Nintendo Switch becomes the fastest selling videogame console in US History

[CriticalGaming]

Speaking of opinions. Here's a Jim Sterling Video about ports on the Switch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ff3SNG-B_I

 

[Hawki]

Actually it does mean that it can be dismissed, because that "new" audience didn't stick around. So really they were never an audience to begin with, and bought a Wii on a whim without actually having an interest in the medium. And on top of that, these people didn't continue to expand or proceed with their interest in gaming (for the most part).

You're making a lot of assumptions there, and kind of bordering on elitism. It's a given that a lot of the Wii's sales came from Wii Sports/Fit/Whatever. I'm not into those games, but I'm not going to sneer at those who are.

Parents got into the Wii, but didn't get into the Wii U, and their kids certainly didn't proceed to beg for the NEW Wii when the time came for that system to hit store shelves.

Why is that?

Why did nobody continue on to buy into the Wii U if the Wii was so fucking popular as the sales figures would imply?

Main theory I've seen floating around is that the Wii U was marketed poorly, not to mention that its name by itself caused confusion with those who'd bought the Wii, not sure what the difference was. That, and the Wii U was lacking in software. There's a precedent for this kind of drop off - look at Sega's consoles for instance. Just because one console is successful doesn't mean that the next is going to be.

My theory is that so many older people got a Wii because the selling appeal of Wii Sports, and/or Wii fit. But once they had their fill with those little things after a few weeks, these people then moved on and completely forgot about not only the Wii but gaming in general. They had their gimmicky fun and they moved on because real gaming didn't interest them. And as a result, the Wii's popularity was a falsity.

Ah yes. "Real gaming."

Christ.

PS4 vs. Xbox 360 vs. Wii Stuff

Wall of text here. And, yeah, fine, the Xbox 360 has a more steady run (don't know about scarcity of the Wii, I was never without the option of getting a Wii, I just didn't until it went down as far as it would in price), but at the end of the day, the Wii still sold more, outpacing its rivals by over 20 million). I don't think it matters when those units were sold. Generally speaking, if something's hot, most of its sales are going to come from its initial release - blockbuster films for instance get most of their audience in the first few weeks, and then those numbers steadily decrease.

 

[CriticalGaming]

snip

I see you are going to roll your eyes and my points and dismiss them as "elitism" rather than actual opinions based on the available data and personal experience. Provide your own opinions, instead of just dismissing mine. But then again maybe I need to rephrase so let me try agian.

I don't mean to use "real gaming" as some kind of elitist crutch. Instead I'm merely separating the motion control non-sense and mini-game fueled packages (i.e. Wii sports) from normal gaming which uses real controls, contains real evolving gameplay and mechanics, etc and so on.

Marketing absolutely had a factor in Wii U sales. However if kids liked the Wii, they would have asked for it, just like they did with the Super Nintendo. I remember having to try and justify to my dad that the Super Nintendo wasn't just a slightly better nintendo, and that it was actually a new system.

And again, people who were into gaming as a hobby were more than aware enough that the Wii U was Nintendo's new system. They just didn't care. And again those folks who bought the Wii as a gimmick or on a whim, saw no reason to buy into a Wii U as they weren't interested in video games to begin with.

I'm not denying that the system didn't outsell everyone else. It did. I'm just saying that the sales don't always equal to popularity and especially don't equal quality. Look at Fast Food or Twilight movies.

Using those sales figures, I merely made the opinion that the 360 was the more popular system as it maintained it's relevancy on store shelves for a much longer period. The Wii was a flash in the pan that faded extremely quickly, despite that flash being exceptionally bright. And when you look at both console's lifecycles. The Wii was the most popular system for a short period, but the 360 was more popular long after the Wii wasn't. Using that logic, I'm saying that the 360 was the most popular system in that generation.

 

[Hawki]

Provide your own opinions, instead of just dismissing mine.

What do you think I've been doing so far?

I don't mean to use "real gaming" as some kind of elitist crutch. Instead I'm merely separating the motion control non-sense and mini-game fueled packages (i.e. Wii sports) from normal gaming which uses real controls, contains real evolving gameplay and mechanics, etc and so on.

Disagree on all counts.

I'll make this clear - I hate motion controls, I have no interest in sports games, and I certainly don't have any interest in any of the Wii Sports/Fit/Whatever stuff.

HOWEVER

I don't think they don't count as "real gaming," or don't have "real controls," and I don't think they arbitrarily don't count as being worthy of note.

Marketing absolutely had a factor in Wii U sales. However if kids liked the Wii, they would have asked for it, just like they did with the Super Nintendo. I remember having to try and justify to my dad that the Super Nintendo wasn't just a slightly better nintendo, and that it was actually a new system.

In my personal experience, I can't agree. Back in the 16 bit era (y'know, back when I was young enough to be invested in a console war without any self awareness), I was fully in the Sega camp. Didn't stop me from switching to the N64 in the next generation because it looked like the 64 had better games to play.

And again, people who were into gaming as a hobby were more than aware enough that the Wii U was Nintendo's new system. They just didn't care. And again those folks who bought the Wii as a gimmick or on a whim, saw no reason to buy into a Wii U as they weren't interested in video games to begin with.

