Wii: Early Success or Longevity?
Nintendo not Pulling in Hardcore Gamers. Could Effect Sales of Wii
Nintendo has won the hearts of gamers for years but the company's inability to leap from casual use to hardcore gaming could cut off sales before they truly get going.
Nintendo, ah the nostalgia! The company has been winning the hearts of gamers since 1983 with the release of the Nintendo entertainment system. Since then they have followed up with 4 television-based consoles and several portable gaming devices.
The company that was a sure ace in the hole during the 1980’s and 1990’s has not had an easy go at it in more recent years. While the Wii is enjoying incredible success right now, Nintendo’s last generation system was a failure to say the least. The Game cube saw steady decreases in sales shortly after the November 2001 release of the console and never recovered regardless of price drops and bundle offerings.
Elias Dounis reported for Gamers Mark in 2004 that the Game Cube sold a measly 15 million, less then half the overall sales of the N64. Meanwhile Xbox, a first generation console and Sony’s ps2 skyrocketed to success that was never before seen in the gaming sector.
The demise of Sega and the slow decline of Nintendo fan boys have been directly correlated to the release of both Sony and Microsoft gaming consoles according to Kotaku, a gaming blog. Both companies have captured the heart of hardcore gamers and continue to market to the correct demographic, offering a plethora more then simply games. Nintendo has simply fallen short of that mark, even with their top dog Wii sitting in the top position for sales according to data released to the public by the NDP group.
Nintendo has notoriously forgone the route of adding in other entertainment options for players. While the original Xbox and the PS2 toted DVD and music playing capabilities the Gamecube, which was released around the same time, did not.
Currently the PS3 offers Blu-ray movie playback, music and internet browsing capabilities. The Xbox 360 offers HD-DVD add-on pieces and still allows users to play DVDs and listen to their own music tracks. Simply put the two systems are all around entertainment pieces that pretty much cancel out the need for further equipment. Nintendo has not hit that avenue yet and seems reluctant to do so.
The Nintendo Wii has officially been toted as a casual gamer console reported Joystiq, a gaming and technology blog. It has not had the success most would hope in the hardcore gamer sector, the consumers that are most coveted by the gaming industry, and in doing so has failed to rally third-party game sales.
Developers have voiced their concerns over the lackluster sales of third party games for the Wii Console. According to Joystiq.com 11 of the top 14 games are made directly by Nintendo, however only 6 of the top rated games are Nintendo made products.
The disconnect between game reviews and the sales chart could have a great deal to do with the demographic and type of gamer that is being targeted by Nintendo. Goichi Suda, the developer of No More Heroes for the Wii, was quoted as saying “Actually I was very surprised about the reality about Wii, because before I was making this game, I wasn't expecting that Wii would be a console targeted only for non-gamers. I expected more games for hardcore gamers. The reality is different to what I expected.” in an interview with Matt Casamassina for IGN.com
No More Heroes was a game that did extremely well in reviews, acclaimed for its expert development and game play, but unlike other consoles and titles stellar reviews simply did not translate into top notch sales.
Nintendo remains optimistic, and why wouldn’t they, the Wii is still flying off the shelves but one must wonder how long the sales will soar for or if the game console will drop off and lose the longevity battle. Time will only tell
