I'm trying to talk my friend into trading in his Wii and using the credit for a 360. No, no, not because I'm a Xbox fascist, but because he refuses to buy any games for the goddamned thing.

He mainly got it for RE: Umbrella Chronicles, and that was way back before he even knew that it was an on-rails shooter, cause he's such a RE fan. Then he got RE4: Wii Edition, even though he'd already played it to death in the GC and PS2 incarnations.

He has no interest in SSBB,SMG, Twilight Princess, etc., etc., yadda yadda. Hell, I've even played those games, and I don't own a Wii.

But still, he refuses to trade in, even though a friend has had the machine for over a month since there's nothing he wants to play. I suspect he's holding out for the Force Unleashed Wii port, with it's unavoidably disapointing light saber waggle.

chimp_o_death

Former Nintendo fanboy here. I own 12+ Wii games and a few VC titles. I don't play the damn thing, I play my 360 or my DS. Mario, Zelda, SSBB fail to impress me anymore and feel like these are the same games I played on the N64. The Wii-mote ins't 1:1 and adds nothing new to these stale franchises. I guess I can only say thank god for Capcom Zak and Wiki was fresh and creative and I hadn't played RE4 previously.

Sadly I will buy Mario Kart when it releases and that will probably collect a lot of dust also. Maybe if I sell the damn thing I can save a buck.

Zelda - finished it, meh.

Mario Galaxy - stil unbeaten, meh.

Metroid - Played for an hour, I hate you Retro, you ruined my fave franchise!

SSBB - with friends living a good distance away now the party fun feeling of the title is lost. Online is horrible especially with no voice chat, meh.

RE4 - Awesome

Zak & Wiki - Awesome

Trauma Center: SO - still in shrink wrap.

Zelda Crossbow: not bad, but not good enough to play it more than once through.

Others - not memorable enough to mention, I spent quite a bit of time on Wii sports but I don't see myself going back for more.

Still have yet to play No More Heroes or Okami but I'm nto really interested as the 360 and DS take up most of my gaming time. That is my take on the Wii.

SAKY

I find this to be hilariously true. My friends all have Wii's (I'm the only one that doesn't) and each of them say that the Wii is a great system, they just wish there were more interesting and fun games that arent Minigames. If Nintendo were to release really good games they might go for it.

madbassman39

I'd rather buy a game on my PS3.

darthmatt

@Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.: There's no shit-storm... the numbers say so. What Nintendo needs to do is sell a goofy peripheral with every game. They'll double their sales overnight because there's nothing people love more then buying shit they don't need when they thing they do. My garage is a testament to this.

If the stance taken by the story hurts Wii "followers" then just go buy twice, triple, ten-times the copies of the same games and never trade anything in to GameStop and Nintendo doesn't have to worry about living these kinds of statistics down. Trust me, you may feel stupid but at least the Wii will look great to its investors who will gladly pocket your money. Everybody Wiins... MamaMiiYa!!

okenny :)

I think this is why Microsoft's game to console attachment rate with the Xbox 360 is so impressive. People who buy an Xbox 360 tend to be hardcore gamers who really enjoy gaming regularly, and thus, continue to purchase software. The average Wii owner just like the novelty of the system, probably doesn't do much research on new games coming out, and rarely purchases new games.

DugDawg

"Casual" targeted demographic + a system that can be modded with no penalties = Zoinks!

My math is amazing.

Kanik

One point of note in this discussion; while the margin of 1 game per year less for Wii owners in the article is in my opinion somewhat insignificant, I think a more interesting measure would be looking back at this statistic 12-24 months from now. I would hypothesize that in that time the margin will widen as the install base for all three consoles stagnates. (i.e. less "I just bought a Wii/360/PS3 for Christmas so I am going to get 2-3 games to go with it) I believe that the 360 and PS3 will maintain an average of 4+ games per year, but I think the Wii will see a steep drop as the casual portion of their install base remains content to only get 0-1 games a year.

KidU

Hmm. Let's see. I've got 12 games for wii. So, that's an attach rate of about 8 (assuming the wii has been out for a yr and a half), and I'm looking forward to more games coming down the chute. Tales of Symphonia can't get here fast enough. My problem is I have to share with other systems, and DS games are cheaper and thus a little more desirable at launch than Wii games to me.

I can definitely see the logic here though. I my retired aunt who just bought a wii probably won't have an attach rate of 8 games per year. (Although, she's been gaming up a storm on her DS recently. So, she could surprise me.)

coasterjunkieX

Hm, let me see, got my Wii for about 10 months now, and got 5 games with it, that will be 6 with Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Got my PS3 since January, and also have 5 games with it, but that will be 7 with GTA4 and Metal gear solid (or 8 if you count in WipeOut HD)

And got a Xbox360 for about one and a half year, with 20 games (non arcade).

Now lets divide this ammount of total bought games (including the one's I pre-ordered)

Wii - (6/10) * 12 = 7.2 games a year
360 - (20/18) * 12 = 13.3 games a year
PS3 - (7/4) * 12 = 21 games a year

.. and I even haven't included my PC, DS and PSP games ..

Graywing

I don't feel many Wii game are made for me in mind. I just wish they would make more adventure or platformers or RPG. Anything else then microgames that are based of the remote, then maybe I would buy more games.

Agghyson

oddly, enough, i don't buy any games. i rent them. from gamefly. much cheaper that way. and you get to play hard to find stuff. no reason to buy stuff you wont like later anyways.

thejakeman: probably disagrees with you

Nintendo keeps trying to insist that they are interested in core gamers, but they can't get it through their heads that constantly remaking Mario Kart and Smash Bros. isn't going to cut it. I love Nintendo but I was done with that after the GameCube.

When it comes to gamers, they aren't going to get multiplatform games on the Wii and the exclusives just aren't there. Okami is the first Wii game I've played all year and it's a port of a game from 2006. I couldn't name one retail Wii game for the rest of 2008 that I'm really excited for or even mildly interested in for that matter.

I have hopes that when the new Zelda game gets announced it'll be the reinvention of the franchise that Miyamoto has said it will be. TP was a great game but it was like going through the motions. Same goes for Metroid Prime 3. I'm so glad they aren't making any more Prime games.

skullivan

Apples and oranges.

Wii makes money on its hardware and accessories first, software second.

Meanwhile, both Microsoft and Sony have lost millions on their consoles and make money first and foremost on software sales/rentals as well as downloaded transactions like XBLA.

And of course the attach rate on Wii is lower. Why shouldn't it be? The people who play it aren't hardcore gamers who are willing to dedicate the same amount of money to the hobby as their PS3 and Xbox 360 counterparts.

Instead, they're at Pier 1, shopping for suade-backed kitchen table chairs, the rich yuppies they are. ZING! (That was a joke, and a mild one at that. Don't ban, please. Kthanxbai!)

DaPress

@push eject:

What,no Metroid Prime 3 and Zack & Wiki or SSX Blur ?

Port or not, games like Resident evil 4, Okami are great on the Wii. The same can be said of Twilight Princess.

Killer7

In other words, there is a bimodal distribution of attach rates among Wii owners, and third parties are targeting... hmm... neither mode.

Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc

I'm beginning to believe that Nintendo is the biggest sacred cow in all of nerddom. If someone so much as criticizes the music played in the elevator at NOA Headquarters, it's cause for an epic battle on the internet replete with trebuchets filled with the entrails of the non-believers.

futurebiblehero

There are more casual Wii gamers out there, so the attach rate will be lower, but given the far high numbers of Wiis selling, it's still a very lucrative a market for publishers. In sales terms Wii games still tend to top the charts.

3.7 games a year vs 4.7 games a year isn't a huge gap considering the large casual demographic.

creepwood

I've thought a lot about the peculiar case of the Wii. I don't own one, and do most of my gaming on the 360, but I've certainly played the Wii a fair bit, and have worked in electronics retail so I've had the opportunity to talk with quite a few current, new, and prospective Wii owners about what they dig, dislike, and expect from their console.
it amases me that for such a large number of people the Wii is a must-have item for no apparent reason-- ie, too many of the new Wii owners I speak to have absolutely no idea why they're buying it. and while that might not be too uncommon to hear from parents buying for their children, it always seems weird to hear an adult talking in that way about something he is spending money on for himself. and I see entirely too many people who express to me that they only want the system for Wii sports/play. those are cool enough, I guess, but if that's all you plan on using it for it's basically a tiger electronic plugin.

wild homes

Maybe it's the PC gamer that is the core of my soul, but I own a few more Wii games than 360 games, and that number will probably continue to grow.

I'm just not seeing anything that speaks to me on the 360 like I do on the Wii. I enjoy console games like Mario, Ratchet and Clank, Ninja Gaiden, SSB, Zelda, RE4, and Okami almost exclusively. Where are the 360 games like this? You'd think they'd be pouring out, but Kameo was forever ago, and NG2 seems like forever from now! So much dust makes Buddy sad.

Buddy_DoQ

I currently have 8 games in total and 7 virtual console titles.

If anyone has been paying attention, compared to the same first-party franchise titles back on the GameCube, the Wii's software sales are selling better and at a faster rate.

Killer7

They cite VG Chartz. Do I need to say anything more?

KingBroly

yeah, wii's a joke imo. mario galaxy was wonderful, no more heroes also pretty great... but everything else... either a port (or easily coudlve been a gamecube game...papermario..) or just nogood.
brawl lost all it's appeal for me after about a month, always disliked mario kart, and they still haven't released pilotwings64 on vc. :(

push eject

The problems is that these "casual gamers", view the Wii as a Wii Sports player, rarely have I ever seen a casual Wii player buy any game. Wii Sports is enough for them.

GiantEnemyCrab

I can't front. This is the reason I hate my Wii. Barely any good games out now that didn't come from Nintendo, and they spent so much time advertising the ideal of Wii Sports that the "casual crowd" only thinks of that game for the system.

I still have SMG and didn't finish it yet, I sold 2 games for my Wii already..about to sell Paper Mario...and it's off half the time, even with me buying SSBB because playing by myself sucks.

Batousi

I will say something about the Wii though.
Before it was released i noticed that the displays in the big stores here attracted non traditional gamers, like middle aged houswives and families.
Just yesterday I noticed the exact same thing, displays for Wii Fit had crowds of women around them, all looking at the product, clearly interested.
Perhaps we should keep in mind that attach rates aren't as important when you make a profit from simply selling the machine in the first place, after all, it's not as if Nintendo are losing money.

Cruithne

@Kamakaze: It does if most of the games sold were 1st party.

whiptcracker

@LANfill: I don't know how you did that ! I love my Wii, I still play Smash Brawl and I'm almost on No More Heroes. But I just can't find 20 games I'd like to buy ! I've got 10 (not including Wii Sports) and in that, there's at least two games I wouldn't recommend: Super Paper Mario and Medal of Honor Heroes 2.

Most of my friends have a at least 7-8 games but we're all 20 years old. There's a bunch of kids that are taking the attach rate very low !

Shteve

If anything, I think I bought too many Wii games (nearly 20 of them in my room). I still need to pick up Okami and Bully, plus I've been thinking about Baroque. Not only that, but now that Elebits and Dewey are budget priced, I think I should grab them too.

The only thing holding me back is the need to invest more in PC games. Me wantee Unreal 3, Spore, and Clearsky.

Pezdispenser

Well this makes perfect sense. As a Wii owner who doesn't regret the purchase because just Super Mario Galaxy alone would justify it (and now Okami!), the Wii software landscape is just really bleak.

I've got Zack and Wiki of course, Paper Mario, skipped on Mario Kart because frankly the 'cube version is still better. I buy more games for my X360 and PS2 just because they both have so much more good software available, that's all.

sarusa

@Hostile: I think it means ther's a lower attach rate.
I have some great games for the Wii, but even more great games for the 360 and PS3, simply because there are more to choose from.

Cruithne

I could tell you my reason... there is very little that is actually worth buying.

I would love to buy more games for the Wii, in fact my girlfriend mentioned this just the other day, but there is nothing I want to spend my hard earned cash on.

I think Wiiware may relieve this to some extent, though.

realjas

Well surely if the install base is big enough it doesnt really matter if the attach rate is lower.

I think more of the casual gamers will buy games once they enter the bargain bin, as price is a much bigger issue to many people than the quality of the game.

Kamakaze

Why is this a surprise?

Do they expect people who bought the system for Wii Sports to pick up a copy of SSBB?

Business world is so overrated!

Torokun

Can't say I'm shocked. Selling out is great, but one wonders if a lot of them are gathering dust because of the people who don't traditionally play video games... NOT playing video games?

I love my Wii. Mainly for the Nintendo first party titles and the GCN backward compatibility. But I can see how people who bought one may let it fall by the way.

Honestly, my son and my books have been taking up a whole lot more time than my gaming recently. That includes the Wii AND PS3.

2NinjasTapedTogether

It's odd because, lately, I buy Wii games more than I buy games for my 360. And I haven't bought single game yet for my PS3 (it's just my bluray player, pretty much).

Lately I've picked up MySims, Harvey Birdman, Zack & Wiki, Williams Pinball, Endless Ocean -- and the usual franchisers (SMG, SSB, and soon MKWii) but it's the system exclusives like Zack & Wiki I like the most.

Still, I may be a freak in the demographic pool -- I love my 360 but hate playing shooters because the controls stink, whereas the Wii (specifically wiimote only games) is easy as hell for me to play and enjoy.

Twoflower

@M: Yup, with such a massively wide range of people buying Wii's, your going to get odd results on game sales.

Kyle81

90% drop?! Holy cow. I think we have 6 wii titles now, but I only bought Zelda TP. The rest were gifts or ones my brother bought.
Nintendo's new demographic is different and there's no denying that. With that said, I barely use the Wii.

goldwings

Well I have SMG,RE-UC and Okami.

ninjikiran

I've purchased 3 games so far this year: No More Heroes, SSBB, and Okami and Mario Kart will be #4.

I find it interesting that the worldwide sales charts indicate that the Wii and DS software dominate and most of it is from the casual and non-gamers.Still, it does seem that Wii owners in general should be picking up more games per year.

