Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Entertainment › Video Gaming › Wii selling power begins to pay off
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Wii selling power begins to pay off

post #1 of 25
1/25/09 at 9:07pm
Thread Starter 
IGN: Indiana Jones Whipping Wii

Wii gets an exclusive that was just dropped from development on the XBOX360 / PS3 in "Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings"

This may be a sign of some of the things to come, as the Wii continues to outsell the XBOX360 at a more then 2:1 rate and the PS3 at almost 6:1.
Reply
post #2 of 25
1/28/09 at 1:59am

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

Well, the current line-up (Wii) for 2009 is rather weak at the moment (it might change, of course), if you´re looking at it from the "Nintendo fan" point of view. No Mario, no Zelda...

But, at least some "mature" games are coming also to Wii now, like "Deadly Creatures", "The House of Dead: Overkill", "MadWorld"... "Cursed Mountain" later on.

But still no Mario..
Reply
post #3 of 25
1/28/09 at 2:33am

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

I was talking about the Wii with a fellow I know. I mentioned that it was outselling both the 360 and PS3 by a wide margin. He agreed, but then stated that the Wii was lagging behind the other consoles when it came to good games. Apparently the Wii is suffering from shovelware syndrome.

I wonder how many of the things are going to end up being used as doorstops?
Reply
post #4 of 25
1/28/09 at 3:59am

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

* 2008 game sales
NPD: 2008 game sales reach $21 billion, Wii Play sells 5.28M - News at GameSpot

Game Software (in units sold):

1) Wii Play with Wii Remote (Wii, Nintendo) - 5.28 million
2) Mario Kart Wii (Wii, Nintendo) - 5 million
3) Wii Fit (Wii, Nintendo) - 4.53 million
4) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii, Nintendo) - 4.17 million
5) Grand Theft Auto IV (360, Take-Two) - 3.29 million
6) Call of Duty: World at War (360, Activision) - 2.75 million
7) Gears of War 2 (360, Microsoft) - 2.31 million
8) Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, Take-Two) - 1.89 million
9) Madden NFL 09 (360, Electronic Arts) - 1.87 million
10) Mario Kart DS (DS, Nintendo) - 1.65 million

I guess we have to believe the sale figures. Even when Wii doesn´t have a huge list of great games (like PS3 and Xbox 360 undoubtably does - at least in 2007-2008), those certain titles sell like candy..
Reply
post #5 of 25
1/31/09 at 4:15pm

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

Nintendo games are selling well on the Wii. Other publishers didn't put enough support into the console so they aren't getting the numbers they want.

Also, if you think about it, the Wii has the most exclusives. Except they're all console ports of free flash games
Reply
post #6 of 25
1/31/09 at 8:38pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

Nintendo logs 26 million-plus sellers - News at GameSpot

I don't know, a great number of the WiiWare games are pretty classic. Strong Bad games are A+ in my book, great fun I love them all. World of Goo is one of the better games I've played on any system.

I completely believe they have more exclusives.. outside of Nintendo titles, there is nothing like WiiFit etc. anywhere else, and there won't be.

And for all the bashing WiiMusic gets, I admit my kids find it way more entertaining then people give it credit
Reply
post #7 of 25
2/2/09 at 9:51am

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jari K
* 2008 game sales
NPD: 2008 game sales reach $21 billion, Wii Play sells 5.28M - News at GameSpot

Game Software (in units sold):

1) Wii Play with Wii Remote (Wii, Nintendo) - 5.28 million

I guess we have to believe the sale figures. Even when Wii doesn´t have a huge list of great games (like PS3 and Xbox 360 undoubtably does - at least in 2007-2008), those certain titles sell like candy..
The main--if not only--reason why Wii Play is at the top of the list is that it is included w/ every new Wii console. I dunno about you, but I'd be willing to bet that nowhere near 5 million folks would have bought Wii Play if it was sold solely as a standalone copy.

I'm not bashing the Wii....just pointing out that the figures for Wii Play are a bit skewed because of the fact that it's included w/ every new Wii console.
Reply
post #8 of 25
2/2/09 at 10:23am

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

It is? My new console, along with the two other consoles I purchased didn't have Wii Play with them, though they all did include Wii Sports. I would say that Wii Play is popular since it comes with a controller, or at least used to.
Reply
post #9 of 25
2/3/09 at 7:59pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

Yes, it comes with a controller, not with the system. If they listed sales of WiiSports, it would have over 30M sold.

At current rate, the Wii may pull of something only one other system has done.. the Sony PS2 broke 50M units this year. At current pace, the Wii will break 50M next January.

EA now to devote 50% of it's RD to Wii over other consoles.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/950/950903p1.html
Reply
post #10 of 25
2/4/09 at 5:26am

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

Quote:
Originally Posted by mattCR
Yes, it comes with a controller, not with the system.

