Slashdot Mirror
Next-Gen Console Exclusives Explored
SeventhStar writes "Siliconera has an article with a long list of exclusive titles broken down by next-gen console. The Playstation 3 only has a few exclusive games at the moment; 29 are third-party, with 12 are made by Sony. Meanwhile Microsoft has 48 Xbox 360 exclusive games, with 23 of them are developed internally. However it looks like the real winner for exclusive games is the Wii. There are 39 titles only for the Wii and even ported games are going to play differently. When you adjust the amount of exclusive games on the Xbox 360 for its one year head start, the Wii has more original games coming out for it. Since console exclusives help determine which console to purchase is the Wii in a good spot?"
Really? Where can I buy them? I hate to say this but the Xbox 360 is ahead in every type of game so far; all else is vapor.
The real Ralph Yarro posts as Anonymous Coward. Anyone else is an impostor.
Why don't we wait and see how many of these games are good, and then make our decisions?
Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Starfox, Pokémon, the list goes on and on... like them or not, Nintendo has the strongest first-party lineup.
Circumcision is child abuse.
...even though it's not because the 360 has more exclusives. Isn't the Wii getting enough good press on its own merits that we don't have make excuses as to why it doesn't have as many exclusives in the pipeline?
Watch these and tell me you don't want to try the console out. These people honestly look like they are just having fun. Some of these also really made me understand the possibilities for the casual gamer with this system.
Unstable Apps: Our Android Apps Don't Suck
2K Games/Take-Two/Rockstar
* Red Dead Revolver 2 ~Rockstar North, TBA~
Atlus
* Shin Megami Tensei 4 ~Atlus R&D1, TBA~
Capcom
* Devil May Cry 4 ~Capcom Studio 1, Q4 2007~
* Monster Hunter 3 ~Capcom Studio 1, 2008~
Eidos
* Age of Conan ~Funcom, Q3 2007~
* Untitled ~Action~ ~TBD, TBA~
Koei
* Blade Storm: Hundred Years War ~Omega Force, 2007~
* Fatal Inertia ~Koei Canada, 2007~
* Mahjong Taikai IV ~In-house, Nov. 22~
* Ni-Oh ~In-house, 2007~
Konami
* Bomberman ~Hudson, TBA~
* Coded Arms: Assault ~KCET, 2007~
* Gradius VI ~TBD, TBA~
* Mahjong Fight Club ~TBD, Launch~
* Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots ~Kojima Productions, Q4 2007~
* Rengoku: The End of the Century ~Hudson, TBA~
* Untitled ~RPG~ ~TBD, TBA~
* Untitled ~RPG~ ~Hudson, TBA~
Midway
* Unreal Tournament 2007 ~Epic, 2007~
Namco Bandai
* Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire ~BEC, Launch~
* Ridge Racer 7 ~In-house, Launch~
* Tekken 6 ~In-house, 2007~
* Untitled ~Anime Project~ ~TBD, TBA~
* Untitled ~Mech Action~ ~TBD, TBA~
* Untitled ~RPG~ ~TBD, TBA~
* Untitled ~Shooter~ ~TBD, TBA~
* Untitled ~Sports~ ~TBD, TBA~
Nippon Ichi Software
* Makai Wars ~In-house, TBA~
Sega Sammy
* Fifth Phantom Saga ~Sonic Team, TBA~
* Full Auto 2: Battlelines ~Pseudo, Launch~
* Guilty Gear BB ~Arc System Works, TBA~
* Miyazato Sega Golf Club ~AM1, Launch~
* Virtua Fighter 5 ~AM2, Q1 2007~
* Untitled ~RPG~ ~Obsidian, TBA~
Well, it might not help for male gamers...
