The Wii Is Popular, But Wii Users Aren't Buying Many Games
from the wii-sports-is-plenty dept
The traditional economics of the video game console market are fairly well known. You sell the console itself at either cut rate margins or even at a loss, and then make it up in selling very expensive games for the console. That's worked in the past for the various version of the Sony Playstation and the Microsoft Xbox. But, apparently things are a bit different with the Nintendo Wii. While the Wii has been a huge success, opening up a tremendous new market of console buyers and users thanks to its unique input mechanism and gameplay, it turns out that Wii owners are buying noticeably fewer games than owners of competing consoles. In fact, it appears that many Wii owners haven't bought any games and are satisfied with the Wii Sports package that comes with the Wii. At this point, I should admit that I'm in this group as well, though part of the reason is simply not knowing which types of games are likely to work well with the Wii controller. As such, it's not worth spending a huge amount to find a game that's simply disappointing. The article suggests, also, that since Wii buyers tend to be very different than other console buyers, the marketing and advertising strategy for Wii games is all wrong. The real question, though, is whether or not this is really a long term problem. The Wii itself (unlike the PS3 and the Xbox) is sold at a profit, according to most assumptions. So, while selling more games is important, it's not as important as with the other consoles.
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In other words, Wii owners will only buy one less game per year! Wow, Houston, we've got an incredibly insignificant problem on our hands!
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Re: ima fish
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Nintendo 1 - PS3/XBOX360 0
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Re: Nintendo 1 - PS3/XBOX360 0
Wii - 7 games soon to be 9
XBOX360 - 5 soon to be 6
all of which I enjoyed playing on some level! some I play more then others but I enjoyed them all.
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Re: Re: Nintendo 1 - PS3/XBOX360 0
Wii - 4 games and 10 virtual console (more if square would get into it.)
Xbox360 - 28 games and 24 xbox live games (a few were free) and GTAIV next week. I am not counting original xbox games.
I'm getting a PS3 but not for games.
The numbers I've been hearing are much different from the ones stated here. I've heard 2 games for the Wii, 4 for the PS3 and 9 for the 360. I don't listen to estimates or averages, they just don't seem like real numbers.
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Re: Nintendo 1 - PS3/XBOX360 0
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LOL
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the man raving about games telling others to get a life. Ironic
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Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3 are both great and are great uses of the system's best parts. Super Paper Mario is a mediocre game (AFAIAC) and shows that you can do well with a simpler controller and simple control scheme.
The real WTF is that the only decent games are the first party games. But that's not really uncommon with new systems (especially Nintendo) and they usually overcome that after a couple years when developers figure out what they're doing. If the Wii doesn't have crapload of good 3rd party games within the next few months, I'd get worried. Until then, I think they're doing pretty well.
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14 and counting
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Wii games
PS3 0 and soon to 1 with GTA4
Wii 6 and soon to be 7 with Mario Kart
Both consoles have lots of bad games, just need to able to pick them out. I like every Wii game I bought, but then again I research the games first.
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forgot to mention
And I forgot my 2 Virtual Console games, so that makes 8 and soon to be 9 for the Wii.
And as mentionned, the Wii touches a demographic that is totally different than Xbox/Playstation. My grandparents will play with the Wii and won't touch anything else. Even my uncle who was anti-gaming now wants a Wii for the bowling/boxing and golf (not Wii sports golf but Super Swing Golf Season 2)
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Not New for Nintendo
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Not just the consumer
Retailers had the lowest expectations for the WII upon its release and they were slow to reallocate store space and cooperative marketing dollars for the 3rd system. I have a GAMESTOP right by work and the WII had the smallest amount of shelf space: One floor to ceiling shelf - the same amount of space that was allocated to the GameCube. PS3 and Xbox 360 had three times the space. In the last two months, the store has reorganized and now the WII has 3 shelves! But its taken over a year. At two of my local BestBuy's (Los Angeles) the Wii has 2/3rds of one side of an aisle (it was previously only 1/3rd of one side of an aisle) and the XBOX/PS3 both have both sides of an entire aisle for games and accessories. There's also no focus on New releases in the WII area - titles are totally disorganized, mislabelled, etc. You have to come in knowing what's been released and look for it. Guitar Hero has been the only exception at the Best Buy's as the WII version has been featured in the center of large aisles by the XBox and PS versions. The retailers were not stupid, particularly after the disappointing performance of the GameCube, but they have been slow to adopt.
