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[Kresnik258]

Looking back at the hardware numbers when Bayonetta 2 launched (and also this week with PZ to some extent), there wasn´t a notable hardwarebump, therefore the game basically just sold to the existing userbase. It´s more irritating to see that there is a relative large number of self-proclaimed hardcore gamers that don´t buy a system despite having games they actually want to play and rather ignore an excellent game just for the sake of beeing an other companies chearleader.

It´s somewhat understandable that casual gamers just buy a single system and think they are good to go but among "hardcoregamers" it´s really weird, especially considering that money isn´t always the biggest issue, actually a systems-hardware isn´t that big of an investment considering that in the long run you invest multiple time more money in software, to see console wars taking priority over enjoying excellent games is quite sad actually. The most vocal seem to be Sony enthusiast, be it MH (in every damn Monster Hunter thread), DQ, Bayonetta, Tomb Raider or any other Indygame on kickstarter portbegging seems to be far more prevalent.

From a similar mindset also games like Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon and Last Story were basically ignored by a large part of the self-proclaimed hardcore gamers just for beeing on the wrong systems, really funny how the focus among certain JRPG-fans shifted to Atelier series and other lolicon niche JRPG instead. In the process Mistwalker was damaged, reduced to making smartphone games for at least some years and videogame fans left with even less options, when it comes to somewhat high-budget JRPGs. Great job "hardcore gamers"/console warriors lol

Do you genuinely believe that the problem with WiiU drawing in a "hardcore" audience lies with console wars?

I think the biggest flaw in your argument was the "despite having games they actually want to play" part. The console's catering to any "hardcore" crowd seems to be "whatever Nintendo can get" at the moment.

For example, some leftover cross-gen support they could get early on (Dragon Quest X; Monster Hunter Tri); games that were cancelled or in development hell (Bayonetta 2; Devil's Third) or collaborations with those Japanese third parties open to such ventures (Hyrule Warriors; Fatal Frame). That's not the kind of list that's going to get people excited and reaching for their wallets.

Heck, even the third party support for that crowd is lacking. Stuff like One Piece or Resi Revelations came also available on other relevant platforms; both of them late ports from another Nintendo platform.

So I don't see what's really on WiiU currently that would warrant saying that it's the "hardcore" crowd's fault for seeing things they want on it and ignoring it. I think they're seeing what's there and thinking "ehh".

 

[Ty4on]

Was there a SSB version of the 3DS LL and/or a bundle didn't know about?

I have a hard time keeping track of all the versions. I tried graphing the last months' 3DS sales and while the nonLL was basically a line at 7k the LL had a bunch of spikes from all of the special versions

 

[jmizzal]

Fatal Frame sales

So its selling normal, and WiiU has less units sold so its a better attach rate

 

[Darius]

Was there a SSB version of the 3DS LL and/or a bundle didn't know about?

I have a hard time keeping track of all the versions. I tried graphing the last months' 3DS sales and while the nonLL was basically a line at 7k the LL had a bunch of spikes from all of the special versions

As far as I know there aren´t, there´ll be new3DS LL SSB special editions instead.

 

[KratosEnergyDrink]

At least ps4 was clearly made for the west.
Wiiu was made for noone.

Last time I checked there are more than 7 millions Wii U sold.

Yes the PS4 is more mainstream, but Wii U has its fans too.

 

[Ty4on]

As far as I know there aren´t, there´ll be new3DS LL SSB special editions instead.

Odd. I wonder what then caused LL sales to deviate.

 

[theprodigy]

Last time I checked there are more than 7 millions Wii U sold.

Yes the PS4 is more mainstream, but Wii U has its fans too.

first of all, Nintendo hadn't even shipped 7 million Wii Us in their last quarterly report, second of all, this point is completely pointless to begin with, because I could just as easily say "well Vita has nearly 2 million units in the US, it has its fans there too!"

