View Full Version : Maturity Dead On Wii
aubergine
05-01-2010, 12:37 PM
Sega have apparantly said they'll no longer throw good money away on M-rated Wii titles, such as Madworld and House Of The Dead Overkill.
They were in two minds about continuing when the decision was handed to them by EA's Dead Space Extraction, which I was shocked to learn only sold 9000 copies in it's first month. Their (rather sound) reasoning is that if EA cannot sell a mature game for Wii, with all their marketing muscle, what chance does anyone else have?
(story from kotaku, can't make link on iPhone sorry)
Here's a link. (http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/news/21043/)
Note the 'probably'. Sucks because HotD: Overkill is pretty much the most fun I've had with a game in a long time.
AranchineD
05-01-2010, 12:45 PM
If there were actually mature gamers who bought the Wii this probably wouldn't be happening OH AS IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING BOYS
aubergine
05-01-2010, 12:51 PM
There musnt be significant numbers of them, or rather, they have 360s for their violent game fix.
Fenrir
05-01-2010, 01:15 PM
Honestly, another sobering reminder that actual gamers make up a puny microcosm of game-buying consumers, and as such warrant no real attention.
Actually, journalism should adjust accordingly: apply perfect scores to game-as-merch movie-/sport-spinoffs*, and rubbish anything weird, no-name and/or Japanese. Focusing grossly disproportionate swathes of journalism on the obscure niche corner of the market is probably what's keeping the rest of society from taking video games seriously.
*But only if they're released in time for the movie/big game, of course.
Lazlow
05-01-2010, 01:23 PM
Not completely dead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Hill_Shattered_Memories)
igotnewsuper8systemWRONG!
05-01-2010, 01:51 PM
Not completely dead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Hill_Shattered_Memories)
Will be interesting to see how well the game sold in it's first month in the US.
punkgorilla
05-01-2010, 03:05 PM
Will be interesting to see how well the game sold in it's first month in the US.
Here's the sales for the first three weeks (via VGChartz (http://www.vgchartz.com/games/gamereviewdisp.php?id=33214))
1. 44,756
2. 27,148
3. 25,520
Total: 97 424
McChimp
05-01-2010, 05:53 PM
It's truly sad, because the Wii had so much potential for every style of game for any age. I just know that from the games people buy from us, well, let's just say I can't remember the last time anyone bought anything other than shovelware.
borgster101
05-01-2010, 06:59 PM
There musnt be significant numbers of them, and they have 360s/PS3's for their violent game fix.
Fixed.
Well I bought these games and really enjoyed them .. shame on you people waiting for a price drop for Dead Space Extraction before buying it :p .. though from the looks of it, it's probably not that far off .. haha! Seriously though, it's pretty damn good .. so check it out :)
Also, the third point as to why "mature" games didn't sell that much on Wii is because they were either;
(1) niche titles unlikely to sell much more on the HD systems anyway (MadWorld, No More Heroes)
(2) spin off titles of major franchises which have a home on the HD systems (Resident Evil / Dead Space on rails shooters) and
(3) inferior ports of HD versions, i.e. Call of Duty.
There hasn't been any big budget / mainstream appeal "mature" titles developed for Wii .. and why would there be, when there is very little core gamers that own a Wii exclusively and the big budget blockbuster action titles gravitate towards the big HD systems.
Maturity dead on Wii? .. it was never really alive. Of course that doesn't make the games in categories 1 and 2 above bad .. in fact they are quite awesome, just not very marketable.
Xanafalgue
05-01-2010, 08:14 PM
Was never there to begin with.
REQUIEM
05-01-2010, 11:28 PM
Sega have apparantly said they'll no longer throw good money away on M-rated Wii titles, such as Madworld and House Of The Dead Overkill.
They were in two minds about continuing when the decision was handed to them by EA's Dead Space Extraction, which I was shocked to learn only sold 9000 copies in it's first month. Their (rather sound) reasoning is that if EA cannot sell a mature game for Wii, with all their marketing muscle, what chance does anyone else have?
(story from kotaku, can't make link on iPhone sorry)
Good, Wii sucks anyways ( i only like it for wii bowling and mad world). SEGA should urn ALL future plans into making a new games machine so i can lay my Dreamcast to rest.
