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[Shiggy]

We were just talking about Genius Sonority last week was it? Looks like they've been busy doing digital romance novels for the DS:

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/01/21/nintendo_romance_novels/

That's probably based on their old novel software on which also the European book collections are based of. They've got another Wii project in development.

 

[Chris1964]

As a developer and publisher they can only do so much.

I don't think Nintendo could only do so much and especially for this quarter. They knew they would have almost zero third party support, they knew the same quarter last year was a total disaster and they are doing the same mistake again. If there is no Mario Galaxy 2 for Golden Week there is no excuse for Iwata. They are veeeeery lucky NSMBW sells the way it sells.

 

[schuelma]

The problem is clearly that outside of Nintendo, third party support for the Wii is really drying up and is pretty much dead. Look at the upcoming preorder list for all consoles: http://gmstar.com/yoyakulist.html

That's really, really sad. It's not funny, just sad. Even a publisher like MMV now has more upcoming PS360 games than Wii games. So yeah, it's certainly a problem and something Nintendo probably wants to fix but they might honestly not know how.

Yeah. I said it in Nov/Dec I think- either Wii 3rd party support is like totally dead and holiday 2008 represented a last gasp or 3rd party projects would start to be announced soon.

Well, its almost February and there hasn't been one single 3rd party game announced.

(this is also feeds into my pie in the sky theory about a hardware revision coming, but its more likely that Nintendo is incompetent and has let 3rd party support fall behind the 360).

Edit- I don't buy that Nintendo is so helpless as to be blameless if 3rd party support is indeed drying up- even with some of the 3rd party failures/disappointments they could still do more to prevent an absolute total barren wasteland where the biggest 3rd party games coming out in the next 3 months is the budget lineup.

 

[duckroll]

I don't think Nintendo could only do so much and especially for this quarter. They knew they would have almost zero third party support, they knew the same quarter last year was a total disaster and they are doing the same mistake again. If there is no Mario Galaxy 2 for Golden Week there is no excuse for Iwata. They are veeeeery lucky NSMBW sells the way it sells.

What if it's simply not ready? Would Iwata want to release a major game he knows could do with more development time? Sure, Nintendo should have seen this coming and had various smaller but interesting projects in development, ready to release in times of need, but since it's clear they don't that's that. I don't think Iwata will force out any of their main franchise titles just to fill a calender spot. The Wii is not going to suddenly die because Mario Galaxy 2 doesn't come out in April. What is more important is that they should really solve the problem of the Wii's current perception. Monster Hunter 3 G needs to get announced or something soon.

 

[Leon S. Kennedy]

3. [360] Biohazard 5 (Capcom) - 79,000
3. [WII] Biohazard Darkside Chronicles (Capcom) - 73,000

Wii Bomba.

I'm very surprised at the high sales of DSC. I thought people would have learned by now that these games aren't worth the price of a real game.

I guessing that about 72,000 of those sold are already on the used market since its like a three hour light gun game with no replay value.

Will capcom ever give us a real resident evil game for the wii? I just want re 4.01.

 

[ksamedi]

Well to be honest, I don't think this is Nintendo not wanting to release anything. As a developer and publisher they can only do so much. If games they are publishing are not ready because other developers are taking their time (hellooooo Cosmic Walker!) then aside from pressuring the developer to hurry up, Nintendo can't do much more. As for their first party output, most of their games sell very well and they have a few titles a year.

The problem is clearly that outside of Nintendo, third party support for the Wii is really drying up and is pretty much dead. Look at the upcoming preorder list for all consoles: http://gmstar.com/yoyakulist.html

That's really, really sad. It's not funny, just sad. Even a publisher like MMV now has more upcoming PS360 games than Wii games. So yeah, it's certainly a problem and something Nintendo probably wants to fix but they might honestly not know how.

That Wii list really looks pathetic :lol

Also note the DS vs PSP list. The PSP list has grown huge while the DS is selling better pretty consistently for the past 5/6 years. Third parties want platforms they know how to easily make games for and not platforms where they have to make something unique (and taking risks). Big companies prefer predictability.

