How Wii Is Creaming the Competition 377
CNN has a report on the Wii's success in the games marketplace right now, referring to their sales dominance as 'creaming the competition'. The article tries to break down exactly why Nintendo's console has sold so successfully, discussing the system's marketing, engineering, and philosophy. "Next, engineers settled on a new approach for the Wii's looks. Just as the DS shunned the Game Boy name to appeal to a broader audience, the Wii would adopt a sleek white exterior instead of the toylike loud colors used on the GameCube. Even CEO Iwata got involved in the design process; at one point he handed engineers a stack of DVD jewel cases and told them the console should not be much bigger. Why so small? To work with the motion-sensitive wireless controller Nintendo planned, Iwata reasoned, the console would have to sit directly beside the TV. Make it any larger and customers would hesitate to leave it there. " Their sales strategy is working in spades. CVG reports that at least one analyst thinks that Wii demand won't be met until 2009. This past weekend Chris Kohler had an interesting comment on the 'ambassador programs' Nintendo ran in advance of the Wii's launch, and how that might tie in to the system's financial success.
Re:They're outselling them? (Score:5, Informative)
The Wii outsold the Xbox 360 by 25% last month. That's certainly a sizable lead, yet it's not exactly what I'd call "creaming the competition". I'd also argue that the Wii's monthly software sales have been underwhelming - Wii Play has been propping up the numbers to a large extent, and that's a $10 game bundled with an accessory.
Now, if you want to talk about getting creamed, let's talk about the PS3...
Half the price my paw (Score:1, Informative)
Re:I'm not buying a WII... (Score:5, Informative)
We also play casual games on both platforms, but we both prefer the new games (like Boom Boom Rocket, Cloning Clyde, Zuma, etc) on XBLA much more than the old stuff on VC. I think if Nintendo opened the VC up to non-retro titles (maybe even homebrew as MS are planning to do with XNA) it could be pretty cool. Don't get me wrong, I loved paperboy as a kid, but it doesn't really do anything for me anymore.
So big up to Nintendo for selling all these boxes, I wish them well, but once SPM is done (few days now I'd guess) mine will be back gathering dust.
Re:Nintendo is breaking another rule... (Score:2, Informative)
Wii Bukkake? (Score:1, Informative)
"Cream" is a vernacular term for semen, which comes out of the same male human body part as wee.
Re: Why is XBLA more casual friendly than VC? (Score:4, Informative)
Which has me baffled. The 360 is much LESS 'casual player' friendly than the Wii, Yet XBLA has much more Casual friendly titles than the VC. I have a Wii60 myself, and While the 360 has networked Hearts, Uno, Poker... Even Pac Man!... come on Nintendo where is the Sudoku game, or Dr. Mario, or Poker, or a 'Crossword Puzzle game' something, anything even universal staples like pacman / frogger would be great.
Personally, I love the classics on the VC, and I'm one of the few people I know who thinks they are fairly priced (IF you don't think Zelda: lttp, Donkey Kong Country or Gunstar heroes are worth $8 each you're crazy.), but what about say, my retired parents?
Nintendo has tapped a broader demographic of casual gamers, but what can they buy? Most of the games out now (at retail, and VC) are still catering to the hardcore...
Re:They're outselling them? (Score:2, Informative)
360 = 9.68 million
Wii = 6.54 million
PS3 = 3.16 million
Re:Half the price my paw (Score:4, Informative)
The PS3 is selling for about $500 each, and has sold 3.16 million units worldwide (according to vgcharts) making back roughly 1.58 billion dollars.
The Wii is selling for about $250 each, and has sold 6.54 million units worldwide (according to vgcharts) making back roughly 1.635 billion dollars.
The 360 is selling for about $400 each, and has sold 9.68 million units worldwide (according to vgcharts) making back roughly 3.872 billion dollars.
Looks like X-Box 360 is creaming the competition currently, in both money recouped in hardware sales (at a lost), and units sold.
Re:Because Nintendo and Microsoft work together (Score:1, Informative)
Blue Ocean Strategy (Score:3, Informative)
That's why the Wii is beating Sony and Microsoft.
Re:Xbox 360 is on shelves. Wii is not. (Score:3, Informative)
Grammar Police (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Customer First, it's that simple (Score:3, Informative)
There's one precedent I can name - the Atari 2600. The day my parents bought the Atari, they stayed up until sunrise playing breakout. They bought probably 15 games for that system, and never bought another console - until the Wii.