Wii popularity bubble about to burst?

by David Hinkle { Oct 16th 2007 at 11:02PM }

Japanese business paper The Nikkei recently published a piece titled Software Houses Miscalculate Audience, Demand For Wii, wherein author Tomoyuki Kawai cites that many inside sources are not looking to the Wii with such a favorable eye any longer. The big worry is that all of this success the Wii has had has only benefited Nintendo and them alone, with many third-party developers jumping on board only to be left with titles on their hands that failed to sell. It's these development studios that are supposedly not profiting compared to their previous year earnings, the result being a lack of support for the console and no desire to commit to it in the future.

The piece goes on to say that a lot of the Wiis picked up by consumers have only started to gather dust (it's unconfirmed if this is the same report we've posted about here earlier).

Tags: bubble, japan, popularity, third-party, wiisports

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

DonWii @ Oct 16th 2007 11:33PM

We didn't believe in the Wii.
The Wii is a success.
We throw crap games on the Wii.
Nintendo makes great games on the Wii.
Our games don't sell.
Nintendo is to blame.

Evan Wilgosh @ Oct 16th 2007 11:40PM

Although I enjoy the Wii a lot, the article draws a reasonable point. I mean, I haven't bought a new Wii game in months. All of my games are first party, or bargain bin. I bought the Wii itself out of novelty and I haven't played it in a few months, and only when I did company was over.

Third party games are far from good, first party games are reasonable but too Nintendoesque. It's a bad position for Nintendo - and for me. I'm bored of it already.

Jeremy @ Oct 16th 2007 11:43PM

I am just not seeing this. I think the Wii has been getting some great love from the 3rd party developers. Yeah its true that there are not tons of 3rd party games out on the Wii and lots of them do suck. It has nothing to do about the Wii's graphic abilities or the fan base. The problem is that these developers are producing cheap low quality games for $50 expecting to make a quick buck. Now some developers have gotten smart over the past few weeks and are releasing some games at $40 or even less.

Patius @ Oct 16th 2007 11:43PM

Eh, Capcom seems to be doing well with it.

As does some other software companies, like Ubisoft.

Mike @ Oct 16th 2007 11:43PM

Yes. May third party developers stop giving us half-assed ports and party game compilations. Then, *gasp*, they might make money!!

DonWii @ Oct 16th 2007 11:47PM

@Jeremy,

Hell, Capcom re-released a refined Resident Evil 4 for $30.
An already great game, with refined controls, for budget price.

Zack & Wiki, an amazing new IP, is also being released at $40.

At the same time, you have Rockstar's Table Tennis, which seems to control not so well, and far worse graphics than its Xbox360 predecessor, releasing at the same $40 price, which was $20 cheaper than regular 360 games.

DonWii @ Oct 16th 2007 11:48PM

I wouldn't be surprised if all of these "anonymous" developers are the extremely low-tier game makers in Japan, and that the magazine is only reporting on this to gain popularity/attention.

troy @ Oct 16th 2007 11:52PM

I mean Sony and Microsoft both have a history of promoting 'Unreality' through their use of fake reporters (Sony) to advertise movies or fake video blogs for the PSP, or MS paying people to go through Wikipedia to alter it in their favor. You can bet Nintendo doesn't do that shit: if they are 'cheesy' its only in the way that a genuinely nice person is 'cheesy,' all their success is earned and not stolen, gimmicked, or the result of luck and copying ideas. Sorry their games are the best! But honestly, there are many great third party games, ok well there are a few, and there are only going to be more. My ratio of 1st to third party games will be much more even after Q1 next year

Jeremy @ Oct 16th 2007 11:52PM

@7 I agree

EA has shown Wii love since day one as well as Capcom.

All that some developers need to do is spend some more time making a game before release.

SNKNGSHPS @ Oct 16th 2007 11:52PM

I think it's quite possible that Nintendo's casual bubble is about to burst, but I blame that on lazy 3rd parties pushing minigames/partygames. Think of what sells on other systems? Deep, engaging first person shooters with online capabilites. We got Metroid, which sold really well and without even online. If these companies would put some effort into making some deep, involving games the would could have a lot of life.

racecar @ Oct 17th 2007 12:12AM

Something tells me that with a lot of the games to come out around Christmas time, complaining third parties might change their tune. Ubisoft is doing great and I'll definitely be buying Rabbids 2 in November. EA is making an awesome FPS with 32 players online (MoH: Heroes 2) due in November. Guitar Hero III for Wii is coming out this month, so yet another developer taking advantage. Zack and Wiki? Manhunt 2? Geometry Wars? RE:UC? These are all games I'm keeping my eye on and they all arrive before New Year's. What they can get from Nintendo's example (and sales history) is that if they actually spend some time developing games, people will actually want to buy them.

