Analyst: Wii is 'inhospitable' for third parties
Just when you thought the embers were finally beginning to cool regarding the oft-contested state of third-party game sales on the Wii, leave it to some analyst to breathe generously on the dying fire and get it going again once more. Cowen Group's Doug Creutz is just such an analyst, as he calls Nintendo's console a "relatively inhospitable platform for third-party publishers."
Offering an example, Creutz points out that notwithstanding Madden 09's recent NPD dominance, the Wii version of EA's annual gridiron push sold significantly less compared to those on the PS3 and Xbox 360. How significant? Despite a larger console install base, the Wii version sold 87 percent fewer copies than those sold for the Xbox 360, and 79 percent less than those for the PS3 according to the analyst -- his life is obviously split between advising investors where to put their cash and stirring fanboys into a tizzy.
