.... Because the market is buying the Wii. And where the market (and the money) is, so shall go the developers. It’s just a matter of time.
...and if the Wii gets monster-selling 3rd party games, *that* will be a clear sign. Right now, it looks like the Wii’s big software sales is in the hands of 1st party games (unsurprisingly), and if they break out into 3rd party games, Wii is secure. Of course, as I understand it, the average Wii buyer is less likely to buy a lot of games than the average 360/PS3 owner (which also fits in with the casual vs hardcore breakdown), so how it all shakes out will be interesting.
Of course, as I understand it, the average Wii buyer is less likely to buy a lot of games than the average 360/PS3 owner (which also fits in with the casual vs hardcore breakdown), so how it all shakes out will be interesting.
You make a very, very valid point, here, in addition to the third-party developer thing. I think the delay in third-party development of games is due to two factors: First, I don’t think these third-party developers took the Wii seriously when they first got wind of it, so they are behind on the game development by about 18-24 months (the period of time that a game takes to make). Second, I have a feeling that developers are just kinda sorta figuring out what the Wiitroller would be good for, and now they’ve got this balance-board thing, and this gun thing… I think that, creatively, they’ve been thrown for a bit of a loop.
As an analogy, imagine you design cushions for chairs. And you’ve been designing these cushions for years—better looking ones, high ones, low ones, red ones, blue ones—but they all pretty much are based on the idea that chairs have four legs, a back, and a seat.
And then someone comes along with a new kind of chair for people whose legs bend backwards—it doesn’t have four legs legs (or even any legs at all, maybe), and it doesn’t have a seat like the old seats. It may not even have a back. And you think, “What an unbelieveably dumb idea. That will never work.”
And then it sells 9.5 million.
And all of a sudden, you realize that the marketplace is dominated by backwards chairs. And you don’t even know where to start as far as making a cushion that goes with this entirely new way of sitting.
I imagine that’s what these developers are going through. They’re completely flummoxed.
They (EA, Ubisoft) have already said that the success of the Wii caught them by suprise, and that they were behind on games. The first real solid looking 3rd party games is Boogie and MySims, and the EA Sports games sound like they’ve got the right idea. So EA is seemingly catching up, how Ubisoft is doing I’m abit unsure of. They have “apologized” for the poor games they have been releasing but they have yet to announce anything mildly interesting.
...and to throw some more speculation into the pot, on the latest OneUpYours podcast they were contemplating the possibility of the Wii being a ‘gateway drug’ for gaming - meaning that a lot of people will buy a Wii and get a taste of gaming, and (at some point) decide to go more gaming upscale and get a PS3/360.
...and to throw some more speculation into the pot, on the latest OneUpYours podcast they were contemplating the possibility of the Wii being a ‘gateway drug’ for gaming - meaning that a lot of people will buy a Wii and get a taste of gaming, and (at some point) decide to go more gaming upscale and get a PS3/360.
Interesting.
Maaaayyyybeee…
But I don’t know about that. I think that people who haven’t bought a PS2 are either in their 60s or, for some reason, diametrically opposed to gaming. I mean, how do you MISS gaming at this point? The Pong generation is in their 40s now, and every subsequent generation was even more enmeshed in gaming.
I think the people who didn’t do video games prior to Wii won’t necessarily use a Wii for a “gateway” because they had to have a very good reason NOT to game to have avoided it this long. I think they see the Wii as something “less harmful” or “less intimidating,” and I don’t think the purchase of Wii makes the 360 or PS3 any friendlier to those who have actively avoided gaming for whatever reason.
And… I think there are a lot more “new gamers” who ask themselves, “Why buy a $500 or $600 machine when I like my $300 machine so much more? I’d rather buy 10 Wii games than a 360.”
Or they will buy it second-hand.
This may be where the PS3 might win: The only argument these gamers might rationalize for buying another console is that it has a Blu-Ray drive.
