GenGAME writes: "Touted as the most third-party friendly Nintendo platform since the SNES, Wii U had a bunch of third-party games at launch. Sure, most of them were late ports, but as I’ve said before, most gamers (believe it or not) are actually single-console gamers. Opening up a new can of games that Nintendo fans have never had the chance to play should work like a charm, no?
"So why didn’t these games sell on Wii U? Here’s a theory: what if it’s not about Nintendo fans not wanting to play anything that doesn’t come from Nintendo? What if it’s more about Nintendo fans being too smart to be duped by third-parties’ efforts to sell them on the same games that already failed to draw them to other platforms?
"...If developers don’t deliver the kinds of rich play-oriented experiences they crave – and that includes both Nintendo and third parties – they have no problem holding onto their money."
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The question is: what did all of those games that people went after have in common that modern third-party games lack? They fit in well with the Nintendo audience.
Nintendo fans are obviously enjoying much better games than that crappy Call of Duty port, and that other mediocre port of Batman Arkham City.
People buy Nintendo for a reason - they are diehard Nintendo fans. If they wanted AAA games from third parties they would buy a PS3 or 360.
Nintendo fans of today just don't buy third party. There are a lot of hidden gem lists for the Wii floating around. You know why people make those lists, because those people are usually actual gaming fans that buy more than just Mario, Kirby, Metroid, Smash Bros, Mario Kart, etc. Now there are some Nintendo fans who are console exclusive who do buy more than just Nintendo products, but they're rare. Most Nintendo fans think everything Nintendo releases is gold.
I made mention one time that MonolithSoft was irrelevant to Nintendo fans before they became first party. Go look up sales to Dragon Ball Z Attack of the Saiyans and Super Robot Taisen OG Saga Endless Frontier. Both released in the US and both DS games. They sold very poorly. The Wii game they developed sold even worse. But as soon as MonolithSoft was announced as a first party developer and Nintendo announced Xenoblade, everyone was all over them and they immediately became the best RPG developer to Nintendo fans. It's sad. Truly.
Nintendo fanboys' overzealous reaction in wake of the Wii U taking a dive past launch has been rather pathetic. They'll say anything.
I've been thinking about this...it would seem the decision to go cartridge with the N64 is what shifted the balance of power, and Nintendo (more like third parties) never recovered with GameCube.
Exactly right. N64 went cartridge because Nintendo and Sony dropped their partnership building SNES CD. Sony then developed their own machine and so did Nintendo.History.
Lets make a petition to make sure there is no gta5 wiiU port! Whos with me?! Nintendo fans rise up!!
Now is the time!
/s
A bad game and lazy work will always show.
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Because they had such great time playing GTA III, VC, San Andraeas & IV on previous Nintendo systems?..Oh wait that never happened.
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Nintendo fans truly live in neverland. And they luv themselves some port begging.
I thought that the first Metal Gear game was on the MSX...
Mega Man X6 was the series high point? Excuse me while I vomit. /jk
But left nintendo.
Bubble up because I agree entirely. It wouldn't matter what console those games were on, they'd still be great games. Nintendo didn't make them good games, they just happened to be on a Nintendo console.
By the way. There's a lot of people who don't know how monopolistic of a company Nintendo was back then. Here's some truth behind Nintendo way back then and why a lot of third parties abandoned them when the Playstation started to do well.
Back then, Nintendo had an iron grip on console developers and threatened them that if they were to develop a game on another console they wouldn't allow their games to be published on the NES or SNES. With how well the NES and SNES sold, they were basically saying if you turn your back on us, you're screwed.
You might make an argument, but Capcom games and other developer games are on the Genesis and Sega Master System. Most of them were arcade titles licensed then ported by Sega themselves.
You guys think EA and Activision are bad? I think this practice Nintendo had in the 80s and 90s was worse than anything those two publishers have done to the industry. I still like Nintendo games and Nintendo consoles, as I'm a gaming fan, but I've never had respect for Nintendo after finding out about this during the 32/64bit era and why Nintendo lost most of its third party support.
If it wasn't for Playstation, how well it sold when it released and being a powerful console with disc format, developers may have never had the courage to get out from under Nintendo. It's only for the reason that the Playstation sold well that developers knew they could be profitable elsewhere, and is now the reason why most games are multiconsole since developers aren't forcibly tied down to one specific console.
