Nintendo is staging Wii shortage to feed popularity hype and inflate stock
By Triston McIntyre
There comes a point in a console’s lifespan at which it is simply ludicrous that it is not available on a day to day basis to whatever consumers should so choose to venture to their local Best Buy or Gamestop to pick one up. Such is the case of the little Nintendo Wii; it just isn’t available like it should be in the U.S. That begs the question: why is Nintendo, the company behind the supposedly hysterically popular Wii console, not distributing enough consoles to satisfy U.S. demand?
As one who has admittedly not been a fan of Nintendo consoles since the days before the GameCube, I haven’t been particularly inclined to take the matter into serious consideration. However, after speaking with a colleague about the possibility of reviewing Wii titles over at Gamer.Blorge.com, I started to do a little digging.
Even non-gamers know that the Wii is perpetually unavailable. In fact, it is widely considered to be the most demanded console ever made. If you want a Wii, you either have to stalk retailers and online vendors day and night, or pay exorbitant amounts to buy them secondhand or from less traditional retailers.
Obviously, as a gamer, I am forced to ask myself exactly why the console is in such high demand. After all, a recent study showed that the Nintendo Wii has the fewest titles given “good” reviews of any console on the market, and most serious gamers don’t even consider the console to be relevant to this generation’s level of console advancement.
There are a few theories floating around as to why this console is less available than Tickle-Me-Elmo that one fateful Christmas not so long ago. The first theory is that Nintendo is essentially shunning the U.S. market because the European market is simply more profitable. Bigger fish in larger quantities for the eager fisherman, as it were. In an interview with The Tribune, analyst Billy Pidgeon said, “There is much more of a battle for Europe…Europe represents the greatest potential for penetration.” The value of the U.S. dollar is deplorable, and the current economic recession isn’t very attractive for manufacturers looking to compete with big names like Sony and Microsoft.
A second theory holds that Nintendo can’t legitimately meet the overwhelming demand for the Wii. There simply aren’t enough factories or enough workers to meet the worldwide demand for such an amazing little game machine. The console appeals to a larger group of consumers than standard game consoles, so obviously, there is a greater demand.
With the console being “on the market” for nearly 2 years now, the above theory seems more like Nintendo hype than anything; if either Microsoft or Sony hadn’t produced adequate consoles in that same time period, there would be an angry uprising. I refuse to believe that Nintendo is unable to meet the demand.
The third theory has more underhanded implications than the first two. Some believe that Nintendo is creating a demand by simply withholding consoles it could easily distribute so as to continue the hype of it being an amazing console (and thus prolonging a circular creation of shortage), and to boost quarterly sales numbers. GeekSugar reports that Nintendo is exceeding its monthly sales goals for the Wii, and suggests that Nintendo is simply stockpiling consoles above and beyond those goals to force demand.
The longer Nintendo withholds consoles from the public, the more the media will portray it as some sort of amazing unit that you should sell your kidney to purchase, if need be. In that way, demand will grow, Nintendo will supply just enough consoles to walk the fine line between non-distribution and adequate circulation, and Nintendo stock will soar.
Though it might be a sound business strategy, creating and maintaining demand runs the risk of being simply unethical. What does that say about Nintendo, if it is able to distribute enough consoles to make consumers happy, but isn’t doing so only to inflate the hype around the console as well as stock prices?
The fact of the matter is that the Wii is a virus being spread purposefully by Nintendo. The media has duped the public into believing the console is something more than it is, and non-gamers are eating it up. By withholding consoles from the public, Nintendo is getting fat and rich of a manufactured lie. Waving a Wiimote around might be fun for a short while, but I refuse to be one of the duped masses that spreads the virus any further, thank you very much.
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Stumble It!
May 3rd, 2008
I’m not so sure Nintendo wouldn’t rather have the cash than the virtual hype. I was watching the grandkids play with theirs at Christmas, and the old duffers were playing tennis and such. Wouldn’t have happened with a joystick. The profit being made is probably not going to Nintendo.
