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Wii Entertainment Games

Sega Not Giving Up On Mature Wii Games 92

Sega has recently taken a few attempts at developing games for the Wii that were targeted at adults rather than kids. House of the Dead: Overkill and Madworld haven't been incredibly popular, but they've done well enough to turn a profit. In Sega's eyes, this makes mature-themed games for the Wii a successful experiment, or at least one they're willing to continue. Other companies are looking to get into the act as well. EA will be releasing M-rated Dead Space: Extraction for the Wii, and Bethesda has a project in the works too.
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Sega Not Giving Up On Mature Wii Games

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  • by fuzzyfuzzyfungus ( 1223518 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @08:28AM (#28540825) Journal
    Custer's Revenge II!
    • I do NOT want to imagine how you have to move the Wiimote to play that!

      Though I'm fairly sure a lot of geeks would instantly beat the game at expert level...

  • by hal2814 ( 725639 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @08:32AM (#28540859)

    Nintendo's next system will cater exclusively to mature games. It'll be called the MiiLF. It won't have the same mature marketshare as the upcoming Atari Cougar though.

  • Good Fun (Score:5, Interesting)

    by samael ( 12612 ) * <Andrew@Ducker.org.uk> on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @08:34AM (#28540871) Homepage

    House of the Dead: Overkill was great fun. Recommended for two player zombie-killing action, 70s style!

    • I have to second that, I absolutely lived the over-the-top B-movie atmosphere. The only thing missing were boobies ;)

      I also picked up the House of the Dead II and III for the Wii, mostly for the extra gun... so I've been having a great time shooting zombies with the mrs... looking forward to what else Sega comes up with!

    • by Fex303 ( 557896 )

      Have to agree with you (and the other poster agreeing). Overkill was fantastic two player action with laugh out loud funny cutscenes.

      It's already been said, but I'm saying it too in case people are unsure about picking it up.

  • Wiimote = sword? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Aggrajag ( 716041 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @08:40AM (#28540921)
    Some sort of hack and slash type game might be great with wiimote.
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Gordonjcp ( 186804 )

      What, like Red Steel [wikipedia.org]?

      • Well, that might be ok but I was thinking more like fantasy type of game or Conan (Barbarian, not O'Brien)
      • by DriedClexler ( 814907 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @10:10AM (#28541807)

        Red Steel was fun, but it's not what most people like the GP was referring to. I think he meant games with a more one-to-one mapping between the Wiimote's motions and then sword's motions, which should be possible with the Wii Motion Plus or whatever (which IMHO should have been part of functionality at launch).

        In Red Steel, when you swing the Wiimote, it just maps it to one of a handful of basic sword moves, plus it allows a few combos.

        Not to say it isn't fun though. Red Steel lets you shoot weapons out of enemies' hands so they surrender. If you do it to a leader, his whole group surrenders. It's pretty satisfying to charge in, make the leader surrender, and then "clank, clank, ... clankclankclankclank" as all the underlings drop their weapons.

    • by Aladrin ( 926209 )

      Everyone thought that, and every single game to date has sucked because the original WiiMote does not have 1-to-1 tracking. The WiiPlus supposedly adds that, and maybe then we'll finally get some fun hack and slash games... But I wouldn't hold my breath.

      • by KDR_11k ( 778916 )

        Noone will do 1:1 sword movement because players will just swing the controller in ways a sword could never move. Red Steel 2 (was demoed at E3) has 1:1 until you do a slash, then it slashes on a straight line and only returns control to you after the slash is completed, I think that makes the most sense since you'd have no valid reason to move in a different direction mid-slash.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by ookaze ( 227977 )

        Everyone thought that, and every single game to date has sucked because the original WiiMote does not have 1-to-1 tracking. The WiiPlus supposedly adds that, and maybe then we'll finally get some fun hack and slash games... But I wouldn't hold my breath.

        But what you say is BS.
        Most Wii games are not simulations, they're games.
        1 to 1 is just too much precision for most games, so they're forced to tone it down.
        The point of the Wiimote is not to reproduce reality perfectly.
        Saying every single game to date has sucked is just stupid anyway, especially when you have 1+ year old games still selling higher than new releases, just from word of mouth. This isn't the behaviour of games that suck.

    • Dragon Quest Swords is probably the best attempt at this so far, but as others have pointed out the lack of true 1:1 tracking has been the biggest hindrance.

