Mature Content for Nintendo in Jeopardy?

Slashgamer Writes: "You can file this post under the 'not good news' label for both Rockstar and Nintendo. According to the NPD, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS sold only 89,000 units during the month of March. In case you couldn't figure it out, that's an extremely low number, considering Nintendo's handheld has moved almost 30 million units. Mathematically, that number equals less than 1% of DS owners who actually own GTA Chinatown Wars, to be more specific it's around 0.3%.

Even with the strong reviews and the sandbox game ended up getting some of the best scores on the unit, people failed to even take notice. Let us not forget that we're talking about Grand Theft Auto here, which is already a household name. This is bad news all around and for various reasons. First, the chances of us seeing a 'sequel' to Chinatown Wars is much slimmer, than it was before. Which is a huge disappointment, because the game is truly awesome. But more importantly, the possibility of seeing more 'Mature' rated games on the DS is pretty much determined now. Most companies are going to look at releasing a M-title as a huge gamble, a gamble they will most likely loose."

[Zeus Lee]

Duh.

[penguinhunter]

Duh or not, it sucks for the industry...

[Chris399]

I'm not hating on the DS (I have one) and there are always little gems here and there in it's catalog, but the bulk of the software is catered towards casuals and kids.

A hardcore, open-world crime game is just out of place in the DS library.

[qface64]

because china town wars didn't sell millions in its first month it means the end for mature games on a nintendo system?

same goes for mardworld sure they wont sell huge numbers but its only been a month seriously give the game some time and the numbers will pick up they won't go to insane numbers but they will do alright

[Whoooop]

Well, it means that if Nintendo decides to make a new IP (which are nowhere to be seen) it will be more of the same or another casual crap.

Also developers like Platinum Games could be better off spending a bit more on development costs and making the game for the 360 or the PS3 to make more profits.

It is a concern... Right now the only thing that will sell well on the Wii is a completely casual game or another Mario/brawl/Zelda or any famous Nintendo game.

Still, any appealing casual game will sell better than any traditional Nintendo game.

[penguinhunter]

Just like the movie industry, video games generally sell better the first few weeks, then at any other time.

[ChickeyCantor]

" Also developers like Platinum Games could be better off spending a bit more on development costs and making the game for the 360 or the PS3 to make more profits."

Right whoop, cause during the PS2 era their games did great right?
I hardly think that lots of people will get their game as for some reason their games never shine while they are pretty great.

VJ was not a real hit.
GodHand basically killed them.
Okami did poor on the Ps2(with an install base around 100m yeah its pretty bad).

Seriously madworld would have done better on the PS3/360? Perhaps, but hell you just can't imagine "core" gamers going without : I DIDNT BUY A TV FOR A BLACK AND WHITE GAAAAME.

Also lets not pretend every core game on the PS2 sold 100m+ copies of each and every "hardcore" game.
Yes some games don't reach the million mark in a month, but eventually they do climb their way up.

[Seferoth75]

Sidar, Dont bring things like facts and reason into this. They KNOW every single PS2 game was hardcore. from Blues clues to Rugrats. All of them are AAA must own adult titles. All you are doing is getting in theway of a bunch of haters. First Madworld was complete crap. Now of course Black and white games sho0uld sell 20 million the first month. GTA china Town wars has worldwide sales of almost 300k. But that doesnt matter. It is a failure because its not on a Sony console.

PS3 games always sell in the millions. I mean just look at how great the sales for Lair, and haze. So great both companies went under.

[Anon1974]

Haze sold pretty well. 3/4 of a million, which is rare for any game. Company mismanagement lead to the downfall of both these companies, as well as LucasArts going a different direction which ended up the kiss of death.

We know simply from looking at the financials for companies like EA, Ubisoft, Take Two that the bulk of their revenue comes from the 360 and following closely behind, the PS3. The Wii usually doesn't show up on the radar at all. That should be a legitimate concern for Nintendo. Or, maybe not when you consider how small a percentage of Nintendo's revenue comes from the Wii hardware and software. The handhelds are what pay the bills.

