Graphing the perceived Wii drought by the numbers

by Blake Snow { Feb 22nd 2007 at 10:30AM }

While several gamers say the Wii sky is falling, Games Radar was busy graphing the console's monthly release schedule as compared to the GameCube and N64 before it. While the graph doesn't chart game quality, it does show a healthier number of releases for Wii in the earlier months when compared with its predecessors. Optimism aside, however, Games Radar still predicts we'll be hardcore parched during the summer: "Wii might not be suffering a severe shortage by Nintendo's previous poor standards, but without the thrills of Mario Galaxy or Metroid Prime 3 to keep the momentum going, a summer videogame drought for Wii is almost certainly in the cards."

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

LunarDuality @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:36AM

One big difference between then and now...EA (and the industry in general) pushes out more games a year now than ever before. And we all know EA is more quantity over quality.

Matt @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:44AM

It seems like this is the wrong comparison to make. How does the Wii's release list compare to that of the PS3 and Xbox 360 over the next few months, would seem more relevant a question. This comparison may be nice for novelty's sake, but I can't see how you would derive any significant meaning from it.

Jack of No Trades @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:48AM

They don't want to compare the wii to the 360/PS3's because there are far more games comming out for the 360/PS3 in the next few months.

Psaakyrn @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:58AM

to #3 Jack of No Trades

I agree with 360, but are you really sure about PS3? I haven't heard of much new games for PS3 either, so far, most of the news I hear for the PS3 stems mainly from their downloads..

White Rose Duelist @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:59AM

The fact that quality is not part of this chart invalidates much of its meaning. EA and THQ, for example, can push out tons of games, but that doesn't mean that any of them are worthwhile. Quality is hard to measure - metareviews are as good as it gets, but are hardly flawless - but a chart with nmumbers of games scored (some arbitrary numer) or higher would be more useful.

Then again, it is a pretty stark contrast between the beginnings of thew Wii and GCN as opposed to that of the N64. It's not possible to have good games if there aren't any games.

JoNT - source?

JJC @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:59AM

in two months tell me how fun wii sports is all you wiiboys. unless you want to play through zelda a few more times you might want to consider getting a 360 or ps3 to pass the time. atleast then youll have some quality titles coming out. unless you like paper mario, because that is such a great game (sarcasam). waiting for the next great nintendo release... why doesnt nintendo ever make a new franchise that doesnt involve mario? i love mario, but seriously they use him in everything. btw jack of no trades you are the man.

Bluefusion @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:02AM

Speaking of EA, the latest issue of Game Informer mentions that some inside the company were upset with their lackluster support of the Wii at launch, given its current success.

You can interpret this many ways. One being that if many other developers were caught off guard, then this drought is a consequence of it. Secondly, if many developers are buying up dev kits like hot cakes, then we can expect a steady supply of 3rd party games in the years to come.

bmac @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:04AM

@4
http://ps3.ign.com/index/release.html
April is the only slow month right now, but one of the releases is a big name. May not be all exclusives, but there isn't a shortage of games in the future.

Psaakyrn @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:05AM

to #6 JJC

Again, agree with 360, but I would demand proof of games coming out for the PS3.

Also, complaining about games which you've no idea how it fairs, is either intentionally fanboyish, or unintentionally short-minded. It may look simple, BUT notice that many simple games also fare better than their complex counterpart: examples being the 2D aand 3D versions of Sonic and Castlevania..

Prophecy @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:08AM

Animal Crossing (Wii)
Battalion Wars 2
Big Brain Academy Wii
Dance Dance Revolution
Dewy's Adventure
Disaster: Day of Crisis
DK Bongo Blast
Lost: The Video Game
Mario Strikers Charged
Medal of Honor: Airborne
Metroid Prime 3
No More Heroes
One Piece: Unlimited Adventure
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Pokémon Battle Revolution
Ratatouille
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
Alien Syndrome
Bionicle Heroes
Fire Emblem
Kororinpa: Marble Mania
Line Rider
Mercury Meltdown Revolution
100 Bullets
The Bigs
Blitz: The League
Godzilla: Unleashed
Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal
Manhunt 2
MySims
Ben 10 (video game)
The Destiny of Zorro
Mario Party 8
Bust-a-Move Bash!
Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
Prince of Persia: Rival Swords
Medal of Honor: Vanguard
Cooking Mama: Cook Off
Brothers In Arms: D-Day
Driver: Parallel Lines
The Godfather Blackhand Edition
Heatseeker
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Escape from Bug Island
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (video game)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Super Smash Bros. Brawl

All of these are coming in 2007, but i guess that's not enough, plus some of these will most likely suck.