      Red Steel had great potential but was seriously flawed, and not just in the implementation of the swordplay. Hopefully Ubisoft seriously listens to all of the complaints as they are finishing up the sequel.

  • It's about time. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SSgt. Lagface ( 1588425 ) <centurion475@@@gmail...com> on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @08:43AM (#28540951)
    While I'm no Sega/EA fanboy, I'm honestly getting sick of all the kiddie titles and messed-up ports when I pass the Wii section. My Wii is dusting right now, as the only games I ever play seriously with it are SSBB and Metroid Prime 3. From what I've seen, the "targeting family/casual/new gamer" stuff has gone overboard, with a lot of game companies getting tunnel vision in trying to get new audiences and as a result have abandoned the old.
    • I never assumed Wii would ever have any titles other than for kids or yoga-moms, and, being neither, never bought a Wii. I have not yet had cause to regret that decision. Did Nintendo ever market the console as a zombie-basher?

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        I don't think Nintendo never marketed it as such. It only said that game devs can now reach out to a broader audience, and I think that the devs have taken that suggestion too far. As for zombie-bashing, I've heard rumors about a watered-down Dead Rising for the Wii.
      • Maybe. But by that logic the Atari 2600 would have never been blessed with it's porno games as I doubt it was marketed as such. You expect at least a little diversity.
    • I had a GameCube way back. I found the problem with it was the lack of mature titles as well. The other problem with the Wii is that it does not serve as a "media console". The 360 and PS3 play DVDs and MP3s out of the box. The Wii can't play anything but its own games.

      The Wiimote is just a gimmick. If the Sony or MS did a Wiimote type controller and made games to go with (assuming the console prices and games were lower), I'm sure that if the remote is the selling point, Sony and MS would wipe Nintendo's s

      • The classic graphics gimmick VS the controller gimmick comparison. Fight!

        Hardware breakdown!!

        • The controller isn't sensitive enough vs the graphics make the console overheat and die/be larger then necessary/very loud with fans.
        • The graphics gimmick is more traditional than the controller gimmick and more accepted.
        • Controller gimmick can potentially (but not necessarily) improve game-play through more precise, intuitive controls.
        • Graphics gimmick can potentially (but not necessarily) improve game-play thro
      • Re: (Score:1, Troll)

        by ookaze ( 227977 )

        I had a GameCube way back. I found the problem with it was the lack of mature titles as well. The other problem with the Wii is that it does not serve as a "media console". The 360 and PS3 play DVDs and MP3s out of the box. The Wii can't play anything but its own games.

        and Gamecube games, and NES games, and SNES games, and Genesis games, and Neo Geo games, ...
        The ignorance you display is amazing.
        BTW, the Wii is the console with the least problem for now, as newsflash, it's the market leader crushing the HD consoles.
        This without being a "media console".

        The Wiimote is just a gimmick. If the Sony or MS did a Wiimote type controller and made games to go with (assuming the console prices and games were lower), I'm sure that if the remote is the selling point, Sony and MS would wipe Nintendo's sales off the map.

        I'm not surprised you believe that, given how ignorant you are of the actual situation.
        The same argument was made with price of the XB360, that once it would be below Wii's price, it would destroy it in sales, and would forc

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by MBGMorden ( 803437 )

      My brother has hit the same problem. At first the whole Wii-mote concept seemed cool. Looked gimmicky to me so I skipped on it and bought an Xbox 360 (despite me traditionally being a Nintendo person - I've literally owned every home console they've made up until the Wii. I've owned lots of the others too, but I ALWAYS had the latest Nintendo system).

      He liked it for a while. WiiFit was cool and such and he got a few more games like that (Resident Evil 4 he liked), but now the system is just sitting in a

      • It's not the controls, it's the lack of quality games by 3rd parties publishers.

        The Wii has an excellent controller for FPS and RTS games, and I find it very hard to go back to using a normal controller after using the Wii-mote, as they're just so clumsy in comparison. It's just a pity that there are so few of these types of games being released.

        (At least there's a few decent ones - The Conduit, Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime, but that not many since for a console that's been out almost 3 years).
    • On my list (Score:4, Informative)

      by HalAtWork ( 926717 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @11:37AM (#28543075)
      I've got MadWorld, The Conduit, No More Heroes, Scarface, The Godfather, Medal of Honor: Heroes 2, Sam & Max, Resident Evil 4 & Umbrella Chronicles, Okami, Trauma Center, Excite Truck, Zelda, Blast Works.