Yep. Of course, many people will buy that second set of Wii remote/Nunchuk, so that of course partly explains why it´s (Wii Play) still selling so much.. And kids like it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mattCR
At current rate, the Wii may pull of something only one other system has done.. the Sony PS2 broke 50M units this year. At current pace, the Wii will break 50M next January.

This is indeed quite a stunning achievement, gotta admit it - if/when it happens.
Reply
post #11 of 25
2/4/09 at 2:54pm

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jari K
I guess we have to believe the sale figures.

Not necessarily. For example, there are no release dates on that list. Number 5 on the list, Call of Duty: World at War wasn't even released until November 2008. Giving a list like that for "2008" sales when some games were out for 1 or 2 months and others all or nearly all year can be misleading.
Reply
post #12 of 25
2/9/09 at 9:24am

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon_T
It is? My new console, along with the two other consoles I purchased didn't have Wii Play with them, though they all did include Wii Sports. I would say that Wii Play is popular since it comes with a controller, or at least used to.
Whoops my bad--I got it mixed up with Wii Sports. What I was referring to--and as such, would be out of place given the topic of 2008 game sales--was that Wii Sports is the greatest-"selling" console game title of all time, in terms of number of titles "sold". I double-quoted "selling" and "sold" since technically Wii Sports is not available for retail purchase by itself...but given the sheer number of Wii consoles sold so far, combined with the fact that each and every new Wii comes with Wii Sports--well there you have it.
Reply
post #13 of 25
2/9/09 at 7:49pm

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

The holiday season (in America) usually means that a game can come out in November and still sell as well for the year as a game released in June. Having a game be 5th on the list (especially a popular title like Call of Duty) is probably pretty accurate overall, regardless of release date.

Also, Wii Sports was not included with the Wii in Japan. That means that the impressive sales it got from all 3 territories (Europe, US, Japan) maybe be a decent number of people who actually did buy the game...and a majority who got it for free.

The Wii won't reach 50 million by next January since sales are already slowing down. If Nintendo had kept up with demand through this past holiday season then I think they would have been able to supersaturate the market, but now demand has levelled off (either because people have Wiis or don't want them anymore) and they're left with rapidly declining hardware sales. This is why they lowered their forecasts for the next year in revenues. Here's hoping there's a new Zelda coming!
Reply
post #14 of 25
2/10/09 at 11:52am
Thread Starter 

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

Quote:
The Wii won't reach 50 million by next January since sales are already slowing down. If Nintendo had kept up with demand through this past holiday season then I think they would have been able to supersaturate the market, but now demand has levelled off (either because people have Wiis or don't want them anymore) and they're left with rapidly declining hardware sales. This is why they lowered their forecasts for the next year in revenues. Here's hoping there's a new Zelda coming!

I think this is a bit of an overplay. While the Wii isn't selling record breakers right now, it's selling far quicker then anything else out there.

Quote:
The week ending January 31, 2009 saw a rise in console sales compared to both the previous year and the previous week. Total videogame hardware sales grew 31% from the previous week due to replenishing product supply and the distribution of tax rebate checks. Wii sold nearly 320,000 units to lead, nearly three times the volume of any other console and close to ten times the volume of what PS2 sold for the week. Even the DS was topped by Wii by 33%. Sony’s PS3 saw only a 12,000 unit jump in sales from the previous week, allowing Microsoft’s Xbox 360 to outsell PS3 by 80% this week.

Americas Sales for the Week Ending January 31, 2009 | VG Chartz.com - Video Game Sales Charts - Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Wii, PS3, Xbox360, DS, PSP, PC

In fact, compared to last year, both the Wii and XBOX360 are selling better right now then they did then.

Quote:
Platform


1.31.2009 2.2.2008 Y.O.Y.

Wii


318,863 92,794 +244%

DS


240,014 117,897 +104%

X360


116,543 57,945 +101%

PSP


87,189 64,003 +36%

PS3


65,269 73,417 -11%

PS2


31,542 72,483 -56%
Reply
post #15 of 25
2/10/09 at 3:23pm

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

True, but how long will this last? Considering the current economy, it's one thing to think of people buying more games to try and extend the life of their console. It's another thing to see people spending $300 or more on a console and a game.
Reply
post #16 of 25
2/10/09 at 4:07pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

Thing is, I can see a lot of people saying "ugh, we aren't travelling for a vacation this summer. Buying a Wii a hell of a lot cheaper then going to XYZ, and it will shut the kids up longer.."
Reply
post #17 of 25
2/10/09 at 8:40pm

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

True, but I think the market is saturated for those people already. A study done last year found that more kids have a videogame console than a PC in their home. I definitely see Nintendo being able to sell more hardware and probably hit 50 million but not by next January. Beyond any hypothetical situations we can come up with pointing to one conclusion or the other, the fact that Nintendo lowered their revenue forecast for the next fiscal year is what makes me doubt that their sales will remain brisk.
Reply
post #18 of 25
2/10/09 at 9:48pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

Currently, the Wii sits at 46.7M units sold. If it would sell 3.3M units between now and next January, that would be the number.