It’s probably the law of minimum in action.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebig’s_law_of_the_minimum
May 3rd, 2008
I certainly believe that third speculation more than anything else. But what happens when the Wii bubble bursts? I still don’t think it will matter because the console will plummet in price, do to the millions of warehoused Wii’s, and there will be another rush to purchase. They will unfortunately win out either way, they are admittedly selling each Gamecube at a profit and it is probably substatial. My wife wants a Wii but not so much as to literally make me bend over backwards to get one. With the lack of consistently good titles coming out from anyone other than Nintendo there is no way that this can last much longer can it?Oh, and I meant to say Gamecube, that’s basicaly all it is isn’t it!?
May 3rd, 2008
LOL @ Makidian!
:-)
Well, back to Mario Kart for me. Not that I don’t like my PS3 and 360.
Ooops, no Mario Kart. The De La Hoya fight is coming on!!
May 3rd, 2008
Nintendo would much rather have the cash than the virtual hype. This is nothing more than a blog post by somebody who’s bitter about the Wii’s success.
Further, the so-called author said it “begs the question”. Learn to speak English. “Begging the question” is a logical fallacy, and unrelated to this. “Raises the question” is the proper way to say this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question
What else do we expect from people who write angry blog posts about a video game system?
May 4th, 2008
Hey einstein why dont u check out how many “good” reviews are in the ps2 line up compared to the “crap”. How many casual games are on the ps2 ?? Singstar, Eyetoy, Buzz…plus the movie tie in crap like shrek, bratz movie, matrix, transformers, rugrats blah blah blah. I mean are you serious>? Kids buy consoles (or their parents for them). They love singstar, thats why the ps2 sold so much. Not coz of their overloaded FPS’s and Free roaming gangstar games. The most popular machine will always have the most crap on it.
Its a simple fact, look thru history. And if the “hardcore” gamers are the ones who buy all of these machines, like you say coz they are apartently the only ones that play games, then the 360 and ps3 should be outselling the wii. So the obvious fact here is that there are much much much more people who could care less about HD games and prefer to have “Fun” (u rememeber that word dont ya) with there games instead of obssesing over the HD quailty.
Your quote – “if either Microsoft or Sony hadn’t produced adequate consoles in that same time period, there would be an angry uprising”
Well you dont have to worry bout that coz im sure with the lackluster sales im sure that they have plenty left on the shelves to last quite a few years (u know coz there are so many left over each shipment that they just keep pile’n up).
So before i go, i would like to tell u to think before you type. “Hard-core” gamers are not the only ones that buy games. Tell me as a hardcore gamer that u are, do u own singstar? And play it every day? Because from memory those games always top the charts (and shrek and bratz..im sure u own em all) and from what u say only the hardcore keep systems afloat…but from what i seen it has ALWAYS been the casuals that outnumber the “Hard-cough-Core” gamers.
May 4th, 2008
To point out, there are no *quality* titles being released for the Wii.
Shovelware garbage, the console is offering nothing more than gimmicks, gimmicks in the form of “wii-remote”. Had it not been for the “wii-mote” this console would have been as “successful” as the N64 and gamecube..lol, pause for laughter!
Its funny that a crappy bundle of S is managing to sell as well as it is, while actual great consoles like PlayStation3 & Xbox360, supporting everything from dvd to hd movies and gaming are being outpaced by something as gimmicky and pathetic as the wii.
Im not 8 years old, nor am I 80…hmm, looks like I’ll be sticking to PS3/X360…ACTUAL consoles, peace kiddies.
May 4th, 2008
These articles are so over redundent, every few months someone thinks hey Nintendo is holding out and not selling all their consoles, anyone who know business knows that you want to sell as many as possible as quickly as possible, so holding stock back would meen less money now and a gamble for the future, hoping people will still be interested later. That is not a good business decision, and of the 3 main videogame companies, the only one that is always profitable is Nintendo, so lets no try to disect their money making process because no matter what you assume they are doing, they make profit and thats the only reason a company exist in the first place. As for its popularity spreading like a virus, maybe its because its actually fun to play no matter how old you are, did you ever think that, no it doesnt have enough adult games or hardcore games or blah blah blah is the excuses, well people get over it, its here to stay and you either want it or dont end of discussion !!! And to claim it doesnt have good games,try Mario Galaxy,Super Smash Bros Brawl,No More Heroes, Guitar Hero 3,Mario Kart Wii,Okami,Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition,Metroid Prime 3,Zack and Wiki, etc, any real hardcore gamer likes all genres not just adult games and sport games !!! Plus the price is right and thats a main factor wehn selling consoles and games, the system is cheaper and the games are cheaper which obviously help sale wise. So please before we continue this argument think before you speak !!!!
