The Wii's main competition, from the 3rd party perspective, is not the PS3 or the X360.

Until the Wii gets close to the 80-100M units sold mark, the publishers aren't going to want to make exclusive, high-budget games for it, and exclude the "other" worlds most popular console -- that's of course assuming the "other" console's sales don't pick up in some miraculous fashion.

Businessmen don't limit themselves in terms of hardware generations, and honestly they don't really have any basis to reason that, if a Wii game is written as an exclusive, it will sell a load more than a Wii/other crossplat version will, and make more profit.

Some brave publishers need to bite the bullet and exclude the "other" platform, when making a big title, and then subsequently strike it big, in order for the others to follow suit before the number of Wiis in the hands of the consumer justifies it otherwise.

Wii fans should pay attention to the Wii's marketshare relative to the PS2, not the HD consoles -- that's how the publishers still see it. Its cheap and easy to port to the Wii from the PS2, and thusfar, the sales seem to definately justify having both versions, and not just the one. Vicious circle, isn't it?

@Esa-Petteri: "Birdmen" is very descriptive term (especially for the logic), that's why i decided to use it. Usually i've said "followers", since they follow where they think the money's at. Btw, "birdmen" aren't exclusive to videogame or entertainment industry, they're everywhere.

So, the games sell because they feature Nintendo characters? Nintendo isn't the only one with multi-billion franchises, but we haven't yet seen 3rd parties putting their own equivalent franchises on Wii with the same level of effort that Nintendo have put into its own.

MKWii was basically the same to MK64 (or DD), that MK64 was to MK.
SMG went more back to SMB3, than Sunshine or 64.
Brawl was more like a "PS360 game", with added online, new characters and improved visuals.

lol @ Esa-Petteri

XDD that's a wish..those games are great
wanna see a game that sells on brand name alone?

God of War

it keeps selling less each time..

that's the fate of games that sell solely on brand name

the ignorance from you is astounding..just accept that the 3d parties don't get it..because Mario Kart Wii (a Quality game) is selling like crazy...

Nintendo themselves explained that it was a bridge game...

galaxy, TP, MP3, Brawl are NOT bridge games..they sell mostly to core nintendo fans..
Mario Kart Wii sells to everyone..not just the Core of the market

but I understand someone like you won't get it..you're just a game fanatic
and don't understand anything about business

we all know that most shovelware titles on the Wii don't sell great
RRR was one of the first minigame compilations on the Wii...ofcourse it sold well..nobody said minigames aren't allowed to sell

Carnival games also sold

besides that..I sadly don't see any other minigame compilations selling well
(besides maybe warioware)

most copycats fail..

I will repeat others
Nintendogz beat PETZ...it's a better game and not shovelware..and was actually new..while petz is a copycat(lol at the irony)

Deca sports failed

We Ski failed..iirc

all you do is mention some of the copy games that accidentally sold (due to being different in a way they did not expect)

but forget to mention the huge amount of shovelware that is easily forgotten...
maybe it really is that forgettable


we tend to only see the single facet of a certain subject, in the way we want to see it..

you aren't even trying to understand why it sold..or why it didn't sell you're just shouting random crap, without even a single use of common knowledge
I think you shouldn't be allowed to talk about business as if you knew what was going on..it's simply arrogant

but on topic: NMH is a very niche game..sorry..that type of game doesn't sell too well, yet it did amazingly..best-selling Suda game EVER(not because of the Wii right?)

RE4 is a very OLD last gen game..one of the best..most core gamers played it by now, yet it sold VERY well on the Wii..(oops..yes..that's bad right? I guess EVERY CORE GAMER and their mom bought a copy for shits and giggles)

Okami is an old last gen game..ported to the Wii sold more in the same time frame as the PS2 version.. (lol..nope..this game doesn't sell apparently according to your laws)

CoD:WaW brings nothing new to the table of what the Wii crowd demands, and is a very downgraded port..and NOT a genuine try: what would make the game great is gameplay..not the physics or graphics, sadly they chose to exclude Co-op, zombie multiplayer and about any other multiplayer feature..except for deathmatch and team deathcmatch..
most Core gamers on the Wii are waiting for The Conduit (better experience than a downgraded port)..and might get CoD:WaW on another console/PC (oops..guess everyone HAS to won only a single console..)

