That Wii Fad Thing
July 19th, 2008 -- by Augie De Blieck Jr.
Some companies are clueless. They look at the console wars as being between the PS3 and the XBox 360. That’s just a nice way to fool themselves into thinking they’re not losing, though.
Nintendo: Wii Outsells Xbox 360 In U.S. | Game | Life from Wired.com
The Wii has officially outsold the Xbox 360 in the U.S., making it the number-one console in America, Nintendo said Thursday.
Maybe the Wii isn’t just winning the war, but also defining the terms of it? Just a thought.
I mean, Microsoft thinks the Wii is a fad because non-gamers play it. Yeah, it must suck to have your industry actually GROW. . .
July 19th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
If the comics industry has taught us anything, it’s that market growth is a pipe dream. If a bunch of smart executives trying to keep their jobs can’t figure a way how to expand any given market, then no one can. Right?
Wow, that was more cynical than I planned it to be.
July 20th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Not cynical — just spoken as a true comics fan. ;-)
Comics needs a disruptive influence. CrossGen tried, but failed. Maybe it’s manga. I don’t know.
July 21st, 2008 at 8:57 am
Based on the performance of the Nintendo stock over the past couple of years, I can assure all of those Microsoft execs, first hand, that the “Wii game” (as my daughter likes to call it) is in fact, most definitely, NOT a fad!
*sigh* I still miss Crossgen! So happy that Pelletier’s work on GotG is being so well received. It also doesn’t hurt that he is working with a really hot writing team right now in DnA.
July 30th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
You know, maybe the reason that some don’t consider MS and Sony to be losing the console wars to Nintendo is, and this is just my conjecture, because I don’t care….
The guys who make and invest in Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are not competing for the kind of people who are really really really interested the Wiimote.
I know for a fact that the only reason I would buy a PS3 is if the console gets cheap AND MGS4 and Soulcalibur IV are both still in print…. and there are enough games (that I am interested in) to justify the space.
Some items are not battling for the same audience. If the Wii is unconventional, and all evidence says it is, it’s not even participating in the Console Wars, because a lot of people who have Wii weren’t looking for a system that was not like Wii.
Heck, the market for people who won’t buy a video game system for the price of a PS3 or an Xbox 360 exists because those people aren’t included in the market for PS3 or Xbox 360! Look! Different competition.
That’s why guys like me (but not me) think of just Xbox 360 vs PS3 in console wars.