Over the past couple weeks, I have begun to lose some slight respect for Sony and have since gained respect for Nintendo and the Wii. As we all know by now, Kaz Hirai bashed Microsoft, and sincerely bashed the Wii stating, “It’s difficult to talk about Nintendo because we don’t look at their console as being competitors.” I don’t care what kind of esoteric meaning or different ways you can read into this statement because it’s ridiculous. Last time I checked, the Wii sold more systems that both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 combined and the DS outsells the PSP. Business has nothing to do with who has the best product, because we can say all we want that the Wii isn’t the best system on the market but it sells head and shoulders above its competition. How can a company whose sole purpose is to sell video games, consoles, and handhelds, not be considered competitors to companies who also are in the market to sell video games, handhelds and consoles?
Let’s think about it one way; if the PS3 were the greatest system and it called to all gamers young and old, hardcore and new, then the PS3 would sell more systems than the rest. People aren’t not buying the PS3 because it’s too expensive, they are not buying the PS3 because the majority of people don’t feel they need, or like, what it offers, and do feel as though they want and will enjoy what the Wii offers; a fun easy system to play. Some people might compare the Wii to a small car and the PS3 to large truck and would go further and say not everyone needs a large truck when a small car will do. You may be right, but is that anyway to run a company? Would it then be fair to say that the car company is not your competitor? Absolutely not, because that car company (Nintendo Wii) is taking all the consumers away from the truck company (Sony PS3) and thus it’s losing out on sales.
So should Sony look at the Wii like they are their competitors? One hundred percent yes. However, let’s look at the contrary statement; should Nintendo look at the Sony PS3 as their competitor? I think the answer here can be no with respect to the Wii and the PS3 not the DS and PSP, and it’s simple why. What kind of real competition is the PS3 giving to the Wii? Other than the overall system, which we can fight about until we’re blue in the face that the PS3 is better overall, the Wii, hands down, is a better product because the community in which each system is sold has decided the Wii is better by buying exponentially more Wii’s. So, Ninendo, I beckon you to come out and say that… With respect to Sony and the PlayStation 3, ‘Wii’ really cannot consider you our primary competitor because you do not affect our bottom line.
Um…it’s pretty apparent, and I can understand why both MS and Sony don’t consider the Wii as competition. Nintendo went a different direction with their console, it’s more of a ‘party’ favor, than a real gaming machine. Sorry, I have 3 friends with Wii’s, and even they agree that when everyone leaves, the Wii collects dust. Period. That’s just how it is. And really, who cares? Do you? It’s not like Nintendo is any worse off for that, are they? Do they lose money when parties aren’t happening? Nope. So what do you care?
Funny thing is, MS has been saying this all along, and only now is Sony really starting to stick it to MS with their press releases, and suddenly Sony’ sthe bad guy. Sounds like you’re in MS’ pocket dude.
Morne
good post Mornelithe . Anyone who thinks the wii is otherwise is a complete idiots. I also have friends who bought the Wii last year and as of today its still in the closet . They try to bring it out during parties but nobody plays with that crap. Its a hardware that people likes to show off for a day or two to there friends just because they have the Wii . But when they find out nobody gives a shlt they stop bringing it out….Hey i bought the wii to for my nephews because theres no way im spending that kind of money on a ps3 when my 10 year old nephew who doesn’t know the difference.
It doesn’t matter what direction a company is going for, they are still in the same market and Nintendo is attracting more people to the market than Sony and Microsoft. To continue on the car analogy, if a small car is meant for normal people and the big truck is meant for the “hardcore” car owners, does that mean the big truck people are still not competing with the small car people? Is an expensive computer not competing with cheaper computers? It doesn’t matter, the market is the market. (Oh, and I have more than 3 friends who have a 360 or a PS3 as well as a Wii, and their Wii is more often played. In fact, we used my friends PS3 as a door stop once because we felt bad for it)
At this point, Sony is admitting they are in hot water, because this kind of attitude towards your competitors is awfully similar to what Sega did in commercials with their failing Sega Saturn (they started bashing Sony).