May 4th, 2008
“The longer Nintendo withholds consoles from the public,”
Buy they’re not withholding consoles. Didn’t you see last months NPDs? They sold something like 720,000 in a month, more than the 360 and PS3 combined if I remember right. Thats not a supply problem. That’s for sure. Thought I do believe they were padding the european shipment because the dollar is weak. It only makes sense, they would be silly not to.
@Makidian,
Don’t worry buddy, there’s no bubble to burst. Based on the NPD’s the Wii’s attach rate has really climbed, people are buying lots of software for it now so the whole “nobody is using it” meme should be dead by now. Just admit it, the thing is a huge success. It’s as simple as that.
May 4th, 2008
So…
Nintendo’s doing really well.
This could be caused by a few things.
One possibility is that there is a false shortage.
Ergo, that means Nintendo is definitely witholding units.
Since casual gamers, a huge demo for Nintendo, pays no attention to how a game scores, the fact that the Wii has low scoring games means it shouldn’t sell. Did you at least think this through and try to make unbiased arguments?
May 4th, 2008
@right…:
Please kill yourself. Nobody cares that you’re crying because your precious graphics powerhouses got beat by the Wii. Go cry somewhere else.
May 4th, 2008
idk why evryone says the wii-mote sucks. i mean a lot of great games use it and its not a “manufactured lie” as u said watever back to my wii
May 4th, 2008
idk y ppl say the wiimote sucks i mean a lot of great games use it to its full extent idt its a “manufactured lie” as u said watever bac 2 my wii
May 4th, 2008
srry 4 duplicate
May 4th, 2008
Not true. Nintendo’s own employees have been put on a strict Wii system purchase limit. Demand is just high and supplies to make the consoles are short worldwide. Even Boeing is having trouble procuring screws and fasteners for the 787.
May 4th, 2008
You can’t believe that Nintendo is still suffering from a shortage, but that doesn’t mean that it may not be true. You have no factual support for your claims, you are just stating your opinion. With no evidence to support your assumptions–whether true or false–your article becomes just another piece of internet garbage.
May 4th, 2008
“As one who has admittedly not been a fan of Nintendo consoles since the days before the GameCube, I haven’t been particularly inclined to take the matter into serious consideration.”
Why not just say
“As someone who hasn’t really given this matter any thought, buts hates the brand, I’ll just blog some hate mail.”
I am just about done with articles linked through N4G, related to Nintendo. It is almost exlusively negative, and smacks of sour grapes from people who are sooking because their preffered system isn’t on top right now.
May 4th, 2008
whoever wrote this article is a stupid fuck.
Seriously
May 4th, 2008
What a hideously ill-informed blog.
You raise three possible reasons as to the shortages of Wii stock, then simply decide to ignore the first two and declare the third as fact because it fits better into your “Nintendo is immoral” agenda. You then proceed to dedicate the rest of your blog to the third possibility as if we’d all now established that this was without a doubt the right one just because you said so.
What makes you such an expert that you know for a fact what the reason is? What gives you the right to completely dismiss any other possibility for stock shortages?
You openly admit to not liking Nintendo, then proceed to go on a rant that tries to make them look bad. Why should your opinion carry any credibility when you’ve already admitted that it’s not an objective, unbiased one?
If you want to act like an investigative journalist, I recommend you actualy investigate before jumping to your own conclusions then falsely giving your blog title a name that suggests fact rather than theory.
I recommend you look at how significantly higher the Wii sales have been compared to those of the 360 and PS3 (and as a result how harder it would be to continue to produce stock).
