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Wii Outsells 360, PS3 Worldwide
Wowzer writes "Despite confusing consoles produced, shipped or sold reports, the Nintendo Wii is now the best-selling system worldwide. Its sales exceed that of the Xbox 360 despite Microsoft's console having a year-long head start. And it's way ahead of the PS3. From the article: 'Sales figures from each console's launch date through the end of July (and the end of August in Japan) were added up, with the Wii just barely edging out the 360: 9 million for the Wii, 8.9 million for the 360, and 3.7 million for the PlayStation 3.'"
The game companies that thought it would fail and weren't prepared for its success.
Well, it has never been successfully tested.
On the one hand, it's just a continuation of a year-long trend of Wii kicking the other consoles' butts hard. They're still hard to find because they disappear off the shelves as soon as they get put there. Anyway, this was all predicted a while ago and so isn't a surprise in that sense.
On the other hand, I find it QUITE surprising that the Wii can so handily outsell the 360 when its game library is, all things considered, horribly outmatched. This is a very strong example of the fact that games do NOT sell the system, as many gamers like to think. Advertisements and price tag do a LOT more than the shelves of dvd-size plastic boxes with the console's logo on them, it seems.
I like basketball!!1!
...I know this term is sloshed around alot around here, but I wonder if Nintendo has shills trolling the /. boards? It seems to me most of the ones around here take the form of either Microsoft or Sony...yet you never really see any that sound like they are coming from Nintendo...curious, that.
Living With a Nerd
You're missing the point. The Xbox 360 has had a significant advantage time-wise over both the PS3 and the Wii. Nintendo, in about 10 months, has caught the 360 which has been on the market a full year longer. Not only that, but just do a comparison at your local store. When was the last time you saw a Wii sitting on a shelf anywhere? Sales of the Wii show no signs of letting up any time soon. So in short, Nintendo is murdering their competition.
Specifically, the Xbox made its over all numbers largely without doing much in Japan. If you factored out Japan, I think that the Xbox still has a substantial lead.
In other words, I do not expect the Xbox 360 to become a non factor any time soon. It may be in a #2 position, but holding its current position without the benefit of Japan is a pretty strong feat. If they ever crack the Japanese market, they will likely give Nintendo some strong competition. Conversely, if the PS3 can build some decent momentum as its prices drop, it could overtake Microsoft overall with core gamers. If this does happen, it will happen very late in this console cycle (no earlier than say, 2010). And if it does do so, it will not overtake the 360 in the US.
I had been saying for some time, before the Wii's launch, that it probably had at worst, the #2 slot locked up in the console war, and a real threat to be #1.
I would say that right now, Nintendo is #1 over all, but only #2 with respect to hard core gamers. While a broad market strategy may be a good one, the core segment has proven consistently strong, and not one you want to cede to a rival.
If the Wii is ever going to get a grip on the core segment of the console market, they have to do it within the next year. Developers of titles that appeal to core gamers jumped on the Wii band wagon late, so the games that could push Wii into an untouchable #1 standing simply do not exist yet. On top of that, Nintendo did have a pretty bad game drought between February and July on the Wii. With the 3rd party developers coming on stream, that may change.
So to sum up:
- Right now, Wii has the #1 spot over all, but is only #2 with core gamers.
- I expect that the Xbox 360 will stay #1 with core gamers unless the Wii starts to get alot of games that will appeal to core gamers. Given the Wii's market positioning, I do not think this will happen.
- I expect the Xbox 360 to be guaranteed #2 unless Sony starts to build alot of momentum. I would be very surprised if this happens.
END COMMUNICATION
Innovation is good but not universally good.
I got one for my niece and nephew, and they love it. Even my parents (approaching their 60's) can understand it better than they could understand a PS2. People in nursing homes are finding they love it. Small children can use it, and it still has appeal for the 10-40 crowd. That's the core of it's sales - it has a far wider range of appeal.
However, it's graphics capabilities are not as advanced, and games for it have trouble comparing to their counterparts on other systems. The controls are an excellent idea, but could be much better designed (for instance, NOW is the time to resurrect the Power Glove). Other consoles can and will follow suit (unless Nintendo is able to file suit - difficult considering previous art).
The Wii is doing well because Nintendo always does well, even when they're not on top. Not only do they do well, but they do well without being the most technically advanced - because they pursue a wider market, rather than competing more heavily in a single one (such as the recent widespread dedication to hard core gamers, which turned out to be a mistake as HCG's were the most vocal, but not the most profitable).
Games are like movies. The slightly improved same-old-same-old will usually make more money than the truly innovative, just as the best movies usually never become blockbusters, and the apparent fact that you can make artistically great music, or you can make wildly popular music, but you can very rarely ever do both.
The Wii was a great concept, and if they don't blow it they could dominate - but it will be difficult to maintain that unless they upgrade their hardware as well.
Do not confuse "Freedom of Choice" with "Free Will".
When I heard the idea - an overclocked Gamecube with a novelty control system involving waving one's hands around - I thought Nintendo were doomed. One U-Force was bad enough.