At the current sales rate.. ie, January was 1.3M Wii's sold.

http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=2960

Quote:
Note that in January 2008, NPD reported that 1.5m videogame machines were sold in the USA, with none of the six primary machines (Wii, DS, PS3, PS2, PSP, 360) seeing sales below 200,000 or above 300,000 units. For January 2009, we expect a radically different situation. We expect that NPD to report that Nintendo sold 1.3m Wii & DS machines, Sony sold 570,000 PS3, PS2, and PSP machines, and Microsoft sold 340,000 Xbox 360s.

Unless the bottom completely falls out, Wii should surpass 50M by June. Will it keep selling 1.3M units per month? Probably not.
Reply
post #19 of 25
2/13/09 at 7:40pm

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

OK, I retract my previous statement. I didn't know it had sold almost 47 million already. Yeah, 50 million by the end of the year (at least the end of summer) is extremely likely.
Reply
post #20 of 25
3/19/09 at 8:49pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

Wii sales broke all records for February, outselling itself again, up considerably over last year. Seems like nothing stops Wii from flying off the shelves.

IGN: NPD: Wii and DS Destroy February

Quote:
Wii sold 753,000 units for the month to take the number-one spot. DS grabbed number-two with 588,000 units sold. Xbox 360 pulled in another 391,000 gamers. PS3 another 276,000. PSP 199,000 and PS2 131,000.

The top-selling game for the month was Wii Fit with a whopping 644,000 units sold, according to NPD. For the record, Nintendo's exercise program shipped in America last May -- nearly a year ago. With February totals considered, accumulative U.S. sales of Wii Fit are now higher than those for Grand Theft Auto 4 and Halo 3 on Xbox 360. Don't forget -- Wii Fit costs $89.99, too. Whether you appreciate the software or not, it's hard to deny the success of Nintendo's strategy.
Reply
post #21 of 25
3/25/09 at 1:10pm

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

I think there is something of an echo effect going on with the recent Wii purchases. There was a lot of loud media buzz about how hard it was to get a Wii, so I was aware they existed, even though I only buy a new gaming console about once every 10 years (my last was a PSX in 1997). We bought a Wii console after trying my niece's that she had just gotten for Christmas. Since I have owned the Wii, everyone who has played on it has said "I've gotta get one of these." So word of mouth (and actually trying it out) is leading to strong ongoing sales, I would guess.

I think what appeals to most people is the fact that you're more active when playing the Wii than other games. Most people are slaves to their computers all day and the last thing they want to do when they get home is sit down in front of another screen. But the Wii gives you the illusion that you are doing something active, and it's actually fun rather than just impressive.
Reply
post #22 of 25
3/26/09 at 9:53pm

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

I find the need for more remotes than nunchucks cause of the games that need the remotes like The Guitar Hero's franchize, and the Mario Kart games

I like Guitar Heros over Rockband for WII cause you can use a 2nd guitar in Guitar heros 2 if you have the original.

I find that the more expensive systems like 360 and Ps3 they seem to have problems of the bluray drive going and 360's ring of fire. But now the 360's solved that and people are buying the ps3 cause the bluray is with it.

The wii is coming with a new item that goes on the bottom of the remote and another new wii sports game. Im awaiting that. Then wii will get even more popular.
Reply
post #23 of 25
3/27/09 at 7:26pm

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

Nintendo was aiming for an approachable, wide-appeal, cheap system that did something different. So they made the controller a remote, repackaged GameCube hardware, and added IR/Bluetooth motion control. Genius if you ask me.

They even advertised the Wii at AARP conventions to get retirees to buy it.
Reply
post #24 of 25
4/3/09 at 8:56am

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

They actually have Wii bowling leagues at our local Senior Citizens Center down the street! I would like to see some of those grannies try the boxing game.
Reply
post #25 of 25
4/3/09 at 10:38am

Re: Wii selling power begins to pay off

People who camp in the secondary market have been calling the "Wii drought" over for years now, just because anyone with enough luck or perseverance would find one "if they wanted", but Nintendo's system only began showing up "regularly" in the SF Bay Area at the beginning of this year. I now see as many Wiis as the XBox 360 and PS3. I never saw more than four of them in a single store until last month, now they're everywhere. But it took three years.

I despise the shovelware on the Wii as much as anyone, but for me it doesn't infect the great titles that are already available. Still, I do lots of research before I purchase a game, and I feel bad for people who can't (or don't know how) to judge a good game before purchasing. Those "Imagine Babyz" and licensed Nickelodeon games are all the more depressing in that they seem to sell well. No one likes to see a bad game sell well.

"True" Mario games take upwards of three years to design, and I would rather have a masterpiece every three years, than a mediocre Mario platformer annually. I was going to take a dig at Super Mario Sunshine, but that game's twitchy platforming segments have quite a lot of fans.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Video Gaming
Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Entertainment › Video Gaming › Wii selling power begins to pay off