Nintendo Already Anticipating Holiday Wii Shortages 246
As we approach the holiday season, Nintendo has already said that they don't expect to keep up with demand for the Wii console. In an interview with the LA Times, Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime said they're ramping up production by 33% already, with further increases planned. They're hoping to avoid the scarcity of Wii's that occurred last year, which cost them a great deal of money in potential sales. "We're now producing 2.4 million units a month worldwide. Last year, we made 1.6 million a month. So we've made a 33% increase. One of our competitors projects they will sell 10 million consoles worldwide this year. For us, that's three months of production. We're producing an unprecedented level of hardware to try to meet demand."
In other news... (Score:4, Insightful)
...water is wet, the sky is blue, and Macs and PCs use the same hardware. i.e. There is nothing surprising here. The demand for the Wii has been mercilessly out of whack with what is possible (or at least practical) to manufacture, since day one. I know a lot of people thought the shortage was over when Wiis temporarily became available during the summer. (Note that I said "available", not "abundant".) The problem is that console sales always cycle during the summer. The best sales are obviously around Christmas, both before and after. (After for all the folks who couldn't get one during the Christmas season.) Being at the opposite end of the year, summer is obviously going to be the low-point for sales. Consumers are spending their money on vacations and outdoor fun rather than game consoles.
What I find far more interesting is the extreme vitriol [computeran...ogames.com] expressed by those who commented on the ComputerAndVideoGames.com story. It seems the more successful the Wii becomes, the more the hardcore gamers hate it for its success.
what?! (Score:2, Insightful)
Seriously? People are still into this fad system?
Don't get me wrong, there were few people who were stronger supporters of the Wii when it was first coming out with it's new motion control setup. Unfortunately, it seems like all that developers have been able to do with it is create a bunch of crappy mini games where the only point seems to be to flail ones limbs around. The only thing the system does well is shooters (given that every other system has given up on the light gun) while they have been unable to come up with anything compelling in terms of sequels for their major franchises. Shoot, they even managed to release sequels to major franchises (I am thinking of Paper Mario and Mario Kart specifically here but I am sure there are others) that were significantly worse than their Gamecube counter parts.
Re:So has Nintendo won the console war? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Who doesn't have a wii at this point? (Score:2, Insightful)
No news that Nintendo consoles live long and that the service is excellent. That many people have replaced their PS2 multiple times due to messed up laser, and the same for many people with their ring of death 360s as you mention.
Though I guess if one want to be evil one could say that's only because Nintendo update their (portable) consoles so you just "have" to buy the new version before the old one bites the dust so they get more sales that way instead :D
Re:I am a wii owner so spare me condemnation.. but (Score:5, Insightful)
One comment I'd like to make is that Gamespot is useless. They have no journalistic integrity, and their reviews are awful to boot. Check IGN or MetaCritic instead.
I do not disagree with this statement. However, I would caution you to think carefully about the PS2 before you derive too much from it. How much PS2 software was AAA stuff? How much of it was excellent stuff that didn't get the attention it deserved? How much of it was pure, unbridled crap? (Even worse, do you know how much of the last category has been ported to the Wii to "cash in"?)
The biggest issue with the Wii is that some of the best games fall into the category of "don't get enough attention". Gamers pay attention to Monkey Ball Wii when Mercury Meltdown Revolution is the superior title. Zach and Wiki bring back the point and click adventure genre, but no one can be bothered to buy it. Geometry Wars Galaxies is several dozen shmups in one, but hardcore gamers ignore it. Pinball Hall of Fame: Williams Collection is the most amazing pinball simulation EVER, but it goes directly to the bargain bin. Boom Blox... well... Boom Blox is just overpriced IMHO.
And then there's WiiWare. Awesome, great, terrific, incredible games like Defend Your Castle, Toki Tori, Strong Bad, World of Goo, Wild West Guns (if you like light-gun games), Mega Man 9, Bomberman Blast, and LostWinds, yet most of the Wii owners I see don't even bother to hook up their Wii's Wifi.