-racecar
http://everybodyvotes.blogspot.com

Nitemare @ Oct 17th 2007 12:29AM

I really despise that article (the magazine's not wii fanboys :-) ) in no way is it the system , a good game will sell regardless of what system it is on.. if third parties want to make money with their games they need to do what Nintendo does.. make quality games, and delay if its not up to par... the only third parties that are thriving are the companies that saw the Wii coming first and put time and thought into their games, the rest will have some good games soon, which will benefit them then.. but the ones so far have been rushed because they were already losing profits because they were not supporting the Wii.. perfect example (although not an exceptional game ) was Red Steel... not a first party game, but the time they spent into it gained buzz and got sales (they just didn't perfect the game) even EA with Madden... 07 did well, 08 not so well because it was basically 07, to reiterate.... a good game will sell regardless of the system... the bad games that the third parties push to the Wii wouldn't sell on the PS3 or the 360 either...

Anthony @ Oct 17th 2007 5:21AM

I blame third parties for making poor games. ie: rushed and/or PS2 ports. Is it a coincidence that a bubble popping game was recently announced for WiiWare?

mark richardson @ Oct 17th 2007 6:06AM

Just wait everyone, i know some people aint playing their Wii as much i was like for a little while just because i was to busy, but im back and playing it. Last game i bought was paper mario and before that i cant remeber it had been a little while.

But on preorder i have, mario galaxy, matroid 3, manhunt, zack and wiki, lego star wars, smash brothers just to name a few. Once those hit ill be on it all the time. Its just at the moment it has some good games and some ok games once these killer games we are all waiting for appear everyone will be back and playing.

oh and i cant wait till wiiware starts as that will have me wanting to play it even more. Also this may sound sad but where are all the puzzle games? i remember the good old days where they used to be everywhere, why are puzzle games these days so bad? lets hope the ones coming on wiiware will spice things up. Cant wait for doctor mario

mark richardson @ Oct 17th 2007 6:51AM

ok ive been thinking about this a little more, and i have to say apart from one or 2 3rd party companies the level of games appearing isnt that good. Some promise so much and deliver half of what they promise. This seems set to change soon though as some companies are taking the wii a little more seriously that just half arsed attempts at porting games to the wii.

oh and why cant we get a gta game? fair enough we cant get the newest one but if the psp and the ps2 could handle gta then im pretty sure the wii can. how about a game like vice city stories!?!?

Nii @ Oct 17th 2007 7:23AM

I feel the Wii's sales success is because an enormous untapped market in the form of casual nongamers were accessed when the Wii came out. That is the main factor. But such a success is not an ongoing thing. Without enough the games to support the deep gamers then I can see only downhill from here.

Of course, the future game lineup is great. But I can't help but feel a bad omen about the Wii's future...

Service_Games @ Oct 17th 2007 8:06AM

While I can't predict the future, I think the Wii is going to lose a lot of popularity sooner or later (long before the end of its lifecycle). I just don't know if it's going to be like in the next few months or in the next couple of years.

SG

troy @ Oct 17th 2007 8:39AM

This kind of talk is silly: the reasons the Wii might stop being so popular this generation are all similar to reasons why the DS was expected to do badly: it's not as beefed up as its opposition. Well, why is the DS doing so great but everybody is still saying that the Wii might not make it for a couple more years. HA HA why? WHY? Because the DS isn't as advanced graphically as a PSP? Anybody see any correlation there?

John K. @ Oct 17th 2007 8:42AM

"with many third-party developers jumping on board only to be left with titles on their hands that failed to sell"

Theres actually an easy solution to this: don't make crappy games. I admit that I still only own around 5 games, most of them 1st party, and thats probably the trend that will continue, but for god's sake, NOBODY wants to play a game based off of a Pixar movie. EVER. When will developers learn?

Nintendo is not to blame here at all. They make great games and are then blamed for the faults of others?

Kenology @ Oct 17th 2007 9:04AM

I think developers in many ways unintentionally contribute to the stigma of 3rd party games not selling well on Nintendo systems. They develop software with this stigma in mind and don't put even half of the resources into the title because they expect it not to sell. The title turns out mediocre, it doesn't sell, the self-fulfilling prophecy lives on. Or, many times, developers see how popular the Wii is and want to cash in by doing hack jobs and quick ports, which fail as well. I would really like to know which developer said this (assuming this story is bullshit to begin with). It would have to be a publisher whose games failed to perform - and chances are they fall into the two aforementioned categories.

mikelhend @ Oct 17th 2007 9:06AM

This will _always_ be the case with a popular console. Every one of us has been down to GameStop and seen the always-stuffed bins full of "clearance" Xbox and PS2 games that no one wants, and didn't want when they were new. The flow of Wii games has begun, and we're going to have 2 duds for each hit. I read no great revelation in that report.

