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Gaming Forums => Nintendo Gaming => Topic started by: D_MaN87 on January 20, 2007, 06:28:50 PM

Title: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: D_MaN87 on January 20, 2007, 06:28:50 PM
When i pass an eb games i usually drop in to see what they have.  I always tend to see a big line up for the ps3, but with the wii, its empty, and usually turned off.  This is a small concern for me.  I do understand the need for id or drivers license might turn some away (kids etc.), but this does not seem right.  I asked one of the guys how popular the wii is, and he said he has sold a lot of games, but not many people have tried the kiosk.  Can anyone else see this as bad news?
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: King of Twitch on January 20, 2007, 06:50:10 PM
Sony sabotages its competitors by proxy. This one of several methods of sony-tage.
Title: RE:Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on January 20, 2007, 07:34:54 PM
I think it can easily be explained in that you have to go up to the desk and ask for a Wiimote (at least they used to) along with providing them with ID. It is alot of hassle just to play the Wii and most probaly choose to ignore the Wii because of it, which is why Nintendo needs to find a way to attach the controller to the system without limiting too much movement!
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: MattVDB on January 20, 2007, 09:25:30 PM
My question to you is, how many people have you personally had over to your house to play the Wii, or have you let experience it.  Now compare that to the Gamecube.  How many of the people that you show the Wii to would never go into a EB/GS?  For me, there is no doubt Nintendo has the winning strategy.  My single Wii has already sold 4 that I know about and can look back on.  That is a 400 percent increase in sales then they would have had before.  400 percent.  You wonder why they are still sold out?  This number doesn't include the people that I have sold on it that are currently saving up either.  These are solid purchases.  I know another 4 people buying them.  Suffice it to say, I don't think there is any cause to worry about an unplayed kiosk at this point in time.

I mean, when my dad got his (he's in his 70s, btw) he told me he picked it up "Over at Gameboy".  He didn't even know what GameStop actually was.  Nintendo's got a good brand name, and anybody trying to tell you otherwise is full of it at this point.
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: NeoThunder on January 20, 2007, 11:53:11 PM
I can't really say it will affect sales of Wii, however, it does look bad when you see the whole system turned off and not even running the intro video of a game or anything (in fareness though, I've seen times where the PS3 demo unit was turned off, my guess was heat issues)

I use the store where I live as an example, I called and asked if they had their Wii demo unit in yet and the guy told me, "Ya, but we have to wait for Nintendo to come in and calibrate the crappy tilt sensor thingys."  Needless to say I went off on him and told him he didn't know what the f*ck he was talking about.  The truth was, as I can guess from what he said, was they got one of the "brick" systems that ask for a disk when you turn it on, just a system update is all it needed.

I guess my point is the bigger threat to Wii is Sony fanboys who would rather spread mis-information instead of actual truth to prevent someone from buying a nintendo system
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: Dirk Temporo on January 21, 2007, 12:02:42 AM
What kind of backwards world do you live in? Everyone else I've heard from has said that the PS3 demo is turned off half the time because they're sick of the goddamn thing freezing every five minutes.
Title: RE:Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: NeoThunder on January 21, 2007, 12:58:09 AM
uhh.....i did say that
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: Shecky on January 21, 2007, 01:13:21 AM
Maybe they came in asking about the Wii, got told there have none in stock - but that they do have PS3's in stock!  So they check out the PS3 station to see if it's worth it.  That's what a good business man would do... push the stock that they have (and from what it sounds like the PS3 really needs some pushing )
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: son of lucas on January 21, 2007, 01:37:11 AM
I've yet to even see a kiosk.  Everyone around here has the video.
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: Mario on January 21, 2007, 02:31:02 AM
What a crap thread. Obviously nobody is going to play it if it's turned off.
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: ShyGuy on January 21, 2007, 05:09:31 AM
Wii is Doomed.
Title: RE:Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: Zach on January 21, 2007, 07:50:09 AM


Tee hee... This is the situation I found at a mall I went to the other day.  I managed to snap a photo with my phone, but after that the EB employee informed me that I was not allowed to take pictures in the store.
Title: RE:Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: Smash_Brother on January 21, 2007, 02:00:31 PM
Quote

Originally posted by: D_MaN87
When i pass an eb games i usually drop in to see what they have.  I always tend to see a big line up for the ps3, but with the wii, its empty, and usually turned off.  This is a small concern for me.  I do understand the need for id or drivers license might turn some away (kids etc.), but this does not seem right.  I asked one of the guys how popular the wii is, and he said he has sold a lot of games, but not many people have tried the kiosk.  Can anyone else see this as bad news?