 

[Ty4on]

first of all, Nintendo hadn't even shipped 7 million Wii Us in their last quarterly report, second of all, this point is completely pointless to begin with, because I could just as easily say "well Vita has nearly 2 million units in the US, it has its fans there too!"

We don't know the exact numbers, but the Vita had shipped around 8 million WW so it is a good counter argument.

I love the relationship between the WiiU and the Vita. Call one dead and you have to call the other dead too

 

[Sammy Samusu]

3DS: 16.295.749
PSP: 19.691.329

When will the 3DS surpass PSP? I'm thinking holiday 2015, or early 2016.

Nintendo must play the Amiibo cards right. They better have some cool games in development.

 

[ZSaberLink]

Props to Smash 3DS and Youkai Watch 2 as usual. Mario Kart 8 continues to have decent legs as well. Comgnet was a totally terrible indicator for Fatal Frame lol... it did seem to move some hardware though.

MK8 passed the 700K mark (including DLs) this week
YW2 passed 2.5M
Smash 3DS continues to sell quite well and apparently is still sold out. Rest of the industry is pretty bad, but nothing new there... (I still think those tax hikes made a bad situation a lot worse...)

 

[Mory Dunz]

3DS: 16.295.749
PSP: 19.691.329

When will the 3DS surpass PSP? I'm thinking holiday 2015, or early 2016.

Nintendo must play the Amiibo cards right. They better have some cool games in development.

Or actually announce what Amiibos will do in current games.

 

[Eolz]

3DS: 16.295.749
PSP: 19.691.329

When will the 3DS surpass PSP? I'm thinking holiday 2015, or early 2016.

Nintendo must play the Amiibo cards right. They better have some cool games in development.

As long as the n3DS is counted, I could see it happening before holiday 2015.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Or actually announce what Amiibos will do in current games.

Yeah, for something that launches alongside Smash, and works with MK8 (the only game out now that will use it IIRC), we know extremely little about their plans for it. Not to mention their apparent compatibility with Disney Infinity 2.0 and Skylanders Trap Team.

 

[SwiftDeath]

Yeah, for something that launches alongside Smash, and works with MK8 (the only game out now that will use it IIRC), we know extremely little about their plans for it. Not to mention their apparent compatibility with Disney Infinity 2.0 and Skylanders Trap Team.

Huh never knew that. That's a really smart decision although it's interesting that Disney and Activision agreed to it considering the figurine sales are likely the most profitable part of it. Probably some lines of thinking that "rising water raises all boats" or something

 

[ZSaberLink]

Huh never knew that. That's a really smart decision although it's interesting that Disney and Activision agreed to it considering the figurine sales are likely the most profitable part of it. Probably some lines of thinking that "rising water raises all boats" or something

Well for both titles, the Wii U would be the logical next platform as their primary platform of the current-gen. Namco also has their own figurine take with Kamen Rider in December for Japan.

Nintendo still has some things to announce for this year after Smash/Pokemon...

Smash Wii U release date
Amiibos (purpose, interactivity w/ Smash, etc.)
Toad release date (delayed in Europe)

It's weird too since we have a release date for NES Remix Pack already lol.

 

[Hero of Legend]

Well for both titles, the Wii U would be the logical next platform as their primary platform of the current-gen. Namco also has their own figurine take with Kamen Rider in December for Japan.

Nintendo still has some things to announce for this year after Smash/Pokemon...

Smash Wii U release date
Amiibos (purpose, interactivity w/ Smash, etc.)
Toad release date (delayed in Europe)

It's weird too since we have a release date for NES Remix Pack already lol.

And this minor thing:

WHAT THE FUCK IS QUALITY OF LIFE?!

I can't believe they've not said a thing about it in so long. I almost wonder if it even still exists or has gone the way of the Vitality Sensor.

 

[SwiftDeath]

Yeah I wonder if Nintendo will do a big direct to announce some of those things Zsaber? And QOL. When are we finally going to hear more about that?

