Samus likes it on top, boys. Gamasutra and CVG are both reporting that Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is in the top spot on the all-format sales charts, possibly outdoing BioShock in its first week of sales.
Actually, it looks pretty close, with both of their numbers rolling in at about 400,000 in the first week. Tough to believe Metroid could be the winner? Not so much, when you think about the size of the Wii's install base and how long Wii owners have been waiting for a title worth buying (and no, Mario Strikers Charged doesn't frickin' count). As for me, the little darlin's laid dormant for months, weeping silently and sweltering in the punishing heat waves radiating from the Xbox 360 that sits beside her.
Some people might say that super-strong performance for Metroid on the Wii might suggest that there's still quite a big place for more hardcore titles in the Nintendo world -- that while Nintendo might sell a whole bunch of Wii Fits to Grandma and possibly your Mom, it will still make much more dough (as if it needed it) selling, you know, videogames, to you and me.
I doubt that, say, the Deus Ex and Gears kids would call Metroid "hardcore," and maybe the fact that we'd even consider styling it as such indicates the tiny white darling of the console world has put us in desperate straits for her love. What do you think?
Contest:
8:08 AM on 09.04.2007
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Almost.
I think thats why there's such a comparison, because both games claim there is no need for multiplayer.
I'm a Gears kid.
And gears is not hardcore. It's fun, and awesome, and one of the best games of the year, but it's not hardcore.
And I'm not too surprised that it might beat out Bioshock. Metroid has the name that Bioshock doesn't. I know people that were obsessed with System Shock 2, and didn't even know Bioshock was already released.
And for every grandma/toddler gamer, you know there's like 50,000 "hardcore" gamers that own a Wii. Don't base your conception of the system on what Nintendo would LIKE you to believe.
It's more name than anything. This is a game that a lot of people with Wiis have been waiting for. Aside from those people, plenty of others needed an excuse to dust off their Wiis, and Samus provides a very valid one.
When you consider how many people didn't expect Bioshock (ie people who have had their heads burried in the sand), and when you consider how many Halo fans absolutely refuse to acknowledge any other FPS franchise (go to Bnet and see how many people have said "Bioshock sucks"), it's not all that surprising.
Give credit where credit is due, though. Well done, Ms. Aran.
I'm not sure it's important for the "hardcore" gamers to label a game as being "hardcore", so much as the casual gamers and Grandmas who are scared of anything that moves quickly and has an average sit-down-and-play time of 4-5 hours.
That's the way I've always thought of it, a label that was placed on gamers who take their shit a little more seriously by gamers who don't take that shit all that seriously.
I've avoided the Wii up to this point because there haven't really been any games that appeal to me. I'm a big JRPG guy (I enjoy tedium), a genre which has been ill-represented thus far in this generation. Though I'm aware that it's a genre that usually takes a little while to take off in each generation. Metroid isn't an RPG by any means, but it offers exploration on the same level as an RPG, which is one of the things I love most about the genre.
So this will probably be the game to put me over the edge. I know games like this for the Wii will probably be few and far between in the beginning (looking forward to No More Heroes!), but given that its installed base is roughly 10 hojillion already, I think they'll start to trickle down, just like they did with the PS2.
If you look at the sales for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, they were far less than Metroid Prime, and only sold 490,000 within the first two months. (Wikipedia)
This has to do with the name and the fact that everyone has said it is a damn good game. And word of mouth carries.
I'm in the Boston area too and I was just casually looking for it this weekend and didn't see any copies anywhere. Though I don't shop at EBStop anymore, where I'm sure I could find 7 used copies for $3 off the new price and one "new" copy that every employee in the store has run the train on.
No, you're not. I've been having fun with it non-stop since November.
The term 'Hardcore gamer' is thrown around a lot, with nobody really knowing what it is, only basing their use of the term on what they think it means. There is no real set meaning for it.
I think a real hardcore gamer plays anything and everything, so long as it's good. A hardcore gamer doesn't have blinders on and is in no way a fanboy, although he may have an affinity for one system over another, he won't absolutely write of any other system and any other game because of that. Sometimes, he'll dust off the ol' Atari 2600 or Colecovision and give that a go. That's what a hardcore gamer signifies to me.
And Samus, sweetheart, you can be on top any time, but why won't you call me back?
