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Nintendo Businesses Portables (Games) The Almighty Buck Wii

35 Million DSes Sold, 6 Million Wiis By End of March 146

Posted by Zonk from the they-don't-do-things-halfway dept.
Wowzer writes "Nintendo just announced its quarterly sales for the end of 2006. Sales for the 9 months were up 72%, while net income was up 43%. From the article: '[There will be] worldwide shipments of 6 million Wii systems by the end of March 2007. Nintendo has sold 35 million DS and DS Lite to date ... As for the next fiscal year, Nintendo expect to sell around 23 million DS Lites, bringing the estimated total of DS units to 58 million by March 31, 2008.' New Super Mario Bros. seems to have legs of its own with 8.64 million copies sold worldwide and continued strong sales. But they seem slow to ship out those Wii with 4 million manufactured last year and 810,000 of those not arriving to stores until now."
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35 Million DSes Sold, 6 Million Wiis By End of March More

35 Million DSes Sold, 6 Million Wiis By End of March

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  • Hmm (Score:3, Funny)

    by lucky13pjn ( 979922 ) on Thursday January 25, 2007 @11:22AM (#17753106)
    So, does this mean Nintendo might just as well print the money itself now?
  • * Nintendo manufactured 4 million Wii systems by the end of 2006 and during that time sold and delivered 3.19 million to its distributors and retail customers around the world, the other 810,000 are slowly arriving at stores now. So they expect another 2.81 million to be sold in the first three months of 2007.

    Sounds like even more evidence that the NPD numbers were faulty. 1.1 million in NA in 2006? I think not!

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Itchyeyes ( 908311 )
      3.19 million is the number of Wiis shipped by the manufacturer worldwide. 1.1 million is the number of Wiis sold by retailers in the US. The significant difference here is the US vs worldwide numbers.
      • I understand that. However, North America gets a lion's share of that. We were promised about half of the Wii shipments, when NPD reports that we only received about a third of them. No worries, though. I figured it out. Look at my response to myself right below your post.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by jZnat ( 793348 ) *
          Maybe they're implying that 1/3 of them sold were legit in the US, 1/3 were to scalpers on eBay, and the other 1/3 to the rest of the world.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by AKAImBatman ( 238306 ) *
      Ah hah! Found the exact Nintendo number in their PDF [nintendo.co.jp]:

      Apr-Dec '06 (Sales Units in Ten Thousands)
      Japan 114
      Americas 125
      Other 80
      ------------
      Total 319

      Actually, NPD didn't give the numbers for our 51st state* to the North, did they? So I suppose that would explain the discrepency between their numbers and Nintendo's. Nintendo tracks by North America as a whole while NPD only gave the US.

      P.S. Can we fix the ecode tag so that it's no longer broken? It's annoying to no longer be able to lay out tabular data co

  • I still can't get a Wii ! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by CokeBear ( 16811 ) on Thursday January 25, 2007 @11:26AM (#17753192) Journal
    I know they're making them as fast as they can, but demand just won't let up! Here in Toronto, they are never in stock for more than 15 minutes, and nobody ever seems to know when the next shipment will be arriving. Most retailers get 10-20 units every 5-10 days, and they just fly off the shelves. I would have though that by the end of January the supply would have caught up with demand, but with all the new gamers trying the Wii, seems like it could go on for a while.

    (For the record, this will be my first gaming system since the original NES, which I played as a kid.)

    I'm looking forward to Wii Sports as a fun way to get my somewhat rounded body back into shape. Guess I'll just have to wait a bit longer. That or stop eating junk food.)

