Some thoughts on Wii Game sales

[Chadius]

mike_intellivision said:
Some quick thoughts

1. The only game on the list that I don't have is Red Steel. Should I buy it?

1a. Hopefully Red Steel 2 will not fall into the trap of worse sequels.

1b. Is Rayman Raving Rabids 2 really worse or just got a lower score for "more of the same?" (Sequel disease).

2. There are some stores marking Link's Crossbow up to $25. I fell for that (Target -- thinking it would be supply constrained, I went out the night before Thanksgiving in the US to buy one. I returned it after finding a $20 unit at Wal-Mart two days later.

2a. There have been some supply issues with the Link's Crossbow as the local Gamestop sold out before Thanksgiving. That might have impacted sales.

2b. Shelf space for such a big item has probably limited display and stock during the holiday shopping season.

2c. Nintendo has not pushed this product -- that I have seen. They can be faulted for that.

3. Mario & Sonic should get a second boost before and during the Beijing Olympic games (I am old enough to remember when this was Peking).

4. Nintendo cannot be faulted for not pushing third-party games. In other words, it is under no obligation to advertise Zack & Wiki.

5. Cooking Mama – third-party game still at $50 – has sold 500K units. So it can be done. Trauma Center also sold 500K units, but it got a late-life price drop.

6. Dragon Quest Swords is just short of 500K – and has only released in Japan. That’s the next third-party million seller as soon as it hits EU and NA.

6a. Speaking of which, does anyone know definitely when it is coming out in the US? I must have that game (though I need to finish DQ8 first).

Mike from Morgantown

 1. Red Steel is very polarizing. There are tons of flaws but the concept is really, really tight. I mean, guns and swords? WHOA? A definite try before you buy title.

 

1a. Plus, it's no longer launch, so the flaws will only magnifiy as you compare it to other Wii Shooters (RE4, MP3 etc) Red Steel 2 won't be as forgiven as RS was in face of actual competition.

 

1b.  RRR1 was a launch party title, and the Rabbids were such a shock of awesome. RRR2 has to compete with several party games and suffers from sequelitis, "more of the same." So reviews gave it a lowerscore.

 

2.  Yup. LCT hasn't been pushed, and the abnormal size forces retailers to buy fewer copies. While Wii Play is also abnormally sized, it's sold for full price.