Slashdot Mirror
Wii, PS3 Sell Big In First Week
Wowzer writes "Nintendo today announced the Wii sold through more than 600,000 units in the Americas in just its first eight days of availability. That's a rate of nearly one per second continuously since the November 19 launch!" From the article: "The company noted that, when taking into account first-party software and accessory sales, Wii sales have thus far amounted to an impressive $190 million. Nintendo also added that sales of the Wii's highly anticipated launch title, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, has already has achieved sales of more than 454,000 units in the Americas, a figure which it notes represents in excess of of 75 percent of all hardware purchasers." I couldn't find any sales figures for the PS3, just word that the company has sold all the units it shipped. Gamasutra is also reporting sales figures via Ebay for the two consoles. 15,000 PS3s were sold, while the Wii cracked 27,000 via the popular online auction site.
It's worth noting that 15,000 PS3 units could be as much as 10% of the North American supply. Given that we don't know the actual figures shipped, it's just as possible that 15,000 is 5% of the supply. Either way, it's a significant percentage of the PS3 consoles.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=212
never a truer word on this was spoke..
Wii like to play a PS3 but can't seem to find any. :(
I'm glad to see Nintendo doing well right off the bat. I hope they pull through and continue to make a good titles, that way one day may kids can enjoy the great games that company has put out to date.
You really have to take the PS3 sales figure and double it, though.
Cuz each PS3 sells twice. Once at the store, and then again on ebay...
Those numbers are the max systems that were available on ebay not the total sold. At one point there were 26000 Wiis and approximately 50 wiis were selling each minute, while more auctions were being listed.
I know you're not to believe analysts, but earlier this week they were reporting that the Wii had 4 times as many units and that the PS3 launched with between 125,000 and 175,000 units ...
Until NPD releases its November numbers or Sony makes an announcement I think those are about as accurate as we're going to get.
You think thats because all reports point to less than 200,000 actually being shipped when Sony swore they would be shipping twice that many?
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
Really? Wow, thanks for clearing that up for me, Sony. And here I was thinking that half of them had been lost somewhere in stockrooms across the country, and another quarter of them were sitting on store shelves while disinterested gamers walked by. I'm certainly glad we got that cleared up.
...and in other news, water is wet, the sun is hot, and Janet Reno is ugly.
Love sees no species.
As of now, "every system Nintendo or Sony makes is sold immediately!" This obviously won't last, and we'll see who eventually comes out on top...
Ya right, here in Montreal Future Shop has a lot of 20gig PS3 in store, nobody want it, all wainting for the 60gig.
what a failure, why even shipping a low end version (at a relative high price) of a high end console
Ok, Microsoft have doing it, but nobody take it anyway.
Ceci n'est pas une Signature !
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?i d=150030
I cant speak for anyone else but I have a hard time believing that Gears managed to move that many consoles. I was out shopping quite a bit last week and saw lots of wii's being sold but didnt more than a handful of 360's though all the stores I shopped had plenty. Of course the way that Sony and Microsoft count sales is how many ship to retail (including the ones sitting on the shelves) where Nintendo actually counts units sold.
WoW ... Anonymous Coward Sony Fanboy Troll do you ever give up?
You end up posting similar messages on every thread that mentions the Wii or PS3 yet you never post any link to a source for your information.
I always have to question whether or not those numbers can be trusted.
I bought my Wii and received it early last week. Plug it in, have it find my WPA-encrypted wireless network and proceed with my first system update. You need the firmware update to do anything online. Bong -- 110213 error (Google it -- a good number of people got it). Afterwards the system refused to go online (no virtual console goodness, no more firmware updates, etc). The predominant opinion is that the Wii doesn't CRC the firmware before installing it, resulting in semi-bricked consoles.
Called up Nintendo and, after 30 minutes on hold, I got someone. To their credit, they immediately sent another console out (received it yesterday). It was already updated to the latest firmware. Looks refurbished, but I guess I don't have a choice.
I'm personally very interested in what percentage of those numbers are "usable" systems. 95%? 99%? Even if only 1% are busted, that's still a considerable number of machines.
I'm guessing that any numbers are going to be largely speculative but it would be nice to know rough figures.
any ideas?
Ummm ... I saw the stats on another thread and Zonk is dramatically pro-Microsoft and Anti-Sony. On another not, the general media as a whole seem to be anti-Sony after all how unfair is it to point out that Sony has installed a virus on their customer's computers, produced exploding batteries, produced the most expensive videogame system in modern history, used questionable legal practices to put an importer out of buisness, promised a worldwide launch for the PS3 and didn't deliver, and dramatically undersupplied when they did launch the PS3.
