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[EDarkness]

I think it's pretty obvious what's happening with the Wii. There simply isn't any real commitment by the development community and it shows. Where are the RPGs? Anime games? Porn games? Big name games? They simply aren't there and since none of the big companies (even Nintendo to some degree) really pushed to get that gamer on the Wii, core games are going to have a hard time on the system. This is everyone's fault, I think. Too cautious and not going after the core gamer on the Wii. I don't understand how anyone can expect to have that market on the Wii when there are so few of those games on the system. Of course people are going to stick with their PS2s. Why should they switch over? Hell, a lot of games still have a PS2 version as well as a Wii version.

Developers simply weren't thinking ahead. I'm sure there are a lot of reason for the holdout, but I don't see it getting better at this point. We're probably a little over halfway through the Wii's life cycle and it's best to just stick with what they know and prepare for the next generation. This will be bad for the Wii and it'll be a shame to have a console as the market leader with such a horrible library or underdeveloped and throwaway games. Not saying there aren't some gems there, but it's pretty obvious at this point that noone really wants to commit and companies seems to be more willing to either go the route of DS/PSP or 360/PS3.

I've heard as much from my friends and students. Funny how it's all working out.

 

[-Kh-]

I've heard as much from my friends and students. Funny how it's all working out.

Please do tell us.

 

[schuelma]

I think it's pretty obvious what's happening with the Wii. There simply isn't any real commitment by the development community and it shows. Where are the RPGs? Anime games? Porn games? Big name games? They simply aren't there and since none of the big companies (even Nintendo to some degree) really pushed to get that gamer on the Wii, core games are going to have a hard time on the system. This is everyone's fault, I think. Too cautious and not going after the core gamer on the Wii. I don't understand how anyone can expect to have that market on the Wii when there are so few of those games on the system. Of course people are going to stick with their PS2s. Why should they switch over? Hell, a lot of games still have a PS2 version as well as a Wii version.

Developers simply weren't thinking ahead. I'm sure there are a lot of reason for the holdout, but I don't see it getting better at this point. We're probably a little over halfway through the Wii's life cycle and it's best to just stick with what they know and prepare for the next generation. This will be bad for the Wii and it'll be a shame to have a console as the market leader with such a horrible library or underdeveloped and throwaway games. Not saying there aren't some gems there, but it's pretty obvious at this point that noone really wants to commit and companies seems to be more willing to either go the route of DS/PSP or 360/PS3.

I've heard as much from my friends and students. Funny how it's all working out.

First, I don't think its too late to build the core market. Remember that DS didn't really take off 3rd party wise until late in 06. Now look at it.

Second, I'd argue that from what we know already, 3rd parties in Japan have a lot of good stuff in store for 09.

 

[Minsc]

WTH 1m+ opening week? If thats the bar to qualify then no console in Japan has shit coming for the holidays.

Well it's Japan, sure, but what do you think the heavy hitters in the US do first week? Resistance 2? Gears 2? A hell of a lot more than just 1M (well Gears 2 anyway).

My point was that for a big hitting holiday title, the bar should be raised a little higher, shouldn't it? It is the increased period of sales for the holidays, why not increase expectations? Nintendo's perfectly capable of making such a title, they just don't have one lined up, nor does anyone like you said But then again, Nintendo enjoys sustained income with their software unlike almost any other company.

I think it's pretty obvious what's happening with the Wii. There simply isn't any real commitment by the development community and it shows. Where are the RPGs? Anime games? Porn games? Big name games? They simply aren't there and since none of the big companies (even Nintendo to some degree) really pushed to get that gamer on the Wii, core games are going to have a hard time on the system. This is everyone's fault, I think...

Now there's a sign the Wii's not catching on if there ever was one. And Japan of all places should show no hesitation, as they are much more tolerant.

 

[Phife Dawg]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=13412715&postcount=12

Quoting Stormbringer who has the game:

Inspired by the book or the movie != an anime game

They even have Anime cutscenes. Doesn't matter if it's an original story or not, it's based on the Anime for sure. The One Piece game also features a new story, nothing out of the ordinary there.

In the context of replying donny's argument (2009 games) it made sense.

Not really. He was talking about "core" games, FF being such a game doesn't mean it's automatically third party despite the fact it's published by Nintendo.

