The Wii is beating the PS3 and Xbox 360 to pulps in the market place. In May, they sold 338K units — more than Sony (82K) and MS (155K) could manage together. In Japan it’s even more dominating, selling 5:1 against the PS3.
And while both of the super-advanced consoles from competitors are losing money for each unit handed over the counter, Nintendo is making a killing. As a result, the company’s market cap has peaked higher than Sony.
What a wonderful payoff for daring to be different with a simpler console that could be made at a profit from the get-go and can appeal to regular people who just want to have fun.
Gayle Bird
on 27 Jun 07Yay Nintendo! It’s so excellently fun. My (retirement-age) parents picked it up in about 30 seconds. My father can NOT STOP PLAYING golf on the Wii. He’s completely addicted. My mother kicks his ass in bowling, though :)
Justin Reese
on 27 Jun 07I need to start buying stock in companies I like. Terrible-sounding strategy, but if I’d followed it with Nintendo in April 03 and Apple in Dec 97, I would be writing this from a beach.
The best part about the Wii is that I can finally get my wife to play games with me. Fat chance going head-to-head in Halo, but we’ll play Wii Pool until the sun comes up.
Karl N
on 27 Jun 07http://www.qwantz.com/archive/001019.html
Bill P
on 27 Jun 07I sat out in zero degree weather to get a Wii in December and i couldn’t be happier. My kids love it and so do I (and I’m not a gamer).
In fact, I can’t think of anyone who’s been at my house (regardless of age) who didn’t have fun with the darn thing.
And talking about usability – when we got the console I made a point of giving the controller to my 4 year old Son & let him try Wii Sports bowling. All I told him was what the A and B buttons were. Within 5 minutes (no joke) he was playing effectively. Unbelievable.
Gayle – try Tiger Woods golf. TONS of fun, even compared to Wii Sports golf.
Daniel Andrews
on 27 Jun 07Now if I could just find one …
FredS
on 27 Jun 07Cost and the stupidity of including Blu-ray killed Sony.
33degrees
on 27 Jun 07Thing is, the PS3 is currently losing the console war, but it just might win Sony the Blu-Ray/HDDVD war. It’s going to take a couple of years before we see if the gamble pays off.
RJ
on 27 Jun 07I can’t agree more. The wii is the best example of simplicity and focus in a geek product I’ve seen in a while. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do – play fun video games – and very little else.
It does do some unnecessary thing. It’s web browser, for instance, seems totally useless. But these features are ad-ons—side bars to the simple video gaming.
Seth Aldridge
on 27 Jun 07My mother hasn’t played a video game since Intelevision had a skiing game back in ‘85 and she loves the Wii so much that she is telling my dad that they need to get one…She love bowling.
Stan
on 27 Jun 07To RJ:
I find the web browsing to be a great alternative to getting up to grab the laptop for news or YouTube fun. And I’m surprised the original post did not mention some of the gorgeous UI in the different channels on the Wii. The text reformatting in the News Channel is fun to watch just on it’s own . . . very cool.
And: My wife and I have found that we sometimes spend more time playing some of these games than we do with purchased or VC games: (bookmark the game page for easy recall of favorites, too)
http://www.wiiplayable.com/
or
http://www.wiicade.com/Home.aspx
Stan
on 27 Jun 07Here’s a favorite of mine:
http://www.wiicade.com/gameDetail.aspx?gameID=213
random8r
on 27 Jun 07Yeah, I’ve got a wii, too. I love the fact that they put simpler tech in there, and focus more on making that tech appropriate.
I mean, they’re so APPLE like… they sit there and say … what’s do our users spend the most time doing? I know.. PLAYing games… so let’s make that part – the game play – really REALLY good… just like apple say “what do our users spend their time doing – TYPING… looking at the screen, let’s make the keyboards really really nice, let’s make the screens really really nice, let’s make the interface really really nice.”
I recently bought a nintendo DS Lite, and to tell you the truth I can’t stop playing it. It’s the most fun I’ve had since I had my Amiga when I was 15… I stopped playing games until recently, but since the Wii, and the DS Lite, I can’t stop ;) hehe they’re so FUN and playing games on them is GREAT :) I love games again.
Did you know, the DS lite has a touch screen and you can lots of people via its wi-fi?! lol… you can even play people via the net… and the thing is only like $189 Aussie dollars. It’s so cool! It’s that price-point thing… and its’ so small – yet has more power than a nintendo 64… those guys are thinkers.
They’re really the Apple of the gaming market… I just kinda wish somehow there was a “universal software” type thing for games… I wouldn’t mind playing some of the oldschool c64 games I used to have like Krakout… without firing up my mac’s copy of the c64 emulator I have… hehe.
It’d be pretty sweet if Apple got Nintendo to make some games for their iPods and iPhone. That’d be awesome.
- RaNdOm8r.
Mark Otto
on 27 Jun 07If you think the Wii’s lack of availability due to unbelievably strong sales is bad now, just wait for Super Mario Galaxy and Smash Bros. Brawl to come out.
