Three years out, looking at the list of Nintendo’s first party Wii releases it’s fortunate that they don’t have to rely on great software to move systems. If that were the case, the more hardcore audience would certainly have a better selection of high quality, big ticket Nintendo titles on the Wii and there would be about a half dozen less “New Play Control” ports of GameCube games. Nintendo was probably more charming during the GameCube era, when they were the tiny cousin, one leg shorter than the other, struggling to keep up with the gargantuan PS2. Those troubling times saw some excellent first party titles released, many of which offer an arguably better experience than their Wii counterparts. Nowadays, Nintendo’s numbers allow them to do whatever they like, and their actions seem to say that they like building swimming pools and filling them up with money.
System sales by Nintendo this generation are absurd, and even more so compared to Microsoft’s and Sony’s. 113 million DS units have been shipped worldwide, 56 million Wiis, 31 million Xbox 360’s, and 27 million Playstation 3’s (as of the last fiscal period). Nintendo has sold about as many Wiis as Sony and Microsoft’s numbers combined, and about as many DS units as the total sales of the Big Three consoles. That’s a lot of swimming pools.
The future of gaming? Let's hope not..
Nintendo is making so much money with their casual offerings that they don’t need to do anything for hardcore gamers. The bottom line is that any time Nintendo could put toward making the hardcore audience happy would probably be better spent elsewhere. To put Nintendo’s casual gaming sales in perspective, Wii Fit has outsold the GameCube. More copies of Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Mario Kart Wii have been sold than Xbox 360’s and Playstation 3’s combined. By contrast, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption has sold about 6% of what Wii Fit can boast (1.3 million units versus an outrageous 22.5 million units worldwide). At this point, it’s safe to assume that casual games are not going anywhere and that Nintendo has made a solid business decision.
With Nintendo’s sizable market share, it is disheartening that many hardcore Wii owners feel underserved by the frequency, quality, and growth of the first party releases of trademark Nintendo franchises. This sentiment can be especially hard-hitting to those longtime supporters of Nintendo throughout the pre-Wii years. Presently, Nintendo isn’t likely to start focusing more attention on the hardcore audience, which means that group will have to be proactive in their search for games. Although the state of hardcore Wii games may look somewhat bleak, there are plenty of alternatives to finding a hardcore gaming experience for Nintendo fans. The backwards compatibility of the Wii allows access to the GameCube gems of the past, Wii Shop Channel and WiiWare have some fantastic hardcore and retro options, and, if you’re willing to forego the television screen, the DS offers a slew of great hardcore games.
