Wii is successful outside first-party hits

Satoru Iwata, current president and CEO of Nintendo, gave a briefing to investors in Japan on January 29th, and had a lot to say about the future of Nintendo. Among those was his response to allegations that the Nintendo Wii isn't a console friendly for third party developers, at least not to the extent that the PS3 and Xbox 360 have been.

[Gr81]

Will of course be ignored.

[ChickeyCantor]

Well just because we have proof doesn't mean its true.
They used blue instead of green, so there they are false.

[eagle21]

Just got every star coin in New Super Mario Bros. Wii including World 9. Good times. :)

[SpoonyRedMage]

People claimed Nintendo were fudging numbers by excluding Modern Warfare 2 but when you think about it they're ignoring one game that surpassed ten million on the HD consoles but by removing Nintendo you ignore at least three games that sold over ten million(how much did MK Wii sell last year as well?), ignoring Sony's and MS' first party titles doesn't change the amount of ten million sellers though.

[eagle21]

The Wii easily won. I don't want to even quote the actual numbers, it's on google and vgchartz (article). lol

[SpoonyRedMage]

Yer, the point is that it's convenient to say "ignore first party" but if you said "ignore the big hits" then on the HD consoles you'd be ingoring Modern Warfare, Assassin's Creed and GTA whilst on the Wii you'd be ignoring Nintendo's franchises.

I wonder what sales would look like then.

@V: Oh, I know. The Wii had the highest, but that wasn't really what I was talking about.

[eagle21]

The totals I'm talking about included every game published on every system in 2009 whether third or first party. :)

[asdr3wsfas]

Heavy Rain's appeal is the ultimate example of the movie gaming point though. It sacrifices more gameplay for story, plot, dialogue, and cutscenes. You do need more examples to make the point but that is the best single example he could have posted in the interests of time.

However, MGS4, Uncharted 2, Heavenly Sword, Lair, etcetc all strive for the same goal. Lots of cutscenes, dialogue, story and plot that detract from the time spent playing the game. I mean there's fighting and shooting but also lots of interruptions in it and much of the user input is just the player running to the next big area with enemies. If you compare the amount of input in these games to one like SF4 or Bubble Bobble the point is clearer. You control your character more often and for longer in the latter titles.

Basically in some games the story *primarily but not exclusively* motivates the player, like MGS4. In others the story is minimal or essentially non-existent, like Bubble Bobble and SF4. That's the difference between a movie game and these other titles.

Did you play Heavenly Sword and see the laid over dialogue during some of the fighting scenes a la Billy Jean? I'm trying to kill dudes here, not listen to some evil bird cackle at his minions to kill me.

The best test is whether you want to replay the game after beating it. My bro loved UC2 and couldn't play through it again. How many times do most people beat SF4 or bubble bobble?

[Hakimy]

They should have mentioned these games or at least the top 10 selling games for the wii but I think there is a reason why they didn't mention these games.I think they follow a certain genre which attracts wii buyers besides SE games so no, developers need more to be convinced.look at this chart,look at 3rd party games,notice their type and genre and you will know what I mean ;)
http://vgchartz.com/worldto...

[SpoonyRedMage]

Look at the 360 one: http://vgchartz.com/worldto... how high that pile of poop Kung Fu Panda is at over 3 million sold.

A lot of the same titles pop up like the Lego games, and the list you posted contains Platformers, Rhythm, Shooters(including an M rated one), Survival Horror, Sports, Lifestyle, Action/Adventure, party and fighting games. Wait, that's what you meant isn't it? And by type do you mean games with actual ad campaigns? because they tend to sell elsewhere as well.

[Smacktard]

It may be a movie game, but it has a respectable score of 75 of metacritic. I wouldn't exactly call it a piece of crap. It's especially high for a movie game.

[Hakimy]

*sighs* I ask everyone to look at these games.they appeal to certain audience.I'm not saying wii is bad,my family has it and I like its idea and I think its revolutionary and a smart idea from nintendo,but it isn't the system for games like MGS4,uncharted2,Mass effect 2,gears of war,etc... ;)

[Seferoth75]

Wait... You want other console exclusives on the Wii and its an issue for you but you are not upset about games like NMH being Wii exclusive?

What exactly is your point exactly? First you point out the top 10 which is first party and ask why they didnt bring that up when its about 3rd party games only to respond later about how other console exclusives are not on the console and that is some how wrong and proves 3rd party games do not sale on Wii?

[Hakimy]

-_-" I am talking about the type of games!

[N4g_null]

Devs don't need more to be convinced some just don't have the talent to make games on the wii period. I mean keep repeating the same things.

Dynamic slash along with red steel2 are going to be some great times on the wii.

