During the PS1 generation, Nintendo became mired for a time in the delay of the 64 console. Because of that and the strong ability to fill the great desire for (what was at that time) the next step in gaming, Sony took off like a rocket, and Nintendo lost a large chunk of the gaming audience that it had helped create. Keep in mind that at this point, 14 years ago, today’s hardcore 20 or 30 something gamers were for the most part receiving their consoles and games as gifts rather than buying them on their own. The average kid does not get a $200 system a year and a half or two after his parents bought him a $200-$300 one.

Nintendo 64 still ended up doing well, with around 33 million sold, but the Playstation had sold just over 100 million consoles. Sony had seen a market ripe for harvest, and took the next step before the prime cultivators were able to. Nintendo had lost the vast majority of gaming market share and developer support in the proverbial blink of an eye. Those who remained “loyal” to Nintendo typically were amongst the relative few who could afford both of the consoles, or the hardcore faithful, who lived for the tried and true classics that the Nintendo label provided.

We all know the rest of this story. By the time Nintendo realized that the N64 was losing the battle and released the GameCube, the PS2 had already been released for over a year, with the ever-growing in popularity DVD integration into its design. To compound the trouble, Microsoft’s Xbox would release a month after the GameCube, further shrinking Nintendo’s console market share, and largely changing the dynamic by capitalizing on the desire for more sensational first person shooters. Nintendo’s clout with developers shrank even more than its market share. At this point--with a few bright exceptions--if Nintendo had an exclusive, it was either a game that no one else wanted, or Nintendo had developed it themselves.

Those were the beginnings of the 3rd party developer woes of Nintendo. Because of their inability to spread the wealth with what little was left, they gained a somewhat false reputation for having a base that only enjoyed Mario, Zelda, and Metroid games. Now, enter the Wii.

With another proverbial blink of an eye, Nintendo’s fortunes were reversed. The company not only took advantage of rival Sony making the same (perhaps unavoidable) mistake that they had with the N64, its strategy to expand the base number of those called gamers was a success. And yet the reputation regarding 3rd party games remains. Why?

Yes, the history includes some big reasons, but it is also the little things that complicate this problem. Some would say that it is the user base refusing to buy games that is the problem. However, anyone who would spend $250+ on any product, by default would be interested in ways to further or optimize their experience with that product. But where is the advertising? How do these customers know what is out there if they aren’t constantly perusing the game aisle at Target or Wal-Mart?

We’ve seen Nintendo Wii commercials, and even a few for Super Mario Galaxy, but those commercials have been few. That being said, I have never even once seen a commercial for a 3rd party Wii game. Not once. Despite the fact that Wii games cost as little as 10% as much as it takes to develop a PS3 or Xbox 360 game. For the comic book or video game magazine reader? There are plenty of ads for Xbox 360, and PS3 games, but never for Nintendo games unless the ad is for a multi-console game. Do these developers really expect their products to sell when they don’t make the product known to the target audience? This is Business 101, not too complicated.

While advertising is a problem, so is the combination of 3rd party game quality and Nintendo’s policies of unnecessary strings attached. There was a time when there was no such thing as an Anubis 2/Ninjabread man on a Nintendo console. The Nintendo seal of quality on the cover of the game assured gamers that whether you liked the game or not, it was a first class effort. No longer. Even many average 3rd party Wii games have a problem in that they are ports or dual released titles with the PS2, with little effort put into creating the appropriate difference in quality between the two systems. Add to this the list of annoying, unnecessary little things that hinder the game experience, and even a decent 3rd party game has to be thought about twice before being bought.