Troy @ Oct 17th 2007 9:13AM

It's probably a developer who never intended to make games on Wii, like those one guys who came out a few weeks ago saying they didn't want to. See, a company saying they don't want to make for the Wii because it sucks gets in the news because the Wii -IS- news. Sorry, lame companies. If they would just put their 1st string teams on Wii and Ds, they would be richer. But I think that this month as is marks the end of the 3rd Party Drought. They are catching up. If you can afford all the cool games that come out at the end of this year you are a well-off person.

Dan @ Oct 17th 2007 9:28AM

I blame 3rd party developers for making shitty games. But people are missing the point.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT BLAME.

Businesses are fickle and short-sighted. They'll give it one stab, and if they don't win, they take their ball and go home. Businesses HATE competition. Competition is hard. They'd rather bet on a sure thing. They can't understand how to sell games on the Wii. So they'll go with what they know and move to the popular but "traditional" Xbox 360.

Nintendo, even though it has nothing to be ashamed of or sorry for, NEEDS to think about how to bring more 3rd party developers on board, and offer guidance on how to excel on that system. If their games don't sell, it might not be Nintendo's fault, but it WILL ultimately be Nintendo's loss.

samfish (MSDF- Nurse Outfit!) @ Oct 17th 2007 9:32AM

"cites that many inside sources are not looking to the Wii with such a favorable eye any longer."

When were they EVER looking to the Wii favorably? Ever since Nintendo announced the damn thing the developers and publishers have lamented endlessly on how it's going to fail. Fad this, bubble burst that. If the Wii fails, it's because these people doomed it to do so by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I'm continually amazed that these people can shovel crap onto the system and be stunned that it doesn't sell while Nintendo's stuff that they put effort into succeeds. It's not hard to figure out why (although it's a shame about Elebits and Dewy's Adventure's sales).
But for the most part, they just assume us consumers are stupid cows who will take whatever they shovel at us...and that's really not the case.

Sonic_13 @ Oct 17th 2007 9:44AM

ugh...what are game blogs so intent on posting this...

Wii has definitely not helped solely Nintendo. Ubisoft saw big gains as a result of jumping on board with Wii. Red Steel and Rayman Raving Rabbids have both sold over 1 million copies each. A sequel of Raving Rabbids is even being developed, this time ditching other platforms solely in favor of Wii.

Also See: Monster Hunter 3 switching from PS3 to Wii. They did that due to lower development costs and a larger consumer base. Both those things equal potentially much higher profits.

If anything, Wii is just about to reeaaallllyy take off and considering that Wii is the worldwide sales leader already, that is really saying something.

Joop @ Oct 17th 2007 9:46AM

Meanwhile, every analyst and their mother is predicting that Nintendo will not be able to supply the demand for their consoles and Wiis will be selling out everywhere for the second Christmas in a row.

Truly a sign of the end times.

mark richardson @ Oct 17th 2007 9:47AM

i totaly agree with the last few comments, no one ever really thought the Wii woudl succed and lets point out i too noticed the similarities of the ds bashing and the wii bashing yet the ds sell's in droves.

These people say its a fad its this its that untill software developers start to challange themseleves and Nintendos games then this will come to true an extent they cant just keep pushing out crap ports and half arsed games and expect people to buy them. I too think elebits and dewies adventure look good but have had poor sales.

we need more companies to spend a little mroe time in developing their games and trying to improve graphics as well rather than just litting a blind person do them then we will see if thr Wii is a fad or not!

troy @ Oct 17th 2007 9:56AM

Ha ha you last two hit it right on the head. Its everybody who is Ninty's rival seeing month after month of 'NINTENDO ON TOP!' and hearing about how more hospitals are using Wii in rehabilitation, more nursing homes have Wii Sports competitions, more exclusives on Wii than any other next-gen platform, more enthusiasm and reputation in average society, and all these huge games coming out like SMG, SSBB, Wii Fit, and stuff like 'Guitar Hero III' probably going to sell more on Wii than on the other next-gen systems and probably even sell Wii's then you know you are not facing a problem if you are Nintendo. With recent news like this Monster Hunter exclusivity-switch, things just got more interesting for the hardcore gamer because you know Nintendo are working their asses off for you, too it just takes longer with hardcore games. I mean did you buy a sixtyfour and notice it took two years for Zelda?

Tim @ Oct 17th 2007 10:00AM

@ 18
It's not that simple man. This is not an apples to apples type of thing. It's an apples to oranges. Handhelds and consoles are a completely different game. I'm a Wii owner, actually I have owned two. I was real excited to get my Wii, but now I never ever turn it on. If I do turn it on it's only to stop the blue led from falshing when I've got mail. Be honest with yourselves for a second. Stop rooting for Nintendo like you are a shareholder. The games that are out right now are pretty much garbage. I'm tired of party games! I need some meat already! Honestly the hardware can't handle it.

