Legend11 said:
Bodhesatva said:
This is a serious question. If you don't understand what I mean, let me explain. I don't think many people would argue with the suggestion that Nintendo has an excellent first party software lineup. The number of titles and franchises in their repertoire is unparalleled. Is it possible that their repertoire is too unparalleled? Simple example: if Resistance: Fall of Man were released on the Wii instead of the PS3, it would be competing against Twilight Princess (which got notably better reviews) and Super Paper Mario (Which got approximately the same reviews). Clearly, a lot of people who only have money for one game would sometimes buy Resistance, but also sometimes buy Zelda or Paper Mario. By contrast, because it's on the PS3, it has almost no serious competition. No game is really in the same ballpark critically or commercially, and it shows: Resistance has outsold every other game on the PS3 by a fair margin. In short, one could reasonably argue that Resistance (And perhaps other games in the future) will sell better on the PS3 despite the smaller fan base, simply because it has fewer quality games to compete with. Please note that I am NOT suggesting that people just buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo made games, which I don't agree with, and is historically untrue (3rd parties did quite well on the SNES, which is the last time Nintendo received very strong 3rd party support). Instead, I'm suggesting that people buy Nintendo consoles for good games, just as is the reason to buy any system. The problem is, then, that Nintendo produces so many excellent titles that 3rd party developers might rather produce on a less popular system simply because the number of top-tier titles is lower and thus sales are less diluted amongst them. Put simplly: one could reasonably argue that the breadth and quality of Nintendo's own software development has a downside. Anyone agree? Or want to pick me apart? |
Ever since the N64 it seems like the majority of sales on Nintendo's consoles have been by first and second parties. I think that's why third parties are hesitant to put the kind of time, effort, and money into making a good game for it in fear of it simply not selling well. But when third parties do they can sometimes make games that rival Nintendo's best. Look at Resident Evil 4 for the Gamecube it rivals the best that system had, unfortunately it also didn't sell as well as Capcom hoped so it probably sent a bad message to third parties. The Wii is a bit different in that it's audience isn't just the core Nintendo fans so maybe third parties will have a better chance of having more success on it (that and the fact it'll sell a lot more than Nintendo's previous two consoles). As for Resistance, it's actually a pretty good game and I don't think it gets the credit it deserves. I think had it came out on the Gamecube it very likely would be a million seller if not in the top 2 for the system. |
Resident Evil 4 did sell well, though. It sold better than the Metroid Primes, all the Pokemon Games, all the Mario Parties... it sold well for a Game Cube game, being that the system comprised approximately 15 percent of the overall gaming market.
The last time Nintendo had serious 3rd party support -- and not a single AAA title like they had the whole of last generation -- was the SNES. Looking here:
http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php?name=&console=SNES&publisher=&sort=Total
It's clear 3rd party publishers did do well when they really put their effort behind a Nintendo system. The question is -- can they do as well on a Nintendo platform as they could on a system like the PS3 or Xbox360 that may have less systems sold, but also has less high quality first party support?
