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May 18, 2009 | 8:22 AM PST
by: Brian Langlois
There is a lot more Nintendo related gloom and doom lately than usual, though in the gamer circles this hardly seems like a change. It seems that some fans are only happy when they are complaining about Nintendo, and recent sales trends are lending a bit more credence to their stance. With the PlayStation 3 surging a bit in Japan, some are ready to proclaim the era of Wii dominance over. But how indicative of the health of the Wii market is this recent downturn? It seems to me that we have reached a natural plateau in the lifespan of the Wii, and the view looks perfectly fine from here.
Okay, so Nintendo's numbers for the Wii are down. It was bound to happen. After all, how long could they maintain the monstrously huge sales figures? There comes a point where the market becomes saturated, which is something we all seem to realize. The past few weeks of Japanese sales charts have shown the Wii losing the console sales crown to the PS3. With the colossal lead the Wii has built over the past two and a half years it's barely a drop in the bucket. It is true that Nintendo and Sony both primarily care about their success in their home country, but it serves as more of an ego boost than anything else. The real money comes from the west and NPD numbers tell a different story. Sure, Wii is down a bit over last year, but its sales are still immensely greater than the competition. Some people seem to think that any loss in sales is a sign of the end, but it is barely a bump in the road. Of course, these reports are colored by the desire of the one viewing them, and deep down, many gamers want to see Nintendo fail.
There's something about the Wii that some gamers never liked. Besides the fact that it murdered gaming by being modestly powered and catering to casual fans, the Wii is the machine gamers love to hate, but claim they want to love. Fortunately, plenty of people love it anyway, despite admonitions from many gamers out there. The fact is, it hardly matters what they do because a large chunk of video game fans will never embrace them. They claim to want hardcore games, but when they are delivered on the Wii platform, they just don't sell well. It's a Catch-22, so why should Nintendo even bother trying? Many gamers are just more interested in playing PS3 or 360, which is just fine, but all the constant ragging on Nintendo sure does get old.
The thing is, as a longtime Nintendo supporter, this is nothing new. Gamers have been against Nintendo for a long time. They have been a target of ire ever since they were deemed "uncool" by Sony's PR team. Hey, all's fair in marketing war, right? Many gamers were swayed to the PlayStation brand, perfectly reasonable since there was plenty to like about it. What always amazed me was that the din of constant complaints about Nintendo never ceased. People who didn't own the Nintendo platform were constantly dogging them like it was a game itself to do so. Why did everyone care so much? Why not just talk about the platforms and games that you enjoy instead of complaining constantly about the competition? Perhaps it's because Nintendo's role in the industry is bigger than just downtrodden hardware manufacturer and games publisher. Nintendo is always a driving force in the industry, either pushing up from the rear of the pack, or pulling others in their wake as market leader, and that makes people care, even if they pretend not to.
It's sometimes strange to think back on the dark days of Nintendo in light of their current success. I was there through the N64 days and I held on through the GameCube days and, you know what? I thoroughly enjoyed those times in Nintendo history, as much as any other. Despite waning sales and the vitriol spit by the competition and the media, Nintendo still delivered consistent quality to their customers. Way back when the Wii was expected to do about as well as the GameCube, or even less so, I was still in line to buy it, because that just doesn't sound so bad to me. I knew I'd be satisfied regardless of whether Nintendo led the market, or was perceived as the best by the gaming populace. The best games of last generation were on Nintendo platforms though most of them got little respect and even less sales. That's one reason why the Wii's success was such a surprise. Gamers had become so jaded about Nintendo's products, that capitulating from third to first place seemed impossible.
Who can argue that the Wii has certainly turned things around for Nintendo? Their success is fueled by not just their fan base but also many newcomers to the market, newcomers that some say are a transient revenue stream. While it's true that many Wii owners were never gamers in the past, they have obviously decided to invent in a product that they enjoy and probably will continue to utilize for some time. These customers probably don't spend as much money on new hardware and software as the gamers do, however there are so many of them that their combined purchasing power is rather high. Some say this market is starting to falter and that they won't be there for the long haul. Of course, that is exactly why Nintendo has spent a lot of time recently catering to these customers, much to the chagrin of the gamer elite. They have to nurture the new customer base in order for it to grow.
Even without their expanded audience Nintendo will be okay, so all you die-hard fans out there should relax. Even if they do slip a little, they'll land on their feet. Why? Because they're a smart company and they know how to make a profit. In fact, they have always turned a profit, on every console they have released, even during the "bad old days" of N64 and GameCube. It's easy to cite the Gamecube as a failure because it was in third place overall in the "console wars," but in reality it made a tidy of profit for the company, which is a success, though a paltry one compared to the roaring profit numbers from the Wii and DS combo. Every company wants to be number one, but in the end, as long as their business is successful and profitable then there are really no problems.
