Over the past few weeks this point has become painfully clear to me. It appears as though Nintendo has realized that the war in Japan is over (at least until the release of FFXIII roles around in 2008) and that a slightly weaker Sony brandname has leveled the playing field in Europe considerably. Nintendo is now engaged in an all-out war to regain the respect it has lost in the Americas, and to do so they must defeat Microsoft. The increased production of Wiis has not been evenly distributed across the world as Nintendo scrambles to gain leverage (and close on the lead Microsoft has) in the Americas either before the "hype" fades, or, more likely, before an increasingly strong software lineup for X360 makes their struggle futile (Halo 3, Bioshock, GTA IV and new popular titles like GoW getting sequels). Threads like "why the wii will never catch up to 360 in america" seem to reinforce this point. If the Wii can not gain enough ground in the Americas to ever outsell the 360, then it will never become a runaway success like the PS1/2. Yes, it will still sell phenomenally (particullarly in Japan), but it will never reach those levels (especially with its short lifespan-- probably 5 years max before the Wii 2/HD hits stores).
Sales for the past 5 weeks with "increased production":
Japan Americas
72,933 88,846
90,511 134,631
90,982 130,989
55,217 125,928
56,605 121,277
*Post golden week Nintendo has refocused on the Americas (diverting supplies from that region) in an effort to gain valuable ground on the 360. If they can catch up to and outsell the 360 there (especially after the chaos that will be this holiday season), it might follow a PS2-esque path until it is discontinued (thus stopping it far short from the 100+million club)
360* in America vs Wii
38,465 88,846
56,465 134,631
64,537 130,989
63,778 125,928
58,825 121,277
*Note: numbers are slightly skewed due to the release of the Elite
VG Totals as of last week:
Wii: 3,061,173
360: 6,224,514
Will they be able to do it and maintain the lead in the face of upcoming incredible 360 software? Does the Wii really need to win in America to become a runaway success, or am I on crack?
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P.S: I apologize that there are no bells and whistles (i.e. graphs, etc.) to go along with this... but I hope I managed to come across coherently.