The WII console has been out for a little more than a year. Its success surprised nearly everyone including game journalists. Its been plagued by supply problems that would discourage stores from investing heavily in in-store promotions (Why bother if most people can't get the console? Indeed, Nintendo lowered its holiday advertising budget to reduce demand when the console supply was limited). Demand for the console is still not entirely under control but as the number of owners have risen, the stores have just started to respond by increasing their floor space for the games and accessories.
Clearly, Wii owners are going to be a challenge for traditional game companies to identify as a market but the rewards should be greater when it succeeds. There are a lot of over-a-million selling titles on a one year old platform including odd ball games like Cooking Mama. If Cooking Mama can find a market, then there's room for a lot of different titles. Zack and Wiki and No More Heroes are both original intellectual properties without the recognition factor of the Mario and Zelda games. What did these game companies do, beyond the typical game magazines and websites, to reach the broader WII audience?
The consumer is only one part of the issue - retailers, supply problems, prevalence of shovelware, and confusion about how to reach the market, all contribute to the type of sales drops and weak releases that some titles on the Wii have experienced.
There's no guarantee of instant success for anything. Just ask Sony about the PS3. It takes time. It takes having a good product. And it takes some leadership to get the product in front of the right consumer.
I like some of the nuttier games on the WII like Endless Ocean and the first Raving Rabbids. I think WiiFit is going to be very successful. Wii owner's are clearly spending money but they are not necessarily plugged into the same magazines and media that other gamers are used to. How about advertising the WiiFit in women's magazines that emphasize leisure and health? It has a better chance of being featured on Oprah than Gears of War or Halo or Metal Gear Solid and keep in mind the big "O" understands her audience. Some game company, beyond Nintendo, is going to make a lot of cash by thinking outside of the typical console "box."
Sure blame the consumer...
Blame the journalist for over-simplifying...
Blame, blame, blame. So much blame to go around, who has time to play games?
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Isn't it obvious?
They're either lame ports from other systems (or old Gamecube games), or they're sub-par "cookie-cutter" with nothing innovative, or they're rushed poor-quality adventure games based on bad movies that were just released in theaters. None of the games released for Wii actually make good use of the Wii controller's full capabilities. So far, every game I've purchased has been a disappointment and has collected dust on my desk (except for SSB:Brawl, and even then I use a Gamecube controller for it).
I find it amazing how they've managed to fill an entire shelf from top to bottom with games I wouldn't even buy for 20 bucks, let alone 50 or 60. What frustrates me is how myself, and friends of mine, have all kinds of great game ideas, yet it's simply impossible to ever get into the gaming industry without knowing someone on the inside.
Maybe if we're lucky, piracy and development costs will change the methods of game design in the near future.
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Wii Games to buy
If nintendo invested in voice chat and an actual friends list I'd probably be playing brawl with my free time or big brain academy instead of halo 3 or rainbow six vegas for the 360.
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Re: Wii Games to buy
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But the difference is probably lost on someone who's just out to make Mike look like a hypocrite.
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What?
All the consoles have bad games. Wii is no exception. If Wii's game library is so terrible, I'd really like an explanation for Nintendo's sales thrashing the competition. "Well, the Wii appeals to soccer moms and kids everywhere." OK, why isn't Microsoft and XBox doing the same thing? Opponents change their arguments to fit the current situation. Back when Playstation 2 was dominating the market (despite having the weakest hardware of the three consoles), numbers were all that mattered. Suddenly, Wii storms the competition, and numbers no longer matter; only graphics hardware matters.
