Support NeoGAF

[harSon]

So Lost Odyssey has sold roughly 400,000 units in the US and Japan (~269k in the US and ~100k in Japan). With Europe it's probably a lot closer to 500,000... the game did a lot better then I was expecting.

 

[Skellig Gra]

So Lost Odyssey has sold roughly 400,000 units in the US and Japan (~269k in the US and ~100k in Japan). With Europe it's probably a lot closer to 500,000... the game did a lot better then I was expecting.

Well Blue Dragon might have gotten that much too if they had spent more than 50 cents marketing it.

 

[Ariexv]

So Lost Odyssey has sold roughly 400,000 units in the US and Japan (~269k in the US and ~100k in Japan). With Europe it's probably a lot closer to 500,000... the game did a lot better then I was expecting.

Man I wish I remembered who the people were I was arguing with last NPD about LO doing good....

 

[Lobster]

No, it wasn't. You responded to a question about small devs with Simple Series, which isn't made by any particular dev, large or small. Taito, hardly a small dev, has done simple series games. I simply pointed out the the publisher who actually controls these games (by directly assigning them to devs) is not a small dev, but a shovelware producer.

Did you have another example, maybe one that was actually a development studio, rather than a loosely collected series of shovelware games?

5TH cell.

High Voltage.

Pronto Games.

all developing for Wii.

High Voltage and Pronto Games both have no publishers. 5TH Cell garnered a lot of popularity with Drawn to Life and will get one easily.

 

[harSon]

Well Blue Dragon might have gotten that much too if they had spent more than 50 cents marketing it.

Yeah, they didn't do themselves any favors ~500,000 is extremely impressive for an RPG on a shooter oriented console IMO.

 

[beef3483]

So what happened to DMC4? I'm suprised nobody brought this up. What did each SKU do?

 

[besada]

5TH cell.

High Voltage.

Pronto Games.

all developing for Wii.

High Voltage and Pronto Games both have no publishers. 5TH Cell garnered a lot of popularity with Drawn to Life and will get one easily.

Congrats, after thinking for several pages you finally came up with some small devs working on the Wii. Of course, none of them have actually been released for the Wii, and the existence of a handful of smaller devs on the Wii does absolutely nothing to prove your contention that small devs must go to the Wii or go out of business. But you did finally find some. Congrats.

Now I'm off to play a game by a small dev on the PS3.

 

[Lobster]

Congrats, after thinking for several pages you finally came up with some small devs working on the Wii. Of course, none of them have actually been released for the Wii, and the existence of a handful of smaller devs on the Wii does absolutely nothing to prove your contention that small devs must go to the Wii or go out of business. But you did finally find some. Congrats.

Now I'm off to play a game by a small dev on the PS3.

Yes you go play your everyday shooter..

cause im fucking sleepy..

oh and I do mean everyday shooter..not your everyday shooter.

 

[Tobor]

Ok this is just nuts. Tell me how is Mario on the same production scale of MGS4 please. What was it, they had to spend ridiculous amount of money in exactly what?



MGS4 has an hollywood composer. And did we forget Sound? What about art assets? Game engine? Online?

No, we just gonna forget those? So please tell me what is it about Mario that makes it on the level of MGS4 production wise.

This I would consider moving the goalposts. Production scale != budget. It is a given that if you make 2 games of the same scale, 1 for Wii, 1 for the HD's, the HD budget would be higher.

 

[besada]

Yes you go play your everyday shooter..

cause im fucking sleepy..

oh and I do mean everyday shooter..not your everyday shooter.

Pixel Junk Monsters, actually, although Everyday Shooter is a fantastic game as well.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Facts doesn't prove that, simply because not a single Big Third Party games has, until now, bombed. And guess why? Because there isn't a single high budget game from third Parties that came out on the system until now !

What are you talking about? What is this big third party game you're referencing, because I certainly can't think of one.; if it's GHIII I'm not impressed, because the game has sold well on every console, and it's one example.

The games I cited are very significative, because they're not party-games. They are traditional games (GHIII a little bit less, but still a game) that sold well on the system. Then, it is obvious to suppose that traditional games can sell on Wii as good as they sell on PS3 and X360. It is illogic to not take it as good hypothesis.