You can argue all day and night about how much graphics don't matter, and it's all about gameplay. I'm sorry to break it to you...graphics do matter. Especially when some titles don't even look as good as last-gen or PSP titles on your shiny new console. It's sad really.

To sum it up, to me the Wii is like having a DS on a TV screen. I thought it would be better than it is. That's all. They need to step it up and release some good titles that actually look decent. Maybe at that point I will regain interest. BTW where is the multiplayer in Metroid? Nintendo you were talking about last year...remember that?

Neal Eaton @ Oct 17th 2007 10:07AM

There have been some very interseting points made in the comments for this...and I tend to agree with some of them, but not all. I don't think that the 'bubble' is about to burst...this new concept for gaming has only been out 'in the wild' for 1 year...and still needs just a little bit more time to be fully proven. 1st party software can only pave the way so far...it can set up a blueprint for other companies, but sooner or later, these 3rd parties have got to get it through their heads that they control their own destiny...and they are responsible for their own success.

I DO believe that this unknown person from the Japanese developer has a point, BUT I think that he fails to get the point of why the 3rd party games are failing. It is because they are BAD GAMES...not because Nintendo is subverting their success. It is in Nintendo's best interest to make sure that ALL of the companies developing for the Wii are successful...it will mean more sales in the future for the console and software.

I think that Nintendo can only do so much 'hand-holding' with developers in helping them come to grip with what the Wii can deliver, but it is not Nintendo's responsibility to make sure that these developers use the knowledge that they have been given. It is up to the deveoplers to actually make the games, and hopefully make them well. Why does Nintendo seem to be the ONLY comapny who gets it?

Ubisoft, Capcom and EA have at least set aside Wii specific groups, and now that they have had 1 round of development and games, they can see what needs to be changed/beefed up/tweaked to make the next batch of games better. I have faith that at least these 3 companies 'get it'.

I think that the true test of Wii's longevity will be next Summer through Holiday. We should have some truly great games from most companies by then...as they will have had (at that point) 2 years to get a grip on the Wii's capabilities.

If someone can develop the next 'Wii Sports' (a truly casual pick up and play with depth that is hidden), they will have a gravy train to Profitville.

Who is ready for the challenge?

Dan @ Oct 17th 2007 10:08AM

Haven't people ever heard of "the customer is always right?" I'm not talking about the end-consumer, but the 3rd party developers. If the third party developers say "we hate developing for the Wii, we can't make any money" -- it doesn't matter that they're whiney uncreative losers. The third parties walk and focus their efforts on the Xbox. And they might just make more money.

Nintendo cannot create lasting, intergenerational success for their systemSSSS (with a capital plural S) without 3rd party support. The 3rd parties don't need to make their games work on the Wii -- they can just stick with what they know on the Xbox (and disregard the PS3, which isn't selling). Nintendo needs the third parties more than the third parties need Nintendo.

That's the cold truth.

guttertalk @ Oct 17th 2007 10:10AM

I think the phrase "I haven't played my Wii in a while" has become a meme whenever Wii sales and popularity comes up. I don't believe that the Wii is any different than other consoles in that respect. I went through stretches where I didn't play my PS2 or my PC games. I didn't play my DS much for a few weeks. But that's a given. With the Wii, we're expected to behave differently, as if we're supposed to play it all the time.

What is normal behavior is now a sign of bad things to come . . . but just for the Wii, not any other platform.

troy @ Oct 17th 2007 10:14AM

Tim, you seem to have this absolutist view that your tastes are universal, and that your areas of focus are 'what really matters.' You also take the narrow view that because you haven't looked seriously into the Wii's present games lineup, that it consists of nothing but 'party games.' To me, your arguments are dwelling on areas that dont' matter to me. The Wii can't handle a deep gameplay experience? Then how can the DS handle 'Phantom Hourglass?' Do you know how much comment participation on this site and dsfanboy was down the first two weeks after Phantom Hourglass? And be honest with YOURSELF, if you think the Wii is like a DS on a TV screen, you sure have a funny way of thinking about specs for such an absolutist graphics enthusiast.

Just look at the DS and its games if you want an idea of where the Wii will be in a year when it gets well established and everybody has had a chance to finish their games. These deep gameplay experiences you are craving take time to make. You can blame Nintendo that 'Eternity's Child,' 'Crisis,' 'Monster Hunter 3,' 'FF:CC,' 'Brothers in Arms,' etc etc etc all take time to make, but then you would also blame them if they rushed them out and they weren't as good as a result.

