Publishers Flocking To Wii At Expense of PS3

[Yoshimax]

Among others :

As the Wii and DS continue to dominate the video game landscape, especially in Japan, publishers seem to be jumping at the opportunity to put their titles on Nintendo platforms. A new report indicates that three Japanese companies (Namco Bandai, Sega, Capcom) are now favoring Nintendo over Sony. More within...

According to a new report in Variety Asia Online, which cites a survey in the Nikkei newspaper, three of Japan's top game makers have decided to put their weight behind Nintendo systems while simultaneously decreasing their output for Sony's platforms.

The report indicates that during fiscal 2007, Namco Bandai will boost its Nintendo lineup by 109 percent to 115 titles; Sega will increase its Nintendo offerings by 96 percent to 49 titles; and Capcom will bump up its Nintendo lineup by 5 percent to 20 titles. These same three publishers will also cut shipments of titles for Sony platforms (including PS3) by 30 to 40 percent.

Shipments of Nintendo titles are expected to total 26.88 million units in fiscal 2007 compared to 23.29 million units of Sony software. Capcom plans to significantly boost its Nintendo shipments by 81 percent to 4.7 million units, the report said.

So what's behind the shift to Nintendo? The obvious answer is that sales for the Wii and DS have been tremendous, and publishers will flock to high installed bases. The Wii has been outselling the more expensive PS3 two-to-one in the U.S. and three-to-one in Japan. And importantly, the Wii has been consistently praised for its relatively low development costs, especially compared to the costs involved in making games for the PS3 or Xbox 360.

And disappointingly for PS3 owners and Final Fantasy fans, Variety mentions that Square Enix "has no plans to develop titles for the PS3 until sales improve enough to make the steep development costs financially worthwhile." The RPG juggernaut previously mentioned that Final Fantasy XIII would not be released until some time in their next fiscal year, which pushes the game back until mid-2008.

When are we going to see the games though - Christ the wii needs some cracking games from them companies ASAP.

[EvilBoris]

That article makes it sound as if they are literally going to ship more copies of Wii games i.e. press more discs. Is it that or are they saying they are actually developing more games?

[Yoshimax]

This bit :

The report indicates that during fiscal 2007, Namco Bandai will boost its Nintendo lineup by 109 percent to 115 titles; Sega will increase its Nintendo offerings by 96 percent to 49 titles; and Capcom will bump up its Nintendo lineup by 5 percent to 20 titles. These same three publishers will also cut shipments of titles for Sony platforms (including PS3) by 30 to 40 percent

[parkinho]

No surprise at all.

[paul]

Since I purchased the Wii on release, I have only purchased one game. I was on the verge of purchasing my 2nd today (Resi EVil 4), but baulked at the prospect of paying another ?30 for a game which I already own.

This is potentially good news, unless these companies release more of the rubbish that's been coming out on Wii to date.

[MattyD]

It's all well and good saying they're on board but if they don't start producing some quality, meaningful games, it won't stop the novelty wearing off. Right now there isn't *that* much on the horizon to get me excited other than Nintendo's own stuff. If that doesn't change I can't see the Wii having much staying power TBH.

[Jebus]

Since I purchased the Wii on release, I have only purchased one game. I was on the verge of purchasing my 2nd today (Resi EVil 4), but baulked at the prospect of paying another £30 for a game which I already own.

This is potentially good news, unless these companies release more of the rubbish that's been coming out on Wii to date.

Same here except I DID buy Resi. I've bought two games now since launch night!

I've seen the release lineup for the Wii and to be honest I'm not that keen, there's a couple of titles I might buy if the price is right though. On the flip side there are some PS3 titles that are on my absolute MUST have list! (Heavenly Sword, Drakes Fortune, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, LittleBigPlanet, Ratchet...to name a few).

[Psyduck]

I don't quite get why some of you aren't buying wii games. I've bought and enjoyed Korinpa, Zelda, Play, Excite Truck, Wario Ware, Mario Strikers, Eledees so far. They're not AAA games but then again you can get em soon after release for <&#163;25 online so it's no big deal, and they're easy to resell for a decent price.

[parkinho]

I'm with you here Psyduck - I have been more than happy with the Wii lineup so far, and I play it more regularly than I ever did with my PS2/Xbox/GC. Then again the current 360/PS3 libraries don't really appeal to me so I guess I'm in the minority here.

[paul]

I don't quite get why some of you aren't buying wii games. I've bought and enjoyed Korinpa, Zelda, Play, Excite Truck, Wario Ware, Mario Strikers, Eledees so far. They're not AAA games but then again you can get em soon after release for <?25 online so it's no big deal, and they're easy to resell for a decent price.

With the exception of Zelda, those games don't exactly appeal.

[elkatas]

Right now there isn't *that* much on the horizon to get me excited other than Nintendo's own stuff. If that doesn't change I can't see the Wii having much staying power TBH.

It was enough for DS...

[Flabio]

It was enough for DS...

But it wasn't enough for the Cube or N64.

[elkatas]

But it wasn't enough for the Cube or N64.

N64's launch was marred by late release date, and marketing team's incompetence. Same goes for Cube.

[MattyD]

It was enough for DS...

Which is a handheld, and brings with it a different set of expectations. People will expect far more from a home console which is more expensive and whose games cost more. A DS game can get away with being flimsy and one-dimensional to some extent (look at all the people who raved over Yoshi's Touch and Go) because people don't expect to sit and play it for extended periods.

What the Wii needs right now is more games you can sit down for a good session with, games with a bit of substance to get your teeth into. Resi 4 is a start but it's only a retread at the end of the day. And it seems for every Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3 on the release list, there's a dozen examples of the derivative and shallow-sounding tripe that litters the DS library.

To expand on my original point, having companies like Sega and Capcom working on the Wii will only help in the long term if they start introducing titles as worthwhile and substantial as their conventional output. Everything else is just gravy.

[elkatas]

People will expect far more from a home console which is more expensive and whose games cost more.

Correction: NTSC-UK user excepts more from the console games. Isn't it interesting that most last generations TOP-30 selling games were "shallow" / casual experiences? And games like Devil May Cry 3, God of War, Jak & Dakter, Okami, Knights of the Old Republic, Resident Evil 4 and Ninja Gaiden couldn't even sell 1.8 million copies worldwide?