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The Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS enjoyed record breaking success in 2008

Nintendo earned record breaking success in 2008 selling 10.17 million Nintendo Wii consoles and 9.95 million Nintendo DS portable consoles according to the latest NPD numbers.

No video game system in history had ever sold more than 10 million units in a single year in America. The previous record was set by the Nintendo DS with sales of 8.52 million units in 2007. Amazingly, this is a number Nintendo was able to exceed in 2008 with both their home console the Nintendo Wii and their portable the Nintendo DS.

Nintendo dominated home console sales in 2008 as 55 percent of all next generation consoles purchased was a Nintendo Wii. The Nintendo DS also claimed 72 percent of all portable system sales in 2008.

Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing summarized the secret to Nintendo's success stating, "If you offer consumers an expanded definition of what a video game can be, and deliver that idea with quality and affordability in mind, millions of new people will start playing video games.”

According to Dunaway innovative new video game genres are providing growth opportunities. She stated, “Concepts like Wii Fit, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band never would have seemed feasible just a few years ago, and now they’re driving growth for our the entire industry.”. 

The latest NPD numbers covered December and all of 2008, revealing a waterfall of good news for Nintendo. In addition to the positive hardware sales numbers, Nintendo also enjoyed software sales success. The video game industry’s top 4 selling games of 2008 were from Nintendo. The Nintendo Wii Play was No. 1, Mario Kart Wii was No. 2, Wii Fit was No.3, and Super Smash Brothers Brawl was fourth.

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Looking good
By inighthawki on 1/18/2009 3:43:03 PM , Rating: 5
I'm glad to hear nintendo is doing so well. I'm personally a fan, and I really hope all of this profit will show in "Wii 2". I'm looking forward to seeing their next innovative idea.




RE: Looking good
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 1/18/2009 3:50:14 PM , Rating: 5
Man, I am so addicted to Mario Kart Wii... and Tiger Woods '09. I got Mario Party for Wii for Christmas, I need to start playing that.

I hardly play my PS3 anymore.


RE: Looking good
By FaceMaster on 1/18/2009 7:39:50 PM , Rating: 2
The graphics sucks on it, I hope they do better with the Wii 2.

In racing games I'd rather use a PS3 controller- far easier. As for PS3 controllers being less fun, I can assure you that beating somebody using the 'innovative' Wii controller is more fun than swerving with the Wii remote in order to get around a corner.


RE: Looking good
By mmntech on 1/18/2009 8:22:03 PM , Rating: 5
I assume you mean the analogue sticks because SIXAXIS motion controls suck in racing games. Trying to play Motorstorm with it is an experience and a half.

Say what you want about Wii but Nintendo did a lot of things right with it. There was a huge market of people out there that the so called "hardcore" consoles ignored. Seniors, casual gamers, younger children, etc. There's a lot more of them than there are of the hardcore crowed. Appealing to a mass market at a low cost is what sells consoles, not graphics.


RE: Looking good
By Samus on 1/18/09, Rating: 0
RE: Looking good
By quiksilvr on 1/18/2009 10:05:17 PM , Rating: 1
The bad graphics aside, that's not the only reason why I simply detest the Wii. It's the sheer lack of good games. You got Zelda, Galaxy, Kart (which is worse than the last one), Smash, Paper and Prime. I'm not even going to mention the 3rd party games because if its on the 360 or PS3 the Wii version is bound to suck.

On top of that, you don't get what you pay for. $250? Seriously? Ok it has wireless capabilities but what else? Hardly any storage, no CD or DVD capabilities and no HD capabilities...So why is it $250? Because consumers are dumb.


RE: Looking good
By Alexstarfire on 1/19/2009 12:17:03 AM , Rating: 5
Well, you can't blame Nintendo for that. They don't tell the 2nd or 3rd party developers what to make. They assumed that the Wii would do poorly like the last console, which only failed cause of crappy third party titles, but it didn't. What you see now is the result of that. They didn't develop any great titles for the Wii early on so it gets crap until they actually develop AAA titles for it. It's not like they can just instantly switch once the Wii was doing well. It takes a lot of time to make good games. The Wii version usually does suck, but that's because it's not designed around the Wii system. It's inherently different than the 360 and PS3. If they just port it over the controls usually screw it over.

