third-party
Latest
Nintendo releases third-party sales chart, NPD clarifies some details
Nintendo has sent GameDaily a second chart to set the "record straight" that third-party titles do sell on the Wii -- when comparing all consoles for the first 19 months. We contacted NPD to get a little more objective perspective on the matter and the company broke down some data and answered our questions about the true impact of Wii Play.For the first 20-months at market, which is pretty much what the above graph shows, this is the breakdown: Wii: 60 million software units total, 56% are third-party units or 33 million (Nov. '06 through June '08) Xbox 360: 35 million software units, 84% third-party or 29 million (Nov. '05 through June '07) PS3: 25 million software units, 82% third-party or 20 million (Nov. '06 through June '08)
DS Daily: The year of third parties
Nintendo had a very significant release early this year with Professor Layton, and they've got one of the best games of the year ahead -- also some Pokémon stuff, and even a Kirby game. But for most of the year, it's been third parties' time to shine. And the third parties have taken advantage of it -- most notably, perhaps, in the form of Guitar Hero: On Tour, which so suitably served as a surrogate for a Nintendo release that it had its own hardware bundle.Stephen Totilo mentioned in a post yesterday that he's found himself playing a lot of high-quality third-party DS games this year, from Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword to Space Invaders Extreme, and games like Zubo and Grand Theft Auto mean that non-Nintendo publishers are going to continue dominating. He even got past the tutorial in Lock's Quest and found that "It plays well, it's fun. I'm hooked."Have you been leaning heavily on third-party games this year? Or are you waiting for Bangai-O, N+, Dragon Quest IV, or one of the many other great new games to come out?
Wii Warm Up: First-party Fanboy
Njoy's "G-Board" Balance Board will become the first third-party Balance Board released to market on September 12th, yet not many of you were bowled over by it.A prohibitive price probably didn't help in that respect (Njoy's Board is just £5 less than Nintendo's own Balance Board, which comes with Wii Fit), but where do you stand (har) in general on third-party controllers and peripherals, be they Zappers, Balance Boards, or Wiimotes? Several gamers we speak to tell us how they'll only buy first-party, the logic being that the original manufacturers of any console will always make the best and most suitable controllers for it. Is that an idea you subscribe to?
For your Njoyment: the first third-party Balance Board
The first third-party Balance Board has appeared over at Amazon's UK site, complete with a price of £64.99 and a release date of September 12th. Handily, it features markings to tell you where your feet need to go (in case you forgot), and a tiny LCD display, which presumably informs you just how hideously overweight you are, and thus how ashamed you should feel when in public. It's being made by a company called Njoy, and is known as the "G-Board Balance Board."Pleased as we are to see increased options in the Balance Board arena, we foresee two problems with this. One: as Nintendo's official Balance Board is already a superbly constructed piece of kit, it's going to take a Herculean effort for the G-Board to beat it on build quality; foot markers and a miniscule LCD panel might not be enough. Two: £64.99?! As we recall, the official model is only £5 more, and comes with a damn good game.[Via Balance Board Blog]
The Wii Fit balance board is cloned, magically sprouts an LCD display
It looks like Nintendo will finally be getting some challengers to its balance board monopoly... or one at least. Cheapo Wii accessory-maker Njoy is set to introduce its own version of the Wii Fit's footboard come September 12th for the weirdly more-expensive price of £64.99 (or about $130). Of course, Njoy's model does have a built-in LCD display (presumably for checking your weight even when the console is off), though it won't come bundled with any software, virtual trainers, or the assurances of a thorough Mario and Luigi inspection process.[Via Balance Board Blog]
Logitech to produce "premium" Guitar Hero: World Tour instruments
If you didn't think every single third-party peripheral provider would try to snag a piece of the band game pie, we guess you thought wrong, huh? With outfits like Mad Catz and Ion already jumping in, it was only a matter of time before Logitech threw on its tightest jeans, blacked out its blond hair and threw up some horns. Details are admittedly scarce, but the company has promised to provide "premium instruments" for Guitar Hero: World Tour on PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and the Wii. Rockers can expect the new gear to start shipping "later this year," though prices, designs and pretty much anything else of importance remains a mystery.[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]
Which Nintendo system favored third-party publishers the most?
You would think DS, no? That's exactly what we thought, as the handheld is home to more amazing third-party games than any other console in recent memory, but that is not the case. It turns out, the SNES was the best Nintendo console for third-party publishers. Who would've known?Keep in mind, though, that this is merely based on Aeropause's own evaluation and may not be representative of how much money publishers made on each system, or the quality of the titles they released on said platform. It's more or less based on an article in the latest Nintendo Power where the staff ranked their top 20 games for each Nintendo system.What do you all think? Which Nintendo system had the greatest batch of stellar third-party titles in your eyes? We're going to stick with DS. It seems like a no-brainer to us.
Nintendo failed to notify third-party devs of MotionPlus prior to E3
We weren't terribly impressed with Nintendo's recently unveiled MotionPlus add-on, but we're even more disappointed by this. Reportedly, scads of third-party developers revealed at E3 that the Big N's latest Wiimote accessory was just as much a surprise to them as it was to any of us. In other words, Nintendo didn't bother giving its external devs any advance notice in order to get the ball rolling on compatible titles, or so it seems. Unfortunately, this also means that we probably won't see any MotionPlus-ready games hitting shelves from anyone not named Nintendo for months to come, but it's not like Wii Sports Resort can't hold our attention for a solid year, right?[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
Riccitiello upbeat about MotionPlus
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."
