‘Dusty Wii’ meme gets the final nail in coffin it so richly deserves
Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 at 11:03am by Jack
According to Nielsen, which released a similar study earlier this year, the Wii comes in third behind the venerable PlayStation 2 and the Xbox 360 in terms of console usage.
Oddly enough, but no surprise given its current struggle, the PlayStation 3 checked in just above the GameCube cube with 7.7% to 4.4%, but behind the original Xbox at 9.1%. Yes, read that again. The “failure” that is Nintendo’s purple cube is nipping at Sony’s heels (quotes used because, as a profitable system, it’s silly to call the GameCube a “failure”).
Now, not that there was any real doubt, but the Wii is, apparently, not as dusty as the cacophony of dissenting Internet voices would have us believe. I know mine’s got a work out this past week thanks to de Blob and Wario Land: Shake It!
Note: The study is for the period Jan-Oct 2008, and did not track portables.
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:19 am
I play games on the Wii all the time. I too get tired of every website having 100 poster saying “My Wii is gathering dust. I haven’t touched it since a year ago.”
It’s kind of your own fault. Quit acting like there’s nothing to play unless you have purchased every good Wii game available. Most people haven’t, yet they offer the same tired plea.
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:20 am
Umm, the way this reads is that more game minutes were played on X system (to rephrase your words “in terms of overall console usage”), not that the per capita play is greater. So it makes sense that the consoles that have sold more have been played more. This doesn’t really mean that Wii’s are or are not collecting dust.
Besides, it’s all b.s. until they release their methods.
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:32 am
if it weren’t for wiiware and virtual console my wii would be gathering dust, but not because there are no games, merely ’cause I can’t afford them at the moment, the downloadable games are perfect to keep me on my wii though with them being pretty cheap and all.
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:38 am
my wii collects dust but that’s just because i don’t use the gamecube doors on top of it that often. i use my wii very much though.
January 3rd, 2009 at 12:28 pm
“Besides, it’s all b.s. until they release their methods.
”
True. Stats are fun, aren’t they?
January 3rd, 2009 at 1:10 pm
How do they even track console usage? Did they poll people?
January 3rd, 2009 at 1:16 pm
I don’t like it when the methods of coming up with statistics aren’t revealed.
What’s even more annoying is that they’re including earlier-gen systems.
There’s too much data really missing – and there’s no definition of “usage minutes”. How do they get a percentage?
The “answers” may be revealed to us here, but all they do is generate a ton of questions.
This study should never be used to determine the success of a console currently in use.
January 3rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
nielson distributes boxes to families across the nation who are paid to use the box when they use their television. the box will record who is watching, including number of guests, and what they are watching/doing (movies, tv, gaming, etc). people are paid to participate based on time of participation.
i bet that’s where this comes from. it’s cool b/c they can see what preferences individual household members have, as well as any guests placed individually in the box.
i think many people do use their wiis, and also many people have been disappointed this year with their wiis. for me, my personal (non-forum related) observation is that the casual gamers love their wiis, at least for a time, and the more traditional crowd is a bit miffed this year or simply doesn’t care for the wii at all.
January 3rd, 2009 at 3:59 pm
clarification: paid based on time in program, not based on usage
January 3rd, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Considering the amount of software available for the Wii and the millions of units sold it has over the 360 it looks like the “internet cacophony” was right. Folks are playing the 360, and PS2 more, and by a pretty sizable margin. No surprises here.
January 4th, 2009 at 1:36 am
@DaveRage,
You may want to do some research to help resolve your ignorance on the issues you choose to comment on. At the time this data was taken, Jan-Oct 2008, the 360 was actually in the lead in user base 7 out of the 10 months tracked.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/wii-passes-xbox-360-in-us
360 has also had more games released due to it being out a year longer. Keep in mind, these numbers are Neilsen and therefore US only. So, what was that you were saying again?
Everyone knows the 360 is the console of the “hardcore” gamer. The people buying 360s are more likely to sit on LIVE for hours on end. With the larger install base most of this year and HUGE AAA titles like CoD4 and Halo 3 still burning up the minutes on LIVE, it’s only natural the 360 leads the Wii in play time. I’m actually surprised it’s as close as it is. I’m also surprised the PS2 is still the undisputed playtime king.
This story ABSOLUTELY destroys the “dusty wii” meme, but people like daveRage will never admit it. It hurts them to do so.
January 4th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Damn it! I was hoping this meme would continue so Line Run 10 could continue to proclaim that other funny meme about those who spew the “My Wii collects dust” meme (and I’m paraphrasing here):
“You bought a Wii just to threaten it! So you could take pictures of the dust threatening the Wii!”
That just made me laugh for hours on end.
January 4th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
UsedCisco –
You’re so right. My friends and I avoiding the Wii for months on end is a serious delusion, we’re actually secretly playing it every night! Give me a break.
The reality is this, many core gamers who bought a Wii do end up ignoring it for long periods of time while the casual crowd continues to play games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit just like college kids continue to toss bags w/o getting sick of em. This is exactly what the Nielson data reveals.
January 4th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
@Dave,
Nice try. I dont care about your friends. I’m sure you and your buddies are representative of the whole world right? Wrong. My friends and I are core gamers and play the hell out of our Wii’s along with the PS3 and 360. Now what do we have beside conflicting anecdotal evidence?
And it doesn’t matter anyway. Your comment was making bullshit excuses saying that Wii was only played more because it had a larger install base.
To Wit:
“Considering the…millions of units sold it has over the 360 it looks like the “internet cacophony” was right.”
I pointed out that you were factually wrong so you changed your story. Simple and convenient as that. It’s sad that people feel the need to make shit up to try to spin console data to look a certain way. In this case, you felt the need to try to confirm the meme that’s proven false by the FACTS. I have no idea what motivates you do that but its sad.
January 5th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Oh, SNAP!
January 5th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Cisco –
What about this figure do you not understand? People ARE playing the 360 more than the Wii, thats all I’m saying. Obviously its no suprise the Wii is ahead of the PS3 b/c a large chunk of the install base bought it to watch Blu Rays. This gen, core gamers gravitated towards the 360 and clearly they are playing it more than the Wii.
Xbox 360 (18.3%)
Wii (13.5%)
January 5th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
[...] [Via Infendo] [...]
January 7th, 2009 at 12:05 am
@Dave,
I DO understand the figure. What part of me proving you wrong did you miss. For the cheap seats….
“Considering the amount of software available for the Wii and the millions of units sold it has over the 360 it looks like the “internet cacophony” was right.”
No, it’s wrong. If this report is compiled from data Jan-Oct 2008, most of that time period the 360 had a larger US install base (the wii didn’t pass the 360 in the US until late July of this year. Therefore the 360 SHOULD have more hours played. Is this sinking in yet? If you still don’t get it, I can try to find some crayons. Blue, do you like blue crayons?