^^I agree. Pretty interesting how Greenberg has been saying the same thing about Nintendo all generation. yet no blogger whines about that. but sony does it?. Of course; ‘Sony is desperate, sony is losing, Sony is screwed,’ etc.etc.etc. is all that comes out of it…
whatever though. I fully understand that its still the ‘cool’ thing to do right now. Bash every move Sony makes regardless of how justifiable it is. Criticize them for giving corporate PR garbage, but sweep it under the rug when any other console publisher does it. Can’t anyone on the internet come up with anything remotely interesting to blog about in the gaming industry?…alright…we get it…Sony sucks…move on…every single article is either why Sony sucks. Or articles apparently trying to tell us that sales are more important than upcoming games. and when its sales related, it comes right back on Sony sucking. its old…
I actually think you’re off the ball here – I’m yet to hear any serious gamer say they can get by with a Wii – they either need a 360 or a PS3 to make their gaming ends meet. However, plenty of gamers get by on just a 360 or a PS3. When I looked at picking up a Wii, I gave it a long, hard look, and then figured I could do pretty much everything I wanted too (apart from Boom Blox – almost but not quite a Wii system seller for me) on my PS2 (don’t underestimate the power or the fun of Eyetoy – I’ve played the Wii at a mate’s place, and I reckon the Eyetoy is easier and more fun – and there’s no need to hold a controller while you’re waving your arms about! Now, motionplus _may_ change all this, but in my experience the Wii is a two-trick pony – and they’re the two tricks of:
a) gimmicky motion controls and a family friendly image (if it hurt their gamecube, may as well make it work for them this time around!), and:
b) Core Nintendo franchises, such as Mario (I’m tipping Mario snooker to come out before the end of the Wii’s life!), Zelda and Metroid.
Trick (a) has sold it to families who don’t buy a lot of games (and by the sound of it, don’t play a whole lot of Wii other than every now and again) – but made it a mass-market _rather than_ a video game product – they buy it for Wii Sports and Wii Fit, and that’s the end of the story.
Trick (b) has sold it to all the Nintendo fans of old, many of whom are a little bitter at the lack of other ‘proper’ games available.
I think it’s quite clear that Nintendo’s financial success has been through trick (a), and that neither the 360 nor the PS3 were _ever_ aspiring to be a relatively cheap family gimmick. That’s not to say they wouldn’t mind some of the market, but they are serious gaming consoles first, and hoping to be appreciated by the casual market second. The Wii, on the other hand, can’t compete with either the 360 or the PS3 for serious games (where’s the Wii Fallout 3, Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge, Red Alert 3, Burnout Paradise – I could go on) – and so, the argument that they are not direct competitors is a bit each way
I’d think of it as breaking up the market into video games – core, video games -casual, and family games (video) – Nintendo have made big on family games (video), and with a good chunk of video games – casual, and a tiny portion of video games – core. Microsoft and Sony, on the other hand, are playing for the core and a bit of the casual market. No-one outsider of Mario’s love interests seriously considers the Wii a core videogaming console, but no-one (outside of Aaron Greenburg) sees either the 360 or the PS3 as a serious casual gaming device at this stage, and even the PS2, while used casually, never got into the family games – video category, which is where the Wii is really making it big.
I play the Wii and only have the wii. Sure the game choices are a little limited but I’m sorry to say that I can just get buy with the Wii plus my computer. The Wii gives you something different that no other console can give you. Sure you may say the controls are “gimmicky” but in all actually they are fun to play. I know what your saying “He’s not a core gamer then” Well I am a core gamer but I’m not the core gamer who needs blood and guts in all of his games. Games like Mario, Zelda, Metroid are all good games, of course made by nintendo. But also CoD:WaW is a pretty strong game on the wii with better graphics than the original X-BOX. Graphics arent everything in a game because sooner or later we are going to have video games that have perfect graphics with no room to improve. But then whos gonna be ahead of the compition when Nintedo has already started to introduce more interactive ways to play games. So IMO the Nintedo Wii is the best console. They have great games they are fun to play and they can satisfy the core gamer who is not all about blood, guts, and arse. Theres my 2 cents .
