Wii Owners Looking at a Nintendo Drought?

The site Computer and Videogames has up an (unverifiable article) stating that several anticipated Wii titles are going to be delayed until late 2007. Specifically, they mention Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption as being out of our hands until the Christmas season next year. They report this information via 'reliable sources', and Nintendo is unwilling to confirm or deny the claims as of yet. N'Gai at Newsweek reminds us that Reggie Fils-Aime denied the possibility of a 'Nintendo drought' in an interview they conducted back in October. Here's hoping he doesn't live to regret these words: "... The third example I would give you is Mario Galaxy, another from-the-ground-up Wii game that we are strategically timing the launch to make sure that we continue driving momentum through 2007. So N'Gai, how do I answer the question, 'Will there be no drought,' and 'How will we make sure that there are fantastic titles for Wii?' The answer is Zelda, Metroid and Mario. Which is a pretty darn good lineup."

Comments

Wheres my Wii...

[deggy]

Games drought - What about the console drought. They may be doing better than the PS3 but they're still like gold-dust. Where's my Wii???

Re:Wheres my Wii...

[meepzorb]

Parasites? That's the free market you're badmouthing. Market demand is high, supply is low.

Note the original poster's point: "Supply is low" because of scalpers (who have no intention of actually using the product) waiting on line to grab the PS3s before legitimate buyers can.

These scalpers then attempt to generate wealth that they neither earned nor created on eBay-- with no renumeration to the designer, the manufacturer, the supplier, or the retailer.

Scalping isn't an instance of "the free market", it's actually an attempt to profit through interference with the processes of the free market. So yes: "Parasites" is actually an excellent choice of word.

Drought? Who Cares!

[freeweed]

Fortunately, Nintendo came out with a strong enough launch lineup that I really couldn't care less if nothing new came out for another 6 months. Include stragglers like Elebits (which was a couple of weeks late) and the system already has a solid half dozen must-haves.

The Wii is an overwhelming success not because people are ga-ga over the latest and greatest, and just trying to be "first on the block" to have one. It's successful because there's already a TON of fun to be had with it. The last time people were buying a system by the million JUST TO PLAY THE PACK-IN was the NES and Super Mario Bros. We all know how that one turned out. It took a year or two for much else to happen (I'm thinking Zelda and the ensuing Nintendo-mania of the late 1980s), but in the meantime everyone was very happy just playing SMB and a few other early releases.

Other than the real hardcore types who buy 20-30 games each and every year, there's more than enough Wii goodness to last the average person for 6-12 months. Coincidentally, this is exactly the type of person who the Wii is aimed at.

Re:Drought now or drought later

[togashi06]

3rd party Developers are not looking at the Wii as a place to make new creative games - why do it on old technology? The Wii is going to be looked at as a dumping ground or a place to make a cheap buck. PS2/XBOX ports, new levels on an old engine, rework the control scheme and push it out the door. Can't agree with you on that, just look at DS compared to PSP. Which one is getting the really creative games? It's not about power, DS and Wii have more than enough to deliver a complete experience( who has an HDTV set at home, anyway?), just look at DS's catalogue... elite beat agents, final fantasy 3 just to quote some. The last thing I hear from someone who has played them is a complain about it being old technology.

The minigames are the whole point!

[freeweed]

Funny that you'd mention minigames. Again, you have to think of just who the Wii is aimed at.

Is it aimed at the guy who plays Zelda all the way through 10 times? No.
Is it aimed at the gal who collects every last star, heart, bonus fish, or whatever in Mario to unlock another costume? No.
The guy who races every last track down to the microsecond hoping to finally open another level? No.

Is it aimed at folks who just want to sit down and have some fun for a while? YES.

Minigame collections, to me, are exactly what the doctor ordered. Not some sprawling 100+ hours of gameplay. Not some endless quest for little reward.

I'm in the gaming middle. I play through Zelda, but ONCE. Once I'm done, it has zero lasting value to me. Minigames, on the other hand - hell, I'm STILL playing Tetris, which for all intents and purposes these days, is a minigame. Quick if you want, no story, no collecting things, nothing. You just fire it up and play for a few minutes. I find the mingame style of games are playable far longer than most modern games.