Reggie “really chafes” when people say Wii lost the hardcore

[NightDragon83]

Mr Khan said:

NightDragon83 said:
Nintendo fans: We don't need no stinking 3rd party games, we've got the best 1st party games out there!

Nintendo fans 2 seconds later: Why aren't 3rd parties supporting Nintendo consoles as much as the others?

Why is a good question, and one that no-one has answered to any satisfaction. No, Nintendo doesn't need them, but it would be good if they had them.

If the Wii U can't get GTA, might as well stick a fork in it, because it's done as far as the hardcore gamers go.

Right, and 2K/Rockstar would be at fault for that, because it then means they lose a viable platform to put games on for the next five years, or they could invest in the ground floor, still make money now, with the opportunity to make more money later.

Again, the question is not answered to satisfaction, except that third parties are dumb, petty, and hateful.

The answer is simple... because major 3rd party games don't sell nearly as well on Nintendo systems, mainly because the Nintendo audience primarily cares about Nintendo games above everything else, and the fact that their current audience is made up of many expanded / casual gamers that don't care for graphics intensive, mature, and/or competitive online multiplayer games like the GTA's, COD's, Mass Effects and Assassin's Creeds of the world in the first place.

Take this example from last gen:  RE4, probably the biggest 3rd party exclusive on the GC and one of the best looking games from last gen period, barely sold a million copies in the west and less than 2m worldwide lifetime.  It was later ported to the PS2 with an inferior looking version but with extra gameplay features and options... and it outsold the GC version by more than 2-1 according to the data here on VGC.

Hell, the enhanced Wii Edition sold better than the GC version, and was one of only a few AAA hardcore games released during the Wii's lifespan.  So what are 3rd parties supposed to do when they know that releasing mature games on a Nintendo system, especially today, runs a huge risk and might not be worth it to them?  Take-Two for example knows that most of the people who are going to get a game like GTA are going to do so on consoles like PS360, or the PC.  Nobody interested in this game is going to buy a Wii U for the purpopse of playing GTA.