 

[PantherLotus]

Projection Results for Last Week:

Last Week's Results:

[B][U]SYSTEM 		PROJECTED 	ACTUAL [/U][/B]	
DS 		193,000 	188,294 	
PSP 		38,000 		 50,358 	
WII 		35,000 		 23,123 	
360 		7,800 		  6,119 	
PS3 		18,000 		 39,587 	
TOTAL 		291,800 	307,481

Projections for This Week:

> > Full Charts & Analysis HERE. < <

Media Create Projections: (11/03-11/09)
DS: 120k
PSP: 42k
Wii: 28k
360: 7k
PS3: 25k

 

[BishopLamont]

Well it's Japan, sure, but what do you think the heavy hitters in the US do first week? Resistance 2? Gears 2? A hell of a lot more than just 1M (well Gears 2 anyway).

My point was that for a big hitting holiday title, the bar should be raised a little higher, shouldn't it? It is the increased period of sales for the holidays, why not increase expectations? Nintendo's perfectly capable of making such a title, they just don't have one lined up, nor does anyone like you said But then again, Nintendo enjoys sustained income with their software unlike almost any other company.



Now there's a sign the Wii's not catching on if there ever was one. And Japan of all places should show no hesitation, as they are much more tolerant.

WTF? Did you just compare launch numbers for the US market against the Japanese market? Are you that thick?

 

[PantherLotus]

WTF? Did you just compare launch numbers for the US market against the Japanese market? Are you that thick?

It is possible to be accidentally correct. :/

 

[Rolf NB]

See toypop's previous post about Gears 2. Also, the 360 bundle came out this week. >10K for 360 is pretty certain. PS3 should still beat it, though.

Aaaaaaaargh! And I already revised my predictions once. Now watch me be off by -60%.

 

[BishopLamont]

It is possible to be accidentally correct. :/

Yeah I'm sure Bill Gates would love to pump out a few million selling games with his "income", unfortunately game development isn't that simple. Why the hell does AC even need to sell a million in the first week? I'm quite sure Nintendo doesn't give two shits whether it sells a million day one or 10 years later.

 

[Spiegel]

They even have Anime cutscenes. Doesn't matter if it's an original story or not, it's based on the Anime for sure. The One Piece game also features a new story, nothing out of the ordinary there.

Tales and Star Ocean games, for example, have anime cutscenes.

Not really. He was talking about "core" games, FF being such a game doesn't mean it's automatically third party despite the fact it's published by Nintendo.

Fine, you are right

But why are we arguing about this? :lol

 

[Pureauthor]

First, I don't think its too late to build the core market. Remember that DS didn't really take off 3rd party wise until late in 06. Now look at it.

The DS at least had the advantage of carrying over a lot of the 3rd party franchises from the GBA. It didn't take a lot of prodding for the DS to get a new Castlevania, Slime Mori Mori, Boktai, etc.

Whereas the Wii is the successor to the 'Cube, and we all know how well the 3rd party situation on that went.

 

[Minsc]

Yeah I'm sure Bill Gates would love to pump out a few million selling games with his "income", unfortunately game development isn't that simple. Why the hell does AC even need to sell a million in the first week? I'm quite sure Nintendo doesn't give two shits whether it sells a million day one or 10 years later.

I'm quite sure I wrote all that stuff about Nintendo, just in different words. I merely expressed my point of view for holidays sales. It does seem out of line unfortunately (especially given your reactions) with reality in Japan, so eventually I'll get it more in line with what actually happens.

WTF? Did you just compare launch numbers for the US market against the Japanese market? Are you that thick?

I think when it comes to highly anticipated launch titles and hardware, Japan can hold its own from time to time, that was the point I was making. Maybe not 2-3M+, but Japan has seen its share of near 1M launches has it not?

My point was anyway, if you want to have a highly anticipated holiday title and get the lion's share of hw/sw sales, you might need something with a little more punch than what Nintendo is putting out. MS & Sony as well, as has been mentioned. Perhaps the Wii still has enough to sell well on name alone for another holiday? We will see.

 

[Phife Dawg]

Tales and Star Ocean games, for example, have anime cutscenes.

With the style taken from an Anime movie? Don't know for sure, but aren't the Anime sequences in SC done by Production I.G. as well?

Fine, you are right

But why are we arguing about this? :lol

Eh, no particular reason I'd say.

