Author Topic: Can the Wii get exclusives from the medium third party developers? (Read 8956 times)

Kairon · « **on:** May 23, 2007, 05:59:32 PM »

With the Wii simply rocketing in all three territories, I'm eager to see if thie translates into general, widespread third party support, like what the PS2 was able to boast.

I mean, many small and medium sized third parties delivered their 50,000, 100,000, and 200,000 selling games to the PS2, and there were certainly gems among the rough. As a one console owner who missed out on that, I'd be ecstatic to get that this time around on the Wii!

Particularly, I want all those RPGs that I missed out on from companies like NiS and Atlus!!! Will Atlus shift over the bulk of their franchises to the Wii? Will NiS do so as well? We're already seeing the next Rygar as a Wii exclusive... Certainly with both the X360 and PS3 suffering in Japan, the bulk of the smaller RPG developers must be eyeing the Wii as their number one platform!!!

And why have some light gun games been announced for the PS3 and X360, but NOT the WII?!?!? That is EXACTLY what I don't want!!!

Adrock · « **Reply #1 on:** May 23, 2007, 06:29:49 PM »

Depends on if Wii can keep selling the way it has and if Nintendo is actively pursuing those developers.

Bill Aurion · « **Reply #2 on:** May 23, 2007, 11:26:17 PM »

I don't think Ninty will have to actively pursue them if their sales keep the way they have... =)

Kairon · « **Reply #3 on:** June 05, 2007, 10:34:39 PM »

Now I'm sorta becoming afraid that these sorts of companies and developers won't shift their games from PS2 to Wii, but to the DS instead! LOL.

Infernal Monkey · « **Reply #4 on:** June 05, 2007, 10:47:02 PM »

There's probably a very good chance of NiS shifting to Wii (HD sprites would be a nightmare!) I'm sure Wii will see lots of cool little gems like the PS2 got eventually!

Shift Key · « **Reply #5 on:** June 05, 2007, 10:53:14 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
And why have some light gun games been announced for the PS3 and X360, but NOT the WII?!?!? That is EXACTLY what I don't want!!!

I do recall RE4Wii and UC involving the simple point and click interface of a gun game.

All I will say is "Wait for E3". There'll be announcements, the hype bandwagon will start moving, the peons will rejoice, et cetera et cetera.

Terranigma Freak · « **Reply #6 on:** June 06, 2007, 01:48:31 AM »

It's not just that, but also the fact that it costs 20 million on average to develop a game on the 360 and PS3. Even if you sell 500,000, you've barely broke even on the development costs.

Spak-Spang · « **Reply #7 on:** June 06, 2007, 03:20:27 AM »

couchmonkey · « **Reply #8 on:** June 06, 2007, 03:53:23 AM »

If you're a smallish Japanese developer and you want to keep making RPGs for home consoles, Wii is quickly becoming the only place to do it. PS3 sales are poor and the budgets are high.

Spak-Spang · « **Reply #9 on:** June 06, 2007, 04:30:52 AM »

All I want is a Wii EDF.

Please give me Wii EDF. I will be happy, and will play it over and over until I beat it...on all skill levels, and collecting all weapons.

Smash_Brother · « **Reply #10 on:** June 06, 2007, 05:04:27 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: couchmonkey
If you're a smallish Japanese developer and you want to keep making RPGs for home consoles, Wii is quickly becoming the only place to do it. PS3 sales are poor and the budgets are high.

I'm hoping this is the case.

It'll be widely held that the Wii is the ONLY alternative in these situations.

Kairon · « **Reply #11 on:** June 06, 2007, 06:25:33 AM »

*ahem* What about the DS? in a couple of months it'll have an install base of 20 million in Japan, looking more and more like the true successor to the PS2. Why wouldn't developers go there instead of the Wii?

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #12 on:** June 06, 2007, 06:45:01 AM »

non-gamers dont play RPGs

Smash_Brother · « **Reply #13 on:** June 06, 2007, 06:59:06 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Professional 666
non-gamers dont play RPGs

All RPG players are non-gamers.

Some people just prefer the home console, but yes, the DS could be the next "true" successor, at least in Japan.

couchmonkey · « **Reply #14 on:** June 06, 2007, 09:33:52 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
*ahem* What about the DS? in a couple of months it'll have an install base of 20 million in Japan, looking more and more like the true successor to the PS2. Why wouldn't developers go there instead of the Wii?

That's why I tried to specify home consoles in my post. I agree that DS is a great alternative too, but if home consoles are still part of a company's strategy, PS2 and Wii are the only viable choices in Japan right now.

WuTangTurtle · « **Reply #15 on:** June 06, 2007, 10:17:46 AM »

The DS is gonna get all the RPG lovin, it beats the Wii easily, and already has Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy Tactics A-2, and even Disgaea lined up.

As much as I'd like to see RPG's come back to a Nintendo home console, the handhelds will have to do......for now.

Spak-Spang · « **Reply #16 on:** June 06, 2007, 10:49:56 AM »

What is funny...is that I can see portable gaming becoming the new home console. Its perfect because you can play at home without taking up the TV, or you can take it on the go. And with technology getting better I can see game system going more and more portable.

