Comments 1,958

Re: Review: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (Wii U)

SCRAPPER392

I know 3rd parties have reasons to not release games on Wii U, but what the reasons are can vary, and it's never really a comination of them. Ubisoft has that game that they won't release, and it is supposedly for families. The longer they wait for Wii U's install base to grow, the more money they will make when they launch the game, regardless of when they finished development.

Ubisoft has enough money to take their sweet time on releasing a Wii U game, so they want it to matter as much as possible when they finally do. The same thing applies to Watch Dogs. They'll launch it for the holidays and people will be buying Wii Us and games. Ubisoft hopes it's Watch Dogs. It doesn't even matter to Ubisoft that it will be launching late.

Re: Review: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (Wii U)

SCRAPPER392

@JaxonH
Yes it does. Their investment from Xbox 360 just naturally carried over to Wii U. That's why the games don't have to sell as well. This is why Sonic Racing was considered a huge success, because they brought a game to Wii U that yeilded just as much of a return as the Xbox 360/PS3, but they spent far less than they did on Xbox 360 and PS3 to get the same result. It's all about the ratios.

Re: Review: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (Wii U)

SCRAPPER392

@JaxonH
Well, it really depends. Based on the numbers that 3rd party games have sold, they more than made up for anything they paid to port the game and any other expenses.

The profit margin is not 10-20 fold on Xbox 360 and PS3. They've already invested tons of resources to get where they are on those consoles. Wii U showed up, and automatically got them them more sales from their 7 years of work on Xbox 360. They haven't invested nearly as much money into Wii U as they have 7th gen consoles.

Like I said, releasing games on Wii U is probably reliant on how well the game is doing on Xbox and PS. If these games are doing really well on Xbox and PS, it makes it that much more risk free to put the game on Wii U.

The market is entirely different than what these companies decisions are.

Re: Review: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (Wii U)

SCRAPPER392

@JaxonH
Search "Wii U ports cost under $1.3 million for Ubisoft". I can't post a link, but a Google search should show some results that prove it's cheap as hell to port games to Wii U. So at full retail price, AC3 will have only had to sell like 30,000. I was just saying 50,000 to consider any other possible costs, such as game shipments, advertising, etc. So AC3 sold like 250,000 units, when the bare minimum was far less than that. The same applies to Sonic Racing, CoD, Skylanders, etc.

3rd parties are making money on Wii U = fact

We've already been over the oppurtunity cost. There are no other consoles to release the game on. The only other things they could spend money on, are new projects or faster development time. That's when the question is whether getting fast sales is more important than getting more sales. If they get 100,000 sales in a faster amount of time, that's not as worthwhile as getting 250,000 more sales.

Re: Review: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (Wii U)

SCRAPPER392

@JaxonH
Ya, but Wii U ports only cost a fraction of what the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions do, so 250,000 is still a pretty good number. Even if the games aren't selling as well on Wii U, as they are on Xbox or PS, they are still selling well based on how much they paid for the game to be on that console.

All it comes down to, is whether these games are selling well enough on Xbox and PS to make a Wii U port, virtually painless. For example, by the time Watch Dogs is released on Wii U, the Xbox and PS versions will have paid for more than what a Wii U port would cost.

Re: Review: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (Wii U)

SCRAPPER392

@JaxonH - Your analogy is flawed. It's more like having that job that pays 7 figures, then having a little side thing that makes you another pile of money that is as much as a middle class job.

While I realize not every game is probably profitable at 50,000 sales, it is for alot of the games. ZombiU was a different occurence, entirely. That wasn't a multiplatform game that just used resources from Xbox 360. We're talking about multiplatform games.

Re: Review: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (Wii U)

SCRAPPER392

@JaxonH
Ya, I understood that the first time you said it, like I said I did. My response was that they ultimately chose to port a game to Wii U, which would also mean it's a viable investment. All costs considered, Activision has probably made at least $10 million from the CoD series on Wii U.

