270°

Nintendo says Wii losing luster but no price cut

TOKYO - Nintendo admitted Thursday that its hit Wii video game console was going through its toughest time yet in the competitive Japanese market, but it said there was no plan to cut the price.

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ChickeyCantor5512d ago

Of course not, Wiisports2, MH~3, DQ, and then some...
Why would they lower the price they are few steps away from a goldmine.

lloyd_wonder5512d ago (Edited 5512d ago )

Monster Hunter is not a guaranteed hit on the wii. It may be as big as the portable games, but it may not be. Pokemon springs to mind, and Monster Hunter on the PS2.

raztad5512d ago

@Sidar

I really want to see how much MH can push Wii sales. MH has been successful on the PSP cause the social aspect on it, I mean Adhoc game parties, Will the Wii version feature that?

Wii first two year sales were explosives, 100+K units/week, right now they never go beyond 18+K, that is around 10-20% MAX initials sales. WiiFit (hugely popular in NA and UK) is barely on the top ten with 2+million units sold TOTAL. My theory is that MOST people interested in the Wii already got one and even big releases as MH couldnt push Wii sales beyond 30K/week.

N4g_null5512d ago

Well lloyd_wonder if MH3 doesn't do it then dragon quest X will. I'm not hearing people complain about Dragon quest yet many are complaining about FF13 on the HD consoles. We are also talking about japan here. They are surely waiting on games. Nintendo has to get other types of games out there or better yet let others get their games out to the public which is what it seems they are doing right now as nothing has been announced. When that happens people will stop buying because most gamers buy on anticipation.

There are games in the works but I'm not sure the public knows them all. In another note the PS3 is beating them by what amount. In the grand scheme of every thing those numbers are not looking all that strong either. You can prop them up with OOOOOOOOOHHHHH the PS3 cost so much and it's still selling. Well hell I still have a job and if I want to get a HDtv today I could but every one else probably can't. Hell lots of people can not even afford a normal tv right now! So think about that before you spin this to seem like the PS3 is going to come roaring back in a friggin recession!

Hey but if you want to believe this then go ahead. It would be a great thing and very inspiring if that very thing did happen, you know how the Wii became a success over night even with the industry basically waiting on nintendo to die?

Sarcasm5512d ago

Pink, Teal, Green, Orange colored Wiis are coming anytime now

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5512d ago
GamerPS3605512d ago

Wii.. I got one but I haven't even seen it over 1 month, let alone playing on it.

Muggles5512d ago

No time because there are too many good games for the other systems. I only turn the Wii on to get rid of the blue light that means you have a new message!

ThatCanadianGuy5512d ago (Edited 5512d ago )

I gave mine to my friends kid.Wii is not my thing..

solidjun55512d ago

It's been about a year since I lend it to him. I played it when MadWorld was released. The game is fun but a bit short. After that, I haven't touched it since.

Shane Kim5512d ago

For those who has the Wii, does the VCON justify the Wii? Couse I want to buy one just for the retro games since I love the classics. Is it worth it or am I doing the worst deal of my life?

Muggles5512d ago (Edited 5512d ago )

Pretty good selection. I like the Sega Genesis offerings. It's also nice to be able to basically pause the game and resume it at any point in the future, even after turning off the Wii. Many if not most of the older games didn't have a battery in the cartridge so you had to finish the game in one sitting or leave your system on for days. Toe Jam and Earl comes to mind. Now I can play it anytime and pick up right where I left off.

A lot of the games are available in compilations on disc for PS3 and 360 now which is a much cheaper way of picking them up. If you prefer a la carte, though, it's hard to beat the Virtual Console.

Torch5512d ago (Edited 5512d ago )

"For those who has the Wii, does the VCON justify the Wii? Couse I want to buy one just for the retro games since I love the classics..."

I'd be hard-pressed to condone buying yourself a Wii if your primary basis is for retro gaming.

