Todd Mitchell tells us how the Wii sucks for third-parties (again)
by Chris Greenhough 
{ Nov 30th 2007 at 12:45PM }
Just in case you didn't hear him the first time he said it, Kaufman Bros. analyst Todd Mitchell has reiterated his belief that the Wii only truly benefits Nintendo, and that third-party developers have only seen "isolated successes" on the console.
Mitchell's argument may have been aired before, but it's also tricky to dismiss, especially as only two third-party titles have so far broken the one million sales barrier (launch twosome Red Steel and Rayman Raving Rabbids). Then again, when it comes to top-drawer, original Wii software, Nintendo has delivered on a fairly regular basis. With the odd exception or two, can the same really be said of other publishers?
[Via Go Nintendo]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
troy @ Nov 30th 2007 1:10PM
I stopped reading when you said only two 3rd party titles passed 1 million and listed two games that didn't include RE4 Wii which also did. I realized you were full of shit and stopped caring what you had to say.
troy @ Nov 30th 2007 1:12PM
There are more than two exceptions too. You might be contributing to bad 3rd party software sales just by being whiny. When the 'fanboy' site for your favorite console says every game is hugely flawed or forgets they exist or publishes information making upcoming games sound crippled on the Wii when they aren't (I'm looking at Hinkle on that one) perhaps it influences people who don't take the time to realize that the writers of this blog are often suffering from 'bug up ass syndrome' when it comes to the Wii and its games.
racecar @ Nov 30th 2007 1:45PM
Why are you here then? Just out of curiosity. I always wonder why people frequent places that they flame (considering this is the second article you've complained about in 2 days).
-racecar
http://everybodyvotes.blogspot.com
Dash @ Nov 30th 2007 1:13PM
Didn't Cooking Mama saved Majesco from bankruptcy? (or was it all the cheaper DS version?)
And isn't Guitar Hero Wii selling like crazy? Or the Resident Evil games?
Chris is right. The Wii can sell third-party games (just like the DS does), but not when those are Boogie or Bug Island. Nobody can sell Bug Island.
troy @ Nov 30th 2007 1:20PM
Games I've played lately that were awesome: 'Ghost Squad,' 'Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles,' 'Dewy's Adventure,' TWO TRAUMA CENTER GAMES, 'Smarty Pants,' and I'm about to try out 'Soulcalibur Legends.' 'Nights' is on its way out, 'Samba De Amigo,' there is already Z&W, RE4, Godfather, and countless more. Elebits? Geometry Wars? Metal of Honor Heroes 1 & 2, My Word Coach, Sonic and the Secret Rings, blah blah blah. Sure there's a lot of crap, but is every game on PS360 good? Are even their A100 games any good? Lair? More people are suing microsoft over Halo3 than noticed any improvements over the earlier 2 games (exaggeration but whatever. At least not every headline in the world has that on it). Sometimes Wii fanboy plays right into the perception that the Wii is a big strap-breaking, arm-tiring, grandmas-only minigame festival that true gamers need not apply to due to the lack of good third party games. Meanwhile, actual Wii fans are playing day after day... good god what a messup
scaught @ Nov 30th 2007 1:24PM
Yeah, I agree with pretty much everyone here. If you make a shitty game, don't expect much.
I have all three systems. The game I have been playing the most is Super Mario Galaxy. Game of the year as far as I am concerned (just edged out Bioshock in my book). So the Wii can be a house of fun and quality, but third parties are churning out poo.
twitchboy @ Nov 30th 2007 1:30PM
It seems to me that it's more like 3rd parties suck for the Wii.
Having only recently purchased my Wii, I am a little concerned by the lack of effort put forth by most 3rd party developers.
From a purely financial point of view I can understand why these companies want to get a game out as quickly as possible. But I find it extremely insulting as a gamer when I see another crappy ps/2/p port or mini game compilation.
The idea that the Wii is only for casual users needs to end. It's the games that define the system. Just because a game doesn't have jaw-dropping visuals doesn't mean it can't be "hard core" enough to sell more than a million copies. Nintendo is not forcing cute little mini-games down the throats of 3rd party devs.
Mr.Nitemare @ Nov 30th 2007 1:32PM
this article if full of crap... with only two listed third party titles listed as selling over a million units? when, as stated by troy, RE4 sold over a million already, and as Dash said, Majesco has stated that the Wii along with the DS has saved it from bankruptcy as well as the fact that it appears that Guitar Hero 3 is excelling extremely well, third parties have the possibility of selling on the Wii, not to mention that profit margins are higher due to lower production costs, but as stated time and time again... a horrid game like Bug Island or the such is going to be just that on any system, a horrid game... third parties have to realize that a bad game is going to be bad no matter what system you put it on...and experience should show that quality games sell regardless of the system unless you've already created your own hole with a track record of bad games...
