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- caddyalan, on 10/10/2007, -2/+76Unfortunately, I get the idea that a lot of game developers miss the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube era, in which games could be made for all three consoles with only a few minor differences. That ain't true any more. So that's why companies are trying to cut losses by porting PS2/PSP games to the Wii.
- Sharkee, on 10/10/2007, -8/+69From a game developer:
Dear WiiFanboy,
The video game industry is a BUSINESS. It's run by two things: the publishers and the demand for games. If people stop buying crappy games ported to the Wii, then they won't get made anymore. Publishers have the money that decides what gets made, and they pick what platforms it will get made on. The developer's need money to eat and will often take what they can get. If you want someone to blame for bad titles, especially ported ones, blame the idiots who buy them, not the people who make them. - luciferin, on 10/10/2007, -2/+38The old format required them to change the code, the current one requires them to change the game play.
Cite our sources? What the hell do you think this is? - atomicpoet, on 10/10/2007, -2/+35There's upheaval in the third party market at the moment simply because they don't know what to do -- so they fall back on the old "tried, tested, and true" and simply port stuff. Problem is that this doesn't work on the Wii -- and this is where the smaller publishers step up to the plate.
What I want, as a Wii owner, is an engaging visceral experience similar to what I got at the arcades ten years ago. It wasn't just about button mashing, but it involved body participation. Sega's Top Skater was one of my favourite games, as was San Francisco Rush. Well, the Wii really is the closest a home console is going to get to an arcade experience.
This is why Cooking Mama is doing quite well for Majesco. This is also why Dragon Blad: Wrath of Fire is the most fun I've had all month. And I suspect, this will also be why Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles will be a break-out third party hit.
Most third parties don't do that. Instead they port hits from their other consoles, give them some waggle and hope for the best. But have any of these ports actually sold decently (besides RE4)? - tomkin, on 10/10/2007, -2/+34Wii is still being treated like the Gamecube on many fronts. I always thought if the Wii took the lead (or a decent second in North America) that it would gain some third-party respect. Why are developers still tanking their entire R&D departments to develop for PS3 -- a decent console, but definitely not the install base that Wii has -- and still give the cheap ports?
I agree with inteppa. RE4 was great times, but I feel that with all the improvements they made to that game they could have upped the textures a lot. It's not like we're talking about ripping up the game and starting from scratch.
And enough with the Animated Movie game ports. Christ. - xerus, on 10/10/2007, -1/+21Konami and Capcom are supporting the Wii pretty well I think... EA for some reason has taken the term "casual" to the next level and released Boogie which as far as I can tell isnt even a game. C'mon, games dont have to be THAT casual for chrissake. Lets get some depth here too.
- dunlop, on 10/10/2007, -2/+20As a Wii owner, I agree.
The real problem is that people by the crap games....It cost the devs nothing to port (seriously someone explain why Big Brain Academy does not even have any voice added....) so they profit even off of mediocre sales - Ghoztt, on 10/10/2007, -6/+22Hahaha - if you check the image of the kid with the wii-chucks. It's named "wiitard.jpg"
- atomicpoet, on 10/10/2007, -2/+18Actually, if you look at the sales charts, people aren't buying those games. Madden has barely sold more than Cooking Mama. If you read statement from third party developers, they are all really frustrated that people aren't buying their games. Well, if they actually put thought into their games, maybe people would buy it.
- atomicpoet, on 10/10/2007, -6/+21Thing is, you guys aren't actually making money. When was the last time a third party actually sold more than 1 million games on the Wii? Clearly, we gamers are doing our part. It's time for publishers to do theirs.
(With that said, I believe that time will come real soon.) - uptown, on 10/10/2007, -1/+16Don't forget your bibliography too....
- ZenMojo, on 10/10/2007, -11/+26Nintendo decided pretty late in the game to start caring about third-party developers, as a result the third-party developers are slow to invest heavily despite Nintendo's assurances.
But that's just the surface. You ignore the fact that the Wii is just a Gamecube 1.5, and the market is ALREADY saturated with PS2's. If developers want to sell a lot of games with lower development costs, they can just put out a guitar hero or its equivalent for the PS2 (and they do, and they sell a *****). If they want to push their own boundaries, they'll make a game for the true next-gen systems like the PS3 and the Xbox. The Wii suffers by being neither as graphically advanced as the next-gen systems nor as widely-installed as its closest competitor, the PS2.
And this is a bit of a problem. Developers go into the Wii to make games with new CONTROL schemes, not to push any boundaries in technology. Unfortunately, the PS2 is so widely available and easily modifiable through control that the Wii ends up being unnecessary, so to cater to that market developers cut corners by making crappier versions of next-gen games and DS ports. - TheXeno, on 10/10/2007, -3/+18As an older gamer, (born in '79) while having had a blast through generation after generation of gaming, NES to Genesis to PS, PS2 to XBOX, to XBOX 360 to Wii, to PS3, experiencing new leaps after new leaps in terms of how I interacted with a game, I can see the draw of nostalgia. When it was happening it was awesome, and a part of me would love to experience that 'awesome' again, but a bigger part of me wants to tread new ground, with new characters, and new gameplay mechanics, and new production levels. Nintendo is living in what I like to call the Disney bubble. Revisiting old favorites over and over again, re-releasing past games for purchase, capitalizing on that nostalgia can only go so far. At least that's the case with me. Frankly, I'm tired of Mario. Stylistically, most of Nintendo's characters no longer appeal to me. I wish Nintendo would have grown up with me, all the while keeping what made them great for new generations of gamers. I'm tired of the entertainment industry's fascination with remakes. They make money, sure, but their spreading themselves thin. It's like how radio kills songs by playing then over and over and over again.
