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TalkBack / Re: Medaverse Developer Diary: A Simple Challenge

« on: December 05, 2009, 11:54:10 AM »

It's just too bad that more developers don't share that sentiment, but the problem is, it is more apparent what will sell now than it was 10-20 years ago when games were more artistic. That's why we get stale games like the sixth iteration of Call of Duty instead of something fresh.

Making Gravitronix was enjoyable for many reasons, but one of them was definitely because it was a game concept none of us had ever played before so we were sailing into uncharted waters. How do you determine if a FPS has reached the necessary fun threshold? People have fun shooting the other players. Determining when Gravitronix had reached that same threshold was tricky to say the least, though more exciting as a result.


But I also can't help but feel bad for known developers who get forced into sequel after sequel. From what I've heard, Hideo Kojima has wanted to do something other than MGS for a long time now and Will Wright spent years making Spore, only to have a lot of people complain that it was nothing like the Sims.


Some might say that the money from making these games would make up for it, but I personally don't think it would. It's a hard situation to be in because sequels nearly always sell, but I can't help but imagine that every designer making sequels has countless other projects they'd rather be working on but can't because their publisher A) wants to make what sells and B) doesn't want to take a risk on something that might not.


I think sequels should only be done when necessary, like when there's more ground to cover or if you've created something that operates as a series and should logically have many sequels/episodes. I'm excited to develop all of the game ideas we have, but if someone told me to continuously make sequels for any one of them, that would be what I'd classify as a living hell.

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TalkBack / Re: Medaverse Developer Diary: A Simple Challenge

« on: December 03, 2009, 11:48:17 PM »

Hello there.  This has been an incredibly insightful feature, and I really do wish you the best of luck in the future.  I've wanted to create games my entire life, but I still haven't managed to really create anything interesting at all.


I don't really post around here (in fact, I don't remember the last time I logged in), but I thought I should leave a comment here.  You said in 'The Conclusion' that success may come down to 'luck' in the marketplace, and that perhaps it would be better to focus more on what you want to create than what the customer wants.


I strongly disagree with those sentiments, and I really feel compelled to see if you might reconsider.


I think that while there is an element of unpredictability in the marketplace, there are many indicators and processes that can help you find your audience from the beginning.


I know nothing about you, so perhaps you've seen this before, but Sean Malstrom has written extensively on the topic of consumer-based products and services and how implementing techniques such as Blue Ocean Strategy at the earliest stages of development can be incredibly useful as you try to build software that will both sell and will still allow you to test out experimental gameplay on WiiWare or on other platforms.


In the above paragraph, I've linked you to Malstrom's blog, but his articles are much more extensive and can be found here.  In addition, there is a small, separate community of like-minded individuals that can be found here.  Please feel free to join us there and participate in some of the conversations.


Every single one of us (those who agree with Malstrom or otherwise) wants great content, and there are many holes within Wii's library that can be filled by small developers such as yourself.  I really hope you find this useful or otherwise thought-provoking.


Thanks for reading and please stay healthy.  Hope to see you around!


--Clayton M.

I agree with what Maelstrom has said, but the issue I've seen and the one I mean to illustrate in my conclusion is that no amount of quality can guarantee sales, nor can any lack of quality ensure a lack of sales.


There are thresholds of course, but right now, there are titles in the WiiWare top 5 that have been rated horribly and titles like Nyx Quest and Bit.Trip that aren't selling as well as they should be for the reviews they've received.


Obviously, I don't mean to suggest that developers should aim low with their quality thresholds. We certainly didn't (I challenge anyone to get Gravitronix to crash), but all I mean to say is that there are no safe bets so you might as well develop something you feel truly inspired to develop.

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TalkBack / Re: Medaverse Developer Diary: A Simple Challenge

« on: December 02, 2009, 12:15:20 AM »

This has been a truly fascinating feature. Thanks to Jessie, Pedro, and James for making it happen.

