Poll - Halo 3 vs Wii
Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 11:01pm by David
Wii is constantly sold out, but more systems are promised before the holidays. Halo 3 is out soon and pre-orders are through the roof. With only a week until the release of what could possibly be the biggest Xbox 360 release so far, we ask:
Will Halo-mania slow down the Wii phenomenon?





September 18th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
If Halo 3 does has a major effect on Wii sales, that should make everyone reconsider who is actually buying the Wii.
September 18th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Mindshare? Yes.
Sales? Not really.
September 18th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Yes. All the grandma’s and grandpa’s and all of those other non-gamers that are now leaning slightly more to the casual-gamer side will all run out to the store to get their Elite and pre-ordered copy of Starship Troopers 3. Good question.
September 19th, 2007 at 12:01 am
If Nintendo truly is selling to the (and I know you guys hate these broad stereotypes) casual gamer, then it wouldn’t affect sales that much (probably not at all).
If the sales ARE effected by Halo 3…that would definitely show us who is really buying Wiis, as samfish said.
I would be interested in seeing how much Halo 3 would effect a game such as Super Smash Bros.
September 19th, 2007 at 12:05 am
The people who want Halo 3… already have a 360
September 19th, 2007 at 12:06 am
I think it will. Everyone has been saving for Halo 3 for a long time. There’s a lot of money going into this game from the gaming community in general. It might not be terribly significant, but it’ll happen either way. I’ve decided to wait, mostly because I’m not interested in buying a 360 right now. Too much money.
September 19th, 2007 at 12:12 am
Everyone wants Wii. Only hardcores want Halo 3. Done.
September 19th, 2007 at 12:20 am
Of course, Halo 3 main-ia will slow down the Wii sales, but just for a few weeks.
Then, I predict business as usual.
And as we know, business is GOOD for the Big N.
I cant wait for Halo 3.
I will have to finish Prime 3 soon!
September 19th, 2007 at 2:25 am
Agreed with Dan… The idiots who want halo 2.5 HD edition already have a 360 and crackdown and bioshock and VIVA PINATA!!!
September 19th, 2007 at 2:33 am
I say those who will buy Halo 3 already own a 360 and thats the majority the Wii will sell as usual 350k/400k a month. I dont see any indication for the Wii to slow down for the month of september..
Halo 3 will sell in the millions as a software…I dunno but I dont see the 360 surpassing the Wii in sales in a month , the 360 needs to sale 400k to match the average Wii sales and atleast 500k 360 to surpass it in the same month..
September 19th, 2007 at 4:06 am
The truth of the matter is, those who want Halo 3 bought their 360s a while back, just to be safe.
Well, not exactly. What I mean to say is what’s been said three or four times now: those who want that game already have the system. So I voted “no.”
But let’s be honest. A game as big as Halo 3 will have an affect on just about everything for its first week. It’s to be expected. Still, I don’t think the impact will make as much of a crater as others might.
September 19th, 2007 at 6:37 am
I wouldn’t mind having halo 3, but I own no 360. There are plenty of people I know like this.
This blows half of your comments out of the water. I’m a hardcore gamer with a wii, and I’m fine with that, my pc is my platform of choice.
September 19th, 2007 at 8:16 am
I own a 360, and I won’t be getting Halo 3. Maybe I’ll rent it. Maybe. I just don’t care for multiplayer FPSes. And the solo in Halo is okay, but nothing like Bioshock or Prime 3.
September 19th, 2007 at 8:44 am
I’m going to go out on a limb (ok, so if you know me then this isn’t much of a stretch at all) and say that Halo 3, comparatively speaking — and not just compared to the Wii — will be a mild disappointment. *Maybe* 5 millions units sold after 6 months. For all that’s been spent on this game, that’s a disappointment if it bears out that way.
I’d argue that Gears of War, which was hot for a few weeks then cooled off (in sales — it’s still number one online game on 360 though, so…) is a much bigger win for the 360 and for Epic, the developer.
Seriously, g4 is devoting an entire 8 hours of programming to it, and there’s a frickin’ gamer soda for Halo. The hype is too much for what it actually is.
Plus, as has been said already, those who want Halo 3 have the system already. If anything, Halo 3 will solidify the 360 hardcore base and define the system for what it is — a system for very, very passionate gamers who enjoy a certain type of game.
September 19th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Actually, I doubt if you would even be albe to tell if it had an affect or not. Right now it is still almost impossible to get a Wii unless you either get very lucky, or you do your homework. For example, Let’s say that every 10 minutes 10 people around the country ask about getting a Wii, and only 3 of them actually are able to find one. Now, let’s suppose that Halo 3 is so phenomenal (I’ve never played any of the games, so I have no idea), that instead of 10 people asking every 10 minutes for a Wii, only 7 or 8 people are asking. That still won’t change how many are actualy able to find one. Unless you find a way to get the demand for the Wii down so low that stores can finally keep them on their shelves, it would be impossible to know if the demand has lessened or not.
