Last week, Gamervision had a talk with Jools Watsham, owner and game director for Renegade Kid. For those who don't know, Renegade Kid is one of the few developers known for their "hardcore" Nintendo games, the most recent of which were Dementium and Moon on the Nintendo DS. When asked about their first Wii title, Son of the Dragon, Jools's answer was interesting to us, though not all that surprising. Here's an excerpt:

Whatever happened with Son of the Dragon?

The original project was slatted [sic] as a Wii / DS combo, but due to the sales of "hardcore" games on the Wii it was cancelled by the publisher.

That's right, it appears that at least one publisher is canceling any "hardcore" Wii games, and, to be honest, who could blame them?

It's no exaggeration that hardcore Wii games don't sell. To date, The Conduit has sold under 300k, House of the Dead: Overkill has shipped 400k, and No More Heroes sits at the top of the heap at 450k. Meanwhile, Big Beach Sports sold 1.2 million copies, Game Party sold 2 million, and Wii Music has sold 2.6 million copies. Game Party has a 25% on Metacritic, and still shipped more copies than just about every M-Rated game released in the last two years on the system.

Who is to blame? Us, of course. Every time someone ignores a great Wii game because they fear the system is nothing but waggle the cycle is perpetuated. Just like it took developers several years to figure out how to optimize graphics for the Xbox and PS3, some needed time to fully realize motion controls. Now, we're seeing some of the greatest games of the generation hit the system and sell nothing thanks to misconceptions and fear.

But that's another story entirely. The main question is this: should developers and publishers give up on "hardcore" Wii games and, in turn, "hardcore" Wii gamers?

I remember early this generation, when the Wii was first released. The excitement was palpable. Developers saw it as a chance to try new things and expose a wide audience to gaming, and the industry was stunned when gamers welcomed sub-par graphics in favor of the slightest hint of innovation. Now, the scene is desperate, and while Nintendo could cease sales of the system tomorrow and still be considered the "winner" of the generation, it's becoming harder and harder to get excited for the future of the system.

So where does this leave us? Not every publisher has turned their back on Wii development just yet. Ubisoft's Red Steel II is still in development, and due out next year, No More Heroes 2 is right around the corner, and Call of Duty and Resident Evil titles are still being released for the system, despite less than satisfactory sales in the past. However, you might notice a lack of original IPs, and that could quickly become a trend if other Mature rated titles don't start selling. Conduit developer High-Voltage has The Grinder and Gladiator A.D. scheduled for 2010 launches, so it's still not too late, since every developer would love to be responsible for the next runaway hit on the Wii. Nevertheless, it's getting rough, and if we want to see the system as something more than a party machine, it might be a good idea to speak with our wallets.