Supply constraints hurt Sony/PS3 much more than Nintendo/Wii

[binary solo]

Zucas said:
Um well I do see the point that do to a lot of similarities and price differences, the 360 becomes a good second choice for a potential PS3 owner that couldn't find the PS3. However, I'd like to point out that in the first holiday season that Nintendo was able to have an ample supply of shipments (still sold out though) for Wii, they were able to sell almost 4 million units in December in America alone. Imagine if they could have had that same ability in the holilday seasons the previous 2 years.

The supply constraints severely hurt Nintendo, because they were never able to put the competition away. And as 360 started to come down in price and so do PS3, they became viable options as well when they couldn't find a PS3. Nintendo's inability to keep a healthy supply of stock, mainly because it was almost impossible, really did keep PS360 alive, especially in America (alone with the 2 getting constant big games from 3rd parties which Wii was mainly relying on Nintendo).

So I will have to respectfully disagree, and state that the length of shortages for Wii have severely hurt it's sales and market percentage moreso than PS3's current issue.

I sort of agree. Wii sales are still pumping along nicely, there's nothing particularly disappointing about them, but yes the longer the period of supply constraint the worse it is for total potential sales. However my thinking is that if PS3 went for even 6 months of having supply shortages this would be very detrimental to PS3, especially in the USA where 360 is strongest. The fact Wii has withstood multiple years of supply shortages and still has the highest demand ever shows it to be much more resilient than PS3.