Now, consider that this is ONE week, so keep it in perspective…
... but I find it curious that ALL THREE consoles’ sales dropped this week. Now, with the Wii, that’s probably due to production, since you can’t find one on shelves…
... But it also seems that the PS3 clearance sale spurt MAY (I said *may,* as in, this may be a one-week anomaly) be over? I mean, look at the raw numbers! There were more PS2s sold than PS3!!
So, Dante… love you dude.. but I think you might want to consider putting down the crack pipe. I honestly think, assuming this isn’t a one-week burp where somebody decided to make a Burning Man art project out of thousands of brand new PS2s or something and it is indicative of the future, if Sony’s gonna pull this out of the basement, they’re going to have to do something very, very, very big at TGS.
The next three weeks’ numbers will tell for sure, I think.
It’s just about impossible to avoid having been a gamer of one sort or another for anyone under 40 unless you’ve made a consious decision to NOT own a console.
... and dude, how did you survive before Xbox or PS3 without a PS2??? Did you really entirely miss the GTA series?
... and dude, how did you survive before Xbox or PS3 without a PS2??? Did you really entirely miss the GTA series?
The GTA series ended up on Xbox and on PC as well. Even though later it came in a somewhat superior version.
Even though the PS2 sold shitloads, I know many people that completely skipped it in favour of the N64, Dreamcast, Xbox or simply just were PC-gamers.
But I don’t know about that. I think that people who haven’t bought a PS2 are either in their 60s or, for some reason, diametrically opposed to gaming. I mean, how do you MISS gaming at this point? The Pong generation is in their 40s now, and every subsequent generation was even more enmeshed in gaming.
...
This may be where the PS3 might win: The only argument these gamers might rationalize for buying another console is that it has a Blu-Ray drive.
Well, you make a good counter-argument. It might be true that the advance of time, with succeeding generations being more gaming oriented than the last, and with older non-gaming generations dropping off, will have a lot more to do with the mainstreaming of gaming than the Wii.
(The 1Up guys were also discussing that the Wii audience is composed of the endless multitudes who bought a DS that also want to take the casual/pick up & play experience and sit down with it in console form with a few friends.)
On your latter point, that is likely my situation. I would not mind a PS3 at all, but barely have the time to play the games I am sure I want on the 360 as it is. On the other hand, if at some point I *need* a HD media player (and right now, I really don’t *need* the HD DVD player I have, though it is a nice bonus) I will seriously consider a PS3 - because I get a good Bluray player *and* a game machine (and as a fan of Alton Brown, I hate uni-taskers). 😝
Of course, as soon as I say “Numbers don’t matter…”
Courtesy of Joystiq, which is courtesy of something else:
Where are the numbers for this week? (ed note: FROM JAPAN, NOT THE U.S.)
(snip)
Wasn’t the PS3 price cut/clearance sale limited to the US?
Yeah. Good point. I’m a fucktard. lol.
I’d say you were a Buttdart, but that’s just me. 😉
I still think the Wii can become a gateway drug, I have already seen that starting to happen in some people I work with. But, it will likely be a gateway drug that sells more Nintendo Hardware.. I see it mostly becomming a gateway to the DS. (There will be some who use it as a gateway to harder stuff too of course).
The thing many of us have talked about is how the 1st party games are the only good games and anticipated games for the Wii. This is a hardcore gamer perspective. The NEW user to gaming doesn’t KNOW that Super Smash Brothers and Zelda are great and that Fantastic Four, Transformers, and all other movie license games are crap. (at least until they play them).
Eventually this will sort out and they will learn the hard way that they dropped $50 on a turd or that they got a $50 bargain.
I’ve already seen new Wii users who were hooked in by Wii Sports run out and grab a Wii, then they buy Tiger Woods, get pissed off at the wonky controls and not touch the game again.