[peeps]

i guess the problem is that the sorta people who would wanna buy gta on the ds would prefer there to be more 'mature' games on the system. take me for example, if i owned a ds i'm sure i'd buy chinatown wars, but i don't fancy buying a ds because theres just not enough games that interest me.

it's the same with wii, 1 or two games i know i'd buy if i owned the system, but theres just not a big enough selection for me to buy a console for.

point being, Nintendo is doing extremely well with the casual market and i can't see that changing so why would a load of 'hardcore' gamers buy a wii/ds and so anyone who wants to play 'mature' games will own a pc/360/ps3 meaning low sales of mature games on the wii/ds

[BrotherNick]

I can see your point, I have little interest in mature games other than an fps once a year or so. So as I don't think I'd like to play Madworld, I'd be more of a Conduit kind of person. It is more of the competitive factor that drives me rather than the blood and guts.

[ParanoidMonkey]

Well, bad sales or not, Chinatown Wars is still the best portable GTA to date. I know that's sort of a cop out, but I really enjoy it. Probably won't see another DS GTA any time soon though...

[Da One]

hands down...........I still can't understand why they haven't made another GTA on the PSP,

Hell even after the whole Piracy fiasco GTA VCS still pushed 2+ million

[ape007]

the game is amazing and deep and you know what it's "GRAND THEFT AUTO"

see,if the king of the mature\open world games\the multi million selling franchise didn't sell on a system that has a huge,GAIGANTIC fanbase.........then there's no reasone to look for nintendo systems as a mature systems,all they want is the same silly crap over and over,hahaha if they release a game "fix my brain",it will sell 10 times more than gta

that's why some called nintendo as a kiddy company but you know, it's worse

Im wondering how much THE CONDUIT AND MAD WORLD GONNA SELL ON WIIII

come on sega we want next gen versions of conduit and mad world,gameplay looks amazing in both,HD graphics will elevate the experince,hd graphics gives more blood,intensity,immersion,effe ct,achievements\trophies\xbox live\psn AND........YOU'LL SELL MILLIONS

[Seferoth75]

I guess The same can be said for Sony as well. Killzone2 launches and Guitar Hero sells better, LBP has better sales, Hanna Montana will outsell irt most likely. I guess its time developers stop making mature content for PS3 because it just doesnt sell as well as casual games. Not to mention Sony dominates the PS3 release list so most 33rd party companies cant even compete with Sony on the PS3.

[Anon1974]

Killzone 2 sold over a million in it's first month. That's a feat 90% of games never achieve in their entire sales run. Hardcore gamers were apparently salivating over Madworld if you believe the forums and after a month and with 50 million potential buyers it's sold, what? 100,000 worldwide?

If you can't see that there is an issue here, I don't know what to tell you. You're just a lost cause.

[Seferoth75]

Doesnt matter how much it sold Casual games STILL SOLD MORE. End of story. So PS3 must also be a casual console. Killzone 2 was hyped beyond belief as THE game that would take Sony to first.

Anyone hyping Madworld as a mainstream game was just an idiot. Games of Madworlds type appeal to a VERY small market and anyone claiming otherwise is just being a troll. Great game but like Killer7, Okami, NMH, and many others its not a mainstream title

Cant offer those same excuse for Killzone because the Sony heavy population here was calling it the greatest FPS ever. It's a FPS so it has mainstream appeal. No reason tons of casual games should have outsold it.

What I see is me using the same ammo you often do for why the Wii is garbage but applying it to the PS3 and you just cant stand it can you?

Face it, madworld was destined for low sales. niche games never sell millions, but there is no excuse for Killzone2 at all.
You can claim I dont understand but that isnt the issue. It is you who doesnt understand. The same things you guys use against the Wii( First party are the only games that sell/ Hadcore titles dont sell as well) can just as easily be applied to Sony and the PS3 as well.

The ONLY people rushing out to call madworld a flop are only doing it to troll a console they do not own. Most game stores didnt even carry more than 1 or two copies of madworld. They already knew it wa s niche game that would recieve low sales. Sega knew it. Platinum knew it,Gamestop knew it. the only people that didnt are the ones who only want to use it as an excuse to say Wii sucks. So many core titles failed to sale 1 million on Ps2 last gen. So if poor core title sales mean a console is a compelte POS to you, you must also think the PS2 is a complete POS? Probably not which just proves my point even more.