 

[schuelma]

What if it's simply not ready? Would Iwata want to release a major game he knows could do with more development time? Sure, Nintendo should have seen this coming and had various smaller but interesting projects in development, ready to release in times of need, but since it's clear they don't that's that. I don't think Iwata will force out any of their main franchise titles just to fill a calender spot. The Wii is not going to suddenly die because Mario Galaxy 2 doesn't come out in April. What is more important is that they should really solve the problem of the Wii's current perception. Monster Hunter 3 G needs to get announced or something soon.

The reason we think Galaxy 2 should be out is because Nintendo basically said it was done. But yeah, maybe they are running into problems.

Agreed on MH 3G or...anything being announced. Its really unfathomable.

 

[duckroll]

Edit- I don't buy that Nintendo is so helpless as to be blameless if 3rd party support is indeed drying up- even with some of the 3rd party failures/disappointments they could still do more to prevent an absolute total barren wasteland where the biggest 3rd party games coming out in the next 3 months is the budget lineup.

I didn't say they are blameless. I'm simply asking you, WHAT CAN THEY DO? Seriously, if you were Iwata right now, what great ideas do you have that would captivate the third party publishers to lavish the Wii with tons of awesome support?

 

[Glass Soldier]

Well to be honest, I don't think this is Nintendo not wanting to release anything. As a developer and publisher they can only do so much. If games they are publishing are not ready because other developers are taking their time (hellooooo Cosmic Walker!) then aside from pressuring the developer to hurry up, Nintendo can't do much more. As for their first party output, most of their games sell very well and they have a few titles a year.

I'm not sure if I agree. Didn't they allocate more staff to Wii-Projects? It's probably too early to judge but it really seems that a lot of first party devs are just sitting around. Instead of putting out a new Fire Emblem or Paper Mario (these sell good in Japan, right?) IS put out an obscure lightgun-shooter. EAD1 hasn't developed anything new since Mario Kart Wii either (personally I don't think WiiFit+ should count) and I guess I could go on with rambling about HAL and so on. I just think that they aren't really using all of their ressources.

So what's the next major third-party game for the Wii? Sengoku Basara 3?

(hellooooo Cosmic Walker!)

Now that you mention it, did we hear anything from this game since the unveiling? I just seem to remember someone who's been involved with the Megami Tensei series working on it.

 

[Chris1964]

Also note the DS vs PSP list. The PSP list has grown huge while the DS is selling better pretty consistently for the past 5/6 years. Third parties want platforms they know how to easily make games for and not platforms where they have to make something unique (and taking risks). Big companies prefer predictability.

I note that list carefully but it still doesn't make sense to me.

 

[botticus]

Sure, Nintendo should have seen this coming and had various smaller but interesting projects in development, ready to release in times of need, but since it's clear they don't that's that.

I think that's where they're at fault. Obviously it's too late for that, but that's what they should have done, in response to your question.

 

[schuelma]

I didn't say they are blameless. I'm simply asking you, WHAT CAN THEY DO? Seriously, if you were Iwata right now, what great ideas do you have that would captivate the third party publishers to lavish the Wii with tons of awesome support?

As of this moment..nothing much. I mean, its 2010 already...too late. I think te best case scenario moving forward is to keep the few franchises Nintendo has gained (Monster Hunter, Dragon Quest, Samurai Warriors), and convince the 3rd parties to keep them there until the Wii successor launches.


I think in the past they could have been a lot more aggressive in gaining support through marketing or even the occasional moneyhat. I also think internally they should have been more aggressibe in developing new IP more geared towards the traditional market- I actually think Reginliev is a step forward in that regard and it appears to perhaps be getting a bit more attention than the usual outsourced 1st party effort.

Oh and their is no reason IMO they couldn't have been more aggressive in at least getting Wii versions of PS2/PSP franchises.

 

[Cosmonaut X]

I didn't say they are blameless. I'm simply asking you, WHAT CAN THEY DO? Seriously, if you were Iwata right now, what great ideas do you have that would captivate the third party publishers to lavish the Wii with tons of awesome support?

I don't think there is anything they can do now. Third parties missed the huge window of opportunity and Nintendo have been unable/unwilling to convince them to jump aboard since. Projects like SM3 or ToG are too late, too few and too far between.