Which is why the Wii is so perfect. The Wii gaming experience can't be taken on the road. It must be experienced at home...and as such makes it a perfect unique home console experience. But really, everything that home consoles do, can be done in some form on a portable.

Flames_of_chaos · « **Reply #17 on:** June 06, 2007, 02:13:21 PM »

Nintendoes what the others don't which is a unique experience whether your on the go or at home.

King of Twitch · « **Reply #18 on:** June 06, 2007, 03:25:59 PM »

"Certainly with both the X360 and PS3 suffering in Japan, the bulk of the smaller RPG developers must be eyeing the Wii as their number one platform!!!"

You'd think so wouldn't you? But that's the problem: you're thinking. It makes as much sense as making a touchscreen calculator for the PSP.

Chalk it up to third party exclu-stupidity (exclusive stupidity). see: Capcom 5, Soul Calibur 3, RE4 announcement. edit: add the @@@@s at Konami to the list-Castlevania PSP

At E3 we'll learn if they wise up or are bribed by Sony.

UERD · « **Reply #19 on:** June 06, 2007, 04:31:54 PM »

One more thing: a lot of people though PS3 was going to be #1 again, even after they announced the $600 price point. With PS3 down the tubes and XBox a proven failure in Japan, Nintendo has an opportunity to woo a lot of these developers, especially if sales numbers continue as they have been going.

Galford · « **Reply #20 on:** June 06, 2007, 06:17:05 PM »

The Wii getting more 3rd party support?
Are you talking more mini-game collections/spin-offs or normal gamer titles?

It's really too early to say if more 3rd parties will jump on board.
In Japan you have the DS taking up all the oxygen, in the western markets if you targer the 360 you can port to the PC and PS3.

It's still too early in the this console life cycle to see clearly.

PS- Edited for spelling.

couchmonkey · « **Reply #21 on:** June 08, 2007, 05:50:37 AM »

Useless, unsourced, paraphrased info: I was reading an interview with a Japanese developer a while back and the guy was saying that everyone in Japan will be developing for Wii...and this was someone who supports Xbox 360. It may have been Keiji Inafune.

I have a feeling we're going to see more and more games out of Japan. Realisitically, Wii is going to be number 1 at the end of this year. It's already number 1 by a pretty comfortable margin in Japan - basically any publisher, especially a Japanese one, has to take Wii seriously at this point.

RawsteelUT · « **Reply #22 on:** June 10, 2007, 05:56:29 PM »

In Japan, most certainly.

In America and Europe? Who knows?

The thing with predicting 3rd party support for Nintendo platforms is that most people don't take into account the fact that 3rd party games just don't sell. Yes, a lot of 3rd party games are horrible on the Wii, but even good ones like Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz don't sell that high, and that's the epitomy of the Wii's audience. The biggest 3rd party success story on the Wii is Rayman: Raving Rabbids, and even that didn't have anything near the sales of Wii Play + Wii Remote.

3rd parties are going to look at the hardware sales, surely, but the fact is that Nintendo's consumers, for the most part, don't give a crap about 3rd party titles, regardless of titles. And the non-gamers who are just buying the Wii for the novelty of Wii Sports are even less likely to look at releases than the average Halo or Grand Theft Auto user, so reaching them would take tons of marketing money, negating the lower development costs. Contrast that to the 360, which has a very high attach ratio and where 3rd party games sell great routinely, and you're not going to see Wii 3rd party support skyrocket beyond this holiday's attempt to exploit the spike in sales.

And then there's the question of Wii's staying power. The Wii is no doubt blowing the doors off the hinges right now, but will it continue to sell this well in a full year? In two years? The 360 isn't running full-speed, but it's settled into a consistant, somewhat reliable ~200,000 a month, with a 1,000,000 unit month all but assured when Halo 3 comes out (just like what happened with Gears of War last year). The 360 is just the most profitable current-gen platform for 3rd parties who want to move on from the PS2.

Kairon · « **Reply #23 on:** June 10, 2007, 06:11:55 PM »

Ah, and what will happen if Japanese developers actually abandon the Japanese game market like Capcom has virtually done already with throwing their support behind the XBox 360 and garnering most of their sales overseas (Lost Planet, Dead Rising, etc.)?

Quote
Originally posted by: RawsteelUT
The biggest 3rd party success story on the Wii is Rayman: Raving Rabbids, and even that didn't have anything near the sales of Wii Play + Wii Remote.

A better comparison would be Rayman Raving Rabbids versus Wario Ware... and that comparison HAS been quite favorable for third parties.

RawsteelUT · « **Reply #24 on:** June 10, 2007, 06:26:43 PM »

Got a point there, Kairon. It's hard to compare any game's sales to that of a game that is fundamentally $10 (the Wii remote by itself is $40). Rayman versus Wario Ware is a much better comparison. Still, it's the exception that proves the rule. I might be wrong, but I don't think any 3rd party title has come even remotely close to Rayman: Raving Rabbids, even Ubi's other titles. The perception among most developers, factual or not, is that Nintendo hardware is bought mostly for Nintendo software. Heck, look at the DS. What's the last 3rd party title on the DS to sell at blockbuster levels in the western world? I can't think of one either.

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Author Topic: Can the Wii get exclusives from the medium third party developers? (Read 8956 times)