The ONLY people acting like it failed are clueless kids who jsut need another reason to trash a console they do not own.

[Anon1974]

And what on earth does it matter that casual games sold more? Killzone 2 sold 1 million and Guitar Hero sells better. Well that's fantastic! More sales = more money for the PS3 = a strong user base.
What's the confusion here?
And the internet and media hyped Killzone 2 - and rightly so. It delivered. As for Killzone 2 being "the" game - most fans around these parts thought it would probably do well - which it has - but not like Metal Gears Solid numbers or anything. Go back and have a look at old forums. People were excited about Killzone 2 (of course) but most were cautiously optimistic about the sales potential.

And who said Madworld was mainstream? I never saw anyone say that. And who on earth said Killzone 2 was mainstream? It's not. I don't know a single other PS3 owner other than myself who has even picked it up. Call of Duty is mainstream - Killzone2 is a different beast altogether. And no one said Killzone 2 is the greatest FPS ever. It's good, but it doesn't do anything that hasn't been done before.

And who said the Wii was garbage?

Dude, you're the one who wanted to make this about Sony somehow. You complain about games not selling well despite the FACT that the games are selling in the millions. I'm not rushing in here to call Madworld a flop, your the one who put the spotlight on sales.

At any rate. Back to the article. Mature games struggle on the Wii. What does that mean for the future of mature titles on the Wii?
Who would have thought this simple question based on the facts at hand would send Seferoth75 into one of his frothing, anti-Sony rants again.

You continue to prove yourself incapable of discussing games on any platform without screaming "BUT LOOK OVER THERE! SONY!"
Seriously. Stick to the issues.

[N4g_null]

Sales wise the PS3 has the support of the hardcore developers and the vocal and the bias 100% review score giving gaming media yet many games fail on that system. The current HD PS3 game up there is killzone 2. You could argue that more PS3 may have sold than the 360 yet the 360 is a gaming only console and the PS3 has become a blu ray player.

The Wii may have lots of casual player but guess what they are no gamers on the system that are just movie watchers. The very thing that gave the PS2 their market is the reason for it's low sales and MS was right not to include HD dvd out of the box.

Every one knows if you make it then the hardcore will come. Art trumps high tech every day. The same goes for fun. Mad world will make it's rounds and once it has it's fans they will be platinum fans for a long time. The game is that good.

Games that did not even have ads or hype sold 1.5 million on the Wii. Yes I'm talking about res evil the remake. Seriously it does not matter how well the casual games are selling. If a game comes to the Wii that a bunch of hardcore games like it will sell. As more and more come out the total number of hardcore buying game on the Wii will increase. This is not up to nintendo.

This game could have sold way better if the publisher understood how and where to market to the hip hop group they where going for. As soon as they put rap in the game many people declared they would not buy it. MP3 play back would solve that. Another thing is Wii sale operate of people getting to play and see the game not the media. If Wii coverage was not so negative then the media could actually get more viewers. I'd rather these guys keep talking though. Another thing is we are witnessing how much the internet blog actually matter these days. The Wii has an arcade model to it. People will give it a try and most will love it and games like mad world.

[SpoonyRedMage]

Well from what people have told me on other boards and I've seen reports of GTA: Chinatown Wars was heavily pirated. Most so called "hardcore" gamers chose to download it for free instead of buying it and supporting Rockstar and then they'll complain about no more mature games. They're parasites.

[Da One]

I mean that piracy excuse really can't be used for the DS, it'nowhere near as viscious as the PSP's...........

I'm calling it on the audience the harcore simply isn't there

I can't blame companies trying to give the Nintendo's hardcore audience a bone, but it seems to be harder to crack than they thought

Still great games though

[SpoonyRedMage]

I don't know the exacts but the piracy I hear about on the PSP is all emulation of older games and custom firmware whilst the R4 Carts seems more popular than the majority of DS games so I can't really say if it's worse.

A lot of people seemed to have downloaded it though and it's bad no matter what.

