I figured out why 3rd parties hesitate to put their best teams on Wii games

[sergiodaly]

noname2200 said:

sergiodaly said:
2 noname

lets crank some numbers? and these are all vgchartz numbers not some articles about 2008.
wii sold until now 271 millions games and from that only 115m are from 3rd party
xbox360 sold 225m with "only" 176m are from 3rd party
and last but not least ps3 sold 121m and "only" 92m are from 3rd party
frist - 92 + 176 =268m 3rd party ps360 sold against 115m of wii
second - per console ps360 as sold 6.8 games and wii 5.8 games and NOT ALL ps360 consoles are bundled with a game like ALL wii consoles are...
so ps360 users buy more games... buy more 3rd party games... are better 3rd party games costumers...
ps360 are more difficult and expensive to do but not all cost 4 times more... will have more chances of success in future franchises if stuck to the same console maker and lets face it nintendo has almost no 3rd party success franchises...
like i say in my first post... want better games in wii from 3rd partys ... buy more 3rd party games for wii... as i am not a wii owner... cant help you with that... but you all that own a wii can...

I'm afraid we disagree on several fronts. First, I cited the article I did because: it is compiled by a source that every console manufacturer cites to in its official PR (NPD), it covers only 2008 (the latest year, and the one third-parties will look at), it makes the playing field more even (by eliminating the one-year head start that the 360 enjoyed over the Wii), and finally because it's focused on the only region in which 360 software sales will come close to the Wii's (recall that for half of this year, the 360 still had sold more consoles in the U.S. than the Wii. Again, see the head start).

To put it more plainly, in the latest year the Wii has sold more software than the 360 has in what is far and away the 360's strongest market. (And these figures exclude the Wii's bundled game, Wii Sports.) I have absolutely no doubt that the Wii's domination is even more pronounced in all areas. True, the 360 remains a bit ahead in third-party sales because of its large head-start (and infamous Wii shortages...), but that gap is disappearing very quickly. How much longer do you wager it will last? My guess is not all that much. And not to belabor the point, but if you were a businessman in 1996, would you be more impressed by the lifetime sales of VHS vs. DVD, or by the dramatic surge of DVD in the past year?

I also note, but do not otherwise comment on, how you must bolster your argument by combining the PS3 and 360's software sales as a single monolithic entity.

So I submit to you that from this point forward, the Wii will be selling more third-party games than its two rivals. There's certainly nothing in the data that remotely argues to the contrary (unless you'd care to bring it to my attention?). Add to this how the cost of producing a Wii game is a small fraction of that of producing an HD game (let alone the added cost of porting it to one, possibly two, other systems), and I believe we can see why development resources from third-parties are already shifting.

But note this; it's taken several years and multiples studio closures/acquisitions to bring this about, and I've no doubt that many of the developers who are shifting are doing so through necessity rather than through their free choice. I also have little doubt that, unless those developers begin to adapt to the new values Nintendo's introducing, their games will not do so well. Indeed, if they keep trying to please one another, rather than trying to please us, the Wii's lower development costs may keep them afloat a while longer, but they'll still drown in the end. It's put up or shut up time, gentlmen.

 

 

Additionally, I'd like you to tell me how serious you were when you said that "nintendo has almost no 3rd party success franchises." If you're being serious, you're also being grossly incorrect. Grossly.

Finally, you are correct that greater third-party sales will beget more third-party games. However, in one respect you are placing the cart before the horse here: do we not agree that if the game isn't great, it does not deserve to be purchased? And do we not have proof that, even on the HD consoles you (mistakenly) believe are more fecund for third-parties, high-quality games still underperform, fall short of expectations, sell poorly, and flat out bomb. This is not surprising: fantastic games on all platforms often don't sell well.

Don't expect this to be different on the Wii.

well i think we will not agree ever, and you take me as a wii hater and i am a wii "dont matter to me" ...  as you give me examples of games that sold poorly on hd consoles... i ask... how do you know that they would do differently if they where out for wii? and yes i put together ps3 and xb360 as one because 90% of 3rd party games on ps3 are on xb360 and the other way around... as for valkyria... is very hard to find at a decent price and the day i find it is the day i buy it... by the way... i own 9 games for my ps3... 5 of them 1st party and 4 3rd party as one of them is MGS4 as it might be consider 1st party... so as you can see i am like alot of wii owners...

you will keep thinking the way you think and i the way i think... if we were game devs you would go your way and i mine... theres a possiblity that you would end up richer than me... but not much.