The industry needs progression and innovation in content far more than innovative controls. That's why I lean much more in PS3 and 360's favor this generation, with the PS3 a little more over McSofty's offering. When I saw LittleBigPlanet in action for the first time, and how it implemented online play, open source creativity, packaged in gorgeous visuals, I couldn't help but think that a third party developer just out Nintendo'ed Nintendo by including both fun gameplay, advanced physics, and great graphics. With all the touting gameplay gets, which it rightfully should get, I would take both great gameplay AND graphics than great gameplay and okay visuals. Wouldn't you? In fact better question, who wouldn't?
I like how with Sony's initial offerings in the downloadable content so far, they are moving new games with familiar elements rather than just offer old arcade classics and past hits. Casual games like flOw, Calling All Cars, Stardust HD, give you a slight nostalgia feeling while incorporating new ground. That's why I'm tipping my hat to Sony, regardless of popular opinion of the company 'round here. They are thinking ahead more than either of the big three. The 360 is getting updated PS2 scraps, and riding some past generation thunder with the BIG exception of new IPs like Bioshock, GoW, and the upcoming Mass Effect. Mass Effect in particular looks pretty cool. Sony so far has released nearly all original IPs, games that are going down roads never tread before. They've stumbled a bit with a few of them already (yeah, lair), but I like that they are trying. And with next month's Rachet and Clank, they are again offering something that is advanced in terms of technical achievement all the while building on the most important element in any game, great gameplay. That's progression.
The wii on the other hand, desperately needs to break more and more new ground. Nintendo has a massive advantage with the path they took, a path that was sheer genius from a business point of view. Going low with hardware, and introduce an innovative control scheme, and in so doing keeping the cost down to be accessible to the mass market right off. It's worked, and is working. But we're already seeing the steam starting to slow, (our wii had been collecting dust until Metriod finally came out) and as time passes it'll become more and more apparent Nintendo can only go so far riding on past success. I'll be overjoyed to see truly original content on our wii, and I really hope Nintendo introduces a totally new IP, or more than a few this gen before the wii starts to peter off. What I wonder is when that will be compared to the steam the more advanced consoles will gain in the later end of this generation. The wii's numbers will be awesome, and that'll spur developers, but I think ultimately you'll see more and more of the most desired games hit the PS3 and 360.
All in all I think we'll see the best competition company wise we've ever seen, which will be good for all of us, no matter the console you own. But those with all three, they'll be sitting pretty compared. - senatebuddy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14How about you just stop buying ***** ports?
- fusama, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14Except ports hardly cost anything. You don't need to sell 1 million copies to make money on them.
- LordVance, on 10/10/2007, -2/+15Nintendo chose not to compete directly with the other consoles this generation - they have already "won" in that their console sales are phenomenal and they actually pull a profit from hardware. Sony and Microsoft are still in heavy competition - Nintendo decided to do their own thing this time around, and it's working out well for them.
- arsheroica, on 10/10/2007, -4/+16Buried for its shrill, one-note angriness.
I want to see thoughtful game experiences that can only be played with the Wii remote too, and I think they will come in time, but I hate reading articles that are just "***** this, ***** that, ***** your mother!" - satx, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12Didn't you play Viewtiful Joe? Awesome series.
- Billions, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12It's even worse than it seems: many developers seem to treat the Wii like it's a DS that you plug into a TV, and release some variation of DS games!
- grumpyrain, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11> But we're already seeing the steam starting to slow
I don't know if the sales figures would agree with you.
Week Ending 16 Sep 2007
Wii - 217,801
360 - 128,012
PS3 - 70,329
The Wii is outselling the 360 and PS3 combined by nearly 20,000 units per week (and pulling away). But I agree that there is a massive untapped potential in the Wii. The Wii may be 'underpowered', but it is over double the clock speed of the PS2 with over twice the RAM. In other words, it is far more capable the crappy ports that have been made. - LordVance, on 10/10/2007, -2/+13Try telling that to anyone who has had to do an Xbox 360 to PS3 port. 3 separate CPU instruction sets is still far easier to port between than three extremely different CPU designs; porting from anything to the PS3 is a bitch because of how specific the code to take full advantage of the core processor is. If you want sources, you can subscribe to GDMag and read Gamasutra like the rest of us. You know, take the word of actual developers currently working on cross platform projects instead of random people on the intertube.
- skywake, on 10/10/2007, -3/+13no its not... the point of a "casual" game is to have something that is easy to control and can be played in short sessions. The ultimate "casual" games are things like tetris that EVERYONE plays and enjoys. If a game lacks any depth then people will get bored of it hardcore gamer or not.
