helped a lot of people get a nice cutie voice telling that they're fat and need to go work out, they need to find other alternatives. Nintendo is smart in that way in that they realize this is not a video game machine, this is not a games game machine."

He told GamingUnion: "Wii, to me, I would describe it as a virus, that doesn't stick. Everyone comes home, it's a toy, people have got to realise the Wii is a toy, not an entertainment-focused product.

I would regard it as a low spec console. It has a niche market and for that it does well. It may not appeal to the hard core gamers.