Jesse, I don't know much about game development, but I know some things about project management and system engineering that I think probably apply as much to games as anything else. Namely, it's much easier and less expensive to correct mistakes in the beginning than at the end. Be really thorough in pre-production, as you design the game and plan out all the different aspects that will have to be fully realized in production. Use mock-ups and prototypes whenever possible to anticipate problems before they become intrinsic to the project. Be brutally honest about the level of effort and cost associated with everything you want to do, and if a particular area looks to be extravagantly expensive or difficult, think about how to change that. Build time and cost margins into your plan, because things never go perfectly. Once you begin full production, the project should have major inertia to resist any significant changes, because those are especially problematic late in the process. As you go, compare the unfinished build to your initial goals to determine what is working and what isn't. Don't compromise on your original goals, because they are why you got into this in the first place.

These tenets are not mine. You can find them in any basic textbook on project management or system engineering, and I recommend doing so to anyone who has to lead a large, complex project that will take a long time to finish. As for specific game development resources, attend GDC if possible, and keep an eye on Gamasutra as well as unrelenting developer diaries like this one.

This is all completely correct and it's what we're doing this time around. We're already experimenting with flash prototyping (we're using Kirby as a placeholder sprite, which is the 2nd time he's been used as such, heh) and we're going to make sure we have a lot more ducks in a row before we set out to build the game.


With Gravitronix, we truly were flying blind. This time, I'm hoping that having a plan alone will help a great deal.

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TalkBack / Re: Medaverse Developer Diary: A Simple Challenge

« on: November 16, 2009, 02:32:46 PM »

I'm hoping this happens, ASAP.

I long for the day when I can say "Go try the Gravitronix demo now!"

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TalkBack / Re: Medaverse Developer Diary: A Simple Challenge

« on: November 16, 2009, 01:58:26 PM »

WiiWare demos are out this week... has Nintendo offered any information about this program to developers in general? Are you now planning to make a Gravitronix demo, or is that even feasible?

I've heard nothing about it personally. My guess is that they went for games that had good reviews across the board and asked those devs to make demo versions.

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TalkBack / Re: Medaverse Developer Diary: A Simple Challenge

« on: November 14, 2009, 08:10:55 PM »

I'll start with the subject lots of people are eager to know about. This is concerning Nintendo's involvement. I'm sure you frequently get these ones in interviews, but how closely involved were Nintendo on the project? How helpful were they in both the development and publishing phases? What is your opinion of the way release dates are handed out, the way the profitability policy works and the way the WiiWare service is managed in general?
This line of enquiry is common, I know, but I sometimes get the feeling developers aren't always giving their real feelings on the matter when questions like these are asked. You seem to be an honest, truthful guy, more so than most for sure, so I'd be interested to hear what you think based on your experience dealing with Nintendo whilst making this game.

In total honesty, WiiWare devs are treated like any other 3rd party, and it's for the best. There's no special or restrictive treatment involved. Release dates are on the basis of "when it's ready, it gets released" (or a date is found for it, at least). Nintendo answers basically any question you ask of them and is always ready to point you in the right direction if you need them. I think the pricing structure works fine. In fact, my only complaint about the entire process is that the Wii's market is still incredibly hard to read. I've heard of WiiWare games that have received some very good reviews across the board having terrible sales and games that get terrible reviews have had great sales. Seriously, "My Aquarium" hasn't left the top 5 in months. What gives?

But yeah, we had total creative freedom, just like any other 3rd party would.

My other question is more to do with the future of your studio. Do you have any other pipe dreams that you'd like to make a reality on WiiWare? After reading through this feature, I'm more intrigued about what else you and the rest of the Medaverse team could produce (I think the concept of Gravitronix is sound, but the reviews put me off, I'm afraid). The pages about 'The Mistakes' and 'What We Did Right' tell me that you've learned well from your debut effort, which is more than I can say about certain big-name developers. If you have more ideas as unique as Gravitronix, and you can learn from the errors of the past to make the execution better, I can guarantee that I'll be keeping an eye on anything you announce in the future.

