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Wii Owners Looking at a Nintendo Drought?
The site Computer and Videogames has up an (unverifiable article) stating that several anticipated Wii titles are going to be delayed until late 2007. Specifically, they mention Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption as being out of our hands until the Christmas season next year. They report this information via 'reliable sources', and Nintendo is unwilling to confirm or deny the claims as of yet. N'Gai at Newsweek reminds us that Reggie Fils-Aime denied the possibility of a 'Nintendo drought' in an interview they conducted back in October. Here's hoping he doesn't live to regret these words: "... The third example I would give you is Mario Galaxy, another from-the-ground-up Wii game that we are strategically timing the launch to make sure that we continue driving momentum through 2007. So N'Gai, how do I answer the question, 'Will there be no drought,' and 'How will we make sure that there are fantastic titles for Wii?' The answer is Zelda, Metroid and Mario. Which is a pretty darn good lineup."
I stopped by GameStop trying to get a second nunchuk for Wii Boxing and he said the second wave of Wii shipments was sold out in 10 minutes flat. He's had several people return PS3's now that they aren't getting the prices they expected on ebay only to have the next transaction in the register be someone buying the PS3, to try to sell on the internet.
I find it strangely curious and sad that the holiday season has spawned a new industry of parasites. People who will buy up whatever the hot toy is only to put it up for an online auction trying to make a massive profit off someone who couldn't buy it in the store because everyone who bought one got it with the intention of selling it on ebay.
The answer to your question is:
Your Wii is now up for auction on the internet, once supply picks up, it will be returned to the store after its temporarily inflated value goes back down.
The problem is that the Wii launch, constitutes almost the entire production from Nintendo game studios over the last couple years, cause they sure weren't making Gamecube games. I'm sure they have a Mario and Metroid game in 2007, but what has Nintendo done to prevent a drought after that? The real problem is that Nintendo consoles still rely on Nintendo providing all the games worth playing and they just don't make them fast enough, for a broad enough market, or even at the same level as in the past. The reason the PS1 or PS2 was consistent was not cause of Sony's games, but cause of 3rd parties.
3rd party Developers are not looking at the Wii as a place to make new creative games - why do it on old technology? The Wii is going to be looked at as a dumping ground or a place to make a cheap buck. PS2/XBOX ports, new levels on an old engine, rework the control scheme and push it out the door. Look at the Wii version of Far Cry or the fact that the 'new' Wii Prince of Persia is actually the OLD Prince of Persia (with NEW control scheme!) that came out last year for examples of this.
It may cheer you up to go watch PS3 auctions end below MSRP with no reserve set. I know that just made my day a little brighter.
Note the original poster's point: "Supply is low" because of scalpers (who have no intention of actually using the product) waiting on line to grab the PS3s before legitimate buyers can.
These scalpers then attempt to generate wealth that they neither earned nor created on eBay-- with no renumeration to the designer, the manufacturer, the supplier, or the retailer.
Scalping isn't an instance of "the free market", it's actually an attempt to profit through interference with the processes of the free market. So yes: "Parasites" is actually an excellent choice of word.