and I don't understand the second hand market... They sell Wii Play for $20-30 used without the controller. Crazy....

Riddle me this my friends: I love Nintendo, and always have, but when they succeed I argue that they fail. Also, I hate them. What am I?

Answers are only acceptable as images or haikus.

You CAN criticize something you like.  It is possible to be aware something has both pros and cons.  All the consoles have them, as do their sales and portfolios and libraries (and they've all been mentioned on this site ad nauseum).  My two favorite franchises are Halo and Elder Scrolls, and I am WELL aware of the flaws in both of those series.  I can point out that the climax of H3's story is totally bogus while loving the Saved Films feature and online.  I can bemoan the fatal bugs of Elder Scrolls games while loving Oblivion despite being unable to finish the thieves storyline due to fatal glitches.

Just because we love something doesn't mean it's perfect and not ripe for some bashing.

lol, come on now, everyone knows that the wii sells software. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's got the most million sellers out of all 3 systems

its just that lately, PS360 have been seeing the start of some of the huge holiday games releasing.

But the response to these posts is always the same.  RE4 is a port (albeit an improved one).  GH3 is a port.  Game Party is a top seller with 1.44 million sold worldwide with a 25 metacritic rating. Boom Blox is at 560k with an 85 metacritic rating.  Ratings aren't everything, but a 25?  Really?

It's not about one million sales.  That's an arbitrary number that's just a nice easy one.  But look at the top 3rd party games critically - the Zack& Wiki (450k)  and Boom Blox (560k) and No More Heroes (360k).  We all know the Psychonauts and Beyond Good and Evils and the like on other systems that commercially underperformed compared to their quality and critical love, because its fairly rare for it to happen.  Except for on Wii.

And Wii Play sells 15 million at a 58 metacritic and that's supposed to be a time to celebrate for gaming?

Every system has junk on it.  And some of that junk sells.  But where is Wii's success stories in moving GOOD, new original product for 3rd parties.  It's not like these are little companies behind these games.  Boom Blox is EA-published.  Zack is Capcom. 

You guys act like I am the first one to raise this concern for Wii.

Its like Benga said - I'm just saying it is not a *linear* relationship between install base and overall sales.

Its a lot closer to "current software sales is proportional to current hardware sales" - hence massive software sales at a console launch, when the install base is ZERO. And when a platform dies out (i.e. GBA), software sales drop to almost zero - even though it has a huge install base.

...

As a counter-example to what you wrote - look at Bioshock on the PS3. New platform, enhanced port, increases the install base by 50% over the current one - you would expect sales to match the install base ratios? Yet they barely registered.

There is *no* algorithm, or direct relationship between install base & software sales.

As for those games you mentioned - is there any proof that going multiplatform significantly increased sales in the long term? Its impossible to know - some games have a higher '%' of being console sellers - people buying any hardware to play the game. Other games are more impulse/casual buys, meaning that install base is more relevant.

The main reason they are multi-platform is a financial one - its CHEAP to turn a 360 (or PS3) game into a PS3 AND 360 game - and from a "risk" point of view, there is an excellent chance you will sell enough on the non-dominant platform to cover this additional development cost. And as for FFXIII - we know there are "sweeteners" from MS in the package - the game *might* sell badly on the 360, and not be worth the port at all - we just don't know ATM.

And its the same reason the games did NOT come to the Wii - which would have doubled the overall install base again, right?

...

Its a complex issue. There is also the factor of platform overlap - a lot of people have PS3 AND 360 consoles - so they *choose* one of the platforms when buying a game like DMC4 (or GTA4). If the 360 version was not released, a lot of people would have bought the PS3 version instead - as they *already* owned the PS3 hardware (as well a 360). Heck, some people bought the game on BOTH platforms.

...

Anyway, you get the point :)

The only "cheating" Nintendo is doing is with WiiPlay. They are using their dominant market position to force retailers to stock WiiPlay *instead* of controllers.

I don't mind software bundled with hardware - when you only need ONE unit of the hardware.

I was not very impressed a few months back, when I went into JB to buy two more controllers - only to be "forced" to buy two MORE copies of WiiPlay instead. It only came to $5 more each - but they just DIDN'T STOCK CONTROLLERS ANY MORE.

...

So I have ended up buying THREE copies of WiiPlay - the only time in my life I have bought more than one copy of ANY game. One got given away, the other is around... somewhere.

And of course, there is zero 2nd-hand retail value in WiiPlay...

...

Not looking forward to the day when an "excellent" Wii game comes out that requires TWO WiiBalance boards. I don't mind buying another board controller - but buying another copy of WiiFit, no thanks. I hope Ninty ends up bundling it with some other game in the long term...

Exactly, ratings are not everything.  Price is an important factor.

Boom box: $49  (ok, finally $39 now).  I'm not paying $50 for a puzzle game.  Probably not $39, but might consider it because of the reviews, or at a sale or used.

Game Party: $15 (actually $19, but you can get it for $15 from amazon right now).

It is strange how sometimes reviewers will take price into consideration, and other times they do not.  Wiiware they seem to consider it, but not for box games.  Given the price, game party probably deserves at least a 35.

(and in case you are wondering...   no I have never played game party...  so maybe it doesn't deserve a 35...)

"Third party games that aren't made, can't sell. So except for Boom Blox, Zack & Wiki and No More Heroes which were all successful and met the sales expectations of their respective publishers, which other good new IPs from third parties which apparently didn't sell well are there on the Wii? If you can't think of any others, you don't have a point and your argument that good new IPs from third parties can't sell on the Wii has been entirely disproven"


You just made my point. Where are they? And why aren't the few that are on the system supported in a better manner? Why are people so willing to eat the junk food but won't support the good stuff in better numbers? Good new IP on Wii with a worldwide base of over 30 million is a success at 350k? Turning a profit and "meeting expectations" is good. Where's the Dead Rising/Lost Planet/Assassin's Creed/Bioshock surprise hit new IP for the Wii platform? Stuff that actually surpasses expectations and catches fire? I guess that's my question and concern about it.

No, they act like you're the 100th troll to stroll in with a basket full of freshly picked cherries, thinking that you have a point when you don't.

I mean it's pretty obvious when you went running to metacritic. How much of an impact has metacritic had on the industry for the past 20 or 30 years? That's right; not much. So you acknowledge that metacritic is irrelevant to these games' sales yet you cling to its arbitrary scores anyway? Your entire argument is based on twisting and ignoring facts, logic and reality.

We've seen the concern trolls pretend like they care about Goichi Suda and the sales of No More Heroes while blatantly ignoring how elated he and Marvelous were at it being the most successful Grasshopper game to date. We've seen people pretend that Zack & Wiki's success is nullified because it got outsold by a minigame compilation with more appeal and at half the price. And we've seen Boom Blox go from a game no one paid attention to until it came out, to being some holy grail that supposedly isn't selling enough (enough being what, exactly?).

We've heard it all and its been disproven countless times by the members here and the mere fact of reality itself. Find a new shtick.