 

[Stumpokapow]

I think when it comes to highly anticipated launch titles and hardware, Japan can hold its own from time to time, that was the point I was making. Maybe not 2-3M+, but Japan has seen its share of near 1M launches has it not?

Exhaustive list of launches over 750k since 2000 (all numbers from Japan-Gamecharts.com):
DQ VIII 2.25 mln
DQ VII 1.86 mln
Final Fantasy IX 1.94 mln
Final Fantasy XII 1.84 mln
Final Fantasy X 1.75 mln
Pokemon DP 1.5 mln
Final Fantasy X-2 1.5 mln
Pokemon RuSa 1.25 mln
DQV PS2 1.05 mln
Pokemon Plat 970k
Pokemon Fire Red / Leaf Green 950k
Kingdom Hearts 2 920k
NSMB 850k
Smash Bros Brawl 820k
Monster Hunter Portable 2G 820k
Monster Hunter Portable 2 750k

If you go back to the beginning of the PlayStation generation (earliest point for which full and reliable data exists), you would add FF8, FF7, Derby Stallion, RE2, and RE3. That's it.

... so no, it's not feasible or reasonable that Nintendo have a holiday product every year that can do these kinds of numbers. Brawl and NSMB have managed to have 750k launches, but other than that Pokemon is the only thing Nintendo has that can pull these numbers and they can't release mainline Pokemon games every year.

 

[Minsc]

Thanks, point taken. So much quicker to learn being corrected like this. Well, that list is really bare when you remove Square from the picture, I had mistakenly though there were more plentiful high selling releases. The list really does show how big and impulsive a fanbase the DQ and FF games have in Japan.

I guess a goal of something around 250-400K seems more in line for Sony, MS or Nintendo's big holiday titles, certainly much more feasible. We'll see if AC can do even that (not that Nintendo cares).

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

We're probably a little over halfway through the Wii's life cycle

Less than two years in? I hope not. Wii's about as far in as PS1 in December 1996, PS2 in March 2002, or DS in December 2006. Or to take some particularly long-lived examples, Famicom in July 1985 or Game Boy in April 1991.

I think when it comes to highly anticipated launch titles and hardware, Japan can hold its own from time to time, that was the point I was making. Maybe not 2-3M+, but Japan has seen its share of near 1M launches has it not?

I see this has already been responded to, but since I already found a decent way to illustrate that this isn't the case I'll show it anyway.

I don't have anything on Garaph specifically to weed out high first weeks (though it could be done with the right SQL query). However, there is a group of million sellers. If I take the graph of their sales and tell it to only show the first ten days, you can see how few have passed a million so early; at least since the PS2/GBA generation.

 

[PantherLotus]

what's the x-scale JJ? Specifically, what's that '5' marker? Weeks? Months?

 

[Link]

There are people that still think third parties will start to take the Wii seriously? Time to let go of the dream, people.

 

[PantherLotus]

There are people that still think third parties will start to take the Wii seriously? Time to let go of the dream, people.

Not that I'm one of those people, but there really isn't a precedent. This really is the first time that a market leader hasn't been getting market-leading software from 3rd parties. It's...unnatural.

 

[apujanata]

what's the x-scale JJ? Specifically, what's that '5' marker? Weeks? Months?

Since he mentioned first 10 days, I believe x represent days.
Coupled with the fact that most games are released on Thursday in Japan, and weekly # usually cover sales up to Sunday (IIRC), it makes sense that most # show up on the 3 days timeframe (unless for those games that are released on Saturday, like DQ, Pokemon etc).

I actually lol'ed when reading expectation for 1 Million sales first week in Japan. Edit : I noticed that someone already posted a comprehensive list of big first week #, so I am removing the unnecessary parts of my post.

Not that I'm one of those people, but there really isn't a precedent. This really is the first time that a market leader hasn't been getting market-leading software from 3rd parties. It's...unnatural.

Since Wii is #1 not just in Japan, but also WW, IF 3rd party doesn't get aboard, 3rd party are going to shrink, or even goes bankrupt (chapter 11). For companies who wanted to increase their size, they have to increase their support for Wii, sooner or later. The sooner, the better. They couldn't just rely on NDS to increase their size.

 

[schuelma]

There are people that still think third parties will start to take the Wii seriously? Time to let go of the dream, people.

I think in Japan its actually started.