      These are all great games for hard core gamers. I admit, the Wii doesn't have every base covered, but for a bunch of games that work well with motion controls and are fun for hard core gamers, they have a decent spread. And if you wrote off games like Excite Truck or Okami, as many did, give them a second look.
      • Wow, it's weird how forgot about Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 and Okami, especially since I have the former and my girlfriend often talks about the latter. But yes, they are really good games. However, what I find sad is that for every Okami and the likes out there, there's upwards of 20 or more gimmicky or worse games out there. I know a couple of kids who stopped playing with their Wii since not even they could find a decent game with all the cheap stuff that's flooding the market.
      • by mqduck ( 232646 )

        Man, shit must have really changed since I left the console world (after the PSX/N64 era) if Zelda games are now considered to be for "hard core gamers".

        • by KDR_11k ( 778916 )

          Yeah, ever since the Wii came out everyone who's ever touched a console before then has rebranded himself as "hardcore" even the people who only play Halo and the yearly edition of Madden.

          • by mqduck ( 232646 )

            Apparently. If I recall correctly, Zelda 64 (er, Ocarina of Time) was about the definition of a game targeted to "everyone" (not to say that it wasn't a really good game (though not half as good as A Link to the Past)).

  • It is great that they are finally going to make decent games for the wii, but Dead Space: Extraction? Really? I don't want a sequel to a game that only came out on the other consoles.
    • I don't want a sequel to a game that only came out on the other consoles.

      Apparently, over 9.8 million people who bought Final Fantasy VII, a sequel on a Sony console to three or six games (depending on region) that had come out on Nintendo consoles, disagreed with you.

      • by Mursk ( 928595 )
        Except that FF games are well known for not having "true" sequels (with one exception quite a bit later on in the series). Assuming the other game mentioned will be a true, direct sequel, this is not a valid comparison at all.
        • Except that FF games are well known for not having "true" sequels

          OK, bad example. But are the Resident Evil games closer to true sequels? The first few were for Sony's PlayStation consoles, and then Capcom put out Resident Evil 4 as a timed exclusive initially on the Nintendo GameCube.

      • by ookaze ( 227977 )

        Apparently, over 9.8 million people who bought Final Fantasy VII, a sequel on a Sony console to three or six games (depending on region) that had come out on Nintendo consoles, disagreed with you.

        Unfortunately for you, the mainline Final Fantasy games never were sequels of each other. So FFVII is not a sequel of FFVI, which is not a sequel of FFV, ...
        So basically you're wrong.

        • Unfortunately for you, the mainline Final Fantasy games never were sequels of each other.

          But is Mega Man 8 (PlayStation) a sequel to Mega Man through Mega Man 7 (NES, Super NES)? And are Mega Man X4-8 (PlayStation; PlayStation 2) sequels to Mega Man X through Mega Man X3?

      • by KDR_11k ( 778916 )

        More people will be annoyed by Extraction being a spinoff since it's in another genre.

  • by Xest ( 935314 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @09:05AM (#28541141)

    Really, I'm amazed it's taking companies like Sega to take the lead on this.

    Nintendo captured the casual market this console generation with an innovative controller style whilst Sony and Microsoft have fought over the hardcore market who tend to prefer these type of games.

    Both Sony and Microsoft have announced their competing products to the Wii mote, and both certainly appear better than the Wii mote, although perhaps not with the Wii motion plus addon. They've also taken strides to increase their casual offerings (i.e. Microsoft's investment in games like Lips on the 360). It's clear Microsoft and Sony realise that whilst the hardcore market has more cash in it, it doesn't have enough when they're fighting each over over it so to make the kind of profits Nintendo has with the Wii they seem to understand they've got to start taking from Nintendo's market too.

    The problem is Nintendo doesn't seem to recognise this, and are sticking with their casual market despite the fact it'll slowly start getting eaten away. It's hard to know if they have a trick up their sleeves or if they've become complacent with their success, but certainly I'm suprised they haven't pushed more mature games themselves to try and pull in some of the hardcore gamers from Sony and Microsoft. The problem for Nintendo is it's not as if this is the first time they've had a massive success and then just fallen back into obscurity for a few years, with something like the Wii I think many had wondered if they'd finally broken this cycle and had moved into a new era of innovation to stay permanently ahead, but right now, particularly judging by their rather weak E3 showing where they basically just showed more of the same that doesn't look like it's the case.