Killer7

I'm a female gamer, I hate the wii. Just not my thing. I much prefer my ps3 and to a lesser extent my 360 as well as my ds and psp. I'm extremely anti-wii. Though if I was given one, I wouldn't get rid of it but I'm not about to spend my money on it.

VixDiesel

I'm a Wii owner and I buy games. My friend is a Wii owner and he doesn't buy games (he stopped playing games regularly a long time ago). The Wii owner demographic is diverse, so of course casual gamers will bring the attachment rate down.

M

I have 2 Wii games, have had a Wii since one month after launch. 10 360 games, and 9 PS3 games.

My parents bought a Wii for the grand kids and whole family cause it looked so fun for everyone.... sure they play it when folks get together, but how many games have they bought? 3. Niece bought a Wii, only has one game still, just rents every once in a while, but she simply keeps buying PS2 games.

Kyle81

@Cruithne: What does a lot of crap being on the console have to do with anything? As a "core" gamer, I know what I want and the crap titles aren't even on my radar.

Hostile

And thus we see why Nintendo sells the Wii hardware at a profit. I think they saw this problem from the get-go.

Doomstalk

Oh my stars, we might end up with a generation where 3 separate companies all have measures of success within their own chosen markets.

Maybe everyone can win and all markets can be served.

Nintendo is running the risk of depending on the large but fickle mainstream market.

I don't really find myself in that market, so I have a 360, and will likely get a PS3 as a Blu Ray player and for a few key exclusives.

The Wii games that appeal to that market are doing quite well. Some other notable games really are better suited to the other systems, so they don't to as well.

But overall, so far, so good. For everybody.

Lackshmana

Only one less game bought per year vs. the other two consoles? That's not too dramatic of a gulf. Third party's will continue to shovel out games for the Wii as fast as they can. The console is still selling like heroin hotcakes and develop costs are relatively low.

P.S. There will be blood in this comment section and the drinking of milkshakes.

DiscipleofJamzy

@skullpanda: now if you have been following the news here you know that isnt true, do we need to link to the articles from ubisoft, capcom, majesco and hudson the latter two being pretty much saved by good sales of games on the wii? Its one thing to have an opinion, but research it a bit to make sure it has some grounding in reality.

ryanfrost

In the UK a big deal of it depends on marketing as well as the reviews. ro Evolution Soccer 2008 has been in the top 5 in the charts for a few weeks, and this is probably down to both good reviews and marketing, yet Zack and Wiki, despite good reviews has seen much lower sales. Of course, it might also be to do with what it is: more people are likely to go get a footy game straight away.

Marketing probably does have an effect on sales, as for those who don't know their games it creates awareness for the title. Thank goodness there was a No More Heroes advert.

I didn't see a single Zack and Wiki advert, yet I've seen pretty much every other one, from No More Heroes to PES, to Galaxy, Mario Kart, Wii Fit and Metroid Prime 3. People watch these adverts and check up the game if they don't know it, or talk about it to other people. It does help a deal and besides, Nintendo have been helping push Pro Evo with the mini-site and also the advertising and it has helped create awareness despite the game coming later than the others.

sporkhead

"It's [Wii Fit] definitely aimed at the Oprah crowd. I bet they sell a million units a week for every pound that Oprah says she lost on it."

That is the best Michael Pachter quote I have ever read. Thanks Mr. Pachter for giving a laugh on this gloomy Monday afternoon.

iamspoo

Let's all keep in mind that the source for this article is vgchartz.com which has been known to just make up information whenever they like to.

If your game sells more than 2 million copies in the first few weeks, it's okay if it starts to teeter off.

MoogPaul

This is really quite obvious, as everyone is stating.

In England here, the Wii is doing AWESOME in terms of public awareness, ergo mainstream popularity, hence many 'casuals'. People now lump Wii in with 'the kids playing their Playstations'. And it's even done what I thought impossible last gen and have people actually pay a compliment to the system.

So yes, all those people who bought a PS2 and about 5 games EVER (I know about 10 people of my immediate friends) are the sorts of people buying a Wii, along with everyone and their Dog.

And the second Wii Fit hits the shore, I have a feeling that the attachment rate will rise by 0.8.

Krondonian

Oh yes, and I have 10 Wii games not including what I've put onto Virtual Console and not including Wii Sports.

Rebochan

Personally, after getting Okami and Mario Kart Wii, I'll have 9 Wii games not including Wii Sports.

@Archaotic: Yeah, a lot of the casual audience doesn't know the relation or the difference between "Wii" and "Wii Sports" and then never buy any other games. It tends to bring the averages down.

Mezodon

OK...

I have 20+ Wii games, and <10 PS3 games. I'm not even going to count my VC titles (there are too many)

LANfill

actually, i'm gonna get back in.

the comment Younger children, women and older consumers, who historically have not been sought by the video-game industry, have discovered video games through the Wii - just not that many of them.

These new gamers are content with the games they have, often going no further than the Wii Sports game that comes with the machine. They don't buy new games with the fervor of a traditional gamer who is constantly seeking new stimulation. has a bit of truth to that. I know alot of people who bought the wii and that thier first time playing videogame systems. Yea some of them have kids but they didn't play the playstations or xboxes. They started playing the wii. However, they are not gonna keep paying money for new games. They are content with thier current crop of guitar hero, mario and especially wii play. I guess it's a double edge sword with this. Nintendo did a faboulous job expanding the market to an older generation. However, the attach rate will not reflect that because they don't buy games at the same rate as PS3/360 owners.

jun581

Most of the wii games suck. One of the few good titles is bundled with the system. SSBB dropped so fast because everyone who wanted the game got it day one or day two, everyone else didn't. The problem is the fact that nintendo is the only one making decent games for the thing. and that's it targetted towards casual gamers, who don't load up on games.

skullpanda

@ThisCharmingMan:
Agreed.

TheTimeRanger

@Cruithne: Completely agree with ya...thats the reason I sold my Wii, and was glad to be rid of it.

"Cheggers Party Quiz" - I mean honestly!?

DangerousDac

How come the green star is grinning? Did it short Nintendo stock or something?

Nico8332

Ummm, is one game less really that significant. Especially when before the Wii a lot of those people would be buying no games at all.

t0yrobo

I caught this article earlier today on Digg. There were a lot of commenters already arguing with the conclusions drawn by the piece. Zack and Wiki is a sticking point with me - while it's common to blame the Wii fanbase for its commercial failure, people forget that Capcom didn't even *advertise* it except by getting gaming sites to talk it up. So here's this brand new IP sitting on a Wii shelf surrounded by better known games right before Christmas. What do you think the uninformed buyer is going to pick? Put some freaking *effort* into marketing, Capcom. You couldn't even be bothered to buy up some television advertising on a Saturday morning when all the kids that are your target demographic are watching the toy comercials? This is not "unconventional" marketing (since when are radio ads unconventional?!).

And for all the complaining about No More Heroes reception in Japan, its been a fast seller abroad despite being "hardcore".

