Topic: The end of “mature” games on Wii… a good thing?

It’s that time again, another mature Wii game has under performed at retail (Dead Space: Extraction) and the forums are full of conspiracy theorists, messages of Wii doom and fanboy rants each with their own idea of why this occurred. As a result many companies may be reluctant to release mature games on our favourite innocent white box, but is this really a bad thing?

Well if your tastes are similar to mine you bought your Wii for one reason only Nintendo Exclusives (Zelda, Mario, Metroid etc etc) anything other than these gems is a bonus, the interesting thing is that none of these titles fit into the category of mature, (Zelda and Metroid are 12+).

When I think of mature games I think of titles like Madworld, No More Heroes and Dead Space: Extraction games full of blood, coarse language and wanton violence. Things that as a Nintendo gamer don’t really appeal to me and I’m sure don’t really appeal to other Wii owners either thus their poor sales despite being good/great titles.

This means that publishers need to bring to the Wii more games that Wii owners actually want e.g. games like Street Fighter, Megaman, Zelda, Metroid, Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid games that cater to older gamers without the need for an 18+ rating. It may take a while, there hasn’t been a console like the Wii before so its kind of a wildcard and will take longer than usual for companies to suss out how to appeal to it’s user base but if they persevere they will be rewarded in kind!

Lets hope we get more games like Red Steel 2, Monster Hunter Tri, Tatsunoko Vs Capcom and Muramasa and companies don’t resort to more mini game compilations to make a quick buck on the because in the long run that strategy won’t be successful either.

I agree with the bonus thing. While I do love me some good games on the Wii, if they're there, ok, if they're not, ok. There'll always be something to fill the void. =)

The developers of Dead Space have only got themselves to blame. It's a great game, but with it being 'on-rails', gamers are less likely to splash the cash on what is basically an interactive movie with next to no replay value, and rent it instead (like I did). There is an analogue stick on that there Wii, we wanna use it! The Wii isn't unique either, really, it's a Gamecube, a system which had some great mature titles in both 1st and 3rd person. GC=RE4. WII=REUC. Why? I don't get it, such a waste of a good console.

Well, I haven't found any M titles on the Wii that really interest me, except for No More Heroes, which is one of the best games EVER. What I don't get is that the Wii is essentially an upgraded Gamecube with motion controls; why are there so many fewer games worth playing for Wii than for the Gamecube? I loved the Gamecube. It's criminally underrated. I have 52 games for it, most of which I enjoyed very much, and there are still some GCN games that I want. For the Wii, I have 16, and there's only a few of those that I really enjoy. The Wii has made people focus on the wrong things: motion control, family entertainment, accesibility, making mature titles just for the sake of making them for the Wii. The Wii is great, but I think developers need stop making "Wii games" and just start making "games".

Wait... Dead Space is out already? I didn't even notice... man I hate not having net access... XP

Dru, I think there is a lot of truth to that. I would actually love to get my hands on some of the better third party games out there. However, one of the draws for the Wii was its lower price point. I had to go to bed early and get up for work the next day (no all night lan parties/fragfests). Weekends I went out with my friends and wasn't home to game. Why would I spend $50 (or even $20-$30) on a new game when I hadn't gotten all the stars yet in Mario Galaxy or beaten Pikmin? I bought a bunch of games not long after I got my Wii, but now that I'm buying for myself, I hesitate to buy a new game unless I've beaten/completed a game I have. I'll break the rule for a game like Metroid Prime Trilogy but not for DS:E. Why? Because I know Prime Trilogy will be pure gold and will last me a long time (leaving less time for games like DS:E).

I think reaching out to older, more "casual" gamers, you get people who limit their time and budget on games more and will buy the AAA titles, because you don't have time to complete all the AAA titles, why bother with anything else? Reaching out to more adult gamers I think will create a large demographic like me, not even mentioning those who only own Wii Sports, Wii Play, and Wii Fit. I also bought the Wii sort of late in the game, so I had a backlog of titles to work though. If I had been able to get it at launch, things would probably have been different. I don't want to see the death of the 3rd party game on the Wii, because I would like to play good ones. The way I choose to balance my time doesn't allow me the chance to take advantage of them mostly. I think most people who do have the time and money to get lots of 3rd party games, have gotten or will get a PS360 and will get better (on average) 3rd party games on that.

I've already bought some mature GC games, that i have missed back then to play them on my Wii when i felt like playing a mature game... Sad thing is - the few mature games available for wii are often less interesting/appealing then the old ones from the GC aera

No More Mature Titles On Wii (Personally): Very good. I have a strict household, and I can't play rated M games, so this will definitely increase my library of games.

