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Sega determined to "crack core gaming"

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TVGB: "They've said it before and they're saying it again; Sega wants to find the Wii's core gamer market."
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wohoo - contributor
Published: 40 days 13 hours ago | News | Wii
 
 

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Xander-RKoS - 40 days 12 hours ago
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If Sega wants to break into the mature Wii owner group, it needs to something that the other consoles can't. Madworld was fun and artistic and all, but ultimately, it wasn't anything super special. House of the Dead Overkill was the same. The Conduit was a good start, with a FPS that really did things only the Wii could do like having weapons change based on how the player the twisted the wii remote and stuff like that, and I think a bigger Conduit for a sequel would be excellent. But ultimately, Sega needs to break the mold with their next publishing venture and look for a developer who really has some new great ideas.
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EvilTwin - 40 days 12 hours ago
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1.1 -
MadWorld was a niche game -- a six-hour long, black & white, ultra-violent, old-school brawler. And it sold niche numbers. But apparently good enough:

"One clearly mature title, the Platinum Games-developed MadWorld, Clark says, sold well enough to put Sega in a place where they’re 'prepared to invest in high quality, new IP.'"

Before they said HotD and Conduit turned a profit, and it appears MadWorld is reaching that status, too. If anything, you'd think this would prove to Sega that Wii games have legs; you aren't going to get COD4 first-day numbers, but given enough time, these games turn a profit. Same thing happened with No More Heroes for Ubi.

Conduit made a new standard for Wii FPS control schemes. THAT is the type of thing to build on, IMO.

But games like MadWorld or HotD aren't going to sell like Halo. They serve a more narrow audience. If Sega wants to "crack" core gaming by getting a huge seller like that, they're going to have to find a game franchise that isn't so limited in its scope.
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Product - 40 days 12 hours ago
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1.2 -
Maybe Sega should stop trying to impress core gamers with looks (Remember how the Conduit was hyped as the best looking Wii game to date? Or how bad ass Madworld looked in black and white with blood as the only color?) and start trying to impress them with gameplay and content. I don't care about how much blood is on the screen or how awesome the particle effects are, is the gameplay there? Do I get into the game? How is the replayability? Does it get boring quick, could added content help this?
Sega needs to remember core doesn't always mean looks and might be why we all love the old Sonic to the new.
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ozstar - 40 days 11 hours ago
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Both studios for House of the Dead and Madworld were tiny in comparison to the 200 + staff employed for Assassins Creed 2.

Do some research and you can see why MW profited. HOTD had a lot of marketing and perhaps that was one of the excessive costs involved. Of course RE5's launch a week earlier did not help matters.

I believe Sega can do it, i believe COD WAW, RE4, REUC, etc are NOT flukes but timed opportunities that piggy backed effectively off market factors at the time. It can be done again, hopefully The Grinder improves on the Conduit.
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EvilTwin - 39 days 22 hours ago
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Product -- Right on.
Yes, MadWorld looked cool. But it was a shallow game. No More Heroes was a similar game, but it was at least twice as long and had a more nuanced fighting system. Surprise, surprise, it sold more. The Wii core audience, IMO, certainly wants a good-looking game...but having a control scheme that works is a bigger decider, and having more than 6 hours of gameplay is a must.

ozstar -- For some reason, people don't realize how cheap the Wii is to develop for. I mean, its graphics can be pushed (Prime 3, Galaxy) to look really nice, but it's a supercharged version of last gen's hardware.
Developing for PS2/XBox/Gamecube-era technology is DIRT CHEAP compared to the high-def consoles (which require a lot more work for art direction). That's how you sell 300,000 copies and still turn a profit.

Plus, it's not like core games that rock always sell. Everyone remember Psychonauts? Ico?
Heck, Okami has been released on the two best-selling consoles for this gen and last, and I don't think it has moved more than half a million copies.
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Smacktard - 40 days 11 hours ago
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Perhaps they need truly epic games. Games with replayability, and a huge scope, and stuff. Not just short, arcade-style romps. The Conduit had potential to be a game like that, but it was so severely underpolished and lacking an art direction.
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Odion - 40 days 11 hours ago
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I think I speak for the hardcore crowd when I say.