EDIT: I disagree that the hardcore audience isn't there but I do think that the hardcore audience on the DS just won't be interested in GTA, it's a majority JRPG audience. It's kind of like how the majority of 360 users don't buy JRPGs.

[Da One]

JRPG's (especially Square-Enix's) tend to sell fairly well only if they have the name final fantasy in it................... some do yeah but the DS really aren't taking off well either

and as far as PSP piracy goes it's an all out attack on many games that make it over hence that's why the psp doesn't see many release

hell if i was a company i would release my psp games outside of JPN or make them PSN only if i was desperate.........

ALSO - i finally got my DS Red Mage recommend me some games

[SpoonyRedMage]

Well Dragon Quest Monsters Joker has sold 1.5 Million apparently, still a Square Enix game though.

Well I think it all depends on what type of game you like, shoot me a pm with some examples of games you like and I'll see what I can do.

[Da One]

what i meant to say was that i wouldn't release my games over here if i was a japanese company if my games were on the PSP due to Piracy

I'll say software sales for third parties should be higher on both systems and to me Piracy has scared off most third parties from the PSP minus a few(EA, Sqaure, NIS, Atlus is just now hopping aboard maybe Persona will turn them a nice profit)

[andron]

Mature titles is pretty new on DS and Wii, so it might take a while before people catch on.

I'm interested in GTA Chinatown Wars but don't own a DS at the moment. I used to, but sold it since there were few interesting titles. If they release more mature title I might get one again...

[Zerkaboid]

Where was the advertising on this? I watch a LOT of TV and last night was the first time I saw a commercial for the game. A mature gamer isn’t necessarily a hardcore one, so you can’t assume they’ll check gaming sites or read gaming magazines. The DS is a very casual system, and if there had been heavier advertising to the mature-yet-not-hardcore audience I think sales would have been much better.

[Shnazzyone]

I doubt these numbers will stay low for long. Alot of people bought DSi's this month and what game will stick out as they purchase their new,fancier, ds? GTA. I'm eager to see April numbers becuase my guess is America will be buying it after that. As for these numbers... don't forget how big GTA: Chinatown wars is selling in europe... numbers are currently beating numbers for even the PSP GTA. Guess Nintendo owners know quality overseas.

[Gr81]

I heard this all before. How many games have been called flops before on the Wii or DS only to sell very good to excellent? I mean does it really bring satisfaction to call a game a flop? GTA on DS was on sale about 2 wks and is known or rumored to be suspect to pirating. I honestly think that has something to do with its sales, but so what? "Legs" as they call it seem to always start kicking in when it comes to games on those platforms anyway. Besides what niche, black and white, 5-6 hr long game has ever done mind blowing numbers?

To use this as some sort of litmiss test is ridiculous. Because what you would have to discount is the fact that many m rated titles have passed platinum status already. Every system preceeding the Wii has had their share of flops, why is it inconceivable that the Wii would have some as well? The PS2 had flops, this game woulda probably flopped on that system as well lol. Just look at Killer 7 sales.

I'm telling you, some folks are extremely warped here. No grasp on reality and blinded by unwarranted hate for a platform, in this case Wii, (though the blind hate is not exclusive to this platform alone). In all honesty, I'm worried for the industry in this current economic climate.

I doubt Madworld will fail to provide profit for Platinum games and GTA will provide profit as well if it hasn't already. I sincerely hope that I am not the only one who is sick and tired of reading flamebait posts and articles. It never ceases to amuse me how people who hate the Wii so, frequent the Wii section regularly to spout their "Wisdom." I rarely see exclusive Wii owners posting nonsense or giving a damn about the other consoles news section..I could be wrong though, as I can only speak of myself. Things that don't interest me don't warrant my attention. To each is own I suppose.

[Mahr]

"The PS2 had flops, this game woulda probably flopped on that system as well lol"

There's not really much of a 'Would Have' about it. As I pointed out in one of the other topics, God Hand -- the closest historical analogue on another system to a game like MadWorld that we have -- was on the PS2. Which, if people want to bring install bases into the discussion, had almost two-and-half times the Wii's current install base.

Incidentally, that game's sales were the reason why Clover Studio does not technically exist anymore.