Even the ones who dont flat out hate it, pretty much say its not worth it yet, and the benefits of the system simply are not there compared to the 360.
On the otherhand you have a system thats trying to be different. Everyone knows its not as powerful (infact it got some low marks for that) but its FUN and just about everywhere there are storys of adults and kids playing together.
Until sony does something right, I doubt you will ever see pro-ps3 artcles here or anywhere else thats not paid by Sony in advertising. Simply because as of right now Sony has done nothing right, from dust scratching the system, to poor backwards compatability (after ripping on Microsoft for the same) to forcing Blu-ray on a public that from all reports doesnt care about EITHER HD format.
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
PS3 went for "Blu-ray" + "High end chips"
Sony took the conservative route, using the same old selling tactics that have worked in the past.
Nintendo went for the radical chance route. It will either sell HUGE, making a mockery of PS3, or flop.
I am betting on huge. Granted, much will depend on the quality of the games that Nintendo can get out there quick.
But the honest truth is that current video games suffer from fat-slob-with-tired-thumb. It is not just a stereotype, there is some truth to it.
The Wii has the possibility of changing that. People's ARMS are getting sore, instead of thumbs. They may actually get exercise. This could just change the game radically, forever.
Imagine the day when everyone's picture of a gamer is someone with bulging arm muscles instead of bulging bellies.
Gyms could buy them and put in huge screens.
Hot cheerleaders might actually go for the gamers. A guy can dream...
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
This has gone largely unnoticed, but Microsoft has started a hell of a holiday XBOX 360 campaign, based on the practical idea that they can steal potential sales from Sony because there don't seem to be any PS3s available for retail, so they'll buy 360s instead.
The Wii seems to have stolen a little bit off Microsoft's thunder, which they may or may not have expected (since both Sony and MS are buying into the "Nintendo isn't in our market" byline). The console currently has an 8 million to 600,000 lead... I'm wondering if, at the end of 2007, when the score is much closer (Nintendo will put out 8 million consoles by July at the rate of 250,000 per week) and everyone gets to see if the Wii really does have a broader market, MS will be changing its tune.
-Rob
Biblical fiscal responsibility
Get over yourself.
Anyone considering giving this post any creedence whatsoever should look at NineNine's posting history. He's decidedly pro-Sony. Also, it's not FUD when it's true. There's been a ton of anti-PS3 news on Slashdot lately because...wait for it...Sony's screwing up a LOT! And wow! News sites like to print news!
WoW ... Anonymous Coward Sony Fanboy Troll do you ever give up?
;)
You end up posting similar messages on every thread that mentions the Wii or PS3 yet you never post any link to a source for your information.Leave him alone, he makes for a brilliant source of comedy
If I have nothing to hide, you have no reason to search me
Wow you're a hardcore fanboy.
I've seen a lot more about the PS3 than I have the wii. The wii just gets positive articles because it's very hard to bash it (beyond LOL OLD GRAPHICS) and the PS3 is just a complete mess which is hard to complement.
It's like going "This is a bike, it works perfectly" and then "This is a 13 wheeled bike, it sort of works and it's really cool!" You can't find a fault with the bike but the 13 wheeled bike you can easily.
I like muppets.
Of course you can't easily find sales numbers for the PS3. The fact is that they claimed 400,000 would be available at launch. Turns out it's more like 125,000. Sony can't exactly just come out and be proud that *all* 125,000 sold out, because then the real story would be the fact that so few units were actually produced (well short of expectations).
Nintendo, on the other hand, only has good news all around to report.
--- witty signature
Comedy?
Take a look at this fags post history:
http://slashdot.org/~VJ42
How's those 360 sales going faggot? Can you say Dreamcast 360...Gold, comedy gold!
Here's to you, Mr. Anonymous Coward Sony Fanboy Troll!
Mr. Anonymous Coward Sony Fanboy Troll!
Sitting at home in your parents basement with your PS1 and 2 and 3...
Maaaaaaan, thats a lot of consoooooooles....
Or, Mr. Troll, are you playing with a wii?
Tell me, Mr. Troll-man?
So here's to you, Mr. Anonymous Coward Sony Fanboy Troll...
Mr. Anonymous Coward Sony Fanboy Trooo-oooll!!!
Sony has done some things over the past couple years to make itself look more evil than Microsoft.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
Sony has a built up brand, people want it... (I've normally only owned Nintendo systems, but I can appreciate that the PS1 and PS2 had HUGE markets)... but they can't get product out the door. To win the marathon, Sony needs to make as many sales as possible to people willing to pay high prices, and figure out how to get manufacturing costs down as they lower price to sell more units... first sell to everyone willing to pay $500, then $400, then $300, then $200, etc.
