Wot No Wii? Part #2
EDGE magazine isn't just the thinking gamer's read, in our opinion it's one of the few 'publications' that transcends insulting and is actually written for people above the age of nine. By comparison, half of the shit on the web and virtually every other gaming mag falls somewhere between the Beano and the National Enquirer.
However, one of the problems with a cross platform publication is that each issue can only offer a limited number of pages to each platform. Increasingly this has meant that every platform but the Wii gets coverage. In this month's issue E227 only one of the 23 games reviewed and previewed is a Wii game. Last month only two of the 24 games were Wii games. Now of course, it pleases more of the demographic,more efficiently to look at the cross-platform games !PS3, PC,Xbox 360) but the truth is that there ain't that much on the horizon.
It seems that when Capcom or Nintendo aren't making Wii games, nobody is. Why is that Nintendo magic so hard for others to replicate? Probably has something to do with Nintendo shortening the long tail with sustained marketing (Mario Kart Wii is still being publicised, any other devs or publishers pushing their IP older than a week?). Perhaps a trust of the brand? although I have a hard time imagining the wider audience checking the names on the box. Perhaps it has something to do with quality products but then plenty of non-nintendo games have been truly great and underperformed at retail (Zack and Wiki, Boom Blox, Dead Space, Monster Hunter Tri, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories). Lastly maybe it has something to do with simple product naming; Wii Play, Wii Sports, Wii Party and Wii fit do exactly what they say on the box but then why is it that 'hardcore' Super Smash Brothers Brawl and oddball sim Animal Crossing have left shelves in quantities that EA's Games label head can only dream of? Any analysts out there with more of a clue willing to shout out?
However, one of the problems with a cross platform publication is that each issue can only offer a limited number of pages to each platform. Increasingly this has meant that every platform but the Wii gets coverage. In this month's issue E227 only one of the 23 games reviewed and previewed is a Wii game. Last month only two of the 24 games were Wii games. Now of course, it pleases more of the demographic,more efficiently to look at the cross-platform games !PS3, PC,Xbox 360) but the truth is that there ain't that much on the horizon.
It seems that when Capcom or Nintendo aren't making Wii games, nobody is. Why is that Nintendo magic so hard for others to replicate? Probably has something to do with Nintendo shortening the long tail with sustained marketing (Mario Kart Wii is still being publicised, any other devs or publishers pushing their IP older than a week?). Perhaps a trust of the brand? although I have a hard time imagining the wider audience checking the names on the box. Perhaps it has something to do with quality products but then plenty of non-nintendo games have been truly great and underperformed at retail (Zack and Wiki, Boom Blox, Dead Space, Monster Hunter Tri, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories). Lastly maybe it has something to do with simple product naming; Wii Play, Wii Sports, Wii Party and Wii fit do exactly what they say on the box but then why is it that 'hardcore' Super Smash Brothers Brawl and oddball sim Animal Crossing have left shelves in quantities that EA's Games label head can only dream of? Any analysts out there with more of a clue willing to shout out?
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