2K exec criticizes casual titles on Wii

by David Hinkle { Jan 14th 2009 at 2:41PM }

2K Games Global President Christoph Hartmann doesn't see 2009 as a great year for casual publishers. He sees the console flooded in a flurry of casual games, what he dubs "crappy titles." He thinks that for every ten casual titles produced, publishers expect two to be hits, financing the other eight. The problem is that all of those titles flood the market, making it tougher for casual games to prosper and only servies to confuse consumers.

He points to his own 2K-published Carnival Games as an example. "Had we released it last week, it would have been much tougher," he says. "There's far too much stuff in the Wii market [now] and it's hard to shine."

Regardless of a game's focus, we've always been big advocates of fun. If a game is only a collection of minigames, it's fine so long as they're fun to play. We think even pushing for that ten can mean that more than two are engaging and not "crappy," as he puts it. What do you all think? Too many casual games out there?

[Via Joystiq]

Tags: 2k, business, carnival-games, casual, sales, salesfigures, shovelware

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Hardy @ Jan 14th 2009 2:53PM

I don't care if a game is casual, I care if they're "crap".

There's too many crap games for the Wii, but that's the problem with any system that's the most popular.

I mean go to a video game section of a store and look in the bargin bin. You'll see a TON of games you've never heard of.

Unfortunatly, Nintendo is reaching a market not use to game, so all the easier to fool them into getting this crap.

If Nintendo was smart they'd bring back the Seal of QUALITY, but this is a business about money after all.

Rocketboy @ Jan 14th 2009 2:55PM

"2K Games Global President Christoph Hartmann doesn't see 2009 as a great year for casual publishers. He sees the console flooded in a flurry of casual games, what he dubs "crappy titles.""

Yes, that's TOTALLY unlike Carnival Games. It's not a "crappy title" full of home baked shovels at all.

samfish @ Jan 14th 2009 3:05PM

""There's far too much stuff in the Wii market [now] and it's hard to shine.""

Someone needs to tell him that shit doesn't shine, so much as it just sorta glistens under the right kind of light.

Complete hypocrisy, though. He's complaining because it makes it harder for HIM to make shovelware. Bastard.

Friggin' douche bag. Him having the gall to say that just makes me angry, to be honest. Carnival Games sells close to something like 2 million copies. Then they don't even take that profit (which is a LOT for a game as cheaply made) and put it into the minigolf sequel.
My god! Have you all read the reviews on Carnival Games Minigolf? They're truly abysmal! By all accounts, it's WORSE than Carnival Games!

This guy can complain about the crappy games on the Wii when he and his company stop making shitfests that they bang out in 6 months and don't fund.

bukizzle715 @ Jan 14th 2009 3:18PM

Lol @ shitfests. So eloquently put.

dan @ Jan 14th 2009 3:35PM

I think it's just a natural part of the economy. Someone makes the iPod, the Wii... and everyone rushes to capitalize on it with accessories, knockoffs, and a lot of crap that really isn't worthy. Consumers respond, and the crap naturally filters out. Within a few years, only the strong survive.

I expect one more year of crap. You're going to see a lot of casual titles failing, and people refining what a *good* casual game is. This is also going to be the year that the pendulum begins swinging back to the middle, towards a balance between casual games and hardcore games.

intro94 @ Jan 14th 2009 3:51PM

have any of you played carnival games?is one of the worst games in history, by far.I mean , hes bitter cuz his shit sold like shit, go figures.How on earth did he expect to sell that fecal matter?HOW???!

daimyonintendo @ Jan 14th 2009 4:02PM

No there are not too many casual games out there, there are too many crappy casual games out there. I traded in 13 of my Wii and 12 of my Gamecube titles to EBGames cuz I was thinking why did I even buy them, I don't really play them, I get no satisfaction from them sitting on shelves like some douche bag who wants to show off his collection of games he does not play. I am sure I will get rid of even more, and in the future I will be MUCH MORE selective about what I purchase.

Organous @ Jan 14th 2009 8:48PM

I actually agree here. Everyone wants to capitalize on the Wii system's commercial success, and we're seeing a flood of bad games all over again. It's just like what happened to Atari, shockingly so. The only difference here is that a lot of people get involved in making these games, so none of them can be budget titles. That alone may end up preventing another crash.
Too many developers have the mindset of "we need a game quickly, flesh out the details later."

Russ Carroll @ Jan 14th 2009 4:22PM

I agree with too much crap, but not with too much casual. Casual does not equal crap.
MLB Superstars http://2ksports.com/games/mlbsuperstars, well that's crap!
Sounds like 2K is mad at themselves, and they should be. Here's to hoping they put some better titles on the Wii than they've done so far.

time @ Jan 14th 2009 5:13PM

if you're angry at crap don't put any out there yourself. It's quite easy to not be a hypocrite.

Yi @ Jan 15th 2009 12:45AM

I'd only tried Carnival Games on the DS and i must say it is one of the worst game i've ever played. I mean, you started by wandering off in the carnival going from one booth to another playing mini games. Yea, that's the only thing you do, going from one booth to another just to play MINI GAMES! And to make it worst, ALL, i repeat, ALL of the minigames suck big time! I was so stressed out playing those games that it killed off my mood on the DS for a few days. Luckily, i managed to sell that game on ebay at a very good price. I pity the buyer, but lucky me :D

2K exec criticizes casual titles on Wii