Wii-k Sales

We've waited for it - the wondrous day when the phenomenal sales of the Wii platform would translate into success for all sorts of third-party games.  Nintendo titles have of course done gangbusters on the system, but third-party success seemed hard. While Red Steel did very well (over a million sold) and benefited greatly from the Wii launch window, Manhunt 2 didn't fare well on any system and the original IP for everyone, Zack & Wiki, did not do well enough to warrant a second look by Capcom. 

Recently, however, there have been several "good faith" efforts to make core titles designed specifically for the Wii to save us all from waggle filled mini-games.  Games like No More Heroes, Soulcalibur Legends, Castlevania Judgment, Deadly Creatures, Dead Rising: Chop 'Till you Drop, MadWorld, House of the Dead: Overkill, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, and most recently The Conduit have attempted to show that the Wii isn't just for kids. 

What happened?  All of the above titles did "niche software" numbers at best and downright flopped at worst.  They didn't produce the sort of sales that shouted to publishers, "Hey, make a half dozen more titles for the Wii!"  With The Conduit almost billed as the "last, best hope" for core titles on the Wii, we're calling it right now: the core audience on the Wii just isn't there and third-party publishers should just stop trying.   

With plenty of examples of sales iniquity out there, we wonder why any publisher would seek to venture a core title on the Wii again – they say one of the surest signs of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.