conduit2Yesterday, Sega’s futuristic shooter, The Conduit, was released down under. Though it’s still too early to say how Australian gamers are responding to the title, early reports from Sega have indicated the company is pleased with how the game has sold in the US so far.

Sega has already made two attempts this year to open up the market for “mature” games on Nintendo’s home console, with the release of House of the Dead Overkill and MadWorld. Both games achieved disappointing sales results, prompting some to claim that mature games could simply not be succesful on the Wii.

With the release of The Conduit, Sega is hoping to change all that and in a recent interview with IGN, Sega’s vice president of marketing, Sean Ratcliffe, discussed some of the reasons that he thinks why The Conduit could prove more succesful than those previous titles.

The main reason cited by Ratcliffe is that The Conduit includes a fully-featured online multiplayer component. Twelve players are able to compete in a range of modes that include standard shooter fare (free-for-all, team deathmatch etc.) as well as some more unique offerings including the “ASE Football” and “Bounty Hunter” modes.

The Conduit is now available from gaming retailers everywhere.