Mario Party 8 - If any title deserved the EA/Madden marginal update moniker on a Nintendo system it's this one. But I think its sales are purely from the implementation of the Wiimote. It makes one of the more accessible Nintendo franchises even MORE accessible. I remember going to used game shops and seeing parents buy Mario Parties for their kids. And even themselves. None of the Mario Party games (except the first one with that rotate the analog stick hand-burning goodness YOWCH!) are very challenging in the controls and the appeal is strong to families to count just one group. I had no doubt that this would sell so great & it's on my list for soon-to-buy. I gotta see how it plays myself to fully understand why it sells so well. Usually when you put 8 as a sequel number on something you're looking a B-horror movie and don't expect great impact. Not so with Mario Party 8.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Zelda represents the old way. The game we WERE expecting. They were smart to usher this in at launch to get the Wii floodgates wide open. It's one of those titles that will sell throughout the life of the system slowly but surely. It's numbers will correspond with the Wii's life-to-date sales. Many people haven't found a Wii yet and many older games will be picked up once they get it. What kills some Wii game sales is not being able to find a Wii. Boy do I love the reel fishing on this! That was inspired. The new Link's Crossbow Training can possibly boost this up too.
Super Paper Mario - I suspect this game will also pick up run off sales if there happens to be a Super Mario Galaxy shortage that day. I wished it was selling more than it is quite frankly but I know it's a fun game. It's the "what about me?" game on my to-buy list. I've wanted it since it came out but also wanted to diversify my library (Godfather, Strikers, Elebits, Rampage) so I kept reluctantly passing it up. This is probably the next game one of the next games I'm getting. But I still gotta beat Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door first!
Resident Evil 4 - This is in my to-buy list as well. I already have the game on GC (and still haven't beaten it yet!) but I also wanted to check out the Wii version to see this control everyone's been talking about. This Capcom test is paying off in big dividends. This had to be one of the least costly and easiest games to put out & get such a sales margin from meaning profits. I know that with this & Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Capcom is preparing to ready Resident Evil 5 for Wii either multi-platform wise or even exclusively. These sales tell the whole story. The control is possibly making this game more accessible to new audiences too.
Mario & Sonic - This will be a steady seller too. Like I said some titles are sabotaged due to Wii's short supply. People tend not to buy games when they don't have the system. The 2008 Olympics will help move this title. It'll linger like most Nintendo entries and the more Wiis available the more games like this will be picked up once they break out of Wii Sports fever for a little bit. This one will surprise us on the charts as the months go on.
Zack & Wiki - Yes, this is a tragedy. It's heartbreaking to see such a top title get overlooked. Timing was a problem for this one. It launched in the shadow of Super Mario Galaxy. But never fear. I think this one will eventually begin to run with some legs even if they're of the tortoise variety. This is one title we need to campaign to family & friends for as a suggested buy. This needs sponsorship by spokesman to make sure it doesn't get forgotten. Once more Wiis are in more people's hands it will have an effect over all games including this one. Short term failing long term comeback if campaigned for.
Red Steel - Launch power helped this title. It's not the worst game in the world and it has conceptual potential which I dug. But there were some execution problems in those concepts. Red Steel 2 may resolve this. Remember another title whose sequel was better than the original? Ha-Do-Ken?
Link's Crossbow Training - This probably only sold what it did due to shelf space. I've barely seen this in stores. But it will sell like Wii Play long term. I almost bought it the other day when I saw that the thing only costed $20! This very fact will ensure that this ends up being a strong seller. It's an impulse buy. A cheesy little peripheral with a packed in game (short or not) for just $20??? This one will have track runner's legs. A buy for budgeting gameplayers. This one will definitely move units. It's just so damn cheap! You CAN'T pass it up. I seriously almost bought it realizing it was only $20!
Wii Play - I want to clear something up right now. Wii Play does NOT sell JUST because of the packed-in Wiimote. The actual GAME sells the package too. Anybody who played Billiards on here will see that. A 9 in one game set with simple pick up & play games with that whole Wii series feel is what is ALSO selling this package. It is NOT all about the controller, guys. Trust me. Is it a matter of the Wiimote selling the game or the game selling the Wiimote or both simultaneously? The whole "Wii series" appeals to people & I think people are doing themselves a disservice by saying Wii Play is a trifling title that moves only because of the controller. People really like that "Wii" feel seen in Wii Sports. It's a companion piece. Wii Fit adds on to that. Nintendo has made themselves a whole new franchise right here in the Wii series.
Super Mario Galaxy - Japan has shocked me to my core on this one. But I think the more people see the co-op mode the more this will appeal to new people. It's a silly little addition but adds to gameplay with inexperienced players helping out. Little kids helping each other to beat the game. Girlfriends bored watching you play picking up the 2nd Wiimote & helping you out. Older people being initiated into this "core" title through the co-op mode. Galaxy will be just fine and the more people know about that co-op mode the better. I just wish Japan would get behind it more than they're doing. Still it's doing pretty well considering. Still in top 10 over there this week.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - I learned about the reality of what we saw Nintendo's "Big 3" months ago checking the historic archives of franchise sales. I always used to think Mario, Zelda, Metroid. And in reality this ain't quite the case. Those ARE possibly their most distinct directions in vision but when I saw Zelda & Metroid's historic Japanese sales I was shocked! They never have had quite the impact over there that Mario has there & worldwide. And Metroid's under Zelda (the great Super Metroid's sales will shock you!) so all that considered Corruption's sales didn't bother me. I think it suffered being compared to Halo too much too. MasterChief was probably even inspired into existence because of Samus Aran designwise. I wouldn't doubt against it. But Metroid & Halo are two totally different creatures. Metroid more slower paced and more exploratory than Halo. Metroid Prime 3 is matching up with Metroid Prime 1 so it will most likely match up to a million seller overtime. It's harder than most games and will not easily appeal to newcomers. Like Zelda: TW it was the game we were expecting. Super Smash Bros. is responsible for us grouping those 3 franchises as the "Big 3". They represent Nintendo's most diverse casts so we began to associate them with being the 3 Pillars of Nintendo when it wasn't absolutely true in the sales charts.
All will improve as Wii sales become more prominent.
John Lucas
Words from the Official VGChartz Idiot
WE ARE THE NATION...OF DOMINATION!