 

[duckroll]

I'm not sure if I agree. Didn't they allocate more staff to Wii-Projects? It's probably too early to judge but it really seems that a lot of first party devs are just sitting around. Instead of putting out a new Fire Emblem or Paper Mario (these sell good in Japan, right?) IS put out an obscure lightgun-shooter. EAD1 hasn't developed anything new since Mario Kart Wii either (personally I don't think WiiFit+ should count) and I guess I could go on with rambling about HAL and so on. I just think that they aren't really using all of their ressources.

Okay, yeah. I agree it doesn't look like they're maximizing their development resources. But it could also mean there are several unannounced projects running on long development cycles. Remember that these days Nintendo doesn't announce anything until a few months before release anyway. If they have a strong holiday line up for this year, we won't know about it until June or later. It's very hard to predict what Nintendo is doing because of this.

So what's the next major third-party game for the Wii? Sengoku Basara 3?

I'm pretty sure the PS3 sales for that will destroy the Wii version completely. So... that should be interesting to see.

Now that you mention it, did we hear anything from this game since the unveiling? I just seem to remember someone who's been involved with the Megami Tensei series working on it.

No, but we didn't hear anything about Dynamic Slash either until it resurfaced as Reginleiv. Pretty much none of the titles announced in that ancient promo reel has been released, and we probably won't see any of them again until 2-3 months before they're due for release. :lol

 

[Busaiku]

I really do wonder why there are so many PSP games coming out in comparison to DS.
I didn't really count them, but the PSP list looks almost twice as big.

No, but we didn't hear anything about Dynamic Slash either until it resurfaced as Reginleiv. Pretty much none of the titles announced in that ancient promo reel has been released, and we probably won't see any of them again until 2-3 months before they're due for release.

Line Attack Heroes and Span Smasher were made playable, at least.

 

[schuelma]

I'm pretty sure the PS3 sales for that will destroy the Wii version completely. So... that should be interesting to see.

The only way I see the Wii version doing anything respectble is if the series really appeals to females as much as I've read, maybe it could do ok? (I'm assuming the Wii has a more diverse audience).

 

[schuelma]

I really do wonder why there are so many PSP games coming out in comparison to DS.
I didn't really count them, but the PSP list looks almost twice as big.

I think the most likely answer is a new DS as speculated.

 

[Chris1964]

I'm trying to find the position Wii would be right now if NSMBW wasn't the hit it is. The only explanation I can give is that Iwata was very confident this title would sell so great and move so much hardware otherwise I can't believe they would go again with an empty schedule even if that meant they would have to rush some other projects.

I know I start to become repetitive but I really can't explain this first party situation of Wii in Japan this year.

 

[duckroll]

The only way I see the Wii version doing anything respectble is if the series really appeals to females as much as I've read, maybe it could do ok? (I'm assuming the Wii has a more diverse audience).

Tales of Graces is TOTALLY a female fan bait game. It has it all: hot pretty boys, tales of honor and justice, female supporting characters, tragic story, Inomata designs, main character looks just like a lead in Code Geass and is voiced by the same actor, etc.

How did that turn out?

 

[schuelma]

Tales of Graces is TOTALLY a female fan bait game. It has it all: hot pretty boys, tales of honor and justice, female supporting characters, tragic story, Inomata designs, main character looks just like a lead in Code Geass and is voiced by the same actor, etc.

How did that turn out?

I didn't say it was likely.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Well we just learned about the budget line releasing on Feb 25th, so perhaps the otherwise virtually empty release period could hopefully be a big opportunity for the budget games like Muramasa and ARF to sell more than they would've otherwise.

That's probably based on their old novel software on which also the European book collections are based of. They've got another Wii project in development.

Ah, good to know!

 

[Chris1964]

Tales of Graces is TOTALLY a female fan bait game. It has it all: hot pretty boys, tales of honor and justice, female supporting characters, tragic story, Inomata designs, main character looks just like a lead in Code Geass and is voiced by the same actor, etc.

How did that turn out?

Do you mean Opiate's theory about Wii is wrong?

