http://blogs.pcworld.com/gameon/archives/007647.html

What's Up with the Nintendo

Anyone noticed the recent dearth of intriguing, headline-grabbing games for the Nintendo Wii? Some 555,000 little white boxes leapt off store shelves in July U.S. sales, according to NPD data, and Nintendo certainly did brisk top 10 software sales with Wii Play, Mario Kart, and Wii Fit. But look a little closer -- those three games came out in February, April, and May, respectively. Scan July's top software SKUs and the 360 and PS3 snatched five spots between NCAA Football 09, Soul Calibur IV, and Civilization Revolution -- all July releases.

While that speaks well of Nintendo's ability to sell more of less, is it setting the company up for a saturation crash, when the demographic lode its cracked wide open eventually taps out?

Check out Gamestop online. The front page is a great big love letter to PC, 360, and P3 gamers. Other than the multi-platform Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, there's not a Wii game in sight. Click on Gamestop's Wii-specific link and it's like falling into a vat of vanilla. Mario Super Sluggers, victim of lackluster reviews, headlines the portal. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 and Guitar Hero: World Tour are ports. The only "bestselling" portal-splashed game is currently Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility.

Still awake?

The 360 has Gears of War 2 and Fable 2. The PS3 has Resistance 2 and Little Big Planet. Lord of the Rings: Mines of Moria and Red Alert 3 and Wrath of the Lich King are incoming for PC gamers. Multi-platform majors include Crysis: Warhead (PC), Silent Hill: Homecoming (360, PS3), Dead Space (PC, 360, PS3), Far Cry 2 (PC, 360, PS3), Fallout 3 (PC, 360, PS3), Mirror's Edge (PC, 360, PS3), Tom Clancy's Endwar (PC, 360, PS3, PSP, DS), and Left 4 Dead (PC, 360). And that's just plucking from the pre-holiday lineup.

The Wii? Try de Blob, Samba de Amigo, Wario Land: Shake It!, Cooking Mama World Kitchen, and Wii Music. Wii Music? According to Shigeru Miyamoto, it's "more interesting than a video game." Maybe because it isn't a video game?

I can't wait to see how stuff like Fracture (360, PS3) and Rise of the Argonauts (PC, 360, PS3) and the new Prince of Persia (PC, 360, PS3, DS) game pan out. NBA 09: The Inside (PS3, PSP, PS2) and Lord of the Rings: Conquest (PC, 360, PS3, DS) and The Last Remnant (360) certainly have my curiosity halfway piqued.

But Twin Strike: Operation Thunder or Pitfall: The Big Adventure or Margot's Word Brain? Not so much.

….

My Comments

Basically now Nintendo’s problem is that its games have “legs” (long-term demand) while the games of other consoles sell quickly then stop selling.

Peckham also has some factual errostrs and erroneous assumptions.

First, placement on Gamestop’s webpage is not a true indicator of value. And if it is like placement in the store, it is often bought. (Related, Gamestop is not the end all for Wii sales, like it is for other console sales).

Second, SW: TFU for the Wii has a unique mode – dual mode – that have people talking. So it is good to feature it.

Third, Mario Super Sluggers had a Gamerankings.com score of 72 on Sept. 5. Not great. But the same as Infinite Undiscovery and three points higher than Too Human.

Fourth, Tiger Woods 09 for the Wii is not a port but built from the ground-up for the Wii. Related, Guitar Hero is multiplatform. Both were released at the same time as games for other systems. (Ports are games released later – i.e., Rock Band).

Fifth, I don’t know how why “best selling” is in quotes or how Harvest Moon – not yet released – qualifies for that.

On the section of “to be released” games, the games for other systems are expected to live up to their hype while the Wii games are thought to automatically be inferior. While I won’t speak to the games for other systems, I will note that De Blob is getting great press and Wario Shake It has goos (edited from great) reviews. And Wii Music will probably get poor reviews and sell 5-10M. (The cash-in and shovelware titles listed at the end notwithstanding … but every console has those).

Peckham has a track record of underestimating and underappreciating the Wii. He just does not get it. And to make matters … more interesting … he responds to comments when people post them.

Mike from Morgantown

Holy shit.
This guy seems like an arrogant typical fanboy.

His whole article just confirms that he doesn't have a very strong understanding of how publishers plan their content.

It's pathetic really...to be in his paid position with the media and be so ignorant regarding the industry he scribes.

I am not saying he's wrong, i am saying he's fucking wrong.

what he fail to realize is that by JAN 09, Wiifit alone will outsell all console games this holiday.

And someone else completely misses the point of the Wii.

Let me spell it out for this guy. The. Wii. Is. Not. About. Traditional. Games. The reason why there's so little in the way of established franchises on the Wii is because its revolutionary new method of control demands entirely new approaches to gaming in general. If all you're interested in playing is the same crap you've been playing since you were ten, then the Wii isn't for you.

However, I, for one, will take Wario Land, Samba de Amigo, and de Blob any day over the generic laundry list of shooters he listed.

man..I wish I could get paid for talking bullshit..

I'd be freaking rich..

What an moron. I would have been embarrassed to put my name to such an ill informed, short sighted, biased and factually incorrect article when i was still in junior high and this guy is supposed to be some kind of journalist....it's just sad.

Am I the only suprised to learn that Wii Play came out in Feb?

I think there are more games than that coming out this Christmas. Star Wars: The Clone Wars, COD5, SimCity Creator, Monster Lab, ToS: DotNW, Animal Crossing, Bond with splitscreen, Deadly Creatures... And that's just what we know. Disaster is probably in there somewhere. There's something for everyone, spanning many genres, tradional, casual, and non-gamer alike.

Can somebody fetch my Wii Bingo board? I gotta dust it off; haven't used it in a few days....

Is he aware that Animal Crossing and Wii Music alone can outsell 60% of those games combined for the holidays? Add in Wii Fit and the percentage goes a little higher.

I really want to know how much he gets paid, to spew garbage... I REALLY want to know.

Off-topic: Sarah Palin eerily reminds me of Cammie Dunaway