Iwata discusses lack of third-party success on Wii, wants to cooperate with software devs for Project Cafe
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii, Wii U | 0 comments
It’s pretty much a well-known fact that third-parties haven’t been able to find success on the Wii. Sure, a few titles have performed beyond expectations – such as Just Dance – but on the whole, third-party releases just haven’t sold well.
Satoru Iwata was asked to comment on Nintendo’s inability to attract third-parties for the Wii at the company’s financial results briefing last week. Iwata explained that poor sales of previous games was a factor, as was the console’s graphical limitations and competition among other platforms. He also said that Nintendo is interested in cooperating with software developers for the Wii’s successor and admitted that third-parties are important to maintain the market.
“Regarding your analysis that cooperation with third-party software developers didn’t go as well for Wii as it went for Nintendo DS, there actually are some arguments which attribute the reason to the system’s ‘performance,’ but in terms of ‘performance,’ Nintendo DS did not overwhelm other devices by its performance. However, it proposed what other devices could not, and that value was recognized, and as a result the software sold well, which is the most important point. Unfortunately, there are very few success stories of third-party software in Japan on Wii. This lowered the motivation of the software developers, and at a time when these software developers should have been running their businesses on the platform with the biggest installed base, this wasn’t the reality. On the contrary, in the U.S., several titles sold well. Not only ‘JUST DANCE,’ which I introduced today, but for some titles, such as ‘Guitar Hero,’ even if the titles were released for multiple platforms, the Wii version sold the most, and in such a situation, the developers did not completely lose motivation for development on Wii. However, Wii is good in some areas but not in others, so especially for games like ‘Call of Duty,’ the Wii version sold pretty well, but the unit sales were very different from the versions of other platforms, and I assume that one of the reasons is the issue with the graphical representations which you mentioned before, and also, the consumers who like that kind of game will have other platforms at home as well, which led to this result. Of course, we would like to cooperate with software developers for Wii’s successor, and as I am repeatedly saying, I don’t believe Nintendo can carry out everything alone. I am saying that we are responsible for building up the market, but I don’t think that Nintendo can maintain the market alone; We are aiming for creating a situation where software publishers will be willing to cooperate. As for commenting on such things as the performance, I already stated in the beginning that I would not mention any specific plans. Thank you for your understanding.”
Screenshots of this week’s Nintendo Downloads (5/2)
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, Screenshots, Wii | 0 comments
Nintendo Download: Action is in Full Bloom with New Game Downloads for Nintendo Systems
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, News, Wii | 0 comments
Spring flowers aren’t the only new arrivals you’ll want to savor as May gets underway. The latest downloadable games for the Wiiâ„¢ and Nintendo DSiâ„¢ systems include action-packed fare that’s sure to keep your adrenaline pumping. For the WiiWareâ„¢ service, a new demo version of BIT.TRIP RUNNER invites players to discover the fast-paced, retro-flavored platforming fun of the BIT.TRIP series for zero Wii Pointsâ„¢. On the Virtual Consoleâ„¢ service, RIVAL TURF! delivers classic street-fighting kicks from the Super NESâ„¢ era. And for the Nintendo DSiWareâ„¢ service, Anonymous Notes Chapter 2 – From The Abyss – plunges hand-held gamers deep in the heart of a rich dungeon-based adventure.
Voice actor hints at North American Xenoblade localization, month for European release
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 0 comments
Nintendo of Europe made a surprising announcement about a month ago that Xenoblade Chronicles will be hitting store shelves this year. Gamers in North America, however, are still waiting for a localization confirmation.
If Nintendo of America is planning on releasing the title, we won’t be hearing anything official until E3. There is a small hint, though, that it will be brought stateside. Peter Dickson, a voice actor working on the European release, posted the following information on his website:
“Peter has been cast as the Emperor Sorean – the leader of the High Entia in the cult Nintendo RPG Xenoblade Chronicles. The game will be released Autumn 2011 in UK, Europe and USA. Peter is thrilled to have played such a leading role in a massively successful Nintendo title.”
Keep in mind that nothing has been confirmed yet, and it’s certainly possible that Dickson simply assumed that the game will ship in North America. Again, we’ll have to wait until E3 before we know the fate of Xenoblade in North America.
In other news, Dickson said on his Twitter account a few weeks ago that Xenoblade will launch in Europe this September. Adam Howden, voice actor for Shulk, seems to be in agreement. Nintendo of Europe has yet to confirm the game’s release date.
