Of course, EA CEO John Riccitiello's job is to make every decision his company makes sound both well-considered and awesome, even when he's backhandedly saying that some things didn't work out. In an interview with VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi, he managed to both dismiss their past games and sound optimistic, thanks to the enhanced spin tracking found in the Wii MotionPlus device.
"The Wii MotionPlus is going to be good. If I had to pick one thing we suffered from, it was imprecise control on the Wii. That meant certain genres were never going to perform as well on the Wii." The MotionPlus, according to Riccitiello, is "an opportunity for third parties to be more successful."
The new peripheral, along with Nintendo's now-famously "weak" E3 lineup, means that this is a good year for companies like EA to put out Wii software. "Frankly, if you look at Nintendo, it's obvious there is a chance for third-party success. They didn't show a lot of content from Nintendo's first-party group. They got a lot of that out last year. So third-party games will likely do better."
We mucky commoners have known about the Wii MotionPlus add-on for just over a week now, but don't go thinking it's any different for third-party developers. At E3, Game Informer approached several third-parties about the peripheral, and were repeatedly told that the accessory was news to them -- as they understood it, Nintendo simply hadn't told anybody about the MotionPlus, prior to it being revealed last Monday.
In other words, we can safely not expect a flood of third-party releases supporting the peripheral. On top of that, the developers doubt they'll be able to implement Wii MotionPlus into upcoming projects, such was the secrecy that surrounded the project. Not clever, Nintendo.
According to Wiiz, these third-party Wiimotes are being developed by Hama. In a quick check of the internets, we could find no listing for these Wiimotes, so we're assuming they're still early in development. And, you know what that means: no price, as of yet. Still, you have to admit, they look better than the Riimote. At least, we think so.
Hit up the gallery below for some images of Hama's Wiimote from different angles.
Not a new complaint, this one. Previously, both analysts and developers have suggested that Nintendo's first-party software is too strong to compete with, and now THQ has joined in on the despairing.
At a Q4 earnings call with investors, President and CEO Brian Farrell has admitted that THQ's kids' games had underperformed, and that Nintendo's own output was the reason why. Says Farrell: "With [...] new competition from Nintendo's first-party titles -- as well as new music games -- our traditionally strong kids' business did not meet expectations."
Over the past year or so, we've heard a lot about the problems of third-party developers struggling with the Wii, or struggling to compete with Nintendo's own releases. It's an old issue for Nintendo gamers, but one that hardly seems to affect the DS. Do you think Nintendo's first party releases are shutting out other games on the Wii? Is it a problem of audience, development, something else, or a combination of elements? Or is it something we'll get past as we get deeper into the Wii's lifespan?
We've no idea whether or not Snakebyte's third-party Wii remote is a tribute to Nintendo's lunchbox, but we ask you: is there any other earthly reason to use that fruity shade? We'd also like to know the story behind that peculiar, rounded d-pad, or the tacky, clashing battery cover.
Most of all, however, we're keen to hear why Snakebyte has chosen to charge €39.99 for one of these, when the official model from Nintendo costs more or less the same? We're not going to criticize the ergonomic qualities of this Wiimote before we've held it in our own hands, but lower pricing is typically the greatest attraction of third-party peripherals. Perhaps Snakebyte is gambling on shortages of the official Wiimote continuing?
If your own Wiimote lacks sufficient amounts of purple, these will be appearing from February 8th.
Know who we'd like to see developing on the Wii? Tetsuya Mizuguchi, that's who. Some of his games would work beautifully on Nintendo's console. We can totally picture ourselves playing through a motion-based Space Channel 5, or using the Wii Remote to point and shoot in Rez.
Wii owners who also happen to be Mizuguchi fans shouldn't get their hopes up, though. Mizuguchi seems keen enough on the Wii itself, but confessed in an interview with Wired that he was a "little bit worried" about the strength of Nintendo games. We presume this is a reference to an increasingly commoncomplaint from publishers and other industry folk that Nintendo's first-party titles are hogging sales.
Wii owners certainly can't complain about the number of third-party games available for the console. As MTV's Stephen Totilo puts it, where there was once a game drought for Nintendo systems (specifically in the N64 and GameCube eras), there's now a flood.
