Friday, November 21, 2008

Software Vs. Hardware: Wii Failing Despite Great Sales…



*NOTE* I will be using VGChartz as my source of information. Although not 100% accurate and often times doesn't sit well with fans, I believe it is a fair comparison in the battle of the video game king.

For the past few months I have been following the sales of games in all regions on a weekly basis to see if the Wii is still the dominating console of the three. As it still stands, the Wii console continues the trend of selling out on a regular basis; this happens even considering the now two year old console. But does that mean it is winning the war? If you look at hardware sales and the profit that Nintendo is bringing in alone, then the answer is absolutely. But if you look at the software side of things, the winner could very well be the other team.

Granted the Wii has much better 3rd party support than Nintendo had with the Gamecube, but much like the PS2 many of those titles are shovelware and of little importance. What differs between the PS2 and the Wii though, is the quality and AAA titles that also appeared on the system. The PS2 was home to some the the best games of last gen and all time, and it also held its own against its competitors in the graphics department. It is no secret that the Wii and its competitors are much different in processing power and the consumer markets are in totally different places, so when I frequent video game boards and news sites I continually read how the Wii has abandoned the hardcore gamer completely.

Many Wii fans claim to want the next best game and to experience the "M"ature games that the 360 and PS3 fans enjoy, and yet each time a more mature game is released it falls off the map as quickly as it is released. Yes, there will be many who will point out the success of Resident Evil 4, which was ported from the Gamecube and shout praises for Suda51's most successful game ever, No More Heroes. However NMH would have sold more on the 360 or PS3 and RE4 is one game that already had proven its success and already has a place in Nintendo fans hearts.

Shooting Zombies apparently is the only mature thing that Wii fans dare to support because when it was confirmed that the Zombie feature was cut from the recent Call of Duty, only 61,000 of the 36 million Wii owners chose to buy it in the first week. Compare this to the 2.14 million who bought it on the HD consoles. COD is a fantastic game and something that Wii fans have been asking for and when it arrived it was quickly forgotten.

So when I say the Wii is failing despite its great sales, I am speaking about Nintendo losing some of the fanbase it became popular with in the first place. Don't get me wrong though, because it isn't Nintendo's fault completely; they continue to sell their 1st party games in great quantities. For the last few months the only games in the top ten that have been Wii related are WiiSports, WiiPlay, WiiFit, and Mario Kart Wii and the recent additions of WiiMusic and Guitar Hero: World Tour have come and gone.

If its not Nintendo fault, who's is it? The answer lies with you that may be reading this. If you are happy with only Nintendo related games then you don't apply, but if you are one of the fans that appreciate great games and want a more mature experience on the Wii I suggest you purchase the ones that are already available. You can make excuses all you want about 3rd party support lacking due to quick ports and cheap development, but when a company like Activision, develops COD for the Wii with loaded features you must buy it to see more like it.

The Conduit, a FPS made specifically for Nintendo's console, could very well be the Wii's last hope. More polish has been put into this game than any other game on the market and other developers are taking notice. They will be watching its success to determine the route to take in the future. I understand that WWII has been whored out till death and that many of you only enjoy blasting away zombies, but regardless of the "generic" theme of humans vs aliens, The Conduit is the 3rd party savior for the Nintendo Wii…

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