Lightning Fish Games CEO Simon Prytherch has been having a good old moan about the Wii's performance this year. However, rather than blame the innocent, virgin-white waggle box, he has aimed guns at the creators of sloppy shovelware, claiming that sub-par videogames have been the root of the issue.
"I don't think you can ever write Nintendo off, but the Wii market -- from a third party software developer and publisher perspective -- is over-saturated with product," he explains. "Consumers have been damaged by a lot of sub-standard software, so now they only trust big Nintendo brands. So going forward we're moving onto other platforms, and we always have been over the course of the company. But in this coming year we're definitely going to be doing PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 titles."
Prytherch has high hopes for the waggle-based chicanery coming from Sony and Microsoft, but believes that good games will be the real key to success for Project Natal and the Sony Wiimote: "The short answer is that they'll have a huge impact. The longer answer is that they'll only have a huge impact once people start designing specifically for those controllers. The first-person shooters and driving games -- they've already got a really good controller that people are really happy with as a hardcore audience.
"There will be totally new genres that will be developed for those controllers, and it would be foolish of me to try and predict what they'll be - but I'd say they do involve a lot more characterisation and story, and a lot more social interaction."
We'll see if Natal and the Sony Wiimote can bring good software. My fear is that they'll just open the floodgates for crap like Carnival Games HD.
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"I don't think you can ever write Nintendo off, but the Wii market -- from a third party software developer and publisher perspective -- is over-saturated with product," he explains. "Consumers have been damaged by a lot of sub-standard software, so now they only trust big Nintendo brands."
Sounds about right. The Wii with is a minefield of shovelware, and I'm sure plenty of gamers have been badly burned. Just goes to show that maybe you should read reviews about a game before you buy it.
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My main complaint with Carnival Games was that it would be better in HD. What can I say, I'm a graphics whore.
Edit: Does it sound to anyone else like they're saying "We really f*ed the Wii audience over, and ourselves as well, so now we're going to focus on making good games for PS360 and their new motion controllers instead making quality Wii games to win that audience back?" Better than blaming Nintendo, but still sucky for those who want 3rd party games.
I hear there is this big title called "Wii Fit" as well as another called "EA Sports Active". That company's niche isn't flooded by sub-standard software and if it is its probably his company's software that's the sub-standard software flooding the market.
Consumers have been damaged by a lot of sub-standard software, so now they only trust big Nintendo brands.
That is indeed the case, and is a much more enormous problem than anyone seems to realize. I have many relatives who know nothing about gaming but who purchased a Wii, and they all follow the same trajectory: love Wii Sports, then buy some random 3rd party game that has a cool cover at the store (not even understanding the difference between 1st and 3rd party, assuming everything with 'Wii' on it is from the same company), then find that the game is horrible, then pretty much stop buying random games and stick to ones with the big Nitendo icons (Mario etc) or ones they've heard a whole lot about from others (Wii Fit).
So, the terrible 3rd party games flooding the shelves make most consumers give up and stick to titles obviously produced by Nintendo. I can't blame them, either; the vast majority of my own Wii purchases are first party, and I pretty much recommend to anyone who doesn't know what's what in the gaming store that they should only buy 1st party games unless they feel like gambling with their cash.
That's why I'd actually be very much in favor of strict quality control, no matter how severe of dictatorial it may be. If Nintendo won't do it, I wish retailers would simply carry a much smaller selection, and forget quantity altogether in favor of making sure every item on the shelf is at least acceptably well made for its asking price.
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Yeah like Game who wouldnt stock Marumasa but they do stock Jasper Carrots Golden Balls and Deal or No Deal. And the great Rabbid games. I can see why european publishers wont pick up some of the good japanese stuff that at least comes out in america. Wont get marketed and perhaps not even stocked.
Havent seen so much shovelware on the shelves since 3D0 days and the wii stuff is actually worse.
Strangely, Nintendo did have a quality approval system for the NES (safeguard against the 1983 video game crash). If only they had kept a similar system in place for all their systems afterwards... I don't think we're in danger of another crash, but it would've helped their standing in the market and public opinion with the N64, GameCube, and now the Wii.
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Strangely, Nintendo did have a quality approval system for the NES (safeguard against the 1983 video game crash). If only they had kept a similar system in place for all their systems afterwards...
The seal of quality was to confirm that games would actually work on the machine. Not that it guaranteed a fun and enjoyable game.
Edgey, Gumshoe, Godot, Sissel, Larry, then Mia, Franziska, Maggie, Kay and Lynne.
I'm throwing my money at the screen but nothing happens!
Project Natal and the Sony (wiimote? what?) motion controller won't be as successful as the Wii. The Wii entered the market with very little competition and the other two now have to compete with the Wii, which a majority of their intended audience already owns
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Why is a designer of substandard software complaining about substandard software? Is it a joke?
perhaps he's taking a 'must've produced one to know one' approach?
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I don't really buy many third-party games for Wii, which is probably because of things discussed in the article. I also don't have any money, so substandard third party software is fine by me.
I would say software is damaged by substandard hardware, and never the opposite. The wii is just a tool to play games, same as my Pc, same as a PS3, even same as a shoe box (as long as it can execute games), why do you guys focus so much on the white box? I dont care at all about the white box, I care about games. If the white box is not able to have decent games, then might be it is time to add a different colour box to your livingroom, as long as you can play the games you want to play. If you tell me, do you know what, you can use your microwave to play Zelda, then I will use the microwave to play Zelda and will sell the Wii (at least the microwave have more than a single use). I care about Zelda (software), the hardware is just the accident you need to suffer to play the software you like to play.
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