It looks like THQ was on to something when they called Wii a "Monopoly box in a closet". Malstrom explains why it's really a 'Nightmare' for 3rd parties as well.
| Sean Malstrom said: ... From the beginning to the PlayStations, game consoles were seen as game consoles. The first party drove out the installed base, molded the hardware, and third parties jumped on board to sell to that installed base. Ever since the PlayStations, game consoles cease to exist in publishers’ eyes. There are no more game consoles, there are only platforms. What differentiates the platforms are not gameplay differences that hardware offers. No. It is demographics, it is cultures, it is gobblygook. When the consumer sees the Wii, they say, “Ooohhh, motion controls!” When a third party publisher looks at the Wii, they say, “Ooohhh, demographics and Wii-Sports clones!” They do not see motion controls. Or rather… The consumer sees the Wii and goes, “Wow! Motion controls! I wonder what type of new games will be made! This is wonderful!” Third Party publisher: “I hate motion controls! Is Nintendo deliberately trying to prevent me from porting my game over?” Third Parties, as has most of the game industry, have forgotten the difference between consoles and platforms. The consumers, however, have not. They recognized the Wii immediately for being a console instead of trying to establish a ‘platform’. This is why the more Nintendo differentiates the Wii from the ‘platforms’, the greater sales it enjoys. ... http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/wii-is-monopoly-box-stuck-in-the-closet/ |
He later goes on about how every "non-casual" game the wii gets contain every hardcore cliche and are either too weird or too generic.
