Yes, the Wii is competing with the 360 and PS3, and it's easy to prove it

[Squilliam]

bdbdbd said:

Squilliam said:

Hey how does this sound.

Each console has key niches in the market where they enjoy great strengths where compared to other consoles. In these niches they enjoy great success.

Nintendo has several large niches where the competition just isnt considered viable, they have the simple gamplay type games down to an art, the lifestyle type games such as guitar hero, wii sports etc they have an advantage and they have a great price and a keen following from people who've owned nes-gamecube. These are all niches where the competition LOOKS like it doesn't exist, because its irrelevant.

The PS3 and the Xbox360 compete for a lot of the same niches, the Xbox360 has better offerings for people who want multiplayer, people who don't like motion controls obviously won't buy a Wii. The PS3 has the Blu ray whilst the 360 is better on games currently.

Now there is some overlap but for a lot of Wii purchasers the Wii is the only console to consider. Look at how the Xbox360 dropped the price below the Wii and Wiis sales weren't even changed. People obviously value the Wii more highly than the Xbox360 or the PS3 because even at the same price they still buy the Wii.

If the Wii is $250 but you would pay $300 for it and the PS3 is $400 but you'd only pay $400 for it and the Xbox360 is $250 but you would only pay $250 for it because of how you value the console, then obviously the Wii is the best value for you.

Not completely holeproof but its my take on it. Think economic value - How much you'd pay for a console. Remember those people willing to pay $800 for a Wii? Thats how much they value it!

Edit: I hate saying this, because personally I would love to never see the Wii in the top 50 so I can easier compare the Xbox360 with the PS3! I get bored honestly with seeing Wiisports week after week! Its because the conclusion has been made! I want to see the information where the competition is still up in the air!

 

Not bad. I would more likely put it in the same way with Sean Malstrom, to upmarket and downmarket. If we start with upmarket, right from the top of it, this market is for demanding gamers, who require highest-level visuals for their games, and this is where Wii doesn't compete with PS360, but it's where they jump to PC territory. Moving one step down, would be the core market, into which the vast majority of the current gamers are and this market is where the competition is most fierce. Then the downmarket, where Wii is almost the only factor (competition having only few games which appeal this demographic, Scene It, GTA4, Singstar, DDR) it's where the PS2 and PC compete the Wii. And below the downmarket, is the Blue Ocean market, where only DS is the competition for Wii. And there's also one more "side" market, which caters every market propably besides the "Blue Ocean" market (although most of these people are in the core market), it's the "casual" group who wants their games to be more cinematic, interactive movies, instead of games. And that's the market where the market last time expanded.

I think we are on similar pages, but not quite the same. I perfer to think of games like guitar hero, SMG, Wii sports as more lifestyle games. Anybody can integrate these types of games into their life, which is why they sell so well on the Wii and on consoles in general. Besides I think the distinction between casual and hardcore is how gaming is integrated into their life not by the types of games they play. Someone for example who plays games instead of watches tv is more hardcore than someone who would watch tv before playing game. Distinctions based on the type of games played don't tell the full picture and tend to mislead.

I also don't like the distinction between the level of graphics and the difficulty of the game and control scheme to define whether or not a game is hardcore. I believe its how you play the game and why you play it. If you play Mario Kart just to bide time and not care if you win or lose - thats casual, if you play it online competitively thats hardcore. You can play GTAIV by messing around and blowing shit up - thats casual, or you can play it in a hardcore way. That partly explains why it is so successful. It appeals to a lot of different people in a different way. Games with a good mix of both can do very well for everybody.

 Im not contradicting you, but im explaining some of your points with my own perspective.