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noname2200 on 18 December 2008
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madskillz said:
noname2200 said:
madskillz said:
...for every hit, you have mountains of shovelware, and titles that hit the bargain bin way too quick.

There is little to no shovelware on the PS3 and 360 - and they are a much, much safer bet than releasing a hardcore game to a very casual audience.

This won't happen.

By this reasoning, the Gamecube should have been first last gen, and the PS2 last.

Also, while you may be right about the lack of "shovelware," there are still plenty of "mediocre" and "crappy" games on those two consoles (as with all consoles). This applies equally to the Wii.

I'm not saying your answer is wrong, per se, just that your reasoning is flawed.

 

How so? Go to any retailer and look at the titles in all the sections. The Wii and DS have tons of titles in the $20 and under bins. Folks are looking at how it's selling like hotcakes, but does that translate into sales for them?

Look at Madden - look at Call of Duty and titles like Mario Kart, Super Mario Galaxy and the like. Then, look at Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Most of those games are family oriented games - and since the family is playing the Wii, it will sell. However, the angelic (cue angel music) R* and Epic would arguably lose money in this deal.

Even though it's video games, you are talking about two different audiences. Hard core vs. casual. Most HD console owners would barf at the thought of playing a visually flawed game on their system. And making the Wii the lead console will force devs to work twice as hard to make a game. It's much easier taking a graphics powerhouse and watering it down than going the other way.

Seriously, look at the games that sell on the Wii. Few of them are violent, sports titles or the like. Look at the games that sell on the HD consoles.

And with the US in a recession, what if they gamble - make the Wii its lead console - and the game, a really sweet one flops? The charts are filled - FILLED with several Wii games that are now littering the charts. For a business, they want a pretty much guaranteed return. Doing that with the Wii - in these times - is really hit or miss. See Free Radical. NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO GAMBLE on success with the Wii if you have HD console games down pat.

For once, I'll admit making games for the HD consoles first is the best solution, economically.

 

Like PDF, you seem to enjoy changing the subject. I disagree with your conclusions here too, mind you, especially regarding he artificial divide created between "casual" and "hard core" gamers, but that's a discussion we can save until after we've closed our first one.

To simplify from earlier:

1) Did the PS2 not have more shovelware than the Gamecube last generation?

2) Was the PS2 nonetheless more profitable than the Gamecube for most developers? (NOTE: There is a link between shovelware and profitability, but that too is a point I shall reserve for another time).

 

3) What do you define as "a safer bet"? Do you mean sales by volume? Or do you mean money in the bank?

 

We will continue after you answer these questions. After that, we can address your more recent post.