Sony Computer Entertainment
* Afrika ~Rhino Studios, 2007~
* Angel Rings ~Japan Studio, TBA~
* Ape Escape 4 ~Japan Studio, TBA~
* Blast Factor ~Bluepoint, TBA~ (PNP Download)
* Eight Days ~London Studio, TBA~
* The Eye of Judgment ~Japan Studio, Q1 2007~
* flOw ~thatgamecompany, TBA~ (PNP Download)
* Formula One 06 ~Studio Liverpool, Dec. 2006~
* Genji: Days of the Blade ~Game Republic, Launch~
* Getaway ~Team Soho, TBA~
* Go Sudoku ~TBA, TBA~ (PNP Download)
* Gran Turismo 5 ~Polyphony Digital, 2008~
* Gran Turismo: HD ~Polyphony Digital, TBA~
* Gretzky NHL '07 ~Page 44, TBA~
* Heavenly Sword ~Ninja Theory, Q1 2007~
* Hot Shots Golf 5 ~Clap Hanz, Q2 2007~
* Killzone ~Guerrilla, 2008~
* Lair ~Factor 5, Q2 2007~
* Lemmings 2 ~TBA, TBA~ (PNP Download)
* Monster Kingdom: Unknown Realms ~Game Republic, 2007~
* Motorstorm ~Evolution, Q4 2006~
* My Summer Vacation 3 ~Japan Studio, Q2 2007~
* NBA '07 ~SCE San Diego, TBA~
* Ratchet & Clank: Next ~Insomniac, TBA~
* Resistence: Fall of Man ~Insomniac, Launch~
* SingStar ~London Studio, Q4 2006~
* Siren ~Japan Studio, TBA~
* Swizzleblocks ~TBA, TBA~ (PNP Download)
* Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom ~SOE, Q4 2006~
* Warhawk ~Incognito, Q2 2007~
* White Knight Story ~Level 5, Q4 2007~
* World Tour Soccer '07 ~London Studio, TBA~
* Untitled ~Action~ ~Media Molecule, TBA~
* Untitled ~Adventure~ ~Naughty Dog, 2007~
* Untitled ~MMORPG~ ~SOE Austin, TBA~
Square Enix
* Densha de GO! Online ~Taito, TBA~
* Extreme ~Taito, TBA~
* Final Fantasy XIII ~PDD1, 2007~
* Final Fantasy Versus XIII ~PDD1, 2008~
* Project Psychic ~Taito, TBA~
* Railfan ~Taito/Ongakukan, Dec. 21~
* Untitled ~MMORPG~ ~PDD3, TBA~
Tecmo
* Ninja Gaiden: Sigma ~Team Ninja, 2007~
* Untitled ~Action-Adventure~ ~TBD, TBA~
Misc. (No publisher)
* Mercenaries 2: World of Flames ~Pandemic, TBA~
* Redwood Falls ~Kuju, TBA~
* WarDevil: Enigma ~Digi-Guys, TBA~
Artdink
* Aquanote no Kyujitsu: Inner Mind Adventure ~TBA~
* Untitled ~Simulation~ ~TBA~
AQ Interactive
* Untitled ~Action RPG~ ~cavia, TBA~
Banpresto
* Super Robot Taisen ~TBA~
Enterbrain
* Derby Stallion ~TBA~
Genki
* Wangan Midnight ~Q2 2007~
* Untitled ~Samurai Fighting~ ~TBA~
Gust
* Untitled ~RPG~ ~TBA~
Hamster
* Untitled ~Simulation~ ~TBA~
Idea Factory
* Shinten Makai VI ~TBA~
Interchannel
* Untitled ~Love Adventure~ ~TBA~
Irem Software
* Untitled ~Action-Adventure~ ~TBA~
Marvelous Interactive
* Mahjong Oh ~Warashi, TBA~
* Untitled ~Action~ ~TBA~
Michaelsoft
* Project D ~TBA~
Spike
* Sengoku 23KU ~Acquire, TBA~
* Way of the Samurai 3 ~Acquire, TBA~
Success
* Hitsuji Mura ~TBA~
* Untitled ~RPG~ ~TBA~
Sunrise Interactive
* Shinseiki GPX Cyber Formula ~TBA~
* Sunrise Eiyuutan ~TBA~
Takuyo
* AKARI Project ~TBA~
* MASTER Project ~TBA~
If my quick sum is correct.