I recommend you look beyond your narrow-minded “America only” viewpoint and realise how much it’s selling in Europe and Japan too (compared to the 360, which is practicaly non-existant in Japan, and the PS3 which is under-selling everywhere), and how that would also put pressure on production as all regions have to be accounted for.
I recommend you consider that the Wii launched in the three main world regions (America, Japan, Europe) within three weeks, meaning they didn’t have the luxury to completely leave one region in the dark while they put their efforts into supplying other regions. Look at what Sony did with the PS3: Europe didn’t get it until a whole four months later due to “a shortage of diodes used in the Blu-Ray disc drive”. Though of course this wouldn’t bother you because 1) you’re American, and 2) you like Sony.
I recommend you consider the release of key titles which encourage people to go and buy a Wii, further increasing the shortages. In the US, this would mean Super Smash Bros Brawl, in the UK the same is happening with Wii Fit (which has just given Nintendo its biggest-selling opening week in the UK of all time).
Finally, I recommend you actually read comments and interviews given by Nintendo management figures who address the situation and discuss it in great detail, rather than simply deciding to take it upon yourself to take such a complex situation and simplify it to your biased, over-dramatic “Nintendo is screwing the public” hysteria.
You have a lot to learn, my friend.
May 4th, 2008
“…but I refuse to be one of the duped masses that spreads the virus any further…”
Take a hike and don’t let the door hit you on the way out. I promise we won’t miss you.
May 4th, 2008
Try doing a bit of real research for this garbage. The Wii is selling more on a monthly basis than any console before it. Last month it sold more than the 360 and PS3 combined.
There’s a shortage because it’s a VERY popular system worldwide. Do you suddenly expect Nintendo to magically just make more systems out of thin air?
Christ this site is painful to read. It’s like a stroll through NeoGAF.
May 4th, 2008
Wii are sucess. Shut up all sucker lover sony*xbox, nintendo is and will be always lider videgames with most inteligent peoples staff of earth. In memorie of dead of videogames console nec,atari,sega. To future great nintendo
May 4th, 2008
So because the Wii sells better than PS3 and 360 it is a better product?By that logic Toyota’s are better than Ferrari’s and BMW’s because they sell a lot more.The Wii is a great console,but sales don’t mean a better product,it is just targeted at a larger group of people.
May 4th, 2008
Wow. You’re awfully paranoid. And kind of stupid.
Have fun with that.
May 4th, 2008
I think the shortage is artificial. Around the holidays I can understand shortages. But shortages in early May? I refuse to wait in line at 6 am in hopes of buying one or spending twice as much at E-BAY. What a waste of time.
May 4th, 2008
“The third theory has more underhanded implications than the first two.”
“The fact of the matter is that the Wii is a virus being spread purposefully by Nintendo.”
How did you make the leap between theory and fact again?
May 4th, 2008
There are more Wiis available than any previous home console. By a pretty large margin.
http://joshuajamesslone.name/gamecharting/shipmentcompare.php?daydatemode=0&dayend=730&lineweight=2&title=There%20are%20more%20Wiis%20available%20than%20any%20near-launch%20home%20console%20ever.&systemregion%5B0%5D=N64_WW&systemregion%5B1%5D=GCN_WW&systemregion%5B2%5D=Wii_WW&systemregion%5B3%5D=PS1_WW&systemregion%5B4%5D=PS2_WWold&systemregion%5B5%5D=PS3_WW&systemregion%5B6%5D=Xbox_WW&systemregion%5B7%5D=X360_WW
They’ve repeatedly increased production rates over the nearly 1.5 years since launch, and should soon beat the top rates of any previous home console.
May 4th, 2008
1. There are more Wiis available than any near-launch home console ever: http://joshuajamesslone.name/gamecharting/shipmentcompare.php?daydatemode=0&dayend=730&lineweight=2&title=There%20are%20more%20Wiis%20available%20than%20any%20near-launch%20home%20console%20ever.&systemregion%5B0%5D=N64_WW&systemregion%5B1%5D=GCN_WW&systemregion%5B2%5D=Wii_WW&systemregion%5B3%5D=PS1_WW&systemregion%5B4%5D=PS2_WWold&systemregion%5B5%5D=PS3_WW&systemregion%5B6%5D=Xbox_WW&systemregion%5B7%5D=X360_WW
It’s a long link but hope it works.
