Sega Will Bring More Hardcore Titles to the Wii

The Nintendo Wii is a veritable sales phenomenon because, despite the fact that it has been launched over two years ago, it is still going strong and consoles can hardly be found on the store shelves. This huge success is due to the fact that it has been backed up by a huge variety of games, aimed at the broader casual market, rather than specific titles meant for experienced or “core gamers,” as Nintendo designated its more hardcore users.

This led to a certain amount of user backlash, as the Japanese company focused on delivering games targeted at various markets, and thus neglecting the core userbase, which received only a handful of titles, like Super Smash Bros. Brawl. But things will change, at least according to Sega, which stated that it would bring new mature titles to the Wii in the following months.

The statement, made by the managing director of Sega Europe, Alan Pritchard, and the UK Sales director John Clark, says that there were quite a few adult-oriented titles on the Wii, but the lineup of the company, consisting of MadWorld, House of the Dead and The Conduit, would change that and would show other companies that there were still hardcore Wii users who enjoyed mature titles.

“There have been some good hardcore Wii titles,” Pritchard said. “Resident Evil 4 has done reasonable numbers; Red Steel has also performed really well. But since then, many publishers have migrated towards the more mass-market family titles, so perhaps there hasn’t been the array or depth of hardcore titles on Wii. So there is definitely opportunity here.”

He was then backed up by Clark, who revealed that “More family friendly titles are being released on PlayStation and 360 as this is a growth area for these formats. Maybe with Wii there’s a reverse opportunity. We’d like to maintain the success we’ve had on Nintendo formats. One way of achieving that is with new IP like The Conduit and MadWorld, and traditional Sega titles will continue to drive broader market success.”

It seems that at least Sega aims to please the hardcore Wii users, as Nintendo and almost all of the other big game developers and publishers consider the Wii market one filled with casual users who don't have any interest in mature titles. What do you think? Does the Wii deserve its casual label or can it be home to other mature titles?