Rebochan

I own 13 PS3 games. My friend who owns a wii has 4. He's had his wii 6 months longer. Third companies will not make games for a system people don't buy games for. It'll be the gamecube debacle, except Nintendo won't care because they've already made their money

pd771

Hmm, I don't think I agree with the phrase "failing to inspire." Galaxy, Prime 3, Twilight Princess, and Brawl, I think, are still must-haves. Galaxy is perhaps the most inspiring game I played last year. Its merely a fact that the casual market just wants a novelty item. They'll boot it up, play some Wii sports and be done with it. Just because games aren't necessarily matching up well with the ridiculously large install base, doesn't mean Nintendo's first party efforts are underwhelming.

ThisCharmingMan

I love Nintendo, but i haven't played with my Wii (no pun inteded) since christmas, thats when i got my 360 elite from my boss :D

TheTimeRanger

Gasp, SSBB sales dropped 90% after the first 4 weeks? Wait, so they expected it to continue to sell like crazy a month later? My goodness, most people BOUGHT it already.

Hmm, I buy 2-3 wii games a year. But then again, I buy 2-3 360 games a year... I just don't buy many games, very very careful with my money.

Kaemon

As a Wii owner I've bought a lot less games for the system than I have for the other two current gen systems.

Why?

Because ther's a lot of shite released for the Wii.
Look at the average reviews for Wii games compared to the other two machines.
If ther was less shovelware perhaps the attach rate would be higher?
At the end of the day, good games sell.

Cruithne

I'm not surprised by this at all. I bought the wii for smash brothers alone, and I have 0 plans to buy anything else... ever. My mind will probably be changed eventually, but even a new mario I probably wouldn't buy.

Hoboman725

Having a large install base is great, but if the attachment rate is poor that's not really going to convice third party developers to make more games for your system. Especially when most of the games that do well are Nintendo franchises.

whiptcracker

///pitter patter of tiny feet, looks down, aaahh Nintendo have come crawling back to traditional gamers//

//kicks nintendo in the balls//.....'thats for those damn cheesy Wii adverts, now go do a deal with microsoft and re-release Goldeneye!!'

jigglypoofs

The last game I bought for the Wii was Umbrella Chronicles, and I didn't enjoy it that much. All I really like to play on it is RE4. I never finished Zelda, I have a friends copy of SMG that I haven't even tried. I don't like Metroid or Smash bros. I would like to play Mario Kart, but I don't see myself buying it. My Wii hasn't been connected for about 4 months.

Rebel Without Applause

I only own 3 games for my Wii, but all 3 are very fun. At least theyre finally coming out with some decent RPGs for the Wii, which i am looking forward too.

Sinharvest

Its like thousands of voices crying out at once, and then falling silent.
whatever, got a wii, got 9 games for it, okami kicks ass for it, next question?

ryanfrost

@maverickuw: Unless you're a third party developer.

Hauler

Well of course traditional franchises will not inspire the more casual Wii gamer. These people weren't inspired previously so that won't change now.

OldManGaming

There's a bit of truth to this from my own experience. By and large, Wii owners seem to be the most reluctant to buy software at my store. 360 owners buy games frequently and sometimes even multiple games at once. PS3 owners (the ones who buy it to actually play games) are often in the store constantly.

But when people buy Wiis, almost all of them have to be convinced to get a game with the thing. It's like they think Wii Sports IS the Wii, and the other games don't exist at all. It's insane.

Archaotic

nothing to see here people, more along. (grabs a beer and waits for the shitstorm 400+ responses)

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

oh boy, this is not gonna go well. i think i'm gonna leave myself out of this. It being Ban Monday and all.

jun581

When 1/3rd of your console install base buys a game in the first week (SSBB) and at least half of your install base is non-traditional gamers, you're doing pretty damn well

maverickuw

No kidding.

Jechticknight

@Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.:God I love you in as close to a non gay fashion as I can. Comment of the week and in the running for commenter of the year.

Foxstar Sixtail

Title should be changed to "Wii Owners Don't Play Wiis."

GusherKid

This is the best Ban Monday bait posting ever. I mean I can sit back, keep 20 e-mails open to Wiz and just clean up the mean streets. Thanks Mark.

Now on the topic at hand..

"Wii owners don't buy games. They look at the issue from a variety of angles, including the facts (Wii owners buy one game less per year than their 360/PS3 counterparts)"

What? Buying one less game a year means people aren't buying games? Also what are they basing this on? Are they just following Wii titles or are they following VC ones too?

Foxstar Sixtail

The wii doesn't sell many games because its target audience is not one that actively searches for new and interesting games to buy.

The soccer mom that bought her kids a wii last Christmas is not checking kotaku religiously looking for that new IP to wow the kids.

RichMeisterMan

I currently own 9 games on the Wii (Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Resident Evil 4, Umbrella Chronicles, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Wii Play, Wii Sports, Smash Bros. Brawl, Okami). That's less than a third of the 30+ games (not counting XBLA) I own on the Xbox 360. Still, I've owned the 360 for a year longer, so if you double the number of Wii titles I own I'd be at 18, which pretty much falls in line with the article (about 1/3rd less than I own for the 360). But I don't see myself buying another 9 games for the Wii in the next year. The 360 and PS3 keep pulling away in the games I like to play, which are hardcore/deep titles. I think there is a lot of potential there for great games on the Wii but I'm afraid the same thing will happen that has happened to Nintendo since the N64: Great 1st party titles shining through a drought of quality 3rd party games and a flood of shovelware. I wish Nintendo would take some of the tons of money their consoles are printing and invest heavily in creating and marketing lengthy, hardcore type games that fully exploit motion controls (esp. more FPS titles and adventure/RPG type games). I cannot understand why they continue to ignore gamers such as myself. If properly marketed a quality new IP catered toward hardcore gamers could fly off the shelves, as enough of us own the console. But Nintendo hasn't seemed very interested in creating anything other than "mascot" titles in a long while (with the occasional exception, such as Pikmin). Still, I'll hold onto the console, cross my fingers and hope for the best -- just as I did with the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube. Three's a charm, right?

Sloopydrew

Just like "hardcore gamers" have been saying. Tons of casual/new gamers buy Wiis for Wii Sports and leave it at that.

I have nine nonbundled Wii games now, but I don't play them, so I've stopped buying new ones. I plan to get Okami though. Still, most of what I've bought is GOOD, but not good enough to choose to play, so I'm in a conundrum. Do I sell them? Well, I still like them and hope to play more some day, but other systems keep beating it - all my other systems actually.

The Wii confuses me. I like it, just not enough to play I guess... I guess most of my games for it feel superficial, which isn't always bad, but it's not very inspiring either.

@SAKY:
I have a couple of those.
RE4 - awesome. I have it on GameCube but it was good enough to get again - then get stuck really early on and stop. I don't know why but it's 10x harder on Wii.

SMG - Felt really neat for a week or two. Never really felt like coming back to it though. I guess with the nasty camera that can only be changed when you don't need it it reminded me too much of other 3D platformers. That's just a rationalization though, to be honest I just got bored.

It seems I mostly use the Wii for a quick run in Ghost Squad or Warioware now...

fuchikoma

What's that? The sky is falling?