That's pretty heavily in debate right now. I have piles of unique ideas, but we're a bit wary of developing another "unique" idea at the risk of releasing a game that people once again don't get from looking at it. Unless people can get a basic understanding of the game from single screenshot, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to develop it. This is actually one of the reasons I'm so psyched for WiiWare demos and why I hope they arrive soon. I'm sure Gravitronix would be doing much better, if only people could try it for themselves to see if they like it. As the reviews have shown, it's a game that divides people, so much so that I'm wary about recommending it to people because I still have no idea why some reviewers give it 2s while others give it 7s. That's a huge divide, so again, I hope to see demos soon for this exact reason. At that time, we'd probably be more likely to bring out a unique idea because people could try it via demo and see how they like it.

Given the size of our studio and the fact that we still lack funding of any kind, we'd be looking at a minimum of a year to do a proper job developing a game, and then we have to look at the Wii's lifespan. If our development time ran long, we might be looking at the end of the console's life (I have no actual idea. I'm just speculating). Bottom line, we're just not sure right now. We're taking a hard look at platformers and what we might be able to do with one of those, but it's all still very much up in the air.

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TalkBack / Re: Reggie Fils-Aime Comments on Digital Distribution

« on: November 13, 2009, 03:00:42 PM »

I don't think anyone's looking at this as something that will happen in the short term.  No, retail will remain a dominant force for probably another 15-20 years, probably around the time the number of people born in the digital age vastly out-number those born before that time.

I think this is what's going to happen. It'll take a generation or two, but eventually it'll go to this because kids will grow up having spent their lives using digital media. Owning a "hard copy" will seem like an alien concept to them.

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TalkBack / Re: Medaverse Developer Diary: A Simple Challenge

« on: November 13, 2009, 02:52:22 PM »

I'm still really digging this series!

I have a few questions for Jesse about the development and Medaverse Studios in general.  Is this your full-time job or a second job/pet-project?  How about the rest of the team?  Do you have an office in an office building or is it something less formal such as a space setup in someone's home?

We were all part time (which was another reason it took so long) and we leased a 160 sq ft office space to work in as a necessity, since Nintendo doesn't want development hardware sitting in people's home offices (a sentiment I agree with).

We worked it as a 2nd job. For the past two years, I basically went from my day job to the Medaverse office. I ate, slept and breathed the development of the game, really. It was kind of a jarring feeling when it was finally finished because I had had my mind buried in it for so long (like having dreams about school years later).

With all of the issues we faced, it's basically a miracle the game ever made it to market. Regardless of how well it was received, the fact that we were able to actually get it out the door was a victory in itself.

I'll be the first to admit that luck was involved in a number of places: we were lucky to start looking into Wii development so early.  We were lucky to find help on craigslist, including Jeff, the industry veteran who is helping to guide our development process on the next game as well. Right now, we're going through a process of him explaining how things are typically done in an actual development scenario and scolding us for jumping the gun and going nuts on concepts.

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TalkBack / Re: EA CEO Frustrated by Low Wii Sales

« on: November 13, 2009, 01:29:39 AM »

Capcom 5.. Resident Evil 5...I should've seen this disaster coming

Great SCOTT, another one of your BIBLE CODE Mayan Calendar revelations.

Tom Hanks' mullet is involved here somewhere.

As for the discussion, I think it's a shame we never got anymore RE games (or any games) that controlled like RE4 did with the remote and nunchuk.

I've never replayed a game that long in the past but the new controls made it so easy and fun...

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TalkBack / Re: Medaverse Developer Diary: A Simple Challenge

« on: November 12, 2009, 01:43:46 AM »

Well, I don't know if I'd say I have gamer skill, but I do have years of experience. My sister though, is probably what you might call a "non-gamer" but what I'd rather call a "casual" gamer because it doesn't sound condescending. She isn't a fan of difficult games, and doesn't really have much patience when it comes to learning a game. So, the controls are one thing which worry me, because if she doesn't pick up on it right away then I don't think she would stick with it.

