| Degausser said: Really facinating stuff on the digital sales, I was going to question some of the stuff said earlier about Wii's DD platformers selling so amazing but figured there'd be no figures :P. I think WiiWare sales are typically going to be hampered for any game - compared to XBLA / PSN - the service just isn't as well made for selling software, it's lack of online focus will limit the userbase that bothers and storage limitations on the console mean no one's going to be too download-crazy. It is a shame that outside of Sony's minimalist efforts (LBP and R&C) and RARE, the genre is pretty much confined to the digital space at the moment on the HD consoles. In truth though, I don't think many companies have really been making a plethora of platformers since consoles went 3D in the N64 days, except for er, Nintendo, Sony and Rare lol. Were there actually any reknown platforms made by anyone else last gen? Or even the generation before... I'm sure someone will give me a list but I'm struggling to think of one :P. Also on the topic of SEGA losing retail sales on Sonic 4, I've always assumed the strategy to be something like made 2-3 episodes on the DD services and get $45 off of people for them, then bundle the 3 together at retail with some bonus content and stick em on store shelves for $50 so the non-online people can get it. At least SEGA are idiots if that's not what they do :P. Also rumour has it Neversoft are rebooting Crash Bandicoot, so with any luck that might be a decent 3d platformer on the HD twins (As well as the Wii, I'm sure). No idea where I read the rumour, or it's legitimacy though, so er, take it with a bucket of salt :P. |
WiiWare's issues are pretty immediate, and Nintendo's done more or less nothing to really alleviate that imo. Indeed, their plan to essentially handicap the more successful digital service (Virtual Console) in order to push WiiWare has more or less backfired, and ultimately just made interest in DD software on Wii seemingly decline overall. Nintendo is aware of the problem though, Iwata's talked about to shareholders and their efforts with the 3DS store (emphasis on pushed content, better visibility/organization, standardized user ratings, integrated Nintendo Channel, etc) are encouraging for the Wii successor. I also think Nintendo promising an upgrade path for purchased DSiWare to your new 3DS is vital, a LOT of interest dropped off for VC/WW when the differences between Nintendo's and Sony/Microsoft's licensing setups were drawn clearly a few years back.
I wasn't aware quite how badly things had gotten now though. WiiWare had quite a few early success stories (FFCC My Life as a King, Lost Winds, Mega Man 9, NyxQuest, etc), the most notable of which is probably World of Goo (which sold a whopping 60% of it's overall sales on Wii, versus 40% collectively for Steam, D2D, retail and 2DBoy's own store). This sort of fall off seems pretty massive, and I'm curious if Virtual Console's had quite the same sort of precipitous drop (it certainly has in terms of new releases).
Platformers last gen had already been declining last gen, but there were still some 3rd party standouts on home consoles (Rayman 2-3, Sonic series, Klonoa 2, Billy Hatcher, Maximo 1-2, MMX7-8, etc). This generation, that's pretty much only continued on Wii, with a (1st party driven) focus on 2D too. PS1/N64/Saturn however was LOADED with stuff, the decline really didn't start until this last decade imo.
Sonic 4's been a massive sales disappointment I'd say, especially given the long delay to tune up quality. I'd say doing a bundled retail release (to get to the reliable Sonic fanbase) is probably the only hope the project has at all, but I think the damage has been done to a degree. This game wasn't made for the hardcore, it makes little sense to target those users to the exclusion of your base, especially since they're the most vocal and word of mouth was likely to be unkind no matter how the game turned out. Then again, it's Sega, so no surprise with how the clusterfuck worked out.
Neversoft reviving Crash is interesting though, and long past due imo. I think the IP still has real untapped value, I hope it goes well. I also wonder why the PSone games have never been collected for reissue, you'd think a "Crash Collection" with Crash 1-3 and CTR would be a huge seller... are the rights tied up with SCE/ND or something?