Should Twlight Princess even count?
The Playstation 3 only has a few exclusive games at the moment; 29 are third-party, with 12 are made by Sony. Meanwhile Microsoft has 48 Xbox 360 exclusive games, with 23 of them are developed internally. However it looks like the real winner for exclusive games is the Wii. There are 39 titles only for the Wii and even ported games are going to play differently.
So...
29 + 12 = only 41 PS3 exclusives
XB360 has 48 exclusives
Wii has 39.
Is the fact that 48 > 41 > 39 really that big a difference to jump to conclusions over who has more exclusive content..?
So dildo's are now "for kids"? Sicko.
+0 Meh
38 exclusive games is a few? When the damned console isn't even out yet? Ohhhkay then.
And a greatly changed play mechanic. Does Mario Kart DS play anything like New Super Mario Bros.?
I suspect you're just trolling, but I'll bite. With very few exceptions each Nintendo "sequel" features innovation in gameplay over its predecessors. And Mario being "whored out into every possible genre that you can think of" doesn't really fit in with your conjecture that the games are the all the same.
+0 Meh
Am I the only one who read this as "Next-Gen Console Executives Exploded"? It's been a long day...
Wow! I can finally buy happiness!
I mean, time and again companies show my how happy other people are using their products, but I never seem to get the same happiness they portray. What could be wrong with me, or perhaps I'm not getting the same product that they were happy to own. Do these companies switch their products on me, selling me one that doesn't make people happy, while showing off the ones that do?
But this one, I believe it's real. I trust that when Nintendo shows me that people who use their product are happy, it has to be true. I'll be happy for sure, this time.
I mean, what else could make them that happy? They couldn't possibly be that happy about the money they,re getting paid to look happy, since we all know money doesn't make people happy. The Wii will do it, oh yes. Just look at them, happy as can be. I so want to be happy like that. I so want to get a Wii.
I'm so pwned by marketing.
That's a bad comparison. Yes, Mario, Metroid, Zelda etc.. have been rehashed over and over again by Nintendo, but at least they are actually different games, each unique in their own right. Mario may be the star of a game, but at least you're playing something completely different then the last time his name was on a game. EA Sports titles usually have added features to the same ol' engine for a number of years. It's quite common to read EA Sports Reviews that tend to say "not much has changed from last year except...".
Mario has been whored out into every possible genre that you can think of.
Exactly. Mario has been used in completely different ways with different storylines throught out his life (you know what I mean by his life). Mario is really a brand. Everytime he appears, it's in a new game with a different story and new style of gameplay. EA Sports games on the other hand are the same game with better graphics and updated rosters. Other than that the differences are incremental and unoriginal.
You can't say that Mario games are unoriginal just because they used the same set of characters over again. That'd be like saying Shakespear was unoriginal for writing with the Latin alphabet.
So far, there have been only eight Super Mario 2D platform games: SMB1, SMB2, SMB3, SML, SMW, SML2, Yoshi's Island, and a long gap until NSMB. (Does Super Princess Peach count?) There have been twice that many Mega Man games on TV consoles alone.
The difference is that it's released less often than, say, Electronic Arts' Madden franchise that uses pretty much the same NFL characters from game to game (modulo rookies and retirees). The 2D Mario Kart games (SMK and MKSC) also play much differently from the 3D games (MK64, MKDD, and MKDS).
And what makes Mario Kart anything like Mario Party or Dr. Mario or Mario's Picross or Mario Golf or Mario Power Tennis or DDR: Mario Mix or Mario vs. DK 2: March of the Lemmings^W Minis or Super Mario Strikers or Mario & Luigi? Just because a game takes place in a given universe doesn't make it a clone. In fact, universes are orthogonal to clones, as it appears no two Tetris games have the same characters.
as it stands now, the XBOX 360 is 100% exclusive titles :P (minus ports of previous gen games of course)
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
If a console has the highest number of exclusive titles, but 90% of them suck, then it doesn't matter.