If you think Nintendo aren't going to make a console Wi-Fi hardcore battler like Corruption, just give them time. It would be like 'Metroid Hunters Prime' or something ha ha. But whatever.

In the meantime, why not pick up 'BWii' in a week or so and have some serious Wi-Fi campaigns with some real depth to them. Or do you even know what I'm talking about?

troy @ Oct 17th 2007 10:17AM

Peter S @ Oct 17th 2007 10:35AM

Yes, it would definitely help if people stopped putting out poor quality games and then blaming the platform for their failure. Of course, this happens all of the time on every platform. I still remember Origin making great games, but so resource intensive that nobody could play them on the current hardware. :)

Anyway, I'm looking forward to some of the upcoming titles and frankly waiting for the price to drop on existing ones. I'm really more likely to buy the current "hot" titles used just because I don't want to pay the premium for having a new game in most cases. Someone else can take that hit, finish the game, then pass the savings on to me in a month or two. Yes, I probably hurt the software makers' bottom line to some extent, but I just can't easily justify $40-50 for getting the new, shiny game. I can be patient and wait for it to either drop in price or be available on eBay.

Still, I'm looking forward to Lego Star Wars and Zack/Wiki. Those look to be pretty cool. I am not sure about SMG at this point - I was never completely in to the Mario games. As for FPS games - you can have most of 'em. Metroid looks cool, but I don't really want any of the RE games. Nor do I want more "mature" type games such as GTA. YMMV - I'm just not into those games.

-Pete

Hirsbrunner @ Oct 17th 2007 10:44AM

It was AT LEAST a year, year and 1/2 before a steady stream of really good games began to appear on the DS.

I do not understand why patience has gone out the window. It amazes me how little of it people have these days. "I WANT IT NOW! NOW! NOW! WAHHH!"

Sorry for that last part, but that's what I seem to hear/read about concerning most anything these days, not just videogames.

Frank @ Oct 17th 2007 11:04AM

The problem with the 3rd party developers is that most of their games are last generation ports. Do you think the NES would have been a hit if they just ported Atari 2600 games onto the system? We need NEXT GENERATION GAMES on the Wii. The only game I plan on buying is the new Mario Kart and possibly Mario Galaxy.

Tim @ Oct 17th 2007 11:33AM

@33 and 34...(I had to say it..sorry)

Again, someone has a hard time understanding what I am trying to really get at. Again the comparison is made between console and handheld. You can't compare the two. The DS is a great portable but what I meant by my DS on TV comment was to compare the TYPE of games we are seeing released for the Wii. Not that DS graphics are comparable to Wii graphics...come on. It's a console for crying out loud. Most titles besides VC titles should be in-depth and engrossing. The hardware cannot compete against it's competition graphically so it has to compete solely on gameplay, fan favorite IPs (1st or 3rd party), novelty and ingenuity.

The problem with that is that if the Wii succeds as the number 1 console of this generation the consumer has to ask themselves what envelopes will be pushed in the next generation console from Nintendo. So in that respect, I kind of don't want Nintendo to win this round. Don't get me wrong! I want them to do well. I think they have something here as far as gameplay is concerned. I just don't feel that they have created the "masterpiece" that they are getting told (by the sales charts)they've created. You could quite possibly have another Gameboy on your hands here (20 years of the same s#it). I don't think many people have thought about that. It could be a sales titan and win this generation, and then the "Wii2" will be just a slight upgrade of the original Wii.

I think alot of people remember the Nintendo of yesteryear when we were kids. They want to relive that level of excitement and fun that Ninty offered them back then. I feel like alot of that excitement came from playing with your friends and family. Today the other consoles offer this type of fun in a sense with online gameplay. This gives me 1,000s of friends to play with at any given time. Today we are in a completely different situation than we were in the 80s and 90s. I read in one post above where the guy says Nintendo is working hard for YOU...are you serious? Nintendo does not work hard for YOU to have "fun" like thats what they care about most! They are a company like any other company whose bottom line is only profit. And as far as "profitable" consoles go...well they did a fine job at creating one.

