I think one of the biggest mistakes that is made regularly by developers is a focus on online gaming at the expense of local multiplayer because the preferred way for most people to interact with a videogame is with friends playing together locally; and one of the best ways for people to become familiar with a series is for them to play it in a social setting and have a good time. The number of series where local multiplayer was a driver of success is massive, and yet the entire focus of the industry seems to be to push more and more online multiplayer.
While it seems counter intuitive, Nintendo’s "Backwards" (according to conventional wisdom) approach to online has probably benefited them more than anyone, especially elitist gamers, would give it credit for. Had Nintendo followed the pack games like Wii Sports would have had the time devoted to local multiplayer reallocated towards online multiplayer, and few people would have had that initial interaction with the Wii that sold them on the system.
With that said, Nintendo has shown third party publishers the path to success on the Wii and they have done everything in their power not to follow their lead. The steps to succeed are as follows:
- Using a high quality established developer
- Produce a game in an established IP
- Devote resources to ensure that the game delivers a polished experience and offers value for the money
- Market the game through both conventional and new media channels
- Profit