...
The console with the highest number of good exclusive titles will have the advantage. Given Nintendo's history of making most of its own exclusive titles, and designing them in such a way that they seem "too childish" to most gamers, I'm betting the Wii's lead won't help them that much.
The Wii will only win if Nintendo can successfully overcome the American audience's perception that Nintendo is "for kids". Having the cheapest console on the market, with magic flying dildos for controllers, isn't going to help.
The Wiimote looks like a remote control for the average TV/DVD player, so I really don't want to know what you do to your TV remote
Anyways, good (relative term that is meaningless) console exclusives have never mattered too much in the videogame world; it can be argued that Sony (over the past 2 generations) has produce less revolutionary exclusive games for their consoles but has remained dominant mainly due to the preception of a greater library of games. From the begining Sony attracted a lot of exclusive shoveware that was not avaiable anywere else, which meant that when parents were looking to buy their children a Dora The Explorer game (or when teens were looking for a homoerotic wrestling game) they bought a Playstation product. Sony is losing this advantage because the cost of development on a PS3 title is too large for most of these shovelware developers; they are now producing a lot of crap for the Wii which will give it the apearance of having a more diverse library than the PS3 even though you wouldn't want to play these games.
If a console has the highest number of exclusive titles, but 90% of them suck, then it doesn't matter.
Um, Playstation much? I mean, I know 1996 was a looong time ago, but to remember how crappy 90% of PS1 games were compared to N64 games, you don't have to think back that far, you can just go to the games section of any pawn shop or thrift store and see rack after rack of games that quite obviously suck so hard you wonder how on earth they were ever produced.
The fact is that in every generation, the machine with the most games wins, period. So near as I can tell, it does not matter much if those games are good or bad. Look at the Game Boy: it bested competitor after competitor on the strength of its library and its battery life, vastly inferior graphics be damned. Similarly, the DS is beating the PSP not just because it has a crazy stylus, but also because the PSP has very few games.
If you want to predict the sales of a console, what matters most is the number of games published for it, nothing else.
with a different story and
Are you serious? Do you consider "Mario the plumber stomps evil Goombas with his dingbat to resuce the super-happy-lucky princess from the evil Watu-Watoosie?" to be a "story"? Grand Theft Auto has a story. God of War definitely has a story. Max Payne has a story. Mario (and other games in the genre, like Zelda, Metroid, etc.) is made up of some unintelligible, badly-translated Japanese children's fairy tale, which you have to be either no more than 4 years old, or dumb as a rock to actually be able to "follow" and enjoy.
Saying that Mario games have a "story" is like saying Vin Diesel movies have a "plot".
Congratulations for that original and witty remark. I'm sure you're looking forward to the day that you become 12 (only six more years) and start liking these games.
I see a pretty large chunk for each of them.
;)
;)
Might be interesting, i didnt know that many were exclusives on ps3 and 360.
*assuming exclusive means exclusive
A note to the publishers:
Sales would not be hurt by having a name that is pronouncable should one want to go to a store and like ASK for it
Miyasato Miyoshi Kyoudai Naizou: Sega Golf Club
WTF? Thank god for subtitles eh
There was a Wii title that sounded like my cat hacking up a furball too.
Because once you hit 13, a game isn't fun if you're not killing hookers.
The titles you mention all sound like old-fashioned cartoon games to me. That's not a bad thing, and there's lots of nostalgia about old Nintendo about now, but it just doesn't give me cause to look forward to the Wii.
However, I'm glad to see that these console games are becoming more differentiated from more serious-minded games for the PC. I don't really care for the idea that everyone lumps all tech-games in the same category. Donkey Kong and Black and White don't exist in the same galaxy, and Eve-Online and Pokémon don't inhabit the same universe.
That's a good thing, but no Wii for me, thanks. Someone else can have my allottment.
You are welcome on my lawn.