RunningMild
06-01-2010, 03:14 AM
Let's think about this for a second- how many 'mature' Wii games are actually good?
As borgster said, most of the Wii's mature games are either inferior ports of better games, or cut-down versions/spinoffs of more successful games. Maybe I'm missing something here, but if I had a choice between a deep survival horror game and an on-rails shooter equivalent (and there isn't much difference in the price), why the hell would I ever take the second option? Why would I choose an FPS with gimped online options, or a music game with no/less DLC, etc? And don't even get me started on Dead Rising...
It seems to me that most of the 'mature' games that don't sell well simply aren't good games. If the issue was maturity, why did Silent Hill sell 97,000+ in the first month? Why is No More Heroes getting a sequel? I bet SEGA will do a backflip if something like Red Steel 2 becomes a hit.
SEGA should urn ALL future plans into making a new games machine so i can lay my Dreamcast to rest.
Because that worked so well for them last time... :rolleyes:
Because that worked so well for them last time... :rolleyes:
...huh?
REQUIEM
06-01-2010, 09:21 AM
Because that worked so well for them last time... :rolleyes:
The Dreamcast was an excellent machine.
punkgorilla
06-01-2010, 11:36 AM
It seems to me that most of the 'mature' games that don't sell well simply aren't good games.
Combine this with what borgster said about the better adult games being niche and you have the reason they aren't selling particularly well. Not to mention the complete lack of marketing for these games. You can't just put a game on store shelves and expect it to sell, regardless of how good it is. Dead Space Extraction was a marketing screw-up and it paid the price (and there's countless more examples of this).
The Dreamcast was an excellent machine.
It also nearly killed the company. Which is what Mr_M was getting at.
REQUIEM
06-01-2010, 12:47 PM
It also nearly killed the company. Which is what Mr_M was getting at.
No the dreamcast didnt nearly kill sega " PIRACY " nearly killed sega, please get the facts straight.
RunningMild
06-01-2010, 01:47 PM
The Dreamcast was an excellent machine.
Look, if SEGA had no trouble making consoles they'd still be doing it, right?
Dreamcast was great, but Saturn sucked. Everything aside from the Mega Drive was a colossal flop. Seems to me that SEGA are better off focusing on making games.
No the dreamcast didnt nearly kill sega " PIRACY " nearly killed sega, please get the facts straight.
So piracy killed the Dreamcast but not the PS2. Why is that? Piracy was rampant on the PS2 and it was the highest selling console ever...
Xanafalgue
06-01-2010, 02:02 PM
The comedy train keeps on rolling...
The Director General of Capcom France, Antoine Seux, has suggested that the opportunity for 'hardcore' games has dried up following disappointing sales of Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. This comes as Seux announces that the company will be focusing more on PS3 and Xbox 360 development.
In a lengthy and revealing interview with French website Gamekult (via our wonky translator), Seux states that development on “the Wii was very difficult, with an oversupply [of games] and a gamer market that has radically changed. [So-called “gamer's games”] are selling less and less on the console, [be it] MadWorld or Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop or House of the Dead: Overkill.”
Capcom's recent on-rails shooter, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, sold a total of only 16,000 units after three weeks on sale by 23rd December 2009. In contrast Seux notes that Resident Evil 4 sold 140,000 units back at its release in June 2007. The problem, he suggests, is the change in audience. “One feels that there is a problem very clear on this style of game on the Wii, where gamers have obviously moved on. Resident Evil 4 on Wii worked well, but [it was released] when the market had nothing!”
...
“This is the year of the emergence of so-called 'new console generation',” Seux concludes, referring to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. “The Wii is still an important part of sales, but growth is on both [Sony and Microsoft's] platforms. The Wii console is very much a family commitment... for us, Capcom, the future is the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.”
Is it really worth having a Wii at all? I want to ask for one for my birthday (as IF I'm going to pay for the ****ing thing) but I can't for the life of me seeing myself enjoying anything aside from Super Mario Galaxy...
REQUIEM
06-01-2010, 02:25 PM
Look, if SEGA had no trouble making consoles they'd still be doing it, right?