I just hope that the game developers learn to use good control schemes and precise control for the Wii, because there are a lot of sucky games out there for it and a few good ones. I own 5 games on my Wii, there are not other games I want to own for it at this time. Of the 5 games I own, 4 are mni-game collections, the other is Zelda. I would LIKE to use my Wii once in a while, but, there is just nothing worth my time right now. (The PS3 is worse for me here because I own 1 game and there are no others out I would play let alone buy).
My great hope for those of us “hardcore” to keep getting good, next gen, cutting edge games is that even though our consoles are going to be the minority, there are:
1) plenty of us out there to buy games.
2) Several game developers are true artists who will always push for more and not want to churn out Wal Mart ware. Sure its a business, but as long as there is SOME money to be made, there will be innovators. (I hope)
The above post uses some of the words I hate the most. “Hardcore” and “Next Gen”.
I want to briefly comment on this whole “Next Gen” thing… are we still in the PS2/DC/GC/Xbox generation? Nah…that’s last generation.
“Next gen” is WiiTwoii/PS4 and Xbox1080
This gen is Xbox360/Wii and PS3.
When Metal Gear Solid 2, Halo and GTA were released did people go about calling it “next gen”? No because it was the current generation. Next gen would mean that the game in question didn’t belong on the current console.
The term next gen is overused and its just simply wrong to call anything on the current consoles next gen, we’re so far into this generation now that people should start calling it current gen or better yet, nothing at all.
I’m a casual gamer with a more than casual interest in gaming news, I read many of the game sites and listen to several podcasts almost every day.
But my philosophy has been, it’s not about the system, it’s about the fun.
Usually I’m an almost-too-late-adopter. Growing up, we had some sort of pong/jailai/skeet shoot system. Then we had an Atari 2600 knock-off from Sears. Then after I moved out of the house, I bought some weird little system that you hooked up to your TV and VCR to shoot down planes or criminals in a police training manner via video tape and a light gun and sensor that you stuck in the lower right corner of your TV. Eventually, I bought the SNES about a year before they moved on to the N64 which I didn’t follow on with. Instead I waited until about 2005 before purchasing an X-box. However, it could just as easily have been a PS2. Whatever popped out of my mouth first was what I was going to buy.
However, I did pay for a 360 before they came out and finally got mine the January following launch and haven’t had any problems with it.
Do I think it’s better than a PS3? Don’t know/don’t care. I’m having fun with it and enjoying making it my own through little add-ons. If I had a PS3 or a Wii, I’m sure I’d be just as happy if I was having fun.
Pardon me, maybe I’m missing the point but, I thought that was the point. Not how many pixels or transistors a system has this itereation.
Man I never owned a PS2, and that is partially why I am at all interested in the PS3, because I could play the entire catalog of PS2 games that I never played. I am not a very big Sony fan, in fact, I think I am one of the most anti-Sony gamers out there. However, if I ever got a PS3 (via contest, or Ebay) I would be perfectly happy with it. This is because I would be able to play games that I never had a chance to play like god of war, KH, and ratchet and clank.
I’m a casual gamer with a more than casual interest in gaming news, I read many of the game sites and liten to several podcasts almost every day.
But my philosophy has been, it’s not about the system, it’s about the fun.
Usually I’m an almost-too late-adopter. Growing up, we had some sort of pong/jailai/skeet shoot system. Then we had an Atari 2600 knock-off from Sears. Then after I moved out of the house, I bought some weird little system that you hooked up to your TV and VCR to shoot down planes or criminals in a police training manner via video tape and a light gun and sensor that you stuck in the lower right corner of your TV. Eventually, I bought the SNES about a year before they moved on to the N64 which I didn’t follow on with. Instead I waited until about 2005 before purchasing an X-box. However, it could just as easily have been a PS2. Whatever popped out of my mouth first was what I was going to buy.
However, I did pay for a 360 before they came out and finally got mine the January following launch and haven’t had any problems with it.
Do I think it’s better than a PS3? Don’t know/don’t care. I’m having fun with it and enjoying making it my own through little add-ons. If I had a PS3 or a wii, I’m sure I’d be just as happy if I was having fun.
