Japan's three largest game makers plan to keep their eyes on the prize and put everything else to the side.
No one has to tell you that Nintendo's two babies, the Wii and the DS Lite, are dominating the business of video games. The
money printing consoles have showed no signs of slowing down, and the biggest game makers out there have noticed.
According to a Japanese Nikkei newspaper survey, fiscal 2007 will see a serious shift in focus for these big game developers. Namco Bandai is planning to up its count of Nintendo titles 109% to 115, and Sega looks to follow suit, bumping up their Nintendo shipments 96% to 49 titles. Capcom is also sending the Nintendo love, adding 5% more titles to ship 20 next year. The total shipment of Nintendo titles in fiscal 2007 will total 26.88 million, so there will be no bitching about a 'lack of good Wii games'. Meanwhile, all three of these major game companies plan to cut the number of shipments for Sony's consoles (PS3 and PSP) by 30%-40% in the same time frame. Ouch -- sorry Sony.
Maybe this has something to do with the crazy Wii demand. In the United States, the Wii is outselling the PlayStation 3 two to one, and Japan has made their choice with a three to one count. This huge user based, combined with the lower development costs has game makers scrambling to hop on the train. Even Sony-friendly Square Enix says that they plan to hold off on development of future PS3 titles until the sales situation improves.
All of this has done tremendous things for Nintendo's stock. Their stock briefly surpassed Sony's on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for the very first time on Monday. Nintendo's shares hit a record 46,350 yen (about $377), upping their market value to $53.4 billion, pushing this game-only company past the electronics giant.
[via
Variety ]
Contest:
8:26 AM on 06.27.2007
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Shush! There is no room for your logic in the business world!
Also, Can Square please make the Super Mario RPG II, that game alone would skyrocket Nintendo stock to the Heavens..
JUST A LITTLE.
NEVERMIND....
The Darkness is out for X360 & I need a new GBA!!
i hope Sony learned from this BOMB of a system.
We'll get good games. The publishers did exactly as I predicted they'd do. Sales numbers of hardware = business opportunity for people who like money.
The DS took some getting used to as well. I bought a DS at launch, and sold it 2 months later. There weren't any good games. I bought a DSlite last May, and I have 9 games now (I've bought 12 since I got the new DS.) I haven't had 9 portable system games since I had my original GB back in 1991. Software devs figured out how to make innovative games that appeal to gamers since launch.
I look forward to a compelling Wii library this time next year.
Glad to hear this, though. It's been a barren wasteland when talking about positive pre-E3 Nintendo news. I know it sells like... something that sells really well, but that's about ALL you hear lately.
I'm not the biggest Wii fan now, but I'm hoping that similar things will hapenn for it.
That about sums it up.
@topic
Now we here all this about companies supporting the Wii and DS more, so let's see some previews for upcomming games. I'm sorry, but unlike most, when I hear about companies expanding their list for Nintendo's consoles, I immidiately think "Casual Games" or "Remake", Quick, Cheap, easy to make games that I won't care about in the slightest. I'm not going to talk down on it now, not until we see some previews or at least until these new titles are revealed, but I'm not jumping for joy like most of you.
The most discouraging news in this is that some of thsoe companies are "reportedly" dropping some of their support for Sony consoles. I want my ps2 games! Or wait? Did they not change the support for that? In that case, I want more good PSP games XD
Either way, it has been a rough start this gen for Sony, but I expect they'll pick themselves up and finish strong.
If Nintendo had a sister, I'd screw it no matter how fugly she was.
I imagine, that as an amalgamation of Nintendo's console hits and misses she is:
Named Jermina
Is 4'10"
Is Japanese
Had implants to go from -A to B cup
Is on crutches
Doesn't shave, anywhere...
Seeks constant financial reassurance (gifts, flowers, dinner)
Has only 5-6 positions she's willing to try in bed
Her "backdoor" is two buttocks taped together.
And despite all her flaws, she can drain your nuts in about 30 seconds with a look of shocked joy on your face everytime.
Go on. Dump this girl.
Go get yourself setup with the PS3's sister. She's super fucking hot, DD bewbs, shaves, airheaded (except for all your favorite subjects, she loves talking about those, almost to the point to where that's all she ever talks about). The only drawback? She never wants to put out. Sure, she'll do herself in front of you (F@Home?), but you can't do much other than watch in sheer awe and amazement at how well she does it.
I'd guess the 360's sister... She nickel and dimes you for everything, looks average, and puts out a few times a month for good measure. Only problem is that she strokes out once a twice a year for no reason. And when you get her back, she doesn't believe you are who you say you are (XBLA?)
And to think my boss will hand me my paycheck on Friday. Gosh if I could only show him what he's paying me to do...
I also feel thankful that Summa is gone so we got this story w/o a large dose of Haterade, but that's just me.
and i wish nintendo had a sister i could marry.
but...I'm smart enough to know that the possibilities are endless. They turned the DS around, and they'll do it with the Wii, too.
@dvddesign, you are made of win, though you did nearly cause me to die due to choking on a potato.