By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Nintendo - Wiiware developer: Just 100k for small games on retail....

alfredofroylan on 22 April 2009

... are enough to get money.

As we wrapped up our interview, Hollis deflected a question about recent gaming media reporting about WiiWare sales thresholds. One report indicated that games would need to sell between 2,000 and 6,000 copies before developers would be awarded royalties. “I can keep a secret,” Hollis said. When pressed, he added, “The normal deal for a really small retail game is that you have to sell 100,000 units, ballpark. For a larger game you have to sell one million, two million or more… My point of view is that WiiWare is great for creativity and for the business side. All the developers I know feel the same way.”

I'm wondering exactly how small he's talking, but that numer is quite low.



Around the Network
Aj_habfan on 22 April 2009

Didn' t that Moon game need 90k? I'd guess they would have to be extremely small games on consoles.



SaviorX on 22 April 2009

Which retail games are considered small? That's what we need to figure out.



Leatherhat on July 6th, 2012 3pm. Vita sales:"3 mil for COD 2 mil for AC. Maybe more. "  thehusbo on July 6th, 2012 5pm. Vita sales:"5 mil for COD 2.2 mil for AC."

noname2200 on 23 April 2009

Can you provide a link please?



salaminizer on 23 April 2009

considering the amount of japanese games that sell less than that and are still being made, I'm sure that for certain games costs are much lower than we usually think



the words above were backed by NUCLEAR WEAPONS!

Around the Network
noname2200 on 23 April 2009

Nevermind, found it.



BengaBenga on 23 April 2009

Well, if Yakuza 3 breaks even at ~500.000 copies it's obvious that the average Wii game needs much less.

It's often reported that Wii development is 1/2 to 1/4 of the cost of HD development, so for projects the size of Yakuza 3 (which aren't very abundant for Wii sadly) we can say that it takes 125.000-250.000 copies to break even.

I would put a game like MadWorld in that category.





Oyvoyvoyv on 23 April 2009
noname2200 said:
Nevermind, found it.

So show it to us! Don't be a selfish mongrel.

Or... Are you afraid to be arrested for file-sharing?

 



http://www.vgchartz.com/games/userreviewdisp.php?id=261

That is VGChartz LONGEST review. And it's NOT Cute Kitten DS

SaviorX on 23 April 2009
BengaBenga said:
Well, if Yakuza 3 breaks even at ~500.000 copies it's obvious that the average Wii game needs much less.

It's often reported that Wii development is 1/2 to 1/4 of the cost of HD development, so for projects the size of Yakuza 3 (which aren't very abundant for Wii sadly) we can say that it takes 125.000-250.000 copies to break even.

I would put a game like MadWorld in that category.

So would I.

It is already touching that category with 156k. If it gets around 325k it should be around the break even point. But in order to be a true success, I think it needs to "prove" it is almost as lucrative as Yakuza, so 450k should be a LTD point to go by.......

 

But seeing how Yakuza is only in one territoy, that might not look right. But Y1 & 2 in the past have supposedly not even alotted 90k together in NA/Others, so I figure the point is moot.



Leatherhat on July 6th, 2012 3pm. Vita sales:"3 mil for COD 2 mil for AC. Maybe more. "  thehusbo on July 6th, 2012 5pm. Vita sales:"5 mil for COD 2.2 mil for AC."

noname2200 on 23 April 2009
Oyvoyvoyv said:
noname2200 said:
Nevermind, found it.

So show it to us! Don't be a selfish mongrel.

Or... Are you afraid to be arrested for file-sharing?

 

Pirate4Life!

Nah, here you go.

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/04/22/goldeneye-developer-proud-to-plug-wiis-barber-game-genre-gap/

It's mostly about Bansai Barber, rather than the blurb quoted, but enjoy!