Really quick...

POP: Forgotten Sands:  Movie bombed, game lacked innovation, Wii version unpolished, game bombed on all systems (not just Wii) so it's obviously not a platform issue.

TvC (UAS right?): Met it's modest expectations, so it doesn't really belong on this list.  Should've done better in Japan, but then it also should've been budget priced there (like SSF4) and probably gotten a CCPro bundle.

NMH2: Utter lack of western advertising and promotion, Ubi and RS really sent it to die.  Jaded hardcore waiting for possible HD port up, JP release still coming (MMV expects 51k btw, lol, not happening, more like 5.1k).

NHL Slapshot: Looks/plays like shit, pandering/insulting product, zero promotion, feels like something that you'd buy off QVC. 

Silent Hill SM: Again zero promotion, already declined IP, Konami really failed to capitalize on what's a great game and got excellent media response.  Still, it outsold the previous SH on 360/PS3, and the Wii version of SM far outsold the PS2/PSP versions, so again it's most likely not a platform issue.

Boom Blox 2: Rushed sequel, confused shovelware marketing, probably shouldn't have been a $50 product.  Casual target audience doesn't respond well to annualized sequelitis (which EA seemingly doesn't understand).

Tiger 11: Fundamentally damaged IP, bombed everywhere, so again, not a platform issue.

@jarrod  NMH2, you mention lack of ads but lets keep it real, this game was catered to the core audience, not the casuals.  The core audience read the gaming mags and websites so they knew that this game existed. If there were commercials and such the casuals who would see it have no interest in the game anyway, Look at Conduit, advertisment out the ass.In this day of internet and high speed info. we need to stop falling on that advertisment excuse.  That game didnt sell cause there just was not that big an audience for it on WIi. simp;e

But why did the audience shrink by half? No More Heroes 1 was pretty well received by the community, and you can figure 2 should have been able to build on that.

Could just be the Wii market's aversion to sequels overall, though i'll agree with jarrod's complaint of diminished advertising (paltry even compared to the poor advertising NMH1 got). The internet gamer represents an irretrievably tiny fraction of the market. A lot of Halo Reach's record-breaking front-loaded sales came from the fact that Microsoft started advertising it back in July.

Well looking at the history of Nintendo since Playsation has been in the game:

3rd party complains

- only Nintendo games sell on Nintendo console. So what did Nintendo do on Wii? they pretty much left BIG GAPS (long time between their releases)  and gambled for 3rd parties to compete again months. As is presently seen now too atm. The last few months has been a perfect Window to release a AAA core game.

- Nintendo has too harsh quality control (this is what lost them a lot games to PS1). So Nintendo has lowered their standard and now we are flooded with total crap only.

3rd part comments

- we are testing the Wii. Let us release on-rail shooters to see if they will sell. Well I think they are still waiting for the results lol.

- Ubisoft admitted they used the Wii to raise money to fund other HD projects with crappy shovelware. How can their releases improve if the budget is not returned back to the Wii for development?

3rd party general observations

- They want the Wii to fail as it caught them off guard since they all backed the PS3.

- They rush out games with tacked on controls.

- They bring old ports (which sadly are better than original content haha).

- They release GIMPED versions of the game (ie missing multiplayer, or missing levels) when Wii actually does get it's own version.

- They release the game 6 months after the other platforms and wonder why it hasn't sold.

- They don't advertise.

- They make adult games with kiddie looking covers (EA Sports I am looking at you).

- They keep making on rails shooters when Wii owners tell them to fuck off with it and are stunned why they don't sell.

I could go on an on and on lol.

"people buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo Games"..............

I know it's a long thread, but I just had to ask about this point - am I reading it wrong, or are you trying to say, that the N64 was underpowered and underfeatured in comparison to the PS1, and "faceplanted" as a result?

Since I obviously think neither is true. The latter was definitely not the case in America. I mean, the 4 best selling games of the gen (Mario, Kart, Goldeneye, Zelda) were all from the N64 in our region, topping anything the PS1 had. Unless you'd consider these casual games, of course...

