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Iwata explains sagging Wii sales News
Wii News by Tom Bramwell
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has admitted that sales of Wii "stalled" because the company was "unable to continually release strong software" and "unable to show a new game to become 'the next thing'".
"In the game market, once you've lost the momentum, it takes time to recover," he said at a Japanese press conference, in comments translated by Andriasang (thanks vg247).
Iwata also said that the situation had not changed significantly since the Wii's price was cut in the US, Japan and mainland Europe.
"With the price drop, sales returned to a certain level, but they just did not reach the level of last year around this time," he said. "We decided that it would be difficult to sell enough to recover from the poor performance of the first half of the year.
"In order to reach it [the 20 million units target], we will have to move quite a large quantity, but it's a figure we released after having felt the momentum returning."
Nintendo introduced the new Japanese Wii price point on 27th September, reducing the cost of the console by 5000 yen (£33 / €37). Sales did not initially appear to respond, but the launch of Wii Fit Plus had an impact, helping to effectively triple weekly hardware purchases in the month that followed.
In the US, NPD sales figures for October are not yet available, but the Wii sold 277,000 units in August prior to the price cut, and 462,000 in September, with the price on the other side of the pond also dropping on 27th September, from $249 to $199.
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Poster
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darkmorgado
30/10/09 @ 09:04
+40
NINTENDO BOSS IN REALISING WHAT THE REST OF THE WORLD HAS BEEN THINKING FOR 2 YEARS SHOCKER!
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superted1974
30/10/09 @ 09:04
+2
I think he should mention that there must come a point when everyone who wants one has one.
Can they keep expanding the demographics of people who want to play? edit : (like what Jonsaan said)
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 30/10/09 @ 09:05
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scouserfuller9
30/10/09 @ 09:28
+2
@chukcyQ - I hope you're on about the Virtual Console. The Super Mario and Zelda games are just two of the game series that have been on every Nintendo console that gives them strong sales when it comes to the hardcore gamers!
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kangarootoo
30/10/09 @ 09:44
+5
darkmorgado has said everything I had to say really, except that it is at least refreshing to hear any corp exec saying this sort of thing out lout. I was expecting some business speak waffle when I saw the headline.
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LilithsCurves
30/10/09 @ 09:51
0
"Hardcore" = a majority of men between 14 and 30 and also lots of women (more % every day). Pretty big group to be called hardcore.
On Nintendo, I guess like with every company that ever existed so far, profits can not grow every year. So calming the investors with the unspoken promise that something can be done about the decline in growth of profit is good for the shares. |
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GamesProgrammer
30/10/09 @ 09:54
+3
Some people may think everyone in the world already has a wii, but it has to sell close to 100m more to sell to as many people as the PS2 did, altho im sure the wii prolly got to where it is faster than the PS2 did, its still prolly got a lot of legs left in it, if they can stop the stall with more good software and price cuts
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+4
Surely they could at least give us an explanation for that. And I hope it's not "because we've been so successful we thought we could just sit on our thumbs all day".
Though well, it's probably the truth. But I think even Nintendo is starting to realize that the so-called hardcore market is just as important as the casual market, apparently. If they thought they could just let it rot while they followed the casual, looks like they were wrong. Casual buyers are usually unreliable in terms of business. You need to build a proper customer base, one that will stick with you over time and difficulties. This is especially important for Nintendo, who, as a focalized company, can't fall back on other categories if there's a time of bad business. |
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0
I think their biggest problem now is the strong tie to the nintendo brand itsels, which is dominated by Mario and Zelda, and of course Wii Fit. Which are fine games, probably, but I don't think the casual market fully realises that the Wii also can be used for other stuff, such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero and... uh, what else can it be used for, by the way?
My point is that many families who just want to play Guitar Hero still tend to pick up the PS2 at a very low price - not just because of the price, but because they don't realise that the Wii is equally well suited to that task. I think that at the current stage, the PS2 is the main competitor for the Wii. I dont think the HD consoles are competing with the Wii on any level, really, they're aimed at completely different demographics. I feel that you'd have to be pretty ill informed to get Modern Combat 2 for the Wii if you already own an Xbox 360, a PS3 or a decent PC. And if Modern Combat 2 is what you're primarily interested in playing, you'd ahve to be pretty deranged to get a Wii. |
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darkmorgado
30/10/09 @ 10:06
+4
I never really understand why it's so bad that profits "shrink."
