Support Too Much of the Wrong Kind?

When reader SHVITZEL talks, Gameonrevolution listens! If you are an avid Gameonrevolution visitor, you probably know Shvitzel from our forums. If not, you don't know what you are missing. Below is his dissection of the kind of support that the Wii has seen thus far its short life cycle. Enjoy the read and thanks to SHVITZEL again for the editorial. Game ON.

Support is an interesting concept and one of much discussion around here. People often look at third parties and try to determine whether or not the Wii is getting enough support or the right kind. Well, here are my two cents on the topic of:
Third Party Support

Support can be defined by many qualities, but one thing remains constant when defining the word: support: to maintain or advocate; to uphold by aid; to maintain by supplying with things necessary for existence Support is many things, but essentially, it is maintaining something, holding something up, whether that be when things aren’t going so well, or when help is needed most....oh, say, like right after and during a home console launch. And currently, Nintendo is definitely getting support from all over, especially third parties. In fact, that was and remains a topic of much discussion here on Nsider. Back prior to the Wii’s launch, we were all discussing third parties and whether or not they were supporting the Wii enough.

We all looked to Ubisoft as the main supporter of the Wii, with what we believed were seven launch titles. This was an astounding number, and simply blew other developers out of the water when it came to number of Wii launch titles. And that wasn’t even counting the other titles Ubisoft had confirmed were coming to the Wii, in which sheer quantity again blew the other developers out of the water. Ubisoft was trying to support the Wii by giving us lots of games, but it is my belief that they gave the wrong kind of support. In fact, it seems like they did everything wrong.

Here are the seven launch titles (launch window) games that Ubisoft released for the Wii. I think we may begin to see a common theme with many of them....

Far Cry Vengeance–While technically offering a few updates and new content, the game was essentially a port with downgraded visuals. The game received very poor reviews all around.

GT Pro Series–While heralded for the new controller add-on, the game was a port from the GCN version and suffered weakened, although different, graphics.

Monster 4x4 World Circuit–Again, another port! This was ported from the Xbox.

Open Season–Look no farther than the name. Of course it was a port!

Rayman Raving Rabbids–This was one of Ubisoft’s original Wii titles! Sadly, the game was well received by some, not so much by others. The consensus was, however, that the game was not what it was claimed to be earlier in the year.

Red Steel–More original content! However, much like Rayman, the game was praised by some, not so much by others. The game suffered from glitchy controls and could have been a lot better in many aspects.

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent–Port!

You can find the rest of the read here.