Lightning Fish Games CEO Simon Prytherch has been having a good old moan about the Wii's performance this year. However, rather than blame the innocent, virgin-white waggle box, he has aimed guns at the creators of sloppy shovelware, claiming that sub-par videogames have been the root of the issue.
"I don't think you can ever write Nintendo off, but the Wii market -- from a third party software developer and publisher perspective -- is over-saturated with product," he explains. "Consumers have been damaged by a lot of sub-standard software, so now they only trust big Nintendo brands. So going forward we're moving onto other platforms, and we always have been over the course of the company. But in this coming year we're definitely going to be doing PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 titles."
Prytherch has high hopes for the waggle-based chicanery coming from Sony and Microsoft, but believes that good games will be the real key to success for Project Natal and the Sony Wiimote: "The short answer is that they'll have a huge impact. The longer answer is that they'll only have a huge impact once people start designing specifically for those controllers. The first-person shooters and driving games -- they've already got a really good controller that people are really happy with as a hardcore audience.
"There will be totally new genres that will be developed for those controllers, and it would be foolish of me to try and predict what they'll be - but I'd say they do involve a lot more characterisation and story, and a lot more social interaction."
We'll see if Natal and the Sony Wiimote can bring good software. My fear is that they'll just open the floodgates for crap like Carnival Games HD.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
6:40 PM on 12.01.2009
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I agree, 90% of the Wii's library sucks. But the sales the companies get are deserved because they actually try to make their products known.
It's that people actually bought and encouraged shit like Carnival Games. Leading to more and more and more shit.
Yes, we will see Carnival Games HD. And hopefully it will only be successful on one of the consoles (probably 360) so I can switch to the other.
Also also, I agree with sparkthatbled. The Wii's not a bad console -- Most third-party companies just refuse to actually work on something worth playing.
As for Carnival Games HD, I imaginine that it would be the exact same game, but with badly pasted in "HD" on the cover next to the title. Just like real life carnival games, it to is a complete scam! It's the peak of immersion and realism in gaming!
I am glad that they are not bitching about sales and blaming unrelated stuff that is not their content like Ubisoft does.
It has a lot of shovelware, but so do a lot of systems (looks at 360).
... waiting patiently for No More Heroes 2 ...
Where did Jim even once say that we were required to purchase bad games?
Sad part is, crapware is just half the issue, half-assed games even from reputed developers like Spyborgs from Capcom and Deadly Creatures from THQ are to blame too. Look at the DS, it's library is bursting with crap like Imagine: insert-crap-here games, but it also has plenty of quality software that makes full use of the little handheld particular traits.
Your fears are coming true already Jim. Just look at some of the games that are already announced for Sonys waggle wand. One of them is called "Motion Party" for god sakes, so if that's not enough to prove that Sony is going after the casual with their motion controller, than nothing will.
The same can be said about Natal with the stuff they showed at E3, because it was all aimed at the casual crowd. Or even worst the pre-school crowd, by painting freaking elephant shape out with their body's. If the hardcore hate the Wii for casual "waggle" crap, than they should have a field day when the little "wiggle box" comes out for the 360 next fall!
I have never been so thoroughly disappointed with a Nintendo console as I have with the Wii, not because of the shitty 3rd party selection, but because it ultimately failed to live up to its potential and was perfectly happy to live within the confines of mass-appeal mediocrity. A part of me (actually my Mii) died that day I realized this, and I turned my Wii on once more. To make sure the system still worked before I sold it.
So long Wii! Nintendo, you're on thin ice.
Pretty much what you said there. I haven't sold a single Nintendo product... except for the Wii.
You don't believe that nintendo is living up to its potential here? I'd say nintendo is one of the few who is giving the wii it's dues.
Numerous quality games, revivals of old IPs, wii ware, VC
I think this is the best they've done in a very very long time!
I think you missed the point. The Wii is aimed at casual gamers, the kind of people that don't do "research" before they buy a game. Imagine these people going out and buying games that are no more than shovelware. Of course they're going to go back to the safe first party games. That pretty much screws over other publishers that put out good games that won't get bought for fear of them sucking. Nintendo really screwed the pooch by green-lighting crap games.
Also, HDTVs are becoming affordable, and the Wii graphics look like shit (except for first party). Too bad Nintendo didn't see that coming.
What happened in the 80s is a little bit more complicated than that. It has to do primarily with licensing and quality control (not the quality control you are thinking) By QC I mean games that actually work and are licensed to run correctly on a system. There was no standard and any company code release any game even if it didn't work! Nintendo combated this with their seal of quality and made it illegal for publishers to create their games without a license. Kinda strong arming them into buying their cartridge format in limited quantities as well but that is another issue.
So is the problem here that Nintendo is allowing these developers to make their games? Even though these developers have purchase licenses and are fully withing their legal rights to create their game? The short answer: No
The long answer: Nooooooooooo
The real problem here isn't that nintendo is being so liberal with who makes what. The problem is... nintendo is being liberal... yet the developers are being more hesitant than ever. They are the ones playing safe with copy cats of wii playz and wii babiez. It's up to them to make their games. No nintendo.