I wouldn't worry about difficulty, as the game eases you in VERY gently at the start. I've watched my 65 year old mother play the game and even she does alright. If you're playing through campaign mode on a team, she'll do just fine. The later levels definitely get harder, but as you get through them, it definitely feels like team victory.

Even if you don't have a group of friends to play with, you can treat Grav like a party game with non-gamers and still get pretty good results from what I've found. I've seen enough non-gamers yell at the projectiles to know that they definitely get into it.

Also, you can definitely set the game to be plenty chaotic (and the later levels can get pretty chaotic as well).

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TalkBack / Re: Medaverse Developer Diary: A Simple Challenge

« on: November 11, 2009, 08:15:04 PM »

I guess the statement is just to show confidence in the product, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that such remarks tend to come off as arrogance to me. Of course, I don't think you meant it that way at all, as you seem like a very humble and level-headed person.

Oh, I didn't mean "There's nothing like it" as in "It's the best game ever". I meant it as "Good luck figuring out which genre it fits into" which is seldom a good thing. People like genres and being able to adhere to their favorite genres. The fact that there is no real genre Grav fits into other than "action" hurts it because it's hard to recommend Grav to people if you have nothing to compare it to.

I don't know if you can answer this or not, but were any females a part of your focus testing? What did they have to say?

We did, and they seemed to like it just fine. What you'd get out of the game in the long run hinges more on gamer skill than gender. I've played the game co-op with all kinds of gamers, though. As long as you have one skilled player, you can generally hold up in teams.

People seem to pick up the game very quickly, too.

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TalkBack / Re: Medaverse Developer Diary: A Simple Challenge

« on: November 11, 2009, 06:42:39 PM »

There's really no game out there like Gravitronix

I think that this is a dangerous statement to make. Have you played the tens of thousands of games in existence? Can you really say with certainty that no other game is like Gravitronix? From the videos on YouTube it looks like an 8-player version of air hockey. Of course, I've never heard of anyone creating a more advanced version of air hockey, but it's still a game that's similar.

Though this still has me curious about the game. When reviews are split then I don't believe any single one of them, it's then up to me to decide if it's something I'd like. And I didn't know that it was just 500 points, that definitely makes it easier to try something of which I'm unsure. I just need to figure out if this is something my sister would like.

What I mean is that there's no game players can readily compare it to and say "I liked _____, therefore I'll like Gravitronix." Even air hockey isn't the best comparison because there's only one puck and no explosions (unless you count the puck flying off the table).

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TalkBack / Re: Medaverse Developer Diary: A Simple Challenge

« on: November 11, 2009, 05:43:54 PM »

Thank you for your answers!  I kind of suspected what you said regarding my first question.

I'm still a little iffy on the reasoning behind the $5 price point.  There's a good chance I simply can't get into the mindset of the average consumer, but again, when I see a $5 game on WiiWare my expectations for the game drop tremendously.  I think a slightly higher price point gives the consumer the idea that a game is worth their time (and to a lesser extent their money).  As a consumer, if you tell me your product is only worth $5 I question why I'd even want to spend any time on the game.  I'd rather pay $8 or $10 for a game that I might really enjoy than $5 on something that I think is just a waste of money.  (I'm speaking hypothetically here--please don't read anything into the quality of your game from these statements.)

True, and at this point, that is the sentiment regarding $5 games.

Like I said, though, we announced the price point years ago so any change would've been going back on our word (something I'm going to try hard to avoid doing).

