Are Nintendo fanboys hurting the Wii's 3rd-party support? One fansite editor speaks

March 13th, 2007, 22:49 Posted By: wraggster

via joystiq

Who's at fault for Nintendo's lack of third-party support: Nintendo, the developers, or the fans themselves? Kevin Cassidy, founder of website GoNintendo, places the blame on the Nintendo community for showing reluctance or unwarranted disdain toward third-party Wii games.

The rant, part of Newsweek writer N'Gai Croal's P2P series, makes a point out of Dewy's Adventure, a game he feels internet users have called in "kiddie" based on its looks alone, subsequently refusing to give it a chance. This is a problem Nintendo had when revealing Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker to be a cel-shaded romp with a pre-adolescent Link. Of course, that game sold well on merit of its Nintendo roots. Dewy's Adventure isn't even out yet, so opinions have room to alter wildly between now and its release later this year.

Is the "kiddie" problem inherently Nintendo's, though? Regard Microsoft's Viva Pinata, a game that has been praised widely but suffers from low (though steady) sales. Is the kiddie image of the title affecting other consoles, too? Cassidy opines that Nintendo fans are clamoring for "mature" titles that include violence and gore, but we feel this is a more universal trend that is affecting all consoles.

A prong in Cassidy's rant also concerns titles rehashed by Ubisoft and EA: "Prince of Persia: Rival Swords; Godfather: Blackhand Edition; Scarface; Mortal Kombat: Armageddon -- fans lambaste them all because they appeared on last-generation platforms." He's right, but are the fans wrong? Publishers are still testing the water on how to cleverly use the Wii remote since the Nintendo versions are not going to have an advantage in the graphics or online department. The perception of the aforementioned titles is that they are simply rehashed games from last generation with motion controls tacked on. Rehashes are part of all early console cycles, and they will continue to spark ire in online communities until developers figure out how to get an optimal financial return on what they release.

Ultimately, you can't trust all the opinions written online; the real indicator is sales figures -- everyone gripes about the annual Madden upgrades, yet they are still a mainstay of yearly top software sales lists. Ubisoft and EA have expressed satisfaction so far on the Wii sales figures.

There are 5 comments - Join In and Discuss Here