alpha_dk said:
kn said:
couchmonkey said:
A)I don't doubt an HD Wii is in the works, B)As for the idea that Nintendo isn't competing with PS3 and 360 - that's exactly what Nintendo wants you to think - it makes it oh so much easier to take over the industry by stealth.
C)The fact is, PS3 sales are horrendous compared to PS2, and 360 sales are hardly better than the original Xbox. Meanwhile, Wii is picking up the slack at an amazing rate |
A) You would have to be crazy to think that Nintendo R&D isn't already working on ideas for their next generation. When you have the kind of corporate profits you have now, you spend a lot on R&D because you can cover the costs. I assure you they are working on ideas for their next generation of video game systems and controllers. B) Maybe so, but I stand by my argument that that they really aren't competing for the same gamer. C) PS3 sales are horrendous for one reason: Price. This is where I belive my argument that they AREN'T competing holds water. Th $600 PS3 and the $250 Wii were not competing for the same set of gamers dollars. One was and is chasing nintendo faithful and casual gamers. The other is chasing the cutting edge gamer. Two completely different audiences. If the PS3 WAS competing with the Wii, they wouldn't have been priced at $600 and they certainly wouldn't have the level of hardware they do now. At 299, for instance, a PS3 could have had decent graphics hardware but no blueray and they probably would now be competing with the Wii... |
A) I agree Nintendo is almost certainly doing R&D for the next console. That does *not* mean it is going to be released in the next 5 years even. B) Whether or not they are competing for the same gamer, they are competing for the same gaming dollars. Every game that is released on the Wii is a game that is not released on the PS3/X360 (Okay, not really... but the vast majority). Most game sales come from casual gamers - you don't think that the hardcore gamers are the only people that bought GTA, do you? When a developer has a choice between a large casual audience and a smaller, higher-attach-ratio'd hardcore audience, at a certain point (not sure when it is) the large casual audience will win out. Especially because there will be *SOME* hardcore gamers among that casual audience. IF a game that is predicted to sell well is released on the Wii instead of either the PS3 or the 360, that is basically money lost in the eyes of Microsoft and Sony. They don't see a cent from it, and the aid that it would have done to their loss-leading strategy doesn't arrive. The sales calculus will shift to the Wii at a point in the not-to-distant future -- if it hasn't already done so already. C) I agree that one reason the PS3 is not succeeding right now is price. I do not believe this means that Sont is not competing with the Wii -- because like it or not, even in an expanded market there are only so many people that are going to buy consoles, and whether or not they want to compete with the Wii is immaterial because they *are* in competition for the same games and they *are* in competition for the same gaming dollars. If someone has both a PS3 and a Wii, statistically they will not increase the number of games they buy by that much. So where if they only had one system, say they would buy 10 games total (pulled out of my ass). If they have two systems, they may only buy 7 games per system -- total games went up, but one of the consoles lost 3 games worth of profit. That is why no matter how you want to cut it, Sony and MS ARE in direct competition with the Wii. There are only so many entertainment dollars out there, and every time someone goes to a competitor it is a potential lost sale. For example. the thread a few days ago where someone was asking if they should buy an X360 or tons of Wii/DS games. Either way that individual chooses, one of the companies is losing out on sales. That wouldn't happen if they were not in direct competition. |