If you're into that kind of stuff, you may want to look into using your PC to run emulators among the likes of MAME (arcade), NESticle (NES), Gens, Project64 (Nintendo 64), PCAE (Atari 2600)...and virtually any other console your PC (or PS3-installed-Linux???) is able to handle; the emulators are out there for virtually every console you can imagine. Matter of fact, if you're really feeling brave: There already exists an emulator for the Wii which goes by the name of Dolphin...and yes, WITH Wiimote support.

Needless to say, it's generally deemed illegal to possess and run ROMs unless you own the original game...which I'm sure you likely already do.

Emulators are SO much more superior and versatile than the virtual console. And the price Ninty charges for each individual Blast-from-the-Past is on-par with a lot of leading-edge, current-gen quality stuff you can get off of PSN. If I had to pay Nintendo for the hundreds of ROMs I'm running off of emulation - for which the original cartridges I already own, BTW - I'd be flat broke.

That said: Until the recent release of MadWorld and HOTD: Overkill, my Wii's been collecting dust almost since I bought it at launch. Thankfully, MadWorld has breathed new life into the unit, but every time I make a commitment to turn it on, my shiny PS3 winks at me and easily wins me over time and time again. I'm hoping that the upcoming Motion-Plus add-on will help to whet my appetite for Wii gaming...but for the past two years it's pretty much been a paperweight.

Strangely, I don't regret having purchased it, and haven't been able to get myself to sell the damn thing despite my reluctance to play it.

N4g_null5512d ago

Torch emulators are buggy and are coded by people that actually state on their sites that if you get a virus or if your id is stolen then it's not their fault. You are running a program that can run alter roms which means they can also be hacked to run guess what worms, malwares, trojans, and then on top of that lord help you if you get caught with 2,000 or even a 2 roms you don't own. Yeah they don't put a lot of people in jail for that but just remember every thing does not make the news.

Also if some thing happens to the game you own it and can redownload it and actually use the real controller in most cases. I'm sure you don't really care if people go to jail but another thing is most emulators can not even play stuff like mario kart, star fox and other select games correctly, while they run perfectly on the Wii.

Do your self a favor and download a bunch of emulators and a few roms, in 2 months your PC will start slowing down LOL. Soon your drive will be corrupt, also burn those games on a disk too and keep trying it. You will get the same results because you are actually running the program LOL rather than it high jacking your system. You ever notice that norton can not stop any thing packed in a game rom, we actually tried it out! It is simulating thus faking another system. I mean if that sounds secure to you then go right ahead! If you actually own the game it would be nice if nintendo or some one offered some form of in store credit for the physical trade in but that's not what the elua agrees to most of the time.

SaiyanFury5512d ago (Edited 5512d ago )

@Scissor_Runner

I've been running emulators and ROMs for over a decade and I've yet to encounter a single virus, trojan or any piece of malware. Sure if you go to sites that are less than reputable, then expect to encounter such things. Go to cleaner, more reputable sites and you'll never have a problem. I couldn't buy a Wii just for the virtual console. Emulators are far superior as well as having better graphical filters that dramatically clean up graphics and things. Hell, MAME alone is a reason to run emulators so you can play all those classic arcade games. If you want to use a controller, simply go down to your local Best Buy or Radioshack and buy a PC controller. Emulators support them fully and you can customize the controls to suit your every whim. I've also never encountered bugs or problems when running them. The ones that have the bugs, are the ones that are the most untested and unupdated. Also the newer emulators like PCSX2 which is a PS2 emulator is hard to run because of the unique hardware architecture of the PS2 and it's hard to simulate that in a PC environment. Old-school console emulators like ZSNES (Super Nintendo), KEGA (SMS, GG, Genesis, Sega CD, 32X), and many others are very stable and perfectly reliable. Hell, KEGA there can even run Sega CD ISO images flawlessly. There really is no reason not to use emulators if you're looking to play old games. If you have a Wii already, then by all means feel free to download the games from Virtual Console. But if you're pondering a Wii just for the VC, I really wouldn't recommend it.

