The Conduit is virtually unknown except for those of us who ready gaming blogs every day. This will probably mean that there will not be a good amount available at retail upon release.
No More Heroes had huge blog hype and strong reviews and didn't have a presence at retail. Neither did Okami, Boom Blox, or many other titles.
We know development costs are much lower than PS360, but Wii retail prices are also lower, what kind of sales number would the Conduit need to make the same amount of profit a successful AAA HD game generates. By successful I mean a profitable game that might generate a sequel, not a smash hit.
The Conduit could do very well long term, but what will define very well? 500k? A million? 2 million? And what kind of numbers would it need to help convince other third parties to put more "adult oriented titles" and shooters on the Wii?
If The Conduit bombs, the other third parties will just continue down the path they have chosen already for the Wii. If it does well, will we see a few rushed "mature" titles for other third parties? Will Ubisoft rush out a FPZ?
So to answer the original question, yes. The Conduit has a lot of weight on its shoulders. But the weight is mostly on HV. A hit could mean a profitable graphics engine for them. A bomb will get them an "I told you so" from the publishers.
If it bombs, the other third parties will just continue down the path they have chosen already for the Wii. If it does well, will we see a few rushed "mature" titles for other third parties? Will Ubisoft rush out a FPZ?
Overall though, I agree with amp316 that COD5 really has more weight on its shoulders that The Conduit. It's an already proven successful brand, known IP, and has put focus on a quality Wii version this time around. Too bad it's WWII, but I do hope it sells well. Unfortunately, a huge COD5 might prove much more that a successful Conduit.
Wii Code 3456 7941 4060 2924