JJC @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:12AM

#5. as far as quality titles there are several coming down the pipe for the 360. to name a few...

Bioshock
Forza 2
Guitar Hero 2
Blue Dragon
Lost Odyssey
GRAW2 (yes PS3 also)

for the PS3 there are less titles coming that i am looking forward to but here are a couple that are not proven, but certainly look entertaining.

Heavenly Sword
Lair

Note: i am only listing games that are supposed to come out during this drought time that the wii is going to have. I believe that all of these games are supposed to come out (or expected to be out) sometime in the next few months (as late as july). Now what does the wii have that is noteable during that time? the only thing i know of from nintendo is super paper mario (which i have already stated my opinion on earlier). if someone would like to name another good title (or expected to be big/good title) please post, because i havent heard of one yet.

J @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:16AM

The pressure should be on third party developers. It gives them a chance to bring their ideas to the table. Its an absolute necessity for nintendo to hold off. If third party games sell like crap then we all loose. The pressure is on third party developers and it should be. Their offerings are a lot more important in the long run. The problem is we keep getting Butthole Bastards 15 with tacked on controls. FPS games work great even if they are sequels. But some of the other offerings need to just rely on VC controller/GCN controller support. Racing games like excite truck are fine to have motion controls but other racing games shouldn't. F-Zero with motion control (excite truck style)would suck. They could easily make F-Zero work with Z and B as drift and A Gas, C brake and Up on the dpad as turbo. Lets hope they go that route (and yes F-Zero is partly third party (sega ect.). Point is we need more games but third parties need to bring it. And where the hell is all the wonderfull RPG/Strategy games that could be brought over. Also there is no reason why we shouldn't have games like monkey Island on the VC. Where is the space quest??? Old Roger Wilco is rolling in his grave lol.

JJC @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:18AM

#9. i have played paper mario for the GC. it was fairly lame and just took advantage of proven things that people love from the platform mario games. i think it is a cheap rip off taking advantage of gamers love for mario. i wish nintendo would just do something original without mario or luigi or whatever they have been coming out with for the past 20+ years. i still love those games but it would be nice to have some new IP's, possibly for an older audience (not that i cant enjoy cartoony things from time to time).

Thrawn @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:18AM

Prophecy,

Stop posting lies. Sony will dominate cos they makes teh game with bloodz.

Yech.

