No one to blame but yourself

We live in a culture where generally people like to blame any issues on anybody but themselves. Granted, it's occasionally true that circumstances are just beyond your control, you've done everything in your power and things still turned out poorly. But the majority of the time, you truly have nobody to blame but yourself. Video game companies especially should take note of this, because lately, a lot of third-party developers are whining and moaning that although the Wii is incredibly successful, people only buy Nintendo systems for Nintendo games, making it impossible for third-parties to justify developing games (or at least ones with big budgets) for the waggle machine.

Really? It's Nintendo's fault that everyone has rushed to develop cheap ports or uninspired party party games? Cause when I take a look at the Wii's third-party offerings, that's all that is there. I mean, when the best offerings from somebody that isn't Nintendo of late are literally rehashes of old games available on other systems (sometimes even the Gamecube), what right do these developers have to state they have no chance? A perfect example of this is Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, which just came out for the Wii after being available on the PS2 & Xbox for months, and yet the PS2 & Xbox will be the preferred versions because they have online. Granted, Nintendo has been incredibly slow to get the ball rolling on online, but it's happening, and exactly what timetable was Midway under that they couldn't wait for the tools to be sent? I got news for you guys, nobody would care about this game any less if it was delayed a few months for online, in fact that would most certainly make it sell far better than as it is.

There seems to be this weird mentality that the Wii's success is an extremely short-term thing and they'd better just flood the library with whatever they can while the iron is still hot. Granted, the odds of the Wii remaining as red hot as it is for much longer are slim, but it should continue to be a powerful seller, just like the DS has been, especially when they inevitable price drops start. And key to sales remaining strong after the initial hype has finally died down and you can actually walk into any store and just pick one up is good third-party titles. You can make Manhunt 2, but make sure it doesn't suck (see Resident Evil 4 for lessons in this). If everybody has a party game, people will just go with the most recognizable one, and odds are it's not you, so try something casual, but different. And lastly, don't suck. I know that seems obvious, but the plain & simple of it is that a lot of these third-party titles are just mediocre or awful games in the first place, and when the First-party offerings are almost all top notch efforts, it's hard to blame consumers for not buying your shitty product.

FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Agent Scarecrow #1