Then why aren't they?

You know, in other words, what I mean is that there is always another point of view to see the problem: you see it from the fact that only Nintendo's games are selling. Try to consider the possibility that this is also due to the fact that we haven't seen nothing big from Third Parties bombing on the system until now. How many PS3 games bombed in comparison to their PS2 predecessors? Mmmmmmm.

Using the PS3 as a comparison here is horrible, because the PS3 has received far more third party titles since its release; OF COURSE it has more duds.

Second, western Third Partes are graphics fanatics and they don't work willingly with a non-HD console anymore. Why Factor 5 and Silicon Knights left Nintendo in your opinion?

Because they wanted to continue making big, epic games and Nintendo went in the opposite direction with the Wii architecture. Both companies have struggled with their first next gen games

Third, the Wiimote. One of the big problems with the Wii is that it needs a lot of imagination and it requires to escape from traditional way to build a game. And this is not easy and most importantly, it requires time, and time means money. Fourth, you cannot port Wii's games on X360/PS3 and viceversa. So, you have to assign a specific team to the creation of a Wii's game and this is expensive.

And the Wii port always gets the short end of the stick due to this. The developers who have to work on the Wii ports don't seem particularly enthused to me, and their games demonstrate that.

These, for me, are arguments that have solid fundaments. The prejudgement: "only Nintendo's games sell on Nintendo's systems" is only a stupid excuse.

Until proven otherwise I'll disagree. When I look at the Wii I basically see the same Gamecube issues that came up with respect to third parties, but the controller/graphics make it even more of a situation. I'm not convinced developers care right now. I still remember all the after-hype of E3 2006, all the stories about developers being caught with their pants down and beginning to make Wii games, etc. The same stories showed up after the Wii's hugely successful launch. But here we are in 2008 with the exact same questions. Developers are going to bet on the proven constant, and right now that's the Xbox 360

 

[PhoenixDark]

P.D., again, if you actually look at the top 100 EU+NA games, you'll find third parties doing pretty well on the Wii. In the UK, at least, third party Wii games usually outnumber Nintendo Wii games listed on the charts. The problem is that we only get top ten numbers, so you only see the top sellers, and on that basis you might have assumed that PS2 software wasn't selling very well for most of '07--which is patently untrue. Maybe the third-party situation is similar in terms of high-quality games, but it sure as hell isn't in terms of successful ones.

Show me. Just because a system has third party games on the list doesn't mean third party games are doing well. Obviously we don't have all the numbers for the top 50, but I wouldn't be surprised if once you get past the top 20-25 the sales numbers become quite low

 

[Tobor]

Show me. Just because a system has third party games on the list doesn't mean third party games are doing well. Obviously we don't have all the numbers for the top 50, but I wouldn't be surprised if once you get past the top 20-25 the sales numbers become quite low

It's a self fulfilling prophecy. 3rd parties either:

1. Make a shit game. Game doesn't sell, so they blame it on Nintendo and Wii owners.

2. They make a decent game, and spend $0 on marketing it. Repeat blame.

 

[farnham]

If americans dont do it... Im sure japanese devs will

- Treasure just announced that they will do two games on Wii
- same with Grasshopper (they said they have two additional games)
- Platinum games would be another one (looking at the current situation in Japan its really either Wii or DS) and mikami
- judging the SSBB sales Game Arts next will probably be on the wii too

Show me. Just because a system has third party games on the list doesn't mean third party games are doing well. Obviously we don't have all the numbers for the top 50, but I wouldn't be surprised if once you get past the top 20-25 the sales numbers become quite low

Hey there is a PAL charts thread like every week.. go and use the search function

the last 3 weeks sega had more titles then nintendo

well that means more shitty games on 360 and PS3 though since Sega hates Nintendo

 

[Teddman]

Developers are going to bet on the proven constant, and right now that's the Wii

Fixed for Japanese developers. Over there, Wii >>> 360 + PS3 userbase. Which is why you're starting to see Wii third-party exclusives like Monster Hunter.

