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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Through the Years -- Why Third-Parties (Say) They Don't Develop for the Wii

HappySqurriel on 01 March 2009
nitekrawler1285 said:
It doesn't really do them much good to develop for a console that they don't understand.

Even if Wii games cost 1/3 to 1/4 to develop they also require much more marketing to make consumers aware, in some cases as much as the game costs to make if not more already making the total 2/3 to 1/2 of an HD game.

Considering that no one has seemed to make a game that has caught on with the Wii audience quite as well as Nintendo has that's still quite a risk. At least with the blockbuster style most publishers are accustomed to.

RE4 is game that many find to be of great quality. It has yet to reach 2 million according to VGChartz. Original games will cost more to develop and have a higher chance of flopping because of not being a well known i.p. Many say that the game may recover costs but publishers are looking for profit. Something that seems difficult to achieve on the Wii especially when you have Nintendo as competition. Who's going to buy a tennis game when they have Wii Sports, or racing game that must compete against MKWii?

 

Wii games may need greater resources devoted to marketing them than they're currently receiving in order to increase awareness, but I have seen nothing to demonstrate that they would need more marketing resources than are currently being devoted to HD console games.

Consider that games like Army of Two, Dark Sector and Haze have all received marketing budgets as large (if not larger) than any third party published Wii games ...



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nitekrawler1285 on 01 March 2009

@Happy Squirrel

I never said as much. It's just that when Wii games start to cost anywhere near as much as their HD counterparts even if it is 2/3s to 1/2 it's an even bigger gamble as no one seems to get the Wii audience. That's a big chunk of money that could be used to fund FPS 3,4,5 which they are more sure will sell as it requires more similar values in creation and marketing that they are used to.

@Frozenfuryblade

True 1 million or 2 is good for a port with a good i.p. What happens when they try to create original properties(which so many are asking for) that take more effort and resources? That's not going to be as large a return on investment if any making the Wii solution not anywhere near as much a solution as many think.



Roma on 01 March 2009

Yup I can see that future happening. Stubbornness in the wrong place will bring you down!



    R.I.P Mr Iwata :'(

Gamerace on 02 March 2009
nitekrawler1285 said:

@Happy Squirrel

I never said as much. It's just that when Wii games start to cost anywhere near as much as their HD counterparts even if it is 2/3s to 1/2 it's an even bigger gamble as no one seems to get the Wii audience. That's a big chunk of money that could be used to fund FPS 3,4,5 which they are more sure will sell as it requires more similar values in creation and marketing that they are used to.

@Frozenfuryblade

True 1 million or 2 is good for a port with a good i.p. What happens when they try to create original properties(which so many are asking for) that take more effort and resources? That's not going to be as large a return on investment if any making the Wii solution not anywhere near as much a solution as many think.

An average game can be profittable on Wii from about 250k, an AAA usually from 500k.   Comparable games on HD systems need 1m and 2-3m just to recoop costs.

No More Heros, Boom Blox and De Blob are all getting sequels despite being all new IPs and for two - a totally unique gameplay mechanic - that sold well under 1m copies.  There were all profittable though.

 



 

Gamerace on 02 March 2009

@mike - Yeah, for some companies that's they way it's going to be. But some will be profittable on HD alone anyway (Valve, Epic) and some are already shifting to Wii (Sega, Capcom, EA, Ubisoft) even if it's not always 'core' games.



 

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nitekrawler1285 on 02 March 2009

@Gamerace

It's true there are a few titles that can do that, just seems to be more like an exception than the rule. I wonder how the sequels will do up against increased competition. Or if the devs will continue to innovative enough to make work.



mike_intellivision on 03 March 2009
Gamerace said:
@mike - Yeah, for some companies that's they way it's going to be. But some will be profittable on HD alone anyway (Valve, Epic) and some are already shifting to Wii (Sega, Capcom, EA, Ubisoft) even if it's not always 'core' games.

 

Well, the HD-only companies cited I think of more as PC-HD console makers.

As for the shifting companies, I agree on Sega, EA, and Ubisoft. I am not so sure about Capcom. It seems to give the Wii old ports, broken promises, and dirty looks (at least from Sven).

 

 

 



      


I am Mario.


I like to jump around, and would lead a fairly serene and aimless existence if it weren't for my friends always getting into trouble. I love to help out, even when it puts me at risk. I seem to make friends with people who just can't stay out of trouble.

Wii Friend Code: 1624 6601 1126 1492

NNID: Mike_INTV
bardicverse on 03 March 2009

@op - thus is survival of the fittest, so to speak. close-minded people never succeed, so it would only make sense that a close-minded company should fail too. It simply is poor business sense



Bobbuffalo on 03 March 2009

Going out  of business for betting the wrong console? well it happened before

 



HappySqurriel on 03 March 2009
Bobbuffalo said:

Going out of business for betting the wrong console? well it happened before

 

 

Come on, we all own the latest hits from Broderbund, Epyx, subLogic, and Accolade ...