 

[Scum]

Well for both titles, the Wii U would be the logical next platform as their primary platform of the current-gen. Namco also has their own figurine take with Kamen Rider in December for Japan.

Nintendo still has some things to announce for this year after Smash/Pokemon...

Smash Wii U release date
Amiibos (purpose, interactivity w/ Smash, etc.)
Toad release date (delayed in Europe)

It's weird too since we have a release date for NES Remix Pack already lol.

Maybe we'll get a Direct with release dates and whatnot before or after NCL's quarter earnings' briefing nearer the end of the month.

 

[Scum]

And this minor thing:

WHAT THE FUCK IS QUALITY OF LIFE?!

I can't believe they've not said a thing about it in so long. I almost wonder if it even still exists or has gone the way of the Vitality Sensor.

iOS-ification of everything Nintendo. Believe!

 

[Takao]

Has Nintendo ever said QoL is directly related to their video game business?

 

[uncredited male]

I think QOL will be a robotic Kirby that cheers people up at the old-folks homes.

And I need this in my life.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Stupid Sony pony baloneys. Buy the Wii U or you'll doom gaming to smartphones!

 

[Elfteiroh]

Has Nintendo ever said QoL is directly related to their video game business?

Somewhat:
As related as "Healthier people play more games" can mean.
And people usually only do healthy things when they are fun to do, and Nintendo have great experience doing fun stuff, so they believe this will help them.

 

[johnbone]

Stupid Sony pony baloneys. Buy the Wii U or you'll doom gaming to smartphones!

You seem to have a real problem with Nintendo-you just constantly drop into threads, make some asinine sarcastic comment to nobody in particular, and then bail.

 

[Scum]

Has Nintendo ever said QoL is directly related to their video game business?

I'm not quite sure they have. But I do remember Iwata reassuring one of the investors, that QoL wasn't going to be about Nintendo running off to meddle in the affairs of the health business or something along those lines.

I might be wrong though.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Oh yes. I'm never in Media Create threads. There wasn't a huge rant a page ago essentially to the effect of that parody. And this is clearly me bailing.

 

[theprodigy]

You seem to have a real problem with Nintendo-you just constantly drop into threads, make some asinine sarcastic comment to nobody in particular, and then bail.

you seem to have a problem towards negative comments towards Nintendo

and "drop into threads and then bail" in a Media Create thread lol

 

[johnbone]

Oh yes. I'm never in Media Create threads. There wasn't a huge rant a page ago essentially to the effect of that parody. And this is clearly me bailing.

Sarcasm is the lowest form of argumentation. Find a new shtick.

 

[johnbone]

you seem to have a problem towards negative comments towards Nintendo

and "drop into threads and then bail" in a Media Create thread lol

You seem to have a problem towards anyone who has a problem with people having a problem towards negative comments towards Nintendo.

...and I was more or less referencing the Bayo sales thread with the "bail" comment.

 

[shinra-bansho]

I like my schtick, thanks.

The rant didn't warrant any real response beyond my snark. The Bayonetta thread didn't warrant any real new response beyond my snark, as prior to this week's Media Create thread, I'd already been patiently explaining the reality of front-loaded core game sales alongside others.

But since it concerns you so much, the Wii U is not selling because it's an unappealing product. The software on it targeted at demographics that comprise the core segment is not selling because that product is not positioned well towards that segment. It isn't because of some massive hypocritical hardcore segment that refuses to budge from their beloved Playstation.

Also this bizarre idea that the "core" segment, in terms of the markets for titles like Tomb Raider or Call of Duty, is necessarily interested in buying a bajillion boxes to put under their TVs for a single game on each is nonsensical, and I've no idea why it perpetuates.

The only part that the rant correctly identifies is that it's not a matter of money. It's a matter of value and needs.

 

[johnbone]

I like my schtick, thanks.