 

[Pureauthor]

because the game has sold well on every console

See, it's bullshit like that. What, are we supposed to delegitimize every single title that sells well... because it was expected to sell well? Can I say that GTA4 won't prove that X360 can move software because it's GTA4, it was always going to do well?

This is tantamount to asking games that everyone expects to bomb to do well, before allowing that the Wii is favourable to 3rd parties. And despite what the Nintendo diehards may have you believe, Iwata isn't one to pull miracles like that out of his ass.

Fixed for Japanese developers

Uh, no. The DS rules the roost there in terms of software sales, not the Wii.

And the real reason MH3 exists on Wii is so it'll be that much easier to bring it to the PSP after all's said and done.

 

[Chris R]

Anyone else want to help me develop a crappy squad based shooter so we can sell 4 million copies? Thinking it can be fully 1d except for a dream sequence where everything is in HD3d (thats the part we release to the press/hype up online).

 

[Kuramu]

What happened to all of last month's NPD posters with their "It begins..." and their Darth Vader/Empire Strikes Back pics?

Return of the Jedi happened

 

[ksamedi]

I dind't mean what you're saying. It's a fact that Third Parties aren't fullfilling the promises that many of us had when the Wiimote was announced. And it's a fact that the dominant system always get the showelware of the industry. And I agree that X360 is doing incredibly well in the US, with an incredible attach rateand great profitability on the software side. But what about the PS3, for now it's only a hope. Third Parties are hoping since PS3's launch that the system, sooner or later, would have became the leader, both in hardware and sotware. They expected in other words a new PS2. Facts say, that it remaines only an hope for now and that PS3 isn't at all, for now, the driving force of the industry, under every possible espect outside the Blu-Ray.
What I contest is not the profitability of the X360 (often +PS3). I contest the fact that Wii is only a system for Nintendo's games. Facts doesn't prove that, simply because not a single Big Third Party games has, until now, bombed. And guess why? Because there isn't a single high budget game from third Parties that came out on the system until now !

The games I cited are very significative, because they're not party-games. They are traditional games (GHIII a little bit less, but still a game) that sold well on the system. Then, it is obvious to suppose that traditional games can sell on Wii as good as they sell on PS3 and X360. It is illogic to not take it as good hypothesis.

You know, in other words, what I mean is that there is always another point of view to see the problem: you see it from the fact that only Nintendo's games are selling. Try to consider the possibility that this is also due to the fact that we haven't seen nothing big from Third Parties bombing on the system until now. How many PS3 games bombed in comparison to their PS2 predecessors? Mmmmmmm.

Let be honest: I understand why Third Parties aren't developing big AAA games for Wii. And I accept it. But I don't accept the explication: "only Nintendo's games sell on Nintendo's systems". Still unproved.
There are other valid reasons: Third Partes don't work with pleasure with Nintendo because of the past bad experiences with Yamauchi and it is a solid and still valuable motivation for most japanese Third Party developers. Second, western Third Partes are graphics fanatics and they don't work willingly with a non-HD console anymore. Why Factor 5 and Silicon Knights left Nintendo in your opinion? Third Partes are now making their sequels of their big franchises with High Definition graphics and not a single developer would be happy to see them again with last-gen engines. Most of all because now they're all sticking with HD and they have invested a lot of money and time to learn to to develop decently with relative difficult architecture. Third, the Wiimote. One of the big problems with the Wii is that it needs a lot of imagination and it requires to escape from traditional way to build a game. And this is not easy and most importantly, it requires time, and time means money. Fourth, you cannot port Wii's games on X360/PS3 and viceversa. So, you have to assign a specific team to the creation of a Wii's game and this is expensive. Fifth, as long as PS3+X360 installed base in the US will be bigger then Wii's installed base, it is more safe (and this is the key word) to develop in a standard way, on 2 systems, using a well proved formula that is the analog joystick. Humans beings fear changes, dind't you know?

These, for me, are arguments that have solid fundaments. The prejudgement: "only Nintendo's games sell on Nintendo's systems" is only a stupid excuse.

