The Year That Was: Revisited

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by Dyne

We should probably avoid metaphors, hahaha. Where do Madworld and House of the Dead: Overkill (both of which very adult Wii games, both of which were released in 2009) fit in to this diet iced tea? Are they the razors sitting below the ice?

Neither of them sold very well but I enjoyed them more than the likes of the Assassin's Creed II and Left 4 Dead 2 this year, both admittedly (wank wank) epic 360 and PS3-type games.

HOTD: Overkill and Madworld are interesting cases for the Wii. Over-the-top western and over-the-top eastern style games, respectively. Neither sold well but were rated mid-80s. However, their common relationship is that they were both published by Sega and got next to no marketing.

My comments weren't about whether or not Wii has "adult" games, but more the fact that Wii elected to push the control aspect of their console over graphics and other hardware (that allow greater achievements in "epic" games), and also that execution of those unique controls in a game GREATLY impact the enjoyment of a game. I like the Wii a lot for certain games, especially Wiisports and Tiger 10, but I also recognize the nature of the console and it's controls are it's greatest asset and greatest limitation. Overall, I spend far less time with my 360 than with the Wii for the reasons I've illustrated. What the Wii does, it does very well. In general, I simply don't like what it does.

As for the sales of Madworld and HOTD, well, I think that goes to show that the Wii is a family console more than anything else. Wii owners on the whole likely don't look for games like that for the console. Personally, I think Madworld would have sold very well of the 360 and PS3.