Ailing Wii?

Jason Harman said...

Aaron, Here's a question for you to answer next blog:

Computer And Video Games asks the tough question: is the Wii's magic gone? After the flurry of excitement around the launch, lackluster ports and a persistent inability for Nintendo to keep units on the shelves has made it hard for gamers to sustain their enthusiasm for the system. It doesn't help that most of the good games slated for this year won't be out for months. In some cases, there's doubt they'll even make it out this year: Reggie Fils-Aime appears to be backpedaling on Metroid Prime 3 by Christmas, which would be a shame. GigaGamez has additional commentary. Are you still as excited about the Wii as you were when it launched?

http://computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=158325
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Here's a link to the most recent article I've read regarding the sales numbers put up by the Wii. I think it's pretty foolish for any industry commentator to put their neck out and make any predictions at this point. I know a lot are reserving comment cause it's just too up in the air to tell. So many systems of done well at launch, like the Wii has, and then tanked in the next few months due to problems with 3rd party support, etc. Sega's swan-song Dreamcast is the best example of this kinda stuff, although there were a good deal of other factors contributing to its early demise as well.

As the linked article above shows however, the Wii, when compared to Nintendo's previous two machines, is holding its own pretty well. In addition... for the first time in two console generations, it's outperforming both of the other titans by a considerable margin. Another major difference which separates the Wii's initial performance from that of the N64 and the Gamecube, is that Nintendo is beginning to attract more 3rd party support in it's first few months, rather than lose it as has been it's tradition. And remember, Nintendo is a company which over the last decade has held it's own based on the merits of it's own software, and in a market where its two largest competitors have the financial capacity to post record losses for not just months, but years, just to stay in the game.

I certainly can't say that the Wii will come out on top as the market dominator over the other two systems. What I can say, is considering the circumstances and challenges faced by Nintendo, they're certainly doing the best they can with what they've got.