 

[Vdragoon]

Everyone thought PS3 would continue to dominate in Japan, that's why no one was really ready when Wii became such a success. schulema is correct, in Japan the support is already starting to pick up just like with DS software. Western support though may never come or as strong, but I like Japanese games better anyways

 

[Link]

I think in Japan its actually started.

Not really. It's pretty much smaller devs that can't afford to work on the HD consoles. Which Japanese powerhouses have anything significant in-house coming to the Wii?

 

[Vdragoon]

Why do you need powerhouses? What made PS2 so good was because of the smaller devs working on it.

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

Not really. It's pretty much smaller devs that can't afford to work on the HD consoles. Which Japanese powerhouses have anything significant in-house coming to the Wii?

Capcom - Monster Hunter 3.

Not to mention that shy of FFXIII, this can be said of the 360 and PS3 as well.

I think it's very safe to say that Japan is shifting heavily to the Wii for consoles. TGS this year was a great indicator of that.

 

[farnham]

Not really. It's pretty much smaller devs that can't afford to work on the HD consoles. Which Japanese powerhouses have anything significant in-house coming to the Wii?

yeah but who says that the smaller devs wont be the ones that get better as this gen progresses..?

I mean look at Marvelous and compare them to Koei, Konami or Square Enix..

Marvelous was a smalltime company and now their lineup look fantastic in comparison to Koei or Konami.. The big devs have lost a lot of their grip..

 

[Threi]

Not really. It's pretty much smaller devs that can't afford to work on the HD consoles. Which Japanese powerhouses have anything significant in-house coming to the Wii?

Do Capcom and Sega count?

 

[schuelma]

Not really. It's pretty much smaller devs that can't afford to work on the HD consoles. Which Japanese powerhouses have anything significant in-house coming to the Wii?

Capcom is bringing its #1 Japanese franchise to the Wii.

Koei is bringing Samurai Warriors 3 to the Wii.

Namco is bringing the next mainline Tales franchise to the Wii.

I agree it could be better, but I think its already shown improvement.

 

[DNF]

Even a chart where the original IP was released on the GBA and more successful saleswise on the DS would be nice.

It's not a chart but i compared a few franchises. Data are from JoshuaJSlone and Stumpokapow's sites.



Rhythm Tengoku + Pokemon Platinum are still in Top10.
With New Super Mario Bros. included the difference would be even more

 

[jj984jj]

Do Capcom and Sega count?

Sega? I guess, but with new IPs instead of big franchises. Console-wise their holiday line-up in Japan consists of 428, Let's Tap, and Bleach. They're actually really depending on the DS since PS0 is their big holiday title, plus I'm sure they expect Shiren DS2 and maybe that soccer title to sell decently like Culdcept DS.

Yakuza is pretty much their biggest franchise in the home console market right now and it's still exclusive to PS3 though and I don't really see that changing (at least, it wouldn't make sense in Japan). Other than that the only console title they've shown for Japan in 2009 is Bayonetta. Again that is only console wise, they're also focusing fairly heavily on the DS early next year with Infinite Space, Shining Force Feather, and 7th Dragon.

If you move away Japan though Sega's actually putting quite a few of their western focused titles on Wii with MadWorld, House of the Dead: Overkill, Sonic and the Black Knight, and The Conduit all being Wii exclusives. I guess that makes sense, Wii is doing even better in NA/EU than it is in Japan and they've still got Wii covered over there for now as well.

OMG! I just realized that Sega's made all really great business decisions here, they're taking advantage of every market.

 

[jay]

Why do you need powerhouses? What made PS2 so good was because of the smaller devs working on it.

Some people need huge games by huge companies, though I couldn't agree with you more.

 

[RpgN]

Since Wii is #1 not just in Japan, but also WW, IF 3rd party doesn't get aboard, 3rd party are going to shrink, or even goes bankrupt (chapter 11). For companies who wanted to increase their size, they have to increase their support for Wii, sooner or later. The sooner, the better. They couldn't just rely on NDS to increase their size.

Or you know, they can make their games multiplatform (360/ps3) and have a success too. That's what in my opinion is one of the biggest things that have changed this gen. Developers don't have to rely on the market leader to sell gangbusters, they're doing fine on the other 2. You have small companies who have no choice but to develop games on the wii and you have a few big companies who are smart and want to take pie of every market (capcom, sega).

