Hudson is coming back in a big way, and it's got one thing to thank: Nintendo hardware. Hudson profits have increased fourfold thanks to concentrating on the Nintendo Wii and the Wii's Virtual Console. Says incoming Hudson president Michihiro Ishizuka:
Two years from now will be the time when game-software developers' profits are expected to grow the most, after the winner and loser for consoles becomes clear. I will ensure earnings jump in the next three years by promoting licensing of our games and increasing spending on promotions.
Guess someone besides Nintendo is making money off the Wii. Hudson, for instance.
Hudson Doing Well Wii Wise [Bloomberg]








Comments
I hate bees.
Honestly and i think everyone will agree, that the console war really should be waged when the Wii 2, X4, PS4, comes out.
Well Ubisoft also cashed in on the Wii as well. So technically it's not just Hudson and Big N.
Impossible. 3rd parties can't make money on the Wii.
@Lyner: Yeah I also would Capcom to that list, Resident Evil 4 was a million seller, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles did extremely well, and I believe even Zack & Wiki did alright. Okami will probably do well too.
Also whoever made Carnival Games probably made profit too.... unfortunately.
Great! I have another reason to hate the Wii now! After playing through "Fuzion Fenzy 2" I was really hoping this company would fall off the face of the earth. Good for them though I guess. I just don't know how long they can survive developing crappy "party game" titles and whoring out Bomberman. Hopefully not very long...
Don't forget Sega. Mario and Sonic at the Olympics is a million seller.
@Ganglor: \
Ah the Hudson wiiware offerings look very very good.
A sequel to Alien Crush, A five player online Tetris are just some of the titles they are bringing to the wiiware.
It funny that it took how many years for Turbo Graphx games to make money here in the US. ~_^
Actually Hudson is one of the few companies
A follow-up to DreamMix TV for the Wii in English would be oh so nice though. With the Smash Bros crowd really big they could get quite a few people looking for all those third party characters.
yeah, as stated above, capcom and sega have made good money on wii.
also, after the winner and loser has been determined...will there be a loser? clearly the wii is the winner, there is no disputing that. but 360 and ps3 have decent sales as well. compared to the last two generations, i dont think there will be any clear cut losers this time around.
Its good to know that they are doing ok so far.
Now lets get out more classic bomberman goodness! ;D
@sitsalot:
Compared to the last 2 generations, the PS3 must be considered the loser. You can't go from 80% market share to 25% and not be considered "losing". Having said that, the PS3 will make money, have good games, and last longer than the 360 and Wii.
@Yetanotheruninspiredscreename: Yeah - basically the only companies other than Nintendo who've made money on the Wii are, um, pretty much all the third-parties who released anything on the Wii. (And the Mario and Sonic game sold over 5 million when you include the DS version too. I think the Wii version's at about 3 mil so far?)
Back to Hudson, their disc-based launch titles were all shit weren't they? But I suppose they'd look a lot better for $5 each, which may be why their WiiWare lineup doesn't seem so bad. :)
@TheTime: When you say the console war 'really should be waged' next generation, do you mean that the console manufacturers should all purchase actual missiles, tanks, mercenary soldiers etc? While that would be entertaining, as a pacifist I'd have to disagree. Although (insert tired joke about how Microsoft's huge ICBMs would crash into the sea halfway to Japan, Sony's even bigger nuke would work but be delivered a year late and at ten times the cost, and Nintendo's system would only allow them to annihilate other people in the same room).
Does this mean Master Higgins shall be making his triumphant return for another Adventure Island on Wii?
By the way, Master Higgins has a real Myspace account:
[www.myspace.com]
o_O
So will Master Higgins be making his triumphant return with another Adventure Island for Wii?
Oops, my first post DID go through. >_<
Jesus....well there are plenty of other companies who've made money....just a shame that Hudson is making loads, a company whoes two top games have been exactly the same since the first release and have gotten worse with each incarnation, BomberMan and Mario Party
Mario Party is like one and a half-th party.
What else have they been cashing in on lately? It can't be fumbled Bomberman remakes?
"after the winner and loser for consoles becomes clear."
with the highest respect a ps fanboy can have in mind, I still have a question:
If surpassing the sales and the massive hype it still has (not to mention tne negative campaign against the ps3 and 360, half deserved) is not already the victory for the wii, what do everyone wait ? Or better, What does this menans for the other consoles? a possible comeback? wtf?
now, on topic,subjetive bad games, great games, whatever, the wii is a great help for keeping alive and almost untouched the videogame market, specially during unpredictable hard financial times. Rejoice !