When I heard details of the novelty control system, I thought it ridiculous for about two minutes, then began thinking it through a little. Several words came through my mind... 'bat, racket, gunsight... fucking lightsaber...' - I thought Nintendo might have something big on their hands, especially given what the DS was doing by then.
When I heard about the name, I though Nintendo were doomed.
When I was queueing outside the store on a damn cold night playing wireless Mario Kart with the other fanboys (all of us there to get our hands on Twilight Princess) and we saw the demo installation through the big window, and we saw how many passers-by were stopping to see what all the fuss was about and seeing the guys inside bowling... I thought Nintendo might have something very big.
When I saw how many of my utterly non-gamer relatives simply would not put down Wii Tennis... wow.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
And based on Nintendo's difficulty in satisfying demand, it's not much of a stretch to include them among those companies. It's easy to say something is a sure bet in hindsight, but that's not how it looked back before anyone had gotten their hands on the Nintendo Revolution.
Different doesn't always mean better, and features on paper don't necessarily describe the experience. How well has motion control worked in the past? How precise will the controller be? Assuming everything else remained the same, but the wiimote was looser, that alone could sink the console. Game controls need to be consistent and precise because that control mechanism is their only connection to the game. Plus the hardware is specced lower than the other two consoles. And their previous console came in last of the three. The Wii was not the safe bet, thus developers went with the tried and true formula on the other platforms and are now scrambling to play catch-up.
Even Nintendo didn't bet on doing this well, the numbers of consoles sold were constrained by Nintendo's supply, not demand. You can find a Wii without camping out now, after all this time, but they still get cleared off the shelves before the next shipment. When the holiday season rolls in they may be a chore to find once again.
But the upshot through all this, is that it's indeed the most prolific console now, and though developers may be a little late to the party, there will probably be a nice big wave of games hitting all at once as they finish their late-starting Wii games.
I think the lesson of both the Wii and the DS is that for a lot of people, notably the non-gamers, FUN is what counts.
Technology, the PSP trashes the DS. The XBox360 makes the Wii look like a joke graphically and computationally.
But the new interfaces (touch screen, WiiMote) have lead to entirely new classes of games, and new ways of doing traditional games.
EG, after playing Metroid for a few hours, I can't see how anyone could go back to the classic FPS controls, especially on a console. On a DS, the touchscreen allows very rich UIs, which are not possible with just the D-pad and buttons.
That is the lesson from Nintendo: Fun Must Come First .
Test your net with Netalyzr
They've already ramped production up quite a bit. I think they're leery of spending a lot of money ramping up production only to finally saturate demand, and then have nothing to show for that money... Or, worse (from their perspective), ramp up production and end up with quality control issues.
I think at this point it's fairly clear that 1.5M/month is not enough.
My blog: http://www.seebs.net/log/ --- My iPhone/iPad app: http://www.seebs.net/seebsfrac/
Your assumption that Nintendo only wins if everyone buys lots of games is based on the idea that the console is sold at a loss. Nintendo is likely making a hefty profit off each Wii they sale. Therefore to them, every Wii sold is a win, even if the user doesn't buy a single game. This is in contrast to Sony and Microsoft who LOSE money on every console, and are relying on the fact that every person who buys their console also buys at least 4 or 5 games. . . This is just to break even, to match the profit that nintendo is making off EVERY wii sale, they have to sell a couple more games.
Additionally, I do not think most wii owners only have one or two games. There are a lot of people who are "gamers", but aren't hard core enough to pay $600 for a system. There are lots of good games for the Wii, many of which aren't available on other consoles (just wait till smash brothers comes out).
Plus, when taking profits into account, you can't forget about the profit on accessories. How many Wii owners also have at least 2 or 3 wii motes. Those aren't cheap by any means, and likely lead to more profit for Nintendo. Particularly in the short term Nintendo is dominating the field when it comes to profit. I doubt the others have even recouped their development costs.
Phil
"The Wii controller was a good idea, not supporting HD-TV was a bad idea."
Not supporting HD meant the Wii (1) cost less for consumers to buy, and (2) cost less for developers to write titles for. Throw in the fact that HDTV is still a minority in all of the world's video-game markets, and there's no compelling reason for Nintendo to support it other than to satisfy the resolution-counting techno-geeks.
--R.J.
Electric-Escape.net
It is total sales. So the 360 has had a year longer to rack up less sales than the Wii. "Despite" is correct.
Whoever stated that signature sizes should be limited to one hundred and twenty characters can just go ahead and kiss my
The year is 2078, somewhere in Heartland America Son: Dad, what's that valley over there Dad: Son, that's the valley of Nintendo Wii Factories Son: Why did they build so many, didn't they realize one day they wouldn't need so many Dad: Yes son, but some guy on the Internet thought it was a good idea. Son: But dad, that's stupid, what did this anonymous idiot on the internet know about supply chains? Dad: Nothing son, that's why we now have 84 idle crumbling Wii factories now that market saturation is long past Son: That sucks.... Son: Hey dad? Dad: Yes Son? Son: Can I get a PS27? Dad: Do you know how many Euros that is?!