 

[duckroll]

Do you mean Opiate's theory about Wii is wrong?

Lol.

 

[Leon S. Kennedy]

If I were Iwata, I would set up more more 1st party developer studios by stealing talent away from others and recruiting new talent. Nintendo needs to be self sufficient and have enough software to support their systems on their own. They should just assume zero 3rd party support for their systems when planning software release schedules.

 

[Spiegel]

I really do wonder why there are so many PSP games coming out in comparison to DS.
I didn't really count them, but the PSP list looks almost twice as big.

1) Third parties wanted another PS2.
2) PSP is a PS2 portable
3) After MHP2 came out, and S-E kept announcing big projects they figured PSP was a viable platform in Japan

Psp being a ps2 portable is what hurt it in its first years (because ps2 was still alive) but now it's the reason is getting strong support.

 

[Chris1964]

1) Third parties wanted another PS2.
2) PSP is a PS2 portable
3) After MHP2 came out they figured PSP was a viable platform in Japan

Psp being a ps2 portable is what hurt it in its first years (because ps2 was still alive) but now it's the reason is getting strong support.

Not this again. I agree with 1 and 3.

 

[DNF]

428 sold about 50k before dropping out of the top 50 forever, yet it's apparently a "platinum best".

There really should be some sort of law against this shit.

Oh, look. Onken is trolling nintendo. Now i have seen everything.

 

[Spiegel]

Not this again. I agree with 1 and 3.

Techwise, I mean

 

[Dragona Akehi]

I didn't say they are blameless. I'm simply asking you, WHAT CAN THEY DO? Seriously, if you were Iwata right now, what great ideas do you have that would captivate the third party publishers to lavish the Wii with tons of awesome support?

 

[Glass Soldier]

Okay, yeah. I agree it doesn't look like they're maximizing their development resources. But it could also mean there are several unannounced projects running on long development cycles. Remember that these days Nintendo doesn't announce anything until a few months before release anyway. If they have a strong holiday line up for this year, we won't know about it until June or later. It's very hard to predict what Nintendo is doing because of this.

Yeah of course, I noticed that but wouldn't it be in their best interest to even out the releases some more? As you said, the only thing they have right now for Q1 is Zangeki when they could have released an IS-RPG for this period. It's been almost 3 years since the last IS-console-release. And when was Kirby announced? Around 2005? I guess I'm just too impatient and want to know what these teams have been up to for the last years :lol

I'm pretty sure the PS3 sales for that will destroy the Wii version completely. So... that should be interesting to see.

Oh I know, I don't think that the Wii-Version will see strong sales either but it's still a relatively major third-party game I guess

No, but we didn't hear anything about Dynamic Slash either until it resurfaced as Reginleiv. Pretty much none of the titles announced in that ancient promo reel has been released, and we probably won't see any of them again until 2-3 months before they're due for release.

So you mean we should expect a totally strange name-change coupled with awesome gameplay-videos in the next few months?

 

[Chris1964]

Techwise, I mean

Then we agree at everything about PSP.

 

[oldie-newbie]

I didn't say they are blameless. I'm simply asking you, WHAT CAN THEY DO? Seriously, if you were Iwata right now, what great ideas do you have that would captivate the third party publishers to lavish the Wii with tons of awesome support?

Totally right. WHAT CAN NINTENDO DO???

Some parallels with fate of the Dreamcast, except than Wii is the platform leader!!!

 

[Stumpokapow]

The promo reel from the Nintendo Japan conference 2008:

Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo) Spring - ended up delayed until Summer
Start w/ 100 Conversations! English Conversation (Nintendo) 2009 - not yet released
Punch-Out!! (Nintendo) 2009 - late summer in Japan
Trace Memory/Another Code: R, Gateway of Memory (Nintendo) 2009 - mere months later
Kensax (Nintendo) 2009 - geared up for mid-2009 release, still not out
Cosmic Walker (Nintendo) 2009 - haven't heard from it since
Spawn Smasher (Nintendo) 2009 - playable demo, still isn't out
Dynamic Slash (Nintendo) 2009 - disappeared for a year, surfaced for 2010
Takt of Magic (Nintendo) 2009 - Spring 2009
Sin & Punishment 2 (Nintendo) 2009 - Fall 2009
Endless Ocean 2 (Nintendo) 2009 - Fall 2009
Everyone's the Star on the NHK Red-and-White Quiz Battle (Nintendo) 2009 - punted out unceremoniously end of 2009
Line Attack Heroes (Nintendo) 2009 - playable demo

... kinda incomprehensible how that ended up shaking out

 

[duckroll]

2) PSP is a PS2 portable

Psp being a ps2 portable is what hurt it in its first years (because ps2 was still alive) but now it's the reason is getting strong support.

