| FishyJoe said: Still I think it's better to be in demand than not wanted at all. Nintendo will still make money via the gray market which is better than nothing. |
Of course.
I actually believe Nintendo took the "make a profit on hardware as well" approach because their consoles have always been pirated - with exception to the GCN - and every single console released by them have been huge succcesses over here - with exception to the GCN!
They make money, period. They don't have to worry about piracy in China because a) their business model is not entirely dependent on software, b) they still make money in hardware, and c) as far as anyone is concerned, anti-piracy measures in China are a lost cause anyway - and when you console is "unpiratable", no one in China wants it.
A good indication of this little theory of mine about Chinese consumer habits is the PS3. It sells like dog poo over here. The 360 has much better sales over here. Why? PS3 games still can't be pirated. 360 games can.
Compare that with the last generation: PS2 games could be pirated so it sold like hotcakes. Xbox games were also pirated, but given their late entry into the market they didn't make much of a dent. But the Gamecube bombed miserably in China.
Piracy is a major driving force behind consumer hardware adoption in China. I would even bet that Blu-ray will never take off in China unless the media can be pirated.