Should we as the consumer be happy for them because they outsell the competition and we can feel like we are on the winning team? NO! We should demand that they push for every inch in the areas of innovation and graphics. Alot of people say graphics aren't everything...ok ask yourselves this question. If your Wii was exactly as it is now with the same games but with 360/PS3/PC level graphics would you feel better about it? Yeah you would feel like Nintendo did make a product for YOU that trumps the others, and if you did not feel like that at least we would not have to defend Nintendo for not stepping up to the plate. The arguement has been made that not many people have HDTVs so it does not matter. That's crap. With the expected life span of current gen consoles many many people will have upgraded by then. So Nintendo once again is probably planning to release a system in the future with Wii controls and current PS3/360 graphics (HD). If they win this generation, that's all we will have. The other companies will have been beaten and no one will be left to push it to the next level. We all will be playing Mario HD, Metroid HD, Smash Bros. HD and more in 2012. Wake up people. Smell the sweet stinch of the same crap we were inhaling 15-20 years ago. You are on the wrong bandwagon if you are all love for Wii and none for others. This is 2007! Nearly 2008! and you are looking foward to games that play like 2007-2008 but look like 2002? What kind of sense does that make. Gameplay my arse! I want the full package and so should you. It's like driving a Porsche with a 4 banger from a Corolla. It's just not balanced man! HAHA and it is no longer a Porsche! It can't do the things a Porsche can do! Go ask Nintendo where the FULL package is. If the tech is available why are we as Nintendo owners left without it. Is it because it's ALL about gameplay? Or is it because it's all about selling a console for 250.00 saturating the market with hype and pocketing 100.00 on each console sold. Nintendo really would not be hurting if you did not buy ANY games on your Wii. They are turning huge profits as soon as you walk up to the counter and buy one. The 360 and PS3 are not. They HAVE to sell games to make up for the hit they take at giving you a high tech piece of kit. And the developers for those systems HAVE to make em look good and they HAVE to make em play good, and they HAVE to market the heck out of em and build hype because they cost more at the counter. They cost more to produce. The key word here is More Yet everyone keeps saying how great Nintendo is and how cool Reggie is and how flash he looks in his tweed jackets and Silk ties. We read post about how the DS and Wii PRINT MONEY! Yet the crazed fanboy still blabber on about how they feel blessed by the heavens to own one! Wake the F@ck up!

Alex @ Oct 17th 2007 12:36PM

To the developers who say they miscalculated the audience, I have one question for them: would they have done any better by releasing the game on the PS3 or the XBox 360? I'm guessing, probably not.

And even though the Wii is doing great compared to the other two systems (in Japan, at least), the PS2 is still the king in terms of user base. So it makes sense that by shifting their focus from the PS2 last year to the Wii this year (or any of the other next gen systems), they are going to take a hit.

troy @ Oct 17th 2007 1:15PM

Nintendo don't make $100 a console, they make closer to $17. I personally don't think MP3 or SMG look like 2002, but then again I wasn't playing video games in 2002. And here is another point to my argument: I didn't give a royal 'fark' about videogames for over 10 years. I didn't even know what games were on a gamecube. I didn't know how good or bad the graphics were last gen. I didn't care. At all. About any system. I just thought it was stupid microsoft was making gaming consoles. It was only because of the idea of the Wii that I got interested in gaming again, and don't think I turned a blind eye to the idea that the graphics were only going to be a little better than current gen consoles. I didn't care. It would seem cool to me! Games like Twilight Princess prove that art design and creative vision were what was important, even on GC, and now MP3 and others seem perfectly engrossing and engaging to me. I don't feel like I got 'ripped off,' nor do I expect the Wii to do things it can't do. Why do you think that the next console from Nintendo wouldn't be as good because the Wii does well? At that point, the production costs and times for High Definition content will be considerably reduced, as it will be more familiar technology. Nintendo take their time and get to really understand the latest technology before sticking it all willy-nilly together and getting over a BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF RED RINGS OF DEATH or creating a system architecture that is like getting hit in the head with a crowbar to program for. The other people take the hit on their consoles because they were desperate to get a share of a market they don't belong in or because they wanted to proliferate blu-ray. Don't kid YOURSELF into thinking they take that hit because of anything other than their obvious but still sneaky little alterior motives. We are proud to own DS and Wii because there is nothing completely shady associated with the company like fake news reporters rating movies, fake 'viral' campaigns, fake letters to gaming magazines, paying people to alter wikipedia, etc, etc. like the other two that you think are such darlings of technophiles. If you want to spend $500 for a console or pay huge monthly fees for the type of online service you prefer, go right ahead. I think its silly to act like a larger and larger install base for Wii's is going to create only ONE TYPE OF GAME, especially since only a few of those party game type things do well. Again, it takes TIME to make depthy games, and not time to make party games, so why do you think we have seen so many of those this first NINE AND A HALF MONTHS? Oh, and has everybody forgotten that it has only been NINE AND A HALF MONTHS? How many games could you make in that time? Phantom Hourglass got delayed longer than that so just shut the hell up.

Mr Khan @ Oct 17th 2007 3:50PM

Doubtful, unless all the initiatives being taken by Nintendo and 3rd parties to alleviate Wii's current (but rapidly fading starting this month) software problems totally fail.

