A lot of publishers have been having trouble figuring out how to make more money off their Wii games. We've heard from some folks at Capcom say that "hardcore" gamers have moved on from the Wii, or that there was never an consistent audience for "good" games on the console to begin with. Keep in mind, the people making these statements generally don't make videogames; they just publish them. They're the guys who hire the artists and designers to create games; the money men who are generally more concerned with tracking trends and chasing demographics than actually making anything.
Ask an actual developer at Capcom what he thinks of the situation, and you'll get a different answer. When I asked Ryota Niistuma (producer of multiple Wii games for Capcom) about the process of designing a game for the Wii, his answer was simple. First, he tries to think of a good idea for a game. Then, if it looks like it's going to be a Wii title, then he tries to think of ways to use the Wii's unique features to the game's advantage.
Crazy, right? Why does he go about it this way? Why doesn't he start from the ground up with tons of specific gimmicks and tricks? Well, I guess it's because "good games will sell, regardless of what console their on."
Note that he did not say "You need to track demographics and sales data of other games to figure out exactly what sells and what doesn't, then try to make a game that will definitely make you ten times what you spent on it." If he did think like that, I seriously doubt he'd have produced a game like Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, and I'd also seriously doubt that I'd like his games so much.
Contest:
2:20 PM on 01.25.2010
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Like Little King's Story?
That didn't save my little buddy.
[img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_t1Z6wNZ11wA/SPLlRcTNsEI/AAAAAAAAAAU/DcoPPGm58FU/S1600-R/dreamcast_logo.jpg[/i]
But with Tatsunoko vs Capcom and No More Heroes 2 out this week, maybe some truth will be added to Capcom's statement :)
where everything was exactly as it seemed "
Just sayin'.
I agree. Developers could get apathetic about their product and not put as much effort in if they truly think no one will care.
Don't be naive. You know that investment attracts investment. Could there be an indie developer to launch the most entertaining of the games and yet he will never sell the same as a just acceptable mainstream game in which were invested tens of millions in advertisement. You know that games like Psychonauts, ICO and Mirror's Edge sold much less than they deserved. But Assassin's Creed, Kane & Lynch ...
The quality it's not attached to the sells by themselfs. There's a lot of other factors. Some are more important, unfortunately.
...Also, because I'm gay for it, Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines. It only ever sold 'well' like three years after it came out and people noticed, and by then the company that made it was long dead.
shame he didn't, because that's by far the most effective way to figure out what sells.
this is nothing but wishful thinking.
Anyway, it's glad to see that one company at least understands how to develop good software. It's too bad Capcom's international studios can't produce anything worthwhile, but we will always have Capcom Japan for classics.
"we know good games do sell well on any platform, we are simply pissed you Wii owners don't buy our low effort shit, so we say you have disowned the Wii" is what my minds translates. Also before someone brings Zack and Wiki into play i'll note that it as much as TvC and MH3 have not received a fraction of the promotion X360/PS3 games get.
Dead Space was one impressive game last year not to mention EA's flagship title, it also didn't get much promotion and we know how that one went. EA learned the lesson with Dante's Inferno, seems Capcom needs a few more punches to get it.
I could name off at least 100 games off the top of my head that didn't sell well that were 100x greater than most of these blockbuster games out today.
I get the feeling that it'll fall under the "good game, crap sales" umbrella.
You may be right on that one. But then again, Bayonetta does have sex on its side, and sex does sell. It'll be interesting to see how those numbers pan out.
god i wish i still had photoshop.
SICK BURN
Tell that to Looking Glass Studios.
One day, some company will release a great game on the Wii, that isn't a rail shooter, that isn't a port, that isn't named in a way designed to pander to the 6 year old market, and put some marketing muscle behind it, and it will sell. But NO ONE'S DONE THAT. This either means the Wii is awful or developers for the Wii are awful. And...Nintendo's shown the Wii isn't awful.