Coupled with that, the wii audience is indeed hard to figure. But they can work on that, hopefully.

 

[Eteric Rice]

Or you know, they can make their games multiplatform (360/ps3) and have a success too. That's what in my opinion is one of the biggest things that have changed this gen. Developers don't have to rely on the market leader to sell gangbusters, they're doing fine on the other 2. You have small companies who have no choice but to develop games on the wii and you have a few big companies who are smart and want to take pie of every market (capcom, sega).

Coupled with that, the wii audience is indeed hard to figure. But they can work on that, hopefully.

If I saw that the Wii fanbase was growing as fast as it is, as a stock holder I'd be knocking down doors trying to get them to put good games on the Wii.

When my money is in something, I wouldn't want "good enough," I'd want the absolute best return possible on my investment.

 

[RpgN]

If I saw that the Wii fanbase was growing as fast as it is, as a stock holder I'd be knocking down doors trying to get them to put good games on the Wii.

When my money is in something, I wouldn't want "good enough," I'd want the absolute best return possible on my investment.

So you're telling me a game like call of duty 4 (sold 10 million), Halo 3 (8 million), fallout 3 ( shipped less than 5 million), Assasins Creed (sold more than 6 million) and GTA4 (last time I checked (sold 6 million), etc, are just "good enough" and will sell as much on the wii?

 

[Eteric Rice]

So you're telling me a game like call of duty 4 (sold 10 million), Halo 3 (8 million), fallout 3 ( shipped less than 5 million), Assasins Creed (sold more than 6 million) and GTA4 (last time I checked (sold 6 million), etc, are just "good enough" and will sell as much on the wii?

Those are entirely different than what I'm talking about. I'm saying that I'd be knocking down doors if I found out they weren't taking the market leader seriously. I didn't say that games won't sell on other platforms.

 

[Delio]

Why do you need powerhouses? What made PS2 so good was because of the smaller devs working on it.

Tried not to get into this but i agree completely. Having smaller games is not a bad thing at all to me.

 

[donny2112]

and will sell as much on the wii?

The discussion isn't about games coming to the Wii instead of the PS360.

 

[RpgN]

something written

See, that's what's so crazy about being a market leader nowadays. The way I see it (from the ps1-ps2 era, and older consoles for that matter), a market leader sells the most hardware, sells the most software and there is pretty much interest in all kinds of genres. Gamecube and Xbox software could never beat the ps2 when it comes to sales. You're thinking about those points from the older era, but when we look at the data now, things are very different. It could be because we're riding at the new wave (non-games) or just that third parties find it hard to adjust to nintendo (where they will improve with wii 2). Or simply, the market is huge now and developers have different interests (better graphics etc).

In a nutshell, I think you can't apply rules of what a market leader is supposed to be, at least not like the old days.

 

[RpgN]

The discussion isn't about games coming to the Wii instead of the PS360.

Yes, I'm aware of that. My reply was to the comment that third parties have to put something on the wii, because it's selling so well and is a market leader. He also said they have to in order for them to grow.

My reply: Why should they bother when they're selling millions already and there is no guarantee that wii will sell their software?

 

[Eteric Rice]

Yes, I'm aware of that. My reply was to the comment that third parties have to put something on the wii, because it's selling so well and is a market leader. He also said they have to in order for them to grow.

My reply: Why should they bother when they're selling millions already and there is no guarantee that wii will sell their software?

They'll never know until they try. That's the problem, they won't try.

 

[jay]

Yes, I'm aware of that. My reply was to the comment that third parties have to put something on the wii, because it's selling so well and is a market leader. He also said they have to in order for them to grow.

My reply: Why should they bother when they're selling millions already and there is no guarantee that wii will sell their software?

It's possible the big 3rd parties already invested won't bother but it does seem likely someone will bother. I am not an expert but my understanding of capitalism says if there is a market waiting to be satiated someone will move in to make money. Since Ubisoft decided to follow up their million seller core game with Petz Horsez and Babiez Partyz it won't be them, but Marvelous, Sega, or someone or another can make money selling Wii games to gamers.

 

[ksamedi]

Yes, I'm aware of that. My reply was to the comment that third parties have to put something on the wii, because it's selling so well and is a market leader. He also said they have to in order for them to grow.

My reply: Why should they bother when they're selling millions already and there is no guarantee that wii will sell their software?