"We're over here!"
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RememberThe357 - 40 days 11 hours ago
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4 - It's not there.
Move on.
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NotSoSilentBob - 40 days 11 hours ago
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They should release HOTD and Madworld for PS3 wand/ 360 Natal. With the new motion controls coming out no reason they can't turn a profit on the games. Hell I wanted to get Madworld but Im not gonna buy a wii for 1 game.
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Voice_of_Reason - 40 days 3 hours ago
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5.1 -
Way more than one game on Wii worth owning. Maybe its best that you not buy one. Clearly you are not a gamer.
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EvilTwin - 39 days 21 hours ago
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5.2 -
Buying a Wii for one game -- MadWorld -- would be foolish.

That's why you can buy a Wii for MadWorld, the Prime Trilogy, No More Heroes, Zelda, TW10, Galaxy, Pro Evo, Brawl, Dead Space: Extraction, PunchOut, HotD: Overkill, Paper Mario, World of Goo, Fire Emblem...

...plus later this year we'll get FF:CC and SH: Shattered Memories, while 2010 will bring NMH2, Red Steel 2, Other M, Galaxy 2, Sin & Punishment, etc. etc. etc.

The Wii isn't hurting for games, IMO.
It IS hurting in certain areas. It needs a killer third-person shooter (yes, RE4 rocked, but it was a port). It needs a pure FPS that takes Conduit's control customization/online and combines it with Corruption's art/graphics.
But hey, you can't have everything.
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kunit22c - 39 days 14 hours ago
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5.3 - oh my gosh
Its seriously getting annoying with people saying that they should make some of these Wii games for the 360/natal, like seriously do you think AT ALL when you say this? I don't Mind you saying PS3/motion controller because that actually makes sense, but how could you possibly play ANY of those games with natal? come on now just use common sense and you'll see what I mean. I really shouldn't have to explain why they can't be played with natal.
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oobob - 40 days 9 hours ago
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6 - Hardcore Wii Games Right Here...
Clearly only n00bs and casuals play zelda and metroid. Look at these casual game sales:

Zelda 5m+
RE4 1.6m (port of a last gen game ha)
Metroid Prime 3 1.5m
RE: Umbrella Chronicles 1.3m
Cod: WAW 1.27m
Cod 3 1.21m
Red Steel 1.1m
HOTD 2 and 3 1.07m (port of a dreamcast and xbox game)

Note the ports sell insanely well for what they are - quality 3rd party support on the wii. Even though we've all played them they still sell well.

I got a ps3 for games like blazblue - you know, the hardcore 2d fighters ya'll gamers love. And that's sold like 340k total on both systems? HOTD Overkill outsold that. The Conduit rivals it. Punchout murdered it (play that on the balance board and tell me it's not intense).

What's really sad is a port of RE4 outsold heavenly sword. As did RE: UC, a rail shooter. HOTD 2 and 3 rival heavenly sword's sales and must have made loads more profit. Zelda and metroid killed it.

No More Heroes is Suda's best selling game ever. What, you hardcore guys passed on killer7? Didn't you all have GCs before nintendo screwed you over or a ps2? Oh yeah...you guys have no idea what hardcore really is except as a marketing term that makes you feel hardassed.

Didn't the uncharted 2 people hope for sales half that of zelda? That must hurt knowing that zelda cost almost nothing to make in comparison...too bad the core ps3 market can't support hardcore games like the wii. I can't wait to see sales on new super mario bros...try and tell me that's not hardcore.

