Topic: If Wii Games Undersell, Why is Quality Improving?

I noticed a lot of complaints about Wii sells. Even companies that appeared to have success on Wii like EA and Ubi Soft are starting to become outspoken of their disappointment. If this is in fact the case, why does 2010 look fairly promising. You've still got games like Silent Hill, Lost in Shadow, Calling, Crystal Bearers, and Red Steel 2 coming out.

If sell are so poor on Wii. Shouldn't these developers just cut their loses and focus on HD platforms?

I'm only bringing this up because I support Wii and it seems like there is light at the end of the tunnel before a new Nintendo platform is released.

Games take about 2 years for development. EA in the past month cut at least 10 projects, which I'm assuming were core titles for Wii. So developers NOW will think twice before supporting Wii. But even so, hopefully Nintendo will finally announce their new console this spring -- unless they want to be like Sony and deny everything until 2 weeks before it hits.

To be frank, Wii (the hardware) is not worth any good game in 2009. But thanks to God there are some developers that still want to produce games for it (no idea why). It is something like having companies creating games today for the SNES or N64. This is outstanding for SNES or N64 users, but it is clear that these games would look far better and would be developped in much less time if done for XBOX or PS3. Now if you ask me, as a Zelda "follower", what do you prefer, having Niyamoto and company developing new Zelda for the Wii or for the PS3? Well, Im a Wii user, but the answer would be only one: PS3, of course, Zelda concept is too good to be done for the Wii.

I'm glad I live in a world where it can be implied that a divine entity intervenes in mortal affairs on Nintendo's behalf.

& I'm betting you're one of these "hardcore" people that cry on the boards that no "hardcore" games sells well on the Wii but won't buy these games yourself. Graphics do not make a game. Of course you won't listen cause you really don't care if a game is good or not, you only want to look a pretty shiny graphics that hide that the game isn't good.

I don't agree with so many things in this thread that it's hard for me to encompass all my thoughts on this discussion lol:). First off, the Wii hardware is more than enough to do graphically stunning games. A game does not have to be 1080p to be FUN....and this argument has been made time and time again to the competitions peril(I remember Sega boasting the technical superiority to the nintendo hardware). I don't think games made for the 360 or ps3 are going to translate because those games rely on those hd advantages those systems have. I won't say they aren't good because I like some of them myself, but even if you have one of those systems, there's still a place for a Wii in your gaming arsenal.

I think it's worth it to buy a Wii for muramasa alone(tell me that game isn't stunning), and considering Wii is still to the day outselling the others when so many huge titles that will be good on the way(other m, zelda wii), I'm sure there's many titles to come....and the Wii has a lot going for it besides that(I love the VC).

I think that you can't look at the game sales the same way for the Wii that you do for the 360/ps3....entirely bigger demographic that has gamers in it but has a much more varied audience. I think those game sales are going to come around, Nintendo just have to appeal a little bit more to the hardcore which I think they are doing and planning to do because they have incentive to do so and with the DSi doing so well, Nintendo is not in any bind. The Wii is a big success for Nintendo after their last 2 consoles, they have every incentive to do what the gamers want and for the Wii. Remember the best titles for Nintendos most successful consoles in the past came during it's entire life span....there's lot's of new wii owners every day(I'm one of them) considering it's still the top selling console, it's likely us Wii fans have a lot of good stuff coming our way.

BTW, so what if UBISOFT is complaining about games sales....if I see that damn rabbid game again I'm gonna put my foot through the TV....talk about sucky. Make a good game and I'll buy it.

You mean other than Miyamoto?

Maybe the quality is going up because of poor sales.

That was what I was hoping for. Hard to tell though. Ubi Soft has started making more than shovelware. Rabbids Go Home is great fun, as is the visceral feel of snowboarding on the balance board in the Shaun White games. Avatar, while a little on the unpolished side, has some truly enjoyable moments. The balance board flying levels are amazing despite what reviewers may say.

If Red Steel 2 doesn't sell well Im betting they will be out of the shooters genre or more Older Audience Games just like EA. Point is, who is going to try to put years into making a great game and know that you will possibly not make your money back or vey little profit. Its just not worth it to a developer. I cant tell you how many guys I know my age that have a Wii just collecting dust and they were buying everything when the Wii launched. I dont know, but the games just dont sell on the Wii but sell like freakin crazy on PS3/360.

I was going to theorize that myself. They want more sales, so they're putting in more effort.

Wii gamers never buy third party games. They only ever buy Nintendo games

oh wait....

Obviously third party games aren't going to sell as well as Super Mario Galaxy and others but why are we surprised at this? Its not like we expect Viva Pinata to outsell Halo 3 on the 360, why should the Wii be any different? You can't compare third party games on the Wii to third party games on the PS3/360 because most of the time the quality and the marketing isn't there. What third party game does the Wii have that compares to the quality and level of marketing Modern Warfare 2 has got? or even the Bioshocks and Mass Effects?

The only third party game I have seen advertised on TV for the Wii have been party games, fitness games, Guitar games and... well recently Cricket. Nothing with any substance and/or quality behind it or at least not to the people who call themselves "hardcore". Cricket and EA Sports Active are both selling quite well here which is to be expected, they were heavily marketed.

Why then do we expect these other games to do well with no marketing? How about instead of blaming the market these publishers grit their teeth, make something interesting, market the hell out of it and watch it sell. The consumers aren't stupid, the best games on Wii ARE currently made by Nintendo and they buy them because they are good and they have heard about them NOT because Nintendo made them.

viva pinata is a first party game man.

@skywake

One game does not equal a trend.

I agree with that theory. Look at the Dreamcast. Plenty of great games undersold for that console but the quality of later games kept increasing, resulting in a.... happy... ending? Ok, bad example.

FPS only cares about first person shooters. does not believe gameplay is better than graphics,does not like games like super mario bro. thinks wii is for kids. so typical of a FPS fan this is nintendo life not HD life.....

edit:how would you like a horribal game with great graphics like if their was ninja gengerbread man on the ps3?

I didn't realise that but that wasn't my point. I was saying that we can't expect a game that gets little advertising and is of perceived lower quality to sell as good as games that get both advertising and have a brand behind them.

@The Fox
The Guitar Hero and Rock Band series and Tiger Woods 10 all sold better on Wii than the other platforms combined. In Australia that Ashes Cricket game is selling phenomenally well because Nintendo are putting adds with Glenn McGrath as our Cricket season starts to pick up. It isn't just one game.

These publishers have nobody to blame but themselves.

What.

a FPS fan only cares about first person shooters and thinks all games that are not rated T or M are bad.

FPS games don't have to be "rated T or M" and "T or M" games don't have to be FPS games. Actually, some of the biggest "mature games" on the major consoles like Mass Effect have more in common with Zelda than they do with Halo.