(wow, this posts required a lot of time. I hope that it is understandable)

You seem like a smart guy but your logic fails on this one. I will just tell you this, all of the high budget PS3 or 360 games all started development before the Wii even released. For example MGS4 took 4 years to develop, 2008 - 4 is 2004, the Revolution wasn't even announced back then. For you to expect a big budget Wii title, you have to wait more than a year and a half.

 

[Sharp]

Show me. Just because a system has third party games on the list doesn't mean third party games are doing well. Obviously we don't have all the numbers for the top 50, but I wouldn't be surprised if once you get past the top 20-25 the sales numbers become quite low

13-14 titles sold 100k+ last year. (Number based on public data; IGN released a top 20 with no numbers, and we got numbers separately for numbers 13 and 15 that showed #13 at 114k and #15 at 90-someodd-k).

So, 26-28 titles sold 100k+ this month.

This is based on what the NPD group said, by the way. So the top 25 or so all sold over 100k. I think there's plenty of room there for everyone.

That said, I was actually talking about the top 100 sales 2007. If you look for them, you'll find that the Wii SKU often did better than 360 SKU, when they existed (of course, they usually didn't for high-quality games). In certain cases (e.g. golf games) even did better than the PS2 SKU. You'll also realize that most games that sell well are shitty licensed games, and will realize that the 360 and especially the PS3 often don't even get them. When the PS2 dies the obvious successors for them are going to be the DS and the Wii. And no, I'm not referring to GH3 here. Games like MySims and Cooking Mama did well too. Again, I'm not saying that these games are high quality--I'm just saying that comparing the third party situation to the Gamecube's is ludicrous from a sales perspective. In fact, comparing the Wii to the Gamecube at all from a sales perspective is usually a bad choice.

 

[Stop It]

So Lost Odyssey has sold roughly 400,000 units in the US and Japan (~269k in the US and ~100k in Japan). With Europe it's probably a lot closer to 500,000... the game did a lot better then I was expecting.

Yey, good games selling well, I likes

Anyway, What the hell at Wii/DS Sales? did someone fast forward to November or something? I know its a 5 week month but Christ. Brawl selling like fucking awesome too, Nintendomination.

Oh, and 360 and PS3 trading 3rd places month by month it seems, GTA 4 sales will be fun!

 

[speculawyer]

I'm sure if they had priced it appropriately, they could have gotten a few more sales. Like mine. Capcom is silly enough to price Okami at the same level it was priced two years ago, T2 managed to increase the price for their two-year old port (yes, it's $50 on 360 too, but that's relative to usual $60 new releases).

Well, they did add a little bit to the game. More classes and more missions. And the port was nontrivial since they needed to replace the Renderware engine. The 360 version does have graphical improvements over the original PS2.

But the price will drop . . . I am biased, but I do recommend the game . . . it's like junior high school in the GTA engine.

Anyway, my main point is that Wii owners don't seem to be very interested in the less family oriented titles. Resident Evil 4 is the only big seller that I can think of that is big selling mature title not from Nintendo . . . and that was probably helped by the $29.99 price tag.

 

[schuelma]

See, it's bullshit like that. What, are we supposed to delegitimize every single title that sells well... because it was expected to sell well? Can I say that GTA4 won't prove that X360 can move software because it's GTA4, it was always going to do well?

This is tantamount to asking games that everyone expects to bomb to do well, before allowing that the Wii is favourable to 3rd parties. And despite what the Nintendo diehards may have you believe, Iwata isn't one to pull miracles like that out of his ass.


.

Yeah this is rapidly becoming one of my biggest pet peeves. GH3 is at 2m on Wii and if it hasn't yet will probably outsell the 360 version (its killing the PS3 version of course)

But that doesn't count because its GUITAR HERO. Well no shit- see what happens when you put out a high quality 3rd party game that people want?!? HOLY SHIT IT SELLS??

 

[Zerachiel]

What are you talking about? What is this big third party game you're referencing, because I certainly can't think of one.; if it's GHIII I'm not impressed, because the game has sold well on every console, and it's one example.

