cookingyourmama said:
Well that's a very long post their and i've done my best to read it all and take it all in, basically until the wii sells the most 3rd party software per week and sells it's 3rd party software at a similar ratio compared to it's installbase the wii will get critized, it's as simple as that really and no amount of people stamping their feet will change that. What i've found is the amount of rabid fanboys who can't possibly accept their is anything wrong with the nintendo wii is quite sickening because it gets in the way of rational conversations. The wii has poor 3rd party software sales for the amount of wii's that are out their just like the 360 doesnt have enough casual games and keeps breaking down and the ps3 is too expensive, these are all basic valid points and only fanboys will argue against them. The wii's 3rd party software situation has improved but it's still not enough and the wii's hardcore 3rd party software is just dire. When it comes to 3rd parties the wii isn't stealing away any of the major games and developers are just choosing to put them on the pc/ps3/360 at the same time and until the wii can out do all of those put together their is no reason for developers to shift their big games onto the wii, right now the best the wii can hope for are dumbed down ports of these major games. Despite how well the wii is selling i was expecting to see a whole host of new 3rd party wii games annouced but they are yet to materialise, it's not just money that governs what games get made, their actually have to be people who want to make games. I know several people who are programers, level designers etc. and they all want to make the best game they possibly can and they can't do that on the wii because of it's hardware limitations. Then their are people they know who are stuck on a team making a wii game or wii port and they hate it, making that game doesn't challenge them in the slightest and they are completly bored by it and couldn't care less if it flops or not. The best developers want to make the best games and the wii simply doesn't interest them. |
Yeah, it is a long read. Sorry about that.
This one is too, although I try to organize it in such a way that it's as clear and concise as it can be, while still being thorough.
I obviously disagree with your assertion that the Wii isn't "stealing" third parties away from other systems, and that developers are simply giving Wii owners an "inferior" version of the PS3 and 360 games. For starters, remember that Capcom has already shifted one of its biggest games in Japan, Monster Hunter 3, from the PS3 to the Wii. That is hardly an insignificant 'coup' on the Wii's part.
I would also point out once more that EA is devoting an entire division solely to the Wii, including the two games its developing in conjunction with Steven Spielberg, and that the Wii is the only console that is receiving a version of Spore. I can assure you, from what we've seen those games are in fact "major", as you put it. Ubisoft is putting plenty of money and talent into Red Steel 2, a Wii-exclusive. Factor 5, Camelot, and countless other quality studios are also making Wii-exclusive games as we speak (well, Camelot is anyways, I'd imagine the Factor 5 dudes are in bed right now).
I'll grant you that many of these games have not been formally announced. But then Nintendo hasn't announced its second half of the year yet either. In fact, a lot of developers have been mum about their plans this year, which may be why we're lavishing so much attention on those games that have been announced. To this point, I can only tell you the cliched "wait for E3." After that, I believe we'll know which of us is right and which of us is wrong...until then, wait for E3!
Finally, your last paragraph. Please recall that before its launch, the Wii was being dismissed by many publishers and analysts as something that would be dead on arrival. After this proved not to be the case, it became a "fad", or an "impulse buy" as Sony so unwisely dubbed it. (Do you not want your product to be desirable enough that people see one and decide to buy it? But I digress.) After that, doubts about whether demand was peaking were the order of the day. It was only in the last couple of months that people in the industry (note that I did not say "people in general!") began to believe that the Wii was a viable system.
Seeing as how it often takes eighteen to twenty-four months to develop a game for the Wii, it is actually quite understandable that the major studios have not yet announed their big titles. I'd expect that no one would want to show off an eight month old build of their game, unless they wanted to go the bullshot route, or release a trailer that has nothing to do with the final game. Personally, I kind of prefer things the way they are now, as it lets me focus on the many good Wii games that have released or about to release this year alone.
I'm sorry to hear that your friends got stuck with a project that they find uninteresting. But the rest of your paragraph just made me laugh. "The best developers want to make the best games and the wii simply doesn't interest them" you said. I ask you, then, where on the pantheon of great developers you would place Miyamoto, the man who had a large hand in the development of the Wii, and who helped to direct it in a way that allowed him to make the best games he possibly could. Ah, but he's a first party developer, so he doesn't count. Fair enough. Would you not place Will Wright on the pedestal of the finest developers?
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7691&Itemid=2
"The only next gen system I've seen is the Wii – the PS3 and the Xbox 360 feel like better versions of the last, but pretty much the same game with incremental improvement...” Damn. I would say that's a pretty good indication that Will Wright is interested in the Wii, even if it's just a tiny wii bit. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) But who's Will Wright to talk, right? I mean, he only makes "casual" "crap" like Sim City and The Sims. He's not a real developer. So let's ask the head of Valve, the company that made Half-Life, what he thinks about the Wii.
http://gonintendo.com/?p=11654
"The happy story is the Wii...I really like everything that Nintendo is doing." But surely, Mr. Newell, you much prefer the higher horsepower and graphical output of, say, the PS3, right? I mean, you're a gamer too! "The PS3 is a total disaster on so many levels. I think it's really clear that Sony lost track of... what developers wanted. I'd even say...they should just cancel it and do a 'do over.'" Um..never mind. Let's just move along, nothing to see here folks, c'mon, on you go.
When a man deliberately puts on some blinders before venturing out into the world, it's no surprise that he's unable to see the whole picture. I would submit to you that your contacts with the game development industry are anamolous, as they're going against the grain of all the things I've just pointed out. Might I suggest listening to other voices, voices not restricted to the small niche you've unfortunately stumbled into? If you do so, you will find that there is a world of differing opinions out there on all subjects, the Wii included, and that the Wii is hardly the red-headed stepchild you've mistakenly taken it for.
My words here are probably not enough to convince you, as you unfortunately seem to have closed yourself off to the possibility that the Wii may in fact attract significant third party support. There's nothing more that I can do about that, I'm afraid. But six months from now, a year from now, two years into the future, when you start to see more and more of the AAA games coming out exclusively for the Wii, I would ask you to recall this conversation, and not be surprised at what's happened. After all, the truth is right there, just at the corner of your eye, waiting for you to see it. If you can't, then more's the pity. But the rest of us have some damn good first and third party games to play on our Wii, so you'll forgive us if we don't wait up.