    I suppose though historically we should probably not be suprised that it's Sega taking the lead here and not Nintendo, whilst Sega dropped out of the hardware market they always seemed to produce generally more mature games than Nintendo, so perhaps Sega are even doing it as part of a deal with Nintendo that Nintendo will remain a producer of casual games and Sega make mature games. Who knows, hopefully they're not that blind to the competition and do have a trick or two up their sleeves, but at face value this seems to absolutely not be the case right now.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by KDR_11k ( 778916 )

      Nintendo is trying to work on the core market, the problem I see is that they're failing to leverage the Wii's primary strength to outmaneuver MS and Sony, instead producing Gamecube 1.5 games that obviously end up being nothing that'll impress HD console owners. IMO they should lower the investment into straight sequels to last gen games and instead invest in games that actually drive the point home that the Wii is the step in the right direction even for those who currently buy core games. I don't think t

    • by seebs ( 15766 )

      Nintendo's focused on bridging the gap between the markets -- producing slightly more involved games which nonetheless appeal to new players. They're doing fine -- and intentionally leaving some niches for third parties, so that the third parties can rake in money while Nintendo avoids confusing their market image of 100% accessible gaming.

  • Okay... so I read this posting, and then I go on over to the sega.com website to see what their current offerings are... and "Daisy Fuentes Pilates" pops up as the initially displayed game. Is there no end to the irony around here?
  • ...and it's unfortunate that last I checked the soundtrack was unavailable in the US.

    Doesn't seem from TFA that MadWorld turned a profit...only House of the Dead Overkill.

  • Leisure Suit Larry for the Wii? Giggity.

  • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • But... but then how will aspiring fratboys "prove" their "maturity" to themselves without that sweet, sweet hormonal rush? Everyone knows these are rated M because playing them makes you mature.

    • It sounds like a side-effect from the games-are-for-kids mentality. Only 10 year olds want to play games, then you find some tedium like MadWorld - just follow the endless QTEs to watch a violent action via a cut scene, ad infitium - which is much more like the gore-porn / slasher flicks that late teens enjoy watching and therefore it's 'mature', apparently.

    • by KDR_11k ( 778916 )

      Blame the ESRB for calling the rating that. No better way to make children completely disregard the rating than to make the label a positive word. Most European systems just print the age on the box, not some vague term like "mature".

  • The controller lends itself well to a 'masturbation' game. With Nintendo being all Japanese you'd think they'd have a Bukkake game or something...

    -- I found out about Bukkake when trying to find out what type of Udon noodles I wanted for lunch, when looking up Bukkake on the wiki my appetite waned.

  • Madworld (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Quiet_Desperation ( 858215 ) on Wednesday July 01, 2009 @10:27AM (#28542061)
    Madworld was interesting, but I returned the rental after beating the first boss. The controls weren't so hot. All the game did was make me miss the right stick for controlling the camera. I kept approaching enemies in round about ways to get the camera oriented the way I wanted (at a spike wall, for example) when I grabbed them. The monochromatic graphics were cool initially, but they made the eyes weary after a while.
  • But only if it keeps the original graphics! Too disturbing if a photo-realistic Ron Jeremy was involved.

    In seriousness, more 'mature' games may bring in some new customers. I don't know anything about the ones that have been released. There is a need to make the mature games compelling and easy to use. I don't see a 'Halo' type game playing well with the remote unit.

  • Bethesda has a project in the works too.

    I heard there were two. Ravin' Cliff Racers and House Hlaalu Party. There's a minigame in one of them where you waggle the Wiimote to string random letters together to create names for newly discovered Daedric ruins.

  • I'd see rather Sega focusing more on the gameplay rather than just trying to experiment with the M-rated audiences. Isn't targeting a "general" audience more important than an exclusive one? Granted, some M-rated gamers can't be drawn in by the general audience game, but The Conduit by Sega just came out for the Wii and its T-rated. It's pretty mild, but still some fun to mess in both story mode and online multiplayer. Just work on making a good FPS and I'm sure people will buy it.
  • Sega had their time, Now I can't look at them the same way after what they did to Guilty Gear Series.
    Crapcom has also Dissapointed me with a number of Titles like DMC4 and
    Destroying the MegaMan Series after the first few good NES ones.
    Also capcom where is my Sengoku Basara X cross and Fate Unlimited Codes, both for PS2-US ?

    Now as for companies I have to say Namco/Bandai (Love Tekken 6 Demos and Arcade)
    has only let me down with the 2 minor problems. SoulCalibur 4 while fun kind of didn't live up to

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