Sure, Wii has only a few good games come out every so often, but that's not as terrible as everyone makes it out to be. Super Smash Bros. Brawl will keep my happy for years by itself. Do I REALLY have to buy tons of new games to validate the Wii as a good console?
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First Party vs. 3rd Party
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for example: wii bowing is GREAT... but any attempt to improve on the game by third party developers has been HORRIBLE. it makes you burn that nintendo themselves didn't expand on the the original wii sports games.
it would help if wii could scoop up the hot titles out now... "rock band" and the upcoming "GTA IV".
no doubt with mario galaxy and smash bros, nintendo is doing fine themselves producing the best games for their own system.
i still think wii is in the right direction... i'll take originality over button mashing anyday.
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Ok, sounds like you want a list of games to play.
The first Rayman Raving Rabbids was good (and enjoyed especially long life if you wanted to go hardcore on every minigame).
Trauma Center, an addictive but difficult surgery game that uses the wiimote as scalpel, forceps, laser, meds... there's already a sequel that allows cooperative surgery mode.
Zak and Wiki, a very well-designed adventure/puzzle game that uses the controller with a variety of motion controls to unlock doors, hammer things, open an umbrella, saw, etc.
SSX Blur, a snowboarding game with motion detection and drawing. It's not as great as classic Tony Hawk, but it was great fun for a while.
Super Mario Galaxy was pure fun (a little on the easy side).
Then there's more on the horizon:
Okami is finally out. The brush. It's probably my next buy.
My wife and I have been waiting for Wii Fit for months.
Mario Kart with the driving wheel.
Pro Evolution Soccer is supposed to be pretty neat.
Seriously, read reviews on wii.ign.com or a similar site and you'll see the fine work that's already out there.
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Wii is a Myth...
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Re: Wii is a Myth...
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Wait, what's issue here?
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Statistics
I personally would've enjoyed more numbers to compare and crunch with.
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lame
It just doesn't interest me anymore.
Such a powerful and innovative controller design and no one's bothered to capitalize on it with anything original.
What about an adventure RPG like Oblivion where the nunchuck is a shield and the wii-mote is the sword? Few games (and by few I mean NONE) have ever had the advantage of dual input technology. The Wiimote + attachment is just that! Why wont someone take advantage of this??
The games are just boring to me. I've been a gamer since 1985 and this idea of cut-and-paste video game ideas are getting old. SSB:Brawl will hold some people over for a little while, but that would've been a success regardless of WHAT system it was on. Wii or no Wii.
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Maybe if the devs would actually program games for the Wii that were enjoyable, ppl would buy them.
Come on, there are very few fighting games for the Wii, develop them and they will be sold!
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The lifetime attach rate for Wii (3.5) is pretty close to the PS3 (3.8) and this count doesn't include Wii Sports, which comes bundled with the Wii. The Xbox 360, which has been out a year more, has a much higher attach rate of 7.5, however, in December and now in March, the Wii has generated more software revenue than the Xbox 360, so the tide is turning on that too.
So basically, a NYT writer wrote a FUD article using an unreliable source for numbers. One more example that being a big news organization doesn't mean anything when it comes to reliability.
(Source for numbers used)
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18291
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Agreed, it's FUD
The whole story is this: a lot of people are buying the Wii for Wii Sports. The casual market that it's been so successful with are far less likely to go and drop $50 on a new game than the hardcore players. They are also not getting bored as quickly as people who've seen the games in Wii Sports before many times.
None of this matters for a few reasons. First, Nintendo are making money regardless. Unlike MS and Sony, their business model does not depend on selling games so they can concentrate on making 1st party titles as great as possible (look at how many times SSBB was delayed. Was it worth it? Yes).
The only problem thus far is the attitude of 3rd party developers. Many developers push head on into HD gaming and missed out on the Wii market. They bet on the wrong horse, numbers-wise. Some are trying to backtrack as quickly as possible, taking the quick route of porting PS2/GC games. This will work for a while but the market is demanding quality.