ChickeyCantor5512d ago

" But if you're pondering a Wii just for the VC, I really wouldn't recommend it."

But is it legal? nope.
I think thats what lots of people will be bothered by.
Sure all of us must have pirated some games, but not everyone is wanting to go that path forever.

N4g_null5512d ago

SaiyanFury I will see you on the news! OK it's not legal. Do you really want to be in jail with that beast MadeoFFwithyourmanhood? Sweet you found a rom site with clean roms what is the address. What is your game id for the PS3 and xbox also? You got an email? You don't have a xbox mod do you?

Plus you probably don't see the difference in your system any way with malware running. That's the whole point of it LOL. You are not supose to see it running.

So you got mario kart running on znes? Never mind I got the real one now. Oh yeah so what do you currently have running on your emulators?

You know I make my living making game content right? Yeah don't bragg about that stuff ok peope may come after you. Midway is short on money right now!

Torch5512d ago

"Do your self a favor and download a bunch of emulators and a few roms, in 2 months your PC will start slowing down LOL. Soon your drive will be corrupt, also burn those games on a disk too and keep trying it."

I can't figure out whether you're irrationally paranoid, or trying really, really hard to scare us away from ROMs.

Sorry, but I'm not sold, as I've been running emulators and respective ROMs for at least fifteen years without a hitch...and shall continue to do so.

@sidar:
"But is it legal? nope."

I object. The following link should be 'nuff said on the matter of legalities; interpreted it as you wish:

http://www.associatedconten...

SaiyanFury5511d ago (Edited 5511d ago )

@ scissor_runner

I don't see why you're getting all defensive. I also own the original Mario Kart, I've had it for something like 15 years now. Obviously, you're not a proponent of emulators, so why would I divulge information like clean sites? I never said ROMs were legal, but the vast majority of old games nets old publishers zero revenue. That's if the publisher is even in business anymore. And yes, I have Mario Kart running just fine. I don't think I have a game that doesn't run properly. Obviously, you're against them, and I'm for them. We both have a right to our opinions, and neither of us will change the others' mind. As for the whole malware thing, I have very effective countermeasures against things like that. I'm a computer tech and have a very good knowledge about things like malware. And as I said I have yet to see a single piece of malware through multiple kinds of thorough scans. The stuff I get is clean. I have complete faith in my sources, and they've never let me down. If I've had malware in the past, it's never affected my PC in any visible way. I run 3DMark06 all the time and routinely score into the 19000 range (that's very good BTW), so if malware is slowing down my PC, it's sure doing a poor job of it. And no I don't have a modded Xbox 360, it's perfectly legal. I have a custom firmware PSP for ROM playback but I also have a fully up to date PSP that stays updated with the latest firmware so I can keep buying new PSP games. I don't take ANYTHING that takes a sale away from a company. The games I play are anywhere from 10-25 years old and no company that I'm aware of makes any money from lost sales from using ROMs. I can buy a new copy of 7th Saga on eBay from a collector, but ENIX will never see a dollar of that sale because that game will have already have been purchased by somebody else and ENIX will have already made it's money at least 15 years ago.

@Sidar

Fair enough, some people are concerned about the legal issues. I just realize that the vast majority of old games out there no longer net any companies any money anymore so I don't consider legal issues valid. Just a personal outlook.

@Torch 2.11

Amen to that brother. I've been running them for well over a decade now and will no doubt continue into the future.

N4g_null5510d ago

SaiyanFury do you own an HD console?

How long do you think sony has before it's hacked? Nothing is uncrackable, also a rom can easily be made to duplicated data on a blu ray disk in the same manner that developers have to take 6-9 gigs and copy it on the slow blu ray to reduce seek times.