Phranctoast @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:19AM

February 20, 2007 Virtua Fighter 5 SEGA Fighting
February 22, 2007 flOw Sony Computer Entertainment Action
February 22, 2007 Q*bert Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) Action
February 26, 2007 Go! Puzzle Sony Computer Entertainment Puzzle
February 26, 2007 Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Namco Bandai Fighting
February 27, 2007 Formula One Championship Edition Sony Computer Entertainment Racing
March 5, 2007 College Hoops 2K7 2K Sports Sports
March 5, 2007 Major League Baseball 2K7 2K Games Sports
March 6, 2007 MotorStorm Sony Computer Entertainment Racing
March 6, 2007 Def Jam: Icon Electronic Arts Fighting
March 6, 2007 NBA Street Homecourt Electronic Arts Sports Action
March 12, 2007 Calling All Cars Sony Computer Entertainment Action
March 13, 2007 F.E.A.R. Vivendi Games Shooter
March 13, 2007 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The Bethesda Softworks RPG
March 20, 2007 Armored Core 4 SEGA Action
March 20, 2007 Godfather: The Don's Edition, The Electronic Arts Action
March 20, 2007 Virtua Tennis 3 SEGA Sports
March 27, 2007 Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent Ubisoft Action
March 27, 2007 Enchanted Arms Ubisoft RPG
April 3, 2007 MLB '07: The Show Sony Computer Entertainment Sports
April 24, 2007 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas Ubisoft Shooter
May 2007 Spider-Man 3 Activision Action Adventure
May 2007 Darkness, The 2K Games Action
May 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean 3 Disney Interactive Studios Action
May 2007 Saints Row THQ Action Adventure
May 2007 Lair Sony Computer Entertainment Action
June 2007 Stuntman 2 THQ Racing Action
June 2007 SEGA Rally Revo SEGA Racing
June 2007 Club, The SEGA Action
June 2007 Warhawk Sony Computer Entertainment Flight Action
June 2007 Eye of Judgment: Conquerors of 9 Fields, The Sony Computer Entertainment Card Battle
June 2007 Heavenly Sword Sony Computer Entertainment Action
June 2007 Bigs, The 2K Sports Sports
June 2007 Ratatouille THQ Action
June 2007 Hellboy Konami Action
June 2007 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Ubisoft Shooter
June 2007 Fatal Inertia KOEI Racing Action
June 2007 Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer Take-Two Interactive Action Adventure
June 2007 Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War KOEI Strategy
June 2007 Rogue Warrior Bethesda Softworks Shooter
June 2007 Ninja Gaiden Sigma Tecmo Action
June 2007 SingStar Sony Computer Entertainment Music
June 2007 DIRT: Colin McRae Off-Road Codemasters Racing
July 2007 Hot Shots Golf 5 Sony Computer Entertainment Sports Action
July 2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Electronic Arts Adventure
July 2007 Transformers: The Game Activision Action
July 2007 Alone in the Dark Atari Adventure
August 2007 John Woo Presents Stranglehold Midway Games Action Adventure
August 2007 Assassin's Creed Ubisoft Action
August 2007 Madden NFL 08 Electronic Arts Sports
September 2007 Dark Sector D3 Publisher Shooter
September 2007 Turok Disney Interactive Studios Action
September 2007 Unreal Tournament 3 Midway Games Shooter
September 2007 Burnout 5 Electronic Arts Racing
Q3 2007 ShadowClan *TBA Action
Q3 2007 People Can Fly Project [untitled] THQ Action
Q3 2007 All-Pro Football 2K8 2K Sports Sports
Q3 2007 BlackSite: Area 51 Midway Games Action
Q3 2007 Frontlines: Fuel of War THQ Shooter
Q3 2007 Monster Madness SouthPeak Interactive Action
Q3 2007 Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Electronic Arts Shooter
Q3 2007 Half-Life 2: Orange Box Electronic Arts Shooter
October 16, 2007 Grand Theft Auto IV Rockstar Games Action Adventure
November 2007 Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway Ubisoft Shooter
November 2007 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed LucasArts Action
Q4 2007 Fall of Liberty Codemasters Shooter
Q4 2006 Spider-Man Trilogy Activision Action
Q4 2007 Devil May Cry 4 Capcom Action
Q4 2007 Mortal Kombat Next-Gen [untitled] Midway Games Fighting
Q4 2007 WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2008 [unofficial title] THQ Wrestling
Q4 2007 Clive Barker's Jericho Codemasters Action
Q4 2007 Coded Arms Assault Konami Shooter
Q4 2007 Army of Two Electronic Arts Action