    • Re:I still can't get a Wii ! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by EastCoastSurfer ( 310758 ) on Thursday January 25, 2007 @11:29AM (#17753242)
      I got a Wii yesterday. I just happened to be standing in BB when they put 3 of them out. I grabbed one then the other 2 were picked up before I walked away. Amazing how the demand is holding strong for the system.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by iamdug ( 568944 )
        I got mine on Sunday morning. Target got 30 in and started selling at 8am. By the time I got there at 8:50 they had 4. Best part is, my wife has clocked more time than me. I'm playing twilight princess and shes playing Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Brothers. I think Nintendo might have nailed it this time, especially with the new video of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon using the Wii Remote. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/previewArt.cfm? artid=12773 [nintendoworldreport.com]
        • All I have is wii sports atm and some friends and I had an epic bowling game last night. It really is a fun party type of system. Okay, and the video you linked to means another game I have to buy lol...

          • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

            by Thansal ( 999464 )
            Heh, you should check out the minigames included in Wii Sports if you havn't yet. One of the best ones is for bowling, Your goal is to knock down as many pins as you can with one ball, however after each time they will reset the pins and add a line to the back row. Eventualy you end up with a MASSIVE amount of pins to try and get a strike on!

            And I am also in the crowd of those that still don't have one yet (I am not willing to spend time over nite, buy a bundle that includes games I don't want, and I flat

            • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

              by JWW ( 79176 )
              Curently my list of games to pick up looks like:
              Zelda
              Redsteel
              Elebits (this is a questionable one)
              Exite Truck
              possibly maden, I really have to try it out first, and the same goes for DBZ (I want to paly it a bit more before hand).

              Get Madden, it rocks...

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by cduffy ( 652 )
              Yah -- Madden was on my Christmas list, and I kind of regret it now -- it's a football game with nifty controls, but that doesn't stop it from being a football game, and that's very much not my thing. It's currently on loan to some friends who have friends who come over occasionally and like football games, but I'm not at all above taking it back and reselling it. (Do you refuse to buy from eBay because of something against them in particular, or just the general risk of buying things from strangers sight-u

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by 7Prime ( 871679 )
                Okami = Wiiiii for the PS2!

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by Thansal ( 999464 )
                I refuse to buy from E-Bay for 2 fold:
                1) I hate paying a premium for items I could go out and buy if I wasn't lazy, mainly b/c I am lazy and patient (Zelda will rock jsut as hard a month from now as it did at release)
                2) There are far to many instances of scumbags on E-Bay, where what what they do is technicaly not illegal or against ebay's rules, I still can't stand giving money to them.

                And I am probably in the same camp as you about maden, it looks like an great control setup, however is that really enough
            • You need Rayman. Trust me.

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by Thansal ( 999464 )
                Doh!

                I knew I had forgoten atleast one game, and rayman is it.

                I am also very tempted by rampage, but that might jsut be nastolgia talking.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by mgblst ( 80109 )
          THe whole point of the special moves was that they were hard to get out. That was one of the things making them special. This sort of ruins it, surely. THe balance of play will end up all wrong, with everybody just doing supermoves all the time, because they are easy.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by LKM ( 227954 )

            It will change balance, but not ruin it. I own a Street Fighter game for the Cube, which has a "simple" input option. You can start special moves with just one button. The thing is, they still take quite a bit of time to execute and leave you open for attack. There are definitely way more special moves, but the "normal" moves are still used most of the time, and the whole game becomes quite a bit more frantic because you need less time to execute a special move, and therefore need to keep the other player f

      • Congraduations (you lucky bastard). I've been wanting a Wii since they were released, but I still haven't been able to find any locally. For now I guess my new DS Lite will have to keep me happy (got it for Christmas). The New Super Mario DS is pretty awesome IMO, I haven't had this much fun since Super Mario World (SNES was the last Nintendo system I owned). Can't wait to get the Wii and play some Zelda though...
    • Same here. The local Target stores are still handing out preclaim tickets at 6 AM the morning before the shipments come in. Wiis never stay in stock more than a couple of hours at any retailer here (western Illinois).