The rant didn't warrant any real response beyond my snark. The Bayonetta thread didn't warrant any real new response beyond my snark, as prior to this week's Media Create thread, I'd already been patiently explaining the reality of front-loaded core game sales alongside others.

But since it concerns you so much, the Wii U is not selling because it's an unappealing product. The software on it targeted at demographics that comprise the core segment is not selling because that product is not positioned well towards that segment. It isn't because of some massive hypocritical hardcore segment that refuses to budge from their beloved Playstation.

Also this bizarre idea that the "core" segment, in terms of the markets for titles like Tomb Raider or Call of Duty, is necessarily interested in buying a bajillion boxes to put under their TVs for a single game on each is nonsensical, and I've no idea why it perpetuates.

The only part that the rant correctly identifies is that it's not a matter of money. It's a matter of value and needs.

Ok, I guess I was a tad quick to the trigger there-thanks for actually presenting an argument!

I guess I just need to stay out of sales threads, as I get tired of all the sales-related shittalk.

 

[theprodigy]

And this minor thing:

WHAT THE FUCK IS QUALITY OF LIFE?!

I can't believe they've not said a thing about it in so long. I almost wonder if it even still exists or has gone the way of the Vitality Sensor.

after FY 2015, Nintendo's meeting:

"We are launching QoL this fiscal year, as a result the next handheld will be delayed to FY 2017, please understand."

 

[crinale]

Dengeki is reporting DanganRonpa AE's sell-through ratio was nearly 90%.

 

[metalslimer]

Looking back at the hardware numbers when Bayonetta 2 launched (and also this week with PZ to some extent), there wasn´t a notable hardwarebump, therefore the game basically just sold to the existing userbase. It´s more irritating to see that there is a relative large number of self-proclaimed hardcore gamers that don´t buy a system despite having games they actually want to play and rather ignore an excellent game just for the sake of beeing an other companies chearleader.

It´s somewhat understandable that casual gamers just buy a single system and think they are good to go but among "hardcoregamers" it´s really weird, especially considering that money isn´t always the biggest issue, actually a systems-hardware isn´t that big of an investment considering that in the long run you invest multiple time more money in software, to see console wars taking priority over enjoying excellent games is quite sad actually. The most vocal seem to be Sony enthusiast, be it MH (in every damn Monster Hunter thread), DQ, Bayonetta, Tomb Raider or any other Indygame on kickstarter portbegging seems to be far more prevalent.

From a similar mindset also games like Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon and Last Story were basically ignored by a large part of the self-proclaimed hardcore gamers just for beeing on the wrong systems, really funny how the focus among certain JRPG-fans shifted to Atelier series and other lolicon niche JRPG instead. In the process Mistwalker was damaged, reduced to making smartphone games for at least some years and videogame fans left with even less options, when it comes to somewhat high-budget JRPGs. Great job "hardcore gamers"/console warriors lol

The generalizing of the so called core gamers is no better than what people say about people about on Nintendo consoles only buying Nintendo games. At least one of the generalizations has some supporting data. So by the same logic, thanks Nintendo gamers for ignoring Bayonetta 2, you bought Mario Kart, but couldn't buy Bayonetta.

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

I wonder what will happen to consoles in Japan in the coming Generation. The days of the NES till the PS2 is long gone and ain't coming back. Japanese game developers and hardware manufacturers are in a real dilemma their home country prefers handhelds while the rest of the world prefers consoles, and that's not including mobile devices.

 

[shinra-bansho]

The idea of buying any system for a single title just seems so absurdly foreign to me. And I suspect it's the same for the wider market simply based on what we see weekly, monthly, yearly in threads like this. I imagine very few titles have that sort of pull with particularly significant sized markets, given the sales information we have.

Cumulative portfolios I can definitely see as creating sufficient purchase intent for the "average consumer." But even then, I doubt that they intend to have all systems under their TV purely for the sake of completeness when each arrives at a sufficiently worthwhile library.