In regards to HD tvs becoming affordable. Cool story bra.
Nintendo didn't see what coming? HD? They saw it... they didn't care. They know it's still a way away from becoming the majority in households.
Also, They didn't see their games looking bad? Their games aren't looking bad. They didn't forsee a ton of developers looking for quick cash, lazy ports, poor budgeting, etc
Either way, there are too many games coming to the Wii soon that are on my radar. It won't be leaving my house anytime soon.
HDTVs are becoming affordable. My 32" Samsung 1080i TV was £350.
And Nintendo won't care about HD while HDTVs are still accepting SD connections. Since the big TVs will play games and look just fine (to the average user), what's the point funding extra power to fuel an otherwise useless addition to the hardware's capabilities?
I hope that makes sense. It's 4am. Cut me some slack. -_-'
"I never bought a single fucking condom for my Wii-mote out of shame of looking like a retard unable to handle a piece of plastic in my hand"
Nintendo gave those out for free.
And if I may inject personal preference, I find the Wii remote sits more comfortably in my hand with it on. Otherwise, the lower-right corner of the controller would "dig" into my palm while holding it in the one-handed position. Even the NES-style was a pain for me due to the limited vertical area space.
But this is just nitpicky stuff.
Anyway ...
I do agree that there is a ton of garbage on the console, and Nintendo has had a rather passively-active role in "creating" that environment. The company has allowed most anyone to publish most ANYTHING on the console regardless of the terribleness of the product.
Publishers like Data Design Interactive should never be allowed near a console, yet Nintendo's open policy has allowed DDI to clog retail shelves with titles like Ninjabread Man, Anubis II and Action Girlz Racing.
Small-time folks are not the only ones guilty of this, though. Huge publishers like EA (Celebrity Showdown), Ubisoft (Imagine, Petz) and Activision (Cruise Ship Vacation Games, Block Party: 20 Games) all swim in the "Wii projects with $12 budgets" pool.
Do I want the old Nintendo to be reborn, limiting publishers to only five releases a year? No. However, I do wish that Nintendo was more proactive in curbing the tide of terrible concepts across the board.
On the other hand, there is opposing argument about one company's subjective tastes ruling over a publisher. Who and what criteria would determine what is allowed? Its status as a port (which Nintendo has put out)? A non-AAA "experience"? It is definitely a slippery slope.
And, heck, for all I know perhaps Nintendo HAS slowed down mediocre releases over the years. Or perhaps I am merely immune to every new announcement that ends in "Z" or "Party."
A Boy and His Blob
Bomberman Land
Boom Blox: Bash Party
Call of Duty: World at War
Castlevania Judgment
Dead Space Extraction
Death Jr: Root of Evil
DeBlob
Dokapon Kingdom
Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and Tower of Mirrors
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
House of the Dead: Overkill
King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga
Medal of Honor Heroes 2
Metal Slug Anthology
Mini Ninjas
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
MySims Kingdom
No More Heroes
Okami
Phantom Brave: We Meet Again
Rabbids Go Home
Resident Evil 4
Rune Factory: Frontier
Samurai Shodown Anthology
Tales Of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
The Conduit
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Zack & Wiki Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure
Ah well, he's just repeating what everyone else has known. It's not the consumers fault and it's definitely NOT Nintendo's fault (and anyone who blames Nintendo for its 3rd party shovelware can go die in a fire for all I care). 3rd parties who couldn't care less about the quality of their games are now the ones wondering why nobody's buying their Wii minigame collections. I just hope consumers start wising up and realising that there are good Nintendo games that don't involve parties, carnivals, or cheaply tacked on waggle.
Agree on these:
-A Boy and His Blob: On my "to get" list
-Boom Blox: Bash Party: It kind feels like a party game compilation at first but it's so damn fun you just stop caring.
-DeBlob: yes, nice graphics without going overboard and awesome gameplay, THIS is a game well done THQ, not DC, give a raise to the people that made this and make them give lessons to DC developers.
-Muramasa: The Demon Blade: it's on my "to beat" list
-Dead Space Extraction -> this one has a few design decisions that take it down a notch or two, still had fun with it, but doubt i'll play it again.
-No More Heroes ->good, but somewhat having trouble getting into it, still a quality game no doubt.
-Okami ->death to all that shunned it back when it was released on PS2!
-Resident Evil 4 -> yup, a favorite of mine
-The Conduit: Good shooter, a little to gimmicky on the "all seeing eye" artifact but ok overall.
-Zack & Wiki Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure: HELL YEAH
These don't count cuz they are by Nintendo:
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
These... i don't think so:
-House of the Dead: Overkill -> nope, RE:DC, RE:UC and even DS:E do much better. i there's more swearing than good gameplay IMO.
