Topic: Iwata: Declining Wii Sales in Japan Not Healthy

[NWR_pap64]

The recent price drop has not had the intended effect in Japan, and Nintendo's "urgent mission" is to regain momentum.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=20246

 The sales of the Wii in Japan have been declining, falling below 50,000 units per week.    

"This cannot be defined as healthy," said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata.    

Despite a few sales spikes with the release of titles like Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus, and the recent price drop, Nintendo has been unable to maintain solid sales each week. The slow Wii sales are one of the reasons Nintendo has warned of possible profit declines. According to Iwata the Wii's recent price cut "seems to have the least impact here than other parts of the world."  "It is our urgent mission to recover the momentum of Wii during the holidays, utilizing Nintendo's strength," Iwata said.    

The DS, on the other hand, has seen great legs in sales thanks to anticipated releases like Dragon Quest IX and Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver.

[Peachylala]

Personally, I find software sales to be more important to me then hardware sales. That's just me though.

And portable sales will always be up because they are portable systems, they can be taken anywhere. Consoles, not at all.

[NWR_Lindy]

Somebody has to say it...

NINTENDO IS TEH DOOMED

[GoldenPhoenix]

Somebody has to say it...

NINTENDO IS TEH DOOMED

Shouldn't someone different say it though?

[NWR_pap64]

Somebody has to say it...

NINTENDO IS TEH DOOMED

NINTENDO IS DOOMED



DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!

[NWR_Lindy]

I just figured that I'd save everybody the trouble, since I'm going to wind up locking this thread eventually anyways.

LOL

[BlackNMild2k1]

It's alright though since I already posted this in the thread with out lengthy discussion on why Wii sales aren't healthy.

[Ian Sane]

What's been released recently for the Wii in Japan?  I've found Nintendo's output has been really sparce for, hell, well over a year.  New games keep the buzz going and give the console momentum.  The existence of new product is very much a marketing tool in itself.  Who's going to talk about the Wii and get word-of-mouth going when they've gotten bored of the games that have and have nothing new to play on it?  I know this isn't an example of the general public's taste but if you go to a gaming forum that covers all consoles the Wii gets talked about a lot when a new game is released or announced or rumoured but will disappear from conversation the rest of time, just because there is nothing to talk about.  And this happens with all the consoles.  Out of sight = out of mind.  So is the Wii currently have reason to be talked about in Japan?  And I ask that legitimately since I don't know the release schedule there.

But game sales are more important.  Nintendo gets worried about DS sales slowing down when the fact is they've sold so many damn units that the market is almost saturated.  That's not bad news it's GOOD since games are supposed to be where the money is and if you have a decent business model you'll benefit from the large userbase.  Maybe the Wii is similar to that in that it just has sold so well that most of the target market has it already.

If their reaction to this is more games then that would be great. Somehow I imagine it will involve some new gimmicky peripheral or possible a new variation of the Wii to try to get current owners to upgrade.  Making a profit off of hardware sales at first seemed like an additional source of revenue but the way they act it's like they've made it their primary source.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Monster Tri & Sin & Punishment 2 are the 2 that immediately jump to mind.
next week is NSMB Wii, the week after that is FFCC:CB (I think)

Nintendo gets worried about DS sales slowing down when the fact is they've sold so many damn units that the market is almost saturated.  That's not bad news it's GOOD since games are supposed to be where the money is and if you have a decent business model you'll benefit from the large userbase.  Maybe the Wii is similar to that in that it just has sold so well that most of the target market has it already.

But if the market is saturated then that is all the more reason to release different versions of the hardware. Sure, you want people to buy games, but if they have disposable income maybe they'll buy a competing system to have more games. If I have consumer X buying model Y of the DSi, that means he probably not out buying model Z of the PSP. If you can keep them busy upgrading to the new model they won't have the time or money to check out the competition. Now they might feel so invested in the systems they have, they won't bother to see what they are missing elsewhere.

[Ian Sane]

If you can keep them busy upgrading to the new model they won't have the time or money to check out the competition.

But you can also keep them busy playing quality games released at a decent rate which, unlike a hardware based approach, doesn't contain any negative association with trying to con people into buying something they don't need.  One option can hurt the trust between the customer and the company and the other pretty much never can.  I think it makes sense to focus on the option that creates no enemies.

Hardware is only as good as the games it supports.  Without new games any minor variation to the hardware has no value to the customer and, while it may provide short term profit with the new hardware sale, it risks losing that customer due to dissatisfaction with a product that didn't turn out to be worth the money.