Also maybe Sony exclusives are on the wrong system also? They should make more movie games like heavy rain lol. Just admit you don't like the games on the wii and move on because I don't like the games on the hd systems ethier. There a bunch of gimicks and hype vechicles.

[ZoidsRaven]

I like the point you made about Heavy Rain. Which I'd like to say something about the game and people hyping it.
--------

I see people hyping this movie and saying things like it should get Game of the Year. This is odd because I struggle to find real gameplay of this game, all I see is a cut scene longer than it needs to be.
The funny thing about this is, these are the same "gamers" calling games like Wiisports gimmicks. Even though WiiSports has (real) gameplay and Movie Rain doesn't, but I guess it'll be popular amongst the movie watchers that call themselves gamers nowadays. 7_7

[hatchimatchi]

Calling HD fans movie gamers based on Heavy Rain is kinda silly. How many games are out that are similar to HR?

You should've used a different example.

BTW, i do agree about heavy rain, the game looks completely stupid to me. I watched some gameplay footage and all I saw was a mannish looking woman get naked and a guy peeing and shaving.

I think i'll pass.

[N4g_null]

hatchimatchi well do you really need an example ok how aboooouuuuuttttt... MW2, Halo, any other casual game that can easily be beaten by non hard core gamers in less than a week end. There is a reason hard games don't do so well is because most gamers in HD would A rather yell and spam people while other would rather watch blu rays really nothing else explains the fact that sony exclusives dont really sell.

[tunaks1]

no anti-wii trolls are commenting here....
yet they will still pull out the third party sales sh!t out of their a$$es

[hatchimatchi]

One thing i don't understand is that whenever a crap game comes out for the wii and doesn't sell, the wii fanbase here usually says it's a good thing because it shows developers that wii owners aren't sheep and want quality made titles.

BUT

When people say that 3rd party titles don't sell on the wii, many of the same people claim that 3rd party titles do sell, similar to that of a "slow burn."

What i'm trying to get at is, does it really matter & if so, what's the point?

Obviously crap games don't sell and we all know that the media plays up the fact that certain games have been made to test the waters of a "mature" audience on the wii. Granted, these games have been mostly garbage as far as i'm concerned. (the conduit, madworld, rail shooter extravaganza, etc.) Posting charts and whatnot is only going to appease the fanboys in most cases and fuel the same arguments that most likely won't ever be settled.

There have been a few headlines recently that claim, "The honeymoon period for the wii is over..." That's completely true because 3rd parties are seeing that crap games don't sell. Now if they choose to stop developing altogether for the wii it becomes a shame, not for the wii owners because it's less garbage to sort through when inside game stores, but a shame on the developers for thinking they can rush crap to market and loot money from unsuspecting gamers. I'm beginning to realize that the wii is a victim of circumstance.

I kinda rambled there but I think you can get the point I was trying to make.

[asdr3wsfas]

The point crappy games don't sell is in response to madworld/Dead Space Extraction style games, which still sell slowly over time and in the case of madworld overwhelmingly led to a profit. Dead Space Extraction broke 200k recently but instead first week sales are cited as an argument.

The second point is that a lot of the games that do sell are ignored or their sales downplayed. Three cod games for wii broke a million. So did RE4 and RE:UC. Boom Blox broke a million as did Da Blob. NMH is cited as a bomb based on early sales but turned out to be a success. There's overlap in the slow selling titles claims as you now see.

The best predictor of which we consider a game is the quality of the game itself and the effort put into it. Dead Space Extraction is crap shoved to wii owners to test the market for a decent game. Madworld is disappointingly short and repetitive. COD is still gimped on wii releases in budget, time, and long delays before before ports but still sells over a million.

Most differences arise from the quality of the games mentioned and the preferences of wii owners. We don't want dumbed down rail shooters. We do like original gameplay like Da Blob and Roomb blox. We enjoy titles with less effort invested like COD because at least we have them, though we're not always happy with the decisions made in development. And if a game is good like NMH and different we like to see it succeed. If the game is mediocre like Madworld we will point out that it didn't do that badly and probably made a profit but that expecting Halo sales from a game that more closely resembles Shadowrun doesn't make sense on any system.

[EvilTwin]

hatch -- I think the point of having a "slow burn" cycle for selling games is that devs/publishers need to adjust their expectations. It's like they're releasing indie movies and expecting Avatar ticket sales. Capcom complained about RE:DC sales, but I doubt they're going to cry about MH:Tri. People just aren't using their heads.

bob -- I'd say that MadWorld was actually more of a spiritual successor to Clover's previous beat 'em up, God Hand.

And that game was no barn burner, sales-wise.
http://www.vgchartz.com/gam...