Boxing is hardcore. Playing video games is not.
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Ro0 - 40 days 2 hours ago
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6.1 -
couple of really good point there man, especially the killer7 one (my favourite!)
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Arius Dion - 39 days 19 hours ago
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6.2 - Oobob
holding it down as usual;)
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oobob - 39 days 18 hours ago
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6.3 - Arius
What else can I do when I'm cooking squid in Muramasa? Just hit 30 hours then I'll take a break to play MP trilogy before doing one hit death mode...level 96 with the oboro muramasa and time for the third ending ;)

This game is great, I needed to up the contrast on my tv to really get the crisp visuals.

I never played MP before this weekend. I can see why it's your avatar ;)
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Omg_Armageddon - 40 days ago
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7 - @oobob
good points there but you might of lost a little bit of steam there.

True to the word "hardcore", the word "core" is in there and most gamers on either PS3/360/Wii are good bit core gamers. But the types that consider them self "hardcore" or extreme can be the types that have no lives and no job/gf etc and stay home and do just that , play games as they have not noticed they are heavily addicted to gaming. It's ok to have an addiction.

Sales number only reflect part of what your saying, most core players would own multiplat systems and love playing but extreme gamers are like " My fav system OWNZ" and they act as if they own stocks in the company...

A lot of gamers only started in the PS2 era and that's all they know, so these type of gamers fall under the inexperienced model that "think" they are hardcore because they own a Y or X system , even though the console maker is only concerned with profits and that why they always tend to forget even the PS2 had casual crappy games like the wii they just heard even more about it now because Nintendo went major casual offensive with the Non-gamers.

congrats though Like what you said overall.
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oobob - 39 days 23 hours ago
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7.1 -
That's a correct distinction, but like most wii owners I'm just mocking them cause I hate hearin crap from reviewers and developers and gamers about nintendo. You honestly can't trust wii reviews anymore and the comments in the wii sections are usually loaded with flamebait save sites like gonintendo.

You're right about sales numbers, but if the argument is core games don't sell well on the wii I sarcastically turn it around and abuse figures the same way ;) One of my favorite titles this gen is bikini zombie slayers and that isn't going to top the charts. I was just being sarcastic about sales and certainly stopped judging quality based on them after a couple initial ps3 games. I just bought an atari jaguar and that certainly didn't sell =P

I see that with ps2 games also. They had Petz: Horses or something like that at the game store the other day...the same series that people rip on as an example of shovelware on the wii.

I agree completely with what you're saying, but you almost can't go anywhere for wii info but gonintendo or select other sites because of these people and it's getting ridiculous. Look extensively at wii music reviews on amazon...there are musicians explaining the distinction between hardcore and casual gamers there to help each other understand the low ratings and persuade others not to overlook the game.

Also, if they're going to troll, I'm going to mock them ;) I enjoy it and it's so hard to find someone who deserves it like they do.
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oobob - 39 days 22 hours ago
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Sega just needs core games we can't get on other systems. The conduit did ok cause of the aiming controls. HOTD 2 and 3 killed cause lcd tvs killed rail shooters. If they figure out a core game that utilizes the wiimote and is polished well they should see the same sales. Look at Mario and Sonic at the Olympics vs the other Sonic games (ignoring issues of quality).

The key is not rehashing an older gameplay style or offering an experience that can benefit from the advantages of hd consoles (Madworld falls entirely in this category). It's using the wiimote to deliver a game and controls that are impossible on other systems.
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Omg_Armageddon - 39 days 20 hours ago
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8.1 -
hehe, wait ti'll the PS wand and Natal comes out. They hate the wii flailing arms effect, well you can do it too in HD lol
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oobob - 39 days 16 hours ago
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If they let me point and aim with FPS games with that ps3 wand I'll be done with pc and wii fps shooters forever.

Hopefully they do LBP motion controls right...honestly I don't see how it'll work. Mario works on the wii cause it uses the wiimote as a controller and motion control accents but doesn't replace it. I'd like it if I could move my arms to control sackboy's body (I spend 80% of the time in that game making sad or angry faces and stupid voices to tease my gf).
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TheDeadMetalhead - 39 days 17 hours ago
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They should try making decent Wii games first.
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