Why would any designer want to design a game for technology that is 5 years old, knowing that by doing so they would effectively limit themselves to Wii users? I'm sure developers have all kinds of insights into the buying habits of a typical Wii user. If they are a Wii-only user then they aren't likely to play Doom3 or UT2K4. If they also have a 360 or PS3 then they are more likely to buy the graphics/story games for those machines because they provide the better experience.
Getting someone to pay $40 for a game require it have something special. As a marketer I wouldn't touch the Wii right now unless my game had some unique gimmick (sword and shield, balance board, lightsaber controller, etc) limited solely to the Wii users and interesting enough that it could attract a niche following. If all I have to offer offer is a unique story/universe/twist-on-a-popular-genre then the my best bet is to design it in the most visually stunning method possible and hope to amaze with the presentation.
If I could get the Wii base for free that would be nice but if I knew I would have to go to huge additional effort to port my game to the Wii I'd just as soon walk away. Especially since I would have done my research and found that 95% of Wii users fall into two categories - "not my target audience" and "also have a 360/PS3".
Then I would have my PR people go online to all the forums and gaming mags and complain about how difficult it is to port to the Wii. In the hopes that the gamers would rise up against Nintendo and convince them to make it possible for me to make money without having to try too hard, of course.
Slashdot Mirror
You are all missing the point.
Why would any designer want to design a game for technology that is 5 years old, knowing that by doing so they would effectively limit themselves to Wii users? I'm sure developers have all kinds of insights into the buying habits of a typical Wii user. If they are a Wii-only user then they aren't likely to play Doom3 or UT2K4. If they also have a 360 or PS3 then they are more likely to buy the graphics/story games for those machines because they provide the better experience.
Getting someone to pay $40 for a game require it have something special. As a marketer I wouldn't touch the Wii right now unless my game had some unique gimmick (sword and shield, balance board, lightsaber controller, etc) limited solely to the Wii users and interesting enough that it could attract a niche following. If all I have to offer offer is a unique story/universe/twist-on-a-popular-genre then the my best bet is to design it in the most visually stunning method possible and hope to amaze with the presentation.
If I could get the Wii base for free that would be nice but if I knew I would have to go to huge additional effort to port my game to the Wii I'd just as soon walk away. Especially since I would have done my research and found that 95% of Wii users fall into two categories - "not my target audience" and "also have a 360/PS3".
Then I would have my PR people go online to all the forums and gaming mags and complain about how difficult it is to port to the Wii. In the hopes that the gamers would rise up against Nintendo and convince them to make it possible for me to make money without having to try too hard, of course.