At E3 Reggie Fils-Aime let the world know he wasn’t satisfied with the sales progress of the Wii or DS in 2007 and hopes Nintendo can do better this year. Perhaps Nintendo is playing the humble card? No doubt they bragged about their 10 million sales of the Wii and 20 million sales of the DS but quickly followed it by saying they’re not satisfied.
Or, is this a threat?
Nintendo has built some steep competition while both Sony and Microsoft scoff at their product and tell everyone its a novelty and it doesn’t really “count” in this next-generation console battle. It doesn’t count… really?
Perhaps Microsoft and Sony are right; maybe every Wii owner that wanted a PlayStation 3 and/or an Xbox 360 purchased their console too. There may be some truth to that as hardcore gamers may purchase a Wii for many reasons:
- They want every console so they have the widest array of game purchases
- They’re hardcore nature forces them to spend money on all products
- They want to get their kids in on gaming early, to grow them up in their image
- Mob mentality, if everyone has a Wii you must as well!
- The technology is cool and you want to be there for its inception
It seems they don’t feel a threat because Wii is a non-gamer console and thus attracts a different crowd… yet they’re both mimicking some of the motion sensing in their own controllers and playing nice towards “casual games” and non-gamers of late. Maybe their not threatened, but impressed?
Fils-Aime isn’t impressed with their sales figures, perhaps because he expected a higher degree of Wii sales by now, but the fact that people cannot purchase them two years into production has hurt sales figures. Although 10 million units sold is an impressive figure, knowing you had such higher potential if the product was actually on the shelves has to hurt a bit of your pride.
The DS sales were impressive considering the product has been in the market for awhile and is easier to find (minus the holiday rush). We’re not sure why he’s not satisfied with the figures, but inspiring a higher degree of DS sales will require some work. Perhaps this is why they’ve gone with the GTA Chinatown approach; using the GTA name to grow their DS sales figures?
It will be interesting to see how Wii does through the next few quarters and if sales slow down now that we’re a few years into the product. What was the last home console Nintendo owned to get this high of a demand?
Perhaps none.
@Wii U sells 1.2 games per console
Hmm, lemme see, what would that be … I say it is that the bundle was so very compelling. Yep. Trust me.
Not!
While we’d all like to make our choices based strictly on the experience we’d get from a product, price does matter.
@BioWare was planning spy action title in 2009
Oookay … so? I also wanted to buy an SUV in 2009, but that doesn’t mean I now own one.
I did hear and play NOLF around 2007, but mainly to see what the LithTech engine could do; back then I was into modding, and the game I was interested in used the same engine.
@Hitman Facebook app removed for off-color joke
The app is actually funny! I guess if they just re-worked the hit message things would have worked out differently.
@Activision: Black Ops II grossed $1 billion in 15 Days
This is ridiculous. This will definitely shift the focus from movies to games, for all major entertainment companies. I mean come on, 1 billion bucks!
Regarding SP versus MP, I do play the campaigns. I guess it’s a scar of my internet-less past :P. Thing is, even now I prefer a good SP story over a good MP.
@What’s the most offensive thing you’ve seen in a videogame?
Hmm … dunno. I mean since it’s a video game, I don’t really think of them as offensive.
I guess me. I’m the most offensive thing I saw in STALKER Clear Sky. The god damned guide kept asking me “What’s with the stalling?” and “Is this a starring contest?” while I was minding my own business investigating my inventory . So I pulled out the handgun and put a bullet in his head.
@Nintendo Weakness
Since I missed out last podcast, I never read Nintendo Power. I used to read the Official Nintendo Magazine which was aimed at the UK gaming market. Since we only get like a 1/4 of Nintendo games that come out in US, there was no point in reading an import mag.
@Wii U tanking harder than Titanic
I read the Famitsu report. 7th best launch in Japan. Just to tell you how bad it is, PS Vita was 6th. In UK every store bundled the Wii U with a whole bunch of games. You can’t buy a premium unit for £300. You have to buy it for £400+ with a boatload of games you probably don’t want. Because there is only one game worth of anyones attention. The Mario game which is a remake of a remake of a remake of a remake.
@Hitman
This is a blatant publicity stunt. No way can I believe that serious men sitting around a table would decide that this app was a good idea.
@Record breaking
“And now in other news of 2015, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 grossed $3 billion dollars from pre-order deposits alone.” I don’t expect this record breaking to persist. Call of Duty is running out of steam. At least that’s what it feels like.
@QOTW
Since I am Russian I get a little offended when shooting games portray us as low-intelligent over-violent trigger happy brutes. Then again, it’s less of an issue these days since the US started an open season on Arabs.
One thing I do remember was when I was playing House of the Dead: Overkill on the Wii. During the first level cutscene you are introduced to the main bad guy talking to a paralysed kid in a wheelchair. The bad guy smacks him on the face with his cane and calls him a cabbage. I know that this game was specifically built to offend the soft audience of the Wii. But there are some jokes that are just in poor taste.