Nintendo President Says Third-Party Publishers Don't Get It

[Andy Chalk]

Nintendo President Says Third-Party Publishers Don't Get It

Nintendo of America [http://www.nintendo.com] President Reggie Fils-Aime says the dearth of quality third-party software for the Wii is simply the result of game publishers' failure to understand the system and its audience.

While Nintendo itself has met with tremendous success in developing games for the Forbes [http://www.wii.com] recently, Fils-Aime laid the blame primarily on game publishers who have been hesitant to bring their top games to the Wii despite big interest in those titles among Wii owners.

"I will be able to say our licensees 'get it' when their very best content is on our platform," he said. "And with very few exceptions today, that's not the case."

Unlike DS [http://www.sony.com] is a success, it could help convince other studios to take a more serious approach to the Nintendo platforms.

And speaking of Wii Fit, if you want one for Christmas you'd better grab one while you can. Fils-Aime said that while he continues to believe Nintendo has a "good shot at meeting demand" for the Wii this year, that won't be the case with the Wii Fit. "With Wii Fit, I know we'll fall short," he said. "That's a product we have consumers lining up for each morning outside of our Nintendo World store."


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[Cousin_IT]

Given the number of rather painfull looking gimmicy dance & quiz games that seem to have been shovelled on the Wii (im looking at you Samba Di Amigo), I think I agree entirely with that assessment that 3rd party publishers dont yet get the wii.

 

[Odjin]

Especially they don't get the control scheme. It's not a console for dull shooters or run-of-the-mill games which live only from their bully graphics as is the case on XBox360 and PS3. You have to tackle this console entirely different and with fresh ideas taking advantage of the control scheme since with graphics you won't win a butter bread here.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

Y'know, I was really tempted to get a Wii when I heard that Okami was going to be ported to it; I mean, what better game for a Wii-mote than one that has you wielding an ink brush in-game. Then I heard that they'd botched the controls, and that Red Steel's controls sucked, and that most games by 3rd-party developers weren't too imaginative when adapting to the new controller.

And that's when I stopped thinking about getting a Wii... and why I won't consider getting one until I hear about some games that really take advantage of the Wii-mote + nunchuk system as something other than an expensive rattle.

-- Steve

 

[L.B. Jeffries]

*cough* Wii Music *cough*

 

[guardian001]

I would have to agree with Nintendo here. It's not the console, publishers just aren't putting the effort or thought required into using it properly.

 

[JediMB]

I can do nothing more than agree (to quite an extent, at least) with what Reggie says. Too many developers try to take the easy way out for Wii software, and the ones who don't are still often stick with publishers that don't take the games seriously enough to market them properly.

 

[Dyselon]

@Anton

Really, Nintendo's games aren't too clever with the new controller either, and it's because the Wiimote is frankly garbage to develop for. Out of the four Nintendo games listed in the article, only Wii Sports really uses the Wiimote at all, and the controls in that game are pretty terrible in spots. I wouldn't expect any games with amazing control innovations, because, honestly, the hardware just isn't up to the task.

 

[man-man]

Nintendo-made games for Nintendo console better than 3rd party efforts.

Same ol' news keeps coming around every few years.

 

[bluerahjah]

I have to agree, 3rd party companies are not really thinking outside the box, and are using the idea of the Wii being just a gimmick. Granted yes, these companies are selling their horrible games, but it's nothing that creates a new spectacle for gaming. There are plenty of ideas that I, as well as most of the individuals in these forums have, that would make great Wii games.

 

[theklng]

some of my friends recently developed a game using wiimotes... for the pc. there are no graphics whatsoever, in fact, the screen is black. it's a sex game and you're supposed to time your swings with a "partner", to which you'll get audible feedback on how well you're doing.

while it still has a few bugs, i'd say that the game proves very well how non-gimmicky gameplay with a wiimote could function.

i am unsure on what the escapist's policy on linking to other sites is, but if you want to check it out, it's available for download (this was not mean as an advertisement, but as a proof of concept):

http://darkroomsexgame.com

 

[SecretTacoNinja]

Of course they don't, but Nintendo aren't doing that much better with their crappy 'toy' games. I hope they won't cancel MadWorld, it might be the first step in getting the Wii taken seriously...

Possibly...
Maybe...
Not...

 

[Anton P. Nym]

Khell, the 360 and the PS3 are quite different to develop for; hence Valve's fencing off the PS3 (or fobbing their PS3 ports off to another studio) and the terribly variable level of quality between PS3 and 360 ports. The difference in horsepower may not be terribly great (especially in comparison with the Wii) but the architecture is different enough to be a problem when porting engines.

I wouldn't have commented on this if it weren't for the gratuitous RROD macro in a Wii thread.

-- Steve

 

[dochmbi]

I think there's also a sort of snowball effect going on. If other developers are slacking with their games, you might slack as well and still be able to sell your game.

 

[super_smash_jesus]

eventually, and I am reallllly hoping this is soon, people will start to look up the reviews for games before they buy them, and then none of this 3rd party shovelware will move off the shelf. Then hopefully we will some actual attempts at good games by developers. Maybe MadWorld and Condor will change the theme of 3rd party companies, being those are the only 2 non nintendo games I would even consider buying.

 

[gmer412]

This has been my thinking for a while. In a way, this lack of third party quality is a cycle. People see Wii, think "what a joke" and make cruddy games for it. Then, others see the lack of quality and decide not to make anything good for it. Say what you want, but Nintendo has used its own console pretty well. 90% of the good games on it are by Nintendo. And the wiimote is what developers make it. If they choose (Which they have) to use it as a gimmick, it becomes a gimmick.

 

[whyarecarrots]

some of my friends recently developed a game using wiimotes... for the pc. there are no graphics whatsoever, in fact, the screen is black. it's a sex game and you're supposed to time your swings with a "partner", to which you'll get audible feedback on how well you're doing.

while it still has a few bugs, i'd say that the game proves very well how non-gimmicky gameplay with a wiimote could function.

i am unsure on what the escapist's policy on linking to other sites is, but if you want to check it out, it's available for download (this was not mean as an advertisement, but as a proof of concept):

http://darkroomsexgame.com

Err... I'm slightly worried by whoever came up with that as a concept for a game :S

 

[theklng]

some of my friends recently developed a game using wiimotes... for the pc. there are no graphics whatsoever, in fact, the screen is black. it's a sex game and you're supposed to time your swings with a "partner", to which you'll get audible feedback on how well you're doing.

while it still has a few bugs, i'd say that the game proves very well how non-gimmicky gameplay with a wiimote could function.

i am unsure on what the escapist's policy on linking to other sites is, but if you want to check it out, it's available for download (this was not mean as an advertisement, but as a proof of concept):

http://darkroomsexgame.com

Err... I'm slightly worried by whoever came up with that as a concept for a game :S

why? because it is different? maybe if you read about it you'd understand how the thought process began instead of just judging senselessly.