The Video Game Critic

http://wii.ign.com/articles/801/801285p1.html

Yeah, this is old news, Wii is dominating blah, blah blah.

But the numbers in Japan are getting ridiculus, PS3 4% of total sales, MS, who has little chance in Japan anyway at 1.7%.

My question is, how much of Nintendo's success is due just to purchase price?!

Yes, they make good games, but they made good games for GC too, and were left in the dust.

Granted the Wimote has deservedly gotten a lot of attention and created buzz.

But the fact that PS3 can't even come close to their #2 sales today just leads me to believe they have priced themself out. Why is MS going ahead with another 360 model, more elite than the last? Why in the hell would Nintendo rush to put out a harddrive or Wii.2 as some anylysts are predicting? Where is the pressure to have them do that? Will Sony or MS cry uncle and deliver something completly different? I think a company could release a 32 bit system for el-cheapo and deliver with it a ton of new quality 2-d games and do better.

It seems obvious that the industry has hit a wall, in terms of proccessing power pushing systems. And about time, lets focus on games. But some think time is still on Sony's side. It is the mother of all 'rope a dopes' if that is the case.

I expected Wii to do well the minute I saw it, but I never thought I would see this. I guess people were ready for something different. Lots of Nintendo Fanboys coming out of the closet.

[QUOTE=Steerforth]
My question is, how much of Nintendo's success is due just to purchase price?!

[/QUOTE]

My guess: a whole lot. The unique controller (and games like Wii Sports) really have been getting a lot of non-gamers to pick up the console. I know this from firsthand experience as well as from what I read. Really though, how many non-gamers would pick it up if it costed more than it does? I can't imagine too many would.

It isn't just the non-gamers that I think are picking up the Wii. I think it is getting a lot of loyal gamers too, and not just Nintendo fans. Microsoft and Sony completely failed to remember who buys video games: children, high school students, and college students for the most part. Children's parents are obviously going to flock to the Wii when thinking of Birthday and Christmas presents. It's cheapest and most kid-friendly. High school and college students are just plain poor most of the time. $400 is really pushing it when you're trying to pay your next rent check, much less $600. Sony really dropped the ball on the price tag (Microsoft to a lesser extent). PS2 was the system for this demographic last generation because it had a good price point, and a whole lot of easy to play games. Nintendo has taken over in those departments.

Do you think this might be something along the lines of "technology fatigue?" New disc format (Blu-ray), new tv (HighDef), hard drives and all the additional stuff that pumps the price of next gen systems over $400 might stop the average person from buying these systems.
People hear stories of consoles crashing or long, tedious updates and while these might be exaggerations of a vocal minority, it could be enough to scare people who just want to play videogames on that crappy tv they have in the den.

I think we are actually seeing Nintendo "save" the gaming industry all over again! As with the NES, the Wii is being marketed differently. The NES was a "TOY", not a "videogame"!
when no one would touch vid-games. Now, the Wii is a simple easy to use system that attracts non-gameplaying ADULTS along with kids, teenagers, all "Miis" everywhere!

Although it would have been short lived, I'm betting if all three systems were expensive high-powered versions of lastgen's systems, we may well have seen another crash, although smaller than the last one.

If Sony and Microsoft want to stay in the game they must think of two words "Innovation" and "Make it cheaper, idiot!" Ok, 5 words.

I actually have integrated Wii's into my customer's home theater systems just because of the internet connectivity and all the things that are now so easy to do because the Wiimote is able to put a cursor on your TV screen, even if they don't plan on gaming.  I think that is such a huge thing, having a cursor on your TV screen with that kind of mobility.  I think alot of its success was helped by the fact that it came on the heels of the DDR craze.  People wanted to have the option of getting their bodies involved. 

The price is definitely a factor.  Whenever I have a casual/non-gamer over to play the Wii, I always get the same question, "How much does this thing cost?"

Also, I don't know where Microsoft is heading with the Elite thing.  How many 360 players are in need for a larger hard disk?  It doesn't even have built in wi-fi!  I wonder if this ill-advised idea was hatched when the PS3 was "hot" (remember?)

Well, hasn't there been more Wii's shipped than PS3's?

i believe the 360 elite was cooked up before the PS3 launch as MSs response to the what most people thought would be a slam dunk PS3 launch. after the PS3 tanked, MS still went ahead and released the elite



price is by far the number one factor in nintendos huge lead. had the PS3 been a success at $600, the PS4 wouldve likely launched at $1000.

[QUOTE=The Video Game Critic]The price is definitely a factor.  Whenever I have a casual/non-gamer over to play the Wii, I always get the same question, "How much does this thing cost?"

Also, I don't know where Microsoft is heading with the Elite thing.  How many 360 players are in need for a larger hard disk?  It doesn't even have built in wi-fi!  I wonder if this ill-advised idea was hatched when the PS3 was "hot" (remember?)

[/QUOTE]

The PS3 was once considered "hot"???
Sudz