The Video Game Critic

An anylyst at E3 said Nintendo was overstating the amount of new people they are bringing in, at least with Wii, he had some data that said  only 10% of people who bought a Wii have never owned a console before. Given the amount of excitment and coverage Wii seems to get on every gaming page, I figured this was probbaly true. (Remember how pissed the VGC was getting at Nintendo when he futily searched for a Wii?)

My thoughts:

1. It doesn't take in account people who haven't bought a system for a while, though that may be a small number.

2. Its great news for Nintendo, when you capture the hearts and minds of the core, the rest is just gravy. Think PS2.

3. Makes the "Nintendo is betraying" us complaint seem pretty hypocritical, since gamers are binging on Wii.

4. How long can Nintendo keep the attention of the general public when they can't keep systems on the shelf? I mean, you can't do any better than selling out, so its a nice problem to have, but whats the difference if my Grandma wants to get Wii Fit if she can't get a Wii. BTW my real Grandma wouldn't buy a videogame if you put a gun to her head.

5. HD graphics and multimedia functions, not to mention at least hardcore online play, are not near as important to gamers as we are continually told they are.

6. I think the Wii will slow down early next year and Nintendo will start picking people up then, I do believe the DS has gotten a decent chunk of new gamer.

Yeah, I saw that statement too. I didn't take it too seriously, though, because he didn't state if there was some sort of cut off point for consoles, nor what constitutes a "console."

That said, I've always suspected a large part of Wii's success lies in the idea that, while gamers like to act hardcore, they really dig the idea that everybody else thinks they are hip too.

-Rob