Let's look at it this way; if Nintendo's casual audience is only buying "one less game per year" than the 360's "core" demographic, then I think Nintendo's competitors have a bit more to worry about than we thought.

Oh, and how fast did Halo 3's sales diminish? Sometimes quickly diminishing sales is just a sign of a successful launch period.

KypFox

@okenny :): it's the retarded comments I grabbed a beer and a seat for. It's simple really and not any great revelation. years ago Wii was dismissed as a fad, crap tech that wouldn't last the first six months. People went on and on about how Wii was a toy and gimmicky and no one wanted waggle. Sony and MS execs had their cheap shots about the Wii as well.

Six months from launch Wii is still selling out in droves and Nintendo is laughing all the way to the bank. The excuses are "still a fad" and " you can't base DS success on the presumed Wii success.." Even though 360 sales stalled and Sony and MS still weren't making and profit on their hardware.

A year later...Wii is STILL outselling the PS3 and the 360. Now Sony and MS are working on similar wiimote attachments or so rumor says. Nintendo records record profits and becomes the second most profitable company in Japan. 3rd parties? Still believe the Wii is a fad and a toy and won't dedicate resources to quality software. As a result, the store walls are lined with shit. Nintendo games are still some of the best games for the hardware, which comes as no surprise because it's always been that way from NES to SNES to 64, to GB, GBA, etc

analysts and developers and gamers (my self included) bitch about the lack of quality software but Nintendo can't do it all by themselves. When they do release a title that sells like gangbusters, people bitch that Nintendo games are the only games to play on the console. Damned if you do damned if you don't.

Look at from Nintendo's perspective. Nintendo got shitted on for 10 years straight from the core user demograph. The fault in large part was their's but when a truly great game came out on 64 or Gamecube, the core audience ignored it for the most part. So Nintendo decided to say ... to hell with the core audience because they aren't trying to see us anyway. We'll sell to these people over here who have never played games.

Now the core gamers are crying because Nintendo isn't giving them any love. From a business perspective, I say kudos to Nintendo, they made a necessary change and made billions on it and continue to do so. From a gamer's perspective, I'm not feeling it because Nintendo has the potential to make Wii really great, for all gamers, not just the casual. Simple changes here and there could easily make Wii more attractive even with the limited hardware. But they won't do it. All this does is reinforce the belief that Wii isn't a serious platform...thereby inspiring no confidence in 3rd party support...which in turn, causes a poor attach rate.

This is nothing new and so many of us here at Kotaku claim to be core gamers from years back but reaading some of these comments, I can see that either many are lying or have some damn short memories. i can accept that, but when the development community has the opportunity to make kick ass software for the dominating platform at a fraction of the cost of the competition, but REFUSES to do it regardless of profit to be made....this industry turns into a joke.

shitstorm

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

Seems like a no-brainer to me. Since a great number of Wii owners are the "casual gamer" demographic.. it only makes sense that the attach rate will be lower than on systems geared more toward the "hardcore". Otherwise we'd have very little business attaching the "casual" label on them at all.

A casual gamer will by definition be a casual purchaser of games. Hopefully publishers aren't expecting every person that owns a Wii to suddenly become "hardcore".

niledeltadisco

Most don't buy, they steal. Some guys at my school have a Wii with loads of downloaded games.

GoodBoyNYC

I linked to this article earlier in another discussion, and while it shows the attach rates for the month of December, it also gives life-to-date attach rates for all three consoles. What could have changed in the meantime between what the NPD posts each month and from where Patcher gets his information?

The only possible explanation is that people are buying a huge number of consoles across the board without games after the holiday season, which is diluting the attach rate ratios.

Tepoz

Wasn't it not too long ago that IGN reported that the Wii had the highest attachment rate or 2nd highest attachment rate?

Or was that only for the month of December or something like that?

keiichimorisato

Well, Smash Bros did sell eleventy billion copies in the first week, so I can see why it would have such a drastic drop off.

Didn't bother reading the NYT article, as I don't need someone to tell me something I already know, but I think it's pretty telling how mainstream the Wii has gotten when it gets random articles like this from the NYT instead of the typical internet fanboy.

KirbyMorph

Analyst,
Enough said...

Kayeliminal Antithesis

The Wii has a lower software attach rate but it also has a higher hardware sales rate than the other two consoles. So I wonder how the software sales total(not the ratio) compares.

Remember that list of the 100 top selling games of the last 12 months? There were 13 Wii EXCLUSIVE games on it. There are definitely some Wii owners buying games. PS3 and 360 didn't have as many exclusive games on the list but that's mostly because a majority of the games are multiplatform.

LeChuck

Wow, thats kind of funny because i own like 16 wii games and have all 3 systems. i think its kind of a broad statement to say wii owner only buy 1 game a year. They have to realize lot of families own the wii system and they should know a normal kid doesn't have money to shell out to buy tons of games. Usually, parents will buy there kid a game during special holidays or birthday so i kid owning maybe 4 or 5 games a year sounds more likely. Your normal gamer probably averages probably 8 to 9 games a year. i didn't realize this was a video game software arms race. lol

dan13l

I guess I'm one of the Few Wii owners that don't only own Sports and Play.

ph15h needs followers

you know, if publisher would put up actual GOOD games instead of the crap load of shovelware and half assed ports they're currently putting on the Wii, maybe, just maybe the games would sell more? Just a bit to think about. Publishers whines that people don't buy their crappy games, well here's why, because they're crappy games. Put some effort in them and people will eventually buy them. Take people for idiots, and you'll eventually get burned.

Zantagor

@okenny :): and i'm sure it's not as bad as you're trying to imply. Yea it's a movie player (cheap blu-ray at that...relatively cheap) but the demographic on the PS3 is different for the Wii. Games are being bought. Maybe not at the pace of 360 but the attach rate isn't as bad as you're trying to imply.

jun581

Aw, I'm sad now.

But I actually find this whole console generation kinda lacking minus a few.

I play handhelds older games like PSX and SNES more then games now.

syrantking

@okenny :): agreed, then compare to attach rate of PS3 games to BR movies. :)

SAKY

One game less, and this is a big deal why exactly? That's more than it was a year ago.

Looks sales for software on Nintendo's machines are pretty good. They can be better sure, but this is by no means an indication that Nintendo is in trouble.

What it means, if that the demographics Nintendo is aiming at doesn't scale up their game purchases quite as quickly as the demographics that Sony and Microsoft is aiming at. That doesn't mean the casual demographic won't scale up eventually. I feel inclined to also point out that Nintendo is well on its way to having the largest install base, and if there are far more Wii's on the market than 360's, it won't matter if Nintendo is selling one game per person less, they'll still sell more overall.

WolvenOne

Maybe it's representative of a completely different way of doing business. For Microsoft and Sony, marketing the console and games is one unified push-- the games do nothing without the console, but the console by itself doesn't make sese as a business prospect-- the profits from the games are why Sony and Microsoft make consoles (well, mostly; for those two, the machines are also convergence devices).

