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Forums - Microsoft Discussion - Can the 360 retake the lead from the Wii?

Malcom on 14 October 2007
Level42 said:
If Japan's sales are any indication, the Wii's novelty is starting to wane. People are coming home with their new Wiis, sitting through a few rounds of Sports, and then thinking: "Now what?" If Mario Galaxy isn't stellar (pun, hehe) then Wii sales are going to start slipping, no doubt. They've had the low price and overly simplified controls on their side through the launch, but gamers know that they need to go elsewhere for a substantial gaming experience.

That's only in terms of hardware. When you talk about "retaking the lead", you're referring to console numbers. However, it's been pretty obvious for a while that the 360 has been on top in terms of console software sold, by far. They've been leading the pack consistently over the other two consoles, even with Wii Sports and Wii Play sneaking into Nintendo's numbers through hardware bundle sales. The fact of the matter is: the 360s are in the hands of people who like playing games, and who buy software consistently. The Wiis are in your moms' and girlfriends' bedrooms, and they're just not looking for the next AAA title. They couldn't care less. Halo's effect has just begun. I'm sure not even half of the people who want Halo/360 this year have it yet, the console and software numbers will stay high through Q1 2008. As for the PS3, I'm genuinely hoping that his price drop helps them out a bit, but I'm not holding my breath. We'll start to see the PS3 numbers surge next year when the 360's DVD capacity problem becomes more evident and some truly amazing titles start coming out on the PS3.

That's my opinion, the numbers will speak for themselves.

 

Not to flame, but you're simply flat out wrong, especially in Japan. There is much more to the Wii than Wii Sports, ESPECIALLY in Japan. That would more true in regards to Japan than ANY other country in the world.

 But you can't knock the Wii for having an amazing pack in game. People complain about it like it's a bad thing that Wii Sports continues to sell consoles. There's a lot more there than people give the Wii credit for.

 But I don't even know why I posted this. I feel like i'm debating with a brick wall.



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Desroko on 14 October 2007
Level42 said:
If Japan's sales are any indication, the Wii's novelty is starting to wane. People are coming home with their new Wiis, sitting through a few rounds of Sports, and then thinking: "Now what?" If Mario Galaxy isn't stellar (pun, hehe) then Wii sales are going to start slipping, no doubt. They've had the low price and overly simplified controls on their side through the launch, but gamers know that they need to go elsewhere for a substantial gaming experience.

That's only in terms of hardware. When you talk about "retaking the lead", you're referring to console numbers. However, it's been pretty obvious for a while that the 360 has been on top in terms of console software sold, by far. They've been leading the pack consistently over the other two consoles, even with Wii Sports and Wii Play sneaking into Nintendo's numbers through hardware bundle sales. The fact of the matter is: the 360s are in the hands of people who like playing games, and who buy software consistently. The Wiis are in your moms' and girlfriends' bedrooms, and they're just not looking for the next AAA title. They couldn't care less. Halo's effect has just begun. I'm sure not even half of the people who want Halo/360 this year have it yet, the console and software numbers will stay high through Q1 2008. As for the PS3, I'm genuinely hoping that his price drop helps them out a bit, but I'm not holding my breath. We'll start to see the PS3 numbers surge next year when the 360's DVD capacity problem becomes more evident and some truly amazing titles start coming out on the PS3.

That's my opinion, the numbers will speak for themselves.

You managed to sneak both "bubble burst" and "PS3 domnination starts in 2006 2007 2008" into a single post. Are you sure you're new here?

Not to mention confusing a spike with a trend.  



Legend11 on 14 October 2007
Dodece said:

Past success is never a guarantee of continued success. The software lineup for the Wii this holiday season is somewhat underwhelming. To me the question is this does software matter. Now if software does matter to those buying consoles. Then Microsoft should have a stellar season. However if hardware is what matters then the Wii will dominate.

So I suppose the question is this do you believe software actually matters when it comes to a consoles success. We often talk about the affects of software, and we have seen it spike sales. However to say the Wii will dominate utterly would indicate that software does not matter at all.

When it comes to the Wii's current success it's a combination of hardware (Wii Remote) with just one game (Wii Sports). 

Without it's motion-sensing controller the system would likely be battling it out with the PS3 for second place because nobody would give Wii Sports a second glance without it and the rest of it's library of hits (many of which would have fallen apart without the motion-sensing) consists of a $10 budget game, a cash-in port of a 2 1/2 year old game, a game that was developed for Gamecube and quickly ported for the Wii's launch, an average first person shooter, the 8th main installment in a party game series, an average multiplatform platformer, and just two Wii only titles of real note with both coming out after the Wii's success was established (SPM and MP3). 

Without Wii Sports on the other hand the system wouldn't have had the killer app that caught the attention and imagination of the media and non-gamers alike and it's doubtful that any of Nintendo's other games would have been even remotely as appealing even with the Wii's motion controller.  Sure the console had it's other Nintendo hits but as shown by the Gamecube that alone only takes a console so far.

So it's that symbiotic relationship between Wii Remote and Wii Sports that is responsible for the Wii's success and as long as Wii Sports holds it's end up, at least until Nintendo comes out with Wii Fit and enough quality first, second, and third party games are released it should continue to meet with success.



Legend11 on 14 October 2007
RussWakelin said:

Over the past few weeks, not only has the 360 HW sales exceeded the Wii's, but the gap has been steadily growing:

Week Before Halo: 360 sells 11k more units than Wii
Week of Halo: 360 sells 24k more units than Wii
Last Week: 360 sells 30k more units than Wii

 And we haven't even gotten into the holiday season madness yet. 

 Nintendo has hinted that they may have supply problems this holiday, which could hurt their sales numbers.  But even with out that, can the 360 continue these kinds of numbers through the holiday?

I think perhaps it can.  While the "Halo Effect" may wear off, Halo really is just the beginning of some soon to come AAA titles that won't be on the Wii:

The Orange Box (just out, we'll see how the numbers do next week)
Mass Effect
Assasin's Creed
Rock Band
Virtua Fighter 5
Call of Duty 4
Army of Two
GHIII

 The only title the Wii has coming out that looks to be anywhere near the potential of the above is Super Mario Galaxy.

Is it too soon to think that the 360 can retake the lead before 2008?

If the 360 was successful in Japan it would have a decent chance but since it isn't the chances are extremely slim.