“The Wii may prove to be a windfall, since games cost just $2 million to $5 million to create, a fraction of the $20 million to $30 million spent on PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 titles, analyst Taylor said.

In addition, Wii appears to be expanding the market, rather than stealing sales from rivals, he said.

Ubisoft Entertainment SA, maker of “Rayman” and “Tom Clancy,” was the quickest to recognize Wii’s appeal and is reaping the rewards.

Wii games helped increase sales for the December quarter by 24 percent to $405 million. In January, the company raised its 2007 forecast for revenue growth to 16 percent from 10 percent to 12 percent previously.”

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/310961_nintendo10.html

“NO! My author is actually prettier”

“But mine is more intelligent”

“Of course not! If your’s were more intelligent, then he would have used better characterization!!”

“The characterization of my author is superb! How can you say that!!!!”

blah blah blah

and meanwhile the books rot

Wrong. The PS3 was predicted by EVERYONE to outsell the Wii. Well, since the Wii is actually outselling the PS3 by a HUGE margin, it’s perfectly fair to say it underperformed. Also, you need to remember the PS3 failed to meet even Sony’s sales projections. That is the textbook definition of “underperforming”. Sorry.

” Nintendo has still not sold any console in greater numbers than the Playstation 1 and 2 has. ”

Wrong again. The Wii is selling at a MUCH faster rate than the PS1 and PS2. Naturally it would be stupid to compare lifetime sales of 2 consoles that have had different release dates. But if you compare them by matching up their release dates, the Wii is outselling every Sony console, ever.

“Which makes your conclusion obviously biased.” The only one who sounds biased here is you.

Well, of course. It’s a matter of perspective of the “elite” Atari gamers, not ours.

“2. Nintendo is not trying to get all the gamers. Why? Because I consider myself a “hardcore” gamer. I owned a Wii for a fews months and sold it because there aren’t enough good games coming out. All the games out now seem to be more young adult or casual gamer oriented.”

You may be a hardcore gamer, but you do not represent the interests of the entire hardcore gaming crowd. Nintendo is appealing to hardcore Wii owners, with Metroid, BWii, Galaxy, Brawl, and third parties add to the list with Resident Evil, No More Heroes, Medal of Honor, The Conduit, ect….If you dislike these games, it is a matter of personal taste, and has nothing to do with Nintendo actually appealing to the hardcore.

“Quit screwing the hardcore gamers like myself by making only casual games or mediocre ports of titles the truly next-generation systems. ”

I don’t know who that shout-out is going to, because Nintendo isn’t the one making the ports and cheap casual cash-ins.

“the truly next-generation systems. ”

“Next-gen” does not mean “large hardware update”, otherwise it would say so. Next-generation means the next line-up of consoles with significant improvements. The Wii may not be up with the PS3 and 360 in technical terms, but it sets itself apart with its other features, and I believe that warrants the Wii a “next-gen” title.

“What happen to Boom Block and Zelda? Two 10/10 games that sold nothing. The name of the game is longevity. Party game only last as long as the party.”

Zelda actually sold well, so I have no idea what you’re talking about there. And Bloom Blox was a severly under-advertised game that didn’t sell well because of precisely that.

“Bottom line, the reason the wii is a success is linked to the fact that most people buying it don’t know the difference and don’t care either way about the graphics(see bluray players sales figures)”

Caring is not the same as having the highest standard. I care about the graphics of a game, it is a factor in making purchases. Do I feel the need to buy a $3000 computer to play Crysis? No. It’s similar to selecting a Honda over a Mercedes.

“If the same remote was available on all 3 systems, the wii would still be outselling the 360 and ps3 because of price alone.”

Wrong. While yes, the Wiimote is a large part of the Wii’s appeal, it ultimately comes down to the games available for the system. Do the 360 and PS3 have the mass casual appeal of Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Galaxy, and Mario Kart? No, and those games and ones like them are the reason the Wii is selling as it is.

“BUT, at the end of the road, I just don’t care… ”

That means absolutely nothing. You not caring does not make the Wii’s market expansion less than Sony’s.

“It’s never going to have any hardcore racing, FPS games is it?”

The Wii already has several FPSs, and hardcore racing games are certainly possible.

“The Wii is limited. The controller sold the Wii, not the games.”

Imagine if the Wii retailed without Wii Sports, or if the “Wii—” series never existed. I doubt the Wii’s success would be the same as it is with those games. The Wiimote is part of the initial appeal, but the games take it the rest of the way.

“You really can’t say that Sony has underperformed because Wii is performing better. Nintendo has still not sold any console in greater numbers than the Playstation 1 and 2 has. Which makes your conclusion obviously biased.”

The point of the article was Sony underperformed on capturing other audiences in comparison to the Wii. It has nothing to do with sales numbers.

What i fear might destroy the industry is Microsoft getting a taste of this generations success might rush out the next Xbox to be first again, thus shortening the life cyles of other consoles. I’t would suck to have to change consoles every 4 years or so especially since it take developers years to squeeze the full potential of each

“The Nintendo Wii has not revolutionized gaming.”

Nonsense. Have a look around. You’ll see people of all ages and interests playing video games. I’ve seen 60 year olds holding wii bowling tournaments. Video gaming isn’t just for 15-25 year old males anymore. This IS revolutionary. The motion controller was just the vehicle to get us to the revolution. It wasn’t the revolution in and of itself. Your myopic vision is making it hard for you to see it.

“Nintendo is not trying to get all the gamers. Why? Because I consider myself a “hardcore” gamer.”

Nonsense. I’m a hardcore gamer too and I love my Wii.
You don’t represent the entire hardcore market. Sorry. You don’t.

“Sony is not leaving out half the market by not focusing on female gamers. While the female gaming population is increasing, it doesn’t and probably never will make up half the market. I hope this changes, but it likely will not.”

Again your myopic perspective shunts your ability to understand reality. Sony isn’t ignoring half the CURRENT market. They’ve been ignoring half the POTENTIAL market. As we’ve seen, Nintendo has grown its market share by embracing females and mature adults, rather than just teens and immature adults. It’s working. Plain and simple.

It’s the people like you who fear change that are going to get rolled over by the new gamers who enjoy wild and crazy games even if they aren’t super duper shiny. Call us noobs all you want, but a lot of us are actually coming BACK to gaming on the Wii and to us, YOU look like the “noob” although, honestly anyone who actually uses that word should probably be left to rot on the side of the gaming highway with their games that are identical and boring.

i own both ps3 and wii.
and the ps3 offers cinematic gaming on a totally different level,
nitendo cutting hardware costs, means they can sell their system for a mucher lower price and the innovative input devices mean better gameplay which attracts more people to gaming.

now add the price for a blueray player and consider the fact that the ps3 replaces my linux desktop
which the wii can’t do

and the xbox360
needs hdd with digitally signed firmware and lacks blueray and wifi
so the ps3´s price is not so premium

it´s just a question of perception