This is utter nonsense. What hurt the PSP in its first years was a great launch, and then a lack of games. There were entire dry periods between big titles, which sold well, but as it went on everything declined because of a lack of consistent support. This has nothing to do with it being a PS2 portable or any of that nonsense, especially not in Japan. If anything, it was a PS1 portstation in Japan.

What made the PSP grow stronger is when MHP singlehandedly created a huge fan base among teens and younger males who liked to play multiplayer 3D games with better graphics than the DS. This opened the door for more games like it, modes which entice this group to get into other franchises, and arcade ports. That is pretty much where the PSP stands today. Very multiplayer-centric, which has NOTHING to do with the PS2. Last I checked the PS2 wasn't popular because of multiplayer.

 

[Chris1964]

I think the most likely answer is a new DS as speculated.

Maybe it's likely for everyone else but not for me. But even if that's the case why this year Level 5 has the strongest support for DS than ever before and hasn't already abandoned DS in favor for DS 2? Capcom also shows strong support for DS (comparing to previous years).

 

[charlequin]

Was there ever a time where a game turned the graces of a console around?

I think literally the only time you can ever talk about a single game changing the fortunes of a console would be MHP2 on PSP. The DS' period of being outsold by the PSP was pretty minimal and it was a stream of 5-6 different software releases in a relatively short time that elevated it to heaven, not really a single game.

:lol So much for Nintendo learning their lesson from last year. Fortunately for them NSMB Wii is a monster, but man, I never thought they would have a worse Q1 lineup than last year.

I'm looking forward to next year when their Q1 lineup is a firmware update that breaks games you've already bought.

 

[Spiegel]

This is utter nonsense. What hurt the PSP in its first years was a great launch, and then a lack of games. There were entire dry periods between big titles, which sold well, but as it went on everything declined because of a lack of consistent support. This has nothing to do with it being a PS2 portable or any of that nonsense, especially not in Japan. If anything, it was a PS1 portstation in Japan.

What made the PSP grow stronger is when MHP singlehandedly created a huge fan base among teens and younger males who liked to play multiplayer 3D games with better graphics than the DS. This opened the door for more games like it, modes which entice this group to get into other franchises, and arcade ports. That is pretty much where the PSP stands today. Very multiplayer-centric, which has NOTHING to do with the PS2. Last I checked the PS2 wasn't popular because of multiplayer.

Like I said, I'm only claiming psp is a ps2 portable (techwise).

My point is that third parties weren't heavily supporting PSP in 2005-07 because ps2 was still alive, PS3 was going to be the next PS2 and ds was getting pretty much all the "handheld" games. When they realized that ps3 wasn't going to become the next PS2 and that PS2 was dead, they slowly agreed to give more support to the platform which had a big userbase, third party hits (Monster Hunter, Nomura games) and tech comparable to ps2.

 

[duckroll]

Like I said, I'm only claiming psp is a ps2 portable (techwise).

My point is that third parties weren't heavily supporting PSP in 2005-07 because ps2 was still alive, PS3 was going to be the next PS2 and ds was getting pretty much all the "handheld" games. When they realized that ps3 wasn't going to become the next PS2 and that PS2 was dead, they slowly decided to jump to the platform which had a big userbase, third party hits (Monster Hunter, Nomura games) and tech comparable to ps2.

I'm sorry, that doesn't make any sense to me at all. The PSP's tech being a reason for it not getting support from developers is pretty ridiculous, when the tech was the main reason why it got so much support to start with. It's totally not true that the DS was getting ALL the handheld games, and it really sounds like revisionist history to me. The DS and the PSP were both hurting for serious support from developers post launch, with the DS doing a lot better because a) it captured the casual market, b) Nintendo software.