You didn't have to necessarily be a "Nintendo fan" to play those games.
The companies that developed the games were the ones that made the games popular. FF and Metal Gear didn't become the huge success they are today until the PS1.
I'm of the opinions that bare some exceptions , many nintendo fans dont put their money where their mouth is and stick with the safe and familiar nintendo .
For all the anger about 3rd party support every new nintendo console beyond the snes , and pretense of caring about gameplay and quality moreso than gamers from other platforms , they drop the ball as much , if not more , on many ignored gaming gems .
Mind you the same can be said everywhere , especially for some ps3 fans constantly bragging about exclusives they dont support , but it's a recurring problem imo at nintendo's camp .
Not looking at this from a gamer perspective, but more from a business perspective.
Sonic might still be a constant big seller , but it's a far cry from their hardware maker era .
Nintendo has never needed it's hardware. Think about it, had they not released Wii, but released Wiimote and Wiimote enabled games instead for the other consoles, they would have likely sold more. Same as Wii U. Release the screen controller with a usb adapter for 360 and PS3, support it with screen-controller enabled games using fan favorite franchises, and profits soar. The last 2 Nintendo consoles have been centered around their input devices. If Nintendo started just making controllers and games to work with those controllers, but did not limit the gamer to what system they owned in order to be able to enjoy that content, Nintendo would enjoy the install base of every console buying it's controllers and games. That, in addition to not having to have anywhere near as much money invested into the R&D and launch of consoles, should lead to far higher profits than they have now.
Just my opinion. I know it's controversial, but the fact that they have focused on the controller for many of their previous consoles (N64, Wii, WiiU, etc. all relied heavily on their controllers to sell the system), and many of their gamer fans admit they buy those consoles for the games rather than the hardware, makes me feel that it would be their best option financially. Put all effort into making those games, developing new franchises, and quit worrying about hardware. Find ways to innovate other hardware with new controllers and games, and enjoy the savings and added profit.
I think the bad sales are due to guys like me, and as the article says, because there are single-console owners that just weren't interested in third party titles.
It's fun, you should try it sometime.
Meanwhile, games that ARE good fits for Wii like RE4: Wii Edition and Okami appear to have sold above expectations despite being old ports.
Madworld, made a profit, it just wasn't immediate. It sold a lot over time and so did Red Steel 2. It also made a profit in the end.
The Conduit is the only game on your list that didn't do well on the Wii and it was far from mature or good.
Wii games only needed around 200-300k to make a profit because they cost no where near as much to make as 360/PS3 games which were a failure if they didn't break 1 mil.
Get your facts straight.
On the other hands, Shadows of the Damned flopped heavily on the PS3/360 in comparison.
Comparing numbers without context tells a very twisted story.
It would have been the same with Final Fantasy 7 if it werent for the 7 in the title.
I play a lot of games as a kid, but I had never heard of either of these franchises until PlayStation.
Unless someone can prove that to me, i find it very hard to believe.
http://www.polygon.com/2012...
The main reason I would not be surprised to find that most people are single console is because people are constantly back and forth about why their console is better. Though I have always assumed it was a vocal minority, and most people who do have multiple consoles aren't on here because they are having too much fun with their mass selection of games to really give a crap.
Good read- not because of the Butter-Up...
BUT
because you brought something different to the gaming dialogue.
Maybe that's why I never heard of it.
But there are some great examples of the opposite. Demon's Souls was a third party game, for instance - Sony just agreed to publish it in a region or two before Atlus scooped it up. Dark Souls is my favorite game on any current-gen console, one of my "of all times." To me, it's the Megaman 2 and 3 of this generation - a huge improvement on a game which took a lot of risks.
This market isn't ready for a new generation of consoles, methinks. But the indie developers are ready for easier-to-use engines, cheap distribution methods, and fair business models outside of those AAA companies' doors. Before long, we're going to be launch headlong into much bigger games from auteurs. I think it may be nice.
Nintendo "gamers" I know 1. Those who never actually use it and let it colect dust for years 2. Parents who bought the cheapest possible console for young kids who can play nothing better than wave your arms around or Mario.