No offense but the Wii's control system in some ways can almost be thought as the same type for the DS so much so that Trauma Center and WarioWare has it's own version for the Wii. The wand is the substitue for the stylus. The DS was seen as a cheap gimmic but see where it is now. Couple that with a great lineup as opposed to crapticular for the DS and well you are going to loose.
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
Secondly, how can you count Bomberman or any Sudoku game as being exclusive? Go ahead, name one system since the release of the PS1 that has not had Bomberman on it? The Ngage maybe? Or wait, didn't it have a copy of Bomberman?
Also, that list is every single announced game for the PS3, not just games scheduled between release and March 2007. If you extend the list for the 360 and Wii to every game announced for them, without regard for release date, you find that Wii & PS3 have about the same number of titles, and 360 is ahead by about 35 titles, which is what an extra year will get you.
just some guy
"It isn't. Untitled projects cannot be counted because they don't exist."
Wrong.
Those titles are straight from the publishers themselves. Many of those games like the Naughty Dog title we already have released media from.
"Also, that list is every single announced game for the PS3, not just games scheduled between release and March 2007. "
Wrong.
All the non-exclusive PS3 titles were trimmed.
But Zelda and Metroid in fact have a lot of story. The 1000 or so internet sites dedicated to nothing else than determining the timeline of the universe and discussing the minutia of every single character prove that, while the flow of storytelling isn't novelisation quality, the stories themselves are both interesting and fairly complex, with excellent characterisation, and imaginative and original setting. The last being something GTA does not have.
Also, Metroid, Zelda & Mario are 3 completely different genre's. Metroid is Action (or FPA in the case of Metroid Prime), Zelda is Adventure and Mario is Platformer (except the kart/sport/rpg/dancing games).
just some guy
However, this doesn't prove out, as there are actually more PSP games than their are DS games currently. The differnce is only like, 20 games, so that may have something to do with it, but there are more PSP games than DS games. On the other hand, there are more DS games planned for release this year than PSP games, so shortly they will reach equilibrium, and likely the DS will surpass the PSP, all because it is 'perceived' as the better system.
just some guy
Wrong.
Those titles are straight from the publishers themselves. Many of those games like the Naughty Dog title we already have released media from.
Would you like a list of titles that have names, video footage, even gameplay footage that never saw the light of day? Do I need even mention Duke Nukem Forever? A game can cease to exist at any point, and the fact remains that until it has a name, the chances of it being vaporware are much higher. To be honest, a name is no more proof of existence than video footage is, but we have to draw the line somewhere. "Also, that list is every single announced game for the PS3, not just games scheduled between release and March 2007. "
Wrong.
All the non-exclusive PS3 titles were trimmed.
Regardless, the fact remains the scope of the article was for a specific time period, and that list exceeds that time period. If you're going to go with that list, even including the untitled games, then you have to reasonably do the same for the other 2 ssytems, so you can't really compare that list to the list given by TFA, because you're not utilizing the same restrictions under which the article was operating.
just some guy
That's just utter crap. This board is worse than IGN for fan boy ravings.
The console with the largest number of games PEOPLE WANT TO PLAY wins.
There were some crappy games on the PS1 but also on every other console - hell the worst game ever made for the Dreamcast has me as a character, it's that bad!
The difference was that when FFVII came out, everyone I met in Tokyo who didn't have a PS1, bought one, it's that simple. From high school girls to Taxi drivers.
There is nothing in the Wii line up that an non-Nintendo fan would be interested in. Another Pokemon game? People will be queueing round the block. The xbox might have a 100 exclusive titles, but they will all be pants - or they wouldn't be created for the xbox in the first place.
I really don't give a monkeys who makes my console, I just want good games to play on it, and on that list every single one of interest is on the PS3. Oh and I get to install MythTV and use it as a set top box to replace that wheezing old xbox - oh ok PS3 for me then.
windows vista
Halo 2 pc
"Funny that people complain about EA and their sports games being unoriginal, but Nintendo has a tendancy to use the same characters with a slightly different plot and no one criticizes them for a lack of innovation in games."
I love when this argument comes up. Heh.
