Nintendo Fall Conference 2007: Teh Megaton!? -- F. Emblem DS, Wii Kart motorcycles!

[Finch]

That's what gets me. It seems like these people would have gotten a piece of coal for 200 dollars over a PS3 or 360 just for the sake of it being cheap.

Piece of coal, piece of shit. One's fossilized and the other's just expensive. If you're playing video games these days, it doesn't matter what you get, you're going to get ripped off.

[Josh]

I play Starcraft. Best $20 I've ever spent... three times.

edit: four times

[Melf]

Interesting...

Scarcely a week goes by without Nintendo's rising stock price or record revenues being touted as evidence of the Wii's undeniable popularity. Most recently, Nintendo is predicting that its console's unparalleled demand will continue into the holiday season, leaving many would-be buyers out in the cold this Christmas. However, despite the rosy forecasts, some within the industry have come to think of the Wii as a fad, one that will fade from its mainstream popularity as quickly as it rose.

That sentiment was at the center of a report from Japan's Nikkei Business Daily [registration required] this week, in which several Japanese software publishers expressed both uncertainty as to how to best capitalize on the expanded market, and concern over the longevity of Nintendo's console.

According to the report, despite the Japanese gaming software industry sales spiking by 30 percent in 2006, nearly 90 percent of the growth in copies sold was attributable to Nintendo's in-house games. "This means sales of other software makers were practically unchanged from last year's levels," the report noted.

Elementary-school children have traditionally been the main buyers of Nintendo game systems, so says the report, and this caused many publishers to "miscalculate demand" in developing games for the Wii. With more than 70 percent of Nintendo Wii owners aged over 20, and 51 percent female, traditionally niche games have become surprisingly popular. The report specifically calls out Mario Party 8, which sold more than 830,000 units in 2006, ranking it third in the year's overall sales charts. The report cites an executive at a leading software house as saying, "I never imagined our titles could be outsold by a party game."

Wii is the next Tae-Bo?
Despite recent reports that Japan's top publishing houses are shifting their efforts to Wii development, the report claims that software purveyors are worried about the Wii's sustainability. "The Wii is like [Tae-Bo creator Billy Blanks'] Billy's Boot Camp weight-loss program on DVD. People bought it out of curiosity, and it's likely a lot of them haven't used it," said the report, quoting a major software publisher rep.

Cause for concern stems from the Wii's recent slip in Japanese console hardware charts. Wii sales were down 32 percent in August, which the report notes was the lowest sales month since December 2006, when the console launched in Japan. With 168,000 units sold, the August dip was the second consecutive month where the Wii deviated from its formerly stable sales of around 300,000 units.

Source.

Yep, still waiting for those 3rd party publishers to make their big franchises exclusive on Wii. Honestly, I don't think GTA and the true Final Fantasy games are going anywhere anytime soon.

*EDIT* Wait! What am I saying! Just look at this incredible release list from now until February!

