Why don't devs for once say, "We have made a piece of crap let's scrap it."

[greenmedic88]

And that's because major developers like Nintendo have the resources to scrap or re-do projects if it doesn't meet their standards.

For the big developers, it can actually be harmful to a franchise to release a game that is not up to standard. Some seem soured on Donkey Kong games currently due to arguable quality standards, but I see this franchise making a come back within the next year. And Nintendo fans will love it.

A lot of the smaller development studios responsible for some of the weaker games that still find their way to retail don't have that luxury. Or they don't even have the intention of selling hundreds of thousands of copies, so long as they can post a profit.

The Wii franchise is an interesting case that kind of defies previous standards, even as a new IP. Simplified visuals, simplified play mechanics, but easy accessibility have made it successful. I still suspect most people bought Wii Play for the extra remote, but for those new to gaming, I'm sure it was still entertaining without requiring any effort to learn and start playing. So in that respect, it was successful. From a sales standpoint, it was successful. From a gamer's perspective, I find it pretty hard to see the appeal, even for $10 (minus the remote) other than to pad a game collection.