Mummelmann said:
Rol; the most shallow assumption here is your continued insistence that 3rd parties would embrace the Wii. Nintendo produced a machine with a massive hardware discrepancy compared to the competition, so much so that it was near impossible and far from cost efficent since they basically had to build two entirely different engines and architectures to match the dated Wii's configuration. There was also lack of storage, online functionality, multimedia capability and the somewhat unappealing Wii-mote (for core gamers).
The Wii was constructed as a casual console to begin with, this is the key to it's success but also it's downfall and rapid decline. 3rd parties were forced to choose PS3/360/PC or Wii, the choice was simple for most. The development costs on the Wii were lower for sure but what does that help when the machine offers technology that moves backwards and is mainly purchased by people who likely won't buy your software at any rate? Selling 250.000 on the Wii or 2-3 million on the HD platforms was a real no-brainer in most instances.
Multiplatform development is a lot cheaper per platform than exclusives will ever be so the extra cost of making three versions with very similar structure and visual/audiovisual and feature output was manageable or neglible for many, especially for sequels which already had base engine in place and the possibilities with using an outsourced development engine and tools such Unreal Engine 3, Source Engine, Frostbyte, Red, White Engine and Cry-engine, these tools were near useless on the Wii's hardware since it lacked the most basic capacity to run them properly or at all.
Also, like I mentioned, the Wii peaked and started going down long before Nintendo cut back on support, that argument simply doesn't hold up to scrutiny. The few proper 3rd party offerings the Wii got did very poorly compared to their HD counterparts, leading to people like you shouting "FOUL!" and blaming the developers, claiming they gimped the versions or even sabotaged the Wii on purpose to damage it, as if developers would waste money to make a statement when the reailty was that cross platform development for Wii along with the HD consoles and PC was near impossible due to the hardware and differences in core audiences.
For many years you have harboured this illusion and paranoid view that all 3rd parties in the world were somehow daft and refused to publish on Nintendo consoles out of spite and childish petulance. The truth of the matter is simple; Nintendo are now in trouble with the Wii U because of design flaws and bad decisions, likewise the Nintendo Wii suffered from some bad design choices and decisions that ultimately lead to its downfall and historic decline that many saw was bound to happen (again, I was among those).
To you, it was logical to see things your way, all the while accusing others of wishful thinking and lack of depth perception in the market but you were blinded by your infatuation with the product right alongside all those other fans of other consoles you always critiqued.
The Wii was never destined to outsell the PS2, reach massive marketshare, tripple the HD console installed base or gain massive 3rd party support, it was all in the cards from launch, hell, the unveiling even. The difference was too vast, the strategy too bold, the product and its main body of customers too fickle.
Casual customers are the most fickle in the market, they are swayed by hype, news value, celebrity endorsement and gimmicks, this is the very basest of business logic and knowledge. The only reason you refuse to admit this is because it means that Nintendo have been systematically stupid for nearly a decade, like Sony have, a tought pill to swallow for sure.
Tablets and smartphones were underway and would have conquered the casual crowd regardless. Meanwhile, the core crowd were suffering from a split personality where they would claim on one hand that "third parties have screwed us, there are no proper games coming out for the Wii" and on the other that "I have too many games to finish, the offerings on this magnificent machine are simply too many and too good". Sort of turning in the direction the breeze happened to blow when it suited them, bragging ceaselessly and whining incessantly all at the same time, ending up looking fairly silly in the long run.
On this very site, most of the stoic Wii advocates all but disappeared when things didn't go their way and chose to fade away in silence rather than own up the grim truth; the Wii didn't turn out as the fairy tale they wished for and it was plain to see for everyone else that this was how it must end.
Could the Wii have had a longer life and done a lot better with proper support? Yes, of course. Could it ever reach any of your lofty goals and predictions under any circumstance? No, no it could not.
PS: Before you accuse me of any bias; I abandoned console gaming quite some time ago.
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