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jarrod on 31 October 2010
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Mummelmann said:
noname2200 said:
Mummelmann said:


I saw the context, it is still false, it has lost tremendous amounts of momentum compared to last years and especially compared to the competition. His insistence on comparing the graphs with the longlived PS2 puzzles me...

So you'd prefer that he not compare his console to the best-selling home console of all time, especially when that comparison is favorable to his product?   The Wii is following the usual console sales curve, so its year-on-year decline is not unexpected.

As for your other point, let us be blunt: the PS3 and 360 are experiencing abnormal growth curves, and more power to them for that, but they're still never going to outsell the Wii.  If you're Iwata, it's much more interesting (read: influential) to say that you're on track to outsell the top-selling system of all time than it is to say "the contemporary systems are now outselling us: at the current rate, they'll top us in XXX years."  It's certainly less influential to say that to investors.  So is it an incomplete picture?  As I said, yes.  Is it a false one?  No, it is not.  It may not be what you want to hear him say, but it's not a lie either.

But, this is the exact type of spin that people have condemned Sony and Microsoft for this entire generation. I expected more from the msot venerable sould in gaming today.

PS: The Wii's year-on-year decline is as unprecedented as its tremendous sales in the beginning (this kind of decline occurrs for every console but not directly following a very strong sales year and certainly not while the runner up's are experiencing growth, the Wii curve anything but typical, as is this entire generation). The brightest flames burn quickest.

Actually, Wii's YOY decline isn't unprecedented at all, that's precisely what the PS2 comparison shows.  In fact, it's almost identical to PS2's decline.  This isn't a first, it's business as usual.

Another thing to consider, Xbox 1 peaked in 2004 in the US, and actually outsold PS2 for several months that year (including September and November) and sold comparably to PS2 in general, so a late term competitor rise isn't unprecedented for the US either.  SNES vs Genesis is another good comparison (and probably better), the latter actually led the US market until 1994 when SNES came back and took it overall, 5 years into the cycle.