Why third party core games fail(ed) on the Wii

[Joelcool7]

I think the demographics are why third party games don't sell. Firstly casual games do sell JustDance , Cooking Mama etc...etc... Games like Carnival Games also sell crap loads. Its the audience, the Wii is home to mostly casual gamers and not the same hardcore demographic found on the 360 and PS3. Even getting 2% of this casual market to buy a hardcore title is nearly impossible.

I'll point to the Conduit as the perfect example. The title had more hype then most Nintendo titles. It was advertised on Spike and other adult networks. In mens magazines etc...etc... the game wasn't the greatest but that shouldn't have stopped it from selling. Yet more then a year after it launched and it hasn't broken the 300,000 mark.

Fact is casuals will only buy casual games and Nintendo first party titles have nostalga attached to them so these older non-gamers are more willing to pick up a title they have heard about. Mario is a perfect example, Mario is as well known as Mickey Mouse. People will always buy Mario games, a true test will be whether Kirby can acheive multi-million sales.

In the end Nintendo fans and casuals dominate the Wii and as such only casual and Nintendo games will sell. All the hardcore gamers own 360/PS3's and will likely buy their hardcore games on those systems!