Q4 2007 Ratchet & Clank PS3 Sony Computer Entertainment Action
Q4 2007 Wheelman, The Midway Games Action
Q4 2007 Marvel Nemesis 2 Electronic Arts Fighting Action
Q4 2007 Medal of Honor: Airborne Electronic Arts Shooter
Q4 2007 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Konami Action
Q4 2007 Haze Ubisoft Shooter
Q4 2007 Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Sony Computer Entertainment Action Adventure
Q4 2007 Golden Axe SEGA Action
TBA 2007 Getaway Sony Computer Entertainment Action
TBA 2007 Dirty Harry Warner Bros. Interactive Action
TBA 2007 Spark Unlimited Atari Project [untitled] Atari Action
TBA 2007 KOEI "Guan Yu" PS3 Project [untitled] KOEI Other
TBA 2007 Killzone PS3 Sony Computer Entertainment Shooter
TBA 2007 John Carpenter's Psychopath *TBA Shooter
TBA 2007 Project Delta Playlogic Shooter
TBA 2007 Eyedentify Sony Computer Entertainment Other
TBA 2007 Section 8 *TBA Shooter
TBA 2007 211 *TBA Action
TBA 2007 Rockstar Old West PS3 Project [untitled] Rockstar Games Action
TBA 2007 Possession *TBA Strategy
TBA 2007 Enemy Territory: Quake Wars Activision Shooter
TBA 2007 Championship Sprint Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) Racing
TBA 2007 Rampart Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) Strategy
TBA 2007 Rampage World Tour Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) Action
TBA 2007 Joust Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) Action
TBA 2007 Gauntlet II Midway Games Action
TBA 2007 Mortal Kombat II Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) Fighting
TBA 2007 Severity Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) Shooter
TBA 2007 thatgamecompany Project #2 [untitled] Sony Computer Entertainment
TBA 2007 thatgamecompany Project #3 [untitled] Sony Computer Entertainment
TBA 2007 NHL 2K8 2K Sports Sports
TBA 2007 NBA 2K8 2K Sports Sports
TBA 2007 Spark Unlimited Sierra Project [untitled] Vivendi Games Action
TBA 2007 Cryptic Studios MMO Project [untitled] *TBA RPG
TBA 2007 Age of Conan Eidos Interactive Action RPG
TBA 2007 Daybreakers *TBA Shooter
TBA 2007 Heat *TBA Action
TBA 2007 Guillermo Del Toro's Sundown *TBA Action
TBA 2007 Codename: Panzers Next-Gen [untitled] 10TACLE Studios Action Simulation
TBA 2007 Big Time Revenge *TBA Action Adventure
TBA 2007 Terra: Formations *TBA Action
TBA 2007 Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer PS3 [untitled] Konami Sports
TBA 2007 Battlefield: Bad Company Electronic Arts Shooter
TBA 2007 Wheel of Fortune Sony Computer Entertainment Trivia
TBA 2007 Guitar Hero PS3 RedOctane Music
TBA 2007 Skate Electronic Arts Sports
TBA 2007 Alive Ubisoft Action
TBA 2007 Criminal [RUMORED] Midway Games Action
TBA 2007 Penny Arcade Adventures [TBA] *TBA Adventure
TBA 2007 Alliance: The Silent War *TBA Shooter
TBA 2007 Sony Online Whimsical MMO [untitled] Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) RPG
TBA 2007 Sony Online Mercenary / Spy MMO [untitled] Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) RPG
TBA 2007 Destineer Spy Project [untitled] *TBA Action
TBA 2007 Beowulf *TBA Action Adventure
TBA 2007 LucasArts / Day 1 Action Project [untitled] LucasArts Action
TBA 2007 X Quest *TBA RPG
TBA 2007 Luxoflux Next-Gen Project [untitled] Activision Action Adventure
TBA 2007 Infinity Ward Next-Gen Project [untitled] Activision Shooter
TBA 2007 Zipper Interactive PS3 Project [untitled] Sony Computer Entertainment Action
TBA 2007 Shaun White Snowboarding [untitled] Ubisoft Sports
TBA 2007 Sucker Punch Project [untitled] *TBA Action
TBA 2007 High Moon Studios project [untitled] Vivendi Games Action Adventure
TBA 2007 Surreal Software Project [untitled] Midway Games Other
TBA 2007 Obsidian RPG Project [untitled] SEGA Action RPG
TBA 2007 Silicon Knights Next-Gen Project [untitled] SEGA Action
TBA 2007 WarDevil *TBA Action
TBA 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship *TBA Racing
TBA 2007 Interstellar Marines *TBA Shooter
TBA 2007 Simpsons [next-gen], The Electronic Arts Action
TBA 2007 Factor 5 Project #2 [untitled] Sony Computer Entertainment Action
TBA 2007 Eight Days Sony Computer Entertainment Action
TBA 2007 Project Offset *TBA Shooter
TBA 2007 Metro 2033: The Last Refuge *TBA Shooter
TBA 2007 L.A. Noire Rockstar Games Adventure
TBA 2007 Gretzky NHL [working title] Sony Computer Entertainment Sport