Surely, in the middle of a recession, that they are making profit at all is something to be applauded? Remember that Nintendo have not posted a loss in their entire operating history (to my knowledge). As someone said, it's true that the "every man and his dog has a wii" argument seems daft compared to the 140m+ sales of PS2. But then PS2 has been out nearly a decade now, is cheap as chips, and has reached a price point where I am guessing that some families have one for each kid just so they don't fight over who gets to play what (and let's not forget how bad the ps2 failure rate was). Wii won't reach that impulse-purchase until much farther into its lifecycle, but with the Wii HD rumours I don't think it will be supported come the release of the next Ninty console. Nintendo has a history of dumping consoles as soon as their new one is out. |
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+1
"My point is that many families who just want to play Guitar Hero still tend to pick up the PS2 at a very low price - not just because of the price, but because they don't realise that the Wii is equally well suited to that task."
It works the other way too. The PS2 is just as well suited as the Wii to the task, and it costs half or less. Wouldn't surprise me if the families chose the PS2. That said... Sony's report today says that sales of the PS2 have fallen again. I doubt the PS2 is that much of a competitor nowadays. |
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0
I just compared the top 360 games to the top wii games in eurogamers review history. They both have round about the same amount of games released but in the top 20 wii games game 16 is 7/10 while with the 360 game 20 is still 9/10.
It's nearly the same as the PS3. The software out for the wii is a joke. My only regret is not selling it for €400 when i had the chance. |
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LilithsCurves
30/10/09 @ 10:13
+2
@Olemak
yes. But i also think it's very difficult to create an image for a console that appeals to everyone alike. You go for a certain direction (at least for a certain time in the lifespan of the console) and then you are depending on it since all the awareness of the product and its games are in that area. Later when it's cheaper you can change that. Wii started out a little cheaper and went straight for the broader audience, to go now back with the wii and recapture other areas is not easy and not likely imo due to the hardware of the console and the public image. |
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kangarootoo
30/10/09 @ 10:16
+2
@darkmorgado
Less than predicted profits affect shareprice, which is what it all boils down to at the end of the day. A company posting a loss can actually be viewed as a better investment than a company posting a profit, if the loss making company is doing so as part of a predictable plan. Amazon was making a loss for over 2 years, but it was able to raise capital because its plan was sound. A company making less profit than expected could be on the way down (clearly Nintendo isn't on the way down, AND they probably predicted their own fall in profits, but I am talking generally). When companies invest in other companies, they don't usually do so to make a quick profit, so they want to know that their money is safe long term and falling profits are not a good sign of the security that they desire. I say again, Nintendo aren't going anywhere. I am just talking generally about SOME profit not necessarily being good enoguh in business. |
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+1
They could have done with something like Red Steel 2 this Christmas alongside New Super Mario Bros and Wii Fit Plus...
...still surprised they don't see the potential in Excitebots for a European release pre-chrsitmas ....considering how many Wii wheels are out there. They really should have given some assistance to 3rd party marketing as well... not to help 3rd parties but for their own benefit. I would have thrown a chunk of cash at marketing the Black Wii alongside Dead space Extraction and Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles. Nintendo and 3rd parties major oversight with the Wii is is that they seem to think mature/hardcore content doesn't need to be marketed to sell..but on Wii it does. You give something like RE Darkside Chronicles the same marketing budget as something like Wii Sports or wii fit..you'll see strong sales. |
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+12
'Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has admitted that sales of Wii "stalled" because the company was "unable to continually release strong software" and "unable to show a new game to become 'the next thing'".'
