Comments on: Microsoft is officially rudderless

By: Te juego o no te Juego

Te juego o no te Juego — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 18:05:45 +0000

[...] Microsoft is officially rudderless Escrito a las 20:05 | Envia esta nota por correo electrónico Por Paola Mejia | Lee más de: Xbox [...]

By: AC

AC — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:20:28 +0000

Flare, you got to remember that wii has been out less than year. the wii is definitely following in the footsteps of the DS in expanding the market. currently there are not that many titles for the new players. wii sports and wii play being a few, making cooking mama with wii music, blue ocean and wii fit on the horizon. if you remember it took DS a few years to get the stellar lineup it has. there is just so much variety in the DS’ lineup that there’s something for everyone. give wii another year.

By: Andrew G.

Andrew G. — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:01:44 +0000

I work at a video store, and I’d reckon %50 of our video game rentals are Wii games. Probably %80 of those Wii owners are “normal people,” non-gamers, yuppies, etc. They usually come in with a bunch of friends asking for the best party games because they just got a new Wiimote, or for a good sports game for their dad, who loves Wii Sports golf, but doesn’t feel like it offers a deep enough experience.

I’d say Nintendo is doing a great job at nabbing new gamers.

By: raindog469

raindog469 — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 01:13:27 +0000

I think it’s safe to say that Microsoft is still in denial. They’ll continue to be in denial for some time, because they are going to own the market in September and possibly October due to Halo 3. As many non-gamers as I know who are into the Wii, I know almost as many people who don’t own any current console who plan on going to EB or whatever for the Halo midnight launch, and buying a 360 and Halo 3.

Couldn’t care less about it myself, but it’s looking to me like that’s what’s gonna happen.

Sony, as long as we’re talking about the other two, has gotten past the denial phase. I don’t know what phase they’re in, but a shiny white PS2 bundled with Singstar and four mics for $150? That’s not denial anymore. Anger (as in cynicism) maybe, or bargaining (as in “if we pretend to make a Wii will you buy us?”), but not denial.

By: deepthought

deepthought — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 01:00:22 +0000

I agree- I mostly see casual gamers buying it. Like my neighbors who only owned a ps2 for karaoke. Now they can sing and bowl.

But who here has seen any data? He’s talking about surveys, we’re talking about people we know. Personally, I’m not ready to change my perception because of his comment, but I’m not writing him off just yet.

As for MS being rudderless. Yeah- I totally agree. They have a great piece of hardware (when it works) and their strategy is ‘wait till Halo 3 & release lame Scene It controller for casual gamers’. Good lord. They’ve pretty much wasted the last 8 months in terms of branding.

By: NinKenDo

NinKenDo — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:04:39 +0000

Jamaces: as others here have suggested, I highly recommend that you get Mario Strikers Charged and Metroid Prime 3. Those two games are more fun than anything I’ve played on the 360 yet, and I do agree that the 360 has some pretty good games.

By: Jamaces

Jamaces — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 19:11:22 +0000

My friends agree with me, Wii was fun while it lasted, we have 360’s as well and still think that it is the superior system over the other consoles.
Sure wii has sold alot of console’s and fast, but where is the software?
Until smash bro’s and super mario come out I doubt i will be purchasing any new games for my wii…even playing my wii for that matter.

By: AdamWade

AdamWade — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:52:56 +0000

Yes, some of the people are new to video games. But I think it’s just as important how many people have returned because of it.

I know many families that haven’t owned a console since the SNES (or even NES) that have bought a Wii. People that totally missed the N64 and GCN. These are the people that are just now marveling at Mario64.

The problem has been the continued unavailability of hardware in getting to the casual market. Do you know how many Wii’s would have been sold last Christmas with all the buzz, how many people would have bought it as a $250 “impulse” gift just for playing Wii Sports at holiday parties.

However, at this point where we are nearing the end of the first year, and now finally all accessories are in-stores and plentiful, I have a feeling this was intentional on Nintendo’s part to make this Xmas season a true second launch. The Wii has grown an incredible library – and a half-dozen blockbuster, system-selling games are due before the Xmas season begins. The kinks have been largely worked out, and if they can get the hardware on the shelves the Wii will have a record season. I hope they’ve been stockpiling the suckers…

By: Fabio

Fabio — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:33:27 +0000

Now InvisibleMan said something I’ve been thinking: are other companies advertising games in non-gaming media? Because EA will not sell Maden if the ads are in gaming magazines/websites only. As far as I know, Nintendo has lots os ads on non-game magazines, tv shows, etc. Maybe more than they do in gaming media.

To sell games for non-gamers, you must advertise where non-gamers will look.

By the way, I do not think “casual gamers” would buy a gaming system. When they do, they crossed the bridge to the “gamers” side.

Best!

By: InvisibleMan

InvisibleMan — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:06:22 +0000

Half the people I know who bought a Wii around here (these are family and friends) made Wii their first console ever, or at least their first console in over a decade.

Having said that, I’ve noticed that most of these “new gamers” bought the Wii with Wii Sports as a complete package: they don’t really see Wii as a game console, but as a Wii Sports machine. They are not thinking about buying new games for it, or at least they are not looking at the game adverts in magazines or TV.

For Nintendo to really expand the market they need to start selling new games to these newcomers. And another Wii Sports won’t cut it, they need to expand the experience. Something like a Yoga or fitness game package, with a new interface controller would do the trick, I think.

Oh, wait… never mind…