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TalkBack / Re: Medaverse Developer Diary: A Simple Challenge

« on: November 11, 2009, 04:35:21 PM »

First, Nintendo implemented SD card support over 6 months before Gravitronix was released and we knew something was in the pipeline even before that.  Why didn't you go back and improve the graphics once you knew cleaning the fridge wouldn't be an issue for most gamers?  Since you knew graphics were so important it seems like once the space restriction was lifted that would have been a no-brainer.  I imagine the game was too far into development to use Nintendo's pre-made toolset but switching out some of the existing graphics for higher-resolution assets doesn't seem like it would have been a lot of work.  (Keep in mind that I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, so if I'm mistaken about the amount of work it would have been feel free to tell me to pull my head out of my ass.)

It was basically too late (and I honestly didn't know if there would be a solution coming). All of the art assets had been made and the framework to load them had also been built. It would've been a huge, sweeping change very late in the development process, plus most of the staff did want to still keep the game as small as possible since A) it could still help as not everyone has an SD card and B) it's what we set out to do and had mentioned doing in articles already.

Also, we had started testing at that point and not a one of the playtesters EVER complained about the graphics. They complained about plenty of things (most of which we fixed) but the graphics were never one of them. That led us to believe that it wouldn't be a problem (oops).

Second, why did you choose a $5 price point for the game?  Did you do any studies to see what people thought the game was worth or analysis to determine this was the best way to maximize revenue?  Or was it just shooting-from-the-hip, "X is what it cost to make the game so Y is what it should cost"?  Personally, when I see a WiiWare game that costs 500 points I'm wary--for that price I'm expecting a port of a Flash game (Defend Your Castle) or a hastily thrown together game that's targeted towards people who don't know any better (any of the 'Family' games).  I wonder whether the game would have fared better at $8 or $10--not necessarily in critical reception but in sales.

We chose (and announced) the price a while back because we figured it would help people on their decision to buy the game. $5 isn't much to ask and, being a brand new developer, we figured it was the best choice. I think an $8-10 pricetag would've only pushed more people away from it.

Also, a lot our good reviews came from critics who specifically mentioned the pricetag as a selling point for the game. We weren't trying to make a game that would change the world, only a game that would be a fun $5 game to entertain a group of people.

Finally, can you speak at all about the sales of Gravitronix?  I know the game's only been out a month.  I don't know how long-tailed most WiiWare games are--there are some mainstays on the weekly top 20 list, but most games seem to fall off after a few weeks--but considering the lack of advertising I'd be surprised if most titles didn't sell a good portion of their lifetime sales within the first month.

Sales haven't exactly been stellar. We've been trying some advertising here and there but the biggest issue we face is that, on first glance, no one can understand what the hell is going on in the game. We could advertise the game to death and we probably still wouldn't get much in the way of results. Our desire to create something new and different backfired in a big way. There's really no game out there like Gravitronix, and that turned out to be its greatest failing as well. It's also hard to find any visibility in the current market. I still don't think most people even know the game exists at this point.

My guess is that, in reality, the very FIRST trailer for the game has to sell people on the concept or you're basically screwed. In our case, the first trailer was tested on a number of people time and again until they approved, then we released it and all it managed to do was confuse and anger people. I'm still not sure what went wrong, but all I know is that the trailer didn't jibe with people and that seemed to be the beginning of the end.

We'll hopefully have some more videos up on the Nintendo Channel soon and we might be getting a booth at PAX East where we can demo the game for people. The fact that critics have been so divided about the game is probably the only reason I'm still looking into promoting it. If they were unanimous in disliking the game, it'd probably just be time to call it quits (as much as it would pain me to do so), but the fact that it's roughly 50/50 with good and bad reviews makes me believe there's still a market out there. We just need to figure out how to reach it.

Thank you for taking the time to do these articles.  It's not often that developers are willing to give so much insight into their project, especially if it entails anything negative.

If nothing else, it makes for an interesting story and a cautionary tale.

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TalkBack / Re: REVIEWS: Gravitronix

« on: November 11, 2009, 03:40:47 PM »

Well, damn. I knew I should've gone right to the patent office...

Though, this is a 3rd party attempt to classify critics. There's still no site I've seen that does it on their own.