However, Sony will be able to keep selling units for top dollar, which will help them, because demand is so high... but they can't supply the market.
Nintendo appears to have figured out how to get units out the door. It doesn't matter that 2x to 3x the people want a Sony system as a Nintendo system if Sony can't get them off the line and into stores. Nintendo will sell there demand, and some will substitute a Wii for a PS3. Sony blew this launch BADLY. They may win this round, they may make money, they may pull off a lot (they have a LOT of Brand Value), but they screwed up manufacturing.
If Nintendo keeps manufacturing units and selling them, they will sell games and make money. Some third parties may sign up (if you want to launch a game for next Christmas, if Sony doesn't fix its manufacturing problems by mid-year, Nintendo may be a real option for them). The interesting thing is that Nintendo's system is SO different, it isn't straight ports that will work. Last generation, game companies could switch their target system around without much re-jiggering, but Nintendo's system requires a completely different approach because it is so unique.
However, Sony blew the manufacturing... marketing did its job, but they didn't get product out there. I expect Microsoft to be the BIG beneficiary of this, as Sony and Microsoft are much more substitutable (similar hardware, similar controllers, similar target markets), but Nintendo will find itself fighting in the normal market, not just a niche...
Interesting thing as well, Nintendo didn't overspec their system, they may have underspec'd it. That means that they may be able to get costs WAY down. If Sony's botched launch delays games (because nobody wants to sell games to a dead market), Nintendo may be able to keep moving systems and get the costs down fast. If that happens, expect Nintendo to start selling to hardcore gamers because if they can get a $200 package with 2 games out within 24 months, hard core gamers may pick one up to augment their Sony/MS gaming with Nintendo's unique offering.
Nintendo executed, Sony didn't. Kudos to Nintendo. Sony, get your divisions back in sync.
Alex
Sony was quite reserved on saying how much units will be at launch. IIRC, Sony has said last year that at launch will be about 10mln units. Over the year, the figure shrunk to 2mln.
Before launch, Sony was quite silent, but industry watchers have estimated that Sony production lines can pull 200k units every month and during 3 month in production befiore launch, Sony could have had max 600k units at launch.
P.S. Figure of 800k units was also rumored.
All hope abandon ye who enter here.
That's a rate of nearly one per second continuously since the November 19 launch
How about the length of Wiis side-by-side in number of football fields?
How many Volkswagen Beetlefuls?
As someone who's casually interested in picking one up, how hard are the Wii's to find? Are they going *poof* as soon as shipments get into the stores? I'm probably going to wait until January (just bought a laptop) but even my girlfriend has expressed an interest in it. Naturally I have to investigate :).
I can't reveal the exact number of units sold in US as that's a trade secret, but both units were sold.
Wii sold through more than 600,000 units in the Americas in just its first eight days of availability. That's a rate of nearly one per second continuously since the November 19 launch!600000/8 units/day * 1/24 day/hr * 1/60 hr/min * 1/60 min/sec = 0.868 units/sec
If I got 86.8% on an exam, should I go around saying that it's "nearly 100%"?
I think it's high time that you come clean and publicize how much you're being paid.
how many units the Xbox 360 sold in the same timeframe?
Summation 2
Actually, I don't own any of the "next gen" systems yet. I'm a Brit, so I'm still waiting for the Wii on December the 8th, and PS3 somtime in march next year. I've pre-ordered a Wii. The 360 hasn't got any games that really look intresting to me; I'll see what the PS3 is like when it comes out.
As for my posting history, at least I log in and have one.
