The guys over at NintendoEverything put some effort into quantifying the reality of Wii sales versus the HD consoles.
Now, obviously this doesn't mean every 3rd party Wii game is a success ... but it does show that things are a lot more balanced than "hardcore" media would lead you to believe.
[link]
Friday, April 9, 2010
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4 comments:
This was a good article. When people say that 3rd party titles don't sell on the Wii without looking up the ones that do, I just laugh. Many third party Wii titles are hardly advertised compared to the other systems, and yet they sell in the same range if not better. Maybe they don't go platinum within the first week or two, but in the long run, they will still be selling while the other games are sitting on store shelves and forgotton.
Well I think this shows that things aren't as everybody percieves the sales.
The Wii with all titles have this thing called evergreen where titles start of slow but there is steady sales. The 360 and PS3 tend to have big sales its first month but the sales don't continue as good as the inital month.
Also worth noting is the massive gap in budgeting between the Wii and the other consoles, too. Most HD games have to sell well over a million copies to break even, let alone turn a profit, given the unsustainable development costs on those platforms. You can make a good Wii game and turn a profit within 100,000 to 200,000 copies sold, and in some cases undoubtedly even less.
I've been discussing this "hardcore" myth perpetuated around the Wii compared to the other two with friends for years now. The media rushes to attack every Wii game that isn't selling big numbers right out the door as a "flop," even though most of these games go on to sell well enough to make good money in the long run. Meanwhile, far more HD games fail to hit that strong million+ mark to achieve profitability and no one reports on that. Nor do many large developers shy away from those platforms after losing millions on games on them. It definitely sheds some light on the problems the industry's been facing in recent years, so many companies seemingly run by self-destructive businessmen incapable of adapting their strategies or figuring out where the mainstream market is anymore.
Excellent comments, guys.
As many of you touched on, the key differences are:
1) Media Coverage
Attention to low sales, ignoring high sales (reverse this trend for the HD consoles).
2) The fact that PS3/60 games sell great out of the gate and then fade. There's nothing wrong with that at all, however, it must be kept in mind when trying to compare to Wii games which sell well OVER TIME.
3) The profit margin on Wii games is much bigger. Thus, No More Heroes 2, The Conduit 2, and I bet Red Steel 3 is already in the works.
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For the Sake of Devil's Advocate:
I would be happier if the Wii's huge install base (at least 2 to 1 over the competition, yea?) showed up for these quality games.
In other words, given the install base, Wii games shouldn't have to worry about MATCHING sales ... they really should be almost 2 to 1 as a minimum, no? =\
BUT---
That's where the "hardcore" insecurity comes in to play. A lot of the Wii install base just enjoys games. It doesn't have to be Fragile Dreams ... it can be Just Dance ... and if it's fun, it's fun!
However, most "hardcore" gamers wouldn't be caught dead playing those sorts of games. It's not that they are incapable of mindless fun ... but they are too insecure to let go and enjoy it.
Again, nothing really wrong with that, people have different tastes that motivate different behavior.
But when those same people cite these trends as indications of the Wii's poor quality?
Well, that's just wrong ^_^
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