They are already working on all the platforms they really need to, so there is no what if. They already have all the bases covered. They aren't sacrificing a PS3 port for a Wii U port. The only other platforms they aren't really releasing games on, is Vita or smartphones.

The amount of money they are making is surpassing their total cost, so it's not an issue.

Re: Review: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (Wii U)

SCRAPPER392

@JaxonH - I never even said anything about about the multiplayer features; you did. I was just responding to your statement on why it was being excluded. I realize they save time by not porting the code, but most of the investment would be in servers, and they just don't think it's worth it for this game. Xbox One and PS4 aren't getting vs. multiplayer either, so they must not expect that good of sales on those consoles, either? They probably just don't want to support servers, because porting code is the smallest factor of that situation, compared to what it also requires, which is server support. They aren't going to port multiplayer code, if they then have to support servers.

You also ignored that I was saying that Wii was still a major success for 3rd parties AND Nintendo. You can say "well, Nintendo hasn't sold that many 3rd party games in 15 years", all you want, but it doesn't mean it has negatively effected 3rd parties at all. Just look at CoD Black Ops II. That game probably needed to sell like 70,000 copies based on other platform performance, and it has 100% sold enough to make Activision money. You're saying 3rd parties aren't making enough money, which is why they are cutting features, when they actually are making money, which is why they are releasing anything at all. They're just cheaping out by excluding multiplayer, that in turn requires servers.

Re: Review: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (Wii U)

SCRAPPER392

@JaxonH
The only money they'd be saving is what they would have spent on servers. All that means is that they have to sell that many less copies. The Xbox One and PS4 aren't getting vs. multiplayer, either, and they might be sharing the same server that the 7th gen console have for the game. There's alot we don't know.

I understand that they could be using that money for something else, but guess what; they used it on Wii U. The game is on every platform, so it is on every console, including a Nintendo platform.

I'm not being biased. The fact is that Wii U's software sales expectations are low as hell, based on money alone. Now figure that they figured out how to port games back at launch, and it's only getting cheaper/easier to do so.

Re: Review: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (Wii U)

SCRAPPER392

@JaxonH
All I'm trying to say is that Wii didn't need to sell as many 3rd party games as Xbox 360 or PS3, and probably made up for any sort of shortcoming GCN had.
Any port like this only has to sell a fraction of what the Xbox 360 and PS3 do, in order to break even. If they are really setting hardcore sales restrictions on Wii U games, the lowest amount Activision probably has to sell this Transormers game, is 46,000 copies.

Re: Review: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (Wii U)

SCRAPPER392

@JaxonH - That was only mainly true during 6th gen, when everyone was gaming on PS2, instead of GCN or Xbox. See, a console with a lower install base or specs isn't expected to sell as much, because it requires less effort.

Go compare Wii's software attach rate to PS3 and Xbox 360's. While Xbox 360 and PS3 have technically sold more 3rd pary games, the effort/budget required for the Wii version weren't nearly as high, so a smaller amount is still very probable to be good for all parties involved. The PS2 got its last FIFA game last year, while the Wii still got this one this year(Wii U not getting FIFA 15 is another subject).

The Wii was still essentially a 6th gen console, so it more than makes up for any sort of "blunder" Nintendo had with the GCN. It's past, so bringing up that discussion doesn't really hold any value anymore.

Even now, Wii U has about a 1+ game attach rate, compared to PS4, despite having less consoles in homes, which means software is selling better on Wii U, based on console, software attach ratios. Now factor in that 3rd parties aren't releasing that many games, which means any potential sales have been going elsewhere since Wii U released, and hardly anyone is going to buy poor quality ports, either.

