A word of caution: I’m going to rant a bit.
Eurogamer site Games Industry has the current generation version of the same old story that’s been recanted every generation since the days of the Super NES: Nintendo is its own worst enemy. In part, it’s true, but in all honesty, part of this concept is simply stored within the mindset of the game publishers. It’s a perception of the industry, and the funny thing is, the ones with the perception problem are the same ones that can do something about it. I’m sort of sick of the discussion, but it’s actually a fairly important topic to debate, so I’ll continue.
It basically plays out like this. Nintendo creates game consoles. They also create fantastic, high-quality games based on their unique IP franchises. They have their Mario games, their Zelda games, their Metroid games, and their Smash Bros. games, and various other lesser IPs (lesser in overall importance, not necessarily lesser in quality). Historically speaking, 90+% of the consumers planning to purchase any Nintendo console has does so for the games. This is a general percentage I’m just throwing out there; there is absolutely no science to it. But any Nintendo console owner would likely tell you the same thing. No one bought the GameCube to play the next installment of Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell franchise. Just like no one bought the Wii just to play Red Steel. Most people buy Nintendo consoles to play Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and Smash Bros. It’s just that simple. This, theoretically, makes other developers/publishers nervous.
Looking at the roster of games slated to be released on the Wii in 2007, I see only one–maybe two–non-Nintendo games that I will even bother looking at. And a majority of Wii-owners would like agree with me. Why? Because Nintendo console owners know that any Nintendo game is guaranteed quality. The preconceived notion in our minds is that third party developers are so apprehensive about the longevity of a Nintendo console, they are equally apprehensive in developing their Nintendo releases. The development could be skimped, the quality sub par, because they are afraid to devote all their energy into developing something that a large subset of the Nintendo console owning audience may never play. (For those curious, the two non-Nintendo games catching my eye include EA’s SSX Blur and Square Enix’ Dragon Quest Swords. If Codemasters could be trusted with any quality titles at all, I might add Heatseeker to the list, but I’m not holding my breath)
And that preconceived notion appears to hold true. In this current generation we got a half-assed Red Steel and an unplayable Far Cry from Ubisoft. It’s like they wanted it to look like they were trying, just to appease Nintendo, but they didn’t devote the time and effort into actually creating a quality product.
The problem also occurs when quality products do hit the shelves. The titles immediately get overshadowed by Nintendo titles, or overlooked because Nintendo console owners aren’t familiar with the companies or the IP. This unfortunately happened quite frequently on the GameCube, with fantastic games such as Capcom’s Viewtiful Joe, Ubisoft’s Beyond Good and Evil, and Silicon Knights’ Eternal Darkness all receiving excellent review scores, but simply floundering at retail.
The hope is that with an expanded audience, Nintendo can also expand the third party developer support base. Their hope is that the Wii will introduce gaming to people that have never gamed before, and set the precedence for more publishers to hop on board and release titles on the system they wouldn’t have previously. The belief is that with a wider audience, there will be an increased acceptance of new and fresh IP. This could open the doors for all sorts of quality titles to appear on the system. But in order for this to happen, cautious publishers need to take the initiative. If they allow Nintendo games to dominate on the Nintendo console early in the Wii’s lifecycle, this dominance will only become even more established as time goes on. They need to believe in Nintendo’s vision, create some quality material, and get it on the shelves for the consumers to check out. And they need to actually market this stuff right so the consumers know about it. Marketing for Nintendo console games has always been historically weak.
And this push needs to come from more publishers than just Ubisoft.
/end rant