Resident Evil and Bionic Commando publisher Capcom is to move focus away from Wii and onto Xbox 360 and PS3 - as it admits that hardcore titles have underperformed on the Nintendo system.
Capcom France boss Antoine Seux told French site GameKult.com that "gamers' games" weren't selling on Wii - and that the firm's own Resident Evil 4 only did well on the console in 2007 because of a lack of competition.
He revealed that Wii release Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles had only sold 16,000 copies in its first three weeks - which he admitted were "below what we'd hoped". Compare that to the 140,000 Resident Evil 4 shifted and you can see why Seux called the lack of hardcore gamers on the system "a clear concern".
He added: "Development on Wii [is] very difficult, with an oversupply [of games] and a gamer market that has radically changed. [Hardcore games] are selling less and less on the console, [be it] MadWorld or Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop or House of the Dead: Overkill."
"Two years ago, there were still [hardcore] gamers on Wii, [but these have been] diverted from this console in favor of the new generation.
"The Wii console is very much a family commitment [and] rates relatively low. So for us, Capcom, the future is the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360."
His comments come in the same week that Sega of America development director Constantine Hantzopoulos said the firm would probably not develop any more hardcore games on the system.
Capcom has been one of the Wii's great supporters, with titles such as Zack And Wiki, Okami and Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles predecessor, The Umbrella Chronicles.
This is a real shame, for current Hardcore wii owners out there. Really p**ses me off that we havent given these games the support they all needed. Weve only got are selves to blame.
The Wii was always gona start slowing down, surprised it took so long though, i baught one back in 07 to see what the fuss was all about, had it back in the shop 3 days later, but don't get me wrong its got some good games, but with Sony coming out with that dildo toy "Gem" and M$ with "Nasal" the wii will get a shock becasue you can do what the wii does on the ps3 and 360 and play all the games that come out for them, so really in essence the wii will become some what redundant, people will still buy it guarenteed but how long will they keep it for realising the better offers they can get from Sony and M$ with their motion control jizzy jazz
Its a sad fact really but it has been like it for the last year. I for one did get Okami, HotD, MadWorld, REC and many of the other hardcore games but they didn't sell very well in the GAME I work in no matter how much I talked them up. While my Wii still gets some useage it is massively down from a year ago and my 360 is now being played more.
Not all core gamers have deserted! - Still love the Wii much more than my PS3. - Seems a bit silly that Capcom are suddenly playing down the Wii's viability as a 'core gamer's' system, just before the release of Tatsunoko vs Capcom and Monster Hunter Tri. It just doesn't make sense and makes me think that this is just one man's opinion rather than the company as a whole.
I also can't understand why some folk go on about the Wii 'gathering dust', yet completely ignore 'rather good' recent releases such as Muramasa, A Boy and his Blob, Rabbids go Home, Dead Space Extraction, Darkside Chronicles, New Super Mario Bros, Ghostbusters, Tales of Symphonia 2. - I have had as much fun with these titles as anything released pre-christmas on PS3, and that includes big-hitters such as MW2 and AC2. -
If you have allowed yourself to get bored of it, you only have yourself to blame.
Also, looking at the year ahead and the likes of Tatsunoko vs Capcom, Monster Hunter Tri, Red Steel 2, No More Heroes 2, Crystal Bearers, Fragile, Silent Hill:Shattered Memories, Sin and Punishment 2, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M and Zelda, I would beg to differ that the 'core' gamer won't be catered for. You don't get much more 'hardcore' than some of those titles.
Do i really care at the end of the day if certain titles aren't making the grade sales-wise, so long as i'm having fun with those games listed above? - Absolutely not.
well most of them have after being insulted by rail shooters, if you came correct in the first place capcom you wouldnt of had s**tty sales, but darkside chronicles wasent all that i heard
There is so little reason to go for Wii games when I assume most 'hardcore' gamers own one and either a ps3/360/pc. If I wanted a Nintendo game I'd buy it on the Wii (no choice) but anything 3rd party would have to be for the next-gen console.
Also, the way peoples finances are they have less money to throw around. I've become far more picky in what games I buy and taking a punt on a Wii title is a gamble.
well most of them have after being insulted by rail shooters, if you came correct in the first place capcom you wouldnt of had s**tty sales, but darkside chronicles wasent all that i heard
Insulted by rail shooters? How do you work that out?!- Darkside Chronicles is a very enjoyable and polished blast and no less viable a piece of software than a FPS, fighter, platformer or whatever other genre you'd care to mention. - A genre with less complexity does not necessarily make that genre less enjoyable.