See the problem right off the bat here is that it was Nintendo that originally stated that they were not competing for the same market as Sony and MS. In recent month even MS has started to pull away from the core gaming audience by making changes to the Dashboard (which is terrible BTW), and annoying garbage such as In the Movies, and Lips (which is just a ripoff of Karaoke Rev & Singstar).
Bottom line is that any gamer that says they like the Wii and can use it as a primary system is lying. The games, generally speaking, are terrible and over simplified. The “Wii” titles games such as Sports, and Play are horrible excuses for games, and both Mario and Metroid were fairly disappointing.
I own all three systems currently and neither my 360 or my Wii ever get turned on regularly. 360 primarily because I’ve had it RRoD too many times and I can’t be bothered to replace it anymore, and the Wii gets turned on when there are kids around.
To Adrian,
I don’t feel that Wii is bad because it lacks gore. Anyone that says it does, doesn’t look at the few AAA games the system has. I feel the system is bad because Nintendo stopped caring about gamers when they made the gamecube and no one bought it. Mario Galaxy was a joke, and Zelda was probably the worst in the series. These are both AAA titles, but they were terribly disappointing titles. When nintendo stops the minigame collections and shovelware compilations I may turn it on again, but until then I’ll go back to playing my PS3
I’m a gamer, not a shareholder or out looking for gimmicks or easy fixes. I see 3 large enough install-bases, and as a part of the smallest one I can say for me & those 18-20m other idiots, I wouldn’t trade my ‘08 game line-up for the 360&Wii games combined. And this year will even better, starting next month…yeah, I prefer to drewl infront of my telly instead of sweating & whatever. And I prefer a supplier with more gamestudios under contract than the other 2 combined. Result: more & more Topnotch AAA übergames. Add reliable hardware…
PS3/XBOX360= Next Gen Graphics, Last gen controls
Nintendo Wii= Last Gen Graphics, Next Gen Controls
I bet my last dollar that Sony and Microsoft will have a controller similar to the Wii either this gen or next. Its funny how these idiots will say that motion controls are a gimmick until Sony and Microsoft rip off the idea and it comes out on their system, than they will be “Oh Sony/Microsoft are so innovative” it makes me sick
I bought a Wii early. I fully enjoyed Zelda, and a handful of other exclusives. I finally got a 360 a little while after finishing Metroid Prime because there weren’t really enough AAA titles coming out on the little white waggle box. However, I still play my Wii fairly often, especially Virtual console games. The 360 naturally gets more play time, but I still consider the Wii a worthy addition to my gaming set up. One main reason for this is because the only place you will ever find Nintendo games, is on a Nintendo console. Full fledged first party games on the Wii are amazing.
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whats wrong with the wii well ill tell you sony ,micrsoft there fans and the industry there you go THATS EXACTLY WHATS WRONG WITH Wii…………..
ps3 sloppy poor reponding out dated 3 gen old dualshock controls and long loadtime stream time bluray and high price thats whats wrong with ps3 poor build quality and loud fan
x360 again long loadtimes stream times a out dated control pad and failing systems poor build quality
nether of the 2 above systems are made by a games company nether or designed with gaming or the future of gaming in mind in sted being media hubs come set top box pc in the home boxes
bluray meaningless to gaming as was cd and dvd
3d mouse 3d motion is 100% gaming tech a bluray is simply not gaming tech
ps3 was built with bluray in mind and media hub pc-ing in mind NOT GAMING same goes x360 its a war box a computer set top box war box to fight the brand playstation against the windows format
THIS HAS SWEET FUK ALL TO DO WITH GAMING ITS 2 CORPERATIONS AT WAR FOR HOME COMPUTING I.E A DO IT ALL SET TOP BOX
nintendo on the other hand built a “”!!”"!!”"games machine”"!!”"!!!”" oh look somebody didnt take there eyes of the goal they understood what a games console IS SUPPOSED TO BE….