For Nintendo, it's a different business model. Both the console and the games are lucrative, so you can separate them into two different approaches. Nintendo certainly must understand that for some Wii owners, it goes console-sports, and that's it-- and Nintendo's probably perfectly happy to accept that. From that person they've already turned a profit, and while that person may not intend to ever buy another game, he MIGHT, if the right game comes out. And that is a happy problem to hand to the people Nintendo has making games-- "we've created a huge install base, now go nuts making games to excite them."

wild homes

@darthmatt: They should do a study on the attach rate of Bluray to PS3. I'm sure that will be more impressive.

okenny :)

My friends/family and I each have more games for our 360 than we have Wii games combined amongst all of us, and we've all had them since launch or close to it.

So this isn't surprising.

There's a small handful of games that can be done on the Wii that just can't be done on other systems. (Wii Sports, for one). But most games (that I've played) don't even really need the motion-sensing/waggle controls and could be done on the PS3 or the 360. But the Wii can't deliver stuff like Bioshock, or GT5, or GTA, or Oblivion or... You get the idea.

I still play "low-tech" games (XBLA, PSN, etc.) but the Wii is just lacking in too many departments for me to justify spending $50 on one of its games versus one of the other systems, especially when my backlog is so big.

FanDam

I own more games on my Xbox 360, Gamecube, and PS2 than I do the Wii. Honestly, there's just not that many great games out there for it. There's a million and one sub-par titles that are nothing short of shit ... and then there's the very few titles that are nothing short of amazing. They just need to put out better games.

dead_red_eyes

The comments here are mostly "I have a bunch of Wii games" which, if the numbers are true, just shows how small a percentage of the Wii pie us core gamers really are. Whichc is fine because many of you out there in Kotaku land are enjoying your Wiitendo and that's what matters.

SAKY

I think it's worth mentioning that a lot of Nintendo's big franchises have yet to hit the Wii. So far, there's been no Animal Crossing, no Star Fox, no F-Zero, no Kirby, no (real) Pokémon game...

Just wait. We're still due for a lot of blockbuster titles in the future.

Also, it can't hurt to mention that the 360's had a year advantage, and that they've also got the Platinum Hits $20 price point that Nintendo hasn't matched yet. Given that the Wii's been out for a year and a half and it's STILL almost impossible to find the console, I'm not concerned yet.

spiderweb1986

i own galaxy, brawl, fire emblem, wii sports, links crossbow training, zelda, zack and wiki, mario party 8, mario srikers, res evil 4, sonic, monkey ball, sega super star tennis, paper mario, and metroid. thats 3 more games than i own on 360. and 16 more than i own for ps3. thats all ive gotta say.

shouryuuken

@Foxstar Sixtail: And who do you plan on nominating for banning? People who aren't in love with their Wii's? I haven't seen anything worth banning yet.

I_Hate_This_Place

I'm going to stay out of the (generaly idiotic) underlying conversation (1 fewer game per year OMGWTFBBQ) and just hone in on Doomstalk's comment, because I think it shows a real problem in this industry.

Nintendo decided to make a profit on hardware sold because it's a responsible business. Sony and Microsoft dug gigantic holes for themselves by selling at a (initially large) loss. If "gamers" demand their new consoles to incorporate hardware that is 2 years away from affordability, we are not going to have a games industry (at least as we recognize it) for all that long. Microsoft's shareholders will not stand by throwing money after bad money (games division), and to a certain extent the same goes for Sony.

So, if the industry is really driven by graphics obsessives, and they will flat-out refuse to support a lower-tech console, we're all going to be doomed. Not only will making the console become astronomically prohibitive, but (as we saw earlier today. Or yesterday, I forget.) As companies are pushed to shove their technology past affordability, the cost of developing games will continue to skyrocket, leading to higher prices, likely beyond what the market would bear.

So, yeah. Nintendo is really the only one of the three that approached this generation from a methodical, businesslike standpoint, rather than trying to show how totally cool they are to all the kids (Microsoft, Rein, I'm looking at you). I'm glad they did, because I sure as hell can't afford to live in Sony or Microsoft's world.

Fnor

Well, I bought into the hype and bought a Wii over a year ago. Wii sports was fun for a month. Then the remorse started setting in. Got Paper Mario for the wife, Super Mario Galaxy was awesome, RE:Umbrella Chronicles is fun, and I sold NMH after a week of monotonous playing. My wii is the biggest disappointment to me out of all three of the consoles.

I used to yell "Wii60", but looking back I wish I would have put that money towards a "PS360" instead. And not that people who genuinely enjoy their wii don't exist, but amongst people I know(anecdotal as hell here) the only ones truly happy with their wii are ones that don't own any of the other consoles.

I'm getting Mario Kart to play with the wife, but I don't see anything in the near future worth purchasing after that.

I_Hate_This_Place

@The Wreckard: Your math is backwards.
Wii owners buy around 3.7 games/year; 360 owners buy around 4.7
But since the Wii has a larger install base, then the total number of games sold is probably close to even.
I'd do some actual math, but I haven't seen lifetime sales numbers for the consoles lately.

KypFox

Most people who buy Wii only want to play the big Nintendo/EA/Activision games. it's really frustrating trying to get ALL the people I know with Wiis to try Z&W, Elebits, Geometry Wars, No More Heroes, Okami ... damn them all.

These are the games I love on Wii -- I'm sick of the same old shit and the easy, movie-like games on the big platforms.

GhaleonUnlimited

@Archaotic: I know a lot of people (mainly adults) who think Wii is just Wii Sports.

Y'know, kinda like those 'game consoles' which have 3 or 4 games built in like Pacman or Pinball.

Ryumeka

@Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.:
You would have to had your blinders on to not know the Wii was going to be a huge success. They had iPod status from the DS Lite which they used the Halo effect for the Wii. Not directly competing with Microsoft and Sony was also a stroke of genius that everyone saw beforehand.

What people are lamenting about is that they may never have the NES/SNES Nintendo back. I'm not talking about management wise but in variety of software titles. Most major gaming titles have their roots in Nintendo platforms and most gamers (except those on blogs it seems) remember that.

Tepoz

Last I heard, developing a Wii game costs an estimated 25% of what it costs to develop games for the 360 or PS3. You don't have to sell as many copies to break even. The deluge of shovelware is a good indicator that third party devs are still making money. If they weren't, they wouldn't keep making crap.

jsf49

1 game less isn't that big of a deal considering how many more Wiis are being sold. Wii Fit will be selling like hotcakes, I doubt Nintendo is woried

munniec

i bought lots of wii games reacently
mario kart ( when it comes out )
okami
Nights
brawl

rocklee111

Well maybe if they gave use Smash Bros instead of Wii Fit, they would sell more games.

Anto103

I have over 30 retail games for the 360, and about 40 live arcade titles, not to mention expansions and extra content from marketplace. On my wii, I have 2 games, both of which I only played for less than a week, and I've had the Wii since it came out.

I wanted to support Nintendo mainly because I didn't want them to go the way of the Dreamcast, but it's obvious that I am no longer their demographic, so I spend my money in games with better stories and where developers aren't shy to involve the player in moral, mature, or political situations.

Being a digital artist, I am also a sucker for good graphics.

Just my 2 cents.

qbix

I bought Mario Kart last week.
I bought No More Heroes today.
I am a Wii owner, I buy Games.

theTOMSTA666

@Foxstar Sixtail: thanks dude, it's frustrating as hell to watch this play out.