I mean I'm sure people on here own multiple systems, possibly all systems, (it's often touted as if it's some sort of argument against predilections), but I just can't see that being a widespread habit amongst the general populace. These are luxury entertainment devices, for all intents and purposes, not necessities.

I can't play Bayonetta 2 without a Wii U? I better get a Wii U to play Bayonetta 2.
v.
I can't play Bayonetta 2 without a Wii U? Okay, I won't play Bayonetta 2.

I presume the latter is the thought process of an overwhelming majority of people who consume video games, even if in both scenarios the individual may have some degree of interest or purchase intent towards the title itself.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

The original Wii existed off the idea of buying into one game.

 

[Aostia]

I diragree with both shinra and feel good. Wii started being desired for wiisport. But nintendo was able to present other compelling sw that became symbol of the console. Fit, kart, new mario, smash..so, people bought the console for one game..at a time.
On the other hand, it is obvious that a consolf could be bought for one iconic gamd. As for MH on psp or wii sport at the beginning.
Succes in the console market is not forced to follow a unique path.
Wiiu chose all the wrong path, to me

 

[SwiftDeath]

Wii seemingly had a lot of 3rd party sales success if you look at the total sales of games on the system and start subtracting/accounting for all the big Nintendo games on it sales-wise. That being said after the first 2 years or so of the platform, I can't recall any notable AAA-esque 3rd party software successes outside of COD and Just Dance? I'm sure there are a few other examples of software from the traditional large publishers that sold well but they are few and far between. If I had to guess, I would think the Wii was served by the remainder of the mid-tier developers who successfully made more casual-oriented and less demanding games on the system. Looking at the Wii U, that support seems to be completely gone although indies on the eshop are picking up some of the burden I guess but not much

 

[BengaBenga]

With the three core oriented third/second party games in a couple of weeks all selling ok, but not great Nintendo really missed a big opportunity to lower the price of the (too expensive) console to increase software sales. This would have given a small but needed signal to the publishers that games on Wii U can sell and might have invited some ports.

There will no doubt be a pricecut next year, but it will never be as big a streak as this year (Mario Kart, Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta, Fatal Frame, Smash).

 

[ZSaberLink]

Wii seemingly had a lot of 3rd party sales success if you look at the total sales of games on the system and start subtracting/accounting for all the big Nintendo games on it sales-wise. That being said after the first 2 years or so of the platform, I can't recall any notable AAA-esque 3rd party software successes outside of COD and Just Dance? I'm sure there are a few other examples of software from the traditional large publishers that sold well but they are few and far between. If I had to guess, I would think the Wii was served by the remainder of the mid-tier developers who successfully made more casual-oriented and less demanding games on the system. Looking at the Wii U, that support seems to be completely gone although indies on the eshop are picking up some of the burden I guess but not much

The reason that you didn't see "big AAA titles on Wii" was because they came too late. 3rd parties weren't ready for the success of the Wii. For example in Japan, look at the success of the action DQ game, ToS2, RE4: Wii and RE: Umbrella Chronicles that came out in about 2007. The early Wii audience was quite hungry for these types of big experiences and bought these smaller spinoffs fairly decently. If they bought into titles like Zelda and Red Steel, they were probably looking for similar high value experiences. When the Wii got relegated to spinoffs in the near term and the 360/PS3 got all the biigger titles this audience wanted, they likely migrated over there and the Wii got its name for the titles that were generally made, kids titles, party titles, and Nintendo titles. Some EA sports were the exceptions, like Tiger Woods Golf for 06-08 or so from what I hear. Then when third parties finally came around to somewhat trying on the Wii with these big types of experiences in like 2009, they were disappointed that the audience wasn't really there anymore.


