| msnolp said: In the light of the tour de force that Microsoft presented at this year’s E3, it is very difficult for the other platform holders to compete. And Nintendo didn’t. Nintendo are in a poor position. To sum up Nintendo's position: Seriously, if you don't think Sony and MS would trade their position for Nintendo's right now, you must have missed the "Wii Too" portions of their presentations. Their home console for this generation, the Wii, is the least capable, being just an upgrade of the previous generation GameCube. It has been incredibly successful because of it’s innovative gesture controller and a small number of high quality platform exclusive games. But it lacks the equivalent of an Xbox Live or even a Playstation Network. And its main party trick, the gesture controller, has now been trumped by the Microsoft Natal. The Wii also does not support HDTV and does not come with a hard drive. And boy I bet that just burns your britches, don't it? No HD, no hard drive, hardly any online to speak of, and its beating the competition like Ike Turner. As for the Natal, other than its ability to train child molestors on how to pick up small boys, its application is far from clear, and its release date, price and games haven't even been hinted at. Meanwhile, the WiiMote Plus is ready to go next month, will be packed in with 2-3 games almost ensuring widespread adoption, and has the support of numerous third party developers. Sales wise the Wii has peaked in most markets and in Japan it is very weak. It now looks very expensive compared to the Xbox 360, a competitor which has a lot more to offer. And yet it still consistently outsells the 360, but unlike the 360 and PS3, which have each had (depending on how you do the math) multiple price drops, it still has plenty of room to cut price or add value and still turn a profit with each console sold. So Nintendo announced Wii Fit Plus, a new 2D version of Super Mario Bros, presumably aimed at children, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Wii Vitality Sensor, a device to read your pulse. Hardly setting the world alight and showing all the signs of a platform nearing the end of its life. The Wii Fit Plus, 2D Mario, and SMG2, along with Wii Sports Resort and Zelda, will all outsell the latest Halo spin off, Left 4 Dead 2, and your new MGS title. As for 2D Mario being for kids, clearly you've never played a 2D Mario title before. One has to wonder firstly how long the Wii can sustain its premium price and secondly how close we are to seeing its successor, the SuperWii. Based on the lack of a price cut, sales still stronger than the competitions, unearthly 1st party software sales, and the just-blossoming support of third party titles, probably not any time soon. Probably it will be announced just in time to cut the legs out from the Natal. On the handheld front the DSi is getting good initial sales, presumably from existing DS owners upgrading. However it is now looking positively archaic compared to the more modern phone based devices like iPhone and Android. Nintendo need to act quickly not to be left behind in this market. |
The Nintendo handhelds have always looked "archaic" next to the competition, whether it was the GameGear, Lynx, or N-Gage. I remember all the doubters who expected the PSP to kick the DS's touch screen, but that didn't happen, did it?
Face the facts - the market is interested in more than hardware, and Microsoft and Sony are now scrambling to follow in its footsteps. The Wii likley has at least two years of life left in it - just enough time for its follow up to completely undercut the release of the Natal.
