Sega "Probably" Finished With M-Rated Wii Games

[Andy Chalk]

Sega "Probably" Finished With M-Rated Wii Games

It was a good effort but following the disappointments of The Conduit [http://www.amazon.com/MadWorld-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B0019SY1D4/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1282155361&sr=1-1], Sega says it probably won't release any more M-rated games for the Wii.

The Conduit, a sci-fi FPS, and MadWorld, a stylish and extremely violent third-person fighting game, attracted a lot of attention when they were announced, in large part because they were being developed exclusively for the Sega [http://www.wii.com] appears to be finished trying to crack that particular nut.

"Are we going to do more mature titles for the Wii? Probably not," Sega of America Development Director Constantine Hantzopoulos said in a 1Up [http://www.1up.com/do/minisite?cId=3176640] podcast.

"It was a space that was open and we took a gamble on it. It's like, 'Wow there's no mature games on the Wii, is there an audience out there?'" he continued. "We did some research and it said that there was an audience out there."

Unfortunately for Sega, that audience failed to materialize when the games hit the shelves, which Hantzopoulos blamed primarily on the Wii platform itself. "Next-gen" consoles have penetrated younger demographics much more deeply than previous generations of consoles, he said, and most gamers who play M-rated games are already doing so on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

"Kids are skewing much younger toward next-gen, and that's what I saw out of The Conduit," he said. "Anyone past 12 years old is playing 360 and PS3 shooters, and you can't tell a 13-year-old, 'But it's on the Wii.' That's not what they see or hear. They're not really interested in the techno-fetishist aspects of, 'Look how great it looks on the Wii'... No one gives a shit."

Hantzopoulos' comments were in direct contrast to those of Sega President and COO Mike Hayes, who said in August of last year [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/93856-Sega-Can-Take-More-Risks-On-The-Wii] that the company would persist with mature game development on the Wii. "The thing that we're saying is, Sega would be extremely arrogant to have a title that didn't do as well as we thought on a platform and then say, 'Those kind of games don't sell on that platform'," he said at the time. "MadWorld sales were very disappointing, but was that to do with the platform? Was it that people didn't like the art style? Or that people didn't like the way the game played through? It could be many things, which we're obviously researching."

Perhaps that research led to conclusions that weren't quite what Hayes was expecting.

via: CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=230627?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS]


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[TheYellowCellPhone]

Ouch. Sega hit the nail on the head. It was a good gamble, but it didn't work. If they had tried releasing them for other platforms there would've been a better outcome.

 

[Sevre]

I thought Madworld received positive reviews?....

 

[Quaidis]

I thought Madworld received positive reviews?....

I thought Conduit received positive reviews.



Either-or, I am still waiting enthusiastically for No More Heroes 2 to come out.

 

[LockeDown]

Sega "Probably" Finished With M-Rated Wii Games

They should just stop making Wii games, period.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

I thought Madworld received positive reviews?....

Positive reviews =/= sales.

House of the Dead was the only one that made any sort of impact, and for good reason. That game was actually a lot of fun. Conduit not so much and MadWorld....well, meh.

 

[ShortCommings]

mad world was amazing, i dont know anyone with a wii who doesent have the game, but that could be more to do with the £10 price tag it now has. (thats pretty cheap in england for a game)

 

[brunothepig]

I own Madworld and although it's fun, it's certainly not a great game. It's way too repitive. It's something I play for an hour or so when I feel like chopping people in half with a chainsaw, or ripping there spine out with some evil looking daggers. Also, can people please stop making these distinctions between consoles, it actually just creates them. I don't see why the Wii can't have more mature titles, and it does seem to be going that way. The Conduit, Madworld, Silent Hill. Still, Nintendo did screw themselves over with the tiny processing power. I'm all for boycotting graphics, but with that processor the games simply can't be as big as ones on the 360 or PS3.

 

[ShortCommings]

I thought Madworld received positive reviews?....

Positive reviews =/= sales.