Honestly, this is probably part of the reason I like Wii as much as I do. It gets a lot of really neat games that are considered niche now, but weren't always. I can live without third party AAA as long as Nintendo puts out high caliber first-party stuff in its place.

[beans]

I simply can't believe the power of Nintendo's name on a box. They might as well take on Disney World with Nintendo World or something.

[Hakimy]

you do realize that you just proved my point that wii owners are different audience than ps3/xbox360 one since you dont like the games of those 2 consoles :P

[Hakimy]

oops sorry this was supposed to be a reply for scissor_runner :P

[hatchimatchi]

It's best just to accept that some people are happy with the wii and the games that are available for it & there's nothing wrong with that.

Nothing good comes from speaking ill towards the wii around these parts. Trust me......I know from experience, ha.

[N4g_null]

You do realize you have proved my point also. You know the one about hd gamers really being pc gamers and not true console gamers. A gamer is not an animation freak. They like it in real moives but to call it a game really? I mean true gamer threw dragons lair under the bus and it has ten times better art and animation than heavy rain.

Also Sony has actively been creating this casual movie gamer for years along with square enix. Two things came from this casual gamers that think they are hardcore. They only want sligthly challenging games with mid range pc graphics. I'm still wondering when they will tire of this yet they are all mostly becoming collectors now also which means their skill level in game play is not increasing they are simply playing a hardy boys choose your adventure book. Is that really art?

Then on top of this they keep claiming they want to make art. Art is not sold in a store. Most gamers can not afford art. I'm fine with gaming reaching to become art yet nintendo is closer to this goal than Sony.

It's sort of like watching a sculpture nintendo go up against a painting Sony and hd. Nintendo may have a simple smooth surface yet Sony has a shallow detailed surface yet which one has move depth. In the public eye and the artist mind which one invites you to explore and touch thus interact.

I'm not saying hd gaming can not achieve this yet I'm not sure their talent is focused on what nintendo lives and dies by which is game play. Nintendo could easy hire guys like me and get ati's best gpu in their next system and leave the hd guys no more gimicks. Sony has yet to prove they can offer better gaming play that is not a simulator.

Console gaming is more like arcade gaming and the arcade died because consoles caught up to them. Yet I think people fail to realize that pc gaming can not compare to arcade gaming which is why the wii is crushing the hd system. If Sony is smart they would release more arcade like games with real game play since it seems no matter what they release it will be hyped.

So yeah you guys are pc gamers we are the console gamers since we still get console remakes while you keep getting halo killers , climbing sims, race sims, 3rd person cover sims. We just got a Baster master remake hint we where the hardcore back when the nes was out. Only a person who is a true pc gamer can turn their back on these games.

Another thing is hd gamers are so fustrated because they don't even understand their own hobby. That's what marketing does. Just admit your a pc gamer and every thing will make sense and you will not have to bother the console gamers.

[Hakimy]

here is where you went wrong.how? because I'm not a pc gamer.I hate fps,wrpgs and any type of game which is related to pc gaming.I'm a console gamer (genesis,psx,psx) and the games I enjoyed in these consoles aren't available in wii because wii attracts different audience and gamers.plain and simple.if companies wanted to release a game for wii,they should put in mind the way attracts people in their games.you can't expect the same game that sold well in ps3/xbox360 consoles to sold more.it was proven by sales that the opposite happens (except maybe for music games).that's games like dmc,bayonetta,onimusha won't sell much on the wii compared to hd consoles or games like tekken,soul calibur,doa,etc... even sports game don't sell well (fifa,pes,nfl,etc...) unless they identical to the wii type of sports games and they sold less on the wii than hd consoles.its just plain simple and I will repeat it.wii has its own audience which buys and like certain type of games.make a game that applies to all consoles and it won't sell well on the wii like the other consoles because wii owners have different taste in games and that's why companies are skeptical to make games on wii.if you still don'y agree with this then nothing can be helped ;)

[Seekerofthewind]

I'll agree with your point that the Wii has a specific audience that it must cater to the moment you show me the proof that quality Fighting, Hack-And-Slash, and Action games don't sell on the Wii. Note: No More Heroes wouldn't be an example of something that didn't sell on the Wii, because it obviously sold enough to make Suda51 happy enough with said sales to make a sequel.

[hatchimatchi]

No offense (really) but you sound delusional.

I think you're looking into things a bit too far.

Comparing Dragon's Lair to Heavy Rain makes zero sense. Plus, Dragon's Lair came out in 1983 (27 years ago) and it wasn't thrown under the bus. Dragon's Lair was HUGE back when it came out (and still sees regular releases), there was always a line at Showbiz Pizza (the original Chuck E. Cheese) to play it, I was 5 and I remember playing it and not having the slightest clue as to what I was doing, ha, but I loved it anyways.