And what you mean you don't get what you paid for? I get a fully working console that costs less than the others, save for the arcade 360 now, that plays games, has WiFi, and wireless controllers. So what if it can't play DVDs or CDs. I have like 12 DVD players that can do that. OK, not that many but I really do have 2 extra DVD players that aren't hooked up to any TV since they all have one. I don't buy a console for an entertainment system, though that's only because I already have my entertainment system. I call it a computer. I can hook it up to my TV to play movies and everything. I don't, but I could. HD..... who cares. Most of the population doesn't have an HD capable TV anyways. Might be useful for those that do... but that isn't the demographic that Nintendo is shooting for. It'd just be an added cost, so would the DVD playability too. Who needs storage capability anyways. It is useful for demos that you can download, but since I don't play like 5 at a time it's no big deal. Course downloadable content is nice, but I don't like paying for it. That's my preference though. Say, exactly how much storage space does a Wii have? I don't know how much a "block" is so it's not really useful. The 360 and PS3 use the hard drive mainly to reduce loading times, and as a media center. Without those 2 things an HDD would be useless. If you really need more storage on the Wii you can add an SD card of any size.

You ask why it's $250. I ask, why isn't it more? Granted at launch time $250 was still very reasonable. It was $150 less than it's competitors. As it got past the launch stage and into hard to find territory I wondered why prices didn't skyrocket at retailers, and still wonder actually. It's sold out in many places still and when that happens you usually see an increase in price. Guess Nintendo probably had a say in that.... but it's pure speculation.


RE: Looking good
By inighthawki on 1/19/2009 12:33:51 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
They assumed that the Wii would do poorly like the last console


Where did you get that one from? Nobody makes something expecting it to fail. They had a problem with the gamecube, which was really the only hardship from their entire line of consoles.

Also, i think when people talk about the price of the console, they mean that it hasn't decreased in price at all, despite the fact that the hardware is now quite old, and that they are making a pretty decent profit off of it. Now I don't know any sales figures, so I don't know profit on the console itself or games, but I'm also not necessarily agreeing with their idea that it should be cheaper. I agree with you mostly that the price seems very justified, and even without a DVD player (which, might i add, can be enabled through simple softmods), its a very attractive console, ESPECIALLY after modding it for homebrew. (Very easy to do and unlocks a LOT of possibilities - not counting backup loaders, i mean)


RE: Looking good
By lazybum131 on 1/19/2009 3:31:24 AM , Rating: 2
I believe "They" refers to the third-party developers and publishers. They all bet on PS3 being the winning console, with the Wii so far behind it could be pretty much ignored.


RE: Looking good
By rudolphna on 1/19/2009 11:14:44 AM , Rating: 2
The only real problem with the gamecube was its small- capacity disks. (~1.5GB). In truth, it is more powerful than the PS2. (Gamecube- 485Mhz PPC CPU, 160Mhz ATi GPU) (PS2- 294Mhz Emotion Engine CPU, 147Mhz "Graphics Synthesizer" GPU) And its sound was superior to the ps2. The real problem was that the PS2 could use Dual-layer 8GB DVDs, and the gamecube was stuck with a wimpy 1.5GB which made it difficult to port games to it.


RE: Looking good
By ninjaquick on 1/19/2009 3:52:20 AM , Rating: 1
Ill tell you why the wii outsells the ps3 and xbox 360.. because it is marketed as being nintendos best, as being fun for the whole family and because its new and cheap.

But really, the only comparable console by target user demographic is the gamecube, and only currently selling console that should be compared with it is the PS2. any other comparison you make just shows how narrow sighted you are. I personally do use pretty much every media center tool in my xbox 360, and if I had a ps3 i would most likely use it to its full extent also, you know why? because they are not just game consoles, they are entertainment solutions.