House of the Dead was the only one that made any sort of impact, and for good reason. That game was actually a lot of fun. Conduit not so much and MadWorld....well, meh.

house of the dead overkill is still a big part of any gatherings in my flat, then again so if fifa.. not sure ive really made a point there

 

[Tekyro]

Maybe now they'll pay attention to the all of the people screaming for more decent Sonic games. By which I mean me.

 

[ANImaniac89]

what No House of the Dead overkill 2

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Go Sega!

Try something new, get fucked over by the audience, stop trying.

BAD CONSUMERS! BAD!

I'm supporting Sega (on the 360, though) today, guess what came out?

 

[Jadak]

There's a shocker, their mature games on an console that caters to the PG crowd didn't pan out for them?

 

[jthm]

"The thing that we're saying is, Sega would be extremely arrogant to have a title that didn't do as well as we thought on a platform and then say, 'Those kind of games don't sell on that platform'," he said at the time. "MadWorld sales were very disappointing, but was that to do with the platform? Was it that people didn't like the art style? Or that people didn't like the way the game played through? It could be many things, which we're obviously researching."

Perhaps that research led to conclusions that weren't quite what Hayes was expecting.

via: CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=230627?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS]


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Having rented Mad World, I can tell you that it was in fact, all of these things. The art style was like reading an issue of Sin City without the awesome story. The violence was over the top and entertaining for about 5 minutes, then you realize the game has nothing else to offer. The controls were clunky and not fun to play, which is why those of us old enough to buy our own games generally prefer a console that offers more control options and thus, better controls (or at least the potential for better controls).

 

[Shamanic Enzan]

Maybe now they'll pay attention to the all of the people screaming for more decent Sonic games. By which I mean me.

That will happen once Sonic Team pulls their spiky blue head out of their ass. The "newest" Sonic titles I liked (Rush and Rush Adventure) had very little to do with Sonic Team.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I think it had more to do with the fact that neither of those titles were very good, then it had to do with the platform; but then I haven't played either of them so I my view is rather limited. However MadWorld does seem to be a rather paper thin concept to me, and where the hell is it written that an M-rated game has to be immensely shallow and overloaded with gratuitous violence and/or sex? Perhaps Sega should worry less about making it M-rated and more about making it good.

 

[manicfoot]

I don't understand... They made a game like Madworld, which is by its very nature a niche game. Black and White, gory, hip-hop soundtrack, tongue in cheek... and they get niche sales. What did they expect? The same can be said for games like HOTD:OK - its a very offensive grindhouse rail shooter where a crippled boy gets beaten and the final boss crawls inside his own mother. I doubt that game would ever sell millions regardless of what platform its on. As for The Conduit it has generic written all over it. From the box art, to the game mechanics, to the story. Nothing about that game is amazing.

 

[psychic psycho]

I doubt that if any of those games were made for the 360 or PS3 that it would have done better. Besides, the Conduit, MadWorld, and HOTD: Overkill weren't all that great to begin with.

I don't understand... They made a game like Madworld, which is by its very nature a niche game. Black and White, gory, hip-hop soundtrack, tongue in cheek... and they get niche sales. What did they expect? The same can be said for games like HOTD:OK - its a very offensive grindhouse rail shooter where a crippled boy gets beaten and the final boss crawls inside his own mother. I doubt that game would ever sell millions regardless of what platform its on. As for The Conduit it has generic written all over it. From the box art, to the game mechanics, to the story. Nothing about that game is amazing.

I agree completely.

 

[pigeon_of_doom]

I reckon a concerted third party effort to create some good, M rated games could have been profitable. I mean, while it wouldn't cater to what seems to be the current "core" demographic, there's a lot of disillusioned long-time Nintendo fans with a Wii waiting for these kind of games to appear. The high profile M rated games on the system don't really seem destined for mass market appeal imo; the stylised violence of Madworld, zany satire of No More Heroes or the spin off of a game established on other platforms (Dead Space) aren't up there with COD, Metal Gear, Halo etc. Sega are being far too quick in abandoning their mature games experiment.

I'm curious how the reimagined Silent Hill on the Wii is selling, as that may have a broader appeal to the traditional gaming audience who own Wiis. Although even established M rated franchises are having disappointing sales on Nintendo consoles as far as I know (GTA, Manhunt, Res Evil 4.