Pardon me, maybe I’m missing the point bu,t I thought that was the point. Not how many pixels or transistors a system has this itereation.
BSV is my new favorite fan!! First, because he owned an Atari 2600 (rock on, 80s child!!)..
I’m a casual gamer with a more than casual interest in gaming news, I read many of the game sites and liten to several podcasts almost every day.
But my philosophy has been, it’s not about the system, it’s about the fun.
Usually I’m an almost-too late-adopter. Growing up, we had some sort of pong/jailai/skeet shoot system. Then we had an Atari 2600 knock-off from Sears. Then after I moved out of the house, I bought some weird little system that you hooked up to your TV and VCR to shoot down planes or criminals in a police training manner via video tape and a light gun and sensor that you stuck in the lower right corner of your TV. Eventually, I bought the SNES about a year before they moved on to the N64 which I didn’t follow on with. Instead I waited until about 2005 before purchasing an X-box. However, it could just as easily have been a PS2. Whatever popped out of my mouth first was what I was going to buy.
However, I did pay for a 360 before they came out and finally got mine the January following launch and haven’t had any problems with it.
Do I think it’s better than a PS3? Don’t know/don’t care. I’m having fun with it and enjoying making it my own through little add-ons. If I had a PS3 or a wii, I’m sure I’d be just as happy if I was having fun.
Pardon me, maybe I’m missing the point bu,t I thought that was the point. Not how many pixels or transistors a system has this itereation.
BSV is my new favorite fan!! First, because he owned an Atari 2600 (rock on, 80s child!!)..
... and second, because he proves my point!
I *am* a genius!
Atari 2600 pshaw….
I had a Bally Home Arcade, (and a 2600 and colecoviso, and many more).
I’m a casual gamer with a more than casual interest in gaming news, I read many of the game sites and liten to several podcasts almost every day.
But my philosophy has been, it’s not about the system, it’s about the fun.
Usually I’m an almost-too late-adopter. Growing up, we had some sort of pong/jailai/skeet shoot system. Then we had an Atari 2600 knock-off from Sears. Then after I moved out of the house, I bought some weird little system that you hooked up to your TV and VCR to shoot down planes or criminals in a police training manner via video tape and a light gun and sensor that you stuck in the lower right corner of your TV. Eventually, I bought the SNES about a year before they moved on to the N64 which I didn’t follow on with. Instead I waited until about 2005 before purchasing an X-box. However, it could just as easily have been a PS2. Whatever popped out of my mouth first was what I was going to buy.
However, I did pay for a 360 before they came out and finally got mine the January following launch and haven’t had any problems with it.
Do I think it’s better than a PS3? Don’t know/don’t care. I’m having fun with it and enjoying making it my own through little add-ons. If I had a PS3 or a wii, I’m sure I’d be just as happy if I was having fun.
Pardon me, maybe I’m missing the point bu,t I thought that was the point. Not how many pixels or transistors a system has this itereation.
BSV is my new favorite fan!! First, because he owned an Atari 2600 (rock on, 80s child!!)..
... and second, because he proves my point!
I *am* a genius!
Atari 2600 pshaw….
I had a Bally Home Arcade, (and a 2600 and colecoviso, and many more).
But, he maketh a good point.
I had a comadore vic 20, with a 14k expantion pack… oh yeah…
I had a comadore vic 20, with a 14k expantion pack… oh yeah…
Damn you, Load Error!
(This is one reason Vice City will have a special place in my heart - because of the opening sequence).
I fondly remember my 2600, but my first gaming experience was a Star Trek ASCII game on a dumb terminal via an acoustic modem. :coolsmirk:
Um….
What were we talking about?
It was a simpler time when games cost ?2 or the cost of a blank tape.
Graphics were awesome if it had more than 3 colour on screen at once.
bit like the Wii ... sorry couldn`t help it. metroid looks nice, not sure the soccer mums will like it.