How can other devs live up to the heights of Nintendo? The Wii has their name stamped on it, and third parties get next to no help from Nintendo.
Nintendo are in a good sweet position, as they are taking money for both Wii consoles and Wii games, and thus can pump extra into ads, promos etc.
I still think many should just leave Wii to die in the sun, sacrificed at the alter of casuals and profit, so we can move on. Tatsunoko vs Capcom is cool enough but frankly wasted on Wii. I'll wait for a sequel or similar on 360/PS3.
Zack & Wiki is a good example. A good game but one of a very niche genre (point and click genre is on life support at best) and Capcom really didn't market the game outside of Japan.
MadWorld is another example of a good game that sold poorly. Why? Well, its unique stylish graphics probably didn't appeal to everyone. More importantly ,the game's length was ridiculously short making it an ideal game to rent.
Dead Space Extraction's issue was that no one wanted (especially Dead Space fans) Extraction to be an on-rails FPS. Quite frankly, the on-rails FPs genre is not well known for games of its type to sell well. Pretty much the only reason why Umbrella Chronicles sold really well was due to the RE brand name.
By the time the sequel came around, the majority of Wii owners grew tired of the genre especially with the disappointing announcements of both Dark Side Chronicles and Extraction being spin-off games in the on-rails FPS genre instead of their traditional genres.
What about No More Heroes? Well, its hard enough for any Grasshopper Manufacture game to sell well given that they're not designed to appeal to everyone. In addition, Ubisoft failed to market the first game as well as its sequel. The worst part is how the publisher knew that the first game managed to sell surprisingly well and yet it still didn't lift a finger to properly promote the game.
Amazing games will always sell well, good niche games will not.
The whole name stamped on the console is hardly an excuse, back on the Nes era i remember Mega Man, Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden doing well some as praised as Mario 3. How are they supposed to help them overcome shitty development, shouldn't 3rd parties with the reputation and history of Campcom have naturally shed that problem quite a while ago?
"Nintendo are in a good sweet position, as they are taking money for both Wii consoles and Wii games, and thus can pump extra into ads, promos etc."
Wii development is already a fraction of PS3/X360 development, shouldn't devs use at least a decent bit of those savings into promotional stuff? when i see games DR:CTYD i sure as hell don't think they used much on graphic polishing to beging with.
"I still think many should just leave Wii to die in the sun, sacrificed at the alter of casuals and profit, so we can move on. Tatsunoko vs Capcom is cool enough but frankly wasted on Wii. I'll wait for a sequel or similar on 360/PS3."
Yeah well, that's your POV and with things the way they are right now, might happen might not, but i'd like you to admit that if it does, it's not due to the Wii itself but due to laziness and greed from 3rd parties, i'm not holding my breath though.
Of course no doubt some random poster will use this article as a chance to complain about some Wii-exclusive that they think should be on their own favorite console instead.
the point seems to be refuted... many times already
The truth is, Im one of about ten people who are real gamers and own a wii. I loved mad world, dead space extraction, house of the dead overkill, resident evil darkside chronicles if you dont own at least two of those games, and love them, you have NO right to bitch. The wii's mature audience (and no, zelda, mario and uber family friendly games dont count) is nonexistant aside from me and a few others.
If Okami didn't sell well then they wouldn't be trying to make a sequal.
okami sell poorly considering the wiis install base, hell even if it did sell well, the ps2 version still had some pretty crappy sales
if you make good games they will probably sell good, thats true regarding both the ps3 and the 360, thats why games like demon's souls and valkyria chronicles managed to outsell many wii games despite having nearly no hype before their release, being on a console with a smaller install base and having no marketing at all
no 3rd party title last year that could be considered "hardcore" was that lucky
according to johns logic, besides mario there were no good wii games last year
Is that why it's ''sequel'' is relegated to a DS title that looks cheap as hell, without even 3D graphics? Is that why it's a cheap, quick and easy hand held game?