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Wii, DS, Not Cannibals
Nintendo President Iwata, GameSpot reports, has stated that the Wii and the DS are not 'eating' each other. That is to say, the Wii's brisk sales reports have not harmed the high demand for Nintendo's portable system. From the article: "'Some analysts say the largest rival of the Wii is the DS,' he told the Reuters news service. 'But if you take a look at DS sales in the United States in the Thanksgiving week or DS sales in Japan in the week of the Wii launch, there has been little impact.' By the end of its fiscal year on March 31, 2007, Nintendo now believes it will have sold 6 million Wiis and 20 million combined units of the DS and DS Lite. It currently predicts its annual profit will total 145 billion yen (around $1.26 billion), an increase of more than 60 percent, with annual sales rising 45 percent to 740 billion yen (approximately $6.44 billion). "
Yamaha, or some other motorcycle company. It's not. If you're going to get a motorcycle you're going to get a yamaha, if you want a truck/car you get a ford. If you need both, you'll get a ford and a yamaha.
The only person that the DS and the Wii competes over is the guy who is only going to buy 1 system or handheld. And in the past the DS was competing with the PSP for that anyways (and winning for the most part).
This is a fine example of framing the debate. The marketing department of Nintendo is attempting (and succeeding? I can't tell) to paint themselves as having only to compete with themselves. It's just part of they overall strategy they've been executing for the last several years.
Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
One attaches to your TV, the other you can take anywhere. The Gameboy didn't do this to the NES when it came out 20 years ago, so why should anyone think this now?
If the Wii had no effect on the DS sales then Nintendo is making more money which is the point of the article. As far as the war between the DS and the PSP the French put up more of a fight in WWII. GameBoy has taught Nintendo alot. The original was the single worst hand-held of its time as far as graphics and hardware go. It did so well because of the games. Sony didn't learn its leason. Who wants to play crappy games in HD( if you spend the extra money to get the cable and an HD TV)? Nintendo's about fun Mircosoft is about power Sony is about 3rd place.
" I think that freedom is Americas biggest export. Atleast untill China can stamp it out for 20 cents a unit."
The batteries lasted forever, but yeah, whatever ...
Hank! White!
And it's not using "cannibal" correctly. A cannibal is something that eats is own type. (Btw, ever fed pork to pigs or chicken to pigeons?) The question is not whether the Wii "eats Wiis", but whether the Wii "eats DS's" and vice versa. A better metaphor would be to ask if the Wii and DS are "type A and B Deftera".
Apology to Ubuntu forum.
Honestly, I think this is the one thing Nintendo has understood about portable systems that nobody else has ever been able to figure out:
If the batteries are dead, then it doesn't matter how awesome your graphics are, how l33t your processor is, or even how good your games are: your system is an expensive brick. It seems like such a small thing, but poor battery life can bring even the greatest system to its knees. None of Nintendo's competitors seem to have understood this, and in the end they've all suffered for it.
So I'll say it again here: I reserved a Wii and got one on launch day. For Christmas, Grandma and Grandpa are buying two DS lites (one each for my daughter and eldest son). Add in the games (4-5 Wii games + 4 [2 each] DS games) and accessories (2nd and 3rd Wiimotes and nunchuks, Wii points cards, personalized Wiimote gloves, etc.) and Nintendo is making a mint off my family alone. But, no, the Wii is not negatively affecting DS Lite sales. Frankly, I want a DS Lite more now that I have the Wii. Every indication is Nintendo will offer integrations that make it very compelling to have both.
Actually, Microsoft and Sony sell their consoles at a loss.
5 2.html) that Nintendo is not selling the Wii or any of it's accessories (the remotes, nunchucks, etc) at a loss. They make profit on everything they sell.
It has been stated several places (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060915-77
According to that same article, the DS is expected to sell 4.5 million this year compared to 2.9 million for the PSP. Which means the DS will sell 50% more this year. If you also factor in the sales of the GBA this year (3.1 million) it begins to look like a trouncing.
Ahh the days of old when we didn't HAVE to buy every consumer product out there. HAHA how silly and out of debt we were...
Nintendo is expecting a 60% increase in profits for the year...
Meanwhile MS and Sony are trying to keep from digging themselves too big a hole with their video game divisions.
Who is the real "winner."
No sig for you!!