Not everyone has a media pc, or a data server. Microsoft did well with their media connect and ps3 has very strong multimedia features as well. if you want to spend 250 bucks on a game console, be my guest. If all i want to do is play games in standard definition, ill spend 140 and buy a ps2, itll prolly even come bundled with several very decent games. and heck, i can boot that dvd player out to save some space, nad even throw some optical digital audio over to my reciever, less cable clutter and a game console, how great is that.


RE: Looking good
By StevoLincolnite on 1/19/09, Rating: -1
RE: Looking good
By robinthakur on 1/19/2009 6:33:17 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
However, the Xbox 360 has allot of Casual games available through the Xbox Live! Arcade, and they are making a killing off the service, think about it...You have to pay for the Xbox Live! Subscription, You have to then buy all the Arcade games (Even though they are pretty cheap), and if you got an arcade, a HDD as well, then you have add on-packs which might end up costing a couple of bucks as well.


I think you miss the point of casual gamers...This process is much too complex for them, not to mention that not everyone with a 360 uses the online or pays for it. With the Wii you have an all in one system where you point at the Wii shop and click and then buy using micro-transactions.

However, I think the whole buying games and services online gets out of the arena of casual gamers, its simply too complex for the average non-gamer. The wii succeeds through simplicity and through differentiating itself from its competitors enough. The Xbox and PS3 seem positively primevil by comparison to a non-gamer using those "old fashioned joypads" as ironic as it might seem to us. They are a barrier to non-gamers. Whilst this might insense the purists (I am one of them) I can see what Nintendo did, and they are the smart ones (though they've actually been chasing this market for some time). I like the Wii for Tatsunoko vs Capcom, best game of the generation for me after Galaxy and Gears of War.


RE: Looking good
By akugami on 1/18/2009 10:54:37 PM , Rating: 5
"Next Gen" refers to the console generation. It's a reference that is relative to the time in which it is used. You can't refer to any of the current gen consoles as next gen anymore because after 2-3 years on the market, it is simply something that is out now and not out in the future or just barely released.

Don't get me wrong, I think they should have updated the graphics more than they had. It's graphics capability is better than the Gamecube but the main feature of the Wii is after all the motion controller. I do think that at this point, motion controls is still not properly utilized on the Wii to the fullest extent possible.

I don't see how you can hate on Nintendo for pushing the games industry in new directions rather than the same old "more and bigger" direction that Sony and MS has taken it.

Let's be honest, Sony's sole true innovation on the PS1 was it's use of a cheaper and larger storage medium. The industry was already moving towards polygonal 3D graphics and even the lowly SNES had 3D graphics with an add-on chip in its cartridges such as that used on Starfox. It was also no secret Nintendo and Sega was going to be moving to 3D. So you can't say that was something Sony innovated.

Even the controller on the Sony systems are basically taken from Nintendo moving the industry forward. The PS1/2/3 controller is basically a modified SNES controller with wings. They later added analogue joysticks after seeing Nintendo feature it at I believe it was E3.

Sure, Sony's analogue joysticks for the PS1 came out before Nintendo's did due to Nintendo's console release date and yes I know that Nintendo was not the first one who used an analogue stick nor was it even the first to use a self centering analogue stick. But Nintendo was the first to use self centering analogue sticks in its consoles for 3D gaming as we know it. Let's face it, a major game controller change/add-on after your console is released and after you see your competitor use it to such great effect is almost always a copy. It's the same reason no one except the fanboys believe Sony always had motion controlling in mind with the PS3 controller. One reason Sony was able to get the PS1 analogue sticks out so fast was because Sony was familiar with the technology itself having used them in self centering analogue flightsticks.

Since the PS1, the PS2/3 , Gamecube, as well as the Xbox and Xbox 360 have basically been about "bigger and more" rather than any real innovation in gaming. Nintendo, not Sony and most certainly not MS is the one that is trying to do something different. Nintendo is the one trying to move the industry to try new gameplay methods.

You may call it boring but I applaud Nintendo for the direction it chose. It was bold and daring. It probably was also a bit of a desperation move but it is in keeping with Nintendo's past of trying to innovate in the controller department.

I own a PS3, Xbox 360 as well as a Wii.