Compare SMB 1, 2, and 3 to Sonic 1, 2, and 3. Superficially they're very similar, but play-wise, you have to totally re-adjust to play any of those three games. Try playing Mario 3 then go back to Mario 1. Ouch. The original Sonic trilogy felt like a few expansion levels were added. Blah blah blah.
You're confusing the terms sequel and franchise. You cannot do that if you wish to understand what has made Nintendo consistently successful over the years.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Hmm, is that so? It sure feels like there are more DS games, or at least it felt that way when I was living in Japan (until this August). Of course, that might explain why the DS is doing incredibly well in Japan and only pretty well in the States: Japanese developers released a bunch of junky DS games (-> big hardware sales) but didn't bother to translate them for the US market (-> medium hardware sales).
Actually, that's likely true. There are a lot of DS games available in Japan that have never been localised for other markets. Most notably the Simple Series of games by...umm, D3 I think. They put out cheap, fun little games like Bowling (literally, that was the name of the game) at budget prices. If I had to estimate, I'd say there are probably about 33% more DS games available in Japan than there are in the US, which may explain why the DS sells 120k units a week minimum.
just some guy
Key words are as follows: a year.
Wardevil is not exclusive. From Gamespot's PS3 page:
There were also a couple of unexpected playable demos on the booth's elevated walkway. One was for WarDevil: Enigma, which appears to be the same game as the Xbox 360 WarDevil.
Mercenaries 2 will almost certainly be for the 360 as well.
Actually, what you discribe is caused by 2 reasons I know of...
In the case of the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System... yes, the 'first' one), Nintendo squized 3rd party support for all kinds of nickels and dimes to produce a game on their system... only, no matter what crap they made, it was going to make a profit (well, almost always), simply due to the fact that EVERYONE had a NES. This doesn't mean everyone would buy the game, but rental stores at the time would pretty much stock a game and the large stores would stock multiple copies. In a way, it was turning into a scam after a while. produce a cheap crappy game, market it well, and sit back and let the 'bling' roll in.
With the case of the PSOne, Sony went and made it EASY for 3rd parties to make a game on their system. They need to take the market share of Nintendo away, who had redicoulous license fees. They had made it simple and cheap to make a game, therefor, everyone and their mother started making games. Of course, the first few games where really quite good on the PSOne. The PSOne was selling well, and soon, it reaches a point where it's also profitable to make a crappy game on the PSOne as it was on the NES and Super NES. Now, you combine cheap licenses (though they got more expensive as the PSOne sold more) and a well penatrated console, and you got yourself a playground for endless games of crap, with a few real winners in-between.
Of course, since the PS2 and the N64/GameCube, game developement costs have skyrocketed. Millions of dollars are spent on making a game. You can no longer just code a game up in your basement, so to speak, and be given a license to print money. That's why we're seeing more generally 'decent' games while seeing less crap, compared to the PSone and (late)NES days. That's also the same reason why you rarely see 'new' or 'original' titles. Because it's too risky to try something new and money is poured into 'safe' things like franchise titles and sequels to smash hits.... not unlike the Hollywood formula.
Cheers,
Fozzy
"The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth." ~1984 George Orwell
In that list, I didn't see a single game that would cause me to buy one console over another. The truth is, with a handful of exceptions, the best games get produced for all of the consoles. It will be interesting to see how well the non-exlusive games run on the different platforms.
My guess is that there will be little to differentiate the XBox 360 from the PS3, which would be bad news for Sony given the price differential. Nintendo has some opportunity if, for example, Madden is just plain more fun with a Wiimote.
But that list of mainly sad-sack games ain't gonna be what wins the war.
number of games in this particular gen systems dont mean as much as they once did.not for hardcore gamers anyway.nintendo may have 1000 games at launch,but unless i can play all of them "old school"(as in no motion detection) i wont have anything to do with it. its a novel idea, seems fun but doesnt leave the door open for 12 hour zelda binges,without making your arms numb,which ive become very fond of over the years.