Re: Nintendo Looking To Grow Wii U Audience To Tempt Back Third Parties

SCRAPPER392

@Peach64 - It doesn't really matter that much that Nintendo is losing money. Pikimin 3, Super Mario 3D World, W101, etc. released 1st party games' main purpose wasn't to sell 3 million copies by now. Those games were made to rack up any amount of consoles sales they can. Nintendo does want those games to sell well, obviously, but their main purpose for now, is to make the platform have a game that a anyone can buy the platform for.
If Nintendo was really concerned about losing money, they wouldn't be paying 3rd parties for exclusive games, and they wouldn't be puting out all the games they have.

At this point, selling 100,000 consoles is more important than selling 1,000,000 copies of whatever software.

As long as Xbox One and PS4 are getting games that are Xbox 360 and PS3, it doesn't really do much to separate them from the same target audience as Wii U had in its first year, which means it's not too late. I'm not saying the games Xbox One and PS4 are getting are useless, but they aren't even near to what the consoles could be getting. That buys Nintendo time, and I don't think anyone really has a choice of what games these consoles are getting(7th gen), for the time being.

Re: Nintendo TVii Update Adds New Features and Improves Interface

SCRAPPER392

@DaemonSword - It's an interactive TV guide. The GamePad lets you interact with your shows(polls, comments) while your cable/satelite/antenna is showing whatever.

I have a 1080i digital RCA antenna, so giving the TV code to my GamePad will change the channel on my TV and show interactive little things on the GamePad.

It's about the same thing as Xbox One's TV app, except Xbox One doesn't support antenna. Xbox One only supports TV boxes with HDMI, so it's useless for antenna users.

Re: Miyamoto Confirms Next Wii U System Update Is Already In Development

SCRAPPER392

The connections for more fleshed out account systems are there, they just don't do anything(yet). The NNID is your account, it just doesn't have any user accessible data associated with it, aside from Miiverse.
The NNID IS tracking purchases, it's just not transferable/managable at this time.

Nintendo did say you'd be able to download things to your Wii U from the eShop via your smartphone or 3DS.

Other features could be added. They could have an achievment system alternative, such as play coins.

I could see cross-buy happening. There's an abundance of 3DS games and VC that are on both, so I think it's just a matter of time.

Just remember that Nintendo announced Miiverse for 3DS in 2011, and we didn't get it until the end of 2013. We'll probably be getting another big update, by the end of this year.

Re: Wii Owners Are Upgrading To PlayStation 4, Claims Sony

SCRAPPER392

I currently have a Wii U, Xbox One, and 3DS XL. If somehow I get a pile of money, I'll probably go for an Android tablet for whatever is on there, but that's pretty unlikely.

I got all the consoles(except PSP) last gen, and I don't think I'll be getting anything PS, this gen.

Re: E3 2014: PDP Shows Off its New GameCube-Styled Wired Fight Pad For Wii U and Wii

SCRAPPER392

Ya, I forgot about the classic controllers... I still think these are better than Nintendo is offering. I'd rather have wireless, and these are a bit cheaper, IIRC.

I personally find the obsession with wired controllers kind of weird. From my experience, anyway, everyone was all, "Finally, wireless controllers!". Now everyone is going backwards and wanting the wired contollers again. It doesn't make sense to me, honestly. When the wireless controllers are connected, there is no lag.

Re: E3 2014: Nintendo Won't Bring Live Twitch Streaming to Wii U as it Lacks 'Fun'

SCRAPPER392

I've used Twitch on my Xbox One. It CAN be good at times, but most of it is just streams of people playing video games, because they can, and aren't really trying to entertain anyone. I watched a live stream of Dead Rising 3, before I bought the game, and it was just some guy that was really horrible at the game, cursing, not really commenting, etc.

There's also alot of people begging for viewers, and that's not very appealing.

Maybe he's more in favor of Youtube and using it to show recordings, instead of livestream. Whatever the reasoning is, it doesn't really matter that much to me.

Re: Ubisoft Makes Little Mention of Nintendo in Plans for Financial Year, Sales Show Why

SCRAPPER392

@CaptOlimar30
That's a good point. Wii U and 3DS don't have nearly as many Ubisoft games as other platforms; the 7th gen ones, anyway.

