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View Full Version : The Wilting of the Wii


swivel
October 11th, 2007, 09:12 AM
Being right all the time is exhausting.

Two months ago, I told Morbid that the Wii had peaked, Nintendo is cashing in on the usual franchises (a Zelda, a Mario (soon), a Metroid, a Party, etc...) and that will be all we hear from the system. There are tons of games coming out, and almost all of them are shit. Only the first-party games hold up.

And now, even the Japanese, who made the Wii the phenomenon that it is, are starting to see the bigger picture.

http://www.tech.co.uk/home-entertainment/gaming/games-consoles/news/wii-bubble-to-burst-as-developers-shy-away?articleid=1520736125

One of the prime worries seems to be that, while it's true the Wii has driven up software sales for the industry as a whole, Nintendo has been the only real beneficiary because it has been best placed to analyse demand from early adopters and deliver the hits.
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Other software houses have been less agile and many have ended up with flop titles on their hands. The result for them has been no overall increase in sales compared to the previous year and a reluctance to commit to the Wii platform.
Wii gathering dust?

The report goes on to discuss the likelihood that many Wiis are gathering dust in owners' cupboards, citing one software house president as saying, "People bought it out of curiosity, and it's likely a lot of them haven't used it."

Given that September saw Wii sales fall sharply in Japan for the second consecutive month, it seems reasonable to speculate that the bubble inflated by the novelty factor is starting to deflate, but writing Nintendo off at any stage is a perilous course to steer.

I do love the last line, which is a great way of saving face in the future after taking a massive dump on Ninty's head.

I certainly fall into this camp. The Wii is what my Gamecube was. A system in the back of a closet that I pull out when a big Nintendo-made game hits. I'll play Mario Galaxy on it, and Super Smash Bros., and then their next console will be coming out.

None of this means that the Wii is a failure for Nintendo, they have made tons of money to put into their next console. I just think the console will be seen as a letdown when we look back at the game library in 5 years. It certainly will be seen as a fad, rather than a "Revolution".



edit: The comments section of MaxConsole is pretty lopsided. And this is in the Wii Headlines forum. http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?t=83632

Horrorholic
October 11th, 2007, 10:57 AM
I personally think there are tons of great games coming out for the Wii in the near future, whether they be Nintendo franchises or not. Hell, we even have an untitled Star Wars game next year, which I can only hope will involve me wielding the Wii-mote like a lightsaber.
In any event, I think its a bit premature to say Nintendo blew their wad already. You still can't find 'em in the states.

ZombieBabe
October 11th, 2007, 11:51 AM
Psh'yeah! We got RE: Umbrella Chronicles, the Lego Indiana Jones, the Lego Star Wars Complete Saga (which has oodles of new shit), Sadness, NiGHTS, Raving Rabbids 2...

Ok, I'm just a fangirl. :oops: I'll shuddup now.

Did I mention that I think my babysitter stole RE:4 from me last weekend? I am PISSED. It was there when she arrived. It was not there when she left, and she had strict instructions not to let the kids play it. Between the loss of RE:4 and the untimely demise of my DS, I am in a video game fury. :diablo:

McVain
October 11th, 2007, 12:29 PM
Regardless, I'm still buying one after this holiday season. I NEED the Virtual Console. And I'd take a money shot to the chin to get my hands on Nights (Hell, I might even give up the virgin ass if they put the original nights on VC).

Now, that may seem a bit excessive. But I'm an old Nintendo fanboy from way back in the NES days. And as for Nights, I just love the shit out of that game. It made my Sega Saturn one of my all-time most played consoles.