Wii is “inhospitable platform for third-party publishers”

By Patrick Garratt

Doug Creutz of Cowen and Company has said that third-parties are still finding it tough on Wii, basing his conclusion on the fact Madden came in at ninth place in the August NPD.

While Madden dominated software sales in the US last month – with 360, PS3 and PS2 SKUs taking the top three slots – the Wii version did relatively poorly.

“The Wii version of Madden 09 sold 79 per cent less units than the PS3 version and 87 per cent less units than the 360 version, despite a larger console installed base and an improved Metacritic rating,” said the analyst.

“We continue to believe that the Wii is a relatively inhospitable platform for third-party publishers,” he said.

Nintendo continues to protest that third-parties do well on Wii. Creutz knows best, clearly.