Media Create software sales (4/18 – 4/24) – Top 50
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, News, Wii | 0 comments
01. / 00. [NDS] Battle & Get! Pokemon Typing DS (Pokemon Co.) {2011.04.21} – 59.363 / NEW
02. / 03. [NDS] Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 – Professional (Square Enix) {2011.03.31} – 45.397 / 337.166 (-47%)
03. / 01. [PSP] Dai-2-Ji Super Robot Wars Z: Hakai-hen (Bandai Namco) {2011.04.14} – 44.973 / 351.992 (-85%)
04. / 04. [PSP] Pro Baseball Spirits 2011 (Konami) {2011.04.14} – 27.931 / 99.195 (-61%)
05. / 02. [PS3] Pro Baseball Spirits 2011 (Konami) {2011.04.14} – 24.365 / 110.851 (-72%)
06. / 00. [NDS] Detective Conan: Aoki Houseki no Rinbukyoku (Bandai Namco) {2011.04.21} – 19.786 / NEW
07. / 00. [PSP] GachiTora! Abarenbou Kyoushi in High School (Spike) {2011.04.21} – 13.560 / NEW
08. / 00. [PS3] SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs 4 (SCE) {2011.04.21} – 12.613 / NEW
09. / 06. [3DS] Pilotwings Resort (Nintendo) {2011.04.14} – 10.675 / 37.228 (-60%)
10. / 00. [360] Otomedius X (Konami) {2011.04.21} – 10.502 / NEW
11. / 05. [PSP] Persona 2: Innocent Sin (Atlus Co.) {2011.04.14} – 10.400 / 73.122 (-83%)
12. / 00. [360] Monster Hunter Frontier Online (Forward .1 Premium Package) (Capcom) {2011.04.20} – 10.393 / NEW
13. / 13. [PSP] Monster Hunter Freedom 3 (Capcom) {2010.12.01} – 8.558 / 4.446.505 (+2%)
14. / 00. [NDS] Original Story from Fairy Tail: Gekitotsu! Kardia Daiseidou (Hudson) {2011.04.21} – 8.376 / NEW
15. / 08. [PSP] Earth Defence Force 2 Portable (D3 Publisher) {2011.04.07} – 8.207 / 88.900 (-51%)
16. / 00. [PS3] Clannad (Prototype) {2011.04.21} – 7.466 / NEW
17. / 12. [PSP] Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection (Square Enix) {2011.03.24} – 7.369 / 171.311 (-18%)
18. / 11. [PSP] Amagami (EBKore+) (Kadokawa Shoten) {2011.03.31} – 7.016 / 109.463 (-25%)
19. / 16. [WII] Wii Party (Nintendo) {2010.07.08} – 6.748 / 1.860.133 (-3%)
20. / 15. [3DS] Nintendogs + Cats: French Bulldog / Shiba / Toy Poodle & New Friends (Nintendo) {2011.02.26} – 6.303 / 196.242 (-15%)
Pandora’s Tower trailer (off-screen)
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii | 0 comments
NGamer review scores
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, News, Wii | 0 comments
Wii
Conduit 2 – 60%
Lego Star Wars lll: The Clone Wars – 70%
Virtua Tennis 4 – 65%
Guilty Gearxx Accent Core Plus – 84%
Japan import
Ikenie no Yoru – 68%
Rune Factory: Oceans – 73%
3DS
Puzzle Bobble Universe – 40%
Rabbids 3D – 35%
Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D – 37%
The Sims 3D – 55%
Madden NFL: Football – 46%
Japan import
Cubic Ninja – 75%
DS
Monster Tale – 80%
Musiic Party: Rock the House – 51%
Lego Ninjago: The Videogame – 64%
Duke Nukem Crital Mass 29%
Plants vs Zombies – 86%
Lego Star Wars lll – 64%
Thanks to Jose for the tip!
Rock Band Music Store update next week
Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 0 comments
Cambridge, Mass. – April 29, 2011 – Harmonix today announced that songs from Culture Club, Loverboy, Phish and Stone Temple Pilots will be available beginning May 3 in the Rock Band 3 Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™.
Rock Band provides the deepest and best selection of artists, songs and albums through the Rock Band music platform, which features more than 800 artists and more than 2,700* tracks via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at www.rockband.com/songs). Rock Band’s gigantic music library dwarfs that of any other rhythm video game on the market. More than 75 million songs have been sold through the Rock Band Music Store since its launch Nov. 20, 2007.
Rock Band DLC Additions for Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 system and Wii