Dead Space Extraction was apparently a quality title, but Wii owners clearly got sick of just rail shooter spinoffs of the games they wanted. The Wii Call of Duty games were whole games that were similar to their 360/PS3 counterparts and they sold well. But the third parties themselves created that situation in the first place as the perception of the Wii had changed by 2009 and the audience that was receptive to those titles had moved to the 360/PS3. Didn't help that Nintendo was basically done developing titles for the Wii after 2010. For example, Monster Hunter Tri in Japan did quite well on the Wii, and I think that's partly because it was announced early, and released in 2008. Not sure how this would have been avoided, but that's really about it. This is just my opinion though.

 

[hongcha]

The original Wii existed off the idea of buying into one game.

Yeah, but that one game (Wii Sports) was something fresh, new and exciting. It appealed to all ages, and gamers and non-gamers alike. Wii U doesn't have a game like that.

 

[SwiftDeath]

The reason that you didn't see "big AAA titles on Wii" was because they came too late. 3rd parties weren't ready for the success of the Wii. For example in Japan, look at the success of the action DQ game and RE4: Wii and RE: Umbrella Chronicles that came out in about 2007. The early Wii audience was quite hungry for these types of big experiences and bought these smaller spinoffs fairly decently. If they bought into titles like Zelda and Red Steel, they were probably looking for similar high value experiences. When the Wii got relegated to spinoffs in the near term and the 360/PS3 got all the biigger titles this audience wanted, they likely migrated over there and the Wii got its name for the titles that were generally made, kids titles, party titles, and Nintendo titles. Some EA sports were the exceptions, like Tiger Woods Golf for 06-08 or so from what I hear. Then when third parties finally came around to somewhat trying on the Wii with these big types of experiences in like 2009, they were disappointed that the audience wasn't really there anymore. Actually come to think of it, what big titles were even attempted apart from like Red Steel 2? Dead Space Extraction was apparently a quality title, but Wii owners clearly got sick of just rail shooter spinoffs of the games they wanted. The Wii Call of Duty games were whole games that were very similar to their 360/PS3 counterparts. But they themselves created that situation in the first place as the perception of the Wii had changed by 2009 and the audience that was receptive to those titles had moved to the 360/PS3. Didn't help that Nintendo was basically done developing titles for the Wii after 2010. For example, Monster Hunter Tri in Japan did quite well on the Wii, and I think that's partly because it was announced early, and released in 2008. Not sure how this would have been avoided, but that's really about it. This is just my opinion though.

So the turn of events that you describe, I generally agree with albeit with perhaps who caused it/is at fault for it. I imagine some of the big AAA 3rd party games not coming to Wii day and date is related to many factors that kind of winded down that type of support and as you suggested forced a mass exodus of gamers that wanted those experiences onto other platforms.

Why AAA publishers failed to deliver their newer experiences day and date is an interesting question. In some ways the Wii had some of the Wii U's problem in that it received late ports of previous generation games [Godfather, Scarface etc.] although PS3 and maybe 360? also got Godfather as well. Personally if I had to again guess at the reason behind the lackluster support it would probably boil down to opportunity costs, because publishers probably saw that developing for the Wii required non-standard effort as the games those publishers were interested in making were probably not simple to port and with Nintendo's seemingly poor 3rd party technical support and non-standard control system, it wasn't an obvious porting process. So I do think quite a bit of the blame can fall on those publishers due to their inflexibility when it comes to adapting but that sort of seems to be the standard behavior of those types of developers so it doesn't surprise me that big publisher 3rd party support shrunk over time. Nintendo is probably at fault somewhat for a longheld stance on not actively helping and engaging all major western 3rd parties [they seem to have become a little better at this] as well as having the unique control system and lower specs. [Granted the unique control system is what likely led to their great success it still probably affected 3rd party porting efforts]

 

[Lumyst]

Nintendo themselves would not have wanted or expected people to buy WiiU just for one game, they'd want those people who bought it for Bayonetta 2 to then buy other titles on their platform. I remember it being said that Nintendo having their own platform is why they can attempt riskier projects. A platform holder can hope for an overall impact on their platform business by reaching out to others beyond their typical customers.

