So with 3DS having been launched I was really looking forward to all the third party content. So many games had been announced and all these publishers and developers were said to be on board. I was looking forward to seeing Assasins Creed and other titles like Call Of Duty. I was so exited for 3DS as a platform that would see huge third party support.
However 3DS didn't launch as well as hoped selling very few units. Despite the lack of hardware sales software titles did decent with titles like Rayman 3D obviously breaking even if not profiting. Software sales are so strong that despite not having 10-million hardware units on the market a game has already broken the million copy sold mark.
Now judging by the success of titles like Rayman I expected third party support to continue at its current levels. That publishers and developers would continue to release software successfully. I mean seriously if the software is breaking even and selling enough units to be considered successful why would you stop making software.
Then the reports started flowing that western third parties were bailing on 3DS. With stories reporting developers waiting to see how 3DS plays out before continuing development. These stories shocked me and I talked to UbiSoft who was one of the publishers implicated in stories. When I talked to UbiSoft at PAX I was re-assured that UbiSoft was not stopping or delaying development of software. The UbiSoft developer said that they saw alot of promise in the 3DS and would continue to support it completely. However right after I returned from PAX I read the news Assasins Creed had been cancelled. Other UbiSoft games are nowhere in sight.
Then Nintendo's 3DS conference I expected to see a ton of third party support. Instead you see some support from Capcom but the other third parties are extremely quite.
This gets on my nerves now. Sony always gets a lot of third party support even if their platforms are going down in a hail of smoke. I remember PS3 bombing like heck yet every major publisher who could afford to develop on it did so. Even the publishers who claimed initially it was to expensive to make games for and their games wouldn't break even (Atari, Majesco) even these publishers as soon as they could jumped in to support a platform that was by all means dead.
The PlayStation Portable was the highest selling competitors handheld ever. However software sales were way lower then DS or any of Nintendo's other platforms. In fact software sales were so low that the original X-Box and GameCube had titles that sold more then PSP games. Within a year of the PSP coming out I saw first party heavy hitters on sale for 9.99$. Yesterday I walk into FutureShop and see the shelves covered in 4.99$ games and 9.99$ games. I've talked to FutureShop staff and they said the PSP stuff just does not sell they said the only way to get rid of it is by giving it away.
Yet PSP up until this year has gotten alot more support then 3DS is receiving right now. UbiSoft games on PSP sold so poorly that many of the games on the shelf and clearance section comes from them. I saw a Prince Of Persia game at FutureShop in clearance for 99cents. Yet UbiSoft continued to support the PSP with multiple titles a year. EAGames titles have also been among the 9.99$ crowd yet they continued to support PSP to the bitter end.
Now with Vita coming along Sony has over 20 new titles to show off at TGS. While Nintendo had nothing, pretty much ziltch in the line of new titles from third parties to show off. Developers and publishers are ready to throw millions of dollars into supporting Sony day one with tons of software. But Nintendo who's DS single handedly saved developers and made millions gets Nintendo dropped like a sack of potatoes?
This rule doesn't only apply to Nintendo. What about Microsoft, the 360 outsold the PS3 by a huge margin for years and years yet developers continued to give Sony almost everything they gave Microsoft. Infact Microsoft had to pay huge sums of money to secure exclusive content. Microsoft's hardware was doing way better then PS3 yet publishers and developers showed alot of favor to Sony.
So today the 3DS isn't selling as well as DS. But what about 360 even in its prime third parties still gave the same amount of support to Sony if at all possible. Publishers risked bankrupcy to bring titles to PS3 and the software often didn't break even yet rather then dropping PS3 support like they dropped Nintendo's support (GCN/3DS) they continued to support Sony through all the rough patches.
As proof I'll use UbiSoft as they were supposedly Nintendo's biggest third party supporter and the one who recently ceased 3DS development. The highest selling PSP game from UbiSoft was Assasins Creed Blood Lines with a whopping 1.19 million units sold. However other then Lumines those were the only two games to break a million. In fact look at the sales of their PSP games compared to 3DS, yah 3DS sales are shit compared to PSP considering their are over 70-million PSP's. But look at Rayman it did better then about half of UbiSoft's PSP lineup according to VGChartz. Then consider the fact that Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars on 3DS outsold its PSP counter part Ghost Recon: Predator. Or look at Splinter Cell on 3DS selling almost half of what Splinter Cell sold on PSP, this being within the launch window. Or look at all the Petz games that came out for PSP selling so freaking poorly, yet UbiSoft maintained that support.
UbiSoft is also one of the companies suffering from the largest lack of sales. Other third parties titles are fairing even better, yet third parties seem to be dropping 3DS support fast. No new games announced at Nintendo's conference just shows how fast third party support is drying up.
So why is it when Sony's platform's sell like shit and get no hardware support, developers flock to them and give them everything they need. But when Nintendo does a little poorly all the publishers and developers jump ship. Seriously even when Microsoft was doing great and Wii was selling through the roof developers still supported Sony as much as they could despite the lack of user base and market. Developers and publishers lost millions supporting Sony.
Now with Vita unproven its seeing as much if not more support then Nintendo did prior to 3DS's release. Why is it their is more PSVita games announced then titles announced for 3DS prior to its launch? Nintendo DS had been the most successful handheld in history yet developers and publishers did not give 3DS the same support they now give Vita. Despite having every reason to believe 3DS would succeed DS?
So why do all the publishers and developers favor Sony?
-JC7
"In God We Trust - In Games We Play " - Joel Reimer