So, that rules out typical 3rd party genres such as mature single-player games (survival horror, adventure, or fighting games) or immersive online shooters, or realistic racing games. All that is left, which a Nintendo "gamer" might be interested is the same old Zelda and Mario.
I think it goes deeper than that because even non casual games still don't do as well as on other consoles. Lets look at prime example.
Tales of graces sold 143k first week in Japan on the Wii and at that point there were 10 million wii's in Japan compared to around 5 million PS3's.
The following year Tales of Graces f was released on the PS3 and it sold 215K first week.
Same game but the PS3 version had some extras. It wasn't a casual or dumbed down game. It was a proper JRPG and it sold a lot less even though the wii's userbase was almost twice of the PS3's at the time.
Look at the Xenoblade, a first party title that many claim to be the best RPG of the gen and that only sold 160K in Japan which is a fraction of what a Mario game will sell.
The 360 and PS3 have established themselves as the home for 3rd party tiles while Nintendo have established their console as the Mario, Zelda, Metroid etc.. machine which is why third party and even some of their first party titles struggle.
What they need to do in my opinion is use the positive reception from the X game and promote it hard and show they can do more than just Mario and co. I hear so many fans saying they can't wait for the next smash or mario kart or Zelda. It's just becoming too predictable.
There's also the disadvantage of less power but that's another argument
I AM interested in third-party games. A number of up-coming Wii U games that I have on my radar are third-party.
I'm a one-console gamer because my game life revolves around what my parents are willing to spend and when they are willing to spend it. Later down the line, hopefully I'll accquire a PS4 or 720, which ever one I'm most interested in - but certainly not as quickly as I got my Wii U. Simply because I know my dad won't throw down another $400-$500 in such a short space of time, for a game console.
And even for gamers who aren't in the same parent-based boat, their wallets probably aren't so healthy either. Gaming is a lot to invest in. With such a lousy economy, it's harder than ever.
That ship sailed years ago and it's not an argument point anymore. Final Fantasy went to Playstation, the Blue Bomber had 2 releases but for all consoles, Metal Gear Solid is on every system Except Nintendo HOME consoles.
When Nintendo releases a console, the discussion basically goes as followed: When will we see Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Star Fox, etc? And most Nintendo fans are ok with that, but that's why I didn't even give 2 looks at the WiiU.
EA is killing there own franchises on purpose to hurt nintendo for not making them another 3do.
It's going to be curious to see if graphics or game play sells games after E3.
Lots of people are waiting to buy a wiiu since they want to see what ms and Sony are offering. Many may wait of the other systems to become affordable. Who knows, yet game play sells on Nintendo consoles.
Nintendo gamers like games like gradius, tmnt arcade, secret of mana, chrono trigger, killer instinct, master blaster, ff3, ng3, great side scrollers with action like battle toads! With a twist like using today's technology.
The problem is the current youth of gaming wants 3d free roaming story based gaming. None of that insures fun yet costs lots of money to make. This thinking killed sega and it's killing other 3rd parties now.
Plus visual hype does not sell to an older crowd aka Nintendo gamers who owned a Nes and problably have a nice pc setup.
Money as always Scissor. Hope alls well buddy.
What's the sales number of N64's or Gamecube console. That to me would be a good indicator of about how many hardcore Nintendo fans there really are out there or maybe less.
Look at the sales of the WII U and it launch with Nintendo land and New Super Mario Bros.
The fact is the real reason majority of gamers are draw to a console can be for a lot of different reasons. There's 1st and 3rd party support, innovation of the console,the "Hot" item to have, price, brand royalty, family friendly games, etc.
These other gamers are really the ones that decide who's console or all three of them, are going to be hugely successful or not.
however I can't say otherwise for their other platforms coz I equally enjoyed 3rd party softwares from the NES to the GameCube (in fact, I have more 3rd party software for them compared to 1st party). it was only the Wii when most AAA 3rd party games didn't come for it.
so frankly, I just hope that more 3rd parties will come to the Wii U. coz I do know that most Nintendo fans are simply waiting for the 3rd parties to support the Wii U. and most nintendo gamers are also multiplatform gamers who knows how to appreciate what each console can offer, instead of joining the pissing contest.