Matt @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:21AM

Is that really necessary Phranctoast?

#11, How can you forget Mass Effect?

CowboyGA @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:22AM

So someone goes through the trouble of proving the "games drought" is a myth and the system is doing well, and you guys manage to turn it into a whining hissy fit?

There's Jack confusing the graph into some kind of intra-system contest that has nothing to do with the information or purpose behind it, and there's JJC spewing ignorance without an attempt to mask it with intelligence. I'm not sure which is better - the brilliance or the class.

As far as the actual chart is concerned, I'm glad someone took the effort to play "mythbusters" with the data. It's nice to have people cut through the hype.

Grey Acumen @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:22AM

Actually, Wii Sports IS still fun. I'm Pro in Boxing and Tennis, working on getting baseball up to pro. I'm a little weak on golf and Bowling.
I'm only on my second run through Twilight Princess, I've also played through NES Zelda and am working on beating the second set to that.
Once I get that, I'm going to run through SNES Zelda and Mario Kart 64.
Then I'm going to play through Zelda OoT Master Quest. It may only be a gamecube game, but it means I don't need to wait for OoT to be released on VC.

I'm looking into getting Wiiplay and Warioware, yeah, yeah "It's only a boring bunch of minigames" whatever.
I'd also like to get Trauma Center for the Wii as well. By the time I make progress on any of those, I'm sure there will be some good games coming out.

Quite frankly, I'm having trouble coming up for the funds for everything I need, so please don't tell me there's a drought. We need droughts. Droughts keep me out of debt.

Psaakyrn @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:23AM

to #13 by JJC

I call your bluff. Paper Mario on the GC in not a platformer.

Shannon @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:25AM

This isn't surprising at all, consoles ALWAYS have drought periods after their initial release. Took the 360 a long time to come around. The DS had little to no titles for roughly after six-nine months. It seems like I was waiting around forever for something quality to come out for the Playstation 2 (Twisted Metal Black, June 2001.) This is just the way of things.

JJC @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:27AM

christ thats a lot of games. i didnt realize there were that many announced. what site did you pull that from?

Psaakyrn @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:27AM

to #15 Phranctoast

Your chart would be more informative if it didn't include Retro download games. Don't force me to dig up all the likely download games Nintendo will have, and stick to actual releases. I'll take back my word that PS3 has less games coming out though.

Now if more of those games were exclusive..

Psaakyrn @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:31AM

I also wonder about the the accuracy of the charts in that website, at least in terms of Wii games. Apparently http://wii.ign.com/index/release.html?constraint.eq.game.locale=uk says that Super Mario Galaxy is coming out on 3rd March in UK. If it can't get that simple detail right (considering it's a high-profile game), other sections could be similarly inaccurate.

Additionally, it doesn't seperate between Download games and full games, which makes it harder to get a useful comparison, though it does seem that PS3 does have more games (but less exclusives).

Phranctoast @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:33AM

got it from ps3forums which I believe got it from ign.

Psaakyryn:

There wasnt to many downloadable games listed there. I was lazy howver and didnt feel like removing them from the list.

Finn @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:34AM

Nahh there are plenty of games comming out for the wii this year, We still have no idea when metroid will even come out, all we know is "before Mario Galaxy" so theres still no way of telling, plus there are some great 3rd party games comming out... to be honest I just don't think theres a way for us to know if there will be a real drought or not.... But I do KNOW there was one for my 360 last year.... In fact its a good thing crackdown came out, I was getting sick of Gears

JJC @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:35AM

#19. did i say it was a platformer???? i said it took proven things from the mario PLATFORM games, not that paper mario for the GC was a platform game. it was a not very deep turn based RPG and i know this not because i looked it up, i played it!

#16 i didnt think mass effect was a summer release. i thought it was pushed to holiday season? could be wrong, but yes i am looking forward to that.

#17 how am i being ignorant? im stating my opinion about a game that i dont like and a system that i think is falling into the same rut that the previous two nintendo systems have fallen into. i dont see how that is ignorant.

Jack of No Trades @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:42AM

@ idioteraser

Most of those games you posted will not be system sellers. Only SSB, Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Animal Crossing and Pokemon are system sellers. And most of those are spaced out over three or more years.

Finn @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:48AM

@Jack of No Trades

WOW I didn't know you could predict the future.. btw I think your wrong, alot of what he pointed out (by previews I've read) seems to be true... look just because the gamecube didn't have or sell a lot of 3rd party games, doesn't mean the same thing will happen to the wii

JJC @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:48AM

nice post #27.
Some of those games sound interesting (manhunt2,no more heros). animal crossing im sure will be a big hit (but it doesnt fit what i want with games), i have big brain academy for the ds and although it is fun, it is nothing that ill be picking up on the first day (or ever). i know they are wildy popular though. Mortal Kombat is very interesting to me. if the controls are right that game could be so much fun, but im not holding my breath. a lot of the games listed are complete garbage though. to be fair that would probably be true of any upcoming games list for any system.