Try getting one then!
joecab
on 27 Jun 07I’m ecstatic mostly because it says people are enjoying just PLAYING without getting obsessed with having all this hi-res stuff going on. Really, I look at Super Mario Galaxy and the graphics still get me excited; looks pretty damn sweet for something that’s not using a chip as powerful as PS3 or the 360.
It’s great to see Nintendo “think different” (hmmm where have I heard that one before…)
Evil D
on 27 Jun 07Software sales numbers! I need to see those. Selling hardware is great, but if everyone is playing Wii Sports and not buying other games, can the Wii still be considered successful as a gaming console? I want to see game sales in relation to hardware sales.
I still only see the Wii as something you bring out at parties. Not something that a gamer would say has “everything they need in a next-gen console.” My definition of a gamer here is one who buys/plays many different titles per year for a system. Someone who just plays Wii Sports isn’t a gamer. They are a “Wii Sports player.”
phantomdata
on 27 Jun 07Karl, I hate you. I had successfully forgotten about qwantz.
Live D
on 27 Jun 07Evil D: Anyone who has their own “definition of a gamer” needs to find a hobby.
What good are software sales numbers at validating the “gamerness” of the Wii in your mind? If the software sales are high will you automatically think of it as a ‘gamer’ machine? I didn’t think so.
moving on . . .
Evil D
on 27 Jun 07Live D: “moving on…” does not close this topic.
Since there are infinite definitions of a gamer I gave one I feel applies to this situation of sales (I have enough hobbies, thank you). I’m sure you may have a different one. And the kid who only owns a Wii will surely have another one.
Being a gamer who owns all three next-gen systems, I still don’t consider the Wii a “gamer” system. And I don’t consider myself a “Wii gamer” because I only have Wii Sports and Zelda. By MY definition, I don’t qualify.
I may not “automatically think of it as a ‘gamer’ machine” if software sales increase, but I would be less likely referring to it as the “machine I bring out as parties so people can bowl.”
I just want to see the software sales numbers. Is that so wrong?
moving on… ;)
Andrew Page
on 27 Jun 07I don’t need to see the software numbers, because this is really about looking at a how a novel, simple and different design can attract. The software sales numbers speak as much about the attention the traditional game industry pays attention as what the public is doing. I have owned a Wii since launch day, and have already purchased 5 or 6 games for it. All are different and fun. For my X-box I have the option of buying the same game, over and over again with slightly different licensed themes. It gets boring pretty quick.
Software sales are only important if you have to subsidize the hardware. What “gamers” think of the system is not at all important. They are likely to own multiple systems anyway. What the public thinks is critical. And with a 5-1 sales margin, I am sure the game publishers are all racing to catch up.
phantomdata
on 27 Jun 07shrugs A gamer is not defined by the consoles they own, but through the method which they own. To simply play Halo, is not be a gamer. To celebrate all of gaming and to appreciate everything there is to offer is to be a gamer. When you look past your console, and see only a sea of glittering jewels and endless fun – and jump into that sea with your arms wide open and senses keen drinking in all the glory before you – then, you may call yourself a gamer. Until then, you simply “play games”.
Personally, I totally think that the Wii mirrors 37s’ own design philosophies. Clean, simple intuitive design. The machine itself is a gorgeous thing sitting beside my TV just waiting to let me gorge myself on some Warioware. What’s more? It’s been a gateway system – finally getting my wife into gaming and allowing her to enjoy what I enjoy so much.
I think that’s a big thing with it, too, is the sheer enjoyment factor. Rather than focusing on fanboy’ism and “ZOMG POLYGONS GRAPHIX HALO LUB LOVE! MOOOO KAWAII DESU!” it focuses on being entertaining. Notice the difference in marketing between the Wii and the others? The others focus on the technical prowess and power while the Wii focuses on some, admittedly creepy, Japanese dudes roaming around causing people to have fun.
Anyway, like I said in the beginning – everything’s good. I love the current marketplace and wouldn’t want it any other way. I can have my cake any way I like it… and I’m eating it up while I can.
Andy Kant
on 27 Jun 07I have a Wii, but it collects about as much dust as my GameCube. Its only in use at parties because most of the single player games kind of suck and waving the Wiimote around by yourself gets old quick.
360 is where its at for anything other than a party.
Derek K. Miller
on 27 Jun 07One other thing about those software sales numbers: one reason they’re usually important is because they determine whether a console is profitable. Not in the Wii’s case—Nintendo could sell nothing but the bundled Wii Sports and still make a killing.
That said, my family has bought numerous Wii games (and is still using our old GameCube games, without needing new controllers or memory cards!) and rented quite a few others. We’re not gamers. We’re just into having fun.
Deano
on 28 Jun 07The main reason why the Wii sells so well is the price first and the controller second. I think it is a problem that the games have dried up and all the owners are content to play Wii Sports. It doesn’t encourage Nintendo to drive new games other than rehashing the old standards. I suspect it’s like the DS – I only have a few games for it and mostly play Brain Training.
