On the point about hardcore/advertising...
Any game on any system will only go so far with the sole attention of hardcore gamers. We are not the centre of the gaming universe, the mainstream/casuals are.
The hardcore is niche by definition.
The big sellers on PS3/360 are the likes of Call of Duty, GTA and Halo. These are games that have hardcore appeal, but by definition, they are mainstream games. It is only recently that casual gaming has seemed to mean tacky mini game compilations. The truth is, casual gamers have been playing the likes of GTA, FIFA, NFS, etc etc on supposed hardcore systems for years. Meanwhile, the true hardcore games on these systems, the ones with little to no mainstream appeal, have struggled to reach 5million sales worldwide.
Then on Wii you have games like Smash Bros Brawl and Mario Kart which are exactly the same as those mentioned above. They were released to please the hardcore, but at the same time, they attracted mainstream interest. The thing is, Nintendo are the only company that have managed to do this with major success on Wii so far. We can argue the reasons back and forth until our fingers bleed from typing, but it doesn't change the fact that it hasn't happened. I would ask though, what games are there on Wii that are as good or better than those two above, that have mainstream and hardcore appeal, and that were developed by a third party?
I suspect the list would be short.
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