If I have nothing to hide, you have no reason to search me
I was just looking last night for some stats on sales. I have never been a console fan and I have been a PC Gamer since the IBM PC Jr. but the GameCube changed all that. It was the gameplay and the feel of the controls. I couldn't stand the X-Box or the PS2 hand controls after coming from a PC and was often owned by my kids in FPS which I still think is an exercise in futility on consoles. The GameCube changed that and I really began to enjoy titles such as the 007 and the family oriented games really brought my kids and I together where before we were isolated in our own little PC/console gaming experiences (not that I get much time for it anymore). When I saw the Wii advertised a few months back I instantly saw something that I had been looking for in a gaming experience and that was physical immersion. Of course it was all marketing hype and I would have to see it to believe it. I was also sick of hearing people talk about what a badass system the X-Box and X-Box 360 were knowing that it was nothing more than a crappy PC. I would say, "why not build your own gaming PC and get a really good experience with FPS games". "Well Halo 2 is awesome on the X-Box 360!." I decided to check it out and played Halo 2 for a couple of hours at my in-laws house and to me Halo on the PC blew it away. Yes, the slick cases and "skins" and all of that marketing crap make it seem cool to my kids but it just irked me that it was in no way innovative but then you had to shell out immense amounts of cash for all the items to make it worth playing or owning such as a large hard drive, wireless nic, wireless controllers, headsets, x-box-live. And then PS3 was coming out with an even more expensive system with a HD DVD that could end up going the same way that the PSP's disc format (with movies) went and that is to the grave. Launching with zero titles that I would want on top of that. It seemed like they (MS and Sony) were trying to do what all the home-gamekit builders and outfits like alienware and others had already done a million times better but due to marketing would make you accept that you had to have it and that it was the greatest thing ever. It just pissed me off. I continued to follow the Wii and read about its concepts and Nintendo's approach to development and it just seemed very cool. So for the first time in my life I actually went and stood in line for a game-system on Black Friday with my kids. We ended up getting turned away at a mall Gamestop but I tried a standalone EB-games where in the dark hours of the am I found a group of 5 people waiting for the store to open. My kids and I were 6th in line. When we got in i asked them how many Wiis they had in stock, already knowing that I wouldn't be able to get one and already having decided that I wouldn't waste any more of my time as Thanksgiving livestock. The guy said he had 5 systems and I thought everyone in line was getting one. One guy ahead of me bought a PS3 and a Wii. I stayed in line anyway even though it looked bad and my kids were with me so it would be even more dissappointing for them as the excitement had been mounting for a couple of days. Well, this lady turns around to me and says, "You are going to get one". I kept wondering what she was talking about and lo and behold she was buying her grandkid a PSP. We stepped up and asked for the last Wii and he pulled the bag up with all of the the launch stuff in it and we were just totally jazzed. My oldest boy actually made the sound of angels heralding (cheesy movie/cartoon rendition) when they put the bag on the counter. The kids were off for Turkey Day and we spent the rest of the day having one hell of a time with the new system. I haven't had this much fun playing a game and feeling immersed since I first played the text version of Hitchhikers Guide on my PCJr. The new controls are just amazing and the design of the system both on the physical level and within the Wii menu was just completely sweet. I can really see this system becoming a cornerstone for family entertainment. My wife, who has never had any intere
If I have 10 customers who demand a product I have and I only provide 4 of course they'll sell immediately. I don't know if that could be called selling well especially in contrast to another system in a similar circumstance.
When next gen systems are in abundance and one them trounces the others then I would say it's selling well.
"No doubt one may quote history to support any cause, as the devil quotes scripture." - Learned Hand
Parent has it. People don't like sony, and game mags have(pathetically) been bought.
Most people aren't thought about after they're gone. "I wonder where Rob got the plutonium" is better than most get.
"I think that it's high time that Slashdot come clean and publicize how much they're being paid."
Nintendo must be paying off nearly every game site out there. Good thing they've got deep pockets and a competitor that has a high price, low supply, half-assed controller, and the death of Lik-Sang under their belt.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Sony loses $300+ per unit.
Retailer makes maybe $50 after they pay all the extra security.
Ebayers make $500-1500/unit minus...
the Ebay makes 5.25% + Paypal 2.90% = 8.15% of that (more then the retailer most likely)
And then of course all the violence, injuries, and robberies.
Sony got screwed royally, and everyone else won the lottery.
Console developers need to get their shit together and learn what a Dutch Auction is.
- Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/
If everyone hated them, Sony wouldn't be selling any.
As it reads, 454,000 SOFTWARE purchases exceeds 75% of all HARDWARE purchase(r)s. Does that mean 75% of all wii purchases, or 75% of all console purchases ? If it's the latter, does that mean non-wii owners have been buying this game (if that's at all possible) ?
For people who are supposedly "in the media" their writing skills need a lot to be desired.
I have a PS2 and a GameCube. The GameCube has been gathering dust for months, the PS2 is in use most nights. However, I have no interest in the PS3 at this time--but I've ordered a Wii.
So it's not anti-Sony fanboyism. The PS3 really does suck. It's too expensive and there aren't anywhere near enough good games.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
I have trouble listening to anything an AC has to say about someone else's posting history.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I picked up a subscription to Game Informer (it was free with a discount card which saved me more money on the games I was buying that day than it cost).
The December issue practically ignores the Wii, and their review of Marvel Ultimate Alliance says that some characters are "only available on the PS3 and Xbox 360". They are also on the Wii version -- but the review doesn't even mention that there's a wii port.
I think it's pretty clear that the people at that magazine are blowing off the Wii, and given the reviews of everyone I know who's played on one (including me), I think that's gotta be because loyalty to Sony is a big deal in getting advertising dollars.
