I think this answers a few questions.  One with what a huge debate why capcom didn't make RE5 for the wii.  Well, kind of more of a quote from Peter Moore why it doesn't make sense to multiplat for the wii.

Buzz up!vote now

April 16, 2009 1:51 P.M.

In the three years since it first launched, the Nintendo Wii has sailed past competing systems from Sony and Microsoft to consistently claim the top spot in the console war.

But if a recent rash of troubling stories about the Wii is a vision of things to come, the tide might be turning for the seemingly unbeatable machine.

Wii On Top For Now, But For How Long?

Chinks in the system's shiny white armor starting showing last month. Despite steady success in Japan, the Wii fell into second place in March as the underdogPlaystation 3 clambered atop the region's sales charts for the first time in 16 months. That was enough to garner some uncharacteristically somber commentsfrom Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, who deemed the climate in Japan "unhealthy" for the Wii.

But to Cowan & Company analyst Doug Creutz, the U.S. market isn’t necessarily any healthier, at least if you're thinking of investing in a console game. In an interview with Gamasutra, Creutz called the Wii "fool's gold" for third-party game developers.

"The choice here is really between investing for the Xbox 360 and PS3 -- since their capabilities are fairly similar -- or the Wii," he said. "I would caution investors and developers that the larger installed base of the Wii is really a bit of a red herring."

Crueutz goes on to point out that while the 19 million Wiis in North America trounce competing consoles individually, combined sales of the 360 and PS3 actually top 22 million. That represents a larger chunk of the pie for game developers who can more easily port games back and forth from the two systems. Additionally, Creutz notes that Nintendo's first-party games and the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises account for nearly one-half of all Wii software sales, a far larger percentage than what's found on the other consoles. Comparatively, the Wii is simply a tougher nut to crack for third-party developers.

Peter Moore, president of enormous third-party game maker EA Sports, echoed Creutz's concerns whilespeaking at a recent conference.

"You simply can't take what you're doing on the PS3 and Xbox and port - that's a dirty word - down to the Wii," he said, insisting that instead you have to build Wii games "from the ground up."

He's not the only one at EA with issues. Earlier in the month, an EA producer confessed to having troubleincorporating Nintendo's upcoming Wii MotionPlus control attachment into its Grand Slam Tennis game, raising questions about when the tech would be ready for consumers. Nintendo answered that by officially announcing a release date only to curiously push back the release of the game they've repeatedly used to show off the new technology, surefire smash sequel Wii Sports: Resort.

Of course, it's not all doom and gloom. NPD Group reports that the Wii again led the way in March 2009, outselling both the 360 and PS3 by a wide margin. Nintendo is also enjoying strong numbers for its newly released DSi handheld, with the company reporting first-week sales of over 600,000 units in the U.S. and Europe. Mario's checking account won't run out of funds any time soon.

The question is, will gamers run out of interest? The last two major first-party Wii games, Wii Music andAnimal Crossing: City Folk, failed to generate the kind of excitement (and, in turn, sales) that Nintendo is accustomed to, a fact that analyst Ed Barton of Screen Digest http://www.gamebizblog.com/gamebizblog/2009/04/wii-downturn-continues-in-japan-why.html">believes is a big reason why the Wii is struggling. While older blockbusters like Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii are still selling well, Barton points out that the company needs new experiences to drive new sales.

Nintendo hopes to deliver exactly that with upcoming high-profile games like the aforementioned Wii Sports sequel and a remake of classic boxing game Punch Out!, but that still leaves plenty of wiggle room for the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 to continue closing the gap. And if Japan is any indication (and it usually is), that gap can disappear in a heartbeat.

So what do you think? Is the Wii destined for a downfall, or is this just a mid-life crisis?

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/troubled-times-for-the-wii-/1306341

i think theres too much wii hating analysts out there. the wii is still selling better than ps360. anytime the wii sales drop, its trouble for nintendo. if thats so, ps360 must be dead soon.

When it comes right down to it, it doesn't matter how much the wii sells, it will never be as strong as the PS3 or the X360, those two consoles are much more powerful therefore they will ALWAYS have exclusives that'll never show up on wii and that is a fact.

Boy analysts are such fanboys. Wonder what Nintendo could have done to offend them so badly.

As I have said in another thread, Animal Crossing is a million-seller in Japan yet is being described as a failure.

And as I have said in another thread, this is the stage in its life that the PS2 got its first price cut -- a 33% reduction.


A lot of people -- in the industry and in the forums -- don't like the Wii and wish it ill. But it is not going away.

This article cherry-picks every negative or negative-sounding statement in the last month for the Wii and rolls them together. The Gamasutra forum featured another analyst who disagreed completly with the statement that is being quoted -- but no one seems to talk about that. EA's "problem" with WM+ was that it was too accurate/sensitive, in other words, it worked too well not that it did not work well enough.

There will always be games that don't come to a platform. And since it is not as powerful as the HD consoles of PS3 and Xbox 360, some games will not be on the Wii. But if they sell or have the potential, they will more often than not be there.

Mike from Morgantown

I'm not sure how the writer turned Peter Moore's comment into a bad thing for Wii. What he failed to mention is... EA now chooses to put more focus on Wii than PS3 and 360 together. And those are unique (or in other way, exclusive) games only for Wii.

Also, it is unclear where the following paragraph is referring to.

"The question is, will gamers run out of interest? The last two major first-party Wii games, Wii Music and Animal Crossing: City Folk, failed to generate the kind of excitement (and, in turn, sales) that Nintendo is accustomed to, a fact that analyst Ed Barton of Screen Digest believes is a big reason why the Wii is struggling. While older blockbusters like Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii are still selling well, Barton points out that the company needs new experiences to drive new sales."

It would be ok if it's describing Japan market. But as Mike pointed out, Animal Crossing is probably the only million seller in Japan that's described as a failure. If it's referring to Wii outside Japan, I find it amusing to see "Wii is struggling" since Wii still sells more than the other two consoles combined every week.

It's the same Wii hating that happened last year.

It's easy to point the finger at Wii's year-over-year drop from last March. Too easy.

It just seems like we're coming back to the same air of inevitability about the decline and fall of Wii, just like we had in early 07 (Wii is a fad)

Another day another time a person says Wii as dying. Why can't these guys be original for once.

It is true that Wii is struggling a little bit in recent times, notably Japan. But that doesn't mean its doing poorly. Still the fastest selling console ever and regularly outselling its competition by large margins. Aside from Japan, I doubt Nintendo is to stressed at how the Wii is doing. Although I do think they hope to further push sales and that is why WiiMotionPlus and Wii Sports Resort will be releasing soon.

All these "The Wii is in trouble" articles are going to look pretty dumb when Wii Sports Resort hits stores.