Network now...NEWS
Sega Picks Up The Conduit
High Voltage Software's core-focused Wii shooter The Conduit has found a publisher in Sega, the companies announced Wednesday.
The Wii-exclusive FPS was able to garner attention at this year's E3 with sharp Wii visuals and tunable gameplay.
Sega of America president Simon Jeffery said in a statement, "[High Voltage has] proven that graphical and technological innovation can be exciting to the Wii market, and SEGA is thrilled to partner with a team that truly shares our belief in the Wii's gaming potential beyond the casual market."
The Conduit is set in Washington D.C. following a "vicious alien invasion."
The title is powered by High Voltage's Quantum 3 engine, and will support the Wii Speak and Wii MotionPlus peripherals.
The Conduit's controls will allow users to adjust look sensitivity, turning speed, dead zone and other options, according to the developer.
Despite the Wii's reputation as a family-focused product, Sega's Jeffery has stressed the importance of addressing the Wii's hardcore market. The company is also publishing the adult-targeted title Mad World from Platinum Games.
"The Wii is a great opportunity for hitting hardcore gamers," Jeffery said in a recent interview with Venture Beat. "No one is doing that."
Contact Us / About Us / Advertise With Us / BeltwayBlips / TechBlips / MassiveBlips / GamerBlips / FAQ
Subscribe To Edge Magazine / Corrections / Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court 30 Monmouth Street Bath, UK BA1 2BW
England and Wales company registration number 2008885
Subscribe To Edge Magazine / Corrections / Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court 30 Monmouth Street Bath, UK BA1 2BW
England and Wales company registration number 2008885
To this day, I wonder why the Wii doesn't support any type of bump mapping - it would've made all these games so much more "next-gen" as it seems such an important thing for both the 360 and PS3. This game does look good despite the console's short comings... definitely one of the better looking Wii ones out there. Seems like a title that's finally worth buying again for this machine...
"To this day, I wonder why the Wii doesn't support any type of bump mapping"
You've never played Super Mario Galaxy.
Gamecube launch games had self shadowing and bump-mapping (Star Wars Rogue Squadron had both) so I don't see why the Wii couldn't do it considering it is a slightly beefed up Gamecube. I personally haven't played a Wii game that has it, but I'm sure its more than capable of producing simple bump and normal maps.
I am glad to see they found a publisher and a serious one at that. This is one game that I am looking forward to next year.
No one is doing that for a reason Jeffery. Oh well. Goodluck!
Just what exactly is that reason?
I don't know if that's a rhetorical question or not, but I'll try to answer.
I think what he's getting at is that the by far larger demographic on the Wii (at least it seems) is the mass market/casual/non-gamer/whatever you want to call them who tend to not be interested in "hard-core" games. Thus, hard-core type games typical don't sell well on the Wii (non-Mario/Zelda/Metroid since those are pretty much the only non casual/mini-game/party games that sell well).
I think the reason why only a handful of “hard-core" games are made for the Wii is because they don't sell well (for the most part).
I'm sure you have a response to that, as you probably were anticipating that answer.
I may be wrong but I thought RE4 & No More Heroes sold ok? Well enough for the devs to make more non-shovelware wii games anyway..
There also seems to be a bunch of people with a wii sitting unused next to their 360/ps3, waiting for interesting games to play on it, and I for one thought that the wiimote was much better than a gamepad for FPS control, when set up properly.
Heck, if you only sell to 0.5% of the wii userbase that's still more than the total 360 and ps3 combined.. (joke, flamers)
Well, if RE4 DID sell well enough, it clearly wasn't enough to get a RE5 port.......at least not yet.
RE4 sold over a million copies on Wii.
RE: The Umbrella Chronicles sold over a million copies on Wii
RE5 isn't making it to Wii moreso due to processing power... not because it would be financially viable.
No More Heroes was Suda 51's best selling game EVER. This is why it's getting a sequel.
Folks still saying hardcore games on Wii don't sell, but there aren't a whole lot of GOOD hardcore games on Wii that deserve to sell! No one wants to mention that though... They'll just point to Far Cry: Vengeance and say "see teh hardcorez titles do not sold well!!!!111oneoneeleven" Also, notice how they always want to exclude Nintendo's hardcore titles. Anything to fit they're cherry-picked argument!
But why am I tellin' you all this, Ozzman? I'm sure you've noticed this already!
Preachin' to the choir, brother. They'll list the same old "AAA exclusives" for their favorite systems, and then mention a bunch of "A titles" for the Wii, and that's their comparison. Hardcore titles won't sell as good on the Wii because that's not it's target audience. You can't expect to sell many hamburgers in a vegetarian restaurant.
"Hardcore titles won't sell as good on the Wii because that's not it's target audience. You can't expect to sell many hamburgers in a vegetarian restaurant."