I couldn't have said it better, carterlink. I consider myself to be a hardcore gamer. And I think the term is being applied injustly too often. It's your life style a the way you form an opinion about games that makes you a hardcore gamer or not.
There have been (and will be) so many good meaty games on Wii. They tend to be overlooked by some of the (imho superficial) posters around here. They are missing out bigtime. I enjoy my Wii very much with games like: New Super Mario Bros Wii Dead Space Extraction
And there is a lot more great stuff coming. I know why I love my Wii, Xbox360, PS3, NDS and all other gameconsoles. Because I love videogames.
And another thing! The Wii is a last gen gameconsole isn't it? So are the PS3 and Xbox360. That's because they are the latest batch of gameconsoles. Regardless of the kind of technology that is implemented.
Next gen means: next generation as in 'future' or 'yet to be launched'.
well most of them have after being insulted by rail shooters, if you came correct in the first place capcom you wouldnt of had s**tty sales, but darkside chronicles wasent all that i heard
Insulted by rail shooters? How do you work that out?!- Darkside Chronicles is a very enjoyable and polished blast and no less viable a piece of software than a FPS, fighter, platformer or whatever other genre you'd care to mention. - A genre with less complexity does not necessarily make that genre less enjoyable.
Darkside Chronicles is a great game traded in mw2 for it much better game and story line.
On a serious note. I have 26 Wii games and there are still a few that I want to pick up that are available right now. Not including future releases. The Wii got me back into gaming so I won't abandon it... Why would I though, I thoroughly enjoy my free time gaming with the great games I have.
I agree with Caterlink, does seem a bit odd, sounds like the french boss there is just butthurt over the sales of REDC compared to sales of RE4 and UC.
TvC and MH3 are coming out soon, and I'm sure they won't be the last of Capcoms core support for Wii. This really isn't any news, the 360 and PS3 has always been Capcoms main focusing point, the Wii has been treated like after=thought until recently, they only have themselves to blame if their games don't sell, not the console or the console owners lol, if a game on the HD console doesn't sell very well you wouldn't say something like this would you? no.
The games mentioned in the article are poor examples of "hardcore" games failing on Wii, the main thing Capcom/Sega/EA seem to be basing this on is their on-rail shooters, niche titles, games that aren't even a promoted well if at all, and just plain old s**tty games like The Conduit. Until they actually really focus on the Wii, with a big name game, quality production, high budget, good promotion, etc, all the resource and money that goes into making and marketing their 360/PS3 games, Resident Evil 5, Devil May Cry 4, Street Fighter, etc. until then we'll never actually know how well a "hardcore" game will sell on the Wii.
I doubt the ratio between core and casual wii players has radically changed that much since, yeah sure theres plenty of bunneyo's out there who play it for only 3 days a send it back, but theres always going to be new owners each month, and the open-minded owners who do buy these games, and want more core games.
I'm surprised no one realized that it's Capcom France this comment has come from a department that has only been open for a number of months not the main branch of Capcom in Japan but then again CVG have done well to spin their usual nonsense in the story.
Why do I get the feeling that this announcement and Sega's comments are just a bit of tough love? They're trying to get Nintendo's attention, trying to embarrass them, trying to get them to pull their finger out and show third parties a bit more support. At least I hope so.
I consider myself to be a serious gamer and the Wii is currently my only console (although when my financial situation improves I'd like to add a PS3). I've found plenty to love about it, and speaking as someone who has bought Zack & Wiki, De Blob, Okami, Madworld, the Resident Evil games and more, my conscience is clear. I've supported 'proper' games on the format and will continue to do so.
If only 'Ninty' would push these kinds of games more and dip into their pockets to give them the kind of blanket advertising they lavish on Wii Fit, this situation would turn around given time. I'm deeply depressed at the thought of never seeing a Zack & Wiki sequel...
Well, no sh!t Shurlock. The Wii is a casual console, the PC, 360 and PS3 are for casual and hardcore gamers.
