Liquid Wind posted...
Movies and games are very different. The movie industry purposely puts money into artsy movies for the health of the industry. Gaming cuts out those types of things, usually. I would hesitate to compare the two in this way.
I think in any industry it can be healthy to take a short loss or barely break even if it keeps your constituents happy. lets say this game can't profit, it is a 100% given that it will lose money. so nintendo doesn't release it and...pisses off thousands of fans who then decide not to buy future nintendo games and consoles. ok ultimately this isn't hugely damaging to nintendo as the hardcore gaming market isn't their target audience to begin with anymore, they've moved on and had more success with a different sector... -but- it is still potentially costing them future sales that would make up for losses on xenoblade and then some, and futher re-enforcing the image that nintendo isn't for core gamers, it's damaging the brand even to people who aren't interested in these games
I don't disagree but that's not typically how the gaming industry works.
I'm far from defending Nintendo here. I guess I'll just say that if I had to guess, NoA would probably prefer to release this game as a Wii U title instead of a Wii title. If they are smart, they throw it back and add in some menu options on that stupid touch pad and now you have a B+ RPG (from the looks of it) that uses the new features.
--
Donny: Are they gonna hurt us, Walter?
Walter: No, Donny. These men are cowards.