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

S.Peelman on 19 August 2014

Third parties continue to be dumb about it. It's especially ironic when an indie dev like the one that made Shovel Knight actually got it.

The point isn't that it's made money for it's dev or that it sold good, the point is that the dev actually thought about what kind of game to put on WiiU. Research, is what it's called. Publishers should do that once in a while instead of aimlessly dumping all kind of things on everything.

Of course Assassin's Creed wasn't going to sell anything on a Nintendo platform. I could have told them that back in 2012. In fact I wouldn't have even tried that game out on the platform in the first place. GTAV also wouldn't have sold much if it came, and Watch_Dogs won't sell much either.

It's all about the demographics. Those kind of "AAA" games, the gritty, realistic type, cater to the exact opposite of what the average audience on Nintendo platforms is. Nine-out-of-ten gamers on Nintendo platforms just aren't looking for those kind of experiences, but rather something else.

Publishers just need to be smarter about it.

Smarter about they put out on WiiU and 3DS and smarter about what not. I'm positive Kingdom Hearts 3 for example will sell on a Nintendo platform. I'm also positive Resident Evil will be worthwhile on a Nintendo console, as time has proven time and time again (RE:R on WiiU doesn't really count because of the 3DS version, just look at the franchise on GC or Wii). Even Batman showed promise with the sales for a late port that was Arkham City, until they ruined it with Origins and not releasing Knight at all.



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Mr Puggsly on 19 August 2014
padib said:
Mr Puggsly said:

Ubisoft knows how to make money with Wii U. Low budget, family friendly products. They aren't complaining about how Rayman and Just Dance performed.

Wii U struggles to sell big budget mature stuff. That's the support going away.

You mentioned Shovel Knight. That's kind of product I would expect Nintendo fans to enjoy and it didn't need huge sales to be worthwhile on Wii U. That was a low risk game.

Exactly. It's low risk because it makes sense on the U. The budget is rightly set so that 50k sold is considered a success. It was designed to cater to that type of people (I hope you read the article at this point) and so was sold on a Nintendo system. That's being intelligent.

So it has nothing to do with mature or not mature. It has everything to do with being something that can sell on a Nintendo console. A sequel to a shooter game that is released on other consoles is certainly NOT going to sell on the U.

Low budget is part of what makes a game a smart release. Family friendly is not necessary, as we've shown time and time again in this thread. 700k for ZombiU would be a smashing success for a low-budget game. It certainly would be for Shovel Knight.

It sounds like you begrudge Ubisoft for bringing big budget games to Wii U. Ultimately, they tested the water and it failed.

Now you'll get your wish, lower budget games. Maybe even some shovelware.



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PattonFiend on 19 August 2014

WTF is Just Dance?



TheWPCTraveler on 19 August 2014
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.



 
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Nintentacle on 19 August 2014

Yeah, with a difference of nearly nothing! Yay (Not to mention Black Flag has sold more than Just Dance on Wii U in 2014)



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flagstaad on 19 August 2014
padib said:

They don't sell either. But they still outsold JD or statistically tie out.

http://www.vgchartz.com/gamedb/?name=&publisher=&platform=WiiU&genre=&minSales=0&results=200

O god, those numbers are depressing, but they only help to prove that 3rd party companies should not invest on the Wii U. The top 9 games sold are all published by Nintendo, and at 10th place you have the wild ZombiU that was heavily bundled and got cheap pretty fast.

I will miss Ubisoft games for my Wii U, I have Rayman Legends, Assassin's Creed 3 and 4, Splinter Cell: blacklist and I am planing to buy Watch_dogs when it releases.

I will not look too much into that list, or I might start crying... Deus Ex 50k? Injustice 90k? Splinter Cell 70k? and just dance 2014 280k... I am depressed.



Captain_Tom on 19 August 2014
padib said:
Um, no.

It's not about just dance or other experiences, it's about games they like. ZombiU sold relatively well though maybe not the numbers Ubi was looking for.

Nintendo gamers buy certain types of games, and that may not necessarily mean Just Dance. A great recent example is Shovel Knight. Don't come and tell me that's like Just Dance Mr. Guillemot.

If Just Dance sold more than AC, then he is correct.  Period.



Arcturus on 19 August 2014

Can't say I'm surprised by this news. Ubisoft did a better job than most bringing third-party titles to the Wii U. The audience for these types of games just isn't there on the Wii U.



AZWification on 19 August 2014

Well, if WD is going to be the last M-rated game published by Ubisoft for the WiiU, then I guess the WiiU will still get the future Rayman games, Beyond Good & Evil 2, etc...



                
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VanceIX on 19 August 2014

Sounds about right. 3rd party mainstream games hardly sell well on the Wii U.



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