You fail to take into account that Sony and Microsoft take a loss on each console sold, whereas Nintendo actually makes a profit on them.
Indeed, I don't think Nintendo expected cruise ships wanting Wii's or people purchasing multiple consoles for home and travel.
Out of curiosity, I talked to a GameStop employee and asked him how the Wii was doing? Long story short, he claims they get an average of 25 units a week and sell out within 48 hours. 25 units a week (for one store) and they're still selling out months later. It is pretty surprising.
Of course, the real under-rated news is not the Wii but the DS. For all the people I know who won a Wii, I know twice as many who also have a DS. People who wouldn't buy a Wii as even that is too much 'video game' for them. Those "brain" games (Brain Age, Big Brain Academy) is by far the sleeper "killer ap". Who would have thunk that someone would drop $120 just to do some math equations? =P
Though, the DS does have a lot of great (and cheap) games. The Wii? Zelda, Mario Party, Metroid, Raymon, Wii Sports/Play... I've not been impressed with a whole lot else. So, that does say something about the unique frenzy the Wii is causing. Or maybe it's because I'm spending more time playing the Virtual Console? =P (yes, I've been playing on emulators on my PC since 2000, I still prefer the VC)
Cheers,
Fozzy
"The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth." ~1984 George Orwell
Nintendo is doing a great job of proving that appealing to a broader audience is a good way to go. But the fact remains that many of the games that core gamers enjoy simply do not appeal to a broader audience. And the core audience is not insignificant.
Games like God of War, Metal Gear Solid, Assassins Creed, Zelda, Metroid Prime, Gears of War, Dead Rising, Battlefield 1942, Counterstrike, Grand Theft Auto, Fable, System Shock 2, Ninja Gaiden, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest are all great games. I want to see more games of that sort continue to come out. And I would love to play them on my Wii. But I really do not think those types of games will come out on the Wii any time soon. At least, now with the Wii as the primary platform.
Manhunt 2, ratings controversy aside, apparantly makes use of the motion controls quite impressively. Swing the remote, and you get to smash someones head in. But outside of that game, I have not heard much coming out for the Wii that appeals to my particular tastes of a gamer.
At the moment, I do own a Wii. But I have not played very much on it lately. That will change when I get my hands on a copy of Metroid Prime. Being able to play Wii games with non gamer friends is nice. But quite frankly, I also want some good single player games with some real endurance to them. Most casual geared games do not do that.
The Core Audience sustained this industry for a long time. It may be niche, but it is a lucrative one, and one worth trying to hold on to.
END COMMUNICATION
That math makes no sense to me. If you assume that each 360 loses Microsoft something like $100 each, each PS3 loses Sony something like $150 each, and each Wii makes Nintendo something like $70 each, you get:
Microsoft: 890m loss
Sony: 550m loss
Nintendo: 630m profit
Factoring games, then, with a 60/60/50 price structure:
Microsoft: needs to sell 30.4m games to catch up to Nintendo at selling zero games
Sony: needs to sell 23.6m games to catch up to Nintendo at selling zero games
Nintendo: 3.6m copies of Zelda, alone, means they are $144m ahead; throw in Metroid, Super Paper Mario, WarioWare, Mario Party 8, etc, and Nintendo has something like 10m games sold, trivially.
Which means the numbers for each console are actually:
Microsoft: needs to sell 40m games to catch up to Nintendo
Sony: needs to sell 33m games to catch up to Nintendo
Nintendo: Clear winner and currently the only profitable game company
GPL Deconstructed
Agreed, most of the games available on virtual console were great games when they were first released and are still great games. My kids (younger teens), are somewhat surprised at the difficulty level, but enjoyability of these games.
VC games are basically the same cost as a rental game but the fun doesn't end (until you beat the game).
Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some idea balls to remove from a manatee tank.
Besides, your view of the situation is very limited. The main concern of Nintendo was that their core market, the japanese market, was dangerously decreasing. Nintendo stated countless times that they had to revitalize it to survive.
The DS and the Wii were made for that specifically, and succeeded. Just look at the software sales since the DS was out. It's pretty obvious that the DS started monopolizing the charts, with a fraction of the PS2 marketshare. 1. Continue to focus on the younger market with a rehashed Gamecube. Nintendo never focused on the younger market, that's a NA originating stigma that stuck to the Gamecube.
Nintendo games are for everybody, not just for the younger market. That mantra comes from the "hardcore" that believe that a game rated E means younger, when it means everybody. 2. Broaden the horizons by looking to a target market which didn't actually happen to be that bothered about the latest FPS (exactly the same as the last one but with a slightly bigger gun) Very narrow view again. Must be why one of the launch game on Wii was a FPS, that happens to be one of the best 3rd party seller on this console
Anyway, you could apply what you said to nearly any game genre except sports.