To suggest that Nomura and Capcom only developed games on the PSP when they realized the PS3 wasn't going to be the next PS2 and that the PS2 was dead is pretty ridiculous too, especially since Crisis Core was announced pretty much at the launch of the PSP, and Monster Hunter Portable came out when the PS2 was still pretty much alive. Seriously, the entire theory is so filled with holes I don't know what to say.

 

[Spiegel]

I'm sorry, that doesn't make any sense to me at all. The PSP's tech being a reason for it not getting support from developers is pretty ridiculous, when the tech was the main reason why it got so much support to start with. It's totally not true that the DS was getting ALL the handheld games, and it really sounds like revisionist history to me. The DS and the PSP were both hurting for serious support from developers post launch, with the DS doing a lot better because a) it captured the casual market, b) Nintendo software.

To suggest that Nomura and Capcom only developed games on the PSP when they realized the PS3 wasn't going to be the next PS2 and that the PS2 was dead is pretty ridiculous too, especially since Crisis Core was announced pretty much at the launch of the PSP, and Monster Hunter Portable came out when the PS2 was still pretty much alive. Seriously, the entire theory is so filled with holes I don't know what to say.

No, I'm saying the sales of MH and Crisis Core, + the big userbase, + being a ps2 techwise were the reasons that made other third parties realize that PSP was a viable platform.

 

[duckroll]

No, I'm saying the sales of MH and Crisis Core, + the big userbase, + being a ps2 techwise were the reasons that made other third parties realize that PSP was a viable platform.

And I call bullshit. The biggest third parties on the PSP right now are Square Enix, Capcom, Bandai Namco, Konami, Nippon Ichi and Sega. Sega is the only one who can be said to have jumped onboard starting in 2008, and in response to Monster Hunter and/or userbase and/or whatever. As for the others....



Bandai Namco (2005-2007):

There were 6 Gundam games on the PSP between 2005 to 2007, and 4 of them sold over 100k. 3 of those games are in the Gundam Battle series, which increased sales with each installment every year. There was a Tekken game, 2 Ridge Racer games and an Ace Combat game in the same period.


Konami (2004-2007)

2 Metal Gear Acid titles, Metal Gear Portable Ops, Metal Gear Portable Ops+ Coded Arms, Twelve, 3 Winning Eleven games, Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles, Silent Hill Origins, and 4 shooting game collections.


Nippon Ichi (2005-2007)

Published both Disgaea Portable and Dragoneer's Aria. In fact, they released Disgaea Portable twice! Their decision to make more PSP games certainly didn't stem from how other games were doing, but rather they were building a fanbase on the system since 2006.

 

[gerg]

Out of curiousity, what's our frame of reference for the Wii's future sales? Will Nintendo have failed if the Wii doesn't sell over 50k units a week until the end of March? Is consistently selling over 30k units (with steady NSMB Wii sales) acceptable?

I don't think Nintendo could only do so much and especially for this quarter. They knew they would have almost zero third party support, they knew the same quarter last year was a total disaster and they are doing the same mistake again. If there is no Mario Galaxy 2 for Golden Week there is no excuse for Iwata. They are veeeeery lucky NSMBW sells the way it sells.

I'm trying to find the position Wii would be right now if NSMBW wasn't the hit it is. The only explanation I can give is that Iwata was very confident this title would sell so great and move so much hardware otherwise I can't believe they would go again with an empty schedule even if that meant they would have to rush some other projects.

I know I start to become repetitive but I really can't explain this first party situation of Wii in Japan this year.

I'm not sure I get this mentality. It seems that Nintendo is never smart for running a risk that actually worked in their favour.

 

[schuelma]

I'm not sure I get this mentality. It seems that Nintendo is never smart for running a risk that actually worked in their favour.

It would be smarter to not rely on a single title to maintain sales for 4-5 months. I don't see what it even controversial or debatable about this- Nintendo gets full props for developing and marketing a title that is selling like NSMB Wii, but I fail to see why that should be the extent of their efforts for a whole quarter...not to mention the exact same strategy utterly failed last year.

