About whether or not there is a glut of shovelware on the Wii that effects the sales of some of the more recent core games, Nick Des Barres has this to say in an article in the latest issue of Play Magazine called "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Trends in 2009:
"Shovelware Rampant"
"Here's some fat to chew on: At least 157 Wii games were released during the holiday season in North America. Think about that for a moment. Let it settle in. One hundred and fifty-seven Wii games. Such complete supply channel saturation probably hasn't been seen since the glut of trash that brought about the fall of Atari. What is a retailer to do when "Hotel for Dogs" and "Paws and Claws Pet Resort" release on the same day? "My Fitness Coach" and "Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2009"? What about blatant Guitar Hero and Rockband copycats like "Popstar Guitar" and "Ultimate Band"? How many "Imagine" and "Petz" games can the market really support?
"I won't be as alarmist as to suggest a second video game crash might be looming, but you can be damn sure "games" like these are going to jostle for shelf space with -- and possibly muscle out -- truly worthy niche titles like Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Little King's Story, and Arc Rise Phantasia. And man oh man, don't get me started on the metric ton of offal that hits the Japanese DS every single week . . ."
From Play Magazine April 2009 Kingdom Under Fire II issue. Play Magazine volume eight: issue four. Nick Des Barres writing in the article: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Trends in Gaming in 2009. pg. 24
Heavens to Murgatoids.
