1) For example Splinter Cell and Need for Speed games were inferior ports. I can't say anything about Madden, haven't played it on any console last gen, I am not into sports games. Resident Evil 4 wasn't a port, it was build up from the ground for the GC, was a high quality game and became a million seller which supports my point that good 3rd party games do well on Nintendo systems.
But how many multi-plat were just ports overall for Gamcube? From what I understand just some it's early life time games can be considered inferior ports. Once the Gamcube got going you could see a clear difference in their games when compared to the PS2. Sonic heroes is a good example of this. For the gamecube the game had better frame rate, bettter graphics, and faster loading time. Madden also ran smoother, had better graphics, and faster load times as well. Plus the Gamecube has what many believe to be the best controler last gen. The only time the Gamecubes games were inferior was during it's launch maybe? I really don't remmeber games player worse on the Gamecube at all.
2) MP3 isn't a mainstream FPS (it wasn't even a FPS back then on the GC) and it has no (online) multiplayer. There is plenty of room for 3rd parties to make FPS games that appeal to people who don't like the Metroid setting. 3rd parties have to prove that they can make the controls work as well as those of MP3 though (which is again my argument that Nintendo gamers expect effort from 3rd party games as well). Competition in quality doesn't equal to competition in the same genre, Nintendo doesn't make traditional FPS, racing sims or sandbox games for example.
What would be the reason for 3rd parties to make a FPS on a Nintendo system when they can make it on the 360? This is the type of thing I'm talking about. With the succuess of FPS on the 360 and with it's amazing attach rate, why should 3rd parties break their necks to get a game out when there's money to be made on other consoles? 3rd parties need to do alot to get a game to sell on a Nintendo system. Alot more then they do to sell on any other console. Your mindset along with most other nintendo fans is "prove this prove that", and it's exactly why 3rd parties don't as well on nintendo consoles. It isn't needed when there's money to be made on other consoles. The same and maybe even more money could be made on the 360 PS3 combo.
There's also a lot of money to be made on the Wii. Highest installed base, lowest development costs and healthy attach rate can't be ignored by any sane 3rd party publisher and that's exactly why nearly all of them have already stated they will make more Wii games from now on.
I agree, and thats why it won't be ignored. Also, I not falling for these "3rd parties rushing to Wii" rumors. I want to see it happen first. I want to see 3rd parties take their big frachises off other consoles and put them Wii before I take this seriously. For all I know, they could be making crap ports or just more mini games trying to cash in quick. I really have a hard time believing things on the internet because it often just bullshit. (Metal Gear on 360, for example)
I think that both the PSP are good options for 3rd parties. (I actually think the same about the PS3/Wii/360) Those numbers suprise me a bit. I thought the PSP had 16 millon sellers with 13 being from 3 parties. I also thought that the DS would have more then 29m sellers. Both the DS and PSP have flaws when talking about 3rd party software sells. PSP's software sales are so low that even with 3rd parties lack of millons sellers on the DS, there really isn't any advantage for developing PSP games over DS games. Not with the PSP high development costs... With the difference being as small as 3 I see no reason that the PSP would be a better option for 3rd parties.
Apparently 3rd party publishers think there's more money to be made on the DS than on the PSP. Similarly, 3rd parties are cutting back on development for 360/PS3 titles to have more resources for Wii games (even though the Wii is also dominated by 1st party games).
Thats because there is more money to made on the DS. It's not like 3rd party sales for the PSP are off the charts or anything. The DS, judging by your numbers, is doing just as good as the PSP with 3rd parties. Add that with lower development cost of the DS and you see why there's more money to be made on the DS. I mean, if you're getting the same results but the other is cheaper, of course there will be more money to be made on the DS. I also would like to see the 360 and PS3 lose all their 3rd part support before I believe it.
4) In my opinion the simplest way to judge a console's success is to compare what it has done to the expectations its company had. The Gamecube clearly underachieved marketshare wise, in that regards it is a failure. It had a lot of great games and it was profitable but it couldn't fulfill Nintendo's own expectations.
Market share isn't the only way to judge a console. If I remember right Nintendo wanted to sale 50m Gamecubes. Even if they did this their market share would not have been high.
5) If 3rd parties were so excited about the Wiimote (after all it was shown in September 2005) then why were (and still are) there so few 3rd party quality games on the Wii?
Same reason why there's so few 3rd party games for the PS3. It just came out.
Seriouly though, good post. I had to do some thiking reply right, lol.