This guy looks like Bonk
@akilshohen: The secret origin revealed?
Requesting someone photoshop him to look like Air Zonk!
Hudson has earned it. They put out some highly playable stuff, but for some reason have no ad dollars to ever let people know stuff is out or they like to support systems with small install bases. Your going to find a lot of smaller publishers/indy pubishers who may or will make more from VC/Wiiware then they will from outright game releases over the next few years. Honestly unless your planning a remake, there's no reason NOT to upload your old games to VC, it's easy money and the copies already in the market place are years old and not making the developers a dime..unlike the downloads which are.
Capcom and Ubisoft are making money off new games. Hudson's making money by tossing TurboGrafx games there.
No hate, but let's not act like the Wii market is rushing to Hudson in droves. Their money is coming from the Turbo faithful, myself included.
Oh yes, and ripping people off with Mario Party. I'm sure that's helping Hudson too.
Hudson needs more traditional Bomberman. They still haven't beaten the awesomeness that was Bomberman 64. Now THAT was a sick game. I've had many good memories of it. ^^
@RawSteelUT:Mario Party's got a pretty hardcore following, so yeah. But the DS one was pretty damn good.
OK, in light of the soaring development-costs on SUPER NEXT GEN HARDWARE (whores) such as PS3 and XBOX360, one could assume that it would be PRETTY LUCRATIVE to make games for a console for which development isn't only CHEAPER and EASIER, but also with the to-date biggest hardware-base installed.
Now if only 3 Party Developers focused as hard as Nintendo... and provided us gamers with the level of quality we were used to from the last Generation, mainly the PS2. If they think they can make a quick buck with crappy casual games only, no wonder their profits won't rise.
I think this could change, though. A lot of attention from the Gig 3rd Parties towards taking the Wii SERIOUSLY might have switched already (meaning BIG Projects being in development already), but since everyone underestimated the Wii from in the first place, it's obviously still taking some time (like 1 two 2 years) until the really good 3rd Party title come out.
That's why I'm really looking forward to this year's E3.
Is it really THAT expensive for 360? A lot of the 3rd parties we're talking about are already experienced PC developers, which gives them a serious heads up in development. Microsoft's sticking to its PC roots helps them immensely in this regard.
The only things I've learned though this generation is that MS and Sony rushed to market. In general, the last generation needed another two years before the introduction of the next systems.
@akilshohen:
That's Takahashi Mejin. He holds the world record for most button presses in 1 second,and he's not the inspiration for Bonk,but he IS the star of Adventure Island (back when he had hair). The U.S. version calls him "Master Higgins".
@Mlata:
Y'know what's the problem?
do you remember the rabid nintendo fanboys', the ones who allow nintendo to eat their babies, how much complained about not fully using the gamecube controller in mario kart? and altought the wiimote is a fun option in brawl, the most "hardcore" stick to the antique setings (fox, final destination, no items, high gravity)?
IF the people willing to accept ANYTHING (it was explcit when you bought a wii) is not that open to new options, how do you expect anyone taking risks? Especially, after seeing how capcom made an original tittle and failed, because it was not banana swinging-mario.
I had the same problems, even with the rich input devices in today's pcs (voice input, remotes, touch screens) most of my customers are rather fearful to use them, and stick to the good old mouse. Seeing this, How could I take the risk to invest time and money in the making of some product that simple will scare my customers? I keep making shitty powerpoint slideshows. And what is worse, they keep selling so I don't really need to change.
@kidnicky: "World record for most button presses in 1 second,"
Y-you're kidding right?
@DLNO-001: Capcom brought failure upon itself when it decided that it wasn't going to advertise Zack and Wiki. It had nothing to do with the Wii's fanbase. And when you look at the big picture, you're really just making a point against yourself in your last paragraph. The Wii is an exeption to this trend in customers shunning the newer technology and sticking to the old. In the end it's a large install base that will push developers to take risks.
@Green-clad Gamer Dude:
No joke,he was or still is world champion of Star Soldier,and that's how he ended up working for Hudson. The world button press record is 19 per second,or something like that.
there is a console war????? I thought people just like to play games, I didn't realize there was a war????!!!!!!!!!! HUH, you learn something new everyday!!!!!!!!!!!!
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