 

[charlequin]

Not only did duckroll provide a stinging rebuke to Spiegel's claim here, but this also illustrates exactly what everyone did wrong with the Wii. If you had even a single publisher you could post a list like that for on that system I imagine they'd be raking it in now.

 

[Chris1964]

I'm not sure I get this mentality. It seems that Nintendo is never smart for running a risk that actually worked in their favour.

Nintendo took the same risk last year (and with more titles) and failed. If you think that Wii sales will remain steady until the next big release get ready to be unpleasantly surprised. Maybe they will be over last year but all the hype NSMBW has built will be lost. So back to the beginning for Nintendo.
That's why I insist that Galaxy 2 must be out this Golden Week. It won't be a system seller but it will help to maintain Wii gamer base active. After all the game was supposed to be almost completed since last year. I don't think what I say is something strange but what common logic suggests.

 

[charlequin]

It would be smarter to not rely on a single title to maintain sales for 4-5 months. I don't see what it even controversial or debatable about this- Nintendo gets full props for developing and marketing a title that is selling like NSMB Wii, but I fail to see why that should be the extent of their efforts for a whole quarter...not to mention the exact same strategy utterly failed last year.

Right. Running a risk that works in someone's favor is only worthwhile if the level of success produced by that risk is far in excess of the success they could obtain normally through operating conservatively.

In other words, the risks taken in the design and market positioning of the DS and Wii should be applauded since they were huge risks but produced a monumental payoff that it's likely Nintendo could not have possibly achieved through any other strategy, while releasing nothing for their system for three months is a risk with no particular upside -- when it "works" all that means is that it didn't screw them over, not that it produced a particularly great result, and therefore there's no reason to comment positively on it.

 

[gerg]

It would be smarter to not rely on a single title to maintain sales for 4-5 months.

Only if that single title fails to propel hardware sales for that time period, or is likely not to do so.

I don't see what it even controversial or debatable about this- Nintendo gets full props for developing and marketing a title that is selling like NSMB Wii, but I fail to see why that should be the extent of their efforts for a whole quarter...

Define "should".

Sure, if Wii sales start to tank then Nintendo will have repeated the same mistake as they made last year. In that scenario, I wholeheartedly agree that Nintendo "should" have released more games.

If Wii sales remain steady and healthy until their next major game release (which is likely to be SMG2), then I'm not so sure.

Unless you're looking at this from a software perspective (as opposed to a hardware perspective), in which case I agree that, if Nintendo wants to keep its software environment as buoyant and as healthy as possible, it should release more software.

not to mention the exact same strategy utterly failed last year.

I think NSMB Wii has shown itself to be of a different caliber than either Animal Crossing or Wii Music. The comparison is unfair to make.

 

[schuelma]

while releasing nothing for their system for three months is a risk with no particular upside -- when it "works" all that means is that it didn't screw them over, not that it produced a particularly great result, and therefore there's no reason to comment positively on it.

Exactly. Perfectly stated.

 

[Cosmonaut X]

I think NSMB Wii has shown itself to be of a different caliber than either Animal Crossing or Wii Music. The comparison is unfair to make.

I think you're really missing the point. Just because their big holiday title in 2009 has turned out to be monstrously successful doesn't make the gamble they've taken any more sensible than it was last year - it just means that this time it paid off.

 

[duckroll]

Even if Wii sales remain stable, and NSMBW continues selling forever, it is not a good thing for a system to have an empty release schedule for 4 months. Sure Nintendo is making money, they're always making money, hell they made money off the N64! But as far as the market at large is concerned, it would not be healthy at all for the Wii to have no new releases. It would just make more and more gamers who have the system simply look elsewhere for entertainment when they need a new game to play.

 

[Mr.Wuggles]

i've been noticing this since last year when so many publishers started announcing more PSP games, and looking at that list it's become even more obvious. it can't be ignored - why is the PSP's upcoming release list so much bigger nowadays? hopefully the Wii taint isn't rubbing off the DS. one might say the DS list is smaller these days because a successor is possibly coming soon, but did the PS2's support dry up during the end of its reign?