from d-pad to wii the industrys standards have always been innovated and set in stone by NINTENDO anyone argues that is arguing 100% true history
3d motion 3d mouse ease and comfort of use fast loading times innovation creation fun imagination is what wii is ITS THE BEST GAMING DESIGN CONSOLE EVER AND ITS THE FUTURE OF GAMING
SONY/MICROSOFT COMPLETELY LOST TOUCH WITH THE GOAL CLEARLY
To the fanboys claiming WIi never gets played.. Yes you are a fanboy..Why? WEll because any REAL gamer already knows that the PS3 is actually the one collecting dust. Two different surveys of homes across the US proved this. Poor software sales also prove it. Wii sales more games than any other console. Just look at sites that track NPD and other sources.
I love how some guy ties the Wii at a “mates” for 5 minutes and comes away so confused about how it works he actually thinks the Eyetoy could emulate it.. Sorry but you’ve never even touched a Wii if you came away with that opinion.
Oh and the ” I got 15 friends that all own a Wii and they all collect dust” Yeah maybe your PSN friends say that but in real life things are not that way. Software sales over all prove thos theory wrong.
The greatest enemy the Wii has is ignorance. Judging by more than a few of these fanboy posts that is one thing PS3 seems to have in abundance.Notice not one single legit reason to not like the Wii was posted by one of them. All opinionated BS with no facts to back it up.
Sony can ignore its competition at its own peril. Fact: Nintendo has made money off of every Wii console sold. Fact: Sony is reporting annual losses for the first time in 14 year due in no small part to the PS3. Money talks BS walks.
damn, while we are on the subject of analogies the wii is like a shitty diaper and the ps3 is like a great gaming system!
Max, you’re retarded. Cars compete with trucks, are you kidding me?? What the hell are you talking about? There’s a major market for trucks that will never be affected by the price/quality/usability of cars. You think some amazing car is going to come out and put trucks out of business? Stupid analogy. As is your analogy about the Wii/360/PS3.
Read Axe99’s post. He’s got your explanation of sales numbers right there.
dude my 10 year old PS2 has better games and graphics than my Wii,
360 =RROD last gen hardware (DVD pish) cheap and nasty have to buy add ons all the time , nuff said
PS3 , NEVER FAILS TO WIRK, ITS QUIET BLYUI-RAY PLAYER IS AMAZING , HAS LOADS OF MEDIA FEATURES AND LOADS OF GREAT GAMES, INCLUDING AL;L THE EXCLUSIVES COMING OUT LIKE SOON ! KILLZONE 2 , GOD OF WAR 3, GT5.
soory dudes after my 360 died again it ws time for M$ to give up making shiity hardware and stick to replacing Vista
So… why do you all care who sells more if you are all big time gamers who can’t possibly get by with a Wii-toy?
Sounds like NONE of you are moms or dads out here in Murica – cause if you were you’d know that we ALL have Wii, we are buying whatever new game comes out (or our kid – under 15 usually – is buiying it with their allowance) and they’re downloading games from the Wii Channel, and BTW they LOVE the old Super Mario stuff, and they aren’t allowed to buy/watch Halo or GTA or whatever it is you all need your big trucks for.
So who cares which sells most? We love the Wii out here, and the numbers over and over prove it, and we don’t care about hig res graphic killing/fantasy etc. In fact, just the opposite, these buyers aren’t ALLOWED to WATCH that stuff yet. so the wii makes is easy for us all. And we moms and dads can play along with our kids which makes it that much better.
When they get older and want to buy a truck that’s up to them. But for now, we have the numbers on our side. Just thought you all needed a little persepctive. We don’t care what “gamers” think/want. You shouldn’t care what we want – they are two different things.
For those who say that the Wii has no hardcore games: that has been true in past years, but look at their list of games for 2009. After seeing how successful the system has been, many hardcore third party games have now jumped on the Wii bandwagon. Yes, the Wii is going to have many hardcore exclusives this year.
All of you should look up the games Monster Hunter 3 and Fatal Frame 4. Those titles are Wii exclusives. The funny thing is, the Monster Hunter and Fatal Frame series used to be PS2 exclusives, but decided that it was too expensive to build games for the PS3 and jumped to the Wii. If the Wii is not the PS3’s competitor, then how is Nintendo able to steal some of Sony’s third party exclusives?