Yeah, okay, and...? The audience didn't make the jump. That doesn't mean the Wii should be dismissed. Again, looking at the Genesis-Saturn-Dreamcast retention rates (30.75 million - 9.26 million - 9.13 million), does that mean the Genesis was a "flash in the pan" as well?

I'm not denying that the system didn't outsell everyone else. It did. I'm just saying that the sales don't always equal to popularity and especially don't equal quality. Look at Fast Food or Twilight movies.

Which is a different argument entirely. It's also a reductive argument because "quality" is going to come down to the individual, especially in this case where different consoles offer different options.

Using those sales figures, I merely made the opinion that the 360 was the more popular system as it maintained it's relevancy on store shelves for a much longer period. The Wii was a flash in the pan that faded extremely quickly, despite that flash being exceptionally bright. And when you look at both console's lifecycles. The Wii was the most popular system for a short period, but the 360 was more popular long after the Wii wasn't. Using that logic, I'm saying that the 360 was the most popular system in that generation.

Well, disagree with that logic. If anything, that suggests to me that the Xbox 360 was less popular than the Wii, because the data suggests that it took longer for the 360 to catch on, and even then, fewer people still bought it. And I say that as someone who holds the 360 as the 'personal winner' of the last generation, but I'm not going to pretend that it was more successful than the Wii.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

I was unsure about the Switch at the time of the announcement, I'll admit it. Still am. For a console that's selling like hotcakes, I couldn't be less interested. Then again Nintendo haven't done anything for me since the N64 (which I still remember fondly). Perhaps I'm just too old. Let's not forget that the Wii originally flew off the shelves and most of the software on it was hot garbage.

I will say this though; good on them for trying something different and it paying off. Just reserve me the right to be skeptical for the next year.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Well, disagree with that logic. If anything, that suggests to me that the Xbox 360 was less popular than the Wii, because the data suggests that it took longer for the 360 to catch on, and even then, fewer people still bought it. And I say that as someone who holds the 360 as the 'personal winner' of the last generation, but I'm not going to pretend that it was more successful than the Wii.

Your point might count if the 360's sales grew later in the life cycle. But the data doesn't point towards that. Instead it points that the 360 was a consistant seller, moving a pretty even number of units year to year. This again suggests that the 360 got popular and merely stayed popular, moving a steady flow of units through the whole lifecycle.

The Wii exploded in 18 months. Then fell hard, showing under 1% growth from period to period.

Although I will admit to another possible factor in the 360's price drop. Throughout the console's life, there were price drops on the system. Nintendo products almost never see price drops, and I don't recall the Wii ever getting a solid price drop outside of a flash sale or something along those lines.

Yeah, okay, and...? The audience didn't make the jump. That doesn't mean the Wii should be dismissed. Again, looking at the Genesis-Saturn-Dreamcast retention rates (30.75 million - 9.26 million - 9.13 million), does that mean the Genesis was a "flash in the pan" as well?

I'm not saying it should be dismissed, I'm saying it wasn't the most popular system of the generation. That's all.

 

[Randomosity]

Well, disagree with that logic. If anything, that suggests to me that the Xbox 360 was less popular than the Wii, because the data suggests that it took longer for the 360 to catch on, and even then, fewer people still bought it. And I say that as someone who holds the 360 as the 'personal winner' of the last generation, but I'm not going to pretend that it was more successful than the Wii.

Your point might count if the 360's sales grew later in the life cycle. But the data doesn't point towards that. Instead it points that the 360 was a consistant seller, moving a pretty even number of units year to year. This again suggests that the 360 got popular and merely stayed popular, moving a steady flow of units through the whole lifecycle.

The Wii exploded in 18 months. Then fell hard, showing under 1% growth from period to period.

Although I will admit to another possible factor in the 360's price drop. Throughout the console's life, there were price drops on the system. Nintendo products almost never see price drops, and I don't recall the Wii ever getting a solid price drop outside of a flash sale or something along those lines.

Yeah, okay, and...? The audience didn't make the jump. That doesn't mean the Wii should be dismissed. Again, looking at the Genesis-Saturn-Dreamcast retention rates (30.75 million - 9.26 million - 9.13 million), does that mean the Genesis was a "flash in the pan" as well?

I'm not saying it should be dismissed, I'm saying it wasn't the most popular system of the generation. That's all.

I suppose we can ignore the fact that the 360 had a failure rate of over 50%, or in other terms, over 5 times more than the PS3 (Around 10.6%), which still failed more than the Wii which had a failure rate of around 6.8%.

Source: https://consumerist.com/2009/08/17/xbox-360-failure-rate-is-542-percent-game-informer-finds/

This fact would have an impact on the console's life cycle in some significant ways. Someone who has an X-box malfunction, and not have warranty to replace it, will find themselves in a choice. Buy a new 360, or don't. If they buy one, and many did, then sales will go up, but install base and market share will remain the same. If the customer opts to not buy a new one, then your install base will shrink. Now with over 50% of 360 consoles failing, I think we both can agree that this would have a notable impact on sales. As a bit of anecdotal evidence, I have friends who had ended up buying four or five 360's throughout the consoles life cycle because of RRoD. While I doubt many would buy quite so many, I feel confident in saying that there were likely a large number of customers who ultimately buying two, and perhaps even three consoles.