No one here is arguing that the Wii will make some 3rd party titles that were unsuccessful, successful. What we're arguiing is that a lot of 3rd party titles can do well on the platform, as well as on the others. GHIII seems to indicate that there isn't a huge difference between the consoles in terms of selling 3rd party games.

Until proven otherwise I'll disagree. When I look at the Wii I basically see the same Gamecube issues that came up with respect to third parties, but the controller/graphics make it even more of a situation. I'm not convinced developers care right now. I still remember all the after-hype of E3 2006, all the stories about developers being caught with their pants down and beginning to make Wii games, etc. The same stories showed up after the Wii's hugely successful launch. But here we are in 2008 with the exact same questions. Developers are going to bet on the proven constant, and right now that's the Xbox 360

I think you're more or less correct here. I think developers are leaving money on the table by refusing to support Wii, but if we didn't see a huge shift at E3 2007, when it was clear where the momentum was swinging and the accusations of Wii being a fad seemed less and less credible, we're probably never going to see it.

 

[Jokeropia]

MS and Sony need to merge console operations. It's apparent the market cannot sustain 2 high-end systems.

Wii for casuals and games that are fun when drunk

PS460 for real games

Inane blabber. A real game on Wii just curbstomped everything else.

I don't doubt it.

I like the Wii, but I still get my real fix from PS3, so it's amazing that people can play just Wii Sports and nothing else for so long. But I guess that's why I'm a hardcore gamer, as opposed to the majority of Wii owners.

This line of trolling has absolutely no basis in reality. The average Wii owner buys more games than the average PS3 owner, despite getting Wii Sports bundled with the system in most markets. Coupled with the massive hardware sales, no system in history has sold as many games in the same amount of time as the Wii.

What? Its the truth. Outside of Nintendo games, you're never gonna get new iterations of any of the big franchises EVER, so long as nintendo keeps bringing out shitty hardware.

DS is much weaker than both Wii and it's handheld competitor and it claimed Japan's biggest third party IP by far.

Nope. Wii is still selling strong.

Reality is obviously a very bitter pill for you to swallow, but denial won't help in the long run.

Software STILL isnt selling unless it says nintendo on the box (with few exeptions like guitar hero).

This is complete bullshit and I shouldn't even have to explain why at this point. Just do your goddamn research.

 

[Flakster99]

They're tryin to explain to the girl that it's never happened before...

This made me :lol

 

[Hunter D]

I'm not surprised by the numbers for HSG. It wasn't a wii game nor did it have Tiger Woods attached to it.

 

[RBH]

I was hoping we could get the numbers for:

-MLB 08 The Show
-DMC 4
-Ninja Gaiden DS
-House of the Dead 2 & 3


But that's asking for too much probably. :lol

 

[avatar299]

What are you talking about? What is this big third party game you're referencing, because I certainly can't think of one.; if it's GHIII I'm not impressed, because the game has sold well on every console, and it's one example.

RE4 springs to mind. Granted i'm sure there is a reason why it shouldn't count

 

[Starchasing]

Sooner or later , one 3rd party or another will start putting putting out "hardcore" games on Wii. If those games are good it will start selling creating demand, paving the games for more games. You have to be desilusional to beleive that the following games wont sell well on Wii:

1) A Resident Evil Wii sequel. Modified graphics engine, same contro, new story.
2) A good FPS made just for wii. Compelling one player mode and great online MP.


Sooner or later some company will start filling the void left by Nintendo, mainly the so called Mature games. Those companies will make a lot of money if they make good games. thats just how a competitive market works.

Some analogies can be made with the DS. Do you guys remember when it was supposed to be the console of choice of grannies? Once ago the DS was perceived on GAF as the Wii is perceived now.

People would laugh at you years ago if you told them that Contra 4 or EO were to be released on the DS. Same thing can be said about the Wii.

There will be a DQ9-like announcenment for Wii

 

[Hcoregamer00]

There will be a DQ9-like announcenment for Wii

That's the thing, the Wii still has that perception BECAUSE it doesn't have a DQ9 magnitude game that basically coronates the leader and tell publishers and the consumers that this console is the big cheese.

