Phoeniks.Wright said:
Your argument as to why games aren't the solution to selling a console is flawed: you assume that the quality of Nintendo games has been consistently high since the NES. But it hasn't, and so the N64 and GC didn't sell as well as their previous consoles. Also, a console's success isn't determined by a single game: the whole library ( well, at least a good part of it ) must be games you want, and since the PS1 and 2 had such a huge amount of games, it makes sense that there was something for a lot of people, and so sold as much. The Wii and DS didn't sell because of the controls: the controls lowered the barrier of entry, and allowed more people to play games, but there had to be games that they wanted as well. Think: did you seriously buy a PS3 or 360 thinking "oh, that controller looks different!" or "ooh, I like that console's D-pad more", or was it more along the lines of "Damn, that game looks sweet, I want it now!"? And why would Nintendo fans somehow be a homogenous group of people? Why would it be impossible that they cover a broad range of people, like the supposed PS fans? |
If I remember correctly, isnt Ocarina of Time (a N64 game) the best game rated ever???. Gamers 20 years ago didnt have the chance to play on other great console; because the competition was ultra lame; so nintendo took all the cake. But it is no longer the case. The case of Sega was almost the same thing, people bought it because Sonic, etc; but those people were not enough. So, when the PS1 appeared it destroyed the N64 (and the saturn). And the PS2 destroyed the gamecube (and the dreamcast, and the xbox); obviously sales wise.
PS3 or 360 gamers bought the console because of the games, while most "gamers" bought the Wii/DS because of the controller/interface. If the wii didnt have that controller it would have sold the same or less than the gamecube, because it has the same kind of games. So the ones that buy a nintendo console actually for the games are not so much. Also the first xbox having the same 3rd party games as the gamecube plus some exclusives; sold more than the gamecube, even without having the 1st party titles nintendo has. Nintendo games sells a lot, but the sales overlap. Most gamers in the world dont give a damn about nintendo games; that is why if they have the chance to play other great games on other consoles they will take it. If you say nintendo gamers like so many kind of games, then tell me why then most third party games in the wii suck sales wise??? like No more heroes, or Mad World for example. The only games that sell good are nintendo games, and games that "promote" not being in the couch, and be "active", like Just dance, Zumba fitness, MJE.
If the PS brand were like the nintendo brand, the PS3 would have been ultra doomed considering how it began, and yet it is the best selling consoles worldwide today. The PS1 and PS2 have a good variety of games so they succeded (sadly companies now do mostly FPS to increase revenue) and now Sony is filling those gaps in the PS3 era with their 1st party games, that is why the console today is kicking ass. And that is NOT going to be the case with nintendo and the 3DS. Mario = plataformer, Donkey kong = plataformer, Kirby = plataformer, Super smash bros = plataformer/fightnig game, Zelda = action adventure, pokemon = some kind of RPG I guess? lol. That is why I am saying, that if the 3DS succeds it will because of other things and not nintendo games.
Now, you will probably tell me that if the PS brand is so good the PSP would have better sales. If you think about it for being the 1st big push of Sony in the handheld market it is really a great achievement 70M far from a failure. Also the system would have sold way more if piracy wasnt so heavy for the system. In the beginning the PSP had lots of awesome games (and lots of PS2 ports by the way), and those games were the ones that promote most of the system sales; and were the ones pirated first, so companies didnt earn what they expected. And because of that, fewer great games were released, because they need big budget, and if they were not going to earn cash by selling it, then what´s the point?? And so the sales began to decline. I know it is sony´s fault to make the system so vulnerable, but most likely they will not repeat the same mistake with the vita. The difference in sales between the DS and PSP would be much lower if the DS didnt had a touchscreen.
As I said before, most people dont give a damn about nintendo games, that is why if they can play 3rd party games elsewhere they will do it, that is why the N64 and the gamecube sold poorly. You could say most gamers are "Nintendo game phobic". The Wii U most probably will be an epic failure, unless the controller is "revolutionary". But, even if it suck sales wise, nintendo games will sell similar as in the Wii.
