Ubisoft: Wii U Owners Don’t Buy Assassin’s Creed; More Interested in Just Dance

[TheWPCTraveler]

padib said:

I didn't see your replies to my comments. Well, gives me more to talk about. (see underlined)

TheWPCTraveler said:

All comments in quote.

Mr Puggsly said:

padib said:

360k is not impressive for a 2D platformer when a game like NSMB Wii can outsell it by a factor of 25. If you'll name NSMBU, I'll give you Rayman Origins. //Yes, it is. Especially when you burn Nintendo fans by delaying it to launch alongside other versions.

I replied to this. (link)

//I didn't see your reply earlier on, so from this point on, I'm still going to disregard your reply :P

Also Zombi U, talk to me about Zombi U. //Didn't reach expectations, probably. How would you make money off a AA launch release when you make less than $35 million off it?

Easy. Looking at Red Steel, the other Nintendo exclusive I made for a similar audience the gen prior, I would expect sales of 0.7million (how ironic). With that in mind, I would adjust my budget to at least make a 100% margin. If I am to obtain 35 million in revenue, my game should cost me 17 million. End of story.

//Ah, okay. Makes lots of sense.

The huge IPs brought by 3rd parties were well argued to be poor ports lacking in features and DLC which was available on other consoles. The other important argument raised ad nauseam is that 3rd parties did not create a market for any games other than shovelware on the Wii. You reap what you sow. Exceptions were games like Red Steel which again you fail to consider in my arguments. //I agree. Wii shovelware only sold because of its massive userbase.

3rd parties were late to the party, and are eating the crow they served Nintendo, and will blame Nintendo for it. //They're right to blame Nintendo, though. I mean, Nintendo gave itself a competitive advantage because it's used to Gunpei Yokoi's philiosophy, and they're exercising that philosophy with their 7th and 8th-Gen consoles.

Any intelligent business would follow Nintendo's example to make Nintendo kind of money. Look at how 3rd parties are working on the 3DS for insight. Games like Monster Hunter 4 and Yokai Watch are selling or sold very well on the system. If 3rd parties are trying to make money on the U by making games that sell on the PSX1, they are just being fools.

//Ah, explains all the ports. Only company (once again, aside from Atlus and more recently, Koei Tecmo) that came close to doing this is Ubisoft. 'Tis a shame they backtracked.

No, "mature" games sell fine on the U, so long as they show some kind of promise. The perfect example I brought up is Shovel Knight. It's not gore mature, but it's certainly not just dance type gaming like Guillemot said. //Mature in this sense is according to ESRB rating.

I know. My point is that "mature" is too lose a term to mean anything. If by mature he means gore, then ZombiU disproves him. If by mature he means AAA multiplat, then yes he's right. They don't sell on Nintendo consoles. I'm not asking him to be stupid, on the contrary! I'm asking him to be intelligent. Given how this endless circle with 3rd parties hasn't changed since the NES, I don't see it happening.

//Okay, makes sense.

Did you read the interview I linked you to or did you just prefer to tell me to do my research without doing any of your own?

Your argument is weak. A game can still be profitable even if it sells a fraction of Mario. Ubisoft has continued to make 2D games because that don't need to sell mega numbers to be profitable. //True.

Then why did he say AC sold badly on the U? He's being inconsistent.

//I merely said that the fact mentioned was true.

Zombi U managed to sell 700k because it was a hyped launch title. Ryse managed to sell about a million units for the same reason. But how have other M rated games on Wii U performed? //ZombiU sold because it was good. Even now I see people recommending it alongside Nintendo Land. I agree with how badly you think others did on Wii U, though.

Wii ports were vastly inferior, but they still had more success than Wii U ports. Even if Wii U ports were at par PS360, they would still sell poorly. //Larger audience. That, and the people who bought CoD on Wii didn't come back for more. Here's how the sales track looks like: http://www.vgchartz.com/gamedb/?name=Call+of+Duty&publisher=&platform=Wii&genre=&minSales=0&results=200

What is your point about Red Steel? That's another game that was hyped for a console launch. //I agree.

3rd parties were at the party when Wii U launched, I don't know what you're babbling about. //Aside from Ubisoft, they had a half-hearted presence. So, I half-agree.

You want developers to make M rated games that appeal to Wii U fans. But developers have no interest in doing that, its too risky with little reward. Zombi U for example is not considered a success. ACIV selling 8+ million on Playstation and Xbox platforms is a great success. //I agree.

Lose term M rated is invalid. AAA multiplat yes, Zombi U does not apply to his logic.

I don't feel like reading an opinion from someone that worked on an indie game, its not relevant. I doubt he wants to risk money on making big budget M rated games for Wii U. //I agree.

The article is very relevant actually.

//I don't see the point, though. This was a rather low-risk platformer if you disregard the five months of no pay they had.

What these third-party publishers seem to not understand is the mentality of a Nintendo supporter. Loyalty means a lot, you know.

They should look to Atlus for inspiration.

Exactly

I see your points rather clearly now. Thanks for enlightening me.

Further comments in italics.