If Metroid was on the 360 or PS3MO, people would call it hardcore but since it is on the Wii it is not considered hardcore. Metroid is not a game that a Grandma or older lady would pick up. It is a game that a lot of teens and adults will pick up. There is nothing kiddy about it. Sure, no one's head gets blown off or anything but that doesn't make it any less hardcore. Did Okami have head blow offs? I never played it but isn't that game considered hardcore?
I bet if Okami came out on the Wii, people would say it was casual cause it didn't have chainsaws or whatever.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is hardcore, just cause it is on a "friendly" console doesn't mean it isn't hardcore. Resident Evil 4 was remade for this console, does that make it less hardcore?
Leigh, for the love of god, I hope Hardcore is never defined through the buying patterns! Oh lawdy..
But I agree : You commit yourself to a website that is pertaining to your dedicated hobby = Hardcore. 4lyfe.
So awesome.
Ive never really been a 3D metriod fan though, however you can bet your bottom dollar ninty will bring out every franchise they have out!! Hardcore or not, you will see em, if they fit in the hardcore catogory then so be it, if not they dont care.money money money its what makes the world go around......oh and the sun....
cant wait for f-zero....
I think the term "hardcore" gets abused enough. A good game is a good game, keep it at that.
First off, good job on lulz. Makes the morning easier.
Second off, I think Metroid outselling Bioshock is a little different in terms of an equal comparison. Can't really put such a well known inviting female badass with the phatest l00t since Naxxramas that has had previous sequels to a sucessful series such as this to a game like Bioshock. Just not the same.
Triple off, you bring up a very valid point, but Resident Evil did it better. Resident Evil 4 was actually worth buying than that shitty PS2 port, but it also was fun and very smooth in terms of game play. Now would a game like Gears of War work as well? Probably not, but it's also engineered towards the 360 controller. That and Metroid Prime Triple have opened up that "hardcore" possibility.
Can we not have a term like 'hobbyist' or 'serious' gamer? It's not romantic or sexy, but it perhaps shows gamers in a better light, i.e., as someone who takes it seriously without all the negative BS that makes up being 'hardcore'. After all, how many people, when meeting someone they do not know A9and not on WoW or a forum) would say 'Hi I'm Alex, and I'm a hardcore gamer'? Not many, but I bet they would still admit to playing games.
hardcore games and gamers are a bunch of bullshit they just say because they think they are better than people who only play mario and sonic cause they play bioshock.
A good game is a good game.
@Zac Bentz
I agree 100%
ROFLMAO
"Unfortunately one way that they accomplish this was by making it a joke to complete (apparently even on Hard). Hardcore to me means that the game requires a high level of dedication to master."
I can attest to Bioshock being way too easy, even on hard. I actually decided to play it on hard based on reviews I had read stating it was too easy. I think a majority of it was because of vita chambers which basically removed any penalty for dying, thus removing any need for strategy.
I can see how they would want to hit a larger target market by making the game more accessible to chumps, but to be fair, Devil May Cry 3 is arguably the hardest fucking game (Battletoads notwithstanding) in the universe, and it sold really well. I dunno, maybe Japanese developers can get away with it...
And based on your avatar, I can understand why your definition of hardcore is what it is. SMT FTW!!
With that said, there is no litmus test we can apply as to whether a game is hardcore. If enough gamers on sites like these like it, then it must be hardcore, whether our personal preferences lean towards its style or not.
In any case, beat Prime 3 on hard mode and then you can tell me that it's not hardcore.
Last point, it's a strange thing to see really. Bioshock and Metroid are VERY similar games when you think about it. The stories are primarily told through scanning/picking up tape recordings, you're alone through most of the story.
It feels like with the huge responses that both games got that this is the magical formula for a good shooter and I like it.
I have no definition of hardcore, but here's a good litmus test: if you've heard of Ikaruga and know what genre it is, then you are probably hardcore.
I don't like to think that difficulty makes one hardcore. I, for one, like to enjoy my games, not get frustrated out of my mind. Hence, I usually play on the "Normal" or default settings of all of my games. I may not be legendary but I still have fun.
i havent stopped playing it since, havent even touched my 360 since then, except for recently for blue dragon
i dont understand why i keep reading "dust off your wii" in every review of a wii game
and if they keep saying it for every game? wouldnt that mean that its in use?
i dont know about everyone else, but with a job and a family its not like i can beat zelda, RE4, metroid prime 3 etc in a day.. so my wii still gets plenty of play and when company comes over they love to check out wii sports and raving rabbids