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In the unfolding video game war, underdog Nintendo has lined up powerful allies - game makers who like the new Wii's unconventional features and game development costs that run about half what's required for Microsoft and Sony's new consoles.
With two potential hits ready for launch and nearly three dozen titles expected by year end, Nintendo is scheduled to ship units and games faster than its bigger rivals, who significantly increased the power and graphics capabilities of their machines.
In their attempts to future-proof their machines with gee-whiz technology, Microsoft and Sony are forsaking the immediate profits Nintendo will reap with the Wii, which debuts Nov. 19.
At US$250, ($384) Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii will sell for roughly half the price of Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360. It clearly stands out from the crowd of three, thanks to a motion-sensitive remote that could redefine video game play as users swing it like a sword or a golf club.
"Does it have to have high-end graphics to be fun? No," said Laurent Detoc, who leads Ubisoft's North American business, and expects to have eight Wii games in stores within a month of the console release.
Good games sell consoles and the Wii launches with the hotly anticipated "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" and Ubisoft's shooting game "Red Steel," a Wii exclusive.
Nintendo said it will have 20 new titles available for the Wii at launch and 13 more by year end. That compares with the 22 titles planned for the PS3 by Dec. 31.
Nintendo, which was the leading console maker before Sony's PlayStation debut in the mid-90s, will sell its own games for US$50, compared with the US$60 price on most new games for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
The cheaper price may mask fatter profits for developers. Consumers buy Wii titles for 17 per cent less than next-generation console games, but publishers say development costs for Wii are only half as much -- or less.
THQ Inc. Chief Executive Brian Farrell said that investment in a next-generation video game can run roughly US$12 million to US$20 million, while a title for the Wii could be in the US$5 million to US$8 million range.
"It's that order of magnitude lower," said Farrell. THQ will have "Cars" and three other games ready for the launch.
The Wii's similarities to its predecessor GameCube outnumber the differences, in terms of game development.
"When you talk about the PS3 and the Xbox 360, ramp-up costs are significant. You don't have the same ramp-up costs on the Wii because you have the tools already," said David Zucker, CEO of Midway Game Inc., whose Wii launch titles include "The Ant Bully" and "Rampage: Total Destruction."
Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.'s PS3 each boast eye-popping graphics and power leaps, requiring significant investments from game makers who want their titles to showcase those features.
The hottest holiday game for Microsoft's one-year-old Xbox 360 is the uber-violent alien shooter "Gears of War," which has been flying off store shelves since its release last week.
"Resistance: Fall of Man," an exclusive from Insomniac Games studio, is the most anticipated new launch title for the PS3, which debuts in the US on Nov. 17.
Sales of Nintendo's legacy GameCube accounted for about 15 per cent of console sales in the last generation. The Yankee Group expects the Wii to reap a few more points of market share for Nintendo over the coming years.
Electronic Arts Inc. and Activision Inc., the two largest US publishers, have also stepped up.
EA has promised to have stalwarts "Madden NFL 07" and racing game "Need for Speed Carbon" ready for launch. Activision's contribution includes "Call of Duty 3" and "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance."
Nick Earl, general manager of EA's game studio at its Redwood City, California headquarters, said the game giant's Nintendo console support is the highest in over a decade.
"It's a great marketplace to experiment," Earl said.
- REUTERS