If FF14, a mainline GTA game, or Kingdom Hearts 3 were to be announced it will change the perception of the publishers and consumers.

The question is, which is the developer that will start the domino effect?

 

[bigmakstudios]

Now that's what I don't understand. It's so shallow that I can't see why anyone would buy a system for it. The only games that are really worth playing are tennis and bowling, but even they become repetitive rather quickly. Boxing's controls are awful, with specific punches only registering if motions are performed with extreme accuracy, baseball is a horrid misrepresentation of the sport, with frustrating pitching controls (seriously... you can't move your arm backward in a wind up motion without inadvertently throwing the ball before you intended, which results in poor, slow pitches. The controls for this are totally awful) and no depth whatsoever, offensively and defensively (fielding is on "auto-pilot", hitting is based solely on timing, there's no stealing, runners only advance as many bases as hitters, baserunning is also computer controlled, etc). I just don't see why anyone who enjoys games would be pleased with a compilation of neutered sports minigames. The motion sensitive controls were fun as a novelty, but I quickly grew tired of them when I realized that the game didn't recognize realistic motions nearly as well as it responded to concise "waggles".

You don't understand why fun games are fun. We get it.

Did you not understand Tetris either?

Oh, that makes sense. My opinion, which I supported with a paragraph of exposition based on my experience with the game, is invalidated because you've made the assumption that I simply don't like games. I do like games. I like them a lot actually, and one of my favorite games of all time, Super Mario Galaxy, is Wii exclusive, to make it clear that I'm not just a rabid anti-Nintendite. I like the concept of a motion controller, but I don't think it worked all that well in Wii Sports.

 

[Scrubking]

Sooner or later , one 3rd party or another will start putting putting out "hardcore" games on Wii. If those games are good it will start selling creating demand, paving the games for more games. You have to be desilusional to beleive that the following games wont sell well on Wii:

1) A Resident Evil Wii sequel. Modified graphics engine, same contro, new story.
2) A good FPS made just for wii. Compelling one player mode and great online MP.


Sooner or later some company will start filling the void left by Nintendo, mainly the so called Mature games. Those companies will make a lot of money if they make good games. thats just how a competitive market works.

Some analogies can be made with the DS. Do you guys remember when it was supposed to be the console of choice of grannies? Once ago the DS was perceived on GAF as the Wii is perceived now.

People would laugh at you years ago if you told them that Contra 4 or EO were to be released on the DS. Same thing can be said about the Wii.

There will be a DQ9-like announcenment for Wii

I really want to believe you, but I'm not very optimistic right now - especially with IGN saying that the big publishers absolutely refuse to publish mature hardcore Wii games.

 

[Hcoregamer00]

I really want to believe you, but I'm not very optimistic right now - especially with IGN saying that the big publishers absolutely refuse to publish mature hardcore Wii games.

Well, they could look overseas for an example.

If Japan produces a big budget "mature" game that sells incredibly well in the states, it would prove to them that there is a market.

Granted, that is assuming that the game is marketed, has a lot of buzz, and ultimately will have crossover appeal with casual gamers (because a high selling game is not something only aimed at the hardcore market).

 

[NintendosBooger]

That's the thing, the Wii still has that perception BECAUSE it doesn't have a DQ9 magnitude game that basically coronates the leader and tell publishers and the consumers that this console is the big cheese.

If FF14, a mainline GTA game, or Kingdom Hearts 3 were to be announced it will change the perception of the publishers and consumers.

The question is, which is the developer that will start the domino effect?

The Wii doesn't need an established hot-selling third party franchise in order to be perceived as the undisputed leader of this console generation; it needs third party games that have the same quality and polish as established hot-selling franchises. Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and Kingdom Hearts all started from scratch somewhere --- as is the case for all present-day AAA franchises.

Developers have the opportunity to create new brand names on the Wii, which can be just as successful if not more so (taking into account the influx of casual gamers) than their existing brands, provided they put as much effort into them as their more recognized IPs.

 

[DataBot]

.

There will be a DQ9-like announcenment for Wii

Could happen maybe ...