@Mr. Khan why the audience shrank by half??? thats a very good ? and I wish I had the answer, the only thing I can think of is that some of those gamers simply moved on to another system IMHO and just kinda stopped messing with Wii. look at Red Steel the original was terrible and more than a million people still played it. #2 was rated way better but it didnt even come close to those sales of original. You can blame motion but it wasnt that much more expensive you can blame lack of multi, but I dont believe we devolved as gamers into a state where we will play a game we know sucks but has a multiplayer mode.  Halo is still a core game, you cant be trying to tell me that if it had no TV ads it still wouldnt have sold millions???? I dont buy it, maybe if it was a new IP but that reasoning dont fly for established franchises. Hell Bioshock & Tekken 6 both sold more than a mil with little advertisment, not saying ads aint important but to the core gamer living in the internet age. Its not that serious

@cobretti  what are you talking about??? Ninty is making more games this gen than the did the previous 2. Thats a fact. So its definetly not Ninty trying to do anyone "favors" quality control, not buying that either, well not entirely the fact is that it was just easier and cheaper to make games on the PS1 than N64 ask Square CDs>Cartridges. What Ubisoft does is kinda messed up, but if they need to make crap to sell to the masses to fund better products, go for it. Do what you gotta do. Is it messed up that they dont put that effort into Wii??? sure, but what would you have them do. Whatever core game they make is probably not going to end up selling that well anyway, ask Sega unless they have Sonic in it, no one cares. If your a Wii only gamer then Im sorry dont know what you can really do.  I for one love rail shooters, that is one of the reasons I bought Wii, hell I wish they had more,, oh well theres always Move

I totally agree.

Yes they are making more games. But if you look at the last their game releases were more frequent and half of them were not aimed at the casual market.

This gen they thought the Wii would be like the DS and thought 3rd parties would jump onto the bandwagon and produce AAA titles. So they left gaps open for those releases so 3rd parties wouldn't bitch competing against a Nintendo game like they have the in the past.

In regards to the N64 that is some of the lame excuses 3rd parties said. Not all but some. I just repeated their words.

You are right that a core game is going to sell poorly on Wii. That is because it is 3rd parties own fault. They released garbage for so long no one trusts them. So 4 year  now into the Wii the small core crowd that exists on the Wii will probably get an excellent game to 1.5 million tops sold. The reason I say this is because of all the crap that was coming out, I myself this gen what I have never done before got all three consoles, so anything core that comes out on all three I will get on PS3 or 360. If they took the Wii serious and did not try killing it as they bet on the wrong horse at the start (the ps3) and put in effort at the start they would not be in the same situation.

One example COD. Activision are getting better at it but in the past it be missing features and be released late. Did they really expect COD to sell well on Wii? Going forward a lot of people with multi consoles will get it on one of the other platforms. I know I am. especially when you see awesome limited edition versions on the HD twins and a boring old one for Wii. So if Activision tried in the first place with COD on the Wii without cutting stuff, I think it could self much better then it does atm. I know for one that COD:WaW had some great controls on the Wii version. But it just lacked the features the HD version had. However I still got both lol.

To your onrails shooter comment, yes they are fun, but you do not go turning every game into an onrails experience esepcially when you know the game can be so much better. Good example RE4. Some of the best Wii controls and it has sold great for a 4th port.

On the other hand house of the dead series is a perfect example of what an excellent cheesy onrails shooter should be like.

Finally I do not know what the situation is were you are, but if you go to a Wii section all you see if 20 copies of each garbage game (stuff like cooking mamma and just dance) and maybe 2 copies of a core game. I myself couldn't find COD Reflex. I had to go and buy it online. Other core games like NMH2 only had like 2 copies on the shelf hidden behind garbage games. Then when you go to the 360 section you see about 50 copies of Halo, PS3 section about 50 copies of final fantasy.  This in itself is a doom for failure. I do not know if it is the retailers fault for not wanting to stock these games or it is the distributors not supplying enough copies because they already think the game will bomb.