No More Mature Titles On Wii (In General): Probably for the best as well. However, the companies that are selling hardcore games that aren't rated M need to advertise a lot more.

If we are going based on the age rating "M" (presumably what we call MA15+) then I don't see what the fuss is about. I buy quite a few games but not THAT many games and the only "Mature" game I have between the Wii and DS is GTA:Chinatown Wars. Was this game better than all other games I have on DS? Despite what metacritic says I don't think it is. I think some critics give games upto +2 if it has an "M" on the box.

Don't get me wrong, having age ratings are a good way for parents to make informed decisions about what their kid should and shouldn't watch, read, listen to or play. However its poor logic to assume quality or a target age for a movie, show, book, album or game because of its age rating. Nobody would argue that the Pixar movie Up is less "mature" than that movie about Zombie Lesbian Strippers. I would take a 12 year old to see Up and I wouldn't let them watch the movie about the Zombie Lesbian Strippers but that doesn't mean Up is "less mature" and therefore garbage for kids. Why do we do this for games?

These "Mature games" can be good but they have a smaller audience. Even though I am in that potential audience I still buy a game based on whether its interesting or not and not its age rating. To me it makes sense that these games, especially ones that don't stand out, don't sell as well as similar "non standing out" games (like the great Zack and Wiki) that have no age restrictions.

I think the decision to make it "on rails" was not a good one. Word spreads quickly. I have not much interest in that and I love those types of games. I think it would be a BAD thing for mature titles to get cut from the wii. To be honest, most of the games I see where the sales don't look as good, are games I never even heard of. When people look at a list of wii games, they don't know what they're looking at. I sure didn't.

What I think Nintendo could do to alleviate some of this, is offer game previews, and demos right from the wii. The best ad machine is right there, and they don't have to pay for tv spots. Maybe have a channel dedicated to it.

The wisest words I've heard on a forum in a long time, you've officially restored my faith in gamers

This would be a great idea, especially after the inevitable success of wiiware demos will be, only prob will be the low number of Wii's online, I for one would love to see this feature though.

The Metal Gear Solid series is M rated, by the way... Has been since the Playstation days.

no i want my silent hill and redc now!!!!!!!!

Those were the best words I have heard on this forum yet. Personally, I would like to continue seeing Mature titles on the Wii. I wonder if that rumor that Metroid:Other M possibly being rated M will come true...

For some reason, Sony said they don't have any plans currently to port Shadow of the Colossus to Wii. Weird, I don't know what they're thinking.

As for other games like these, they are simply more popular with PS3 owners and 360 owners, not to mention it takes a ton of effort to downgrade games like these to be playable on Wii. Developers want to use the best hardware available so they can make their games as good as possible.

The M rating is not the only thing hindering the success of these games. In most of the current examples, if not all, it's also a case of the game simply not being good. But even if that weren't the case, the kind of gamer that Deadspace appeals is more likely to buy the game on the console that will give the best experience, which simply is not the Wii.

EDIT: No, Sonic, that rumor has never had a shed of truth to it. Nintendo responded to this question shortly after revealing the game and denied the possibility. It would be a horrible move. Not that Metroid has huge appeal to younger audiences, but the things that would make the game M-rated would not be appropriate. Sex? Gore? Vulgarity? Why would any of this be in a Metroid game?

Im not really a fan of mature games, but the humour of endless beating a slew of minions in madworld won me over, though the bulk of my time is spent on metroid and mario. Definitely agree with grenworthshero on his comment, nice one.

How did the idea of porting Shadow of the Colossus to the Wii even arise in this thread? Lol.

this

I can guarantee that if a game like, for example, Red Steel 2 just happened to get an MA15+ (your M) rating it would still sell. It is a must have and unique experience and so people buy it. A slightly smaller number would buy it because of the age restrictions (and some idiots would buy because of the restrictions) but it would still sell. Dead Space is an on-rails shooter (first strike) based on a popular game from another console (strike two) and it got the Mature restriction (strike three!). In hindsight it had no chance.

I didn't buy Dead Space because it just doesn't appeal to me. I don't care what the rating is, if I like it I buy it. Saying that hardcore gamers only play M rated games shows that these so called hardcore gamers have no clue what it means to be a gamer, let alone a hardcore one.

Also saying these games don't sell well because the system is marketed to casual gamers is bs. The fact is, many of the people complaining about certain games not selling well haven't bought them themselves.

No. It'll cause more people to believe Nintendo has abandon the core audience when in reality they have practically been working there butt off to give us what we want, but they won't take it.

Ends comment before it turns into a essay-type rant.