As this gen continues, developers will use the controls in much more imagininative and interesting ways, driving sales (look at the number of quality games available this year compared to last April - massive improvements) Then, when sales start to dip the Wii 2 will surface, selling to those of us who love the Wii but desire HD.
All else is FUD. Different markets, different numbers, different playfield.
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People will buy others.
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RE: FUD & Ima Fish
20 million owners x $50 is a HUGE financial difference.
So before you go shouting FUD do a little math.
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A game is not worth $50-$60 to me...
The games are too expensive. What Nintendo failed to take into account when "waking up" a generation that was raised on Atari, Nintendo and Sega is that we are used to spending $25-$30 on a game. Games are now double that and it just doesn't seem worth it to me, especially when most of them are children's games or harder-to-control ports from other systems.
For example, if I play a Star Wars game on Wii, I want to actually control the light saber on the whole game, not just on one small added part. I want the Wiimote to be a baseball bat, a hockey stick, etc., etc. I don't want it to go through a standard animation when I "swing" it.
So basically, it boils down to this: if you are going to make a system with a super cool controller, how about actually making 2 games that use the controller properly?
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WII Games NOT
And, maybe another reason people are not buying these WII games is because they are buying the older console games through the WII console store.
Does this fit into the equation?
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Only 4.7?
Now out of the 8 or so guys I know that have a 360... I would say the average games owned is 7 or so. I have 8 currently but have owned 20? since release, but I tend to trade in 2 or 3 to get the latest games.
Xbox Live is where its at!!
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grow up nintendo
They need to add real online play (not friend codes up the asshole) and more shooter games and GTA.
Want to protect kids from obscene language? add a parental control that blocks online play or cripples it like the current system. But for the rest of us, make a normal online system....
Why did the not put GTA in this console and also no Rock Band when these are obviously popular selling games?
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And Virtual Console?
I think that the VC would be an especially big area for a lot of Wii owners, many of which I would guess are previous game owners and literally had to change their pants five times when they found out their old games could be had on a new, working system.
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Great for the family, Hardcore gamers need not apply
Wii Sports is one we still play all the time. We even bought extra chuck and remotes for the whole family (more $$ for Nintendo). With wii sports and Smooth Moves it was the first time I had ever played a video game with my Mom, my wife and my daughter. My Mom even bowled with us.
Zelda was good for family entertainment (the nunchuck for the shield and the remote for the sword). We had a great time finishing it with everybody helping out with the puzzles and where to explore. Only a few scary things but not like most of the FPS games I have to close the door to the office when I play.
For those who want something 'different' try Smooth Moves (based on the DS game Touched). A bit hokey at times but a great use of different interactions with the Remote, I was bummed when I finished it.
I have been gaming since the C64, NES and Doom. I have found that new FPS are all just rehashes of the previous version just with better graphics (but I still enjoy them). Only Quake and Decent were truly 'new' in that respect. Many of the 8-bit games are just as entertaining to play even without all the graphics- Spear of Destiny anybody?
I personally don't like online gaming except with a few choice people. I am not a big fan of playing against strangers since I have yet to find a filter that works well to shield me from rude people and jerks.
For many years I was disappointed about the lack of new ways to interact with games until I saw some games for the DS (Touched, Dogs, Big Brain Academy).
I see wii as a whole new idea in 'natural' interaction with technology. Face it: a keyboard/mouse/controller are not physically intuitive ways to control complex motion on a screen to most people (the way some people drive a steering wheel isn't intuitive either).
That said I haven’t bought many games for the wii maily because most don’t look like the really use the motion based interaction to its full potential. If I want to play a ‘standard interaction’ game I have a pc, a PS2 and a Xbox, not to mention a bunch of board games.
Sorry, at the end of the day grammar takes a back seat to spastic ramblings.
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Forgot my count
Zelda -twilight princess
Mario world
Smooth Moves
wii Play (combo with extra controller)
All have been worth the money. Looking forward to wii Fit.
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Re: Forgot my count
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Again, a blog that seems "surprising" given the facts are out.