That's really the point I was getting at Ozz. I did exclude the 1st party Wii games that were hardcore ONLY because for the most part they are the exception. I did say a "handful" of hardcore Wii games sell, but I think it’s safe to say that hardcore games TYPICALLY don't sell as well on the Wii as they do on the PS3 and the 360. We can argue that No more Heroes and RE4 sold well, and maybe another 2-3 games that weren't first party and were "hard-core" games sold well. But that is only a handful. I'm not saying there aren't "hard-core" games that sell well, just far fewer when compared to other systems. And maybe that's why there are less of those than there are on the other two now-gen systems. I wasn't trying to cause a flame war. (As for RE5 coming out for the Wii, I think it'd be great if a new game came out that showed that the Wii is capable of pretty solid graphics considering its limitations. RE4 was one of the best looking last gen games for any system and holds up well today. RE5 would obviously take a hit on the Wii when compared to the other systems, but I'm sure it'd still look great).
The question was, what is the reason that not that many hard-core games are made for the Wii? And the answer, and I don't know what this turned into what it turned into, is simple. The Wii sells less of those types of games than the other two platforms. So, to publishers, it’s probably better to focus on games that the majority of the Wii audience prefers than to focus on genres that (when compared to the other systems), don't sell well enough for it to be a viable business decision.
And to not come off as a fanboy, I think the reverse applies to the 360 (and maybe the PS3) when it comes to games not geared toward the hard-core. I think it’s great MS is trying to tap into some of the market the Wii is enjoying by offering games like viva piñata and scene it but (I don't have the numbers in front of me) those games didn't do very well for the 360. That's why you don't see walls of mini games or party games for the 360. Each system caters to their majority demographic while dabbling in other areas with mixed results. Fair enough???
Hardcore/Casual are words that mean nothing to anyone other than those that bandy them about. Gamers want games, preferably a diverse catalogue to please all tastes in the same way a vegetarian doesn't want to eat potatoes all day...
Just because no one has even tried to make a decent FPS game for the Wii doesn't mean it isn't possible nor does it mean the market doesn't want/need it. So far all the Wii attempts have been crippled ports from systems far more powerful, and when you own a 360/PS3 and a Wii, which version are you going to buy!? Instead of after-thoughts the Wii needs some talented and daring indiviuals who crave the confines of limitations in order to create something unique to the Wii.
If there was such a distinction between the platforms then how come plastic guitars and rhythm action games are outselling FPS and beat 'em ups on hardcore systems? I'm sure all the hardcore crowd would have been annoyed if some marketing man declared the 360/PS3 to be too hardcore for such games and the same is true in reverse.
"Hardcore/Casual are words that mean nothing to anyone other than those that bandy them about."
I know generalization isn't good and simplifying the marketplace with just those two descripters isn't the most accurate thing to do. But there is obviously a segment in the market and there's also some gray areas where some people don't really fall into either "hard-core" or "casual". I don't think anyone can argue that there isn't a market for people who could be considered casual, I think there's a console named Wii that has sold a million or two consoles to consumers who wouldn't call themselves gamers.
People may dissagree with the terms hardcore and casual, but it is the simplest way identify if you're a gamer who plays Halo 3 multiplayer or Call of Duy 4 multiplayer competitively , line up at midnight to grab Gears 2, or finish Metal Gear Solid 4 three times or if you play Bejeweled on your PC from time to time, fire up your Wii when your family comes to visit for some bowling, or you only play games once in a while when you're bored with whatever else you spend your time doing. That of course doesn't cover every type of gamer, but when it has to do with the market and who buys what kind of games, those are the only people that matter to publishers. And they have no problem using the terms hard-core and causual, cause there are specific markets for people who DO fall into those categories. The gray area people are the wild cards and whichever way they go is just extra.
I think we're all aware that those terms don't cover every type of gamer, its just the easiest and quickest way to make a point when specifically referring to that particular demographic that IS hard-core or casual. If you don't fall into either category, we're not talking about you. But, there are quite a few people that DO fall into those categories whether people want to call them something else or not is up to them.
As much I dislike it as well, the terms Hardcore/Casual are used a fair amount, by reviews, publishers, developers and gamers. They come up many times throughout these pages. Like it or not, it is in human nature to catagorize and group things. Like it or not, these terms look like they'll be around for a while, and probably, the more diverse game catalogues get, the more such "catagorized" words will start to appear.
I never said a decent FPS on the Wii wouldn't sell, only that it wouldn't sell AS WELL AS it would on Xbox/PS3. I quick check through any number of software sales charts would confirm that. The problem with FPSs is that anyone who's serious about making a really good one, isn't going to make it a Wii exclusive, in which case, as you said, all the "core" gamers with a Wii as their second console, will buy it for their main console instead. Which will affect Wii sales, which will make it look like a worse platform for FPS, which will make developes develop it for multi-platform.............it's a vicious cycle with no signs of breaking. Maybe this will be teh game to start it?
Plastic guitars and rhythm actions games outsell FPS on hardcore systems because they appeal to EVERYONE: hardcore, casual, 360, Wii, PS3. The "casual" PS3/360 owners probably all buy rhythm games, whereas they most likely would be less inclined to buy a FPS.
Ozz,
Another rare time where I completely agree with you. Well put.
Another time? Watch it there, buddy. People will start talking.
Thanks for responding with what I was going to say had I been here to say it.