Ah, the Wii. No other console in the history of gaming has done more to both bring together and tear apart the masses. While it is introducing a whole new generation of people to the joys of our hobby, the reception to Nintendo’s little white juggernaut by the enthusiast gamers has been nothing short of underwhelming.
Last year’s MadWorld, a black-and-white blood bath death match by Bayonetta creators Platinum Games, is a great example of the divide between the game’s target audience and the people who actually own a Wii. No one knows this better than Mike Hayes, President and COO of SEGA Europe, who recently commented that putting MadWorld on the Wii was a bit of a “mismatch”. He went on to elaborate why he thought that, in hindsight, MadWorld should have been a 360, PC or PS3 title.
“Clearly that was a mismatch with the Wii audience — particularly in terms of the amount of cross-ownership between Wii and the other home platforms. If you’re going to play a mature-rated game, you’re going to get your 360, PC or PS3 out to do so. But you can’t knock us for having a go.”
True enough, Mr. Hayes. At least your company had the guts to back a Mature-rated Wii title, even if previous efforts by other developers had fallen flat. Mike Hayes also went on to say that the titles developed by Platinum Games lend themselves more to the increased power of a beefier platform like the 360 or the PS3.
While it’s rare to see a publisher, especially someone as high up as Mike Hayes, admit that they made a mistake, it is refreshing to some degree. If anything, SEGA has learned that the “hard-core” aren’t interested in Wii gaming, with the possible exception of Nintendo’s first-party titles. While a sequel to MadWorld may never appear, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it make the jump to the 360 or the PS3.
What do you guys think about this? Did you play MadWorld, and what was your opinion of it? Would it have worked better as a 360/PS3 title? Will SEGA actually learn from this?
Source: 1up
I actually really enjoyed MadWorld… up to a certain point. I thought the motion controls were used nicely to make everything feel a bit more visceral. The announcers are pretty funny until you have to replay a level over and over and hear the same lines ad nauseam.
It’s replaying levels that really drove me crazy. You have a limited number of lives, and if you lose all of them you have to start the level over from the beginning.
I made it about halfway through the game and got stuck on a level that was so difficult it made me want to throw my controller through a wall. I haven’t played it since then, although I did pick up a $10 copy when Gamefly had a sale.
I’d happily play a 360/PS3 sequel even if I never get around to finishing the original. It’s a stylish and reasonably fun game that deserves at least a rental.
I think Hayes claiming he made a “mistake” is sad. It really makes me regret owning a Wii, because developers are afraid to cater to smaller audiences. It’s obviously not about the tastes of the audience, it’s about how much money you can make. If MadWorld were on the 360 or PS3, nearly havens for mature gamers, they would make so much more money.
It’s also sad that SEGA probably will shift their interests away from the Wii when it comes to potentially good titles. I’m bored to death with first-party games, and third-party games are almost all terrible.
MadWorld looks pretty fun, too. If it were up to me, and not up to my family, I’d ditch the Wii for a system with more variety, instead of just Mario, Metroid, and Zelda.
I got news for you: that game got old within ten minutes. Not even the PS3 could have saved it.
it might have sold more on another system but it was still lackluster.
Well I’m pretty sure Sega cares more about how it sold than whether or not it was good. That’s the sad truth, methinks.
[quote comment=”10869″]Well I’m pretty sure Sega cares more about how it sold than whether or not it was good. That’s the sad truth, methinks.[/quote]
Oh, no doubt. But Sega has a larger problem in that their games suck lately. Dispel that and perhaps they may sell well again.