Hi everyone. I just saw this thread here and felt the need to write an addition http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=238766&page=1
Some people claim that Nintendo ist successful because they can rely on their dedicated fanbase to buy every game and anything that they release. I don't think so, honestly. This is another misconception that can't die for some reason. If this flawed logic WAS indeed true, how come Star Fox Zero or Metroid Prime Federation Force or Mario Tennis Ultra Smash or Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival aren't multimillion sellers? Strange, huh?
In reality, any game - be it first party or third party - earns exactly that amount of success which it deserves. There are exceptions, like some hidden gems, any library has some of these, but they are just that - exceptions. But Mario Kart games for example sell like hotcakes because they are pure fun, simple as that.
In my opinion this misconception derives from the fact that Nintendo has a very diverse library with nearly every genre covered, and Nintendo is a major player in almost any of the genres. So that makes some people think about how this is possible, and the easy answer is that Nintendo fans simply buy anything that Nintendo shits out. Wrong. It's rather that the Nintendo fanbase is just as diverse as Nintendo's output and some like these games and some like others, at the end of the day the sales gravitate towards those games that can reach as many people as possible. This also explains why some of Nintendo's IPs like Fire Emblem don't reach the sales potential of a Zelda game, for instance.
So basically, the argument that Nintendo fans buy anything is a big fat lie.