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by owen_b2 ( 660177 )
      Thats what i thought - "yeah, jump around, get fit!" but its not long before you work out how to play Sports with mere flicks of the wrist, while sprawling back on the sofa in traditional pose.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by CokeBear ( 16811 )
        You need to make a conscious decision not to play that way, and stay fully involved in the action. (Wii makes it much easier just by being fun to play.)

        Also, by the time I get to that point, I'm hoping there are some new sporty games out. (Any suggestions?)

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Knuckles ( 8964 )
          Suggestions:
          Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 [ign.com]
          SSX Blur Snowboarding [ign.com]

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by UbuntuDupe ( 970646 ) *
          I think that if you want to combine your exercise with video gaming, DDR is the way to go. It got me off the couch and I lost 30 pounds in the first three months. (265 -> 235) Also, I got my parents hooked on the Eyetoy's Kinetic, and they liked it so much they've now gotten like four other people to play it. Yeah, that involves the PS2, but remember, the PS2 was from when Sony was still good. (I don't like hard pads, so I use the foam Red Octane Ignition, costs ~$80. If you want to do doubles mode,

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by yarbo ( 626329 )
            Wario Ware has games where you do things like hold the wiimote at your side and hula hoop.
            link [thewiire.com]

        • I play about half an hour of Wii Boxing every day. I put small weights on my wrists (you can buy these at sports shops), and I can tell you, after 15 minutes, I'm sweating like a pig and my heart rate is pretty high. Obviously, you could just sit down, but it's a lot more fun while standing, especially for Boxing, which really requires you to move your body left and right to dodge hits.

          And yes, I'm hoping there will be more "physical" sports games. There's another Golf game, but I'm guess it won't do too m

      • "yeah, jump around, get fit!" but its not long before you work out how to play Sports with mere flicks of the wrist, while sprawling back on the sofa in traditional pose.

        At least in the case of Wii Sports, that doesn't work as well as it sounds. You *can* do it, but the movements are a lot less natural. Getting up and moving around makes the games a lot easier to play, which helps keep you on your feet.

        The other thing that Wii Sports does is that it ramps up the challenge as you play. (Make sure you make yourself a Mii, or you won't have a save file!) So while you may start playing Wii Sports Tennis using leisurely swings, it won't be long before you find yourself concentrating hard on making more powerful swings in the direction you need the ball to go.

        Last but not least, play some boxing. I know the "exhaustion" of your character takes some getting used to. Especially when he fails to punch for seemingly unknown reasons. But once you play it enough, it starts to make sense. You need to dodge the blows of your opponent, then knock him from the inside when his glove whooshes by your head. A nice strong punch followed by various jabs usually has him down on the ground in no time flat. Since there is no better cardiovascular workout than Boxing among the Wii Sports games, I highly recommend that you get acquainted with the gameplay. It will leave you breathing heavy and drenched in sweat. But you won't care because it feels just so darn good to get the exercise! ;D

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by rjung2k ( 576317 )
          "At least in the case of Wii Sports, that doesn't work as well as it sounds. You *can* do it, but the movements are a lot less natural. Getting up and moving around makes the games a lot easier to play, which helps keep you on your feet."

          True dat. I play Wii Sports on a daily basis, because it's fun for quick bursts, and I like to pretend the Fitness Age test actually has merit. ;-) But when I try to play using just wrist flicks instead of full-body motions, my performance drops significantly. Might as w

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Nf1nk ( 443791 )
            I have found that I just can't realy play zelda standing up. I have to sit there being a tool box, even though the fishing can be a little hard to coordinate.
    • Here in Spain the situation is similar. And not only Wiis are flying off the shelves. Wednesday last week there was a shelf full of wiiplay in a store. After an hour it was only half shelf. Yesterday there wasn't a single wiiplay there.

