For a system that skews so young it's practically made out of LEGOs, the Wii was home to some of the goriest titles released last year. Two of them came from Sega: the Sin City-esque, Madworld, and the exceptional, grind-house inspired, The House of the Dead: Overkill. Also published by Sega was the slightly less bloody but no less aimed at the coveted 18-24 male demographic, The Conduit.
Publishing three mature titles for the Wii was a serious and commendable gamble that Sega hoped would pan out, but one that NPD data shows did not. And according to Sega studio director Constantine Hantzopoulos, Sega may be cashing out.
During an interview in the 4 Guys 1UP podcast, Hantzopoulos said, "That begets the question, you know, are we gonna do more mature titles for Wii and it's like ... probably not."
Sega isn't the only company that has had difficulty selling mature games on Nintendo's console. EA's Dead Space: Extraction, the violent, but well reviewed on-rails shooter also met with lackluster sales.
It's a disappointing development for those gamers hoping that the Wii could eventually grow into a well-rounded system. But when two of the largest publishers struggle to sell mature games, it's unlikely that smaller companies with less capital to risk will take a similar gamble.
In the meantime, Wii gamers can look forward to The Grinder, an all new, hyper-gory FPS developed by the team behind The Conduit. Although at this point, the game is still wanting for a publisher. Apparently Sega has learned their lesson.
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