Mummelmann said:
I mentioned this supply issue in regards to the belief that the Wii will somehow double, or even triple its sales in the next year and forwards. That was imo a just question; how do you (or Nintendo) know that the demand is of such a degree that they can in fact double or triple sales? That was what my initial puzzlement encased, but this was apparently a very silly notion of me to have, since I was "ignorant" for doubting that the demand actually was that high. As for my belief that it will drop off and slow down (even grind to a halt); yes, I believe that still. The Wii is/was an explosion, erupting on the market like TNT, and these things have a way of dying down as casual consumers are a fiercely illoyal group that are easily swayed in other directions and quickly tire of trends. I see the Wii as more of a fashion accessory right now than its competitors, which is a good thing short term but rarely long term. Gamers are a lot fewer as a demographic, but they are very aware and set aside much larger funds for gaming and entertainment (gamers tend to visit the cinema almost 400% more than "casuals" for instance) and they're a more dedicated and predictable group that leave room for longterm strategizing. They are also the sole reason the console industry has grown into the financial beast it is, so excluding gamers from your demographic with a games console with no other media capability seems like a strange strategy to me! Anyways; I know that neither of us are gonna convince the other, or convert if you will, we won't know anymore till the scales tilt heavily one way or the other longterm. I know it looks like the Wii will break all manner of records right now, but I firmly believe that the fluxing market of todays world and the ever sheepish and flinching casuals can cut Nintendo's tethers in the market a couple of years down the line. |
I don't normally get into these kind of arguments but I'm getting sick and tired of them because they're going in circles and look like there's no end to them. This is basically a tweaked "the Wii is a fad!" argument, and like Sony domination theories, the further from the truth they appear with in time, the further back the destined "date" is pushed, when all will come true. But in truth, it will never happen.
The Wii is a game console. It's not a fad, or a fashion accessory, or any nonsense like that. I'm sure there's a few rich whores that burned money on it because they could, but they are far from the majority, because the Wii is a game console. And game consoles play games. So what I don't understand is how a healthy install base, growing third party support, and hotly anticipated games for 2008 is supposed to lead to Wii demand dying out in the blink of an eye when 360 is only popular in one region and PS3 wishes it had a fraction of the demand anywhere. So why is the Wii, the only one that has it down, the one in danger of flickering out, especially when it's doing everything a game console needs to do be successful? I don't remember anyone talking about how PS2 was magically going to die in 2003, because 100M+ PS2s sold damn sure weren't to "hardcore" gamers.
I also don't get how Nintendo is "excluding" gamers by being the only console offering up a purely gaming experience. I didn't buy a PS2 because it played DVD movies, and if I buy a PS3 it will NOT be for blu-ray playback.
Tag - "No trolling on my watch!"