Psaakyrn @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:56AM

to #26 JJC

Taking proven things like? Knocking bricks? Jumping on stuff? The fact that there's Mario?

FACT: It has more elements taken from the original Paper Mario, than any of the platform games.

The only similarity is that Mario is there, you're saving stuff, you get to jump into/jump on stuff, and other familiar characters/items are present. Most of these stuff is present in ALL mario games.

Changes include turning the whole thing into an RPG, using a performance-based system, having a party which includes baddies from older games, actually having a story from complex that "Save the princess"/"save the world", and etc.

You can go ahead and say that it copies the original Paper Mario or taking advantage of the Mario franchise, BUT you can't say that it isn't innovating from the platformer series. If you want to see copying, just how many sequels of sports games or racing games are there?

Perfectchaos @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:58AM

I don't know why everyone's complaining about a perceived Wii drought. Last time I checked the Xbox 360 didn't get a flood of good games until late last year, and it doesn't look like the PS3 will have a ton of worthwhile games in its first year either. Even the PS2 in its first year wasn't all that great until games like Devil May Cry, GTA 3, and Metal Gear Solid 2 came out a year after its release.

JodyAnthony @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:58AM

So the age old 'my dad could beat up your dad' type argument continues...

I used to think I was a nerd, but seeing you people fight over which video game console has more games coming out for it like it is the most important thing in the world has shown me the truth. Compared to all of you, I must not be a nerd at all.

Jack of No Trades @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:00PM

@ Finn

History always repeats itself. The games I listed were, in my opinion, the ones good enough to move systems. Current Wii owners might get excited over a new Harry Potter game but an average person, in my opinion, will choose, lets say, Mass Effect over Animal Crossing or Halo 3 over Metroid.

Plus its way to early to determind who will lead the next-gen market. For example lets say the 360 releases a game like Drum Hero or a new Seaman that you can only find on the 360. If it apeals to the casual market, millions of 360s will be sold. Same goes for PS3. The Wii found a niche in the market by having motion controls.

Finn @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:09PM

"History always repeats itself. The games I listed were, in my opinion, the ones good enough to move systems. Current Wii owners might get excited over a new Harry Potter game but an average person, in my opinion, will choose, lets say, Mass Effect over Animal Crossing or Halo 3 over Metroid.

Plus its way to early to determind who will lead the next-gen market. For example lets say the 360 releases a game like Drum Hero or a new Seaman that you can only find on the 360. If it apeals to the casual market, millions of 360s will be sold. Same goes for PS3. The Wii found a niche in the market by having motion controls."

Thats not entirely true. I know ALOT of people who got 360's (including myself) who didn't have xbox's. In fact alot of those people dislike halo yet want a 360 for say dead rising... and to say that more people would want halo then metroid is an unfair comparison... mainly because most of those people never played the prime games, and they wern't advertised nearly as much as a Halo.

Look if people weren't willing to buy new ip's for the wii then why is red steel the second highest selling wii game right now. And if you don't think Nintendo can sell millions of systems based on casual games, you clearly havn't been paying attention to the ds, let alone what alot of the wii stands for

F1ghter @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:10PM

blah blah blah "these games will be good for this system" blah blah blah "this system doesn't have any good games" blah blah blah lists blah blah blah complain blah blah blah

sheesh people, how do you find so much time to whine and complain on joystiq? do any of you even *play* the games you argue about?

@The Nintendo Crowd
You should really keep your mouths shut for now. You have no evidence that hardly *any* of the listed games will come out in the US within the drought period (aka summer), or that they will even be as good as you want them to be.

@The Sony Crowd
If the system I supported was readily available and *still* selling half as many units as another system, I'd keep my mouth shut. Who are you to predict the future of the Wii? Remember PSP vs. DS?

@The Microsoft Crowd
Congratulations on having big lists of release games for your year-old system. It isn't exactly surprising that there are plenty of games in the pipeline for a console that is further along in its cycle.