That said, I'm getting a PS3 the moment I can, because it will cost a fraction of the price of a "real" cell server, and be good enough to play around and doodle code on.
My blog: http://www.seebs.net/log/ --- My iPhone/iPad app: http://www.seebs.net/seebsfrac/
Wait, how is the PS3 a "complete mess" again (beyond LOL $$)? There haven't been reports of overheating (a la 360), damaging discs (a la 360), broken windows/TVs/controllers (a la Wii), bricked consoles (a la Wii), unavailable controllers (a la Wii), or unavailable component cables (a la Wii). There haven't even been Disc Read Errors (a la PS2). Both consoles share general unavailability (and if you believe expense is a factor, it should offset the margin of difference).
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
"Wii, PS3 Sell Big In First Week" How exactly is this anti Sony? I'm sorry the truth hurts so bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkB3Flck9_8Nintendo Wii SuperFan
D:
"Liberté, égalité, fraternité" also makes for an interesting order of priorities.
You can get fraternity without equality, and you can get equality without Freedom!
But, I sail the world and I have wet to see a place where freedom is even emerging.
Ceci n'est pas une Signature !
If 7 million people want Wii's, and 7 million want PS3's (the number of xbox 360's so far sold) there will be 5.5 million unhappy Nintendo fans and 6.2 million unhappy PS3 fans this christmas.
Kinda sad when you think about it. If Nintendo and Sony were smart, they'd both poor all their advertising dollars into production for a while. No point in hyping something no one can buy.
As Stephen Colbert might say, reality has an anti-PS3 bias.
and they both rock :) They are like apples and oranges when you try to compare them so don't even bother. The part I like the best is that I can have this much fun without giving Microsoft a f**king dime.
no further comment needed. With these prices I don't want to see nintendo complain about piracy in my country, EVER.
You should have offered to exchange a Wii for it - then everyone would have been happy.
Also, did you get her autograph? You could sell that on ebay too because it would be the closest that most of us Brits will get to a PS3 this year.
Reduce, reuse, cycle
maybe all of those guys queing to get a PS3 and selling them on ebay were actually Sony employees trying to get back the money they spent developing it. In fact, I bet Sony even pays people to go on to ebay to put extra bids on the ones they didnt get their hands on to drive up the prices of the ones they did. Sony are sneaky you see.Root kitters and ebayers the lot of em.
Though I do feel it's stupid to ignore a system in a supposedly unbiased publication. The Wii units didn't go out to anyone to review games or content until sometime this month. This is well past the press date for any Magazines to be printed through Christmas, so online sources are going to have to fill your news until 2007. Despite not being able to comment much on a game they couldn't play they should have at least acknowlaged it's existance; and promised features.
Good one, really well thought out. Your argument basically boils down to "everyone hates the PS3 except the people that do, and we know those people are paid off. I don't want a PS3 and most people I know don't either so therefore it sucks." How does that shit get modded up?
I know I would like to get one, but the price has put me off. But then again the price of the 360 and Wii are also too much for me. I personally know people that have the PS3 and love it. I know many more that will buy it when the price drops. Just to clarify things, I don't hate the PS3 and Sony has not paid me off.
The system has been out for less than two weeks. Nintendo hasn't done shit yet either, so why is everyone jumping on the Nintendo bandwagon? I played a Wii for about an hour and wasn't exactly impressed by the launch titles. The only good game is a port, just like the PS3. It definitely has potential, but I'm waiting to see if quality single player games will appear there in large enough numbers or if it will just be a "party" console. As far as backwards compatibility, nearly all games from both the PSX and PS2 work, there are very few that don't. They will probably always have a higher percentage playable than the 360 (probably much higher) because of the difficulties of software emulation.
The fact that people are attacking Sony so much without even addressing it in something remotely resembling a rational way is ridiculous. There are plenty of things wrong with both new consoles, let's wait and see what happens before brutally attacking one side or the other. When the 360 came out there were huge problems, but now all of a sudden it's considered a perfect machine and the PS3 is the one that is going to crash and burn. Funny how that works.
A key thing to note in comparing the profits of these two sales is that Sony isn't profiting, while Nintendo already is. So from my understanding, Nintendo has already sold many more units, has just as strong (if not a stronger) foothold in the market, they profit from each Wii, and have more reshipments before the Holiday season. Meanwhile, Sony is losing a significant amount of money per PS3 and won't even have a big reshipment until when? Next year? That's a giant amount of potential money they're losing by not having consoles available for Christmas. I'm not saying Wii is better than PS3. I'm just saying Nintendo wins the launch war with flying colors.
Perhaps because everyone is not you? A large number of people have played it and seem to really like it. I got one and I like it quite a bit - I think MS and Sony will end up incorporating this technology because it's a good thing.