2. Nobody could forecast the Wii’s huge success, not even Nintendo themselves. They upped the production to 1,8 million per month last August, and from next June-July they will be producing about 2,4 million Wii per month.
http://kotaku.com/383472/nintendo-to-increase-wii-production-to-24-million-a-month
These are record numbers. NO VIDEO GAME CONSOLE HAS EVER SOLD SO FAST SO MUCH SO FAR, not even the DS nor even the current king of home consoles, the PS2.
Talking about artificial shortages when we have hard facts is just plain stupid and ignorant.
May 4th, 2008
At the very least, other retailers know that the wii, for one reason or another, is indeed in uber-demand and they can make a profit off of it. Basically, you can now find wii’s where you normally wouldn’t expect them. For example, in Toronto at least, they sell them at Shopper’s Drugmart (a pharmacy) for the regular price that EBgames (Gamestop), Bestbuy, and etc. sell them for. They sell a world of pharmaceutical products and prescription medicine, and behind the cashier you will find just a handful of wiis, games, and nintendo accessories. For them, it might be better to advertise that they have wiis on sale, cuz no one else seems to know that they are there.
May 4th, 2008
The shortage is NOT artificial. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to look at the NPD numbers. The average store shelf life of a Wii is only 1 hour. The reason they’re hard to find, IS BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE BUYING THEM LIKE CRAZY. Over 700,000 Wii’s sold in the U.S. in March alone. That’s not a shortage, when that many sell in such a short time frame. It just means that as soon as one is put on the shelf, it sells. Period. They can only realistically produce so many Wii’s at a time. They don’t just magically appear out of nowhere.
May 4th, 2008
There upping production from 1.8m to 2.1 million a MONTH and selling the majority of them. How many do the competion make and sell a month?
Exactly, Please if your gonna talk about personal beliefs, name your article title respectfully to your beliefs as that is what they ARE, why does N4G link this crap?
May 4th, 2008
This website is so ps3/x360 fanboyish its not really funny anymore. The likelyhood of nintendo articles on this site being based on facts, are like going to rabid nintendo fansites for unbiased ps3/x360 information :-).
Grow up boys!
May 4th, 2008
WAIT ASECOND SOOOOO D-PADS LONG LOADTIMES PATCH REQUIRING BUGS IS NEXT GEN
AND POLISH PENASHE GREATEST CONTROLS EVER FAST LOADTIMES AND UNBEATABLE INOVATION IS NOT NEW OR NEXT OR THE FUTURE
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
SONY FANBOY ALERT
THE X360/PS3 WAY IS DINOSURE/OLD/OUTDATED/UNEXPANDABLE
NO GAMER SUPPORTS THEM ONLY MIND WASHED TEENAGERS AND FANBOYS
THE OLD WAY IS DEAD THE VWII WAY IS THE FUTURE
SHUT UP FANBOYS
May 4th, 2008
THE IDIOT WAY IS DIEING THE GOD LIKE WAY THE NINTENDO WAY IS THRIVING
AND THATS THE BEST THING FOR THE GAMING INDUSTRY SONY AND BILL WILL DESTOY INOVATION/FUN/INVENTIVNESS AND REPLACE IT WITH A GENERIC MARKET WERE YOU WATCH A MOVIE THEN BUY A GAME VERSION OF IT AND JUST KEEP BASHING BUTTONS
YOUR SO FUKING BLIND AND I FIND IT SO FUNNY THERE DEFENDING D-PADS AND OUTDATED WAYS OF THINKING AGAINST THE GREATNESS AND EXPANSION OF GAMING ON OFFER BY NINTENDO
I-D-I-0-T-S
THE PS3 LOST THE WII WON LEAVE WITH IT
May 4th, 2008
THE IDIOT WAY IS DIEING THE GOD LIKE WAY THE NINTENDO WAY IS THRIVING
AND THATS THE BEST THING FOR THE GAMING INDUSTRY SONY AND BILL WILL DESTOY INOVATION/FUN/INVENTIVNESS AND REPLACE IT WITH A GENERIC MARKET WERE YOU WATCH A MOVIE THEN BUY A GAME VERSION OF IT AND JUST KEEP BASHING BUTTONS
YOUR SO FUKING BLIND AND I FIND IT SO FUNNY THERE DEFENDING D-PADS AND OUTDATED WAYS OF THINKING AGAINST THE GREATNESS AND EXPANSION OF GAMING ON OFFER BY NINTENDO
I-D-I-0-T-S
THE PS3 LOST THE WII WON LEAVE WITH IT
May 4th, 2008
the artical calls wii over hyped in the light of sonys 8 bit era d-pad based controls and ps 1 like long loadtimes i think wii is far more than YOU think it is what an asshole d-pads are the future and advanced 3d point and motion isnt
erm ok look everyone theres a pig flying by and if you sail into the sunset you go of the edge of the world…..