Wii Fit is a casual game people will be compelled to play daily. Capcom's finding a niche market in well-created budget titles (good budget games), Sega's throwing all kinds of stuff out, and crazy original ideas are emerging from other quarters (No More Heroes, King's Story)

Wii Ware pushes original concepts, and serious franchises are being given life on Wii (MoH 2 and MH3)

So concievably if many or all of these software initiatives fail (its possible, the 360's Japanese content initiative failed, and Sony's PS3 software rennaissance is failing) then we could see a massive slowdown

But at least all of this means Wii is starting to be good for gamers

Mr Khan @ Oct 17th 2007 6:02PM

Wow sodacan

you fell into the trap of thinking PS360 is next-gen, next gen is 8th gen, this is 7th gen, Wii is 7th gen

Bring it all together, and some may see that Wii is holding the industry back, while others could say the same about the competition

Sony and Microsoft, i feel, are trying too hard to compete for the core gamer base, and possibly allowing the industry to stagnate in the process. Wii certainly isn't the total counterpoint, as it does have 1/2 the processing power (and only 1/7th the RAM) of my 2003 PC

But to claim that the games coming out for the other 2 are inherently better is a falsehood, Wii has good games, but people seem determined to ignore them

Troy is partially right as well, in that Nintendo is the only console company that is, at its heart, a game company, and is solely focused on videogames. but that can be a double-edged sword, since their interest is in competing not only with the other guys, but with other companies developing on their own platform

otherwise both of your posts reek of subjectivity, calling the GameCube bad is a fallacy in any book. Killer 7 and the good RE4, as well as a bunch of other awesome little gems that went largely ignored

sodacan @ Oct 17th 2007 7:22PM

First let me start of by saying I have a Wii. Then let me add, I hate it. It is crap. Only reasons why I decided to get a Wii is because my friend got one and he didn’t like it so I decided to take it of his hands for a cheaper price. Thinking in my head woohoo, I’m going to save money on a Wii. Truth be told, even though I save the money, the money that I did spend was still a damn waste. Nintendo Failed at making a true next-gen console. On the box it should say “Wii…fuxed up”. Don’t get me wrong I’m not biased towards any systems; I want all systems to be great. When all the systems are great and the companies are battling everything out the only people that win are the consumers, I love it.

Number 40.

What the hell are you talking about? Shut up and sit down somewhere man. You totally negate your own post in your own post.

Just so you know Nintendo makes about close to 50 in the us and close to 75 in Europe.

In your post you sit there and say you don't think MP3 and SMG don’t look like 2002, but you go on and say you didn’t play or see anything on the gamecube. That's all the Wii is, a gamecube in a new case with a new controller. Congrats, you didn’t even know you own a gamecube. You may be right about MP3 but we could possibly go back in time more if you want to talk about SMG, in comparison to Mario 64, Yeah when Nintendo was good, Yeah I said it, the last time Nintendo made a good console was Nintendo 64, But guess what, that was blown out of the water with a PlayStation.

“Games like Twilight Princess prove that art design and creative vision were what was important..” WHAT?! Shut the hell up. That game looked like SHIT, remember that game Zelda: The ocarina of time (Nintendo64). You are playing the same exact game with an older version of link. Also, if you want to praise art design, go look at a game like Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, Bio Shock, Gears of War, or Heavenly Sword, hell, just play flow from the PSStore. That’s art design. This is just re-mastered gamecube, eh, I mean nintendo64 graphics. Sure the game may be fun to play (twice in the game). But why sacrifice quality of the look of the game for being able to shoot a bow and arrow with a Wii-mote. Come on man. Make it look good, and fun to play.

Then you say
“Nintendo take their time and get to really understand the latest technology before sticking it all willy-nilly together and…”
The only problem is while technology advances Nintendo is still working on something to make that better? NO! That’s why it’s called NEXT-GEN. We don’t want a better last gen console; we want a BETTER NEXT-GEN console. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say something like “I can’t wait till they release a retro Gamecube”. No sir, it does not happen like that. Nintendo should have stepped it up.

You also said..
“We are proud to own DS and Wii because there is nothing completely shady associated with the company…”
Let me tell you what it is, Nintendo is selling you “CRAP”. That is the associated shadiness that you are proud of. (Minus the DS, the DS is nice) CRAP as far as the Wii goes.

You also asked this
“Oh, and has everybody forgotten that it has only been NINE AND A HALF MONTHS? How many games could you make in that time?”
Do you want me to count? Seriously. Shut up.