      And I still haven't got one either, waiting to find one.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Taeolas ( 523275 )
      In Fredericton (New Brunswick) I was in EBGames after work, and I was surprised they still had 4 Wii in stock. Well 3 Wii since someone was buying one while I was browsing (looking for something else). Seems like the supply is slowly starting to catch up to the demand now. Probably by mid-Feb they should be easier to get.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ArtDent ( 83554 )
      Here's the secret: Wii Finder Canada + Check4Change

      http://www.corwin.ca/wii/index.php?item=console [corwin.ca]
      http://check4change.mozdev.org/ [mozdev.org]

      New units are going on sale at both futureshop.ca and bestbuy.ca a couple of times a week. A batch of 100 sells out in about two minutes.

      Wii Finder monitors the Wii pages from several online retailers and updates when they do. Check4Change is a Firefox plug-in that alerts you when a web page updates.

      It's key that you create an account, and provide your address and credit card inf
  • The 4 million manufactured would explain the large number differences between what was sold and what was promised. 800k+ consoles that didn't arrive in time for the new year certainly makes a difference.

    It is disappointing that they couldn't live up to their word. They may not have flubbed as much as Sony, but they still didn't get 4 million consoles into our hands when they said they would.

    However, I'm much more concerned about their ability to sell another 2 million consoles before March ends and hit 6 mi

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Skreems ( 598317 )
      I have no doubt that the consoles will continue to sell like crazy. Right now, you've got sites that track possible locations that might have the Wii near you, and people camping out before stores open. How many consumers are willing to do that? I would guess less than 20%. Which means that there's an even bigger untapped market of people who are waiting until they can stroll into a local store of their choice at 5 PM and still find one on the shelves (I'm one of them). I doubt their sales will be slowing a

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by MeanderingMind ( 884641 )
        Your post makes me wonder if we'll see DSLitesque sellouts.

        From what other responders have said, the DSLite remains sold out even as we approach its first birthday. Were the Wii to duplicate that kind of demand, it's only criticism could likely be Nintendo's failure to provide adaquate supply.

        I sincerely hope they can meet demand sooner rather than later. Eventually some rather beautiful and stunning games will come out for the PS3 and 360, and if Nintendo doesn't match those in a timely fashion with games

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by 7Prime ( 871679 )
          Well, I can attest to that. My buddy is looking at getting a DSLite. We went to the local Fred Meyer's here, and they were totally sold out, we called the store across town, they were sold out too, said they may have a new shipment coming in today. But yeah, it's looking to be just as hot of an item as the Wii. They still don't dedicate any shelf space to the Wii, as they sell out before they can stock them. They seem to have given up on controller space too... they're now simply using the Wii controller sp
          • My buddy has been looking for a DSLite since 2 weeks before Christmas and he still hasn't found one. Could we be in the midst of nintendo returning to video game power?
            • As interesting as that would be, it's not going to happen if they can't keep everything in stock, or at least up their production rates.
    • I find it strange that Nintendo has not been able to produce more Wiis, given that most of the technology in the system is rather old. The NPD numbers say they moved 1.1 million units in the US between November and December. By contrast, they moved 1.21 million Gamecubes in the US in Nov & Dec 2001. The Gamecube utilized much newer technology at the time, including a new, proprietary disk media.
      • I don't think it is so much the cost of materials, but the logistics and time to manufacture in general. even if your bill of materials is relatively inexpensive, that may or may not correlate to time to produce a unit, package, then ship to a regional distributor, then to a retail outlet, etc...
        • That was my point though. 360 production and PS3 production were held back because the 360 processor, Cell, and Blu-ray diodes were all new technologies with inefficient manufacturing processes. A large percentage of these items manufactured had to be thrown out due to flaws. Sony and MS couldn't have made more units even if they had paid for them. However, the Wii has no such new technologies in it that would have those inefficient manufacturing processes. I'm sure there must be some part that's diffi
          • The Nintendo technology issue does exist, but in a different form. Instead of manufacturing a powerful new processor into a complicated system causing the bottleneck, it may have been creating a very small form-factor, tightly integrated system that uses low-power effectively, in addition to the manufacturing of the wii-remote and nunchuk attachment, which, not completely new, still new enough to the consumer and more than likely have never been manufactured in such large quantities. Also, they MAY have s

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by JWW ( 79176 )
              I think you've got something there. I think production of the wiimote might be whats slowing them down. You don't see any of them in stores either. Usually controllers are not so hard to come by.

