Wii Moves Back on Top

[Andy Chalk]

Wii Moves Back on Top

Nintendo says that the $50 cut to the price of the Wii [http://www.wii.com] has resulted in a significant sales boost and put the company in a "very good position" for the holidays.

Sony [http://www.nintendo.com] figured out long ago: That there's no better way to give your sales a kick in the pants than by cutting your prices. The Wii has been a phenomenally successful console but sales have tailed off this year, leading observers to wonder if the system's rapid rise to the top of the heap would be followed by an equally dramatic flame-out. But Cammie Dunaway, executive vice president at Nintendo of America, said the price cut has dramatically improved sales, which are up 85 percent on a weekly basis since the reduction.

"I think going into the holidays, the Wii is in a very good position," she told the New Super Mario Bros. Wii [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/29/BUPI1AQGOD.DTL&type=tech], was at least partially to blame for slow Wii sales throughout 2009.

Not everyone shares her enthusiasm, however. While Nintendo managed to pump out an impressive 550,000 Wii consoles over the week leading up to November 28, that's still roughly 30 percent lower than the nearly 800,000 units sold over the same period in 2008. "Those are weak numbers," analyst Etsuko Tamura of Tokyo-based Mizuho Investors Securities Co. told Bloomberg [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=ajfX.YT9MYO0]. "Wii sales are slumping."

They were high enough to put Nintendo back on the top of the charts, however: Sony announced that year-over-year sales of the Xbox 360 [http://www.playstation.com], the NPD Group said sales of the console had slipped 33 percent from the previous year to 250,000 units.


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[LeonLethality]

hm this might finally convince my friend to get a wii I have been telling him for a while and money seems to be the biggest issue for it, this is awesome (damn I wish it was cheaper when I got it...)

 

[BaldursBananaSoap]

coupled with the absence of high-profile first-party titles from Nintendo like Wii Fit Plus and

This is why I never have and never will buy a Wii if the high profile games are things like this. Coupled with the gimmicky waggle stick and terrible online.

 

[Gigaguy64]

Nice, and with all the great games comeing out next year, getting one now would be wise.
Heck, there are a lot of good games out now, Metroid Prim Trilogy, New Super Mario Bros., Super Smash Bros Brawl.
Those should be reason enough to get a wii.

 

[Aura Guardian]

Woo-hoo. Keep on going Nintendo. Show all the haters that you mean business.

 

[Mr. Fister]

I predict that Nintendo will stay on top for most, if not all, of 2010. They certainly have the software lineup to do so (Galaxy 2, Monster Hunter Tri, etc.), and that's not even mentioning the Wii Vitality Sensor, which we all know is going to sell like crazy.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Not everyone shares her enthusiasm, however. While Nintendo managed to pump out an impressive 550,000 Wii consoles over the week leading up to November 28, that's still roughly 30 percent lower than the nearly 800,000 units sold over the same period in 2008. "Those are weak numbers," analyst Etsuko Tamura of Tokyo-based Mizuho Investors Securities Co. told Bloomberg [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=ajfX.YT9MYO0]. "Wii sales are slumping."

What is this man on? 550'000 units per week three years after launch is excellent. I can sort of see where he's coming from in that it's 250k units less then last year, but Wii's must be getting close to saturation point now, those kind of sales figures can't last forever.

 

[DrDeath3191]

coupled with the absence of high-profile first-party titles from Nintendo like Wii Fit Plus and

This is why I never have and never will buy a Wii if the high profile games are things like this. Coupled with the gimmicky waggle stick and terrible online.

I'll give you the terrible online, but the rest of your statement is complete and utter bullcrap. While you might not like Wii Fit+, many many more people do. So it counts as a high profile game (which I need to pick up at some point).
What's wrong with a gimmick exactly? In case you haven't noticed, games evolve based on gimmicks. Such gimmicks as momentum-based platforming, 3-D graphics, open-world gameplay, the analog stick, etc. etc. The Wii Remote works well when used appropriately, just like every other controller. So please remove your head from your anus.

 

[JWAN]

No matter how much people complain about the Wii they wont ever be able to take away the slaes chart.

I predict that Nintendo will stay on top for most, if not all, of 2010. They certainly have the software lineup to do so (Galaxy 2, Monster Hunter Tri, etc.), and that's not even mentioning the Wii Vitality Sensor, which we all know is going to sell like crazy.

I actually believe that 2010 will belong to Nintendo because the system is cheaper and hits a wider audience.

 

[Aura Guardian]

coupled with the absence of high-profile first-party titles from Nintendo like Wii Fit Plus and

This is why I never have and never will buy a Wii if the high profile games are things like this. Coupled with the gimmicky waggle stick and terrible online.

Wii Fit Plus is a High Profile game. It's not about you, its about everyone else.

Spoiler: terrible online ehh

 

[DrDeath3191]

My household's Wii hasn't been turned on since at least as far back as Xmas 08. There simply isn't anything fun to play on it, most of the "good" games are tiresome after a week or two, or only good to play through once. And there isn't a game on the horizon that at all interests me or my roommate, with only one older title on the "might buy" list.

The console had potential, but too much kid-focused content plus the need to shoehorn in all the gimmicky features just killed the thing. Like, is there even a game that released which doesn't make use of the motion controls? Just a traditional console game, no retarded flailing about?

Boy and His Blob does not use motion controls at all. You should buy it. NOW.

And the whole 'flailing about' thing is a bunch of malarky. If your playing a decently made game, you don't need to do any of that (unless it's a minigame collection. But if that's well made, you probably won't give a crap anyway).

 

[Wintermoot]

My household's Wii hasn't been turned on since at least as far back as Xmas 08. There simply isn't anything fun to play on it, most of the "good" games are tiresome after a week or two, or only good to play through once. And there isn't a game on the horizon that at all interests me or my roommate, with only one older title on the "might buy" list.

The console had potential, but too much kid-focused content plus the need to shoehorn in all the gimmicky features just killed the thing. Like, is there even a game that released which doesn't make use of the motion controls? Just a traditional console game, no retarded flailing about?

SSB:B and a game that uses mation BS in a good way: Trauma Centre Under the Knife

 

[Rect Pola]

Unbeatable is a little strong. It has the best selection of games that are pure fun in a whatever way pure fun is measured.

 

[Eruanno]

In other non-news, this just in! The Wii still has only like two games worth giving a damn about! (One is Super Mario Galaxy, and I'll give one-third of a game each to Metroid Prime, Zelda: Twilight Princess and Resident Evil 4: Wii version, which isn't really a Wii game)

 

[mindclockwork]

only game on wii i have liked has been guitar hero and that was when i was in mild känni... with good company ofcourse.

 

[Jared]

Well, looks like the price cut was actually a good idea...

Well done Nintendo!

 

[Mr. Fister]

Boy and His Blob does not use motion controls at all. You should buy it. NOW.

I would, but they don't sell it anymore. Freakin loved that game, and still have two operational NES systems. If I could, I'd also pick up the original NES Kirby game, Rampage, Burger Time, Wreckin Bros, RC Pro Am, Megaman 1-4 (possibly 5), and if I could ever find it, that bitchin RPG of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Oh, not to mention all the classics like Zelda 1 & 2 (used to have, friend broke them), FF, Lolo3, and Bubble Bobble. Try picking through the flea markets for old system cartridges, but they either want absurd amounts for it (Zelda 1 they were asking $120, FF was $80), or all they have are fuckin sports games. And not even the half-decent ones like Blades of Steel or that baseball game where your team are all robots.

He's talking about the Wii remake, not the NES version.