Let me tell you why the Wii is successful:

It's successful because it's is cheap. Cheap, compared to the other “expensive” consoles that the Wii is trying to compete with. But look at what you get for your money. The damn Wii doesn’t even play DVD’s. It uses a processor that could run a laptop about 5 years ago. And the graphics look like a Nintendo 65, yes I know its 64, but I did say 65 (they upgraded a little bit). People are content with the sacrifice of quality to save money, people are willing to say hey it’s cheaper and it’s going to be fun anyway. This is stupid. People submit to the fact that they have to hate on everything else because they persuaded their selves in their minds that you made the right choice with what you could get. The key word in that sentence is “could”. Because if you didn’t have to get the Wii. You wouldn’t have. It’s as simple as that. The Wii is crap. You bought one cool, I respect that. But fan boys need to shut the fack up and sit somewhere alone and stop bragging about how good the Wii. The Wii is not good, the Wii is CHEAP, that is why it is selling and that’s why there is a large user base.

If it’s so good, stop making excuses as to why it’s bad.

Also while you all are waiting for your so called “good games” to come out, I’ll be playing Call of Duty 4, Assassins Creed, Army of Two, Gran Turismo 5, and other wonderful games that will be out. Games that are fun, and look great. Yes Nintendo, they do exist.

I can go on all day and night about how shitty the Wii is and how they failed, but I don’t want to make fan boys cry. So I’m out.

Tim @ Oct 24th 2007 1:11PM

@40

You did not read half of what I said did you. You made no point talking about how much you didnt play games in the past...what was that about anyway? Sneaky? Alterior? Motives? They are trying to move products man. If you ran the company you would do whatever necessary and teeter on the edge of the moral and or governmental law if it would help your company succeed.

You don't own any system I don't own. I do own systems that (I gather from you comment) that you don't own. I own a DS, I own a Wii, I own a PS3, I own a 360, I own a PC, and I own an HDTV, I own Blu-Rays, I own HDDVDs. I have been on XBOXlive, and I am on the PSNetwork. My comments come from a true consumer who has an objective view on what I think is happening from what I see. I've played GOW, Halo3, Heavenly Sword, Metroid Prime3, I've played brain age, i've played FFT for psp. I've played most everything of interest on ALL of the consoles. So don't tell me to shut the hell up. If you can't smell what the hell Nintendo is doing to the market..well...hell I don't know what to tell you. Everyone always acts like the price of the consoles determine it's potential success. If that is part of your arguement you need to go read some history on the PS1 and PS2 release (owned both of those too btw and an Xbox and a Gamecube and even a Dreamcast). Speaking of Dreamcast just look what happened to it. It was behind the curve, yet it had a great loyal fan base and some great games. Yet, simply based on the technology available in the PS2 and the developers eagerness to make larger games (same is happening now BTW i.e. Assasin's Creed and GTA) they concentrated harder on making titles for the superior system because they could for-see it's life cycle. If you have ever looked at the digital entertainment industry they are always striving to one up the competition and move to the next level of quality, efficiency, security, profitability and ease of distribution in digital entertainment. The Wii actually impedes this progress rather than encouraging it. It's initial price is attractive but it's promise is misleading at the very core of what it claims to be. To sum it up I can go bowling anywhere and there will be actual people there having real fun and I can play paper Mario on a GC. It's actually just as enjoyable as far as plot is concerned. Again, wake up on the Nintendo is better than everyone else crap. Simple fact is NO..no they are not. I really don't believe Nintendo is in the "gamer's" corner on taking on this industry as some people believe.

Mike @ Nov 9th 2007 4:48PM

"I own a DS, I own a Wii, I own a PS3, I own a 360, I own a PC, and I own an HDTV, I own Blu-Rays, I own HDDVDs. I have been on XBOXlive, and I am on the PSNetwork. My comments come from a true consumer who has an objective view on what I think is happening from what I see."

Lets see... bad grammar, arrogant attitude, too much time on hands, owns every new gadget currently out.

Ah Ha!

You sir are not, as you put it, 'a true consumer.' Nope, you are a spoiled kid with rich parents!

Let me enlighten you.

A true consumer will spend his money where it will be most effective. For example a $500 PS3 costs 2x more than an Nintendo Wii. A true consumer will look at two things; how much expendable money they have for this purchase and if the PS3 gives 2x more value over the Nintendo Wii. If a consumer doesn't have $250 in the first place he wont buy either. If the consumer has up to $500 to spend he will decided how much value each gives in terms of its cost, this is referred to as a decision at the margin, which is where most consumers are (which is not you, please try looking outside your luxurious world when thinking about how others should spend their money).

I find it funny that time after time console makers have been trying to peddle us, the consumers, the idea of an all-in-one living-room system. Time and time again consumers reject it because they are always too expensive.

On a side-note.
The funny thing I find with these 'next-gen' console discussions are how every one says that the Nintendo is sooooo cheap. Take a stroll down memory lane and find me a Nintendo system (core system) that launched at $300 or more... you won't find any. All their systems launched between $200-$250. The Wii is no different.