Sega: M-rated Wii games selling 'very well'

Although the Wii is often perceived as a family-friendly console that plays home to generally inoffensive pap, a number of unsavory offerings for grown-up gamers are also finding success on Nintendo's latest. Capcom sold more than a million copies of Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, and Grasshopper Manufacture's No More Heroes was named GameSpot's Best Wii Game of 2008.

The Wii may have two more M-for-Mature hits on its hands, given that Sega of America vice president of marketing Sean Ratcliffe touted the performance of House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld (pictured) in a VentureBeat interview this week. Ratcliffe didn't offer any sales figures to back up his exuberance, but the executive said that the early sales feedback on both games were positive.

"House of the Dead has done very well and has absolutely met our expectations," Ratcliffe said. "The first set of data for MadWorld is very encouraging, as well."

Released in February, House of the Dead: Overkill is an interactive take on expletive-laden exploitation films, letting players blast away zombies (and parts thereof) in a blood-splattered romp. Sega followed that up in March with the release of MadWorld, the first product from the publisher's partnership with PlatinumGames. Borrowing from a handful of sci-fi staples, the largely black-and-white game drops players into a life-and-death gameshow, armed only with a chainsaw and an environment full of sharp points and blunt objects.

Wii gamers with a taste for charnel might have more M-rated fare in the future. The executive also said that Sega "absolutely" wants to make MadWorld into a franchise, provided that it "resonates with the audience."