Squeenix has no loyalty to anyone. They've been currently loyal to Sony because the PS2 was such a smash hit among RPG gamers, and totally owned the Japanese market, where their games do the best. They started on FF13 LONG before anyone had any idea that the PS3 launch was going to be so bad, and before the possibility that they will achieve a low market share (and more importantly to a game manufacturer, low unit sales, period). Currently, they've released FF11 for PC and XBox (and 360?), and are finishing up a sequel to FF12 for the Nintendo DS, as well as having just released FF3 for the device. The Wii is getting both Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy spin-off titles, pretty soon.
So, currently, Squeenix has a few different options:
Their best bet: screw exclusivity and release for all three systems. RPGs are 95% artwork/design anyway, coding is usually very minimal, and the time porting would be a drop in the hat compared to the time and money spent in the art department. The Wii version would simply be 480p versions of the games, with slightly lesser graphics and revised interfaces. You can be sure they won't drop PS3 version, until when/if the console totally goes under, but porting could result in over 4-5x in unit sales, and gives them a huge market advantage.
That said, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if they haven't been working on a 360 version of FF13 in secret, for a while now, just in case the PS3 falls on its face, similarly to how Apple developed OSX for intel chips for years in case the PPC chips failed.
Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
It is tradition that the company looses money on each console sold (at least initially). Maybe Sony should sell their console through futures market. Traders bid based on stated supply and estimated demand. Stores sell based on the futures pricing. People that really want the system pay the premium to get it early. As supply goes up the futures pricing goes down.
This could also have the effect for people that really, really want the console can get one with less chance of it being out of stock. They simply have to pay the price for the privilege. With the price sufficiently high, they would never run out of product.
Simple supply and demand. Good stuff.
- the wee wii
Their economy is much higher then the rest of the world, so they don't think twice whether to buy western stuff like PS3/Wii which are quite cheap to them. Japanese selling success is a wrong point of view, I'd say a better point of view is U.S.A/U.K sells.
Think about it
There also haven't been Godzilla attacks (a la Tokyo), but joking aside...
There's the lack of a supply, the broken demo units, the broken global launch promise, the small number of launch titles, their Live-like network mess, the backwards compatability problems, the thefts, the shootings, the riots, the huge ebay prices, the hiring of homeless people to stand in line for scalpers, the arrogant statements by the people in charge of Sony (You'll but it without games, lol), the loss of rumble for "innovative" motion technology that was around at the time of the PS1, the really weird and freaky marketing campaign and finally the rumors that the 400k launch systems were really on the order of 150k.
In contrast the only stated problems with the Wii are as you have listed. One of which can be largely attributed to user error (we don't blame baseballs for broken windows), one of which is rather unprecedented in the history of consoles (I can't think of a console launch where controllers were one of the sold out items) and another of which has had an overwhelming postive resposne from Nintendo (quick replacement for your bricked Wii, not to mention rather isolated incidents).
So while you can probably come up with similar justifications for most of the reasons I listed for the PS3 launch being a mess, the point remains that Sony has easily bested the 360 and the Wii combined with twice as many easily remembered issues with their launch.
I won't even touch listing positive aspects of the launches. I don't think we need to continue this episode of "World's most one sided launch fights".
Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
Perhaps because everyone is not you?
Everyone is not me either. I saw the Wii and was not particularly impressed, I saw the PS3 and was.
Good games take time to make... look at the wait for Zelda. They will come for all the systems.
Zelda: Twilight Princess won't be out for GameCube until Dec. 8th, if memory serves. This only refers to Wii purchases.
You are reading a copy of my copyrighted post.
And if the Wii starts ramping up support, it's quite possible that many who planned on getting a PS3 before, ended up forgetting about it because they're perfectly happy with the Wii - which they could at least obtain.
This was evidenced by a story in the print edition today of the Wall Street Journal (expensive subscription required), which said that a number of customers online who initially searched for a PS3 switched to an easier to purchase Wii on failing to secure the PS3 in visits to commercial store websites.
Once the installed base of satisfied users is there, it's more a matter of how many Wii games they'll buy - and how many fewer PS3 games will be sold, that dooms Sony's marketing projections.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Um maybe a lot of the anti-PS3 articles are because EVERYONE HATES THE PS3.
I don't hate it. I just think it's overpriced, has very few games that are even slightly interesting (except one), and I hate DRM.
But I used to own Sony stock, 500 shares, so I wouldn't say I hate them. I just think they decided to walk off the edge of a cliff at some point, and I've given up on them.
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Until sony does something right, I doubt you will ever see pro-ps3 artcles here or anywhere else thats not paid by Sony in advertising.
