SineSwiper wrote:Eric wrote:The Wii is killing them both in Japan/US.
The Wii isn't exactly killing in the US. Unfortunately, the best Wii game out there seems to be the ones that come with the system.
And Japan. Well, the entire country of Japan is a bunch of Nintendo fanboys. Nothing is going to change that, short of the Nintendo filing Chapter 11.
Just look at the
latest sale figures in Japan. Super Paper Mario is probably well deserved, but the rest of the games seem to be fanboy buyouts: Wii Sports, Wii Play, Big Brain Academy, and One Piece (??!). Puzzle games, mini games, and anime games. Nobody in the US would buy that crap because it's crap.
Meanwhile, the Japanese buy literally every DS game known to man. I know why the DS has so many fucking puzzle games: it's because the Japanese LOVE puzzle games, and they are trying to steal as much money from them as they can. So, this means that the US is stuck with a bunch of puzzle games to throw away.
Nintendo has something on the order of $7B US in liquid cash and cash equivalents. Considering they make money off each DS and Wii system sold, they're only adding to that insane cash position. They could lose money for the next 10 years and barely make a dent in just the cash they have.
Wii Play is selling extremely well here. It's the extra controller. You're basically getting a $15 game, it's hard to pass up. We'll see how Big Brain Academy sells here. Brain Training is still selling very well for cryin' out loud.
And don't dis my puzzle games, they're awesome. I'm still lookin' for Puzzle Quest used and my addiction of Tetris Attack is on the horizon with the release of Planet Puzzle League. But on top of that, you have FF3, that new Atlus RPG, Mario and Luigi, Castlevania......tons of other stuff. The diversity is amazing. Sure the Japs are nuts on the puzzle games, but there's everything for that system.
The Wii is pounding them both right now in sales across the world. If you would really like me to pull out the sales from November to April in North America, I can try, but it's been all over the sites. The NPD monthly reports are regularly summarized. Essentially, the Wii has outsold both the PS3 (almost double) and the 360 (by about 25%) each month since it came out aside from December when they just didn't have any systems (360 beat it then handidly). You can take a look at
www.vgcharts.com as well for a quick summary.
And I agree with you that the games haven't been that great, which is why the sales mean even more right now. Sure you have one awesome title (Zelda) and a couple of great titles (Paper Mario and Wario Ware), but their big guns are all coming starting this August. If they're doing this well now, what happens when the two big system movers worldwide (Smash Bros and Mario Galaxy) and one that'll garner a ton of interest and likely move systems here (Metroid) come out? Remember, every Smash Bros and Mario game have been consistent sellers for years on the systems they've come out on. They're not flash in the pan sellers, their life cycle is different. They don't just sell like crazy for a few weeks then taper off huge (see Crackdown).
Add to that the insane success of the DS (it's actually increasing in popularity as times goes on; it's still a little scarce to find even now in both the US and Japan) and Nintendo's almost guaranteed to have an awesome year financially. I tried to convince my uncle to buy Nintendo's shares last year after E3 but did he listen? Nooo...... (FYI, their shares have about doubled in their 2007 fiscal year; April 06 to March 07).
I love my 360, for a $205 Cdn system it's been great and there are a bunch of great games on it now. But $500 is way too much for any system IMO. And I really would recommend any gamer to get the 360/Wii combo right now (if money's not an issue) as it's easily the best setup to have. You'll get 99% of the games you'll want to play that way.
The reality is, by the end of the year, what you'll likely see on a worldwide scale is the Wii being within about a million units of the 360 and it'll probably pass it within the first 4 months of 2008. And the only reason I say it won't catch it in 2007 is 'cause the ultimate system seller in Halo 3 is coming. That's their Mario. The original Halo and Halo 2 had Mario 64-like life-cycles and system moving ability. That'll move a couple million units of the 360 this year alone in the US, which should stave off the Wii catch-up. Well, that and Bioshock, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, etc. 360's gonna have a great Xmas, it's major guns are coming out.
Add to that the likely shortages the Wii's gonna have unless Nintendo has an about-face and actually opens up another Wii manufacturing plant. I think they're near or at max production now and their demand is expected to rise. As if it's not hard enough to find a Wii now, I think you'll be able to make a killing on one on Ebay this winter.