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

@DiscipleofJamzy: Multiply that 1 times the number of Wii's sold and you'll realize that in terms of real dollars that gulf is huge.

The Wreckard

All this bullshit over an exactly 1 game on average difference between Wii and 360/PS3 attach rate? Yeah, the sky is definitely falling.

ajay42

Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Smash Bros., is there anything else really? There maybe one or two games that may appeal to the guy browsing the aisle, but nothin else sticks out unless you count Mario Kart, but that one is questionable.

ban_hammer

@reptile168:

Considering how much was spent on advertising and the failure to sell tons of Halo 3 xbox 360s until ridciously slashed low in price I think most of any money made was wiped out.

Microsoft wanted Halo 3 to be a system seller however the sales figures showed an abysmall rise in system sells.

Yetanotheruninspiredscreename

@Yetanotheruninspiredscreename:

I believe they made money with halo 3 also...

reptile168

The attach rate for 360 is more like 7. Not only patcher can't predict, he doesn't even have facts -_-

reptile168

@JoseJX: I never, ever take the NY Times seriously.

I_Hate_This_Place

Ah the ps3 had a several hundred dollar loss. Why do you think they put it out at 499 and 599?

Microsoft still has a six billion dollar loss on the xbox 360. The damn division has only pulled in profit once and that was on Halo 2 release quarter but the next quarter completly wiped it out.

Sony is losing money hand over fist.

As for attach rates PS3 game sales for the most part are in the toilet in all regions.

Wii software sells extremely well. Recent Euro figures show that a huge chunk of weekly sales are for Wii games.

PS3 owners don't buy games either.

Xbox 360 owners are lemmings pure and simple who mass buy a few games.

Yetanotheruninspiredscreename

Um, guys, don't take this the wrong way, but uh, I think the Kotaku story has the sarcasm turned up just a little? I mean you can't take this NY Times article seriously.

For instance, take the Super Smash Brothers Brawl 90% drop fear mongering.

Halo 3 dropped 95.5% in the same time period. I guess the XBox360 is a failure too then huh?

JoseJX

I assume the casual market reacts to price. I want more pick up and play games that are cheaper like Link's Crossbow. I just don't have the time to devore to "normal" games.

dumptruck

I don't know but the best buy i work at didn't have super smash in stock most of the time.

reptile168

I think I have 9 games for the Wii, all stellar releases. It certainly not for lack of games (anymore) that people aren't buying games for the Wii.

Captain Impulse

@Sloopydrew:
Look up fire emblem!

I agree however. The Wii lacks games for me. It's loaded with games for my mom but my mom doesn't buy games I do. I have 15 Ps3 titles, 8 Wii ones, and 2 360 titles (I just got it). 5 of those 8 wii games were presents other people bought me assuming i'd play them and assuming I would have already bought anything I would have wanted for the 360. The only ones I bought for myself were Fire Emblem, RE4, and RE:UC.
@Fnor: don't kid yourself, they took a gamble and it paid off. MS and Sony didn't gamble much and didn't have it pay off as well. The relative sales positions has more to do with the economy as a whole rather then any key thing Nintendo did. their reading of the economy was better more so then their business acumen. Neither Ms nor Sony took big hits on the 360 and Ps3. MS learned their lesson from the xbox and took steps to hedge their losses. Sony has extremely good vertical integration with the PS3 and any calculations of a loss were based on random "pulled out their ass" figures from analysts. The machines themselves were likely sold near cost to retailers and the only losses were sunk costs due to R&D and fabrication facilities. No one except Sega (DC) and MS (xbox) has ever been confirmed to have sold at a per unit loss.

kingmanic

@Foxstar Sixtail: Considering I don't really know you, I wasn't assuming anything from you. I guess I just read your comment wrong. It seemed like you had already found some people worth nominating for the hammah.

I_Hate_This_Place

This isn't surprising in the least.

Wolfers

@Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.: you are AWESOME!!!! Love your reply.

valhum

Strange Resident Evil 4 Wii edition is pretty easy once you learn the knack and that the game auto adjusts difficulty based on how well you are doing. I completed pro mode with just ten deaths, most of which on just one or two parts and that was due to quicktime boss events in which something new occured. Water room a snap with armor ashley. Pro mode went by in just two hours and that was due to me fiddling around.

Wii game sales are very high Nintendo keeps upping the production numbers of wii games in their financial reports by tens of millions each year.

As for minigame fests someone needs to actually look at the wii game offerings. I doubt you can name five wii games.

Also don't look at damn brick and mortar offerings go online. Brick and mortar stores only stock about 1% of a console lineup of games. 1% remember that.

PS2 and PS1 99% of the library was absolete shit and bringing up gamerankings when if you bothered to read the reviews you would realize the scores do not reflect the reviews of wii games.

Like with Okami Wii the reviewers didn't bother to read the effing manual because they would have known that quick brush strokes you use a button. SSX Blur, Fire Emblem Review, Gamespot Twilight Princess review all show that numerous reviewers should be fired and the games rerated because the reviewers didn't review the game. Often a wii game reviewer will admit to only playing an hour. An hour is really an acceptable amount of time to review a game?

Yetanotheruninspiredscreename

@Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.: Aside from the Mario puns that I made which fails, I wasn't intending to give you that impression. I'm simply saying if people care that much to say that analysts are full of shit then they can curb the reality by doing what I suggested. There are other ways of altering this reality as well, you could ignore it even. Nintendo clearly makes money on all their products. If people are not happy with that, they have the power to give them more. It's pretty simple here <3

okenny :)

Me personally have 4 games for the Wii: Guitar Hero 3, SSBB, Battalion Wars 2 and Madden '08 (okay 5 games if you count Wii Sports).

I'm definitely going to trade in my Madden '08 and Battalion Wars 2 games because Madden '08 is buggy and BW2 is just too easy.

I don't many games to begin with...I don't really have many parties/friends to play with (most friends don't like playing games like I do :p) so I usually rent games, beat them and then return them. It's not worth buying games when I just do that....for example, I bought Super Paper Mario because I thought I'd really like the game. So I got the game and I did enjoy it....for 18 hours....after I beat the game (didn't get all the hidden/secret stuff though) I never played it again....sure the game is great/fun/cute/etc but....I am now out 30-40 bucks.

And again: Metroid Prime 3, I rented this game (wasn't sure I'd like the control scheme) and I enjoyed the game (controls weren't perfect but were pretty darn good) but I beat the game in 20 or so hours (got 100% as well)....so paying 8 bucks to rent it, beat it and return it and now I've saved 40 or so bucks.

Only other game I'm going to actually buy is Mario Kart Wii....and maybe Madden '09. I'm hesitant about the Madden game but...I do like me some football...just hope it's not as buggy as '08 is :(

smd31

Why would I buy lots of bad games when i'm fine with a few good ones that i can replay and/or have multiplayer modes?
I buy my games to last, not to use them for a week and buy a new one.