Right. If you say so.
Sony has done nothing right, from dust scratching the system, to poor backwards compatability
Right. Gizmondo. *rolls eyes* Maybe it happened when he stuffed the fucking unit down his pants?
Poor BC? 200 games, __OUT OF 8 THOUSAND__ have problems, though most are still playable. That's right at launch. Yeah, that's real awful.
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Really? Look in the mirror you jerk.
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
Not sure if I'm rational, but I'll not pick 360 as a substitution of PS3.
There are games on PS that I want to play. Getting Wii in the meantime will give me a cheap(er) console and a different type of game play; getting a PS3 in the future will complement the Wii. The current PS3 manufacturing delays will let me wait it out while playing the Wii.
If I get a 360, then it's like paying for a PS3 but not getting those games; too many overlaps. IMO, if Microsoft really wants to take the PS3 market share, they should push the idea that waiting for the PS3 (games) is not worth it by having very good game lineups themselves.
It is tradition that the company looses money on each console sold (at least initially).
Too bad for Sony that Nintendo has never had that tradition - they always make money on console sales, and still do.
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In short, your list is idiotic. Rumors and irrelevance. And you used "limited availability" twice (first and last items!). Compared to bricked consoles these are hardly bad. None of them mean the console you brought home is useless or limited---which both bricked consoles and limited accessories (both controllers and cables) do.
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
Sony loses $300+ per unit.
No. An analyst says that Sony loses $300 per unit. That is the same $900 / unit that analysts were talking about a year ago and was generally thought to be complete bunk. Just before the rootkit fiasco when everyone decided hating Sony would be the new cool thing to do on the Intertubes. Now when an analcyst spouts some bullshit numbers that ignore the fact that Sony owns the production lines for many of the PS3 components, people take it as god-given fact.
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
Gaming involves viewing output on the screen, and doing things on the input device. A different input device means a different game. Making a game for PS2, XBox, and GC (a la Madden Football) is just a matter of porting to the different hardware (straight-foward, regardless of how time consuming) and remapping controls.
Making a game for the Wii requires rethinking the game because the way the user interacts is very different. Just like Console and PC ports require some fine-tuning (keyboard + mouse is different than controller... you couldn't straight port World of Warcraft to the console), a Wii game will require a different gaming process to take advantage of the hardware... including the controller.
Porting to different chips is "easy" because you just throw programmers at the problem and it goes away. Porting to a different interface system is difficult because you need to rethink elements of game design.
I agree that Nintendo is smart on this system... keep out of port-land with a different controller, keep the system simple to lower development costs, and stay out of head-to-head competition.
Companies that wrote games for any of the last-gen systems could release them for other systems simultaenously or after exclusivity ran out, the Wii requires that the Nintendo version be unique. That gives Nintendo a unique value proposition. Deciding between Xbox + Madden or PS2 + Madden comes down to "cost" (or benefits of having the system later). The Wii is so different that people that want that system will need to buy a Wii and the Wii games.
That said, if the Wii shipped with a "game cube" controller and made it a way to build games for both, they might have been able to snag more by being the uber-system (both types of games), but that might have discouraged Wii-style games, so who knows.
Alex
Who was the only company to promise a worldwide launch? And the wii is actually the closet to a worldwide launch
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> As far as CRC goes...you'd have to be completely retarded to do that.
You're confused about the difference between encryption and a CRC. The CRC would verify that the download was properly received--i.e. that it wasn't missing a piece or that a bit wasn't flipped. That's hardly something "stupid" to do--if you have even 1 corrupt bit, it can trash the whole thing. Perhaps you've heard about all those Linksys routers that people brick when they try to do updates over the wireless connection instead of a wired one... Same principle.
Now yes, some forms of encryption can certainly include CRCs or other information to make sure that the message is intact after decryption, but even then, they SHOULD be doing SOME kind of sanity checking before updating firmware. If they're not, they're just begging to have the machine bricked.
Finally, yes, such systems can and have been used for DRM (e.g. in the Tivo, where the hardware won't boot if you modify the software), but that in itself is bad, not the practice of sanity checking updates before you install them to ensure that you don't brick someone's hardware...
Your reponses are equally idiotic, but I will address those in a minute. The reason why I listed supply twice because that is the largest problem we face in enjoying our PS3s, getting one. Less than 1% of Wiis are "bricked" by the online update, while there is a supply gap between the Wii and the PS3 that is far greater than 1%. While returning home with a bricked system is a bummer, it is hardly comparable (especially when it is quickly replaced by Nintendo) to not being able to get one at all.