The Ps3 is way to expensive to become a leader.The Wii (my dust collecter)simply has NO TITLES WORTH PLAYING after you play the 2 or 3 great ones.The whole wiimote-chuck sold sepereatly is a joke.The Xbox 360 has titles and the price is right.My launch 360 has gotten at least an hour of playtime since 2005.
It’s pretty obvious who wins in my home,and in the homes of almost everyone i know.lol,Never i have never actully seen a PS3 in a home.
Sony,you want to win? Shut up about MS and Nin and cut your price in half.
By next christmas you will have a bigger install base than the Xbox or the Wii.Undercut them on games by $5 and you win on the title side too.
So stop bitching and get to work.Unless you can’t handle profit by Quantity.But i geuss you never where a company that thought it ever had to cut it’s losses.Oh well see you in next gen.
Sony with the PS3 needs to take a step back and look at Sega. The Dreamcast was the best console of that generation, and bad pricing, bad marketing, bad support led Sega out of the console business. Sony wont be going that route anytime soon, but Sega never recovered from their mistakes, and it took them several years to admit their mistakes.
Wow good research. I agree with you there Sony lost a lot of respect when they sit there and have bad sportsmanship. It’s funny with every “upgrade” for the PS3 it actually get seriously downgraded and just adds a bigger HD to keep people from realizing it’s no longer backwards compatible. Then for the Xbox 360 hell i’ll get that and keep a Wii because they are the best combination the 360 i’ll get for the FFXII (lol looks like Sony will loose this round), and maybe even their Fable II game and that game that was shown at CES ‘09 that lets people program. The Wii got’s a killer ‘09 line up Hell I’m saving up for the Rune Factory: Frontier, MadWorld, The Conduit, and Deadly Creatures. The other two (PS3 and Xbox 3360) offers pretty much the same thing and if Nintendo would’ve went that way it would be really hard to tell what the hell just happened and get boring with game damn quick.
Anyone who says that Nintendo is a Family Oriented console is fucking blind or stupid because Nintendo has always been Family Oriented ever since the NES it might have lost with the N64 but it was because it was expensive to buy and design for. Then the GameCube just didn’t really hold up to what it can do because it didn’t have a good third party support because of the size difference. The Wii on the other hand re-establishes it’s footing because of it’s “gimmiky” controls but i don’t see how it is “gimmiky” because it’s the perfect FPS console pick up The Conduit and tell me if the controls are bad or if it’s a gem.
Nintendo from what i know always trys new things first such has;
NES – From what i know is the first console to have a Wireless controller, using infer red technology, and a control bad period.
N64 – very first console to have 3D technology and the first game to use 3D, Mario 64, and allowed 4 controllers without the need of a third party technology.
GameCube – using small disk to counter Piracy and the use of First party wireless controller (wave bird).
Wii – Very first motion controlled, controller in 3d space and able to watch original TV shows, shows created by Nintendo, for free, it will be released in 2009.
You’ll find that all 3 companies don’t consider the PC as I direct competitor even though the PC plays games. The PC doesn’t target the same market, you can’t compare products that compete for different markets. Thats like comparing sales between movie dvd and music cd. If M$ and Sony compare the Wii to their consoles in the market M$ and Sony target, you’ll find Nintendo has nothing to show as this arket is domiated by M$ and Sony.
Eventually Sony will come outr on top and when the price is low on the PS3 like how the PS2 was, casual gamers will come flocking over, then lets compare the markets.
@wolvesgod
NES did have wireless pads although not very good as range was poor and you needed to maintain line of site with the game.
Wasn’t Tombraider in 3d back on the PS1. Also Doom was 3d and came out on the PS1 and 3dO before N64. Unless you mean 3D as in using the plastic red and greed glasses?
THe PS1 had a motion controller and the game ironically enough that used the motion in this vid was the first WarHawk on PS1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep8DRXJpA9Q
the controller was released in 1999 by pelican.