RE: Looking good
By Alexstarfire on 1/19/2009 12:03:47 AM , Rating: 2
That's only partly true. In reality Nintendo practically made the PSOne. They were in an agreement to make a console together but Nintendo backed out at the last minute, that's the only reason Sony even entered the console market.

Yea, the motion controls aren't utilized very much, but that's not Nintendo's fault. All of Nintendo's games use it very well.


RE: Looking good
By SlyNine on 1/19/2009 1:21:50 AM , Rating: 2
The PlayStation eXtrem. then dubbed the PSX when released as its own console.


RE: Looking good
By StevoLincolnite on 1/19/2009 12:21:17 AM , Rating: 2
About Innovation, all companies have made innovative approaches in the console Arena.

Nintendo, as you said basically pioneered the intuitive controls.

Sony, The PS1 with it's CD Drive, the PS2 with the DVD drive, the PS3 with the Blue-ray Drive.

Sega... (How I miss you as a console manufacturer!) was the first company to enable Internet Gaming on a console, came with a 33.6kbps Dial-up modem support.

Microsoft, with the Xbox 1 had the fantastic idea of break-away cables!

Plus the Xbox 360 capitalized on an actually great online service which no other company has managed to match, sure you have to pay for it, but it took Sony a few years to even come near the Online services that Xbox Live! Provided.

Nintendo have always improved the controllers on each system they have released, The Nes was moved to the ergonomic touchpad of the Sness, which then moved to what felt like as a "3D Holding controller" which looked almost like a space ship and was incredibly comfortable to hold, the controller had it's issues though, the Thumb stick would wear out, and the controller became a pain to use with degraded turning abilities, Only one controller I didn't see as an improvement was the Gamecube controller it looked awkward to use.

Microsoft flopped in the controller area when it first released the Xbox, with a massive Giant-sized controller, hence the quick introduction of the Controller S.

Sony has done relatively little modifications to it's controllers over the years since the PS1, The PS3 controller when first released lacked Rumble (Which I think Nintendo was also the first company to release such a feature, I'm not sure, my memory doesn't go back that far today), and the much proclaimed motion tech.

All in all, every company has brought improvements into the console Arena that companies have "Copied" in one way or another, even if it's insignificant.


RE: Looking good
By inighthawki on 1/19/2009 12:43:12 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
About Innovation, all companies have made innovative approaches in the console Arena.


I agree, it's good to look at the entire picture, cause surely without some of the innovations, some consoles would not have what they have now.

quote:
Sony, The PS1 with it's CD Drive, the PS2 with the DVD drive, the PS3 with the Blue-ray Drive.


Not sure this is quite of an innovation, rather than a necessity. The idea of a disc drive came even before the PS1, (though wasnt really embraced until this time), but as for DVD and blu-ray support, those are just simply ways to fit more content on a disc, not so much a "new spectacular improvement"

quote:
Microsoft, with the Xbox 1 had the fantastic idea of break-away cables!


True, but now with our nice wireless controllers theres no need ;) lol. It was a great idea though, Quite ingenious if you ask me.

quote:
Plus the Xbox 360 capitalized on an actually great online service which no other company has managed to match


This is a big one i agree with too. While sony and nintendo do have ways to get online, microsoft has really touched base with the networking concept. With an ethernet port built right into the xbox, it was pretty clear that they were planning something big. They've put a LOT of time and effort into xbox live, and it really does show. Maybe youcan think of the money you pay as the means for them to make it better...

quote:
Nintendo have always improved the controllers on each system they have released...Only one controller I didn't see as an improvement was the Gamecube controller it looked awkward to use


True, and although the gamecube controller didnt exactly "look" easy to use, it was VERY comfortable (and to this day my favorite controller) and was actually quite intuitive. Also to mention, for those who may have a hard time remembering X and Y, they are on the corresponding X and Y axis of the A button ;)
As for the xbox controller, just lol
And playstation, well it seems to work for them, so why change something and put in a lot of money into development if everyone is happy. Thoguh if you pull a nintendo with the wiimote maybe itll be worth it, who knows.