And actually the PC, 360 and PS3 are current gen consoles, not last gen, FYI. Last gen is the Wii, PS2, Xbox, etc.
That's not true, my friend! It's clear to me you don't know very much about our beloved hobby. Let me explain. The Wii is not a casual games console. It's one of the current gen consoles with casual AND hardcore games. Just as the PS3 and Xbox360 have both types of games.
And this: Current gen tv based videogameconsoles: Xbox360, Wii, PS3
Last gen tv based videogameconsoles: Dreamcast, PS2, Gamecube, Xbox
Even further back in time: Sega Saturn, Playstation, N64
Do you understand now? It has less to do with the kind of technology used for them. More with the timeframe and the fact that each console is the latest interation of aconsole from a gamesconsolecompany.
Isn't it a tad unfair comparing sales figures from Umbrella Chronicles and Darkside Chronicles? One was released in the middle of the traditional summer games drought whilst the other was released in the middle of the Christmas rush against some stellar titles when it's hard for any game (other than the big names with aggressive marketing) to sell loads anyway, never mind a game in a niche genre like the on-rails/light-gun style shooter.
I dont care what anyone says about the Wii - it is NOT a 'hardcore' gamers console. At all.
90% of games on the Wii are a piece of crap. Rubbish kiddy party games that use the gimmick motion controls.
And in the 10% of games that may be considered alright for HC gamers, they're all crap compared to most games on PS3/360. If you're a 'hardcore' gamer and you're on Wii, you're in the wrong place.
I myself am a hardcore gamer and only have a Wii and I don't know how many times I can say this about developers and the Wii in terms of hardcore/core games, but if they actually thought long and hard about the games that were on the Wii then maybe they would see why theyre not doing well. If it isnt made by Nintendo then no effort or not much effort is put into Wii games. Theyre either on the rails or really short or remakes from old consoles, who really wants that. If im honest the only really good core game that has been made for the Wii by another developer is No More Heroes and its a shame it didnt do as well as it shouldve. I mean lets look at the facts Capcom keep making on the rails Res games that no one really wants and don't think that it would make sense to release the games that people really want like Monster Hunter or Tatsunoko vs Capcom. And as for the Dead Rising port, c'mon now Capcom, are you trying to insult our intelligence.
Other than Mass Effect 2 and Final Fantasy 13 I can't think of any 360 games I don't have but want to pick up. I can off the top of my head think of 30 wii games I want. It sounds like people that can't find anything to play on wii are just talking out of blind spite.
Whatever the case may be the Wii has something that other consoles will never have and that is Nintendo. I don't know what it is about their titles but there's always a certain something that just isn't matched by other games which is why I always buy Nintendo machines, not to play other games but to play the Mario games, Zelda, F Zero, Starfox, Metroid etc etc. Nintendo just need to pull their finger out at times and stop with the whole everyone can play routine, I love Wii Fit/Sports and all but I would rather be playing a new Starfox or F-Zero X game.
Other than Mass Effect 2 and Final Fantasy 13 I can't think of any 360 games I don't have but want to pick up. I can off the top of my head think of 30 wii games I want. It sounds like people that can't find anything to play on wii are just talking out of blind spite.
Like what games exactly? I was looking at picking up a Wii game recently and seriously struggled to find anything other than Nintendo titles. The two 360 games you mention are both massive RPGs and I don't see anything on the Wii remotely like them. As far as I could see outside of party and puzzle games the Wii doesn't really have much to offer.
Other than Mass Effect 2 and Final Fantasy 13 I can't think of any 360 games I don't have but want to pick up. I can off the top of my head think of 30 wii games I want. It sounds like people that can't find anything to play on wii are just talking out of blind spite.
Like what games exactly? I was looking at picking up a Wii game recently and seriously struggled to find anything other than Nintendo titles. The two 360 games you mention are both massive RPGs and I don't see anything on the Wii remotely like them. As far as I could see outside of party and puzzle games the Wii doesn't really have much to offer.
So what's worth a play then?
