Gosen: 60% of Wii Fit purchasers played it 'once'

by David Hinkle { Aug 7th 2008 at 4:28PM }

David Gosen used to work for Nintendo of Europe, but after departing with the house that Mario built, he's made his way over to the Xbox division of Microsoft. That doesn't mean he has nothing to say about Nintendo and the Wii, however. In fact, he had some downright shocking things to say in regards to his old employer. "What Nintendo have done with the Wii is truly fantastic – there is no question about it. But I think sometimes there is a thin line between gimmick and great gameplay," he said.

And, on top of that, he said his own company has research that shows Wii Fit doesn't present any kind of lasting value to those that have picked it up, because after they try it once, they don't try it again. "We've seen some research that says 60 percent of people who bought a Wii Fit play it once and don't play it again," he said. Now, if he had some papers with, like, spread sheets full of numbers and data on them, we'd take it at face value. But, considering the price (that would drive us to play the thing a bunch of times alone, but maybe we're just cheap bastards like that) and all of the content within, we're not sure we can trust him and swallow the red pill.

See also: Retrospective: Nintendo's past peripherals

Gallery: Can't find Wii Fit? Try these alternatives!

[Via videogaming247]

Tags: david-gosen, microsoft, nintendo, wii-fit, xbox, xbox-360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jason @ Aug 7th 2008 4:44PM

Ah, it appears he has swallowed the kool-aid. 60 seems like a nice round number. I would love to see the size of their data sample.

Would be nice to compare those stats to bowflex usage. :)

Jasin Howe @ Aug 8th 2008 12:38PM

I agree, that is a made up number. I looked on e-bay (since most people that pay $90 and used it once would sell it to get their money back or make a profit). While there were a bunch of new wii fits (shame on people for hoarding product and trying to make a profit) there were only a few (less than 10) used wii fits. Sounds like someone wishes he stayed at Nintendo instead of hearing about the red ring of death everyday.

Bill @ Aug 7th 2008 4:47PM

Wow thats crap

I call Shenanagins

wiihd.fortunz.com @ Aug 7th 2008 4:49PM

Which makes it, what? 1,000 times less likely to be put away after first use than most exercise equipment.

You'd think, him working for the competition and all, he wouldn't be boosting Ninty's product like that.

danny. @ Aug 7th 2008 4:50PM

NDA violation?

Hamster @ Aug 7th 2008 4:59PM

"So we have to get the balance right, because what we are doing is bringing new consumers into the market for the first time in their lives sometimes – and we have to treat them with respect".

I totally agree with that statement. Shame more developers aren't adhering to it with their casual shovelware.

Oneiroi @ Aug 7th 2008 5:03PM

I mean, I know there's some games I've purchased that I've played less than 5 times.

I wouldn't be surprised if "casuals" spent the money and forgot about it.

Avoli @ Aug 7th 2008 5:03PM

So this guy happens o go and work for MS, and the number 60 comes from his lips?

MS....60....MS60......hmmmm.....

Mr Khan @ Aug 7th 2008 5:07PM

I can see this happening, but i think both numbers are an exaggeration.

I think it would sound less baiting if it was "30% of Wii Fit owners played it less than 5 hours"

Or something like that. Something you play only once is something you try to return. They're casual gamers, not idiots with too much money. If my Mom used something only once, she'd do so because she was dissatisfied, and would try to return it and get her $90 back

Part of the smear campaign seems to be trying to cultivate the idea that there are a lot of people who are willing to throw $250 or $90 around, just to say they can have Wii and never use it

I would be shocked if there were that many stupid consumers with that much easily disposable income. The American Middle Class at least is shrinking, not growing, and there aren't that many rich people

Spencer @ Aug 7th 2008 5:14PM

hey now... lots of people bought the PS3....

wiihd.fortunz.com @ Aug 7th 2008 5:36PM

> They're casual gamers, not idiots with too much money.

I doubt they're all even casual gamers. I suspect Wii Fit had a big following among people who just wanted a new exercise tool. People spend billions on unused diet and exercise programs every year. And your average infomercial exercise equipment that people buy on impulse for 5 easy payments is more expensive than Wii Fit if another member of the impulse buyer's house already has a Wii. All that stuff ends up in attics and pushed under beds for years.

The figure might have been intended as a slam, but it just isn't. Nor does it really serve as an indicator of how much replay value Wii Fit offers, just of the audience it targets. Yes, casual gamers, but also dieters. And the latter does have too much money for their own good.

Mr Khan @ Aug 7th 2008 5:40PM

As a fad diet, i could see your angle on that

Still, 60% is overkill

Fullmetal Salchemist @ Aug 7th 2008 10:03PM

>They're casual gamers, not idiots with too much money.

Explain why Carnival Games and Mario and Sonic at the Olympics are best-sellers.

