Pachter - DSi XL won't be a launch success, third parties still don't get Wii
February 25, 2010 by The News Team Wii, Nintendo in general, DSi | View feedback (21) | Show/Hide
A portion of an IndustryGamers interview with Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter...

IG: What is your take on the DSi XL? How do you think it'll sell? Will people really want to pay $20 more just to get a larger handheld?

Pachter: I think that the price point of all DS products are too high, and think that a price increase for the DSi XL is not going to sit well with consumers. The difference in price between the DS Lite and the XL is $60, and I'm not sure that bigger screens provide the value that Nintendo thinks. The difference between the DSi and the XL makes sense, but all three models are due for a cut, the DS to around $99, the DSi to $129, and the XL would then make more sense at $149. I don't think it will be a success at launch, since it costs only $10 less than a Wii.

IG: What will it take for more third parties to succeed on the Wii? Will it improve in 2010? Can Nintendo do anything to help or is this more due to publishers simply putting out crap games?

Pachter: I continue to believe that the Wii audience will buy good games, and think that third parties have done a poor job of making them for the Wii. There are a handful of exceptions (my favorite is Zack and Wiki), but most third party Wii games just plain suck. The third parties don't appear to be giving the Wii owner what he/she wants, which is an approachable, high quality game. The bulk of titles are shovelware, and once a Wii owner has a bad experience with a poorly crafted title from a third party, they are even more likely to return to buying only Nintendo products. This is most definitely NOT Nintendo's fault; they can hardly be blamed for making consistently good games. It's the fault of studios that think it's ok to make a lousy game and put the word "party" in the title.

For some reason my link copy paste does not want to let me do it.

At least on the 2nd part.

Still too early for the DSi XL, since it hasn't launched here, and was a success in Japan where it cost more, but I think you meant the part about it being third party games being their own problems.

finally someone understands third parties

...i just didn't expect it to be patcher.

don't think for DSi XL. Patcher right on third party. BUT! Monster Hunter 3 might change that.

For once Pachter is spot on with the third party IMO. Nintendo is the scape goat here.

He probably read it from VGChartz, I wonder if he is a lurker or a member...

Are we sure the quoted text is really Pachter? In addition to containing some statements that seem to contridict what he has said before, the whole rhythm of his speech here seem unlike him. (at least to me)

http://boards.ign.com/nintendo_wii_lobby/b8270/189721889/p1/?18

Ah it finally let me copy paste link. Its from the IGN boards the poster did not put a link, but I do not see why anyone would make it up.

Wow. Pachter nailed it to a T.

Also, lol @ the fact that everybody in this thread but IG and astrosmash misspelled Pachter's name.

Wow I'm in disbelief that something so simple of an answer to the question that I've been saying for I don't know how long, is finally being figured out and recognized by people who are paid to know these things.

A lot of the reasons "sequels" to the games that sold well haven't been selling well is for the exact reason he stated. They were bad games to begin with, and after they figured it out AFTER the purchase, they aren't going to buy it again. Which is why the sequels sales have been simply atrocious.

Consumers are looking for games they are going to enjoy, and whether critically bad or just not to their tastes, they won't buy it if it is a bad game... at least after knowing it. Hell "is it a good game" is the most frequent question I'm asked at my job with "do you got that madden" at a close second ;). Nintendo products, you usually don't have to worry about that because Nintendo makes high quality games.

Bravo to Pachter for also pointing out, it isn't Nintendo's fault. Aside from controlling content, which is a bad idea, they can't do anything about it. Although, Nintendo is taking another route by putting "interest" in titles they see as "better" games such with the case of Monster Hunter 3 or Dragon Quest IX as of late. That's a definite way to counter it, because these gamers who are so disillusioned with the 3rd parties, will be less apt to back off if it has the Nintendo brand associated with it.

Only thing I think Pachter missed on, although implied when talking about Zack and Wiki, is that marketing is also the key. You can release good title after good title, but if know one knows about it then you simply rely for in-store relations. That's the other thing 3rd parties don't seem to understand, that big userbase doesn't equal sales, just sales potential. And with a system where there is numerous competition in quantity, you have to market to get yourself noticed.

It is finally nice to see someone finally saying the right thing here, instead of taking the cop out method of either blaming nintendo, the consumer, or the system.