RE: Looking good
By ninjaquick on 1/19/09, Rating: 0
RE: Looking good
By FaceMaster on 1/19/2009 4:19:17 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
then again im a high performance pro style gamer (hardcore).


Actually I think you'll find it's shortened to 'HPPSG'. Hardcore is when you sit naked in front of your PC to simulate the cold of night on Operation Flashpoint.


RE: Looking good
By 3kliksphilip on 1/19/2009 4:21:47 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
Hardcore is when you sit naked in front of your PC to simulate the cold of night on Operation Flashpoint.


Actually, I think you'll find it's classified as 'sad'.


RE: Looking good
By akugami on 1/19/2009 1:43:14 AM , Rating: 3
I don't consider moving from a CD to a DVD to Blu-Ray as innovation. This is more of a "bigger and more" move than any real innovation. Evolutionary rather than any attempt at being revolutionary.

I believe X-Band for the SNES and Genesis was before the Sega modem but my memory may be fuzzy on that.

The Xbox Live service may or may not be considered innovative as it was a logical step considering the pervasiveness of the internet at this point. It certainly is the most robust of its type for consoles.

I personally equate innovation with more revolutionary updates rather than evolutionary such as the "Z" trigger on the old Nintendo controllers or the extra shoulder buttons on the PS controllers. Moving from the CD to DVD and beyond would also fall into the evolutionary chain and IMHO doesn't warrant the innovative tag.

I do agree that regardless of industry, all companies are built on copying to one extent or another. It is the rare company or even industry that comes out with a product that can be said to be completely original and unique.


RE: Looking good
By StevoLincolnite on 1/19/2009 5:07:02 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
The Xbox Live service may or may not be considered innovative as it was a logical step considering the pervasiveness of the internet at this point. It certainly is the most robust of its type for consoles.


Maybe so, but remember that Xbox Live! Didn't start with the Xbox 360, Microsoft was on the bandwagon before Sony or Nintendo could muster anything to compete against it.

quote:
Moving from the CD to DVD and beyond would also fall into the evolutionary chain and IMHO doesn't warrant the innovative tag.


Maybe so, however the innovative thing for me was actually having a games console for uses other than playing games, it was the first main-stream system that allowed me to have an all-in-one unit, to watch DVD's, Play Music and game.

quote:
I personally equate innovation with more revolutionary updates rather than evolutionary such as the "Z" trigger on the old Nintendo controllers or the extra shoulder buttons on the PS controllers. Moving from the CD to DVD and beyond would also fall into the evolutionary chain and IMHO doesn't warrant the innovative tag.


Well to me it was innovative when Nintendo brought out the Nintendo 64 controller, The PS1 was pretty much unknown in this backwater town at the time, and the Internet wasn't classed as a "Necessity" either in that era (Hence I ended up not learning about the PS1 for many years after the N64 was released), hence moving from a pad-like controlled system, to a controller that actually felt what I would have called a "3D controller and not a 2D Controller from the Snes" was a massive change for me.

quote:
I do agree that regardless of industry, all companies are built on copying to one extent or another. It is the rare company or even industry that comes out with a product that can be said to be completely original and unique.


For sure, if something works, look at the design, replicate, make a few more evolutionary changes and whack a new sticker on it.

However I still wouldn't trade my Xbox 360 controllers for anything, they are solid pieces of hardware, and they don't have what I feel "Novelty features", like Motion sensing etc'.

Motion sensing technology is a step in the right direction, but I don't think this generation will see the true benefits of such technology until late in the game.


RE: Looking good
By akugami on 1/19/2009 1:04:04 PM , Rating: 2
I believe the Phillips CDi was the first down the road in trying to be an all-in-one entertainment hub. Boy did that thing suck. Zelda on the CDi was comical at best, tragic at worst. Sony also attempted this with the PS2 and PS3 and to a degree MS attempted to market the Xbox as an all-in-one entertainment hub as well. So basically, I can't really call what Sony and MS attempted as innovative when it was already attempted before, even if that previous system sucked on such a cosmic scale.

Memory is fuzzy on whether the 3DO attempted to go this route as well.