I’m sure that Halo 3 will sell it’s millions of copies, and give a boost to the XBox (which as a Wii fan, I’m all for - I think that competition is the best way to see newer and greater games come out for the Wii). But whether or not it will affect Wii sales is really going to be impossible to see (maybe a slow down of Wii games sales could be seen, but not of the system itself)
September 19th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Did Wii sales drop after Bioshock?
Did Wii sales drop after the 360 price cut?
Did Wii sales drop after the PS3 price cut?
Did Wii sales drop after any positive thing that has happened for either of the other two?
No.
Connection? Not so far.
September 19th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
no, i think they are different markets that are being pursued.
September 19th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
as i have said before Fck Halo…
I have a elite, since all the other FPS i play online will most likly start slowing down, I can say I will pick up Halo for that reason and that reason only I could never get into that game, and I hate anyone that says that it has the best story line ever…what about Super Mario RPG, or lets make it sound easier any other game that was ever released?
September 19th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
I chose “No”:
- Wii is a console, not a game, and its sales won’t be affected by the sales of a game;
- The reasons behind buying a Wii are very separate and independent from the reasons to buy Halo 3, so they won’t compete with each other (it would be like asking whether the sales of roast beef will affect the sales of widescreen TVs… only because maybe people who bought a fridge won’t buy a widescreen TV… no connection!)
My prediction:
- Halo 3 will be the best-first-week-selling game of all time;

- Halo 3 will be, for most gamers, a disappointment, since it can’t possibly match its hype (not for me, though, I have tried to stay away from the hype!);
- MS will see a slight increase in the sales of the 360 for the next couple of months or so, mostly because of Halo 3 (I bought my 360 a couple of weeks ago just for the game, for example);
- In overall sales, Pokémon Diamond/Pearl will still outsell Halo 3 and every other game that ever existed;
- I will still get pwnd and verbally humiliated every 9 out of 10 online Rumble games I play on Halo 3…
September 19th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
I consider myself a hardcore gamer, yet I do not own a 360. I want Halo 3, and own the previous two, but I have not beaten the single player campaign in either of them as I didn’t find it nearly as compelling as the multiplayer modes. So the bottom line is I can wait, as attractive a game as Halo 3 is, it’s still not worth my investment in a 360. I’m sure I’ll get one in the next year or so, and will enjoy Halo 3 for what it’s worth, but at this point it’ll never exceed the hype.
September 19th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
I voted for no.
Will Halo 3 have an effect on Wii sales? Not a chance.
Will Halo 3 have an effect on 360 sales? Probably.
As has been mentioned the two consoles are in different markets (not entirely I don’t think, games are games at the end of the day, but still far enough removed for it to be a factor) as a result, the hardcore who have bought their 360’s will snatch this game up and the semi-hardcore who have been waiting for Halo 3 to come out will buy their consoles now - giving a slight, temporary boost to 360 sales.
None of this however, I don’t reckon, will affect the Wii.
September 20th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Also take in consideration that Halo 3 is the closest thing MicroSoft has to the Wii phenomenon, in that Halo fans play the games not because we think these are the best games out there, but because they have become a lifestyle, a place to get together. Like teenagers in a shopping mall.
Come to think of it, Halo multiplayer is exactly like a shopping mall for teenagers, but without the security guards. And you will find a lot of them hanging out there, too…
I’m willing to bet that MicroSoft makes far more money from the Halo franchises and purchases related to Halo than from the games themselves!
September 20th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
As a few people have touched on, we’re talking about entirely different markets. The Wii has more casual, offline games. Halo 3 is a hardcore, online game. Yes, it has a solo mode, but gamers put in the most hours with the online multiplayer (by far).
A far more interesting topic to discuss would be the one of Halo 3 online vs. Smash Bros. online. Admittedly, I feel Halo 3 will have a far greater online presence than any Wii game we’ll ever see.
September 21st, 2007 at 8:11 am
This weeks sales number in US (I know it’s from VGchartz…get over it, they’re actually pretty good)
Anyways, 360 made a jump towards the Wii sales wise, check the pie chart at the lower half of the page.
http://www.vgchartz.com/aweekly.php?date=39341
September 21st, 2007 at 3:24 pm
As dlindema just pointed out, I might have to eat my words and retract… Halo 3 might have given the 360 sales a big boost, as I predicted, but Wii is losing ground! THAT I didn’t see coming:
http://blog.compete.com/2007/09/19/xbox-price-cut-match-wii-demand-ps3/
The “analysts” are blaming it on the 360 price cuts, but I say it is all Halo love, baby!
September 29th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
halo 3 looks like the only game i would want to play on xbox 360. if this one game alone could beat down the wii sales (which doesnt make sence, who buy s a console for 1 game?), what does that say about xbox360?