MotionPlus totally ambushes third-party developers
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.
Mad Catz apt to release Rock Band instruments next week
Whoa, wait a minute -- Mad Catz signed on to produce Rock Band instruments? Sure enough, the deal was announced shortly before CES 2008 consumed our lives, and now we're hearing whispers that the first products from said agreement could hit stores as early as next week. We're talking a Fender bass ($69.99), Telecaster ($79.99), microphone ($59.99), portable drum kit ($49.99) and a premium drum set ($149.99). From what we can glean, everything listed above will be tethered, but we aren't writing off wireless versions just yet. Oh, and be sure you consult with the SO before you up and purchase a second kit for the den -- you can't afford for that first one to get defenestrated.
Hama planning to manufacture their own Wiimote
Click for super-huge image 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.%Gallery-24351% Got a love for gaming hardware? So do we, which is why we recently took a look back at the peripherals that paved the way for the Balance Board. If you're more of a third-party kind of person, check out our Nyko write-ups for the Energy Pak, a wireless nunchuk adapter, the Kama wireless nunchuk and Perfect Shot.
THQ blames failure on Nintendo first-party titles
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."
Brando's Wii Multi-Axis Racing System: a few notches above awful
We know, there's only so much you can do to a foam donut to make it, well, more than a foam donut, but Brando's trying its best to one-up the competition by adding in a stand. With Mario Kart Wii launching in under a fortnight (in the US, at least), the Wii Multi-Axis Racing System is vying for those hard-earned dollars by giving racers the ability to grip something stuck to an immobile surface rather than just flailing around with some sort of lightweight Wiimote-engulfing circle. And at just $18, it even gives the first-party Wii Wheel some serious competition. Okay, so maybe "serious" is an overstatement.[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]
Third-party Xbox 360 wireless Guitar Hero axe hits the market
Although Nyko's wireless FrontMan axe is slated to land for Xbox 360 this June, it seems as though it has been beaten to the proverbial punch by some random rival from who knows where. Known only as "3rd Party," the aforementioned company has seemingly crafted a wireless Flying V that plays nice with the Xbox 360, and better still, it looks to be available right now. Still, considering the fact that it's labeled "Guitar for Games" and designed to function with the "X 360," we're not entirely sure we'd be willing to risk our $41.94. But hey, if you see "quality" written all over that image pictured above, we certainly aren't going to stop you from pulling the trigger and hoping for the best.[Via XBox 360 News]
Nintendo hopeful third-party Wii games will sell
While 11 of the Wii's 14 best-selling games are made by Nintendo itself, the console maker isn't concerned that third party titles will always be behind in sales. According to a third quarter financial report (via Develop), "We identified the same thing in the DS' first period, and the situation continues to change little by little. For the Wii too, we believe that as time passes, the proportion of high-selling titles that come from our licensees will increase." Nintendo notes that since the DS launched just over three years ago, only 28 of the 50 titles that have shipped over a million were first party. That's still a sizable portion, but nowhere near the disparity found in its motion control-loving relative. As for the success of Nintendo's software, the report noted that internal teams have been familiar with and developing titles for the hardware for much longer than anyone else because they "know the Wii's special characteristics best." The problem of third-party games and Nintendo consoles heralds as far back as the Nintendo 64 and was recently observed by No More Heroes creator Suda51. Of course, it's probably a lot more complicated than third-party developers growing more accustomed to the Wii's "special characteristics." It should be noted that, of the top 15 best-reviewed Wii games according to Metacritic, only six are from Nintendo.[Image from Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure]
Wii Warm Up: Third party deja vu
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?
Third-party Wiimote comes in GameCube purple
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.[Via Go Nintendo]
Mizuguchi: 'Nintendo games are too strong'
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 common complaint from publishers and other industry folk that Nintendo's first-party titles are hogging sales.Looks like an Ulala appearance in Sega Superstars Tennis could be the closest we get to grooving with Space Michael. Cry.
Nyko offering plethora of peripherals in early '08
Third-party peripheral manufacturer Nyko is currently at CES showing off its new wares for early 2008. Though we've seen some of the stuff like the Wireless Wii Nunchuk before, we've now got details and pricing. A Nyko representative informed us that every item but the guitars should be out in the first quarter of '08 (before April) -- the guitars should be available in March or April. Wireless Nunchuk: Two AAA batteries (included) supposedly give 30 hours of gameplay; suggested price of $30. Xbox 360 Charge Base: Reminiscent of the Sixaxis charger redesign, suggested price is also $30. Frontman wireless guitars (Wii and PS3): Frontman for Wii is fully compatible with Guitar Hero III and the PS3 version is compatible with Guitar Hero III and Rock Band. PS3 and Wii guitars will be $60 and $50 respectively. PSP-2000 Charger Grip: "Ergonomic grips" with built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery that should last 10 hours for $30. PS3 Zero Wireless Controller: Up to 25 hours with rechargeable NiMH battery with motion sensing and vibration. Suggested price of $60. There are more products being introduced, which you can see on Nyko's website; check out the gallery below for life-like images you could almost reach out and grab out of your screen.* *Joystiq is not responsible for broken monitors and/or fingers belonging to those foolish enough to try.[Via Press Release]%Gallery-12919%
