Nintendo thinking the Wii can last a while too |
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| BY Tommy Lawler Mar. 30th, 2009 | More on: |
So we know that Sony and Microsoft see their consoles lasting around the better portion of a decade, right? Sure, we’re bummed that new tech will take a while longer, but these systems still look nice and beefy even two or three years later. That’s cool. But then there’s the Wii. What can we expect from that one? Well, after my interview with Marc Franklin, Nintendo’s Director of PR, I think we’ll be seeing the small white box around for a while too. Citing its uniqueness and the continuous high demand as key factors, Franklin states that the playing field is clearly changing.
“…what you’re seeing is this average business model, the typical business model of, say, the five to six year generation of hardware is just not valid anymore. The Wii is a very approachable, accessible platform that’s going to interest gamers for years to come.”
So for all of you who got bored of Wii Sports and haven’t started your $250 dry erase board (try it!) up in a while, that may be the case for a greater while still. Or will it? We’ll have the full interview available to illuminate and enlighten you soon.
March 30th, 2009
at 4:30 pm
I really like the Wii, but I would LOVE a Wii-HD. That would be great. Imagine getting games like RE5 and DeadRising2 with Wii-Motion-Plus. That would be gaming nirvana.
March 30th, 2009
at 8:21 pm
Yea, I’m hoping Wii HD is part of the plan for this.
March 31st, 2009
at 12:18 am
I really don’t see that happening unfortunately. The Wii as a gaming platform was introduced to the masses at a low cost in order for it to generate huge sales. It’s uniqueness is in it’s motion controllers and other peripherals which at first seem like great fun, but now seem overused. There really is no killer app for the Wii and no new IP’s that will interest any real gamers. I don’t think the Wii will last longer than 5 years. Nintendo will have to release something new in the next few years especially when the PS3 drops in price. Sony was prepared for a longer model this generation, but the Wii and 360 were short sighted and wanted initial sales. That may cost them in the long run. But only time will tell.
March 31st, 2009
at 3:19 pm
@killinrod,
” The Wii as a gaming platform was introduced to the masses at a low cost in order for it to generate huge sales.”
Not really. The more likely scenario is that Nintendo was hedging against failure with the Wii. If they released a $500 Wii and it performed at PS3 levels, the whole company would likely go under.
But if they test the waters with a modified gamecube, their exposure is small. No the low price point was almost certainly because they were risk averse, as Nintendo has historically shown itself to be. They knew the Wii was a massive risk and my bet is they had a backup system that was more traditional just in case. Just like with the DS, where they talked about the 3 pillars of gaming and the next Gameboy and all that. Now we never hear about gameboy because the DS was a success.
“It’s uniqueness is in it’s motion controllers and other peripherals which at first seem like great fun, but now seem overused.”
Overused? Not so much. Poorly used would be more accurate.
“There really is no killer app for the Wii”
Wii Sports is the ultimate killer app. It’s sold millions of Wiis. It’s so much a killer app, the Wii may never need another. But I would argue that Wii Fit is a killer app too. Their are as many Wii Fits in the market as PS3s. That’s amazing.
“no new IP’s that will interest any real gamers”
The very concept of “real” gamers is offensive to me as a gamer. The games you play are no more real or fake than the games I play, or a 10 year old plays, or an old lady. Be careful you don’t start thinking you’re better than others just because you play a shooter or an RPG. We’re all still just playing pretend in our basements, whether we’re pretending to be a space marine or an italian plumber or a robot.
“the Wii and 360 were short sighted and wanted initial sales. That may cost them in the long run. But only time will tell.”
Not really, the 360 is built for a longer generation, if not for the RROD, I think this generation would be looking a lot differently As for the Wii, their decisions won’t “cost” them anything as the Wii is breaking ever sales record ever set. The isn’t a “long run” long enough for Sony or MS to catch up, neither in unit sales nor profits. The Wii has made more profit so far this gen than Sony’s gaming unit has made in the entire LIFETIME of playstation. Keep an eye out on next gen, you’ll see a lot of companies trying to replicate the success of the Wii.
March 31st, 2009
at 7:23 pm
an HD Wii is not the issue - the graphics card and hardware they put in them is