It doesn't matter when you can't buy a Wii in that store with the kiosk because the Wiis keep selling out in a matter of minutes.
Title: RE:Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: MarioAllStar on January 21, 2007, 02:20:40 PM
I would love it if they could come up with a better kiosk solution that does not require using ID as collateral, but I guess tethering the remote might not work too well.

I have seen maybe 3 or 4 people using the kiosks overall. One of them was a younger kid playing Zelda. It was painful to watch him play. He had no clue about the control scheme, so Nintendo definitely should include a tutorial type mode for games that are not completely obvious. Even a little splash screen with control information would help. (Most people skip those, but at least they can't blame the game for their ignorance.)

Games like Wii Sports or WarioWare a lot more obvious in their controls, but require larger movements and might be too embarassing for some people to play when it is all eyes on them.  
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: Blue Plant on January 21, 2007, 02:47:57 PM
They need a light, unbreakable diamond filament tether!  

As well as a well-placed friendly reminder that huge sweeping motion is not really required for a game like Wii Sports (which I believe would be gold as a kiosk demo).
Title: RE:Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: Cap on January 21, 2007, 03:26:46 PM
Quote

Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix
I think it can easily be explained in that you have to go up to the desk and ask for a Wiimote (at least they used to) along with providing them with ID. It is alot of hassle just to play the Wii and most probaly choose to ignore the Wii because of it, which is why Nintendo needs to find a way to attach the controller to the system without limiting too much movement!


i actually had no idea that you could actually play the wii they have on display at my local eb games. i didnt see a controller so just assumed that the system itself was just on display for some strange reason(there was no sign informing people of the ability to get a controller to use). there definately needs to be some sort of better solution to allow people to actually experience what the system can do.
Title: RE:Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: Jensen on January 21, 2007, 03:33:17 PM
When I went to EB games, and asked for the controller, they said the batteries were dead.

I finally went to Game Crazy, and thought they didn't have the Wii, until I saw the system on a counter behind the service desk.  I asked the clerk to try the Wii, and he put two controllers on the desk, no questions asked, and he didn't tell me to use the strap.  He even walked off a few times.  

I personally preferred the truck game on the PS3 to Excite Truck, but didn't really like either much.
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: jasonditz on January 21, 2007, 05:47:52 PM
There's very little reason to try the system since they don't have any to buy anyhow, nor do they have any idea when they're going to get some.

What's particularly annoying is how many stores have umpteen empty Wii boxes sitting out for display purposes, yet they act all annoyed if you ask if they have any in stock.
Title: RE:Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: 31 Flavas on January 21, 2007, 06:03:59 PM
Quote

Originally posted by: D_MaN87
When i pass an eb games i usually drop in to see what they have.  I always tend to see a big line up for the ps3, but with the wii, its empty, and usually turned off.  This is a small concern for me.  I do understand the need for id or drivers license might turn some away (kids etc.), but this does not seem right.  I asked one of the guys how popular the wii is, and he said he has sold a lot of games, but not many people have tried the kiosk.  Can anyone else see this as bad news?
Nah... I wouldn't see it as bad news really. 4 million Wii systems have sold in what 2 months? The 360 had only sold what 2 million by that same time?

But, I can see why the EB game store kiosk would be turned off and/or ignored, though. First, it isn't immediately playable like the PS3 system is because it doesn't have built-in controllers. I would guess many people ignore it because they don't know to ask for the controllers. So since the system isn't in use much the Wii menu sound would probably get on the employee's nerves, hence why they might be turned off.