Nintendo's full list of Wii and DS releases follows:
Wii
Oct. 1: MLB Power Pros from 2k Sports
Oct. 1: Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire from D3Publisher
Oct. 2: Crash of the Titans from Sierra Entertainment, Inc.
Oct. 5: Balls of Fury from DSI Games
Oct. 8: Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast from Nintendo
Oct. 9: FIFA 08 from Electronic Arts
Oct. 9: Bleach: Shattered Blade from Sega
Oct. 9: Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal from WB Games
Oct. 10: Arctic Tale from DSI Games
Oct. 15: Sea Monsters from DSI Games
Oct. 16: Thrillville: Off the Rails from LucasArts
Oct. 22: EA Playground from Electronic Arts
Oct. 23: Backyard Football from Atari, Inc.
Oct. 23: The Sims 2: Castaway from Electronic Arts
Oct. 23: Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis from Rockstar Games
Oct. 23: The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night from Sierra Entertainment, Inc.
Oct. 23: Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution from Tomy Corporation
Oct. 25: M&M's Kart Racing from DSI Games
Oct. 28: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock from Activision
Oct. 29: Battalion Wars 2 from Nintendo
Oct. 30: Ben 10: Protector of Earth from D3Publisher
Oct. 30: Showtime Championship Boxing from DSI Games
Oct. 30: Need For Speed Prostreet from Electronic Arts
Oct. 30: The Simpsons from Electronic Arts
Oct. 31: Manhunt 2 from Rockstar Games
October: Spider-Man: Friend or Foe from Activision
October: Bee Movie Game from Activision
October: Tony Hawk's Proving Ground from Activision
October: Ultimate Duck Hunting from Detn8 Games Ltd.
October: Mercury Meltdown Revolution from Ignition Entertainment
October: Namco Museum Remix from Namco Bandai Games America
October: Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity from the Game Factory
October: Avatar: the Last Airbender - the Burning Earth from THQ
October: Bratz: the Movie from THQ
October: Cars: Mater-National from THQ
October: Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots from THQ
October: Spongebob's Atlantis Squarepantis from THQ
Nov. 5: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn from Nintendo
Nov. 6: Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party from Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
Nov. 6: Lego Star Wars: the Complete Saga from LucasArts
Nov. 6: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games from Sega
Nov. 12: Super Mario Galaxy from Nintendo
Nov. 13: Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3 from Atari, Inc.
Nov. 13: Godzilla Unleashed from Atari, Inc.
Nov. 13: Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary from Eidos, Inc.
Nov. 13: Blocks from Electronic Arts
Nov. 13: Medal of Honor Heroes 2 from Electronic Arts
Nov. 13: Luxor: Pharaoh's Challenge from Mumbojumbo
Nov. 13: Geometry Wars: Galaxies from Sierra Entertainment, Inc.
Nov. 19: Link's Crossbow Training (Packaged with Wii Zapper) from Nintendo
Nov. 19: Smarty Pants from Electronic Arts
Nov. 20: Jenga World Tour from Atari, Inc.
Nov. 20: Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords from D3Publisher of America
November: Trauma Center: New Blood from Atlus USA
November: Star Trek: Conquest from Bethesda Softworks
November: Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey from Disney Interactive Studios
November: Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour from Disney Interactive Studios
November: High School Musical: Sing It from Disney Interactive Studios
November: Garfield Gets Real from DSI Games
November: Furu Furu Park from Majesco Entertainment
November: AMF Bowling: Pinbusters! from Mud Duck Games
November: Ghost Squad from Sega
November: WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008 from THQ
November: Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 from Ubisoft
November: CSI: Hard Evidence from Ubisoft
November: My Word Coach from Ubisoft
November: Petz: Catz 2 (Name Not Final) from Ubisoft
November: Petz: Dogz 2 (Name Not Final) from Ubisoft
November: Petz: Horsez 2 (Name Not Final) from Ubisoft
November: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 from Ubisoft
Dec. 4: Alvin and the Chipmunks from Brash Entertainment
Dec. 4: The Golden Compass from Sega
December: MX vs. ATV Untamed from THQ
December: Super Swing Golf Season 2 from Tecmo, Inc.
December: Rygar: the Battle of Argus from Tecmo, Inc.
December: Cranium: Kabookii from Ubisoft
December: Nitrobike from Ubisoft
Holiday 2007: NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams from Sega
Winter '07: Soul Calibur Legends from Namco Bandai Games America
Jan. 21: Endless Ocean from Nintendo
Feb. 10: Super Smash Bros. Brawl from Nintendo
Feb. 15: Yamaha Supercross from DSI Games
Feb. 19: Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity from Sega
February: No More Heroes from Ubisoft
February: Wild Petz Tigerz from Ubisoft
March: Obscure: The Aftermath from Ignition Entertainment
Q1: Luxor 3 from Mumbojumbo
Q1: One Piece: Unlimited Adventure from Namco Bandai Games
America
Spring '08: Mario Kart Wii (Name Not Final) from Nintendo

Source.

[Finch]

Yep, still waiting for those 3rd party publishers to make their big franchises exclusive on Wii. Honestly, I don't think GTA and the true Final Fantasy games are going anywhere anytime soon.

Who gives a shit? GTA sucks and Crystal Chronicles(s) look better than XIII right now.
Anyway, post a list from any system right now and pick 5 games from now til whenever that aren't shitty.

[Gymkata]

Back in my day we played Vidyeh games in a ar-cade. You yunguns and your online and your Wees. Cant do a Ragin Demon for your life.

[Space Pirate Roberts]

[Melf]

Who gives a shit? GTA sucks and Crystal Chronicles(s) look better than XIII right now.

Lols.

Anyway, post a list from any system right now and pick 5 games from now til whenever that aren't shitty.

These are the ones I'm personally interested in for the 360 between October and March.

- Project Gotham Racing 4
- Orange Box
- Mass Effect
- GTA 4
- Saints Row 2
- Mercenaries 2
- Assassins Creed
- Devil May Cry 4
- Lost Odyssey
- Last Remnant
- Army of Two
- Kain & Lynch: Dead Men
- Sega Rally Revo
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- Resident Evil 5
- Soul Calibur 4
- Unreal Tournament 3
- Ace Combat 6
- Kingdome Under Fire: Circle of Doom
- Ninja Gaiden 2
- Infinite Undiscovery
- Halo Wars
- Dark Sector

Notice something that every game on this list has in common? None of them are coming to the Wii.

[Space Pirate Roberts]

- Lost Odyssey
- Last Remnant
- Resident Evil 5
- Soul Calibur 4
- Ninja Gaiden 2

You sure those are due by March? I was thinking they were all summer or later.

[Melf]

A few might be just "2008," so it's possible. The point is that there are still zero major 3rd party exclusives for the Wii, a year after launch, the holiday line up announced, and with sales going through the roof. If it hasn't happened by now, it's probably not going to happen any time soon, if ever. The only 3rd party games you're going to see on the Wii are those that are multi-platform or cater to people under age 12.

[Bacon McShig]

You sure those are due by March? I was thinking they were all summer or later.

Lost Odyssey is still due in November, as far as I know. As for the others, yeah, probably mid/late 2008 releases.