So continue to be mad at Nintendo. We all know they've turned their backs on gamers anyway and deserve to fall and fall hard for their backstabbing ways. Don't hold your breath though because Nintendo is doing just fine even with Wii sales slacking up a bit. It is only the gamers' sense of self-importance that makes them believe that only they can support a platform successfully. This gamer for one is still very pleased with the quality game time I have gotten from my Wii so far. We're only about halfway through it's lifespan too and things should only get better from here. Looking down from this plateau, Nintendo only sees the competition. Looking up, the sky's the limit.
Okay, so Nintendo's numbers for the Wii are down. It was bound to happen. After all, how long could they maintain the monstrously huge sales figures? There comes a point where the market becomes saturated, which is something we all seem to realize. The past few weeks of Japanese sales charts have shown the Wii losing the console sales crown to the PS3. With the colossal lead the Wii has built over the past two and a half years it's barely a drop in the bucket. It is true that Nintendo and Sony both primarily care about their success in their home country, but it serves as more of an ego boost than anything else. The real money comes from the west and NPD numbers tell a different story. Sure, Wii is down a bit over last year, but its sales are still immensely greater than the competition. Some people seem to think that any loss in sales is a sign of the end, but it is barely a bump in the road. Of course, these reports are colored by the desire of the one viewing them, and deep down, many gamers want to see Nintendo fail.
There's something about the Wii that some gamers never liked. Besides the fact that it murdered gaming by being modestly powered and catering to casual fans, the Wii is the machine gamers love to hate, but claim they want to love. Fortunately, plenty of people love it anyway, despite admonitions from many gamers out there. The fact is, it hardly matters what they do because a large chunk of video game fans will never embrace them. They claim to want hardcore games, but when they are delivered on the Wii platform, they just don't sell well. It's a Catch-22, so why should Nintendo even bother trying? Many gamers are just more interested in playing PS3 or 360, which is just fine, but all the constant ragging on Nintendo sure does get old.
The thing is, as a longtime Nintendo supporter, this is nothing new. Gamers have been against Nintendo for a long time. They have been a target of ire ever since they were deemed "uncool" by Sony's PR team. Hey, all's fair in marketing war, right? Many gamers were swayed to the PlayStation brand, perfectly reasonable since there was plenty to like about it. What always amazed me was that the din of constant complaints about Nintendo never ceased. People who didn't own the Nintendo platform were constantly dogging them like it was a game itself to do so. Why did everyone care so much? Why not just talk about the platforms and games that you enjoy instead of complaining constantly about the competition? Perhaps it's because Nintendo's role in the industry is bigger than just downtrodden hardware manufacturer and games publisher. Nintendo is always a driving force in the industry, either pushing up from the rear of the pack, or pulling others in their wake as market leader, and that makes people care, even if they pretend not to.
It's sometimes strange to think back on the dark days of Nintendo in light of their current success. I was there through the N64 days and I held on through the GameCube days and, you know what? I thoroughly enjoyed those times in Nintendo history, as much as any other. Despite waning sales and the vitriol spit by the competition and the media, Nintendo still delivered consistent quality to their customers. Way back when the Wii was expected to do about as well as the GameCube, or even less so, I was still in line to buy it, because that just doesn't sound so bad to me. I knew I'd be satisfied regardless of whether Nintendo led the market, or was perceived as the best by the gaming populace. The best games of last generation were on Nintendo platforms though most of them got little respect and even less sales. That's one reason why the Wii's success was such a surprise. Gamers had become so jaded about Nintendo's products, that capitulating from third to first place seemed impossible.
Who can argue that the Wii has certainly turned things around for Nintendo? Their success is fueled by not just their fan base but also many newcomers to the market, newcomers that some say are a transient revenue stream. While it's true that many Wii owners were never gamers in the past, they have obviously decided to invent in a product that they enjoy and probably will continue to utilize for some time. These customers probably don't spend as much money on new hardware and software as the gamers do, however there are so many of them that their combined purchasing power is rather high. Some say this market is starting to falter and that they won't be there for the long haul. Of course, that is exactly why Nintendo has spent a lot of time recently catering to these customers, much to the chagrin of the gamer elite. They have to nurture the new customer base in order for it to grow.
Even without their expanded audience Nintendo will be okay, so all you die-hard fans out there should relax. Even if they do slip a little, they'll land on their feet. Why? Because they're a smart company and they know how to make a profit. In fact, they have always turned a profit, on every console they have released, even during the "bad old days" of N64 and GameCube. It's easy to cite the Gamecube as a failure because it was in third place overall in the "console wars," but in reality it made a tidy of profit for the company, which is a success, though a paltry one compared to the roaring profit numbers from the Wii and DS combo. Every company wants to be number one, but in the end, as long as their business is successful and profitable then there are really no problems.
So continue to be mad at Nintendo. We all know they've turned their backs on gamers anyway and deserve to fall and fall hard for their backstabbing ways. Don't hold your breath though because Nintendo is doing just fine even with Wii sales slacking up a bit. It is only the gamers' sense of self-importance that makes them believe that only they can support a platform successfully. This gamer for one is still very pleased with the quality game time I have gotten from my Wii so far. We're only about halfway through it's lifespan too and things should only get better from here. Looking down from this plateau, Nintendo only sees the competition. Looking up, the sky's the limit.
November 20, 2009
