| Onimusha12 said: This isn’t 2007 anymore, simply pointing to the Wii’s phenomenal sales is no longer enough to justify the console. Record breaking sales don’t give you a console that can move third party software. Record breaking sales don’t give you a console with serious third party support. Record breaking sales don’t give you a console with the games you want. Most of you who are content with the Wii’s current status are either casual gamers or most likely people who prefer the 360/PS3 as their console of choice and see the Wii as only having to be a novelty supplemental console in order to make you happy. Or perhaps you’re one of those of the defeatist attitude of accepting having to own three consoles every generation to compensate for the fact that no one console has done it right. For every impressive release for the Wii there are six more on every other platform that can be pointed out; and you can boast about Monster Hunter 3 when it sells as well as Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, you can boast about Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles when it sells as much as the Final Fantasy Main series, you can boast about Dragon Quest X when it sells as much as VIII did on the PS2, you can boast about Tales of Graces when it sells as much as Tales of Vesperia or any of its PS2 predecessors. Until any of that happens, each of these exclusives will just serve as lessons to third party developers of what console not to give support. The Wii has for the most part lost all face with the conventional gaming industry. Third Party games are dying in sales on the Wii. Support for the Wii has stagnated and shows little sign of improving no matter how many niche titles that will be lucky to break 500k you bring up. Right now the PSP is getting more worthwhile games than the Wii and is its greatest threat in stealing Japanese third party support. If you’re content with the way things are for the Wii, that’s one thing, but to argue that things don’t need to get any better or can’t be improved is just asinine. Nintendo is going to need to expand its home console’s demographic appeal and third party viability next generation or else they could very well lose what foothold they have in casual gaming as well. Preach the glory of Blue Ocean and disruption all you want, but its only a matter of time before the competition finds that balance between blue and red waters and the value of Nintendo’s disruption as long since been negated by the growing appeal of HD gaming as the mainstay of conventional gaming this generation. The point here is not doom & gloom. The point here is not to bash the Wii or blame Nintendo. The point is to acknowledge that Nintendo needs to take this opportunity to improve and expand. The strategy of being an “and” console and not a “or” console was, like the rest of the Wii, a means of playing it safe when there was no guarantee the Wii would do any better than the Gamecube. No one is suggesting the next Nintendo console be a 360 or PS3, but there is no reason it can’t strive for more than the Wii or be a viable competitor in appealing to casual, core and hardcore markets. |
Honestly -- really, you're going to have to wait for Wii 2 for most of these issues to be addressed.
Third parties were caught with their pants down with success of the Wii. To an extent so was Nintendo -- by jettisoning Rare, Silicon Knights, Left Field, Factor 5, and getting basically nothing from NST ... Nintendo really hasn't had the dev resources to be able to provide more core gamer content themselves even if they wanted to.
Not to mention there is a huge hardware gap between the Wii and PS3/360 which is forcing developers to pick and choose and most of them bet on the HD horses before the race already started.
Next time out will be different I feel, but the current Wii is more or less what it is. Massively popular with the mainstream audience, good 1st party games when Nintendo is able to get them out, and some decent filler third party content. Accept it and move on, it's way too late in the console cycle for there to be a radical change.
I think for what its worth those Nintendo fans who prefer more core experience are going to be very happy campers starting from November onwards. NSMB Wii, Monster Hunter Tri, Red Steel 2, Tales of Graces, Metroid Other M, Final Fantasy: Crystal Bearers, No More Heroes 2, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Sin & Punishment 2, Epic Mickey, and possibly one or both of a new Zelda and a new Retro Studios project all from Nov 09-Nov 10 ... you have to admit, that is one kick ass lineup for core players.