To whomever marked my post as a "Troll":
It's not a troll. I didn't write it to try to get a rise out of anyone, and I don't personally dislike the Wii or its controller. My point is entirely valid: the American consumer public has already shown time and time again that they look down on gimmicky controllers (power glove? U-force? Bueller? Bueller?). "Flying magic dildos" accurately describes how the American public will deprecatingly think about the Wii upon first glance, and the Wii isn't doing anything (so far) to really counter that stigma. Sure, when you try a Wii, you may discover the control system isn't a gimmick and actually works well, but you have to be willing enough to risk looking stupid to even pick it up and try it. A lot of people wouldn't even get over that and be willing to try it.
Moderator hint: a comment is neither "Flamebait" nor "Troll" if it is true.
To whomever marked my second post as "Flamebait":
I'd love to know in what alternate universe a calmly-delivered legitimate line of logical thought constitutes "Flamebait".
Oh, wait, that's right -- it's the Slashdot universe, where anything negative said about any company beloved by fanboys is automatically mis-moderated as either "Troll" or "Flamebait".
Moderator hint: a comment is neither "Flamebait" nor "Troll" if it is true.
That'd be like saying Shakespear was unoriginal for writing with the Latin alphabet.
It'd be more like if 1/3 of all Shakespeare stories had Romeo and Juliet in them. Do you think Shakespeare would still hold up if he couldn't be bothered to come up with something new to write about?
True, but a lot of the best writers wrote whole series with the same characters. Those are widely considered original and lauded heavily, even by the most stuck up of literary geeks. Think Star Wars, Star Trek and Asimov. And also realize that Shakespear really was just rewriting older works from Greece and Rome in an updated, more modern (for the time) style.
If all Mario games looked about the same and just had slightly different graphics and different levels with exactly the same style of gameplay, then I would agree that Mario is unoriginal. But that's not the case. Mario 3 was significantly different from Mario 1. Super Mario World for SNES was completely different from Mario 3. The only thing each of the Mario games share is the (sparse) backstory and general look of the characters.
And, what do you think about Megaman. Personally, I think the Megaman series (all five of them) are about the best around. But are they original? I don't really think so. The gameplay is pretty much unchanged from the first one. The story lines are incremental and nearly the same from game to game. Megaman is definitely unoriginal. Does it really matter? I don't think it does.
"with magic flying dildos for controllers"
"teens were looking for a homoerotic wrestling game"
I'm a music major, so I never took any business classes. To whom would I speak if I wanted to sell a game idea to a software company?
The fact is that in every generation, the machine with the most games wins, period
I can agree with that only if you mean that havnig the most games is the consequence of the console winning.
If what you said was true, no new console could win against older ones.
The XBox360 would be sure to win too, which seems doubtful to me.
So near as I can tell, it does not matter much if those games are good or bad. Look at the Game Boy: it bested competitor after competitor on the strength of its library and its battery life, vastly inferior graphics be damned. Similarly, the DS is beating the PSP not just because it has a crazy stylus, but also because the PSP has very few games
Again, this is a consequence.
Sorry but, looking at the japanese charts, I see good PSP games (Gundam ones for example) do as well as good DS games the first week, I never see crappy games go to these levels on any of the DS or PSP. Even good GBA games (FFV advance) go to these levels. After the first week, the console market kicks in.
And these good games do 100x sales of the crappy or normal ones. So that you think it does not matter is wrong.
And those are what makes the console sell. When New SMB came out, the sales of DSL nearly doubled on the same week in Japan !!
If you want to predict the sales of a console, what matters most is the number of games published for it, nothing else
BS. Sales of these games are important too.
Again, what you say is wrong, as PS2 sales (games and console) is destroying next-gen XBox360 in Japan, when NO XBox360 game make it to the top 50 chart.
Do you mean then, that no Wii nor PS3 will sell ?
I have high doubts about that. I predict the Wii and PS3 will destroy the XBox360 in Japan.
Now count the number of instant hits made by japanese and american companies.
OK, now remove the japanese companies for the XBox360 (due to low sales) and do the math.