Those who argue against so-called “hardcore” games on the Wii have some fresh justification, with news that The Conduit failed to break into the top five Wii games for June and shifted a mere 72,000 copies. While some in our comments argue that the game was only released on June 23 (a fair point), it’s still not a glowing success for the game’s launch week.
“In terms of top SKUs, The Conduit placed at number 25,” said a spokesman for NPD. Looks like The Conduit will share a similar fate to House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld, as Sega continues to find that special something and create a “hardcore” title that will actually sell on the Wii.
This is Sega’s third attempt to put a more traditional videogame on the Wii, and so far the results have been less than impressive. Sega maintains that its strategy is working, with its games making back money with a slow burn rather than a quick burst, but it still has to be discouraging for publishers and studios to see these games hit the ground with a stumble rather than a dash.
Still, Capcom’s doing alright, so we know that these “mature” games have an audience. Maybe Sega needs to dig deep into its pockets and actually market these things?