Now, on the flip side to this, it is impressive that X-box managed to be looked at favorably enough for people to be willing to spend the money on a new x-box after the first died on them.

 

[CriticalGaming]

I suppose we can ignore the fact that the 360 had a failure rate of over 50%, or in other terms, over 5 times more than the PS3 (Around 10.6%), which still failed more than the Wii which had a failure rate of around 6.8%.

Source: https://consumerist.com/2009/08/17/xbox-360-failure-rate-is-542-percent-game-informer-finds/

This fact would have an impact on the console's life cycle in some significant ways. Someone who has an X-box malfunction, and not have warranty to replace it, will find themselves in a choice. Buy a new 360, or don't. If they buy one, and many did, then sales will go up, but install base and market share will remain the same. If the customer opts to not buy a new one, then your install base will shrink. Now with over 50% of 360 consoles failing, I think we both can agree that this would have a notable impact on sales. As a bit of anecdotal evidence, I have friends who had ended up buying four or five 360's throughout the consoles life cycle because of RRoD. While I doubt many would buy quite so many, I feel confident in saying that there were likely a large number of customers who ultimately buying two, and perhaps even three consoles.

Now, on the flip side to this, it is impressive that X-box managed to be looked at favorably enough for people to be willing to spend the money on a new x-box after the first died on them.

I dunno that we can factor failure rates in with the 360 consoles because I don't know how the sales figures would be affected. The data doesn't mention if the figures include replacement units or replacement units. But even if the failure rate was low, most consoles with moving parts don't live through a full 12 year life span and people tend to replace things that break. Additionally, you would have to account for kids who stuff a toy of some shit into the console and break it, or any other reasons systems could break.

Additionally, later versions of the 360 did not have the same failure rate. So the later years of better sales figures are also possibly effected.

So let's ignore the failure rates and assume they aren't a factor because we don't have enough data to adjust real numbers for it.

However I myself suffered a Red ring, but Gamestop merely replaced my console for free without trouble. I then bought another 360 a few years later so I could have it at my dad's and my mom's house (I was a divorce kid). Multiple consoles is not an unusual thing amoungst gamers, so that also cannot be used to discredit sales figures.

 

[Bat Vader]

Loving my Switch but the only one I have for it right now is Legend of Zelda: BOTW which is incredibly fun. I rented Mario Odyssey and wasn't a fan and I can't stand racing games so Mario Kart 8 is a no go for me. Plan to rent Xenoblade Chronicles 2 tomorrow.

 

[marioandsonic]

I'm loving my Switch so far. And today's Nintendo Direct made me happy that Hyrule Warriors and Tropical Freeze are coming to the system, as I loved them both on the Wii U.

Now I just need a new Smash Brothers, and a Wonderful 101 port/sequel.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Loving my Switch but the only one I have for it right now is Legend of Zelda: BOTW which is incredibly fun. I rented Mario Odyssey and wasn't a fan and I can't stand racing games so Mario Kart 8 is a no go for me. Plan to rent Xenoblade Chronicles 2 tomorrow.

I'm curious because I haven't rented any games since the SNES, but how much cheaper is renting than buying in this day and age?

 

[CriticalGaming]

Loving my Switch but the only one I have for it right now is Legend of Zelda: BOTW which is incredibly fun. I rented Mario Odyssey and wasn't a fan and I can't stand racing games so Mario Kart 8 is a no go for me. Plan to rent Xenoblade Chronicles 2 tomorrow.

I'm curious because I haven't rented any games since the SNES, but how much cheaper is renting than buying in this day and age?

Renting is this much. https://www.gamefly.com/registration

 

[Yoshi178]

Plan to rent Xenoblade Chronicles 2 tomorrow.

the hell? how long exactly do you plan on renting that game?

basically you're going to get jack shit done during a single weekend is what i mean. the game is that huge.

 

[Mothro]

Maybe I should buy a Switch so I can retire my Wii U and then buy some Wii U games again for the Switch. Oh and a DS game on the Switch, technology is so amazing. If they would only release a game from 2011 like say....Skyrim or Dark Souls then I would be unable to resist buying a Switch.

 

[Silvanus]

I don't mean to use "real gaming" as some kind of elitist crutch. Instead I'm merely separating the motion control non-sense and mini-game fueled packages (i.e. Wii sports) from normal gaming which uses real controls, contains real evolving gameplay and mechanics, etc and so on.

Wait, I thought you said you didn't mean to use "real gaming" as an elitist crutch?

 

[dscross]

I think it's all about the games and it's a combo of all of the 3rd party support and the fact that some of the Nintendo exclusives have been so well received by critics and gamers. Having said that, it's not enough to make me want to get one.

I'm curious about Breath of The Wild and Mario Odyssey, but it's simple curiosity rather than salivating at the mouth about them. They don't seem as amazing as everyone is telling me they are. Everyone told me Galaxy was the best thing ever at the time but I thought it just felt like any other Mario game, for example.