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

I really want to believe you, but I'm not very optimistic right now - especially with IGN saying that the big publishers absolutely refuse to publish mature hardcore Wii games.

In light of all of this, I think that IGN is right. We should have seen more movement towards the Wii by now.

 

[Hcoregamer00]

The Wii doesn't need an established hot-selling third party franchise in order to be perceived as the undisputed leader of this console generation; it needs third party games that have the same quality and polish as established hot-selling franchises. Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and Kingdom Hearts all started somewhere --- as is the case for all present-day AAA franchises.

Developers have the opportunity to create new brand names on the Wii, which can be just as successful if not more so (taking into account the influx of casual gamers) than their existing brands.

You are completely missing the point.

The point was not whether the would need a hot selling franchise, it is whether a company would announce a big game that would tell the publishers and the consumers that the Wii is the home for casual and "hardcore" gamers.

My point was that a large mainstream franchise that is moved from one console company to another would change perspective, and maybe it may even shift development of other companies once they see this shift.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Well, they could look overseas for an example.

If Japan produces a big budget "mature" game that sells incredibly well in the states, it would prove to them that there is a market.

Granted, that is assuming that the game is marketed, has a lot of buzz, and ultimately will have crossover appeal with casual gamers (because a high selling game is not something only aimed at the hardcore market).

360 *TOM CLANCY'S RAINBOW SIX: VEGAS 2 UBISOFT Mar-08 752.3K

I don't imagine this game has nearly half the crossover appeal of a Madden or a Guitar Hero or a Halo, and still, gangbuster sales. In perspective, that's roughly double what the last RS game did at launch, and more than double what Metroid Prime 3 did in its first 6 weeks.

I don't think devs of M-rated software are going to break a sweat looking for that 'magic bullet' that equates to a Wii million seller worldwide, when they can make the games they want to make and sell a million+ per territory on PS360PC.

You will increasingly see situations like Bully, Mortal Kombat, or Alone in the Dark (and perhaps even Call of Duty 5), where the Wii is included where it was formerly ignored, but at this point, ignoring the Xbox 360 as a 3rd party is far more suicidal than ignoring the Wii, unless you're making a game that does >50% of its sales in Japan.

The point was not whether the would need a hot selling franchise, it is whether a company would announce a big game that would tell the publishers and the consumers that the Wii is the home for casual and "hardcore" gamers.

The biggest 3rd party game of this generation is coming out in 2 weeks. It's too late for this shift to occur. The biggest Japanese 3rd party game is already slated for DS.

Kingdom Hearts, GTAIV: stories, and Final Fantasy XIV at this point would do nothing to change the tide.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

I don't imagine this game has nearly half the crossover appeal of a Madden or a Guitar Hero or a Halo, and still, gangbuster sales. In perspective, that's roughly double what the last RS game did at launch, and more than double what Metroid Prime 3 did in its first 6 weeks.

I don't think devs of M-rated software are going to break a sweat looking for that 'magic bullet' that equates to a Wii million seller worldwide, when they can make the games they want to make and sell a million+ per territory on PS360PC.

You will increasingly see situations like Bully, Mortal Kombat, or Alone in the Dark (and perhaps even Call of Duty 5), where the Wii is included where it was formerly ignored, but at this point, ignoring the Xbox 360 as a 3rd party is far more suicidal than ignoring the Wii, unless you're making a game that does >50% of its sales in Japan.

You really can't use UBI though. They are treated as first party by Xbox 1 and 360 owners.

 

[Starchasing]

I really want to believe you, but I'm not very optimistic right now - especially with IGN saying that the big publishers absolutely refuse to publish mature hardcore Wii games.

Samething happened to the DS during the Nintendogs era. Companies fear to enter new territories. They would love the PS3 to succed and just make the sames games again and again.

But this fear also has another consequence. If no one enters but one, that one will make big buckets. Look at the PSP, look at MH3 and GOW. As i said earlier, does anyone doubt that a sequel to re4wii wont sell very well???

In light of all of this, I think that IGN is right. We should have seen more movement towards the Wii by now.