You know youre right I just checked my Wii collection and even though I have quite a few games only the Nintendo titles are worth your time as the others are mainly ports. There is No More Heroes and Dead Space: Extraction. I think however that most of the big titles from other developers are coming out this year:
No More Heroes 2 Silent Hill Fragile Red Steel 2 Monster Hunter Tatsunoko vs Capcom
When I think of hardcore gaming, the Wii console does not fall into that catergory in my opinion. The majority of advertisements and games involve Ant and Dec (Satan and Satan), and are designed with cartooney effects. Think of a hardcore gamer with zero consoles. With the choice of three on the market, the Wii would not be bought 99.9% of the time... if you're an adult. Hardcore gamers have not disowned Wii, they simply weren't there in the first place. "I'm harcore about Mario"... ? Absolutely brilliant games, I spend half my childhood with them, but I'll never be hardcore about Mario... whatever hardcore is.
What a retarded concept, hardcore. Just make good games that last please, then you'll find your loyalty you Capcom c**k.
Other than Mass Effect 2 and Final Fantasy 13 I can't think of any 360 games I don't have but want to pick up. I can off the top of my head think of 30 wii games I want. It sounds like people that can't find anything to play on wii are just talking out of blind spite.
Like what games exactly? I was looking at picking up a Wii game recently and seriously struggled to find anything other than Nintendo titles. The two 360 games you mention are both massive RPGs and I don't see anything on the Wii remotely like them. As far as I could see outside of party and puzzle games the Wii doesn't really have much to offer.
So what's worth a play then?
You know youre right I just checked my Wii collection and even though I have quite a few games only the Nintendo titles are worth your time as the others are mainly ports. There is No More Heroes and Dead Space: Extraction. I think however that most of the big titles from other developers are coming out this year:
No More Heroes 2 Silent Hill Fragile Red Steel 2 Monster Hunter Tatsunoko vs Capcom
To be fair I think all those games will be decent. Red Steel 2 should benefit from motion plus. I've not heard of fragile so will check that out. I don't think there's enough there to seriously distract me from my PS3 for too long except maybe Monster Hunter though.
Unfortunately I don't expect any of these games bar Monster Hunter to outsell Carnival games or GO! Omelette simulator. It's a shame really but I guess the audience isn't there.
well most of them have after being insulted by rail shooters, if you came correct in the first place capcom you wouldnt of had s**tty sales, but darkside chronicles wasent all that i heard
Insulted by rail shooters? How do you work that out?!- Darkside Chronicles is a very enjoyable and polished blast and no less viable a piece of software than a FPS, fighter, platformer or whatever other genre you'd care to mention. - A genre with less complexity does not necessarily make that genre less enjoyable.
Darkside Chronicles is a great game traded in mw2 for it much better game and story line.
Know sure why I wrote it like that I ment say I traded in mw2 for darkside chronicles.
Isn't it a tad unfair comparing sales figures from Umbrella Chronicles and Darkside Chronicles? One was released in the middle of the traditional summer games drought whilst the other was released in the middle of the Christmas rush against some stellar titles when it's hard for any game (other than the big names with aggressive marketing) to sell loads anyway, never mind a game in a niche genre like the on-rails/light-gun style shooter.
Sorry your wrong both games were released mid nov 07 and 09
i dont think the hardcore gamers have disowned the Wii, i think its the gamer type that is obsessed by realistic graphics, sex and violence. AKA twelve year old boys...
No Capcom, the difference between RE4 and all the other games you mention is that RE4 was actually a very good game...
This is exactly it, if people don't deliver good games, "hardcore" or not they ain't gonna sell cos they're rubbish.
That's not true though is it? There are plenty of examples of utter trash selling shitloads on Wii and plenty of examples of quality titles selling like crap.
'If it's good it will sell, if it's crap it won't' doesn't always apply to videogames unfortunately... Especially with the Wii.
I'm a hardcore gamer and I was a huge Nintendo fan until the Wii came out.
I got a Wii on day one. I loved Zelda, Mario Sunshine, Zack and Wiki, Metroid. All great games, but too few and far between.
Then Nintendo themselves pretty much abandoned the hardcore gamer. There are a numerous franchises I really wished they would update. F-Zero, Pilot Wings, Star Fox. Where are these games?
When Nintendo's focus shifted towards selling Wii Fit games and asking third parties to produce the hardcore titles that is when the Wii become a casual console. They treat adults like kids with a poor online service with silly friend codes, no proper voice comms and very few online games. These are things that a lot of people want these days, they want the social online multiplayer.
Whatever way people look at it and whether they want to admit it, the Wii is casual.