Since my purchase, I've played one game from beginning to end: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Why only this game? Because the rest suck so bad, they're worthless to play. But before people fire back at saying "But Twin, there's so many good games for it!", let me explain.
I've been a gamer since the ol' 2600 days and I've watched as games "matured" with great graphics and increasing abilities. However, the core game itself hasn't really changed much.
For example: The Legend of Zelda series. From its inception, this game's "formula" was to travel and seek items to gain access to other areas of the game. When Ocarina of Time was released, it was garnered with tons of awards.
But what people failed to realize is the game was released for a console that was dead before the first one was sold. The N64 only supported ~400 games in its entire library, the worst of any console to date.
When Nintendo finally "learned" of its mistake, they decided to follow up with the GameCube, which turned out to be a developer's dream, but a consumer nightmare. Thus, it garnered the nickname "kiddy console". Sales for Nintendo plummeted as developers strayed away from the console. If it wasn't for Nintendo's handheld division, they would have gone the way of SEGA.
Enter the Wii, Nintendo's "100+ million console seller" per Reggie Fils Aime. Sure, the hardware's flying off the shelves per casual gamers, but did anyone here expect these casual gamers to actually purchase the latest Metroid Prime game?
This is the fallback of the Wii, and developers are once again straying from this console. Much like the handheld division, developers simply port PS2 games, or worse, create overnight crappy "mini game" collections to appeal to the "casual" gamer. These aren't selling either.
Casual gamers don't buy games. This is been a known fact since the 2600 days. If it's not free, forget trying to appeal to them.
Thus, all the hype for the Wii is now overshadowed by the fact its owners are pretty pissed there aren't many titles for it. For those that say "OMG! But there's Smash and Party and Kart and Galaxy! Dude, you don't know crap!", let me ask you this: When has a Nintendo title ever not sold well?
Come on, think! I know you can do it. Okay, now that you've played all your Nintendo titles, go play Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. Having fun yet?
Or, why don't you go and play the rehashed games you've already played on the PS2, such as Okami, Prince of Persia, or Resident Evil 4.
The Wii has placed itself into a fantastic position to allow developers to begin changing the base core of games since the 2600 days. Instead, they waste the opportunity by catering to the controller, and not the game. Even the new Harry Potter game focuses more on controller use than actually finding inventive ways to play the game.
And this is where the Wii will sit because developers aren't going to spend the big bucks on a game system specifically developed for casual gamers who are known by the industry not to buy games.
So this blog shouldn't be any shock to anyone. Just because some of the readers own more than the average amount of games doesn't mean it's successful, especially when one looks at the number of consoles sold versus the titles sold to support it.
Yikes. I feel like, once again, my investment has been lost.
Luckily, though, I generally have 2 consoles which is the only way I can "game". Nothing's worse than watching a game you want to play developed for a console you don't own.
Nintendo, you're screwing up. Again.
PS: If you're a Wii owner and haven't played Metroid Prime 3, shame on you! Retro Studios has, beyond any doubt, showed how the Wii remote can be utilized successfully without making it the primary focus of the game itself. Rent it. You won't be sorry.
PS#2: Reggie, if you read this site, you had best start keeping your "promises" of "developer friendliness" because I've yet to see it. And, as the blog points out, neither has anyone else.
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Lame
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buying games for the Wii
We won't be buying more games anytime soon for 3 very good reasons.
1 - The games themselves that we bought are VERY VERY good and have a lot of replay value
2 - The games that interest us are pricier so we may decide to rent them first
3 - A lot of the titles we're holding out on aren't released until later this year.
All in all, while I haven't purchased as many Wii games as I did when buying other consoles, my household is certainly ahead of the curve anyway
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Wii Games are for kids.
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Games owned for 360 - - 23
Games owned for Wii - - 4
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New Wii U game in November
They have added another character called Dixie Kong, who I think is Donkey Kongs niece maybe??? Not 100% sure. Just reading the rumour mill as usual. But could be one to try out on your Wii U. Can't go too far wrong with the Donkey Kong games for a bit of fun.
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