I tried my best..if you don't get it still, you never will ^_~

@deathcape

Now who is being fanatical here. You should just face the fact that third parties really do "get" the wii.

If deca sports and We skii failed, what do you think of these games (sold less than we ski and without a doubt these games have bigger budgets) :

http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=13793&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=12755&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=13684&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=12971&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=12367&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=4935&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=14677&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=7667&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=24197&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=13686&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=637&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=12534&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=13703&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=7700&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=6974&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=13791&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=12813&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=7666&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=5903&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=3627&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=16847&region=All
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=21877&region=All

I tried not to include a lot of shovelware, but there may be some included. I guess these are all huge failures? I think most of them are at least some kind of quality titles. Some are considered to "bring something new to the table" and some of them are proven franchises. Can you tell me, what kind of game would sell on wii? Please do, since you seem to understand the market so well. :)

I will wait... to see what kind of excuses you are making when the conduit bombs.

nevermind mr trolly hardcore..

I just explained to you how it works..yet you fail to understand any type of logic..it's okay

have fun being ignorant ^_^

because most of those games..what did you want to point out with that? some of them sold well and gave profit..others didn't sell well...but I already explained why in my previous post..now apply that logic to those games and you MIGHT understand why it happend..

a perfect example as to why you don't try: you just pull random number sout of your ass..and now what?

you didn't break down my arguments..please try?

@deathcape

Arguments? Where?

"just accept that the 3d parties don't get it..because Mario Kart Wii (a Quality game) is selling like crazy..."

"I will repeat others
Nintendogz beat PETZ...it's a better game and not shovelware..and was actually new..while petz is a copycat(lol at the irony)"

and so on?

Sorry, I did not find nintendogz on wii. If you really want me to comment your writings, try a little harder with your grammar. Of course calling people troll and ignorant isn't helping.

yup you got it..now use those arguments as to why those copies failed..and you might understand..ofcourse..a port of a bad game to the wii will not result in miraculous sales..

More 3rd party Wii games would make me very happy.

Ok. Since there are no copy of mario kart wii, there can't be a failure either. Nintendogz has sold 0 units on wii, so there can't be a failure either.

http://vgchartz.com/games/index.php?name=nintendogz&console=&region=All&developer=&publisher=&genre=&keyword=&boxart=Both&results=50&order=Hits

Now can you tell me what kind of games would sell on wii? Third party, not nintendo games.

See? I think this is really the problem right here. Why should anyone have to make "excuses" if The Conduit bombs? If it does bomb, whose fault is it?

Is it somehow the Wii's fault, which provides a platform for game companies to reach potential customers? Or the fault of the people who own a Wii, who would rather buy some other game instead? I'm sure it's not deathcape's fault, right?

If The Conduit bombs, we'll all analyze it and try to figure out the reasons for it, but the "fault" would belong to High Voltage & Sega, right? It will have been great of them to put some sort of effort into the project, but effort isn't always enough -- it doesn't guarantee success.

It seems like you want to prove somehow that games simply cannot sell on the Wii (outside of legacy franchises, and a hazy category of "minigames" which you seem to feel is somehow intrinsically worthless), which isn't true at all. Only the right games can sell on the Wii, because it has a particular market with its own likes and dislikes, but that's a truism for every system.

Is The Conduit the "right game," in the same way that RE4 and GHIII and SMG were the right games? I don't know, and it's not my business to know -- I don't have millions of dollars on the line, the way some investors might. But it is the business of third parties to know, and I feel that is the heart of Reggie's complaint: instead of really applying themselves to the task of capitalizing on Wii's current success and future potential -- instead of making true efforts to "get" what makes certain games appeal to Wii owners as opposed to others -- they're lazily treating Wii as just another system, and in some cases, as an afterthought.

Will Reggie suffer from these third parties shortsightedness? Current sales trends say "no." But the third parties themselves just might.