The Wii displays I've seen at Bust Buy, Wal-Mart, etc i've seen are better, since instead of being (essentially) non-playable systems just displaying the Wii menu, they run a video in a loop demonstrating the Wii for the observer(s) / potential buyer.

Would it be nice for Wal-Mart, BB, CC, Target, EB, GS, etc to have (immediately) playable demo kiosks? Sure. But, you can't anchor the Wii remote like you could any previous game controller and a tether long enough to accommodate for Wii Sports could (and probably would) be used by some idiot kid to strangle his/herself or a sibling. In the end though, the people who already own Wii's are providing a far better demos to potential customers then an in store demo kiosk ever could.
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: D_MaN87 on January 22, 2007, 12:30:24 AM
Well personally I have sold at least 4 wii's to people who would never consider a wii, and certainly made fun of me during my gamecube era.  I understand this will not fully affect wii sales, but I find it weird to see such a lineup for ps3's while the wii get's no love.  I remember offering my drivers license to play excite truck.  People beside me playing ps3 snickered.  Stupid fanboys.  Can't they give it a chance? I gave ps3 a chance, and passed ha.  It is kind of a hassle to ask for the wiimote, but I mean a lot of people (18 under) do not have a means to try it out.  I am lucky enough to have a wii, and give people a chance to try it.  What about these kids that do not know anyone with a wii because all their friends are sony/microsoft fanboys.  I guess however, it is comforting when I see ps3's on sale, and wii's sold out wherever I go.
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: Nick DiMola on January 22, 2007, 01:39:41 AM
Personally, everytime I walk into a game store people are crowded around the Wii and the PS3 is largely ignored in favor of the Xbox 360. Recently I have seen Zelda in the Wii kiosks and that has garnered a huge amount of attention from potential buyers.

I'm hoping Nintendo figures out a way to tether the Wiimotes to the kiosks because it is a real pain in the ass to request the controller everytime you want to demo a game. The solution doesn't have to be presented immediately, but when there are systems available for purchase Nintendo needs to have a way to showcase their system that doesn't require an exchange at the counter. It would also be helpful to have real demo kiosks in department stores like Walmart, Best Buy and Circuit City that aren't just videos. Nintendo can't simply rely on a grassroots movement with fans selling the system to friends and family.
Title: RE:Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: JonLeung on January 22, 2007, 01:52:16 AM
Not sure if it's been mentioned, but if the Wii is selling much better than the PS3, wouldn't it make more sense that people would want to try the PS3 if a PS3 kiosk happens to be working at all?

I wouldn't want to go to the trouble of giving my ID, etc., to play a game I may already have or easily could on my own Wii at home.  A PS3 is more of a rarity, much more expensive, etc., and even though I wouldn't buy one for numerous reasons, I might be curious enough to stand in line for a few minutes to play one.

(Then again, at E3, I waited in line at Nintendo's booth for a couple hours and didn't even bother with the fifteen-minute line for the PS3s.  :P  I heard the Wii line topped off at about five hours, the longest line at any E3 ever, while the PS3 lines were like half an hour long.)

Don't forget that there are many gamers that still love Sony, that non-gamers that might be interested in the Wii are still less likely to browse through a game store, and that some people are still insecure to be waving a controller around in public.
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: Pittbboi on January 22, 2007, 02:07:09 AM
I don't understand why they don't just tether the controler to the kiosk. That's what they did at the fusion tour and, contrary to popular belief, it wasn't at all a problem.
Title: RE: Unpopular wii kiosks
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on January 22, 2007, 05:59:43 AM
At the Target in my hometown, they replaced the upfront PS3 demo reel monitor with a Wii demo reel monitor.  That means there's 2 monitors side by side upfront displaying the Wii demo reel simultaneously to the aisle.

Many a shopping cart stop to watch.

The Ps3 playable MotorStorm demo is in the middle of the Ps3 shelf, where people leave after seeing a couple crashes.