Amen to that. It's so refreshing to see Nintendo finally admitting to their major mistake with the Wii. Sure they have the casual market appeased but they're not the ones that go out and buy loads of games. Nintendo have totally neglected the core gamer with the Wii, those people that grew up with the NES/SNES and moved up to the N64 and GameCube. I'm one of them. The Wii has been, and I hate to even say this, the most underwhelming console I've ever bought and 2009 has been a disaster as far as quality games are concerned. The Wii promised so much and has utterly failed to deliver beyond a few key exceptional titles like Zelda Twilight Princess (itself a GameCube title) and the superlative Super Mario Galaxy for example. The only reason I still have mine is for the next Zelda and Mario game otherwise it sits gathering dust. Sad really. |
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BlankOBlank!
30/10/09 @ 10:48
-5
"We found that the Wii was more suited to noobs and fags," lamented Iwata, "and most of the games turned out to be waggle fests with sucky graphics."
EDIT: Tough crowd! That wasn't supposed to be my own sentiments, I like the Wii, I was pretending Iwata was a fanboy... jeez! :P
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 30/10/09 @ 12:41
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Alterego-X
30/10/09 @ 10:56
+5
It's pretty pathetic how some people jump to predict the death of casual gaming, the failure of the cheap, weak hardware model and motion controls at the same time, just because Nintendo now only dominates the competition by spectacular majority, instead of ridiculous, unbelievable majority.
These things are why they are that successful to begin with! When Iwata says "strong software", he means Wii Fit and Wii Sports, and he is only sorry that this year, they released less games like these that are similarly popular. |
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-8
cian, pls list the 360's "classics" first
these are all the games I want on the wii: Klonoa, Tiger Woods 2010, Little King's Story, Okami, Punch-Out!!, Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, Resident Evil, Resident Evil 0, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, House of the Dead: Overkill, NPC! Pikmin 2, NPC! Chibi-Robo, No More Heroes, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Metroid Prime: Trilogy, Mad World, Bit.trip Beat, Super Paper Mario, Zack & Wiki, A Boy & his Blob, Metroid: Other M, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Dead Space: Extraction, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle, Fragile, Dragon Quest X, Monster Hunter Tri, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Red Steel 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, No More Heroes 2, Sin & Punishment 2, Bit.trip Void, The Grinder, Epic Mickey, Cosmic Walker, Dynamic Slash, Span Smasher, Line Attack Heroes, Illvelo, You, Me & the Cubes, Fatal Frame IV (fan translated), Pikmin 3, Radilgy
Edited 3 times,
most recently on 30/10/09 @ 11:37
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mcwildcard
30/10/09 @ 11:34
+5
Not only they failing to make enough decent games for it, they're resorting to pouring cash into the heavy promotion of what can only be described as shovelware.
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farticusmaximus
30/10/09 @ 11:38
+7
@cianchristopher
"Mark me down if you like; but if you do then name another all-out, balls-to-the-wall classic on this shitty system!" Boom Blox. That's only my personal opinion, of course. Having defended the classic status I must now further qualify by stating that Boom Blox is exactly one fifth of my Wii games collection and is the one and only reason I haven't sold my Wii. |
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groovychainsaw
30/10/09 @ 11:40
+1
@MilkyJoe, I think the real issue is that the Wii sold 10 million LESS than the previous year over the same period. Whilst it sells a lot, and is still profitable for nintendo, thats a fairly telling drop in sales. Unfortunately, like many peripheral fads (including guitar hero, which seems to be suffering diminishing sales), that may be the beginning of a decline. The only thing that will get them out of it is to continue to appeal to the casual market with increasingly innovative peripherals... and noone knows how many ideas they've got left. They've already lost the hardcore, so have nowhere to fall back onto.
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markymark22
30/10/09 @ 11:43
-5
Hmm, what are you tryin to say other than mario the wii has no good games that havin appeared on other systems? Well your forgetting.... resident evil 4, bully, okami...all great games exclusive to the wii and defo could not be played 5 years ago on a older 'last gen' system.
Oh wait... |
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farticusmaximus
30/10/09 @ 11:44
+4
@sargulesh
"360's banjo kazooie isn't even a platformer, donnie, you moron" It's as much a platformer as Mario Galaxy. Both are doing something different and innovative with the genre, which is a good thing. |
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farticusmaximus
30/10/09 @ 11:51
+5
I've said it before and will continue to say it: The 'hardcore perception', 'shovelware' and 'underappreciated classics' problems with the Wii could all be solved by providing downloadable demos.