Taking that into account, we wouldn't even know if people are still buying Assassin's Creed 1, 2, Brotherhood, etc. Far Cry 3 is still out there...

@Peach64
It really depends. Zombi U sold fairly well on Wii U, but they completely trashed their budget during the development by changing concepts. Also, if we consider that it costs $2 million tops to port an Xbox 360 game, they don't have to make as big of a return if development was only on Wii U. ZombiU was developed exclusively for Wii U, but again, trashed budget...
They can't even blame any sales count for Rayman Legends on Wii U alone, so I'd say that was a good choice.

Re: Ubisoft Makes Little Mention of Nintendo in Plans for Financial Year, Sales Show Why

SCRAPPER392

Honestly, they can't even expect Just Dance to sell on on Wii U, either. If it's essentially the same game on both platforms, that's their main problem, right there. Make the Wii remote+ read your movements more accurately. Maybe throw in some GamePad camera stuff.

3DS is self explanatory, but I think they're going to have to do alot more than release Assassin's Creed Just Dance over and over. Splintercell, ZombiU, and Watch_Dogs are good choices, but that's because they are different.

We need different games, and if they make new entries to a series, they need to be fresh, otherwise no one will care.

I don't care if Assassin's Creed is selling on Xbox or PS. If it's basically the same game as the last, I couldn't care less on whether it's available on Wii U. I won't be buying AC on Xbox One either, because it's the same crap.

Re: Satoru Iwata Believes Nintendo Can Establish a "New Core Business" to Join Video Games

SCRAPPER392

@Fireninjastar
Exactly. They have enough money to explore other business.

Like others have said, it's like how Microsoft and Sony have other types of business.

I always think of things like weight scales, (alarm)clocks, adjustable chairs, etc. whenever QoL gets brought up. Maybe they could make a mini projector that displays random info, and you can control it with your Wii U, or it can be a stand alone device.

Re: Here Are Five New Retail Titles Coming to Wii U

SCRAPPER392

I'm getting a PS2 vibe, honestly. This is the kind of s*** PS2 AND Wii were littered with. Considering there isn't much shovelware, YET, it might actually sell well to people bored out of their head and not knowing what they are buying. They will probably have fun, too.

I hope you guys are joking about what this means, because it's far from failure. Shovelware usually means games are selling on a platform and making them is a low risk investment.

Re: Square Enix Considering "Overseas" Release of Dragon Quest X

SCRAPPER392

According to wikipedia, they've been wanting it to be released worldwide since they announced it in 2008(Nintendo Power). IIRC, I read it myself, but that was quite a bit ago... Anyway, I would probably be interested. Paying for online would probably turn alot of people off, unless it's like $5 a year, max and maybe give out DLC to keep subscribers playing. IDK.

Re: Download Sales On Nintendo Formats Have Trebled In The Last Two Years

SCRAPPER392

@zool
Your analogy partially makes sense. While I understand people do get SOME value from trading things in, based on numbers, eventually you pay more by not keeping anything. Say I trade in 2 games that I paid $60 each, for 1 game. Even if I played the game, I no longer own it, and now I have technically paid $120 for a $60 game.

There's also that you're not very likely to get what you paid, or what it's worth, because people want a deal. If you're game is worth $20, people want it for $15.

The reason why your analogy doesn't work, is because someone is very unlikely to sell a car that runs fine, which is my stance on the subject in the first place.

Re: Download Sales On Nintendo Formats Have Trebled In The Last Two Years

SCRAPPER392

@Peach64
It's still good news, and people already explained why. Simple math already says that's either 6.7 million full retail 3DS games, or 4 million full retail Wii U games, at full price.

It may not mean much for last generation downloads, which would obviously mean more, but this is now. It's progress, and if it triples again, will the progress they had before not matter?