Jake @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:13PM

These Wii game threads are just pointless now. You can't compare 360 and PS3 games to Wii games. They are so much different. The audiences are different in general. You can't sit and say "the Wii will get Animal Crossing, Pokemon, Mario, and Project Hammer, so that's not a drought" or something. Just look at the games Wii owners are looking forward to compared to PS360 owners or whatever.

I only have a 360 at this time. I am looking forward to Crackdown, Bioshock, Forza2, Mass Effect (big time), Halo3, and GRAW2. Those aren't the only games, but are my personal top 6. There isn't a single game in the entire Wii announced game catergory that is similar to any of these games. Not even close. Metroid is the closest thing.

Not saying one is better than the other, but they are completely different experiences. We sit and argue, and it is pointless. It is like Vegans arguing with Texans about what a good grill-out is all about. Different tastes.

Your typical 360 or PS3 owner is going to say Mario and Metroid maybe have potential while most everything else looks cheap, lame, and not exciting. At the same time, your typical Wii owner is going to think Gears of War, Gran Turismo, Mass Effect, MGS4, and Halo3 are just rehashed control schemes on games with better graphics than their otherwise identical cousins. The realism makes them squeamish, too, I think. And I look at games like Animal Crossing, WarioWare, and Mario and just don't get that excited to play them. When I was much younger I'd be all over them. My tastes have changed, though. Now I like realistic looking games.

But my point is look at what people are buying on Nintendo consoles and compare it to what people are buying on MS and Sony consoles. Then, stop trying so hard to compare what is better and what is worse and just know that they are different.

Thrawn @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:14PM

IRT 31:

That's why Mario games will always remain kiddy.
You jump on stuff? That's so unrealistic.

In REAL next gen games in order to have fun you machine gun and chainsaw all enemies to death until they're a bloody pile on the ground.

In real life you have to machine gun and chainsaw enemies to death too and you have to take out a loan in order to buy a game console.

idioteraser @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:18PM

Comments added expressing sales potential and wheter it is multiplatform.

Animal Crossing (Wii) This will be sure to be a million seller. Considering how popular the Animal Crossing movie and DS game is in Japan the demand for the wii should skyrocket once the game comes out in Japan.

Battalion Wars 2 Improving upon a great game this one refines the controls and adds online.

Big Brain Academy Wii Another title that could skyrocket the wii sales due to the fact the DS educational game has boosted DS sales in the states and Europe.

Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party could be another skyrocketing seller of wii systems since hand motions add another part to the dance routines. Even expert DDR players may love this since it makes the dances more complex.

Dewy's Adventure exlusive that could be a hit among game developers, reviewers.

Disaster: Day of Crisis a new IP from Nintendo. Could be quite succesfull. Possibly a system seller?

DK Bongo Blast could be another entry way for nongamers.

Lost: The Video Game multiplatform.

Mario Strikers Charged online sports game. Could be quite popular.

Medal of Honor: Airborne another fps game for the hardcore to bitch about the controls.

Metroid Prime 3 long awaited could be a hit seller and sell systems.

No More Heroes killer7 was great this could be another exclusive that sells the system.

One Piece: Unlimited Adventure exclusilve anime filler that could sell systems in Japan.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End multiplatform.

Pokémon Battle Revolution online console pokemon could be quite popular in the states.

Ratatouille multiplatform? based on a pixar upcoming movie. Will sell due to movie license.

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles a big unknown could be garbage could be great.

Alien Syndrome multiplatform big ? as to how good it will be.

Bionicle Heroes multiplatform licensed kids crap games that sell ok.

Fire Emblem a hardcore rpg. Will sell decently.

Kororinpa: Marble Mania very decent reviews on this.

Line Rider ?

Mercury Meltdown Revolution lots of people loved the psp version and the wii controls should breathe fresh air into it.

100 Bullets big ?

The Bigs ?

Blitz: The League ?

Godzilla: Unleashed the second game should have been on the cube since the first sold much better on the cube to boot as well. I hated that about certain publishers the gamecube version sold the most so what do they do but the sequels on the other consoles and the games don't sell so well.

Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal could be a great license game or not.

Manhunt 2 much like gta this game will cause a lot of attention to the wii. Possibly quite negative from the press. Hence the early Nintendo deflections to the game developer.

MySims could be a huge system seller since it would be quite different from the regular Sims games. Could be huge in Japan due to the art style.

Ben 10 (video game) potential for greatness but huge potential to be garbage.