Commander Kahn @ Aug 7th 2008 5:26PM

There's been quite a hate parade on the wii based on generalizations. You don't see Reggie
saying that 60% of Halo owners are friendless outcasts who live in their parents' basement. Ok, that's a bit more outlandish, but you get the idea

James @ Aug 8th 2008 4:50PM

I highly doubt this is the case; unless he is counting, for example, parents buy game. Parents "make sure it works". Too much work for parents. They let their kids play on it again and again; meanwhile the people who actually purchased it only played it once? But still, 60%?

lasirrah @ Aug 7th 2008 5:36PM

My wife has lost 15 lbs. since she started using Wii Fit. It was worth every penny to us.

murray b @ Aug 7th 2008 5:44PM

I'm thinking if that were true I'd be able to find a copy somewhere

offday @ Aug 7th 2008 5:44PM

I believe it. That's why they're "casual" gamers. The game market is changing everything around just to suit the people who aren't into gaming, and in the process screwing over the real gamers.

And guess what? Those non-gamers still aren't into gaming.

SuicideNinja @ Aug 7th 2008 6:02PM

I purchased Wii Fit in hopes of adding variety to my existing workout routine. It wasn't as fun as I had hoped it would be, so I only ended up playing it twice and haven't touched it since.

Track n' Field on the NES power pad will do more for you than this game. One of these days I'll buy an old power pad and get to work. LOL

I don't think his cliams are unrealistic. Wii Fit was a great concept, but I think people expected more out of it.

Dylan F @ Aug 7th 2008 6:07PM

I'm not very surprised. That's why they are casuals. Nintendo did a great job of luring the casuals in, and making them buy their product, but casuals aren't going to switch to hardcore with a game like Wii Fit. So the (MABEY) fact that they only played it once/less than 5 hours doesn't come as a shock to me.

James Brophy @ Aug 7th 2008 6:22PM

I also call Shenanagins

I got wii fit for my girlfriend and I've ended up loosing weight.
I could never keep up with going to a gym. It's so handy and only requires the discipline to tun it on and get to 30 minutes five times a week.

I can give an educated guess at the reason for the poor statics. 2 people live in our house. People come over and are curious about the wii fit so they do the balance test and the games. So we have ended up with 4 other people saved on our wii fit who only ever used it once.

zchry @ Aug 7th 2008 8:38PM

I couldn't go to a gym, either. They're either too far away or too weird.

Working out in public is odd to me. I'd rather do it at home. Wii Fit is cheaper than a treadmill/weights/whatever.

LE @ Aug 7th 2008 7:00PM

Yeah, and I heard that 75% of the people that have an Xbox360 bought it only because they wanted a cheap HD-DVD player.

8-bit.artist @ Aug 7th 2008 7:58PM

i could see a good portion of people buying this, realize its actually hard work and then never playing it again. yoga poses and push ups that go into side planks are harder than the average person thinks.

zchry @ Aug 7th 2008 8:36PM

I totally at least do my Body Test every day. On most days, I put in a solid 30 minutes of exercises (mostly Hula Hooping and Ski Jumping).

Of course, I've had it for like four days, but still.

Oh, and by the way, who's favorite Yoga pose is "Deep Breathing?" Mine is. I almost fall asleep every time.

HellsHammer @ Aug 7th 2008 10:34PM

Funny, considering I haven't seen a Wii or a copy of Wiifit in months.

Meanwhile 60% of Xbox360s are still sitting on a Target shelf, waiting for yet another impending price drop.

Aaron @ Aug 7th 2008 11:32PM

Price drops don't seem to be doing much either. Who wants to buy a console that you will never get to play because you have to keep sending it back for repairs? Every time I go to Target there are no PS3s or Wiis, but a shelf full of X360s.

CPFace @ Aug 7th 2008 11:56PM

I've played every day for eleven weeks, and I've lost 20 pounds.

Can't be arsed to do it myself, but doesn't the Nintendo Channel track things like how many hours have been spent playing each game? I think it would be interesting, for example, to figure out how many people 40% represents and how many times they must have played it if this statistic of his is correct.

Ethan @ Aug 8th 2008 7:35AM

Did he find research out of his ass now. Interesting indeed.

Garu @ Aug 8th 2008 9:08AM

My wife plays Wii Fit all the time! I come home from work some days and find her playing it. And she is NOT a video game person at all!

njbeetle @ Aug 8th 2008 10:49AM

The Wii Fit isn't for everyone, even though it's marketed that way. I expect the initial action by most Fit buyers is the same as those who join a gym in January as their New Year's resolution - sounds like a great idea, but then they find out it's work.

Anyone that needs a little motivation to get active will do well with a Fit. I am completely enjoying it and don't have to worry about anyone at the gym seeing how uncoordinated I am/was.

Personally I'm glad Nintendo is trying different things to get gamers. As I get older I don't have time for games where the only goal is to kill everything that moves.