Yes, rumors. Rumors that Sony could at any time squash. They could easily have said what their real numbers sold were, but by simply saying that they sold out they only server to fan the flames. That these rumors (and only so because they are not substanciated by Sony) were started by market analysts rather than rabid fanboys is rather important.
I'd rather have both actually. The problem is that Sony claims that A) The controller is a new innovation and B) that it excludes have rumble. That is Sony's official position on the subject when rumble and motion are present in a controller for the PS1 from 10 years ago. That the true story may be a "silly patent" doesn't serve to further Sony's image.
The above covers much of the problem with this, but I'd like to address a different issue. There's a large difference between "use" and "use well". One I could look up a list almost as long as the list of PS2 games for, the other is subjective and relative to the person playing. As a feature it was heavily used on all three past generation consoles. That and the dubious circumstances of its loss are what make it surprising.
It does actually. It's called marketing and PR. You'd be surprised what these do for any product, or how much they can hinder one.
Also, Nintendo and Microsoft have not told people directly that they should get a second job to buy a system that they'll buy even if it had no games. Unless you're willing to dig up statements by Microsoft or Nitendo on an equivalent level of "Screw you" to gamers, I don't think you can argue this point.
They don't have to be orchestrated by Sony for the launch to be a mess. Some of the problems in a launch can be the fault of others (see the overbooking of preorders for the Xbox 360) but still contribute to making the launch a mess. Riots, thefts and shootings do not cast a good light on Sony and the Playstation 3 especially considering there were
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I am not 100% sure why but the previous issue of GI may have had the reason for this. It has a top 10 list of top 10 reason why they didn't have reviews of the Wii. The #1 reason stated that Nintendo didn't let them review it. GI does not ignore the Wii at all...it has been viewed with a lot of excitement. I think they very fairly review the PS3 in everything I have read.
Slashdot is very very heavily biased against the PS3 and Zonk is no exception. It is slightly ironic that Slashdot allows such biased editors when the community is so against media bias. But Sony has done enough that the majority of vocal people on Slashdot will trash Sony any chance they get. So I guess as long as your bias is popular, it's ok.
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you deserve the DRM laden, incompatible media you get from supporting an entity that treats its customers like thieves and purposfully damages their property.
I know boycotts dont work, but I dont want to hear any bitching when you cant move your media of choice to the viewing device (or OS) of your choice.
Kevin
I agree, I think the Wii has a much better chance of generating love (and that breeds brand loyalty) than other consoles. It's a genuinely novel interface that encourages real-world movement and socializing with other people - in a richer way than just sitting next to each other mindlessly clicking... It's a better user experience than all the others, and I think it deserves all the success it's getting.
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Wiiiii
Showing its dominance, the Wii penetrated the Market.
Well, you know, I'm a graphics whore just like the next guy, but realistically... Have you ever played a game and thought to yourself "wow, that game would be a lot more fun if the graphics were better"? Graphics are the real gimmick here. You don't need them to have fun. I own several gameboys, a DS and a PSP. The PSP has the best graphics by far, but the only game I've been playing for the last week was Phoenix Wright 2 on the DS - a game whose graphics consists of a few constantly repeating 2D drawings.
Honestly, the Cube as a system has failed, but even if I knew when I bought it what I know now, I still would have bought it. For me, Nintendo's first party titles are enough to make a console worthwhile. Even if the Wii fails miserably (and it won't), if Nintendo keeps releasing games during the next four or five years, it's going to be worth it. The party games alone make sure the the Wii will be one of the most used consoles in my living room.
Either way, the Wii will probably not reach 100 bucks until the last year of its life, and the PS3 (the expensive version) will probably never reach 300 bucks.
But in the end, you're right: Until supply is bigger than demand, we won't know what's going on in the "console war."
I think people are buying them in order to sell them to others at a profit, who are again buying them because they think that come christmas, they can make an even bigger profit.
Or maybe some are actually playing games on them. Never heard of that, though.
By the way, "a" in french is the "he" (third person singular) form for "avoir," "to have." What you're looking for is "à." And if you seriously can't find other issues with the PS3, you're not only bad at french, you're also a Sony fanboy.
So, you got a limited version of the console which is probably worth quite a bit in a few years. Good for you :-)
So was Nintendo; and Atari before that.
Damn, it even says 12/12 in the link I posted.
OSGGFG - Open Source Gamers Guide to Free Games
That would explain not reviewing the Wii ports of games; it wouldn't explain omitting the Wii from system lists of games that were ported to it.
I don't think it's quite "bias" to point out problems in Sony's handling of things. Of course, I am biased against Sony, after a long series of DRM pushes, rootkits, copy protection schemes, and other abuses. So far as I can tell, as long as I can enjoy books and movies, they will never rest.
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