 

[Pennywise83]

Yo-kai Watch 2 weekly sales (Famitsu):

1. Jul 07 - Jul 03: 1.281.096 / NEW
2. Jul 14 - Jul 20: 258.554 / 1.539.650 (-80%)
3. Jul 21 - Jul 27: 198.354 / 1.738.004 (-23%)
4. Jul 28 - Aug 03: 156.589 / 1.894.593 (-21%)
5. Aug 04 - Aug 10: 127.456 / 2.022.049 (-19%)
6. Aug 11 - Aug 17: 153.822 / 2.175.871 (+21%)
7. Aug 18 - Aug 24: 70.103 / 2.245.974 (-54%)
8. Aug 25 - Aug 31: 75.489 / 2.321.463 (+8%)
9. Sep 01 - Sep 07: 60.469 / 2.381.932 (-20%)
10. Sep 08- Sep 14: 61.095 / 2.443.027 (+1%)
11. Sep 15 - Sep 21: 60.450 / 2.503.477 (-1%)
12. Sep 22 - Sep 28: 64.797 / 2.568.274 (+7%)

 

[CANLI]

Best option for Wii U is to let people download Wii Sport club for 0 yen (euro, dollar whatever..) Why buy this game when it was free for the wii? Ok, there's the online thing we know but even with that, they must offer it.

 

[Chris1964]

Best option for Wii U is to let people download Wii Sport club for 0 yen (euro, dollar whatever..) Why buy this game when it was free for the wii? Ok, there's the online thing we know but even with that, they must offer it.

Wii Sports wasn't free and nobody cares for Wii Sports Club.

 

[Gonzo The Great]

Best option for Wii U is to let people download Wii Sport club for 0 yen (euro, dollar whatever..) Why buy this game when it was free for the wii? Ok, there's the online thing we know but even with that, they must offer it.

Wii Sports Club is the same game but with HD visuals and broken online play. Literally nothing will "save" the Wii U at this point, unless Level-5 announces Yokai Watch 3 as an exclusive and decides to pull the other games from store shelves. It was doomed to fail from the very beginning. At this point, I doubt it will reach a LTD of 10 million worldwide.

 

[Chris1964]

At this point, I doubt it will reach a LTD of 10 million worldwide.

If it suddenly stops selling after December there is this possibility.

 

[shinra-bansho]

I should probably note that I'm not saying a single title can't draw a significant amount of consumers with it; the likes of Monster Hunter is a good example. But I think the classic "system seller" type titles are few and far between, the consumer-base for any given title is obviously going to be dwarfed by the consumer-base for a cumulative array of titles aimed at a given audience, and Bayonetta certainly isn't that anywhere near that sort of brand.

As a hypothetical, you can take the example of Grand Theft Auto, arguably the biggest brand in gaming at least in recent history and what people would probably consider a bonafide system selling brand, suddenly going exclusive to Xbox. However, assume the platform simultaneously loses an array of other multiplatform titles, including Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Batman, Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls.

What's the outcome?

Also, I disagree with the notion that buy-in to titles like Red Steel or Zelda necessarily built any particularly strong audience for the big budget AAA style titles that Western publishers proffer. Obviously IMO, but I don't really know if anything in Nintendo's current stable of in-house produced efforts does that particularly well, and even if they did their entire brand is misaligned with those types of titles.

Where third parties did well was where they created titles like Just Dance, like Infinity, like Skylanders that played well with the audiences cultivated by the sum of Nintendo's hardware product/brand/software output.

When people point to Call of Duty doing well on the Wii by selling a million on the base of 80 or so million at the time, it kind of strikes me as a self-defeating example. The biggest annualised "core" third party franchise managed to squeak a million on a huge installed base. How exactly is that supposed to lend confidence to publishers with comparably weaker brands that it's worth the effort to adapt their titles to the platform?