Dreamcast was great, but Saturn sucked. Everything aside from the Mega Drive was a colossal flop. Seems to me that SEGA are better off focusing on making games.
So piracy killed the Dreamcast but not the PS2. Why is that? Piracy was rampant on the PS2 and it was the highest selling console ever...
Needed to mod the PS2 the dreamcast was boot disc so ANYONE could do it.
Don't need to mod a ps2 either, but carry on.
REQUIEM
06-01-2010, 03:17 PM
Don't need to mod a ps2 either, but carry on.
You did when i played mine over 6 six years or so ago. That was the only way back then bud.
RunningMild
06-01-2010, 03:30 PM
Needed to mod the PS2 the dreamcast was boot disc so ANYONE could do it.
Modding isn't difficult or expensive though. Everyone I knew who had a PS2 had a modchip and a bunch of pirated games. Was it really easier/cheaper to get a boot disc than a modchip?
Regardless of what caused the Dreamcast to fail, I can't see what SEGA would gain from making a new console. They've lost every console war they ever took part in, and entering a generation where there are three home consoles and two handhelds (three if you count iPhone) already catering to every corner of the market would be suicidal.
The Director General of Capcom France, Antoine Seux, has suggested that the opportunity for 'hardcore' games has dried up following disappointing sales of Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. This comes as Seux announces that the company will be focusing more on PS3 and Xbox 360 development.
In a lengthy and revealing interview with French website Gamekult (via our wonky translator), Seux states that development on “the Wii was very difficult, with an oversupply [of games] and a gamer market that has radically changed. [So-called “gamer's games”] are selling less and less on the console, [be it] MadWorld or Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop or House of the Dead: Overkill.”
Capcom's recent on-rails shooter, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, sold a total of only 16,000 units after three weeks on sale by 23rd December 2009. In contrast Seux notes that Resident Evil 4 sold 140,000 units back at its release in June 2007. The problem, he suggests, is the change in audience. “One feels that there is a problem very clear on this style of game on the Wii, where gamers have obviously moved on. Resident Evil 4 on Wii worked well, but [it was released] when the market had nothing!”
See, that's what I'm talking about. MadWorld was boring and repetitive, and Dead Rising: CTYD is one of the worst games of this generation. House of the Dead sounds good, but when was the last time an on-rails shooter sold well on any console?
And Darkside Chronicles only sold 16,000 units whereas RE4 sold 140,000 units? Could that have something to do with the fact that RE4 is one of the best games of it's generation while Darkside Chronicles is (by most reports) boring and repetitive, not to mention my previous comment re: on-rails shooters?
This is proof that game developers nowadays are complete morons. The problem isn't that the games are 'hardcore' or 'mature', the problem with the games is that they're bad. Also, the term 'hardcore game' suggests challenge and depth, something which is not present in any of the games mentioned in that article (except RE4 of course :p ). Maybe Capcom would have better luck if they actually made some 'hardcore games', instead of making 'casual games with an M rating' and calling them hardcore. :rolleyes:
What's it like being wrong ~90% of the time, M?
You did when i played mine over 6 six years or so ago. That was the only way back then bud.
Bo it basn't.
RunningMild
06-01-2010, 07:31 PM
What's it like being wrong ~90% of the time, M?
And I suppose you can never be wrong because you never post your own opinion... :p
punkgorilla
06-01-2010, 09:00 PM
No the dreamcast didnt nearly kill sega " PIRACY " nearly killed sega, please get the facts straight.
You are a joke.
House of the Dead sounds good, but when was the last time an on-rails shooter sold well on any console?
House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return on the Wii (funnily enough), which sold 1.14 million. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, again for Wii, sold 1.1 million. Time Crisis 4 on the PS3 sold over 700,000.
Maybe Capcom would have better luck if they actually made some 'hardcore games', instead of making 'casual games with an M rating' and calling them hardcore. :rolleyes:
Don't tell me that you, of all people, have forgotten about Monster Hunter Tri. Capcom also have released on the Wii Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure, Okami and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars. Also I should remind you that light gun games, prior to making their home on the Wii, were once considered 'hardcore'.
dinopoke
06-01-2010, 09:09 PM
Also I should remind you that light gun games, prior to making their home on the Wii, were once considered 'hardcore'.
