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Forums - Sales Discussion - 2007 is now settled - will 2008 be any different?

@ oli2

To you, Wii is " a simple hardware" and this is your only view to the difficulty of producing enough hardware to meet demand.


What why component is the reason for production shortages?

From a business perspective shortages often offer interesting advantages, interested consumers hear the Wii is short in supply and thus when they see one are more likely pushed to buy one right away. 'Buy quickly before its gone!', 'If I don't like it I can still generate a profit on Ebay', 'Wii is sold out, it must be the best!', etc. Just food for thought...



Naughty Dog: "At Naughty Dog, we're pretty sure we should be able to see leaps between games on the PS3 that are even bigger than they were on the PS2."

PS3 vs 360 sales

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MikeB said:
@ koffieboon

Reread the thread, I only stated the Wii wasn't sold out in the Netherlands. I also stated that I think Nintendo could easily meet demand since the Wii doesn't include complex hardware for modern standards and they have enough resources available.

Actually I would have wished to see pallets full of Wiis in the stores, if I am correct it may make some business sense to Nintendo but IMO it's a mistake to have shortages at this point.

I don't believe that the Wii shortage is intentional, I think it is quite simply the combination of a system selling far faster than anyone expected and a company which is far more cautious and careful than most. In other words, Nintendo underestimated demand and waited far too long to increase production, and then increased production to too small of a level.

The unfortunate thing is this makes predictions very difficult because we can't really say what demand for the system was.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that shifts in desire for a system take time and that the best case scenerio for all consoles is that they sell 25% more next year than what their demand was this year, and the worst case scenerio for all consoles is that they sell 25% less next year than what their demand was this year. The reason for this is simple, a console sells at the rate it does because it should sell at that rate, and the reasons why the console is selling at that rate tend not to change drastically in a short period of time. As an example, if Price is the main detractor for the PS3 it will see improvements in units sold after every price cut; but it is unlikely that a $100 price cut would have more than a 25% improvement in sales long term, and it is unlikely that a console will see multiple large price reductions in a given year.

Basically, 2008 will be very similar to 2007 except I expect Nintendo to get supply to more closely meet demand.



MikeB said:
robjoh said:
leo-j said:
Wii wont sell out it cant!!

Well I usually ignore you, but isn't Wii sold out now? So why can't it sell out next year?

 

The Wii isn't sold out here in the Netherlands. IMO there is little reason for the Wii to sell out currently, it's not a technically difficult product for Nintendo to mass produce and Nintendo has more than enough resources nowadays. I think it's partially artificial.


Hmm do people really think like this still? The Wii has sold a lot in one year. It's not like they only sold 5 million and are claiming shortage. If it was so easy to increase your sales by claiming supply shortage, I think everyone would give it a shot. Remember it only takes one chip manufacturer of the Wii to have issues for production of the whole system to slow down.



 

 

MikeB said:
@ koffieboon

Reread the thread, I only stated the Wii wasn't sold out in the Netherlands. I also stated that I think Nintendo could easily meet demand since the Wii doesn't include complex hardware for modern standards and they have enough resources available.

Actually I would have wished to see pallets full of Wiis in the stores, if I am correct it may make some business sense to Nintendo but IMO it's a mistake to have shortages at this point.

And I only tried to explain to you that the fact that you might have seen a Wii somewhere in December doesn't mean it isn't more or less completely sold out, at least in certain parts of the Netherlands. Being in short supply doesn't mean it have to be sold out at all places at all times.



Wii should do even higher numbers next year than this year. Wii Fit and Mario Galaxy will help the momentum flow through 2008 quite nicely. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii should ensure that momentum stays permanent. 3rd party presence should be stronger as well. 25M Wii consoles sold next year.

I'm in the belief that while the PS3 has those strong PS2 sequels for next year, the only one that will really do something is FF13. I'm not sure MGS4 will have that tremendous effect. Or Killzone 2. Or Home. Or White Knight Story. Or GT5.

PS3 worldwide will sell around 8-9M in 2008.

Xbox360 sales should jump because of the price cut it will most definitely have next year. It will, in my opinion, solidify its spot as a clear number two. Should sell around 13M for next year.