RE: Looking good
By ninjaquick on 1/19/2009 3:54:22 AM , Rating: 2
yteah, only sony controllers never seemed to break and feel crappy. Im pretty sure i have yet to use a nintendo controller (other than the snes) that felt well built, or even was, infact, well built


RE: Looking good
By Aloonatic on 1/19/2009 4:20:02 AM , Rating: 2
Re: Graphics

Wii graphics look fine on an SD TV.

How much better does a PS3 or xBox360 look on a TV in a kids bedroom? My girlfriend's brothers got a PS3 and xBox for xMas and seeing them on a SD TVs (both 28") was quite an eye opener. The xBox seemed to cope much better with the lower resolution, at least with the NXE. There were many sections of the PS3 menu that were almost impossible to read, especially in the PS3 store.

Graphically in game, I'm sure if you put an xBox or PS2 on an identical TV next to them and played some last gen games on those console then you might be able to see something of a difference in quality and detail, but not a great deal.

This is "the situation on the ground" within a lot of households. We may all be able to afford a HDTV or have our consoles connected to the HDTV in the living room as we are the people who play them or are willing to let our kids play on the main TV too but a lot of households are not like that. A lot of parents fork out money for a console to keep their kids quiet in their bedrooms. The last place they want them is in the living room using the fancy new TV that they've just spent more money on than any TV that they've bought in the past. That's mummy and daddy's TV for grown up programs, now go to your room and play your games on the old TV that we used to have in here, that's a lot bigger than any TV that ever had when we were growing up.


RE: Looking good
By FaceMaster on 1/19/09, Rating: 0
RE: Looking good
By ebakke on 1/18/2009 8:30:55 PM , Rating: 2
Mario Kart Wii is fun, don't get me wrong, but Double Dash is way better.


RE: Looking good
By bunnyfubbles on 1/18/2009 3:57:55 PM , Rating: 2
Yup, here's to hoping they don't sit back and neglect the "hardcore" gamers now that they can afford to jump back into that arena.

From my point of view it seemed as if they were simply fighting a losing battle with their 64 and Cube systems, and the feeling was that the Wii was their last chance at staying alive in the home console business.

Well it certainly was an ace up their sleeve and now they're not just back in the game, they're the chip leader. Time to start throwing that stack around instead of playing it safe :P

(actually I just need more Zelda, that's really pretty much all I care about from Nintendo at this point...I'll take some StarFox as well provided its good)


RE: Looking good
By sprockkets on 1/18/2009 5:07:56 PM , Rating: 2
Want another Zelda.

I miss Conker's Bad Fur Day for the N64. Sure it looked cartoony on it vs. the Xbox, but I think that added to the comedic effect somehow.


RE: Looking good
By inighthawki on 1/18/2009 5:10:03 PM , Rating: 2
I never really saw the 64 as a losing console. Personally i thought it was quite successful, though may have done better, especially by using discs instead of cartridges. Gamecube, on the other hand, did tend to flop, and i think mostly because of the criticism, a lot for which was mostly the lack of good games, especially catering to adults more than kids. But don't get me wrong, it had several great games, metroid prime and prime 2, just for of the top examples.


RE: Looking good
By StevoLincolnite on 1/18/2009 5:28:08 PM , Rating: 2
I didn't either, the console may not have had as many games as the PS1, but it had awesome quality titles like: Golden Eye, Perfect Dark, Mario 64, Mario Kart, Smash Brothers, Lylat wars/StarFox, Banjo Kazooi, Zelda: Ocarina of time and Majora's mask, Mario Party, Donky Kong 64, F-Zero X just to name a few, and those games were incredibly re-playable, I lost count on the amount of times I went through Lylat Wars and completed it, and yet on my Xbox 360, most games I play and complete I usually never play again.

At this stage, the only games I look forward to on the Wii is: Zelda and Metroid, Zelda because it has always been Epic, and Metroid because it brings me back to the Golden Age of gaming on the Snes.


RE: Looking good
By pwnsweet on 1/18/2009 8:08:44 PM , Rating: 2
I own every single one of those N64 games you mentioned. Those games are gems. Add Tetrisphere, Rogue Squadron, Forsaken, Mischief Makers, Mario Tennis, Paper mario, Jet Force Gemini, Winback and Resident Evil 2 and that completes my N64 library.