wii offers a depth and a experiance no dualshock 16bit stuck in the past pile of crap can never ever offer
May 4th, 2008
In Europe, there was a rumour that Nintendo secretly stockpilled the Wii to cause a greater demand for it. With Nintendo desperate to go back the the days of the NES and SNES, I’d put my money on it that it was true. The Wii will soon find it’s peak, and sales will start to drop which’ll force a price drop which Nintendo denies will happen. I think game releases will dry up eventually (more so from Nintendo), which we saw with the Nintendo 64 and GameCube…
May 4th, 2008
Selling LESS does not inflate stock.
May 4th, 2008
Its Simple….If you look at the numbers…The Europeans and Japanese DON’T but the PS3/360. Especially the Japanese. They buy Nintendo. Nintendo has tremendous WORLDWIDE sales. Hence the shortage. I’m so sick of these MYSPACE 22 year old Blogger types spewing their vile viewpoint out of jealousy and ignorance. Learn business and do a little research..
May 4th, 2008
I can’t believe this bullshit still gets written. Where, if I may be so bold as to ask, is the evidence that Nintendo is keeping stock low? It certainly isn’t the sales numbers (720k in March – THE HIGHEST EVER FOR A CONSOLE IN A NON-HOLIDAY MONTH). It was reported a while back that Nintendo can produce somewhere around 1.8 millions Wiis a month.
So if 700k went to America, that leaves 1.1 million for the rest of the world. Japan buys about 200k Wiis per month, so that leaves around 900k consoles for the whole of Europe. And they have been buying the Wii in droves.
Again I ask – where’s the proof? Because this all seems like cranky anti-Nintendo crap.
May 4th, 2008
Probably there is something to it… but I can’t believe it because in Europe over here there are whole palettes of Wiis in the stores… I took this picture in December 2007 and every week they have roughly 200 Wiis in stock in this shop alone.
http://ggnxp.com/memex/0454_wii_in_stock/wii_in_stock.jpg
May 4th, 2008
All this story is is bitter Sony fanboys throwing a tantrum because they can’t stand the fact that their beloved PS3 is in LAST PLACE. If you look at the numbers (which, admittedly, I haven’t in the last couple of months), the Wii is outselling the PS3 almost 2 to 1. The reason you can find the PS3 so readily is because NO ONE WANTS IT. The mighty have fallen and I’m glad. So there. For the record, I don’t have any of the newer systems. I’ve pretty much stopped trying to keep up.
May 4th, 2008
“ad it not been for the “wii-mote” this console would have been as “successful” as the N64 and gamecube..lol, pause for laughter!”
Hmm … GameCube sold 22 million units and generated billions in profits. XBox sold 24 million units but lost four billion to do so.
Perhaps you’d like to point me in the direction of your own multi-billion dollar business ventures that exceed GameCube’s?
May 4th, 2008
Here is “evidence” as to why there is a “shortage”:
Do an ebay search for New PS3, XBox 360, or Wii new console one by one and here are the numbers:
wii – 1769
PS3 – 113
360 – 102
Based on these numbers alone, there are nearly 15x more resellers for wii who are buying new consoles off shelves and stocking them before consumers can buy.
