Over the last several months, it seems that more and more publishers have publicly reconsidered their stance on how to support the Wii. Mature games and core games in general just haven't been putting up the kind of sales numbers to justify the investments. Analysts have talked about the struggle of core games on Wii, and publishers like THQ, EA, Sega, Capcom, and Ubisoft have all discussed how weaker Wii sales of core games have affected their respective strategies. Meanwhile, Nintendo's own first-party products are dominating the software charts, leaving little room for third parties to benefit.
As publishers reallocate resources, you'd expect both Xbox 360 and PS3 to prosper. In our recent interview with Rob Dyer, SCEA Senior Vice President of Publisher Relations, we asked Sony about this very situation. Has the Wii backlash led to more PS3 support? Dyer certainly thinks so.
"What publishers have said is they're not going to spend the resources on Wii... In my job, we compete against Microsoft and Nintendo, and we're competing for resources. So when I walk into a publisher, I ask, 'Where are you guys pushing your resources?' In the past, it was 'Look how hot the Wii is,' or 'Look how hot the DS is,' and 'We should put resources there.' They did that and realized, 'You know what, third-party product just doesn't sell on that platform.' So now they're taking those resources, coming back to us and saying, 'Sony we're going to be able to provide you with that exclusive content,' or 'We're going to put more engineers on it and figure out to maximize the Blu-ray and get more out of PS3.' That's what we're seeing now," he stated.
Dyer continued, "And I don't even have to fight for their hearts and minds; I just show them the TRST data with regards to how many top 10 titles are third-party titles on the Wii, or how many top 10 titles are third-party titles on the DS. Not many. It's not a hard story to sell, and they get that. Unless they've got a particular franchise that's worked well on the Wii, you don't see a lot of innovative new IP coming out on that platform.”
Quite frankly, we feel this is a real problem for Nintendo. Even if what Dyer is saying is viewed as more "Sony PR," that doesn't eliminate the fact that third parties are still experiencing difficulties on Wii after four full holiday seasons on the market. Nintendo should be working on its own publisher relations, and we'd love to hear from them on this subject, but so far Nintendo has been quite resistant to inquiries from IndustryGamers. It's like the company is an ostrich with its head stuck in a hole in the ground - get out there and be pro-active Nintendo!
15 Comments
February 17, 2010
Wow from the same guy who did the Wii cycle to fade article. How about asking Sony how well 3rd party games are selling on that system. Darksiders, Bayonetta and many others. Where no where near the top ten the past months. The PS3 is failure as a 3rd Party system is just as bad as the Wii. Since it takes more resources to make a PS3 game then it does a Wii game. If I was third party I would just drop both and make 360 games. It's the only system that seems to sale 1st and 3rd party games. Also this DS is not hot anymore thing is real funny. So what are they going to start making more PSP games? I doubt that! Look at those PSP numbers in the US. The system just about don't exist here. So ya the Wii is not perfect! I would rather wait to see more real solid 3rd party efforts before I judge. Also a company willing to back their games. With a all out advertisement blitz!
How about for 1 day. A Sony needs to move more hardware and software article for once. Getting out sold by a supposedly inferior HD system for 3 months in a row. Plus your new 1st party exclusive selling low numbers at launch. Is way bigger news then the same old Nintendo curse you stuff. Maybe that's way Nintendo would rather not speak with you. You guys seem more like TMZ reporters. Than guys who work at the Wall Street Journal!
Here watch this! This is how you do it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot9hTde3E2Y
February 18, 2010
people who buy ps3 games are different from people who buy wii games . The wii base there games around family and all age group , so yes there would be some games in there catalog that will have a problem in sell if they don't keep that in there core play . I do believe when Sony motion controler come you will see alot of Wii software ported to the Ps3 and alot of casual gamer buying Ps3 .
P S to all the 360 fanboys am not bashing your system i just don't think natal will have the same effect like the wii remote or sony motion controler .
February 18, 2010
"Quite frankly, we feel this is a real problem for Nintendo. Even if what Dyer is saying is viewed as more "Sony PR," that doesn't eliminate the fact that third parties are still experiencing difficulties on Wii after four full holiday seasons on the market."
Why is this a problem for Nintendo? I'd say they're doing quite well, so it would be appropriate for you to explain yourself here.
What problems are third parties experiencing? Who's at fault? Again, though, why should Nintendo even care? They've invested heavily in creating the hardware, and they should be able to profit from it, right? Third parties have a ubiquitous platform with a large install base. If they can't make money from it then so be it. Let them die off, we'll see someone come along who can make money. Someone who "gets it".
