If 3rd parties want to make some hardcore games they should just developed them on PS3/360. Nintendo is just fine with itself, people who bought Nintendo console only care about Nintendo's games and they are going to disappoint you miserably like last gen's Capcom and this gen's Sega and MMV (they were crying last week).
by: Brad Hilderbrand
It's been a common refrain over the past few years that Nintendo has left its hardcore fans hung out to dry, eschewing longtime fans in favor of pursing the lucrative yet fickle casual market. We've watched as month in and month out casual titles like Wii Fit and Wii Play have dominated sales charts, and lamented the fact that many of our Wiis sit unused for weeks or even months on end due to the lack of titles that appeal to the more traditional gaming tastes. It's funny that we complain though, because if you really want to get to the heart of why Nintendo doesn't make more hardcore games then it's time to take a good hard look in the mirror. The simple fact is that we just aren't buying enough games to justify Nintendo wasting any more energy on this whiny, impossible to please fanbase.
The first indication that gamers are more prone to complaint than action came with the release of MadWorld and House of the Dead: Overkill earlier this year. Both games, despite strong reviews and content that tone right in line with what hardcore gamers eat up on the PS3 and Xbox 360, sold miserably, languishing on store shelves for months unsupported by the very fanbase to which they were meant to appeal. It was clearly a sign that trouble loomed on the horizon for hardcore games on Nintendo platforms.
While the Madworld/House of the Dead issue was troubling, it could be explained away rather easily by those trying to rationalize. After all, both games were rated M and contained copious amounts of blood and gore. Maybe those titles were doomed to obscurity from conception; perhaps the audience just wasn't there for such titles. Fair enough, but all those justifications were blown apart by a beloved Nintendo franchise that should of set the world on fire, but ended up DOA.
The game was Punch Out!!, the long-awaited return of one of Nintendo's most successful early franchises. Ask any gamer over the age of 20 if they remember playing Punch Out!! (or its eventual successor, Super Punch Out!!) and they'll regale you with stories of disrupting Bull Charges, pounding on King Hippo and struggling for days or even weeks to bring down Mike Tyson. This was a franchise ripe for renewal, and last month Nintendo obliged by bringing the long-awaited next installment to the Wii.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the bank; the title absolutely tanked. According to this month's NPD numbers Punch Out!! for the Wii sold only 156,000 units. Sure, that was enough to put in the top 10, but it clocks in at number 8, just ahead of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and behind Mario Kart Wii. By the same token, UFC Undisputed sold over 675,000 units, while Wii Fit moved 350,000+. What this means is simple, even though the Wii is far and away the most popular console on the market right now; hardcore gamers aren't supporting it at all. There are over 30 million Wiis out in the wild right now, and the fact that only 156,000 people (or .0052%) of all owners bought this heavily advertised game in its debut month shows that while gamers love to talk about how Nintendo is slighting them, anytime the company tries to reach out, it's met with a slap to the face.
This phenomenon isn't unique to the Wii though; it extends to Nintendo's handheld as well. Grand Theft Auto, which is normally a bulletproof franchise, has fared even worse than Punch Out!!, managing only 90,000 units sold despite being the best-reviewed game on the massively popular DS. Additionally, Square Enix has stated that they will not be making a sequel to Chrono Trigger due to lack of a fan response for the DS remake. Actions such as this illustrate why Nintendo is tired of chasing the hardcore market, and would rather turn to the more reliable casual set.
I fear what this means for The Conduit, High Voltage's sci-fi shooter that looks to allow the FPS genre to finally break through on the Wii. While the game's storyline may be pat and the graphics by no means overwhelming, the game itself is trying to do what few others are daring enough to try: put a hardcore shooter on the waggle box. Unfortunately, if recent trends are any indicator, the game will end up saddled with poor sales and all of the studio's risk-taking and hard work will likely be for naught as their game fails to register as even a blip on the radar. The next batch of NPD numbers will tell the tale, but don't be surprised if the game languishes in obscurity despite a strong reaction from press and those who actually play it.
I know that the new Mario, Zelda and Metroid games are going to sell like mad when they're eventually released, but that's more a product of brand loyalty and conditioning than anything else. Nintendo fanboys are enslaved to these games the same way Microsoft nuts are beholden to Halo or PS3 owners are to Ratchet and Clank. These franchises are the exceptions that prove the rule, and warnings to developers that if your game doesn't feature a fat plumber, a warrior with a piece of the triforce, or a bounty hunter with a big arm cannon then you don't stand a chance. Funny enough though, it's not because Nintendo won't support you, but rather because the fans won't.
http://www.kombo.com/article.php?artid=13192
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