-Castlevania Judgment -> lol wut? this one has broken controls all over.
-King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga -> compilation to cash on old glory days
-Metal Slug Anthology ->another compilation to cash on old glory days
-Samurai Shodown Anthology -> yet ANOTHER one
-Tomb Raider: Underworld -> Ya kidding me? this one even had a game breaking bug
These are what i wanted, i'll try to find them and check em out, thanks. NOTE: i think i'll pass on MySims, never liked that IP
-Bomberman Land
-Call of Duty: World at War
-Death Jr: Root of Evil
-Dokapon Kingdom
-Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and Tower of Mirrors
-Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
-Medal of Honor Heroes 2
-Mini Ninjas
-MySims Kingdom
-Phantom Brave: We Meet Again
-Rabbids Go Home
-Rune Factory: Frontier
-Tales Of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
From what I understand, in the 80s, Nintendo not only forced 3rd parties to test games (QC), they also only allowed them to publish a limited number of games per year. So, the 3rd parties had to make higher quality games (or were more inclined). At least that is what I saw on Play Value (on demand networks). It may not be true, but it's believeable.
I don't know why Nintendo wants to be liberal with allowing these titles. I realize the absence of 3rd party support lead to the non-success of the GameCube (relatively speaking), but I think Nintendo is over-compensating.
My fear is that it will get so out of control, these new casual people might get turned off to video games just as quickly as they got turned on to videogames (by the popularity of the Wii).
The lack of HD support will come back to haunt Nintendo, at least that's what I think. Average middle class people are all getting flat screen TVs, at least all of my friends at work have them. Most people over 60 and people under 21(college age) probably won't get HDTVs, at least not until the prices go way lower. But I think in the next 2 to 5 years, HDTVs will become more mainstream.
To compensate, Sony and Microsoft have cut the price of their consoles down quite a bit, and third parties are price cutting their games months or even weeks after their initial release, which makes it much harder to recoup their development costs over time.
What HD gaming has done is create a bloated "Hollywood Blockbuster" syndrome where games have to be tried and true franchises and have to have high production values (and huge budgets). With the economy going down the drain, this kind of approach to game development is going to be simply unsustainable. Hell, it already is.
When Nintendo can make money from the outset using HD gaming, only then will they incorporate it into their consoles. Nintendo makes their own games, so ultimately, they don't need third parties. Besides, there's plenty of third parties that prosper on the Wii that we don't hear about. They're not the normal game industry kind of companies.
I am glad to see here that there are more people recognizing that this isn't Nintendo's fault as much as it's the third parties' fault for making crappy games. They'll try to make "casual" games for the 360 and PS3, but that's going to blow on them just as it did on the Wii.
Granted, it's not "Hard Core" and the graphics aren't "Good", some people would consider the announcer to be "obnoxious" and possibly "retarded", but let's be honest...where else are you gunna get SKEE-BALL at home?!
Anyways there are a LOT worse games out there...Chicken Shoot, Ninja Breadman, pretty much "licensed" game...
Just quit pickin' on Carnival Games.
Remember, Nintendo had the luxury of announcing Wii last, after 360 was out and PS3 spec was known, so knowing all that, Wii spec should have been better, if not on par with them. I really think, that once most third psrties saw the awful Wii spec on paper, they knew that they could develop little or nothing for it, and no amount of Nintendo spiele, about graphics being less important, (that's questionable and differs depending on game, cost and developer) was going to change that.
Even the HD argument is flawed, because Nintendo are very good at reacting late to trends, they always have been (cart to disc media, online play). HDTV are only going to sell more as time passes, and it would have cost them nothing to add the option on Wii. Strangely, N64 and GC also had this problem. Do you remember LoZ OoT could only display in 60hz? Anyone else would offer both low and high display options, as 360 and PS3 do now, but not Nintendo. They make up some crap to make it seem justified, and shut you up. The cost would be small, but the overall gain huge.
I think those developers that hope in finding the 360/PS3 market more open to their motion shovelware are going to be hugely disappointed, with the user base of such consoles being very clued up on games. Many gamers who own them, were once/are WIi owners and know the dance well.
I go "hmm, New Super Mario Bros came out, I'll get back to you after I look some stuff up..." Either I tell them to get some more good games they'll never play much (Metroid Prime, Twilight Princess, No More Heroes, the list goes on), or I tell them to get the new and improved party games so they can go through the cycle of "oh boy Wii Sports how fun and new and exciting" for a little while, before getting bored and watching the new episode of House instead.
@puddleglum
No one seems to remember the crap/shovelware the NES had either, but thats probably why the system was king of the hour back then. I guess the same could be said for the PS1 and 2.. The problem is that the landscape of crap these companies are dishing out has hit an all time low even when it comes to, well, crap. It really doesn't have any thing to do with the casual argument as much as it does with the fact that Nintendo won't let companies put out any thing other then games that make Nintendo made games look better.