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When the Wii was about to release, it was popular opinion amongst game journalists that not only will people who've never been gamers own one, but it will sit alongside the PS3/360 in hardcore gamer houses as well. While I'm pretty sure that's the case nowadays -- as it would explain the ridiculous Wii sales numbers -- it doesn't seem to be translating to the game's sales.
This generation of gaming has been drastically different from those of the past. The Xbox 360 is turning five years old in November -- an age that usually means the death of a video game console -- and a successor has yet to be even announced. The industry is finding new ways to remain profitable at a time when the economy is hurting and people aren't rushing to buy frivolous things like new game consoles.
This sort of thing is playing out in development houses as well. The exclusive title is almost non-existent. In the past, third party companies would frequently pick a system and develop only for that. Ever play a Final Fantasy or Mega Man game on your Sega Genesis? Nope, because Squaresoft and Capcom were dead set on sticking to Nintendo, and didn't shop their games around to other systems.
Now, however, pretty much anything that isn't from a first or second party developer is spread out to every platform available. But one place this isn't happening is on Wii. Companies like EA are making Wii-specific prequels -- like Dead Space: Extraction -- to their franchises instead of porting over the original games. This is entirely because of the radically different control scheme and processing power. Yet, third parties aren't just releasing shitty versions of their big titles, they are thinking outside the box to make full use of the Wii.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Dead Space: Extraction, Zack & Wiki, MadWorld, No More Heroes, Fragile Dreams, House of the Dead Overkill, Boom Blox, De Blob, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, A Boy and his Blob, etc. -- Coupled with all of Nintendo's releases -- Metroid: Other M, Mario Galaxy 1 & 2, Zelda, Punch-Out!, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Paper Mario, Wario Land: Shake It, etc. You're telling me that isn't a good enough line-up for the "hardcore" to jump on?
Wake up, people! Dead Space: Extraction sold something like 9,000 copies in the first month despite rave reviews nearly across the board. Just look at all of these 80-100 scores, and tell me that isn't a game that the hardcore gamer would want to play. You own the system already! Dust it off and start using it as the companion piece that game journalists once thought it could be. It has certainly held up it's end of the bargain, now it's our turn.
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