Waka in Japan

Well I buy games for my Wii.
COD3
Elibits
MOH Heroes2
Resident Evil4
Scarface
Zelda TP
Metroid Prime3
Rayman RR
Prince of Persia
Mario Galaxy
I love em all, so sucks to the New York times.

chris_wing

I've had the Wii for a year now, and so far I have bought 11 games for it, and will continue to buy more. Though I'm also planning to buy an Xbox360, because I want something HD, dammit!

Ehetyz

@I_Hate_This_Place:Oh give it time, there's going to be at least 10 people before Monday's over. No, so far, the topic has been very civil. Do you think me so petty as to ask for people to be banned because they aren't in love with their Wii's?

Foxstar Sixtail

I own a Wii and i am a proud owner, do not regret it at all.
I have it with 11 games and i will buy Okami and Kart.
I also just got a 360 and i have Dead Rising and i will get GTA4 but i don't see any other OMG i have to buy this game, except for Res Evil 5.

valhum

@Yetanotheruninspiredscreename: Whoa, careful... the 360 division may be trying to decrease their losses but the attach rate is very good. Also, the PS3 is doing fine and offers value the Wii doesn't have: a blu ray player, a Hard drive, and HD video/sound capabilities.

HD will become standard in the US next year and that can only mean good things for the PS3 and not so good things for the Wii.

fenderfuel08

Why am I not surprised that according to the Kotaku blogger, this piece is "well-argued?"

HAGE

@kingmanic:

Ps3 owners buy more games than Wii owners? Where are they at on the sales chart.

If your going by this whole "attachement ratio" thing you have to take into consideration LOWER SYSTEMS SOLD generally give you a high attachement rate, that doesn't mean they buy more games.

Actually in Wii trails 360 in terms of software sold monthly consistently. but the attachement rate is significantly lower because Wii has many more systems sold than BOTH those systems worldwide.

It's simple math vs. simple speculation.

FunKrusher

Well I own 14 games for Wii and my console gets love on the regular. I also own a 360 which gets regular love.

Nintendo system has like what 7-10 million sellers? I don't think that's bad by a stretch.

I don't pay any mind to these sorts of things, the haters need to learn that Nintendo isn't going anywhere, and this pretty much solidfies it. It baffles me how people say "oh the wii's got 3 good games" still to this day?

I mean half the people that say this haven't even played the games they're shitting on.

The only thing I think the Wii needs is more advertising. We hear too much about Ninty's games and periphals and not the other guys.

Also funny how people are claiming Nintendo is doomed, being that their games cost 25-30% to make vs. PS3/360 and their games (Zelda, Mario, whatever mini-game you're hating on) tend to hang around in the sales charts forever (Zelda TP is STILL in the top 50 for game sales), I think they'll be okay.

FunKrusher

Thats just how it is when your system isn't targeted at the core gamers.

I have been a loyal nintnedo customer since the SNES but I am not ashamed to say the Wii is the last nintendo console I'll ever buy. I think nintendo may be shooting themsleves in the foot by feeding their core base scraps(good scraps, but still scraps) while giving the meat to the casual base.

fenderfuel08

The NY Times also did a piece a few weeks ago about how teens are spending less and less and even in some cases, girls are learning how to make and modify their old clothes. If you ask me, that is WAY MORE scary than some stupid wii sales numbers because those teenage girls represent a huge chunk of americas retail sales figures and its no wonder most of those stores are in massive trouble.

My point is that this issue has nothing to do with gaming, but more to do with the state of our economy here in the US. People are worried and when people are worried, they dont spend money.

rubadub

@Rebochan: @sporkhead:

I don't know what you guys are talking about. My little brother watches Cartoon Network on Sky and there was a Zack and Wiki advert on the television every 2nd commercial when they brought it out here. :P

Wuffles

@Yetanotheruninspiredscreename: outside of Nintendo and to some degree Capcom, it's hard for a third party to sell a lot of units on the wii. Put it this way, if you were a reputable 3rd party and you wanted to put a brand new IP on a system, would you choose the wii? now normally, i would say yes due to the installed base of the system but even you (who defends the system vigorously) have to think about it.

jun581

For whatever reason, I'm feeling compelled right now to point out an alternative theory (of my own) to the lackluster attach rate of Wii games to Wii owners.

I believe there has been a complete mis-identification of the successfully targeted demographic both here and at Nintendo's headquarters.

Up to this point, it's been generally assumed that those most likely to purchase a Wii would fall into the category labled as, "the Casual Gamer" - which is a term difficult to define in it's own right. But I believe there's more to it than that. You see - I AM one of those who went out of their way to buy one of these things, but in no way would I consider myself "casual" in the least. Oh, sure; I don't put in the hours anywhere near what I used to (thanks to all those adulthood responsibilities that come with ...well, adulthood), but my experience with gaming goes all the way back to the original Pong, so it's reasonable to assume that my own hopes and expectations in continuing game development would exceed even those of latter generations growing up with PS1's and 2's in the household.

And to be honest, by the time Microsoft and Sony began touting the amazing "features" of their next-gen consoles, it was all becoming quite boring to me; more of the same with prettier graphics, virtually no real innovation to speak of. With that setting, it's very easy to see why Nintendo's new Wiimote technology struck a powerful spark of interest in me. Finally; REAL innovation - REAL improvements in gameplay mechanics! For the first time since the release of the PS1, I had a game system I could really look forward to!

And now, cue the passage of time. I am a family man in my late 30's (given away by my hands-on experience with Pong, of course). Most others I know who have purchased a Wii are also in their 30's or early 40's. Some of them are looking for their kids - some are looking for themselves. Some of them could be called "casual gamers" - others, certainly not! But the one thing we all seem to have in common is (suprise!) that elusive 30-40-something age bracket. And we all seem to be after the same attributes; something safe for the kids, but fun for us after hours, and we want it affordable and reliable (no thanks, Sony and Microsoft).
[btw - I know there's lots of young people with these systems too, but I'm pretty sure we outnumber you by a lot.]

Well, I think it's safe to say at this point in the console wars that the Wii has got all our small children well covered with plenty of safe, non-violent entertainment, and even has Grandma occupied for short bursts of time, and that's fine and all, but us 30-40-something-year-olds who bought the system to begin with are feeling pretty let down right now. We have needs too! Wii Sports was fun for a month or two, but that wore out a looong time ago. We need something new and fresh to wave our Wiimotes at! Something adventuresome, artitistic, cinematic... something like Bioshock! ...or, that Mass Effect alien game! Or how about something like that "Tomb Raider but with a dude" game that came out recently - Drake's somethingorother, I think it was. A little fantasy violence is fine by us, but not that ultraviolent freakshow swearfest like what's in that game "No More Hero's". And enough with the kiddy stuff already; we're about as "Mario'd-out" as we can be.

We, the buyers of Wii, are not just "Casual Gamers", a title you have so recklessly assigned us. We are the "Adult Family Gamers", and our tastes are varied, smart and sophisticated. Though we remain silently unsatisfied with your selection of title thus far, we refrain from selling our little white boxes out of hope and faith; hope that you will one day awaken and see us for who we truly are, and faith that once that day arrives, you will strive to quench our undying thirst for entertainment extraordinarre.

...Either that, or I guess we could just buy a cheap Xbo