Yes I am against emulators and roms they are worst than used games. You are right to say enix should have gotten their money for those games then yet wrong because it's still their game. Now this is why all HD games have online play because you have to go to the server most disk have the ids coded or scripted to the disk.

It's cool you found "clean site". Another thing is the emulators break the experience since you can cheat more. Hey but most gamers like this because they only want the story. I see your side and mine. Seriously the gamers will make their own choices and if they really do become hard core they will won't an experience closer to the real thing. Believe me I've played most of the emulators and the funny thing is the Wii emulator is very close to mame expect for the other stuff it does. So far I have had ) problems with it and it's games, frame rate wise etc. Every thing is there and just the way I remembered it.

Let agree to disagree ok? You want get a person who makes their living making games to agree with you on this ok. We work pretty hard on these games.

+ Show (10) more repliesLast reply 5510d ago
dazzalfc5512d ago (Edited 5512d ago )

I'm 50/50 when it comes to liking the Wii, but one thing that really annoys me is that while people will argue about whether the 360/PS3 are value for money (given that, up until lately, both were sold at a loss to their respective companies) the Wii has been making Ninendo a tidy profit since day one i believe, and is now making even more money per unit sold, yet they keep the price the same (or raise it in some places) and they get away with it.

Yes, its great for Nintendo that they can sell Sand to the Arabs, but surely people should be looking at them and thinking 'hand on, you ripping us off a little here'

ChickeyCantor5512d ago

Lots of companies do it, you think Apple has such price because of the hardware or software?
Its a bizz, they only have a reason to drop a price IF sales are slowing down.

Yes this article indicates that, but once Wii-sports resort or any other japanese game hits their home town it will sell off the shelves again.
Its a bizz, no one should be surprised by it( and no I do think a Wii for a lower price would be good for consumers)

N4g_null5512d ago

It not a bad thing if people actually want your system. No one is forced to buy it or they? This is not a phone service and nintendo does not have a monopoly. Lots of people are fine with the price and they think it's affordable.

Like I'll buy a $2,000 vid card for work just to have open GL and have the same card at home minus openGL for $200. To me and the amount of money I make from having along with added speed that card has helps me see a great value of it.

People are buying the Wii and getting what they wanted for the most part and more people buy it for the same reason. I don't think many people are disappointed with the system since it is still selling. I'd image it would be easy to sell a Wii to some one after letting them play it which is no the case with an HD console, even at it's lower prices due to key HD console things missing. I don't agree with HD console prices or apples price why because I don't want their products. If I need a stylish MP3 player I know what to get or a blu ray player, There is no hesitation. Right now my PC is more of a console than the HD consoles. That is a problem to the other hardcore gamers waiting to join the HD ranks.

Darkiewonder5512d ago

Sounds like a new color is going to be released!

Tsalagi5512d ago

And a camera stuck on there somewhere.

irish-leprecaun5512d ago

what really annoys me is dat they are making millions from wiiifit but not spending it on make quality games for hardcore or online shooter fans. they will nvr get my blessing but they certainly have my luck!!

qohelet5512d ago

thing is : why would they invest more money for people who

-are teens and think nintendo = for kiddies
-a niche market (people who define themselves as "gamers" are a minority)
-let them down for 2 gens in a row (N64 and GC had a solid library)
-cry and throw fits about "nohardcoregamesonthewii& quot; and will pirate anything remotely good anyway (NMH/madworld)

nintendo survived impossible odds. before the release of the wii you would see people betting on which company would buy them out. now it's a different story. the only sad thing is that the old nintendo fans feel left in the cold (i sometimes do, and that's why i got a PS3/360) and i guess the next E3 will prove them right :(

Show all comments (49)
100°

Former Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider pours scorn on EA's AI dreams.

"They want you to believe the devs under them are super stoked to work generative AI into their processes," continued Gaider, "but I assure you what they took as excitement was really a veiled wail of despair not unlike the time that team was informed of their new 'really cool' live service mandate.".

