There is definitely something comical about the claims that Wii Sports would not sell so well if it were not a pack-in. Of course, it seems to be an unspoken obligation to not factor in how much the Wii has sold simply because Wii Sports IS a pack-in...
Think about it this way: Joe Average, a non-gamer, looks at a video game system and sees it comes with no games. Do you really think he's going to pick the system up when he also has to figure out a game to play on it, not knowing anything about what games are even on the system? Don't fool yourself; most consumers don't know what games are on video game systems, even with commercials advertising them. How often do you mute or ignore commercials that don't interest you? If you're like most people, all the time.
But then let's look at a system with a game packed in. All of a sudden, the equation is much different. Joe Average suddenly is getting not only a game system, but a game to go with it. Score! No need to browse the shelves without knowing what to expect, this game can tell him just what the system has to offer! It's like the company did the research for him, so he gets to have fun right away without worrying about picking up a game that isn't fun!
That, in a nutshell, is why the pack-in is the saving grace of video game systems when marketing to the mainstream. The Wii would not be anywhere near as successful without Wii Sports packed in as it is with it packed in. Don't believe me? Check out its slow-burn of success in Japan, where it's still the most-bought game for the system, yet the system and game both trail behind other regions significantly even in relative scale.
And then there's the fact that no company in its right mind would keep a pack-in that does NOT move hardware. A bad pack-in will kill sales of hardware and software both, due to the effects of first impressions on mainstream consumers. There is a method to the madness, in short, and the pack-in always deserves to sell exactly as well as it does no matter how many irate users claim otherwise.
Sky Render - Sanity is for the weak.