      • They haven't been able to really ramp up their DS Lite production either, even though it's been out of stock since its release (Mars 2, 2006) in Japan and is becoming *very* hard to find in europe since November or so...

      • Re:4 million confusion (Score:5, Insightful)

        by AKAImBatman ( 238306 ) * <akaimbatman@gmaiBLUEl.com minus berry> on Thursday January 25, 2007 @12:09PM (#17754022) Homepage Journal
        I find it strange that Nintendo has not been able to produce more Wiis, given that most of the technology in the system is rather old.

        It's a manufacturing capacity problem. Nintendo's business is sized according to the requirements of their previous generation of hardware. This unexpectedly high demand for Wiis has left them in dire need to increase their production capabilities. Unfortunately, it takes months to tool up a new factory and begin moving parts to that factory. And that factory won't even be able to work at full capacity if there's a shortage of some particular part. For example, the Wii cases are highly customized pieces of plastic. If the provider of those cases can't make enough to meet production needs, then the entire pipeline won't be able to operate at maximum capacity.

        All I can say is that it's a good thing that Nintendo gets their chips from IBM. IBM is probably the only company that could provide Nintendo with enough customized microprocessors to scale with their needs.
      • The accelerometers they're using were only introduced in November 2005. Not exactly what I'd call "rather old" technology. The drive also has to be custom; remember, it reads GCN disks as well. And the CPU and GPU set, though not designed for speed, are new custom designs. Add all that up, and it's hardly surprising there's a limit to their capacity.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by AKAImBatman ( 238306 ) *

          The accelerometers they're using were only introduced in November 2005.

          Manufacturers introduce new parts all the time. They usually take over the manufacturing facilities of the parts they're replacing. Accelerometers have been around long enough to where supply shouldn't be that big of a problem.

          The drive also has to be custom; remember, it reads GCN disks as well.

          Actually, the Wii/GCN optical discs are the exact same technology as DVDs. The only difference is in a firmware update that allows the drive to

          • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

            by Wdomburg ( 141264 )

            Manufacturers introduce new parts all the time. They usually take over the manufacturing facilities of the parts they're replacing. Accelerometers have been around long enough to where supply shouldn't be that big of a problem.

            Manufacturers don't introduce the first single chip three-axis accelerometer every day. We're talking about a new unique single-sourced chip from a manufacturer with relatively limited fab capacity.

            Actually, the Wii/GCN optical discs are the exact same technology as DVDs. The only di

      • I'm guessing that Nintendo probably could easily ramp up production. However, sooner or later, a large part of the "launch demand" will be satisfied, and they'll end up with production capacities way above what they need. You can't adjust production capacity to meet demand during the launch period, bcause it will always be very high. It's just bad business.

        But you are right, they should at least meet Gamecube production.

    • 3+ million consoles in ~2 months = not too bad. A couple more months to get the approximately same amount out (maybe a little less) sounds like a good bet.

  • Bazillions sold (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Life700MB ( 930032 ) on Thursday January 25, 2007 @11:37AM (#17753428)

    If PS3 has showed us a lesson, is that we need a new metric for "x millions sold" with game consoles, that is, "x millions sold minus y millions returned after being unable to sell them at ebay for a premium price".

    No, seriously, most PS3 were bought for reselling, while most wii's are bought for playing. And it, for me, it's a pretty big difference.

