[Hefemeister]

In the three years since it first launched, the Nintendo Wii has sailed past competing systems from Sony and Microsoft to consistently claim the top spot in the console war.

But if a recent rash of troubling stories about the Wii is a vision of things to come, the tide might be turning for the seemingly unbeatable machine.

Wii On Top For Now, But For How Long?

Kinks in the system's shiny white armor starting showing last month. Despite steady success in Japan, the Wii fell into second place in March as the underdog Playstation 3 clambered atop the region's sales charts for the first time in 16 months. That was enough to garner some uncharacteristically somber comments from Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, who deemed the climate in Japan "unhealthy" for the Wii.

Source

[Keyboard Cowboy]

Wii still has some advantages.
Price. It's still cheaper that an X-Box 360 or PS3. Therefore if parents are going to for a console for thier child in these trouble economic times, the Wii does is a cheaper.

Games are cheaper on the Wii. I have been noticing that a lot of the new release games are about 30% cheaper and PS3 or XBox

And finally you have the motion sentivity with is some thing that is not avalable on the PS3 or XBox360. Therefore more exclusive games for the Wii. Like I just purchased the Wii purely for the exclusive games that are avalble on Wii plat form. If I wanted to pick up a game for the graphics, then i would look at ether Xbox360 or PC. (I don't own a PS3)

[Baez]

The problem lies with the lack of innovative games using the system to it's full potential. The Wii Motion Plus isn't even talked about now and the games coming out are mostly shovelware.

Even the price is barely at an advantage now. The 360 Arcade is cheaper by $70 and the PS3 is closing the gap with it's steady price drops.

[Mak213]

While the price isnt a factor it can be once again. The Wii is set at $250 and it is nothing but profit for Nintendo. they can lower the price down to $150 and still make a profit on the system. Can Sony or M$ say that? They wouldnt be able to keep up.

Plus not all games are shovelware. That can be said of every system. I say the same thing about the XBOX with all of its M Rated games.

Yeah Nintendo and the Wii are in a bit of trouble. They need that next block buster out and cant expect Zelda and SSBM to hold them over. they need a new smash now.

But it is not as bad as they are claiming. I have had my Wii since release day and i have yet to even encounter a issue with it.

[Keyboard Cowboy]

As these are (I am sure we are all sick of hearing it) trouble times, and every one is cutting back on thier spending, I wonder how Sony and X-Box are going with their sales too?

[Yamikotai]

Originally Posted by Keyboard Cowboy

Price. It's still cheaper that an X-Box 360 or PS3. Therefore if parents are going to for a console for thier child in these trouble economic times, the Wii does is a cheaper.

Games are cheaper on the Wii. I have been noticing that a lot of the new release games are about 30% cheaper and PS3 or XBox

And finally you have the motion sentivity with is some thing that is not avalable on the PS3 or XBox360.

Actually, the entry-level 360 (Arcade) is cheaper than the Wii, and the 60GB Premium is the same price (at least, they are in UK pricing, I imagine it's different elsewhere).
You are right about Wii games being cheap though.
I used to own a Wii, and I had been sooooo looking forward to using these fantastic motion controls, and in summary I was sorely disappointed.


I think that the only reason the Wii is no longer selling as well as it would, is because most people who want one already have one.

[Keyboard Cowboy]

Originally Posted by Yamikotai

You are right about Wii games being cheap though.

They were suppose to be cheaper than the X-Box or PS3 games from the very beginning. This was some thing i was interested in orginally, however the games where the same prices as the other consoles. It's only been rescently where new release games have dropped down to about 30% cheaper than the PS3/360.

Originally Posted by Yamikotai

I think that the only reason the Wii is no longer selling as well as it would, is because most people who want one already have one.

You have a point there. The PS3 and 360 has made large dollar-wise price drop, the Wii has not. Like when both the X-Box and PS3 came out, the price was just about the same a cheap gaming rig. However with the way that both PS3 and 360 have been slashing prices, the people that did not purchase one earlier are purchasing one now.

There is only so far you can go down in price. If the product is as a cheap price to begin with, then how much further can it be expected to fall.

[Keyboard Cowboy]

Originally Posted by Keyboard Cowboy

As these are (I am sure we are all sick of hearing it) trouble times, and every one is cutting back on thier spending, I wonder how Sony and X-Box are going with their sales too?

Releaselog | RLSLOG.net Console hardware sales down 17% in March

Console hardware sales down 17% in March

March revenues for the video game industry dropped 17 percent from a year ago, the NPD Group reported Thursday, the first time in the current recession that the business has seen sales fall. For the month, the analyst firm reported that the industry turned in total sales of $1.43 billion, down 17 percent from $1.72 billion a year earlier. Hardware sales were down 18 percent, while software was down 17 percent. Overall sales were also down 2.7 percent from February’s $1.47 billion, and each of the six hardware platforms NPD tracks–Sony’s PlayStation 3, PS2 and PSP, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii and DS–had lower sales in March than in February. The PS3 and Wii led the drops, with 21.0 percent and 20.2 percent lower sales, respectively.

By comparison, the Xbox saw its sales fall between February and March, but less than the PS3 and Wii. Resident Evil 5, Capcom’s third-person survival-horror sold over 1.5 million units between the 360 and PS3 — a record-breaking launch for the property, according to Frazier. While Microsoft topped the charts in raw software sales with three titles (they claim four, but leaving out the NDS is misleading) it’s worth noting that Sony’s continuing to chart more frequently in the top 10. Through much of 2008, the company was lucky to see a single title in the running. In March, they’ve landed three. Not bad for a system many have all but written off of late.

Thank you rlslog

[Jorsoft]

Remember too that a lot of people who own a Wii also own a PS3 or an Xbox. A lot of people I know have the Wii for casual games, family games, that sort of thing, but use their 360 for "real" gaming.

[Keyboard Cowboy]

Originally Posted by Jorsoft

I know have the Wii for .... family games,

like Mad World?