The Destiny of Zorro err?

Mario Party 8 another in a line of games that have sold quite well.

Bust-a-Move Bash! could be great due to the having eight players at once. Will certaintly sell extra gamecube controllers or wavebirds.

Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII could be great due to the control scheme.

Prince of Persia: Rival Swords could be great if they improve on the second Prince of Persia game. Perhaps it will be good enough to make people buy it even though they have played the second game in the series.

Medal of Honor: Vanguard see previous medal of honor game.

Cooking Mama: Cook Off the DS game was a hit among nongamers and gamers in the states. This could be as well.

Brothers In Arms: D-Day see medal of honor.

Driver: Parallel Lines could be great if they improve the game it was ported from.

The Godfather Blackhand Edition earlier previews are favorable.

Heatseeker maybe good due to developer comments.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon wii controls with classic controls could make it a system seller if word of mouth gets around.

Escape from Bug Island already known to be garbage since it is Necro-Nesia in Japan. If budget price it could do well due to the bad b-movie watch effect.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (video game) licensed movie game could be crap or great.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix other video games in the series got decent reviews.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl a most anticpated wii system seller.

Rushli0n @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:18PM

I just went through all the "New Games This Week" posts from Joystiq from the release week of the Wii/PS3 til now. Here's some numbers:

Total Releases (from 11/13 - now):
Wii - 43
360 - 25
PS3 - 19

Total Games after Release of Systems (11/20 - now):
360 - 17
Wii - 16
PS3 - 5

2007 Releases (1/1 - now):
360 - 7
Wii - 3
PS3 - 2

P.S. - I couldn't find any releases for the release week of 12/25/2006, so if there were any that week, they were not included in these numbers.

Finn @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:19PM

but jake what about us people who have a wii60 going on... I think your assements are off, Metroid, Manhunt 2, no more heroes there are 3 right there that are simliar to the games you mentioned for 360... and what about mario games, you think Gears of War is a deeper gaming experience than Galaxy will be... In fact I'd like to see you 100% Mario Sushine, and tell me how easy it was for you

ViperVisor @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:21PM

Nintendo will worry about games after they have consoles sitting on shelves. And Devs are going to be starting projects or just have based on the great early installed base.

Prophecy @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:23PM

Ok, the only reason i posted all the games (and i left some out) was to show that they alot of games coming out over this year. (I know that's off topic) What most people don't seem to get is that no game system is going to have 50 games in the first 3 months. However you should have one or two very good ones. Now for most people Zelda is a given but the wii lacks that second powerhouse game right now. I have a Wii, and it's fun most of the time but i feel like they need one more good adventure game because once you beat Zelda you have mini-games galore.Who know what will happen in the future but i think all three of them will be fine.

Thrawn @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:26PM

IRT 42:

There might be a few VC adventure games to tide you over.

Jack of No Trades @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:27PM

@ Rushli0n

Add every xboxlive game just like you added the vc games and I bet those numbers would change.

Darkness @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:28PM

It's been pretty dead for the Wii the last couple of months, but things look to be picking up. March is going to be a big month for the Wii. Lots of third party games coming out, then a pretty steady flow into the summer months. Not to mention whatever new announcements there will be. If online play picks up in June like people are suggesting, then it's going to get more interesting.

From what I've heard, there are lots of games in development for the Wii right now. Just a matter of waiting until they're announced. Besides, The Godfather and Medal of Honor: Vanguard look pretty good on the Wii.

Prophecy @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:29PM

I have the old games on there orignial system but i did download, Mario(NES) Kirby(NES, Mario World(SNES) Contra III(SNES) Zelda Link to the Past(SNES), Mario 64(N64) and Mario Kart(N64)

Rushli0n @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:29PM

I didn't add a single VC game

Finn @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:34PM

Add every xboxlive game just like you added the vc games and I bet those numbers would change.

lol even if he did it wouldn't make a difference, don't know if you noticed, but live arcade games have been few in the past couple on months...

Aex @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:34PM

@Finn

"Look if people weren't willing to buy new ip's for the wii then why is red steel the second highest selling wii game right now."

Because the Wii is in a drought!

Haha, I'm just playing. Tho if a crappy game like Red Steel is the second highest selling game on the Wii, then it doesnt really help the notion that there isn't a drought.