    --
    Superb hosting [tinyurl.com] 200GB Storage, 2_TB_ bandwidth, php, mysql, ssh, $7.95

    • Re:Bazillions sold (Score:4, Informative)

      by Itchyeyes ( 908311 ) on Thursday January 25, 2007 @11:50AM (#17753676) Homepage

      No, seriously, most PS3 were bought for reselling, while most wii's are bought for playing. And it, for me, it's a pretty big difference.
      And I'm sure you have some sort of data or source to back up this claim. A cursory search on eBay or a news story about the launch line at a particular Best Buy doesn't really qualify. I'm only calling you out, because I hear this line repeated fairly often with pretty much no evidence to support such an assertion. It seems fairly intuitive that more PS3s are sold on eBay than Wiis, but that doesn't necessarily translate to most.
      • I don't know whether what he says is true or not, but I wouldn't be too surprised if on the initial shipments there were far more people waiting in line with the intention of selling the PS3 for huge profits. At launch everyone was anticipating that the PS3 was going to sell for thousands of dollars right up to (and well past) Christmas as it was supposed to be the hot holiday item and the low supply was supposed to make that much worse; we know that most people who tried to resell their PS3 did not get the

      • Re:Bazillions sold (Score:4, Informative)

        by Garse Janacek ( 554329 ) on Thursday January 25, 2007 @12:13PM (#17754092)

        I'm not sure I agree with the GP -- however, as partial support for his claim, I believe that at least in Japan, the tie ratio (number of games sold / number of consoles sold) for the PS3 is less than one, which is pretty damning. I don't think that's true in the US, but I believe the ratio is still much worse than the Wii...

        I share your skepticism that this means most are being bought to resell, but I think it does at least suggest a statistically significant chunk of them.

  • DS sells out in April (Score:5, Interesting)

    by RyoShin ( 610051 ) <tukaro@[ ]il.com ['gma' in gap]> on Thursday January 25, 2007 @11:45AM (#17753590) Homepage Journal
    As for the next fiscal year, Nintendo expect to sell around 23 million DS Lites
    I predict that most of those will be sold before June.

    If you think the DS is hard to find now (apparently, it's hard to keep in stock, just like the Wii), just wait until April. April sees the release of Pokemon Diamond/Pearl. The Pokemon series has always been a huge seller for both the games and the Game Boy, but these DS games also include the functionality to use WiFi to battle and trade online. Battling and trading with friends has always been a staple of the game, but you'd have to physically find someone to battle/trade with first. Now you have the entire world to choose from.

    I know that's when I'll be buying my DS. (Well, a bit earlier, to beat the rush.)
    • 6/01/07 The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass nuff said

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by The-Bus ( 138060 )
        I'm not sure if you mean Japan, but Zelda is launching in North America around October of 2007.
    • This is off topic, but the game is incredible. I imported Pearl so I could practice Japanese and play a good RPG. The new battle system is incredible. I haven't played it online yet as I want to get my pokemon a bit stronger first. I wonder if the battling will be Japanese games vs Japanese games only though...

  • That makes their handheld killer, the loser.

    And that makes their console, the loser.

    All this from the company that entered this race pompously telling the world they were the top dog.

    It wouldn't be utterly tragic for them if it weren't Nintendo that was kicking their ass. Nintendo
    is a tiny, tiny company compared to Sony.

    How soon will it be until heads roll at Sony corp?
  • Try planning on driving 20 miles out of the city in order to catch one. Avoid the popular stores because the chance is slim there. Just do a little research and calling around instead of hoping to be at the right place at the right time.

    Now, can anyone help me find some accessories? I can't find any wii-motes or classic controllers or anything.

    • Re:The trick to it is - Amazon.com (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Amazon had wiimotes two days ago. I ordered one and already got it yesterday at my house. Paid for standard shipping too.

    • Get wireless Gamecube controllers instead (Score:5, Informative)

      by WidescreenFreak ( 830043 ) on Thursday January 25, 2007 @12:11PM (#17754070) Homepage Journal
      I'd strongly recommend getting the wireless Gamecube controllers instead of the Classic controllers. At least wireless Gamecube controllers can be used with Gamecube games and they work with all of the VC games. If you buy the Classic controller, okay, it connects to the bottom of the Wiimote, so that makes it wireless, but if you want to play any GC games you'll need to buy GC controllers anyway.

