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GameLogix on 05 February 2015
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UncleScrooge said:
GameLogix said:
Oh, and when selling a fad product, it's best to keep supply limited. Especially since the Wii was marketed with the "family" and "Wii Parties" in mind. Why would Nintendo management want one in every home if the goal was to get a lot of people to go over to someone else house to play as a group?

The Wii is not as special if everyone has one.


This is funny to read. Really. "When selling a fad product" :D I almost fell off my chair. Read "Clayton Christensen: The Innovator's Dilemma", educate yourself about disruptive products and come back. Seriously, I'm not being a dick here. After reading this book you'll know why the Wii sold like crazy and why Apple is so successful. It's all based on hard analytical data and one of the most influential business books of the late 20th century. It will also teach you why the most powerful console doesn't automatically win the console war, why the NES was such a huge hit and why Nintendo put 3D into the 3DS. Steve Jobs called this book "the most influential read in my life" and Christensen is a good friend of Mitt Romney - just in case you think I'm pointing at something useless here.

You could also read "Blue Ocean Strategy" by Chan Kim which will teach you why the Nintendo DS was successful (it's the stratgey behind it) and why Samsung makes hit phones (most of their products are based on the strategies in this book). 

Or, well, you could also not read these books and use nonsense-phrases like "fad product". It's your choice. (Again: No hard feelings. Just think these books might interest you.)

Way back when the Wii was released some called it a fad early on. But the frenzy lasted longer than most fads. Around 4 years. Then? The demand for Wii dried up. The software sales was 1st party centric.  The reason it sold so well wasn't because of gaming. It was for social gatherings with games. Parties. Family outtings by people that aren't normally into video games. The Wii not only attracted casual gamers, but non-gamers! That is the majory of the Wii market. We're not talking about hard-core Nintnedo/Zelda/Mario fans. We're talking about people that don't give a rats butt about those franchies and instead just wanted  to be part of the social fun.

The part where I said, the will is not so speical when everyone has one is part of the fad phenomenom dynamic. That's why Wii and Wii U sales are bad. Those former consumers don't care about the Wii anymore. I don't want to get into the 3DS or smartphones because I never mentioned those.

But I will say that the iPhone became successful for reasons that the Will can never reproduce. And that's the fact that it does day in and day out run of the mill tasks very well! Not just the snazzy gimmicks that some apps might provide (motion controlls anyone?). So, although it took a while for the Wii fad to fade out, it did. And now it's dead.