Darc Requiem on 20 March 2007
Erik Aston said:
Nintendo is being ruthless with Wii. They were confident in Japan, because DS had re-cemented them as the leader there. But they did make sure to allot enough units that they could pass PS3 in Japan right away. And in the US, they launched Wii on the same weekend as PS3, knowing they'd have better supply, to absolutely kill PS3 hype as much as possible. Stories comparing the launches were all over in the mainstream press, and it made Nintendo look like the golden boy of the industry.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were making a big European push in March. Not so that people waiting for a PS3 buy a Wii--that doesn't make much sense. But just so that when sales figures come out, Nintendo can say that they held their own against the PS3 launch during their fourth month of release, to once again draw the PS3 into question.
Nintendo says they aren't competing with Sony. But their timing seems like its designed for viral FUD creation.
Erik you should be working for some sort of professional gaming site and/or publication. Your posts are always highly insightful. As usual, you hit the nail on the head. Nintendo says they aren't competing with Sony, but take each and every opportunity to make Sony look bad. Having the Wii sales in Europe be much higher during the month the PS3 launches would put quite a damper on Sony's party.
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