      I play all of my VC games with wireless GC controllers after returning the unopened Classic controllers that I bought. Haven't regretted it for a second. And now that rechargeable batteries are dropping in price, there is no reason to get the Classic controller unless you simply want it for the sake of having it ... that whole Wii "continuity" thing, I suppose.

      And I've not seen a place out of stock of wireless GC controllers while the CC area remains out of stock.
      • I haven't used a Classic controller yet, but the dpad placement might make it worthwhile for me. I've always thought that the 'cube controller's dpad was a little uncomfortable, and after two hours of Toe Jam & Earl the thought is reinforced. Still, I have 4 Gamecube controllers, so unless they _destroy_ my thumb I'll stick with them. I would say that those with a big interest in Virtual Console games could do worse than to pick up 1 or 2 Classic controllers.
        -f
        • As long as they have enough Wiimotes to plug them into. From what I've been seeing, getting additional Wiimotes appears to be a bit of a problem right now. ;)

          Besides, there are 3rd party, wireless GC controller manufacturers out there. I got three genuine controllers and a smaller, 3rd party controller for my daughter. I've played several hours of Sonic and SMB with the GC controller and haven't had a problem. Admittedly, it's not like those games require a lot of controller action.

        • Yep, the classic controller has a great d-pad (seems to be the same as the one on the DS lite). It totally blows the Cube's d-pad away. OTOH, the classic controller has the awkward "sony-style" analog controller placement. Can't have it all, I guess.

      • I dunno, I really hate the GC controller - the D-Pad is TINY - and while I don't have a Wii yet, I'd hope that Nintendo would go back to the full-size D-Pad from the NES/SNES/N64 with the CC...especially since the CC has the D-Pad in the primary left position, rather than the secondary position like the GC controller (and the Xbox controller). Is this the case or am I going to be hunting for a 3rd party CC?

        My worst memories of GC were trying to play Soul Calibur 3 and never being able to do the B+X or B+Y

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by LKM ( 227954 )

          I love the GC controller, but the d-pad was indeed a piece of shit. Fortunately, the classic controller and the wii remote have great d-pads (similar to those on the DS lite).

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Cybrex ( 156654 )
        To each his own of course, but in my experience I have to differ with you. The GC controller is acceptable (I'm hooked on Metroid Prime right now, having never even glanced at the GC's library prior to getting a Wii), but the Virtual Console games I'm finding that the classic controller is well worth the $. I have small-ish hands, and it fits perfectly and has a familiar button layout (I'm still adjusting to the GC controller). Additionally, for some VC games like R-Type III the classic controller is requir

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Guppy06 ( 410832 )
        Best of both worlds: I imported a Hori pad for my GameCube.
      • I'd strongly recommend getting the wireless Gamecube controllers instead of the Classic controllers. At least wireless Gamecube controllers can be used with Gamecube games and they work with all of the VC games. If you buy the Classic controller, okay, it connects to the bottom of the Wiimote, so that makes it wireless, but if you want to play any GC games you'll need to buy GC controllers anyway.

        You know, I agree to a point but I like the mix of both.

        I have a Gamecube, and I now have 5 Wavebirds. Yeah

  • I'm running a high-speed wifi cable network which I'm typing on now, and as of this week - the WiiStore for buying virtual console games has been fucked. Basically the damn thing is either slow to load - or times out with a cryptic network error message. If this is how good they're doing NOW - imagine another x-million users.

    Great job Nintendo.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by yermej ( 985079 )
      I haven't been having any problems with updates or the store (just got my Wii this past Sunday - did the initial system update, downloaded the internet channel, and bought a couple VC games). If you haven't, try changing your wireless channel to 1 or 11 if possible (in the US, anyway). This is supposed to help slow/timing out connections, but I haven't needed to try it myself.

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