LordoftheCritics2d ago

Publishers see gaming as another stock market.

isarai2d ago

I think anyone with some common sense knew this, im glad i don't support their games anymore, what a sh!t company.

Psychonaut851d 11h ago

Friends don’t let friends buy EA or Ubisoft.

Chocoburger1d 10h ago

I said this yesterday. AI isn't what we want when it comes to crafting artistry. Alas, these soulless corporate morons don't care about their work, only about cutting corners as much as possible.

120°

Phil Spencer and the Battle for Xbox’s Soul

Has the rapid growth of Xbox made the ship too heavy? Following the closures of Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, and Roundhouse, we explore what the future of Xbox could look like.

LG_Fox_Brazil2d ago

This ship was never meant to sail, this ship was made from the get go to sink as fast as possible. It almost feels that they want to lower the standards of quality in the industry so that they can fit in

rlow11d 14h ago

I disagree, Xbox from the get go innovated and changed the industry. They did a lot of firsts and standardized a lot of others. It wasn’t till the beginning of the Xbox1 era that things started to go south.

Stevonidas1d 10h ago

Yep, although I’d argue it started going to shit when they tried to hock Kinect on their audience instead of continuing to invest in their studios and IPs. 2001-2010 Xbox was peak gaming, though.

rlow11d 8h ago

@Stevonidas
I agree they never should have focused on it after the 360 era. But you do have to remember they were faked out by the huge volumes of Kinects sold. To quote info on Wikipedia, “Project Natal, It was first released on November 4, 2010, and would go on to sell eight million units in its first 60 days of availability.” So if your Xbox and see these huge sales on a peripheral where are you going to put some money? Criticism in hindsight is worthless…..if only we could all see our future. In other wards they had no way of knowing. Plus they had engagement numbers and a lot of signs pointed to people wanting it.

Their biggest mistake wasn’t the Kinect, but unlike Sony after the PS3 debacle. They didn’t double on down on exclusive good games. The other huge mistake was letting Call of Duty go to Sony.

Hedstrom1d 17h ago

Phil wants Xbox to be as soulless as him!

Tacoboto1d 16h ago (Edited 1d 16h ago )

Xbox has no soul and Phil has no confidence, and it's impossible to say either do when they killed Tango and Arkane Austin.

Everything they've said since has only made them look worse to a point that they're actually less competent than Embracer.

Markdn1d 16h ago (Edited 1d 16h ago )

Whe you release something like the series S and expect it not to hurt your business model, and developers have to have parity with games. Then you know Microsoft don't care. Series s is the final nail that broke developers,

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70°

A Matter Of Trust: What The Game Industry Should Do To Win Gamers Back

Skewed and Reviewed have written an Opinion Piece covering issues in the gaming industry, how current issues were issues years ago, and what can be done to help restore consumer trust.

anast2d ago

Nothing. It's up to the gamers to stop consuming content from companies that they don't agree with.

Garethvk1d 13h ago

How do you know if you agree with it or not unless you play it? Which without conventions forces gamers to rely on trailers. Perhaps Demos should be made more frequently. But companies need to do better as well.

anast1d 13h ago

Wait until release. Watch Gameplay. Exercise patience.

Garethvk1d 12h ago

But is that not what they have now? Tons of gameplay or are you talking about watching actual gamers play it versus the trailers and streams? The big issue is that some companies pay streamers and influencers and they create content but for me; that is hardly a fair, unbiased, and factual look at a game.

1nsomniac1d 16h ago

Get rid of the suits in the industry and job done!!

Garethvk1d 13h ago

They usually are attached to the money sadly. It would be nice to have gamers in charge but you have so much money invested that business people are needed. Hence the issue; you need people who know business but are also gamers who know have an eye to the community. It sounds simple in theory that if you give gamers quality games that they want to play; money will be made. But that is not always so.