Since this is about Japanese sales the selling millions statement is not true. Talking about worlwide sales, a lot of companies are making losses these days. Its probably not coincidence. Not supporting the Wii is bad news for your company.

Japanese development is already heavily focused on Wii and DS. If Western devs fall behind then I guess Japanese game development will become a lot more relevant in the future.

 

[Weisheit]

Yes, I'm aware of that. My reply was to the comment that third parties have to put something on the wii, because it's selling so well and is a market leader. He also said they have to in order for them to grow.

My reply: Why should they bother when they're selling millions already and there is no guarantee that wii will sell their software?

They are selling their wares on the Wii though, and at a faster clip then the 360 (launch aligned). And that's with the relatively shitty support and the publishing monster that is Nintendo to compete with. Imagine if they stopped pumping out utter shit 80% of the time...

 

[RpgN]

They'll never know until they try. That's the problem, they won't try.

I don't know about that. I've seen a few decent tries, that were still a bomba. But we'll leave this discussion for another time

jay (and to eteric rise), I agree. They'll have to adjust somehow. I'm not sure if this adjustment is what you seek though. Like you said, ubisoft is releasing their petz and more lines. Sega seems to be heading in that direction in the future. But I like how some are taking smart decisions and try to appeal to the more 'hardcore gamers'. I hope Marvelous will be awarded for their efforts. They have some fine games planned.

 

[RpgN]

Since this is about Japanese sales the selling millions statement is not true. Talking about worlwide sales, a lot of companies are making losses these days. Its probably not coincidence. Not supporting the Wii is bad news for your company.

Japanese development is already heavily focused on Wii and DS. If Western devs fall behind then I guess Japanese game development will become a lot more relevant in the future.

It's fine that this thread is about Japanese sales only, but when they want to make games and look at their profits, they have to look at it from a worldwide view. While yes, I have seen companies in the red, but I have seen many companies with profits. Games are selling better than before.

Seeing many Japanese developers behind the wii, is a sign of not having the ability to compete with next gen games IMO. We'll see if they're the ones to profit in the future, or their efforts are rewarded (look at tenchu 4).

 

[Eteric Rice]

I don't know about that. I've seen a few decent tries, that were still a bomba. But we'll leave this discussion for another time

jay (and to eteric rise), I agree. They'll have to adjust somehow. I'm not sure if this adjustment is what you seek though. Like you said, ubisoft is releasing their petz and more lines. Sega seems to be heading in that direction in the future. But I like how some are taking smart decisions and try to appeal to the more 'hardcore gamers'. I hope Marvelous will be awarded for their efforts. They have some fine games planned.

What are these efforts you speak of?

Say Manhunt 2 and I'll toss you into a black hole. :lol

 

[markatisu]

I don't know about that. I've seen a few decent tries, that were still a bomba. But we'll leave this discussion for another time

you must live in an alternate universe then because there has yet to be a decent budgeted and marketed 3rd party attempt that has failed (for that matter that has yet to be a decent budgeted and marketed 3rd party game for Wii)

And remember we are talking about Japan in this thread, GTAIV, COD4 and others you mention do not sell truck loads in Japan in comparison to rhythm games and other genres

 

[RpgN]

What are these efforts you speak of?

Say Manhunt 2 and I'll toss you into a black hole. :lol

MANHUNT 2!

I kid, I kid

Let's see Tenchu 4, Zack&Wiki, Chocobo no fushigina dungeoun, Harvest Moon (the latest one), Trauma Center 2, Disaster Day of Crisis (this one published by nintendo), Captain Rainbow (this too) comes to mind.

But to be honest, games like RES4 and RES EC did well. And TOS2 did pretty well for a spin-off. Games that had a following on the gamecube?

 

[Eteric Rice]

MANHUNT 2!

I kid, I kid

Let's see Tenchu 4, Zack&Wiki, Chocobo no fushigina dungeoun, Harvest Moon (the latest one), Trauma Center 2, Disaster Day of Crisis (this one published by nintendo), Captain Rainbow (this too) comes to mind.

But to be honest, games like RES4 and RES EC did well. And TOS2 did pretty well for a spin-off. Games that had a following on the gamecube?

Eh, I think people can just tell when a game is higher quality or not. That and preferences have changed a lot.

To be fair, I don't think many of those games (well, maybe Tenchu 4, but its hard to say) would have fared better on the other systems.