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TalkBack / Re: REVIEWS: Gravitronix

« on: November 11, 2009, 01:43:17 PM »

I recall Nintendo Power back in the day having profiles for their reviewers that showed what their favorite types of games were. Then you knew where that reviewer was coming from.

Would that really be enough, though? I mean, if a reviewer and I both like SSB and Ocarina of Time, it says very little about how much we'd both like, say, Fire Emblem.

Using the Netflix-like idea, you could have a number score that literally represents how much you and the reviewer see eye to eye. I'd go to that site for my reviews for that feature alone, no more of the "Three reviewers liked it and three reviewers hated it. Who do I believe?" nonsense.

You could take it a step further and show the user a graph of their preferences, depending upon how well they rate certain genres.

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TalkBack / Re: REVIEWS: Gravitronix

« on: November 11, 2009, 02:53:33 AM »

The problem, as I see it, is that reviews are just opinions with a number tied to them. In the end, most people just skip to the number and don't even read the review.

But the real problem is that reviews lack context. Who is this person writing the review? How did they perform the review? Do I share similar interests with them?

Even before Gravitronix was out for review, I was finding reviews in general thoroughly unhelpful because I had no basis determining whether the reviewer and I had similar tastes or not.

Anyone here use Netflix? When first creating a Netflix account, they give you a list of 50-100 movies and have you rate all of them from 1-5 stars. Then, using those statistics, it recommends movies that you'll probably like.

Some review site should do this with games: give each user a list of 50 games that most people will have played and ask them to rate them from 1-5 stars. Then do the same with the reviewers so someone with an account on the site would be able to see just how much their tastes in gaming line up with that of the reviewer.

It wouldn't be a perfect system, but it would at least have something to help players determine whether or not they have similar tastes.

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TalkBack / Re: REVIEWS: Gravitronix

« on: November 10, 2009, 10:51:41 PM »

The other thing which I find disappointing about reviews is that there are ZERO details along with them.

You have no idea how much I'd love a "I sat down to play Gravitronix alone/with X other people. The other people had trouble with ______, and said ________."

That would've been invaluable information as to how the learning process went for them and how we can make it better for people next game. It also would've given us better insight as to what circumstances the game performs best in and which it doesn't.

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TalkBack / Re: EA CEO Frustrated by Low Wii Sales

« on: November 10, 2009, 07:22:11 PM »

RE5 would have gotten me excited to play it if it was on Wii, as it stands I bought it but haven't touched it because I dread the analog controls.

Yeah, as much as I love the basic gameplay, I just can't go through another "control scheme-challenged horror".

The thought of an RE game built around the speed of Wii remote aiming, though...wow...

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TalkBack / Re: EA CEO Frustrated by Low Wii Sales

« on: November 10, 2009, 07:01:19 PM »

Also, "testing" a console for interest with a half-game is a pretty lousy thing to do to the fans of that console to start with...

It is especially bad with Capcom considering how well RE4: Wii Edition did. That should have been all the testing they needed. Personally I think it was just an excuse.

I never understood that, either. RE4Wii was so good with the controls that I played through it on professional mode and couldn't stand the analogue controls of the RE5 demo after that.

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TalkBack / Re: EA CEO Frustrated by Low Wii Sales

« on: November 10, 2009, 06:57:39 PM »

RE:UC did come out at a different time period.  It was the first example of getting an on-rails game instead of a "real" entry into the series.  By the time DSE came out on-rails shooters of popular franchises had become an annoying trend.  RE:UC was the start of that trend.  Wii owners weren't pissed off or upset about getting tons of on-rails shooters yet.  It should also be noted that Resident Evil 5 sold better despite being released on consoles with a smaller userbase.  I think that indicates what core gamers were really interested in.