RE: Looking good
By foolsgambit11 on 1/19/2009 8:21:06 PM , Rating: 2
All about The New Tetris. 4 player Tetris action, spin moves, and the innovative silver and gold blocks addition, made it my favorite game in the Tetris series.


RE: Looking good
By cmdrdredd on 1/18/2009 8:39:44 PM , Rating: 2
How about software sales? From everything i read, they are behind in that area which is where the profits are really made.


RE: Looking good
By inighthawki on 1/19/2009 12:45:39 AM , Rating: 2
Most of the profits are made from the games simply because each console is sold at a loss. For each console, you need to sell several games just to make up for the cost, whereas nintendo is already making profits straight from the wii itself. Add to that ANY and all game sales and they have quite a bit saved up.

Selling consoles at a loss = necessity to sell a lot of games
Selling consoles at a profit = games sales are a bonus figure


RE: Looking good
By lazybum131 on 1/19/2009 3:39:06 AM , Rating: 2
Then everything you've read have been lies posted by haters and PS360 fanboys.

In the US the Wii has a higher attach ratio than the PS3.

From Jan-Sept 2008, total software sales in the US for Wii were quite a bit higher than the 360. This comes from Nintendo's earnings release presentation made in October, data was sourced from NPD according to the slide.

Nintendo's recent press release in response to December 08 NPD numbers also revealed that third-party sales were highest on Wii for November and December.

Software sales are only going to go up as the userbase pulls farther ahead of the 360 and PS3.


RE: Looking good
By foolsgambit11 on 1/19/2009 8:26:38 PM , Rating: 2
Software sales are not directly related to attach ratio. I'm not saying the Wii doesn't have the highest attach ratio, I don't know the numbers. But if you have 55% of the console sales, you better have the highest software sales. But software:console ratio may or may not be higher than the other consoles.

Like others have said, though, with the margins on Wii console sales, attach rate isn't that big of a deal for Nintendo. And total software sales are what are important for 3rd party vendors in choosing whether to develop for the system. So total software sales are probably more relevant than attach rate for the Wii, in the end.


RE: Looking good
By akugami on 1/18/2009 11:14:33 PM , Rating: 2
The "hardcore" gamers neglected Nintendo, not the other way around. Aside from Nintendo fans/fanboys, most people ignored the Gamecube which was at the least equal and in many respects superior to the PS2. Yet it did nowhere near as well as the PS2.

The N64 and Gamecube systems can be considered a failure but at the same time from a business standpoint they were successes because they made the company money.


RE: Looking good
By garbageacc3 on 1/18/09, Rating: -1
RE: Looking good
By inighthawki on 1/19/2009 12:48:39 AM , Rating: 2
While probably just trolling, i feel the need to just throw a couple games out there

**NOTE -> non-realistic graphics != kids game

-Metroid Prime 3
-Smash Bros Brawl (not my personal favorite of the series, but good nonetheless)
-Twilight Princess


RE: Looking good
By akugami on 1/19/2009 9:03:43 PM , Rating: 3
Internet troll, check out his past posts. Likely some pimply faced idiot spouting crap. More likely than not, he's American even though he's spewing anti-American crap to try to fan hatred for non-Americans.


RE: Looking good
By mircea on 1/18/2009 4:37:29 PM , Rating: 3
I think the only loosers of this runaway succes have been the many third party houses, that stood away from WII after the N64/Gamecube slow sales. It even seems that they felt that the controller was a ghimik that will fade away, since after all this time, they haven't released many good games, mostly rehashes and ports. we'll see next year, after such a huge userbase already, if they change the tune.


RE: Looking good
By MonkeyPaw on 1/18/2009 11:18:21 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I'm glad to hear nintendo is doing so well. I'm personally a fan, and I really hope all of this profit will show in "Wii 2". I'm looking forward to seeing their next innovative idea.