What Wii owners can complain about, however, is that a lot of these Wii games are nothing but shovelware. But, how do these games end up on the popular console? And, is it even ultimately a bad thing that they do?
Some analysts like to paint a grim picture for third-party developers, but we certainly wouldn't be enjoying our Wiis as much without some third-party games in our library. With that said, what's your favorite third-party game that you own (or have played), and what one are you most looking forward to?
Just in case you didn't hear him the first time he said it, Kaufman Bros. analyst Todd Mitchell has reiterated his belief that the Wii only truly benefits Nintendo, and that third-party developers have only seen "isolated successes" on the console.
Mitchell's argument may have been aired before, but it's also tricky to dismiss, especially as only two third-party titles have so far broken the one million sales barrier (launch twosome Red Steel and Rayman Raving Rabbids). Then again, when it comes to top-drawer, original Wii software, Nintendo has delivered on a fairly regular basis. With the odd exception or two, can the same really be said of other publishers?
At least, that's what Eidos's Julien Merceron believes. The company's chief technology officer said recently in an interview, "Either third party developers and publishers will make money on the Wii platform [this Christmas], or they won't - and if most of them don't I think we'll see a big drop in support for the Wii next year, which could have some consequences for Nintendo, and very positive ones for Microsoft and Sony."
The way Merceron sees it, it's obvious that some Nintendo titles will make money this season, but third party games are another story. Of course, if third parties produce unimpressive stuff, we think that they shouldn't expect to be rewarded. Yet, it's a shame if quality games like Zack & Wiki don't succeed. But, what do you think? Will third party games sell well on the Wii this holiday season, and, more importantly, is the Wii's success depending on it?
Japanese business paper The Nikkei recently published a piece titled Software Houses Miscalculate Audience, Demand For Wii, wherein author Tomoyuki Kawai cites that many inside sources are not looking to the Wii with such a favorable eye any longer. The big worry is that all of this success the Wii has had has only benefited Nintendo and them alone, with many third-party developers jumping on board only to be left with titles on their hands that failed to sell. It's these development studios that are supposedly not profiting compared to their previous year earnings, the result being a lack of support for the console and no desire to commit to it in the future.
The piece goes on to say that a lot of the Wiis picked up by consumers have only started to gather dust (it's unconfirmed if this is the same report we've posted about here earlier).
For those of you who find adventure to be the spice of life, we've got one worth $6.71 USD. See, these Hong Kong cables, available for pre-order from superufo.com (they release on the 30th), look the part and are available at an insane price. Still, we've always been told if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Applying that lesson, we cannot bring ourselves to order them. Any of you willing to take the plunge or have you already made your own? Maybe third party products aren't your thing and you're going to wait out Nintendo's stock?
Turns out Call of Duty 3 isn't the only third-party title to lack online support for the Wii. According to a preview of Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam running over at IGN, no third-party titles will be online compatible until 2007.
"Activision would not say why, but IGN has separately learned from multiple development sources that Nintendo will not release Wii Wi-Fi Connection libraries to third parties until early 2007, which means that no third party launch title will have an online mode."
Ouch. While the most attractive titles launching on the Wii are those done by Nintendo themselves, with high-profile third-party launch titles such as Call of Duty 3, Madden NFL 07, Far Cry, and Red Steel that depend as much on a robust online experience as well as a strong single-player experience, this is sure to be a big blow to Nintendo's launch lineup.
As we all know, Nintendo once ruled the video gaming skies. Titles were published for their systems or fell into the abyss. Soon, however, there came a time when the almighty Nintendo looked around in confusion as its once-loyal companions deserted them for greener pastures. The Nintendo 64 and Gamecube, though still playing host to some of the finest games of all time, fell by the wayside due to lack of third-party support. It is a problem that has plagued Nintendo to this day, and something they are desperately trying to correct with the Wii.
There were, of course, numerous reasons for the desertion. The N64's stubborn refusal to switch from a cartridge-based format, lack of online support, and high licensing fees all took their toll on the gaming giant. But fundamentally, when a true competitor came along, third parties sought to leave the most frightful prospect of publishing for a Nintendo system: Nintendo themselves.
Some analysts like to paint a grim picture for 