Mr.Nitemare @ Nov 30th 2007 1:35PM
Oh, and also, Wii Fanboy is slowly losing my respect, it is starting to appear that rather than being fanboys or even being unbiased in these articles it is starting to lean more towards the "All the negatives are correct" approach... guys you have to either be fanboys or unbiased towards the system at least if you are going to write for a Fanboy site.. if the articles were more thought out and instead of just admitting defeat, only admitted defeat when defeat has truly occured then the site would be a better read....starting to get as bad as Gamespot...
JodyAnthony (Good Eats Defense Force) @ Nov 30th 2007 1:46PM
wow, what a bunch of crybabies
(the commenters, not the writers)
Mr Khan @ Nov 30th 2007 5:01PM
Aye
This site's got relative objectivity for a fanboy site, which makes me feel as though i'm not entering a place with tobias blinders all over everything
gevenstaines @ Nov 30th 2007 1:51PM
there are enough good 1st party titles to keep me happy.
LilCo187 @ Nov 30th 2007 1:58PM
The fact that third parties are efforting more into the other 2 consoles is quite a testament to the quality of 1st party Nintendo titles. 1st Party titles don't exsist on Xbox bungie IS NOT a 1st party dev), and PS not much better. Sure they may put out great games but nothing compared to the 11 out of 10 quality level of Nintendo's interal studios.
However, it also is a truely sad situation when we cant get a game that even Nintendo admits they couldn't do as well as a 3rd party company could to sell well on the console....
Jonathan Tran @ Nov 30th 2007 2:05PM
It's not really Nintendo's fault. Make better games, they will sell.
Rudy @ Nov 30th 2007 2:10PM
People who buy the Wii are mostly content with Wii Sports.
(At least this is true with my community)
amaron11 @ Nov 30th 2007 2:41PM
TAKE THE TIME TO DEVELOP THE GAMES!
MAKE THE CONTROLS INTERESTING AND MAKE THEM WORK.
Sorry. This 3rd party argument is getting nowhere. If it's a good game, people will buy it. It's that simple.
Darnell @ Nov 30th 2007 3:06PM
Didn't Zack and Wiki do both of these things. Noone really bought that.
TWOO DEE @ Dec 1st 2007 2:17AM
How boring would this blog be if every article was in fact in the vein of a Wii fanboy? Perhaps the writers are just promoting discussion?
I'm with Jody on this one...
bombtrak @ Nov 30th 2007 3:43PM
Doesn't seem like this is a Big N problem so much as the publishers' own problem. Make great games with a) great gameplay, b) memorable characters/storyline, or c) both(!!!) and your game will sell well!
re: Darnell: Yes, Zack and Wiki was a well developed, welll-use-of-controls game, but the characters/art design weren't very marketable. Generic in every way. Maybe they fit the game, but they still didn't stand out enough to make many people buy the game.
Mr Khan @ Nov 30th 2007 5:03PM
See, i think it was because the art WASN'T generic, it was stylized and cartoony, which put it in the same position that crushed Viva Pinata, Calling All Cars, and probably will crush Little Big Planet
If they had gone with a different art style and done some advertising, it would have shown forth as something glorious
Aztec @ Nov 30th 2007 6:19PM
Success on the wii = Make a game that is unique + fun. If your 3rd party games success focuses on beautiful graphics but is not fun or in any way unique YOUR GAME WILL FAIL ON THE WII. Frosting on the cake would be a new + unique + FUN way to use the controls. STOP PORTING GAMES TO THE WII WITHOUT MAKING NEW AND UNIQUE
Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Dec 1st 2007 8:59AM
Well, clear Nintendo bias of the blog doesn't benefit 3rd parties.
I do not like Nintendo franchises and personally would have appreciated deeper coverage of 3rd party games. There are lots of good games - it is just very hard to find them.
Constant flood of crappy uninformative "dojo update" posts (which I rather classify as "pr0n") doesn't really help to create an image that hardcore fans really care about 3rd parties.
gorecki @ Dec 1st 2007 10:54AM
I hate to say this, but I think he is right. The attach rates for the Wii are much lowr than for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Hardore gamers in general want the more powerful consoles, so if they own a Wii it will be in addition to one of the other ones. The people who only own a Wii are normally more casual gamers, who buy fewer games. When they do buy games, they either go with a highly rated game, or a 'value' mini-game compilation like Carnival Games. There is no room in the middle for games which are pretty good but not as good as Mario Galaxy, because Wii owners don't try as many things out.
So 3rd parties wither need to spend huge amounts making their game a must own, or knock out a quick and nasty set of mini-games. I know which is easier.
dromens @ Dec 3rd 2007 8:33PM
This could also be because the 3rd party releases can also be found on other, graphically superior consoles. That can't help.
That said, I highly recommend Medal of Honor Heroes 2. It's the Cat's Bananas.