Why is the Wii selling so well? Because resellers buy them before consumers and stock them. They have been doing this since launch and will continue for as long as they can make a profit.
This is one for the new Gamer’s Guiness: “First console to have a shortage artificially created by resellers”
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/006104.html
May 4th, 2008
Why the hell do these dumb-ass blogs show up in my news feeds? They are no more news than someone posting “lol wii sux” is news.
May 4th, 2008
Im actually getting sick of hearing this and ive written so many responses to so many of these but I might as well do another one.
Nintendo wants to sell the wii to mum, dad, nan and grandad yea.
Said people are NOT going to look online every waking day and venturing down to GAME, Gamestop or Gamestation every day just to see if ones in stock.
May 4th, 2008
and as some one said before me there are wii’s waiting in stores ready to buy in Europe I know because I live there. Occosionaly they sell out but no wheere near as much as you let on. Im pretty sure the reason why the wii is hard to find in america IS because they do not ship enough untis there
and that becasue of the week dollard. Nintendo barely makes any money selling a wii in america until the dollar goes up in value
May 5th, 2008
This article made me chuckle, because it reminded me of the days of the Gamecube. I’m a Nintendo fan, and I have been for several years now, and I remember many a high school debate where I tried desperately to support the Gamecube. I’d say things about Nintendo actually caring about games, as opposed to Microsoft and Sony only caring about money. I’d point out Kaz Hirai’s taunting statements as support to my theory of Sony being run by arrogant assholes. Nobody cared.
Now, things have come full circle, and Nintendo is once again on the top. And, unsurprisingly, sites run by Microsoft and Sony fans such as this one try to find ridiculous points to attack Nintendo on. I find it amusing because, while I behaved similarly when Nintendo was floundering, that was when I was in HIGH SCHOOL. I guess some people just never leave their adolescent years mentally…
In any case, I guess you guys writing for this site are pretty clever in some respects. You get traffic from both the angry Nintendo fans and the desperate Sony and Microsoft fans, and at the same time you get to vent your immature rants online.
At least your writing is better than it was in the last stupid anti-Nintendo article I read here…
May 5th, 2008
this might be true but i am sure gta4 is sold out too.
May 5th, 2008
This is a load of garbage – there is no point whatsoever in Nintendo increasing production to meet demand because before long the demand is going to dwindle slightly and they will be massively overproducing; if they meet all the demand now then there won’t be quite the same demand in the future so they will be wasting a lot of money. You don’t need a business degree to work that one out.
The Wii does also have some pretty decent games. Wii Fit, Mario Kart and SSB: Brawl are big titles out recently/in the coming months and they are HUGE. Also don’t forget with 3rd Party developers that they all thought the Wii would flop within months, and didn’t ‘waste’ time developing games for it. (Ubisoft was the only one who did).
So, now the Wii is proving a sustained success, more developers are jumping on the bandwagon and beginning to produce games for it. After all, they now realise that they’ll sell games. I’m a hardcore gamer and own a 360, PS3 and a Wii, and I must say that the Wii isn’t that bad at all. It doesn’t compare graphically, but having played Halo 3 and Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, I much preferred Metroid Prime 3 Corruption with its far more substantial gaming time. More titles like this will soon follow.
The writer of this article ought to be sacked. For lack of common sense than anything else – bloggers are supposed to be largely unbiased.
May 5th, 2008
d-pad maxhing on dualshock vs wiimote/nunchuck/classic pad/gamecube pad/wavebird/balance board no contest oviously……….wii fast seamless loading in game vs long pain in the ass ps3 loading the ps3 is ps1 all overagain the x360 is the xbox allover again the wii is all new with gteat retro back play abbilitys bult in the wii focuses on present future and past gaming the ps3 is jack of all trades media hype box and a master of nothing the sony way is OBSOLETE the nintendo way THE FUTURE
May 5th, 2008
I can say that your article is well written. Not only that, but as long as your readers see you as the ultimate source of absolute knowledge, there isn’t a single logical gap. However… I don’t see the signature of God/Jesus/Buddah/Allah, etc at the end of it, so I’m not so sure. If you are one of these or another superior/enlightened beings, please let us know, and I’m sure every one of us who doubted you before will not only admit that you are right but bow down to you and sing your praises. Until such a statement, however, I’m forced to assume you are a dickwad with a grudge.