Core gamers don't buy core Wii games primarily because the Wii catalogue is 99% rubbish and they don't trust them to be of high enough quality. Downloadable demos would assuage those fears. |
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farticusmaximus
30/10/09 @ 12:01
+6
@sargulesh
"but there's not even any platforming in it" I've spent almost as much time collecting notes, rescuing jinjos and finding vehicle parts in showdown town as I have doing vehicle activities. That's good old-fashioned platforming. |
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cianchristopher
30/10/09 @ 12:04
-2
sargulesh, that's great that you have such an extensive list and all, but I said "classics"! Balls-to-the-wall classics.
I'm talking about system-defining games, era-defining games! The Wii doesn't have them! I'm talking about Ocarina of Time, Super Mario World, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII, Goldeneye 007, Super Mario 64, Halo, Ico, God of War, Grand Theft Auto 3 (and VC & SA), etc. The PS3 & 360 have COD4, GTA4, Fallout 3, Halo 3, MGS4, Uncharted 2, Gears of War, Oblivion, Mass Effect, BioShock, Batman Arkham Asylum, Street Fighter IV, LittleBigPlanet, The Orange Box, Burnout Paradise, etc., etc., etc. Of course, some idiot's going to come along and say "Ha ha all those games are shit!".... But the fact is, unless you're the stubbornest guy in the world, you've gotta admit that those games (plus lots of others I've failed to mention) stand head-and-shoulders above anything and everything on the Wii (excepting Super Mario Galaxy). |
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+2
When a company failes to meet expectations (not make profits, meet expectations), that's always a matter of concern. Always. You either have a valid excuse (like a tactic to attract more customers in the long run) or you are in trouble, because it means you're doing something wrong. That's how business works.
Now, in Nintendo's case, they are doing something wrong - that is, they haven't put out any good games for a while. If they do understand that, and take action, next time the results will be better. It's true that they're still doing better than either Sony or MS, but to say that they are still awesome because they are making a profit, would be missing the point entirely. If a company said "oh well, who cares, we're still profitable", they would be hammered over and over by some smarter company. Instead, when something goes even just slightly wrong, you HAVE to take measures. Iwata is a capable businessman, as he has shown several times now, so I'm sure he already knows what to do. A slip-up can happen to everyone. As long as it's not repeated. |
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farticusmaximus
30/10/09 @ 12:12
+9
@cianchristopher
I'd say that Wii sports, a title that comes free with every Wii is a genuine genre-defining classic. |
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+3
@Sargulesh
For a guy who doesn't even own a Wii yet, you're pretty confident of its quality. Go and buy one, put your money into it and its games - then come back to us. You'll feel differently, I suspect, once you invest in a machine that offers very little quality gaming by comparison to its peers. The fact that you list a game like Epic Mickey on your wanted list shows that you're thinking in purely speculative terms and not objectively and from a real consumer's point of view. (For God's sake, we only just saw the first screenshots for that game :-p). When it comes down to it, games are expensive, and there's little reason to spend that hard-earned money on a Wii over a 360 or PS3.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 30/10/09 @ 12:29
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+2
I'd say Metroid Prime 3, but that's based entirely on loving the first two and presuming it's at least as good as MP2.
There are a number of third-party Wii games I'd love to grab but, in the main, for reduced prices. I get the feeling I'm far from alone in that and that's part of the problem with rubbish sales for some non-'Wiicasual' titles. |
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Alterego-X
30/10/09 @ 13:05
+12
cianchristopher:
"It's still a shit system, though! Unless you're a granny or a soccer-mom!" So what? The other two consoles are shit, unless you are a nerd. Playing games is shit, unless you are a gamer. Drawing pictures is shit, unless you like drawing. Having sex with girls is shit, unless you are a hetero man, or lesbian. Everything is shit, when you are looking at it from the opinion of someone who doesn't like it.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 30/10/09 @ 13:07
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