And whether you answer it or not, is the Wii still selling? If it is, then Nintendo won't do a thing other than start development of the next console (as goes with any console/successor product). They don't need to change the fate of the Wii, since there is always the ample market. Maybe Nintendo don't care much about competing, because they're in a different niche that's doing well? Sure there's shovelware, but name a console that was once very popular and didn't have loads of shovelware on it?
And whether you answer it or not, is the Wii still selling? If it is, then Nintendo won't do a thing other than start development of the next console (as goes with any console/successor product). They don't need to change the fate of the Wii, since there is always the ample market. Maybe Nintendo don't care much about competing, because they're in a different niche that's doing well? Sure there's shovelware, but name a console that was once very popular and didn't have loads of shovelware on it?
They might very well have captured a casual market. But casual buyers get bored and come the point when Microsoft and Sony release their next console they'll be wanting the hardcore early adopters to launch their console.
I think when the Wii is done, Nintendo will be also. There isn't a hardcore gamer who will buy it without some serious convincing and that will come as games on shelves not words from marketting executives.
I think one of the problems with Capcom's Wii game is that aside from Zack & Wiki they're mostly all ports.
Sure the Resi games are new, but they are just re-doing the original games in shinier graphics from a different point of view. Not that they're bad games mind you, but still.
Give us something more original and good like Zack & Wiki, but more aimed at the hardcore gamers alone.
I dont care what anyone says about the Wii - it is NOT a 'hardcore' gamers console. At all.
90% of games on the Wii are a piece of crap. Rubbish kiddy party games that use the gimmick motion controls.
And in the 10% of games that may be considered alright for HC gamers, they're all crap compared to most games on PS3/360. If you're a 'hardcore' gamer and you're on Wii, you're in the wrong place.
A blatantly idiotic comment
As for Capcom, well, don't release niche, crappy light gun games, give them next to nothing advertisement and then expect them to sell. RE: UC to me, was total crap. Why would I then buy the sequel? RE 4 was brilliant and its not brainer that game sold, but Capcom can't seem to see that.
Its easy to blame Nintendo for broadening the market to cover up your own mistakes. Sega just make or release plainly average or crap games anyway, so their comments aren't worth shit
Add to that, hardly any marketing went into any of these games - RE Darkside Chronicles, THOTD Overkill, Madworld, Dead Space Extraction - so how do they expect them to sell anyway? Give us a proper game and not light gun games and then maybe we'll buy them. A light gun games isn't worth £10 to me, so why would I pay 3-4 times as much for one?
As for Okami, its not like all those PS2 owners went out and made it a success...
And while I don't view myself as 'hardcore' as I used to be (I have better things to be doing in my time), I do prefer the 'hardcore games' to 'casual' ones and I am greatly looking forward to Tatsunoko Vs Capcom and Monster Hunter 3. Its just it takes me longer to finish the bigger games now
All the haters are so whiney and it p***es me off. I play more on my Wii than my PS3, and have no trouble finding decent games for the Wii. There are rubbish games for the Wii, probably more so than the others as devs sometimes wanna cash in.
I have Darkside Chronicles too, and think it is brilliant, on second playthrough now. Everyone who has been round enjoys it too. Wish people would stop being so negative about the console that is selling the most at the moment, and just have fun with whichever console they have!!!
Every blockbuster console has more shovelware than classics. Look at the PS2. But the Wii certainly needs to alter that ratio pretty quick as it is unlikely to have the same kind of lifecycle.
On another note - to suggest that when casual gamers abandon the Wii for another manufacturer's machine 'Nintendo will be done,' is fanboy nonsense. Nintendo are absolutely rolling in it. Every console they've made for years has been sold at a profit - even the Gamecube - when others sell machines at a loss. It would take decades for all the Game Boy money to run out, let alone the DS and Wii profits. If only they would funnel this cash into taking more chances and supporting third parties...
The only reason I got a Wii in the first place was because I knew that Super Smash Bros would eventually be on it. Which it was, and I love it. Otherwise, apart from Metroid, and Resident Evil and the Klonoa remake, I've hardly used it for anything.
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, MadWorld, RE
C and many of the other hardcore games but they didn't sell very well in the GAME I work in no matter how much I talked them up. While my Wii still gets some useage it is massively down from a year ago and my 360 is now being played more.