If you’re talking about the more epic and ambitious games then the 360 (and later on the PS3) will be where it’s at. I’m really looking forward to Mass Effect for example.
But congrats to Nintendo for changing the accepted business model – making money on the hardware is one hell of an achievement.
Mrad
on 28 Jun 07I’m sooo glad to see this. It’s great to see standard conventions challenged and bested.
That and a nice little shot of nostalgia from the virtual console doesn’t hurt either…
LKM
on 28 Jun 07Both the Wii and the DS are amazingly fun consoles and highly recommended for everyone, “gamer” or not :-)
The software sales are actually not bad at all. Check out vgchartz:
http://vgchartz.com/worldtotals.php
Despite the comparably low hardware sales after only a few months, there are already two third-party million sellers, and five first-party million sellers. Wii owners actually are buying games. And they will buy more. Despite of what others have said, I don’t think Mario Galaxy or Metroid Prime will be the Wii’s killer games, though. I think things like Wii Fitness or Wii Music will get the people who bought a Wii for Wii Sports to buy more games.
JT
on 28 Jun 07“Did you know, the DS lite has a touch screen and you can lots of people via its wi-fi?! lol”
Me and a few coworkers from a different dept do this all the time at work. Our desks are just close enough. LOL
To David’s point, for me it was the cost. Spend $5-600 hundred on PS3 or Xbox 360, or or $250 on a Wii console, and $250 in games, and accessories.
Danno
on 29 Jun 07It’s winning mass market appeal, but a lot of serious gamers aren’t having anything of it.
For every thread I see about someone’s 360 bricking, I see another about someone wanting to sell off their Wii.
I’ve never seen a thread about someone wanting to sell their 360.
If games weren’t art, then I might agree that the Wii was a superior product. But the 360 and the PS3 are undoubtedly where the more complex games are going to settle and gamers that have come to appreciate more complex games, both in their mechanics and artistic execution, will gravitate towards them.
I’m not poopooing the Wii outright. It’s still in its infancy and will undoubtedly offer more intricate experiences later on, but I and a significant group of gamers, are simply not entertained by its offerings.
Spinach
on 29 Jun 07It’s not about one system being superior outright over another. I own both the 360 and the Wii, both since release, and comparing them is definitely the typical apples to oranges cliche.
For adults in their late 20’s early 30’s (and onward) who still enjoy games the Wii, with friends and their families (read: kids), offers more playability and less of a chance that some are just sitting there bored while they watch the screen of someone else just thumbing some controller. It turns out, motioning by 2-4 people at a time does provide entertainment all in itself for the rest of the room. You just can’t get the same interaction or reaction from a room full of company like you can on the Wii. That’s the main appeal for my wife and I and our friends.
However, my wife, and most of our friends, won’t touch the 360 because there’s no appeal for them. In a large group, even games like rayman on the 360 does not elicit the same enjoyment as the same game does on the Wii. However, when it’s just a buddy or two over to have an afternoon of gaming or playing over the internet on live (or xbconnect) the 360 wins hands down because its games do provide the appeal to more a “hardcore” (I hate that term) gamer.
I’d consider myself a “hardcore” gamer, but you won’t find a ps3 in my house right now. The reason there is that for the pricepoint, I can more than meet my gaming needs with the other two systems. Although the ps3 games imho are beautiful, there are only 2 that semi-appeal to me right now that I can’t play a variant of on the 360.
My point: Wii sales destroying 360 and ps3 doesn’t prove superiority of a system, but it does give a very clear indication of how well nintendo designed their system for the audience they were targetting compared to microsoft or sony.
Cheers.
Mr Scruff
on 30 Jun 07Much as I love Wii Sports, I don’t see anything in the success of a company who are in the process of regressing the game industry to the N64 era to be cheered about. Why is it so important to some people to see Sony fail? Many of the most imaginative and progressive games of the last decade have made their home on the playstation. Meanwhile, Nintendo churn out the same franchises over and over again.
Jeff Coleman
on 30 Jun 07Mr Scruff: Why is it so important to see Sony succeed?
Personally, I’m happy to see Sony’s hubris catch up with them, and to see Nintendo’s progressive attitude pay off not only in sales but in goodwill around the world.
Two companies, one of them produces a console that does nothing appreciably different than its previous one, just faster and with better graphics, charging an arm and a leg for the console and for the games. The other creates a console that’s affordable to everyone and appeals to all varieties of gamers, as well as pushing the envelope in its controller design and interface.
Personally I’m thrilled to see the second example succeed, because it’s progressive and it’s forward-thinking. It’s not just doing more of the same and charging more for it.
Nintendo’s strategy worked for the DS and it’s working for the Wii. That’s awesome.
LKM
on 03 Jul 07Mr Scruff: Nintendo wants to regress the industry to N64 era? Sony is making some of the most progressive games of the the last decade? Nintendo churns out the same franchises over and over again?
Sorry, but what bizarro universe are you coming from?
This discussion is closed.