Comparing nintendo to a sculpture and sony to a painting? You lost me with that one.

"If Sony is smart they would release more arcade like games with real game play since it seems no matter what they release it will be hyped."

I gotta point out that this is what the SEGA did with the Saturn and the Dreamcast...

I do agree with one thing though. "They only want slightly challenging games"

That's true for me. I'm 25, I work 50 hours a week and I have a dog and a girlfriend. I don't have time to spend replaying levels in games and memorizing the layout like I was able to as a kid. When I play games now I want to experience a good story and atmosphere.

One last thing about Dragon's Lair though....DON BLUTH RULES!!!! ha

[N4g_null]

My point went way above your head. The psx2 borrowed more from pc gaming than the games that where before it in the arcade. Where is the 1942, r-type, contra audence to go? Surely not to a hd system. I don't miss my ps1 or two yet I still turn on my dreamcast. You guys simply do not like the stuff that made gaming big. You end up liking pc games more.

@hat if you can not see what I'm saying then that's your problem. Maybe you don't want to see it? There where no lines to play dragons lair at my arcade. I remember how it was laser disk also lol. Hell I like the art in that game better than heavy rain also.

I'm sorry the HD guys are doing a good job of converting console players to pc gamers. Hey I don't expect you agree because I don't think you understand how you guys are similar.

When nintendo releases their next home console you will see the difference.

[Shnazzyone]

This story is backed up by sources and numbers and the story is rooted in reliable information. The other story is nothing more then brash assumptions based off of one questionable survey. Yet fanboys will call THIS not true and praise the other story for saying what they want to hear. The Flame Wars suck.

[EvilTwin]

The big elephant in the room is that the Wii doesn't usually GET the AAA-blockbuster budgeted games the PS3 and 360 get (although it gets Nintendo's great first party offerings).

Instead, a LOT of really cool niche games put up respectable numbers on Wii. NMH sold well enough to get a sequel, which will probably sell exactly the same (decently). Ditto Boom Blox. De Blob just got greenlit for a sequel, too. MadWorld even worked its way to about 400K lifetime sales. I can see Muramasa eventually doing about that much, too; it's been selling consistently.

And then you have to account for MH:Tri making its way stateside. Plus, if Ubi gets behind RS2, I'm convinced that games can sell. The gameplay vids look great, and there's a ton of polish on that game.

Hell, established franchises that do get releases sell well, too. COD is a consistent million seller. MWR was two years late to the party, and it's still probably going to sell a million.

Nintendo's console has a different sales curve than the HD consoles. If you want to do well on the Wii, you have to accept you aren't going to get most of your sales in the first month.

[italianbreadman]

I'm not sure all the usual uproar from veteran, enthusiast gamers about third-party titles on the Wii even matters. The Wii sells plenty of third-party stuff to a very different audience; that's how they do business, especially considering the technology gap between them and the others.

It's really kinda just a bonus when a more mature or advanced game is released on the system for players like us. It's almost the reverse of the other two consoles. Either way though, there are many great games available for all of them.

[tmurder]

Well, that is good news.

That being said, personally, it's hard for me to care about most any 3rd party titles on the Wii. Sure there are a few gems, but all the graphs in the world can't prove to me that Nintendo has enough 3rd party titles for me to care about, especially in contrast with the 360 and PS3. Not to say I wouldn't be interested when a good one comes along, but I come to Nintendo mainly for my Metroids, Marios, Zeldas, etc.

[AWBrawler]

Mass Effect is more like a movie than say Metroid Prime Corruption. I don't even think I need to point out which one is more interactive, and has more "actual gameplay". Some Wii games have even fell victim to this. Compare TOS to TOS Dawn of the new world. Dawn of the new World is more cinematic, yet its not better than the original, and its less gameplay.
When I see Wii games I'm hyped for I see stuff like Sin and Punishment 2, Monster Hunter Tri, Tatsunoko vs capcom, lost winds winter of melodias, NBA jam, A boy and his blob, Red Steel 2, Zelda, Mario Galaxy 2, and things of that nature.
When I see HD games that are hyped, I usually see Movie like games like Mass Effect, MGS4 (which I loved to watch being played), Heavy Rain, Alan wake, Final Fantasy 13 (Crystal bearers was better mind you even famitsu agrees), and other overly cinematic games.

Don't get me wrong I like my share of movie like games, like Fragile for Wii, but if its the bulk of what you have, it gets old fast. They're big on FPS too, but I was never really a fan of any FPS but 007 and Perfect Dark. I don't even care much for Metroid Prime.

But Maybe one day we'll see game developers start back developing games, and less movies and sims. And for those who tease Wii sports and say its not a game.....then what the heck is Heavy rain? Metal Gear 4? Mass Effect? ... think about it.