I don't know if this is a failure to market on Nintendo's part or what. Obviously Nintendo's stuff sells well enough, so one has to wonder what gives. In part, I have seen publishers take a defeatist attitude toward the Wii. (e.g. The only reason why anyone heard of Zach and Wiki was because IGN tried to jump-start a grass roots movement. Capcom spent diddly squat on advertising and promotion.) Which, unsurprisingly, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Still, you'd think that publishers would want to nail their support for this machine while the iron is hot.
I honestly don't think they "get" it. Until they do, a Wii owner has to be a discerning owner. Because that's the only way you're going to find the good games. And there are PLENTY. From Excite Truck to Wario Shake It, the games are there. They're just not getting much attention.
Re:I am a wii owner so spare me condemnation.. but (Score:4, Insightful)
Remember how long it took the PS2 to build up a solid library of titles?
Sure, there were dozens of titles at launch, but it took ages for it to build up its now-formidable library, while Microsoft rested on its laurels with Halo.
Re:what?! (Score:2, Insightful)
fad: n, A phenomenon that becomes popular for a very short time.
Average Span between nintendo consoles: ~5 years
So I ask you this: when a system is still scarce for half of its shelf-life, can we please stop calling it a fad?
Re:what?! (Score:5, Insightful)
Unfortunately, it seems like all that developers have been able to do with the PS3 is create a bunch of crappy first person shooters where the only point seems to be to fire guns in random directions and hope you hit something.
I don't know how up to date you've been keeping with the Wii, but the age of mini-games is over. Save for Rayman Raving Rabbids 3, I can't think of a single title in recent memory that's based on mini-games. If any exist, it is probably a shovelware title that you should avoid. Spend your money on Boom Blox, Wario Shake It, Zack and Wiki, or one of the many excellent WiiWare titles instead.
Re:what?! (Score:5, Insightful)
To a lot of people complaining, those games you list *are* mini-games. As in, not beefy games - the blockbuster ones that really drive things. In this context, the definition of mini-game has changed, and has glommed together with portions of "casual game," "low budget game, "shallow game" and "simple game."
Re:In other news... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:what?! (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:In other news... (Score:2, Insightful)
Hardcore gamers are in the minority.
Nintendo's masterstroke was to make a killer application which appeals to gamers and non-gamers alike (Wii Sports), to manufacture the only hardware that supports it, and to sell that hardware for a profit, not as a loss-leader. They did exactly the same thing with the original Gameboy and Tetris combo.
Re:what?! (Score:3, Insightful)
The Wii has changed the definition of what makes a good game. Nintendo proved that there was a huge market waiting for games that are relatively easy to produce, fun to play, and very profitable (and unfortunately, a lot of business players have forgotten how to make and sell those).
Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metroid Prime 3 are great. Those kinds of games aren't going anywhere. But myself, and a lot of other people, are glad that games based on fun gameplay concepts have a home again.
I love Heavenly Sword, but it was written off largely because people consider it short. If the developer's hadn't wasted so much money (and consequently lost it) on making it a cutting edge blend of technology and art, there couldn't have been a hell of a lot more fun gameplay in it.
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:In other news... (Score:5, Insightful)
Expanding manufacturing lines costs money and depending on the unit price and the expected sales volume that may not be profitable. Since the Wii was "available" during the year that suggests the non-christmas demand is about equal to the manufacturing capacity being used, increasing capacity for christmas only and having superfluous capacities afterwards can be pretty unprofitable.
I'll do the same thing I did last-gen. I'll buy whichever is the most-popular console when it hits $199. And I'll buy the Nintendo Wii if it's either $100 flat or $150 with a free game.
That's a contradiction, the Wii is the most popular console. The DS hasn't seen a price drop since release (maybe the old DS back when it was obsoleted by the DS lite), all signs point towards Nintendo using the same strategy for the Wii.