May 7th, 2008
“With the console being “on the market” for nearly 2 years now, the above theory seems more like Nintendo hype than anything; if either Microsoft or Sony hadn’t produced adequate consoles in that same time period, there would be an angry uprising. I refuse to believe that Nintendo is unable to meet the demand”
That might be a valid point if:
a) Microsoft/Nintendo were selling anywhere near as many consoles.
b) Nintendo’s production hadn’t significantly increased with time. As far as I know they are producing roughly double what they originally were and production has been increasing steadily since launch.
Unless you think you can magically conjure production capacity out of thin air quickly (and without introducing quality issues) the story the numbers tell is rather boring and free of devious plots.
May 8th, 2008
well, it´s the coolest console, and the wiimotes
are The revolution, it´s enought to have a lot
of people wanting one wii.
Gentlemen, it´s a matter of having fun.
May 10th, 2008
alot of Wii Bashers Haters here. the so called “hardcore” gamers are nervous cause Nintendo is now reaching new heights. Not even MS or Sony can claim.
June 25th, 2008
I think this author is obviously a hard-core gamer who is very short sighted. Not all game consoles are made for everyone, and the Wii is certainly not. Hardcore gamers who spend every spare minute playing games are a completely different, and much smaller BTW, market than the rest of the consumer market. There is a HUGE market for this type of system that is child friendly and promotes activity.
There are obviously speed freaks out there who like to race cars and drive the fastest thing they can find. That is one extreme end of the car spectrum. Does that mean any car that does not go 0-60 in 5 flat is a POS? No. Different strokes for different folks.
If you are a serious gamer then buy a serious game console. Don’t think the rest of the world should be repulsed by what you consider an inferior product. The rest of the world does not enjoy sitting on the couch to play games for 6 hours straight. This console is a revelation in that it incorporates activity with the games. If you don’t like it then don’t buy it.
I can’t stand when people come out to stand on their soap box. Here’s an idea; next time you write, try to think in a clear, logical, non-biased manner.
June 25th, 2008
Also, you must not be educated in business. Nintindo would much rather have the money now than the “hype”. Do you know what the time value of money is? See, companies have this little thing called “cost of capital” and for a tech company in Japan it is probably between 15-20%. This mean that every “year” they withhold production they lose 15-20%, b/c they can reinvest that money at that rate.
In addition, while the “hype” theory may have merit consider the power of word-of-mouth and experience. The more people who own consoles the more people who get to try them out. My wife has been bugging me for months to get one, and recently my brother and sister-in-law come over with it. Once playing, I admitted I liked it and we can get it. This is a much more powerful marketing tool than hype.
September 20th, 2008
This is what happens if you buy from the Yakuza Japanese mob.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpei_Yokoi
People say this engineer was murdered in threads like this for a failed product.
https://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=26021.25
December 29th, 2008
” Some believe that Nintendo is creating a demand by simply withholding consoles it could easily distribute so as to continue the hype of it being an amazing console (and thus prolonging a circular creation of shortage), and to boost quarterly sales numbers. ”
Nintendo does this with every product it produces. It always has done. Aside from the general simps and proles that will buy anything shiny and new and a few wierd ‘fanboys’ who were born with genes that make them fat and white and yet who for some reason dream of being japanese, the Nintendo Wii is considered a ‘joke entry’ into the console market. Sure its successful, but only because everyones tolder and granny can play a game with a half life of a few minutes on the bloody thing… its popular but not a good product. I’ve always spent a couple of days playing around with each of nintendo’s consoles to hit the market to compare them to the competitors and have never been impressed with what I’ve found.
January 3rd, 2009
Why can you never find a wii,I really want one but is it really worth the wait,starting to think that ps3 would be just fine at least would’nt have to wait months on end to get one.
March 18th, 2009
I am not a hard core gammer. But logicallly any company would scale up in 2 years to meet the demand.
Nintendo is controlling the supply to keep the demand and the price. Some thing similar to gas price controlled by OPEC.