February 18, 2010
William, from a business perspective you're right, Nintendo is doing very well, and they are profiting quite nicely from Wii. When the third parties invest in Wii and don't see returns on their investments, that's a problem. If major publishers are scaling back Wii support, that's a problem. It may not hurt Nintendo immediately, but it will in the long-term. Nintendo doesn't seem to do enough to court or assist the third parties. Admittedly, when third parties fail, they have to look themselves in the mirror. Nintendo can't be blamed for all the third-party shovelware crap on Wii. There seem to be very, very few who "get it" and make games that thrive on Wii.
February 18, 2010
Considering that reps from Ubisoft, Sega, THQ, Capcom and EA have recently talked public about their issues with core products on the Wii. While more “casual” titles have fared better on the Wii, there's some evidence suggesting that market shrunk in the past year. If Nintendo cares at all about these trends, they need to act.
Now, Nintendo wouldn't go bankrupt tomorrow if every third--party in the world dropped them - their own software does quite well - but I'm sure they'd rather have a broader scope of the console market than just that. I have no idea what can be done to change things; opinions among consumers and publishers may already be too embedded. It's not like these third-party publishers are going to “die off,” they're just not seeing the returns from the Wii they would like, so many appear to be allocating their resources towards the PS3/Xbox 360 because that's where they see the money coming from. I'd expect to see an even more segregated market than what we have right now, with games either built specifically for the Wii audience, or the PS3 Xbox 360 audience.
February 18, 2010
"When the third parties invest in Wii and don't see returns on their investments, that's a problem. If major publishers are scaling back Wii support, that's a problem. It may not hurt Nintendo immediately, but it will in the long-term."
Again, how so? These are the same arguments I've heard for years regarding Nintendo and 3rd parties. Nintendo is actually doing better than they have in years. They haven't been hurt by this. The only ones getting hurt are 3rd parties, and you'll see it's not just because of allocating resources to Wii games.
I just don't see your logic, then.
Nintendo doesn't do enough for 3rd parties? They supply the hardware, the development kits for them, and many examples of how to do it right. 3rd parties need to do the rest. Games the critics like aren't selling? Make different games. Games that explore narrative aren't selling? Make different games.
It really is this simple.
February 18, 2010
Nintendo will do just fine even with all these publishers pulling back support on the Wii. The 360 and PS3 will continue to get the majority of core games, as they should have in the first place. Theres nothing wrong with putting games like The Conduit and Madworld on the Wii but they(the publishers) should have made them multiplatform games. That way they would of had a better shot at making a return in profit.
The real impact of this will come this fall when Natal launches. Publishers who are still itching to do motion sensing non-core games will have their chance with Natal and Arc. And Nintendo will be able to fill that void with their own first party games, although they only release a handful of those per year.
February 18, 2010
Someone posted your interview on VGC and there's a Ocean of Tears lol. What happens with the Wii doesn't really concern me but if PS3 is getting more support then that's fine by me.
February 19, 2010
@ 1 2 p I don't think natal will have that effect to bring casual gamer to the 360 . What make the Wii great is because of game control and family and group play this is something that natal missing . I just don't see two to four people in a room playing with natal , i do see this working with the wii remote or sony motion controler.
June 2, 2010
Someone had to benefit from games not released on the Wii. Surely the xbox would of been better due to its online capabilitys that the PS3 cant match. its like mobile broadband its good but not quite as good
June 18, 2010
Lately it seams to me, studios spend tons of money working around the DVD limitation instead of just releasing a game they had originally envisioned (FF XIII, LP2 to name a few). And Batman AA showed that this additional work pays off - and can outsell the competition.
I would really like to see how a non gimped CoD using 40GB of data would sell compared to a 3 disk DVD9 version. PS3 games usually outsell the 360 version - on the same install base. The only area 360 games sell more is the US market (and that is proportional to the install base there) - and some very Xbox specific brand names (like Halo and other mostly shooter focused genres).
An additional factor is royalties per platform (e.g. licensing model and efficiency in that regards). Means even less sell through can generate more revenue.
Exchange ratio contributes to the bottom line as well. A strong European market can offset US losses due to currency differences.
Wii sells Wii Fit, Nintendo first parties and that's that. In last stats PS3 SW sales caught up very well with 360 sales - despite the higher install base of the 360.
PS3 install base is big enough to justify investing a bit more to support the platform more specifically - a factor which was way riskier just a year ago.
I think they are on the right track.
June 27, 2010
Personally im a big fan of the wii. There always seems to be a divide, such as the similar situation of Android users hating the iPhone. Now im a big fan of what Apple do & am a total appaholic when it comes to playing my itouch games & the same support goes for the wii.
September 3, 2010
Someone had to benefit from games not released on the Wii. Surely the xbox would of been better due to its online capabilitys that the PS3 cant match. its like mobile broadband its good but not quite as good
November 4, 2010
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