Also we're now at a time where I suspect much of the core gamer demographic on the Wii has given up on Wii third party support and has bought an Xbox 360 or PS3 to get access to the games they've been missing.  Hell people on this forum were talking about that being a requirement over a year before a bought a PS3.  Just a personal example but now that I have a PS3 I can't see myself ever buying something like DSE or RE:DC.  I can now buy the REAL Dead Space and the REAL Resident Evil so why would I even give a second look to a Wii spin-off?  When RE:UC was released it was earlier in the Wii life so there was more optimism.  Now we know that we're not getting the real Resident Evil and that Capcom considers the Wii as clearly their THIRD choice for support.  The other consoles are affordable now, no one has to put up with second rate support.

That's true: EA was kinda late to the table there, but they probably started developing DSE around the time RE:UC was selling well.

It'll be interesting to see how REDSC sells, now that everyone knows there's no RE5 coming for Wii.

Also, "testing" a console for interest with a half-game is a pretty lousy thing to do to the fans of that console to start with...

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TalkBack / Re: REVIEWS: Gravitronix

« on: November 10, 2009, 06:53:12 PM »

Looks like another review for this game cropped up and it got a 3.0

It's had worse scores than that and it's had way better.

Safe to say, we've learned very, VERY little from the critical feedback we've had from Grav, since everything one critic has hated has been liked by another critic and vice versa.

They all generally agree the graphics aren't the best (though some don't even mention having a problem with them and instead go after something like sound effects), but that's nothing we didn't already know.

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TalkBack / Re: EA CEO Frustrated by Low Wii Sales

« on: November 10, 2009, 06:34:49 PM »

You have a hard time believing that 1.5 million gamers would buy a light gun spin off when Capcom themselves called it a test to see what could be done on the Wii with the assumption that the next game coming was RE5?

The internet alone wouldn't be enough to garner that many sales, even with a "test marketing" promise from Capcom. It would help, I'm sure, but that's a LOT of sales that would have to come from the internet which I just don't see happening.

I'm guessing people bought it because it was a RE game, really.

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TalkBack / Re: EA CEO Frustrated by Low Wii Sales

« on: November 10, 2009, 06:11:33 PM »

I don't know if this has been said yet, but RE:UC not only has brand recognition, but was offered up as a test(1st game to do so), so we were all buying it in anticipation of RE5 which up till that point seemed like a shoe-in for Wii.

I dunno...I have a hard time believing 1.5 million people bought a lightgun game in anticipation of a non-lightgun game from the same franchise. Maybe some people, but 1.5 million?

Yeah, RE has far more brand recognition, but the point is that EA was working with what they had to use. Had they released 2-3 more Dead Space games and THEN released one for the Wii, yes, it would've been a more well-known franchise, but I think that would've only served to further alienate the Wii userbase from the series.

All I'm saying is that I don't blame the CEO for being frustrated (blaming Nintendo is silly, but not being frustrated). I'm rather frustrated myself because I just got through designing a game around the ideals of what the Nintendo fanbase often cries out for (unique game, hinges on motion controls, gameplay over graphics) and it's the non-Nintendo gaming sites that have liked the game the best.

So yeah, I understand his plight.

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TalkBack / Re: EA CEO Frustrated by Low Wii Sales

« on: November 10, 2009, 05:48:37 PM »

The Wii fanbase has some overlap with the RESIDENT EVIL fanbase, which is a pretty big longtime brand you might've noticed.  When REUC came out, so long ago, there was still some hunger for new RE content, especially on the exciting Wii platform of interesting gameplay possibilities.  Dead Space doesn't have that brand power worldwide, and present-day people are definitely not "hungering" for more on-rails content.

True.

Point being, though, EA was doing the best they could in terms of bringing over what seems like it would work. DS is the closest thing they have to a survival horror franchise so they tried to do what Capcom did.

BTW, I'm going to rent DS:E tonight and see how it is. I liked UC, but there wasn't much replay value beyond scores and unlocking guns that further made the bosses look like jokes.

And as a 3rd party, I don't mind Nintendo not releasing games that often. It increases the chances that bored Nintendo fans may give my game a try.