- kinseyincanada, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11most third party nintendo games have been crap, i personally bought a Wii only for nintendo games, sure Resident Evil was good but other than that i cant remember a good third party nintendo game since the Rare days.
- ByteGuerilla, on 10/10/2007, -2/+12Apparently you don't know what you're talking about.
- Jrr6415sun, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9well that explains why this comment is towards the end
- doshindude, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11Star Wars: Rogue Leader proved that 3rd parties can make amazing games for nintendo if they really try.
- wetard57, on 10/10/2007, -3/+11how dare they mock my username >=(
- catfud, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8rare wasnt exactly 3rd party back in the day
- TheXeno, on 10/10/2007, -3/+11"Replacing "Press X to swing sword" with "swing wand to swing sword" is not innovation, it's novelty"
Just requoting for emphasis. Winner winner, chicken dinner. - inactive, on 10/10/2007, -5/+12" You cannot compare the PS2 to Wii. Wii has opened the gaming market to people who don't normally play games. "
Just like PS2 did! ie: Eyetoy, singstar, DDR, etc
"Anyone who says that the Wii remote does not push any boundaries in technology is clinically insane."
No, anyone who claims the wii remote is pushing boundaries in technology is insane. I've owned similar technology for years, for example the LCDTopgun even has the same sensor technology. Motion sensing is not new, nor innovative. Replacing "Press X to swing sword" with "swing wand to swing sword" is not innovation, it's novelty - mandrakeRaptor, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9Maybe if Halo 3 ran at 480p , sure they could port it, if you strip it down, take out some stuff, then maybe the Wii could handle it with out having a stroke.
- jacenat, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7because creating new art would have cost money narrowing their span.
not to mention the additional testing.
this way, it runs as a gamecube game on the wii with wii controls.
perfect sollution for a publisher. - _HAM_, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Did you mean... treat it with Wiispect?
- bungoman, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Yeah I kinda thought the article wasn't thought out too well in that regard. I am a Wii owner and I absolutely love it. It's the best Christmas gift I've ever recieved (this includes my PS2 which still gets used almost daily). I wouldn't compare the Wii to a retard. I think it is a perfect example of how the next iteration of a console doesn't need to be 100000000 times more powerful and rank highly on the list of the worlds top super computers to actually be a platform for good games that people of all types can play. I consider myself a very hardcore gamer, I'm not a casual "oh I play a game of tetris once a month and sometimes mario if I'm feeling up for a challenge" kind of gamer by any means. The Wii so far has plenty of solid games that I've enjoyed greatly. Not to mention the fact that I can finally play all my Gamecube games without using my girlfriend's Gamecube (I never bought one cause she got one for her birthday haha).
- Karmavs, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7@Fumar & staticneuron
Unless he doesn't l ive in the US… here (in Australia), wii games cost AT LEAST $80, and many are over $100. - chubbybubba, on 10/10/2007, -3/+9I have a wii. It's fun, hella fun. But lets be honest.... it is kind of retarded. But in a good way! In fact retarded cousins can be very entertaining. Go Retards GO!
- Goombellaofgoom, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Oh ye of little faith. Just wait until Smash Bros and Mario Kart come out!
- tablelegs, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8Explain to me how a game console can be made for "non-gamers."
- Jrr6415sun, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6if you didn't know, lots of people buy *****.. like parents who don't know what else to buy for their kids
- freetyme, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7wiifanboy, ps3fanboy, and xbox360fanboy are all affiliated or owned by joystiq...
or something like that - L4WL3RS34L, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5If you read the comments, they're saying that Wii sucks because it doesn't have good graphics. I seriously want to punch those guys in the face so hard, GRAPHICS DON'T MATTER AT ALL, as long as the gameplay is epic.
- kirstpo, on 10/10/2007, -4/+9I agree. I have a wii and it doesn't get any good games. The games look worse than the xbox even though it should be comparable or the same. Even after the Tokyo Game Show, the only good games coming out this year and even into next year are Smash Brothers Brawl and Mario Galaxy. There's nothing else that even looks that interesting.
Developers need to start looking at the Wii install base and start investing some time making decent games for the system. - inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5yes they did, it's called zune and we know how that's raping the ***** out of apple
- Richandler, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5The average person is an idiot. They just buy the same stuff over and over again.
- YuriSakazaki, on 10/10/2007, -5/+10It's graphical limits ARE last-gen graphics, literally.
- binarybandit92, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Nintendo? The nintendo games are great, this is all about third party i.e. not made by nintendo
- ifm1989, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5I agree with the article, but people seem to forget the 360 and PS3 are FULL of ports.
- ahac, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Fun games which put gameplay before looks.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4I'm forced to disagree. For starters, not only do review sites like metacritic and gamerankings rate PSP library as better than the DS, but FAR better than Wii. The only people claiming PSP has a bad game library are those who never bothered to do actual research on it due to an irrational fear (phobia)
- Goombellaofgoom, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Wii Fit
the Brain games
Wii Sports (enjoyed by all ages, gamer or not) -
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