As having played the Wii several times, I've found that I'm not much of a fan. My favorite was when Wii Fit told me I was uncoordinated, even though I can play most sports without coordination issues. Achieving fitness by standing on an oversize white trackpad? I suppose that's innovation--or at least something people will buy.


RE: Looking good
By Hiawa23 on 1/19/2009 10:53:00 AM , Rating: 2
Good to see Nintendo doing well. I own all 3 of this gens consoles, & can't find one game I like Wii & offers nill for me, & hate the shaking controller, & the last gen technology I can't get with, but my 11 year old daughter loves & that's who I bought it for. PS3 & 360 is all I need but again good to see Nintendo back on top.


What Could Have Been
By BansheeX on 1/18/09, Rating: 0
RE: What Could Have Been
By sanelyinsane on 1/18/2009 8:11:42 PM , Rating: 2
Well, they're not subsidizing part of the cost of manufacturing for the console, unlike with MS and Sony. The console itself, is not necessarily overpriced, or at least, not grossly so. That said, Nintendo being Nintendo, they do know how to run a business off the peripherals.


RE: What Could Have Been
By Circle T on 1/18/2009 9:01:01 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The games would look better and play better if they weren't making their own hardware.

I disagree 100%. By them making the hardware AND the software, they have a much more direct and involved input, and can really fine-tune the games that much more. Look at Halo and Gears with MS, and GT5P and Killzone 2 for Sony. Those games all show, on different levels, what can be done when you have direct 1st-Party access to the hardware manufacturer. Sure, I would love to see the Wii with better graphics. But, for them to NOT make their own hardware would be stupid.
quote:
It doesn't benefit me any that they are making a killing unless they use the money to deliver the best hardware they can for each generation of games, which they refuse to do.

If every manufacturer did what you want to happen, we would have nothing but a bunch of PS3s. The PS3 is, arguably, the most powerful console out there, and is packed with great tech. But, you know what else it was packed with? A $600 initial price. There has to be a trade-off somewhere, and Nintendo went for advanced gameplay over expensive advanced tech.

And, I hardly think its really arguable which has worked. One is selling more than can be produced, still, after 3 holiday seasons, and making is company seemingly endless amounts of money. The other is struggling to make ANY inroads at all in the market, because it is still a good deal more expensive than its competition, and still loses them money.

Don't get me wrong. I would love it if Sony could get things figured out. My PS3 is dying for some games. But, they boldly rolled the dice this generation, gambling that their huge userbase from the previous generation would suck it up and drop $600 on their new console. They didn't.


RE: What Could Have Been
By Alexstarfire on 1/18/2009 9:29:30 PM , Rating: 2
I can't believe anyone looks at the value of a console this way. It just makes no sense. For the longest time it was the cheapest of the 3 consoles, with only the basic 360 beating it now, so it what way is it overpriced? True, the hardware that goes in it costs less than the console itself, but I hardly see that as a reason why it's overpriced. Might as well complain that the oil change you're getting is overpriced since you can get the oil and filter for $10 yet they charge you $15 or more.

BTW, if you've ever looked at the history of ANY electronic device you'd know that the best device, by best I mean in terms of power, quality, and features, never wins, which by that I mean makes the most profit and market saturation. The iPod isn't the best music device but millions upon millions own one, or more. You don't see the GTX 280 raking in the dough for nVidia do you? No, the mid-range and low-range cards do that. It's about performance per dollar, cept in this case performance is equated to gaming. Obviously this is going to vary per to per because everyone likes something different. If you like more games on the 360, which would exclude ones that can be played on the computer, then the 360 will have more value. If you like more games for the Wii then it'll have more value.


RE: What Could Have Been
By cmdrdredd on 1/18/2009 10:46:52 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Might as well complain that the oil change you're getting is overpriced since you can get the oil and filter for $10 yet they charge you $15 or more


You have it backwards. I see oil change specials every weekend for $9.95 but when I look at the price of an oil change if I do it myself the cheapest is usually around $20


RE: What Could Have Been
By rdeegvainl on 1/20/2009 2:44:27 PM , Rating: 2
It would cost you way more than a Wii to make a wii yourself. The businesses that do the oil changes aren't paying retail price for the oil and filters.


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