[Chozo Ghost]

The problem is and has always been the lack of games. What the hell has Nintendo been doing this last year? I don't see new IPs... just the same old franchises plus some parlor game crap and non-games. This won't cut it. If Nintendo doesn't start releasing good games then they will lose their 1st place position, and this is a fact.

[EasyCure]

The problem is and has always been the lack of games. What the hell has Nintendo been doing this last year? I don't see new IPs... just the same old franchises plus some parlor game crap and non-games. This won't cut it. If Nintendo doesn't start releasing good games then they will lose their 1st place position, and this is a fact.

Do you want them to release "Good games" as you mentioned or "New (ip)" games? Cuz they are releasing good games, which probably don't garner as much as excitement as a new nintendo IP would, which means the longtime nintendo faithful are just jaded to whats out now (and coming soon).

[GoldenPhoenix]

The problem is and has always been the lack of games. What the hell has Nintendo been doing this last year? I don't see new IPs... just the same old franchises plus some parlor game crap and non-games. This won't cut it. If Nintendo doesn't start releasing good games then they will lose their 1st place position, and this is a fact.

I'd like to see that, do you even realize how big of a lead they have? No probably not.

[ShyGuy]

ShyGuy: Water is wet.

[Chozo Ghost]

I'd like to see that, do you even realize how big of a lead they have? No probably not.

Sony has a very good chance of beating their YTD sales in Japan if things don't change. A couple more years of Sony outselling the Wii then they catch up and surpass them. Nintendo's momentum is dropping while Sony's is increasing. This is a bad thing no matter how you slice it.

[BlackNMild2k1]

PS3 might win this YTD if things don't change, but Nintendo would have to stop selling the Wii altogether if the PS3 is gonna overtake the Wii's lead in only a few years.

By the time Sony even got close to outselling a a Wii that stopped being sold today(2012), I would already expect Wii2 to already be out (end of 2011). It's not gonna happen with out some massive long lasting PS3 sales boost.

[Dasmos]

A couple more years is right. The PS3 has a 10 year lifespan. The Wii can't match that.

[Chozo Ghost]

BnM I think you fail to understand that the PS3's sales are increasing, so it may not take that long for it to catch up.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Um ps3 sales have plummeted since the initial release of the slim. 10k lead is nothing to freak out over unless you are the "t" word.

[King of Twitch]

TIKU TIKU TIKU?

[Plugabugz]

I just figured that I'd save everybody the trouble, since I'm going to wind up locking this thread eventually anyways.

LOL

The Wii is anorexic? Or is your Wii not very healthy?

[KDR_11k]

The problem is and has always been the lack of games. What the hell has Nintendo been doing this last year? I don't see new IPs... just the same old franchises plus some parlor game crap and non-games. This won't cut it. If Nintendo doesn't start releasing good games then they will lose their 1st place position, and this is a fact.

Some have the theory that they were massively enamored with the user generated content idea (they did talk a lot about how it is the future...) and focused their development on that. Wii Music flopped, Blast Works flopped, Little Big Planet flopped and Nintendo noticed that UGC sucks, sending them scrambling for something to release.

[BlackNMild2k1]

BnM I think you fail to understand that the PS3's sales are increasing, so it may not take that long for it to catch up.

No I understand it just fine. I think it's you that doesn't realize the Wii has a 5million console lead and to only make it up 10-15k consoles at a time is gonna take a very long time. If the PS3 were to actually catch up anytime soon, it would require Nintendo to stop selling the Wii now while the PS3 keeps selling whatever it's selling now.

[GoldenPhoenix]

BnM I think you fail to understand that the PS3's sales are increasing, so it may not take that long for it to catch up.

No I understand it just fine. I think it's you that doesn't realize the Wii has a 5million console lead and to only make it up 10-15k consoles at a time is gonna take a very long time. If the PS3 were to actually catch up anytime soon, it would require Nintendo to stop selling the Wii now while the PS3 keeps selling whatever it's selling now.

And that is how things are now, I fully expect Wii to overtake PS3 soon again with NSMB Wii. Sony's PS3 sales had a huge spike but plummeted quickly. With the price cut for Wii there was a minor spike but the drop off has been minor as well.

[vudu]

BnM I think you fail to understand that the PS3's sales are increasing, so it may not take that long for it to catch up.

No I understand it just fine. I think it's you that doesn't realize the Wii has a 5million console lead and to only make it up 10-15k consoles at a time is gonna take a very long time. If the PS3 were to actually catch up anytime soon, it would require Nintendo to stop selling the Wii now while the PS3 keeps selling whatever it's selling now.

The concern is that the lead will increase from 10k - 15k to something more substantial.  There's an argument that once FF XIII releases a lot of hold outs will purchase PS3s.  Then again, the same can be said for DQX, so it's a moot point at this time.