I don't think this ever happened.
AranchineD
06-01-2010, 09:12 PM
Light gun games before Time Crisis 1 were hardcore. After that, hello dumbed down, gimmick-ville.
Australian Ninja
10-01-2010, 08:45 PM
No the dreamcast didnt nearly kill sega " PIRACY " nearly killed sega, please get the facts straight.
Partly true, but there was a bigger picture (and I don't pretend to understand it all). Timing played a part, and having not one but two big companies launching more powerful machines not long after didn't help any.
Certainly it was one of the easiest consoles ever to pirate things for, and it hurt the DC no doubt. SEGA could be accused of focussing too much on arcade ports for the DC (many of which were fine games), but modern gamers demand more than that, and what worked for them on the MD / Genesis didn't really work for the DC, even though it had a ton of great 3rd party suppport.
But as for "piracy" killing it - nothing really happens for a single reason, life is generally more complicated than that.
Look, if SEGA had no trouble making consoles they'd still be doing it, right?
Dreamcast was great, but Saturn sucked. Everything aside from the Mega Drive was a colossal flop. Seems to me that SEGA are better off focusing on making games.
I agree with some of it. The marketing and support for the Saturn in our territory certainly sucked. But there was plenty of brilliant games for the Saturn, so either you didn't get to play the good games, or you have different taste in games?
I played near equal amounts of Mega Drive and Saturn for several years, even after I got my first PS1. The ports of 2D fighters and such were considerably better than the PS1 versions, but the Saturn did suffer when it came to doing 3D. Although Tomb Raider actually came out on Saturn before PS1, but nobody seems to remember that.
Australian Ninja
10-01-2010, 08:54 PM
They've lost every console war they ever took part in,
Um, what?
Sure for the Saturn and the DC, no contest. But the MD and Sega MS sold massive numbers for many years in several regions. Making a shitload of money is hardly losing every console war.
The whole "console war" idea seems to suffer from revisionism these days, like if a console comes out, sells like gangbusters for 5+ years*, then another console comes out (2 or more years later) and EVENTUALLY sells more, it's somehow considered the "winner". What a load of BS.
Oh and I like all consoles equally, I'm not a fan of any company or any of that shit before anyone makes that accusation.
(*yes, we know the MD did better in USA / Europe than it did in Japan,)
Grubdog
10-01-2010, 11:41 PM
Darkside Chronicles is an extremely good game that you shouldn't judge without playing. Dead Space Extraction too.
RunningMild
12-01-2010, 03:11 AM
House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return on the Wii (funnily enough), which sold 1.14 million. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, again for Wii, sold 1.1 million.
So mature games DO sell on the Wii! ;)
Don't tell me that you, of all people, have forgotten about Monster Hunter Tri.
The discussion centered around 'mature' or 'M-rated' games, which I didn't think MHT counted as.
Um, what?
Sure for the Saturn and the DC, no contest. But the MD and Sega MS sold massive numbers for many years in several regions. Making a shitload of money is hardly losing every console war.
Having the lowest selling console of each generation and eventually stopping production of consoles while your competitors keep going sounds exactly like 'losing every console war' to me. :p
And besides, if SEGA couldn't outsell even one competitor when their consoles were selling massive numbers, why does anyone think they can compete with three extremely strong competitors? That's what I was getting at.
Nic Xtreme
12-01-2010, 08:00 AM
To add to sales data, download figures released recently reveal that House of the Dead Overkill has been downloaded close to a million times. Not that *all* those would br sales, mind you, but it still sucks. (Especially since you can get the game for <$30 now)
punkgorilla
12-01-2010, 11:22 AM
So mature games DO sell on the Wii! ;)
I think the key thing is that mature games can sell, but it can be hard to make them sell. Most publishers are used to selling to the hardcore, where apparently the games sell themselves (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/microsoft-hardcore-games-easiest-to-sell). When they try to sell to a different audience and they screw it up, they try to say that the audience doesn't want any mature games, when the truth is that they just don't want theirs.
The discussion centered around 'mature' or 'M-rated' games, which I didn't think MHT counted as.
Fair enough. You said hardcore so I kind of confused it.
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