Not really since we dont know how much money they have invested on games for ps360 so far. If you planned to spend 10% on making wii games the next 2 years its really hard to change those numbers. In order to do that you need to take money from somewhere. Is Capcom going to gimp RE5? i doubt it

 

[DataBot]

Samething happened to the DS during the Nintendogs era. Companies fear to enter new territories. They would love the PS3 to succed and just make the sames games again and again.

But this fear also has another consequence. If no one enters but one, that one will make big buckets. Look at the PSP, look at MH3 and GOW. As i said earlier, does anyone doubt that a sequel to re4wii wont sell very well???

Res5 on Wii would kill sales of Res5 PS3 + 360 .
But if that will happen is another story,
if i was capcom i would do it unless they dont want the "Big Cash".

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

You really can't use UBI though. They are treated as first party by Xbox 1 and 360 owners.

Then who to use then?

I'm looking at the top 10 and I'm seeing 4 publishers who are happy with what they sold on 360 for the month and LTD, and have no reason to shift resources when they're making money hand over fist on the M rated software they're putting out right now.

It's not like these companies aren't supporting Wii/DS, and it's not like they're not making money on Wii/DS. They've simply found other avenues that work for them, and they don't see a reason to change.

Res5 on Wii would kill sales of Res5 PS3 + 360 .
But if that will happen is another story,
if i was capcom i would do it unless they dont want the "Big Cash".

How much do you think the breakdown would go? Ie, PS360 vs Wii sales WW.

 

[schuelma]

Capcom has already taken a step with MH3, though that is a Japanese-centric franchise. I expect much more Wii love from Capcom.

 

[Starchasing]

Res5 on Wii would kill sales of Res5 PS3 + 360 .
But if that will happen is another story,
if i was capcom i would do it unless they dont want the "Big Cash".

As i said earlier it is very hard to do that. Lets be conservative and say Capcom planned for 2 or 3 years in advance their spending. Im sure they gave Wii development a very low percentage, since everyone expected the revolution to flop.

If they wanted to do RE4.5wii where would they take the money from? They already have it allocated for other things. Its not that easy to come up with the resources. Thats why they have done small games so far

rinse and repeat for TT2 and their carnival games.

 

[DataBot]

Then who to use then?
.

How much do you think the breakdown would go? Ie, PS360 vs Wii sales WW.

300k - 600k difference . ( but something telling me could be 500k - ?)

 

[Meier]

Unless you know he was drinking piss, this loses some of its humor. Great scene though.

 

[MiamiWesker]

Did we get any new numbers since we got the PS3 R6 numbers.

 

[ghostlyjoe]

If no one enters but one, that one will make big buckets. Look at the PSP, look at MH3 and GOW.

This point always seems to get lost. There is a market on the Wii. The question is who and what will capitalize on that market?

The Wii's trajectory is obvious, and it's bringing its big games with it (Smash Bros., for one, is on pace to blow past its predecessor). In three years, the market is going to be so lopsided it'll look absurd. If third parties don't want any part of that, that's their perogative. But they WILL lose stature (and sacrifice profits) as a result.

The fact is, if you take the Wii out of the equation, then the entire games industry is contracting at a frightening rate. As budgets go up and user bases shrink, what is the logical outcome of this?

That's why this argument is mostly absurd. The Wii will get big third-party franchises by default, because the industry allows no alternative. They might not be GTA and MGS, but it won't matter, because whatever ultimately succeeds on the Wii will be the new "GTA." If no third-parties jump on, then Nintendo will just about own the industry outright.

 

[evilromero]

Actually I would argue third party games have sustained interest for the Wii more than Nintendo published titles. Take a look at customer reviews on Amazon for anecdotal proof. Games like Winter Sports, Carnival, Game Party and Cooking Mama are covering the foundation that the Wii was built on. These are the games that the adult crowd enjoy. Mario & Sonic was pretty much passed over as a mediocre affair by the gaming press but was a huge success for casual players (again I combed the reviews of M&S and found many adults recommend the game for players of their age group). My guess is we will see this trend continue with titles like Deca Sports, Summer Sports, We Ski and WiiFit in May.