Forgive me a moment for being so pompous, and for the unabashedly bombastic headline. I’m in full fanman mode this week, and I smell blood.
First, as the link demonstrates, it was in defense of the beleaguered, but soon to be wildly successful, Boom Blox. Now, it’s with a follow-up: an accurate real-world depiction of just how powerful Nintendo’s slow cooker game strategy is, and what it will mean for 3rd party developers in the future. In short, it means tons of cash.
Anyway, to understand the future of gaming, you have to look to the past. But enough preaching. The power of the Long Tail and a snapshot of the future lies after the break. Here’s a hint: 25 out of 30.
1. [PS3] Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami) – 465,000
2. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo) – 38,000 / 1,444,000
3. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) – 37,000 / 2,227,000
4. [PSP] Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 3 (Konami) – 27,000 / 187,000
5. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom) – 26,000 / 2,203,000
6. [NDS] Hisshou Pachinko Pachislot Kouryaku Series DS Vol. 2 CR Shinseki Evangelion ~Shito, Futatabi~ (D3 Publisher) – 22,000
7. [PS3] Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit (Bandai Namco) – 18,000 / 111,000
8. [NDS] Beautiful Letter Training (Nintendo) – 17,000 / 285,000
9. [NDS] DS Yamamura Misa Suspense: Kyoto Murder Files (Tecmo) – 17,000 / 56,000
10. [WII] Mysterious Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren 3 (Sega) – 14,000 / 73,000
11. [WII] Wii Sports (Nintendo)
12. [NDS] Taiko Drum Master DS: Seven Island Adventure (Bandai Namco)
13. [NDS] Make a Pro Baseball Team (Sega)
14. [WII] Family Trainer (Bandai Namco)
15. [PSP] Valhalla Knights 2 (Marvelous Entertainment)
16. [WII] Wii Play (Nintendo)
17. [NDS] Mario Kart DS (Nintendo)
18. [NDS] We Are Fossil Diggers (Nintendo)
19. [NDS] Pokemon Ranger: Batonnage (Nintendo)
20. [NDS] Empty Space Training (Benesse)
21. [NDS] Demon Detective Nougami Neuro (Marvelous Entertainment)
22. [WII] Link’s Crossbow Training (Nintendo)
23. [NDS] More TOEIC Test Training (IE Institute)
24. [WII] Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo)
25. [NDS] Endless Frontier: Super Robot Wars OG Saga (Bandai Namco)
26. [NDS] Tottado! Yowiko’s Deserted Island Life (Bandai Namco)
27. [NDS] New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo)
28. [NDS] More Brain Training (Nintendo)
29. [WII] Battalion Wars 2 (Nintendo)
30. [NDS] Pocket Monster Diamond (Nintendo)
Mario Kart DS? Third party DS games in the top 30? Brain Training and Battalion Wars 2, in the same list?! LINK’S CROSSBOW TRAINING?! But that’s impossible! “Casual games” mean the death of “serious games!” Mario Kart DS should have dropped off in sales after the first week, just like GTAIV and Metal Gear Solid 4, because that’s what great video games do!!! What’s going on???
What’s going on is Nintendo has utterly decimated Japan and the industry by appealing to all types of gamers. It’s not casual versus core, because such a dynamic never existed. The streets are paved in old NES carts, I swear.
More info here in a great GigaOm column. And, before you start spinning, folks, realize that nowhere did I say GTA IV or Metal Gear Solid 4: You Are A Spectator were “bad games.” Oops, wait, maybe I just did.