You think all those games were bought by people as they walked out the store with their console? No, they were were bought by the entire userbase, both new and old.

Attach rates are meaningless. They make consoles that sell well look bad and consoles with an old, stagnant userbase look good.

I'm going to repeat this, because I think it needs more emphasis:

A lot of people came to me and told me they bought the Wii as a Christmas present in Summer/Early Fall to avoid product shortages. They then came back in November/December to buy software for it. Enough people told me this at my work that there's a pretty strong indication it wasn't a rare instance. 

This not only explains the lukewarm software sales in late summer (people were buying the system, but not games, because they didn't plan on playing it yet), but the especially large burst happening right now (people who bought the system long ago were suddenly buying a large glut of games, because they had never even played the system yet).

jetlogs
the 360's got a smaller userbase than the wii
and sold less than half the units the wii sold less week
but it still managed to get a higher rate of game per console for the week than the wii

do with it what you want
but the wii software sales aren't as strong compared to the rest as its hardware sales are

but that's just for now
next week numbers will be interesting and more informative

i don't think many people, casual gamers, were thinking last summer about possible wii shortages during christmas

that just doesn't sound like something people, that aren't real gamers, think of, espacially not parents

The answer is simple:

With more people owning Wiis more Wii games are being bought.

Stymied supply hampers Wiis game sales. Most people don't buy the games if they don't have the system. The game without the player is like a cruel reminder of the lack and most people can't take that.

The supply issue is why Wii game sales don't go as far as they could.

But this is alleviated with every new Wii sold to a new owner.

Look for Wii's software sales to begin to eclipse the 360's strong American software representation next year.

The blue Pac-Man will quite a common sight on this site come 2008, kid.

After this Christmas season & the introduction of Wii Fit in the other regions, Nintendo moves into the 2nd phase with Wii. From larval stage to pupa as they continue to totally transform the industry to their ends.

*insert optional 'Muhuhahahaha!' laugh here*

John Lucas

(if you don't like the Wii, lemme tell ya...it only gets worse from here on in)

This isn't some crazy theory I just made up, Ajax. I work at retail, and I'm telling you I've had many people tell me they did just that. Given that the Wii was supply constrained even in summer (just supply constrained, though, instead of OMGWTF constrained like it is now), it's entirely reasonable for parents to do this. 

smart parents then

X360 has a smaller userbase, but only by 15% less than the Wii.  But 360's software sold was 42% less.  However it gets spun, whether by bundles, or rebates or selling below cost, near the end, it is 6 million > 3.5 million. 

I say near the end, since the "at the end" number will be unknown to us.  And that is how profitable were those 6 million sales versus the 3.5 million.

And another damn fine myth down the drain.  Casuals don't buy software.  Oh well, for a while, it can be modified to "Casuals don't buy software, except during the holidays" 

The length of time a person has owned a console will affect how much software they have bought!

Therefore, attach rate increase with time, at least over the first few years of the cycle.

Really, all the amazement over Wii vs. 360 software sales comes down to that. People have been concluding all sorts of crazy stuff about the generation based on Wii vs. 360 software, first amazed by 360 software sales, now amazed by Wii software sales. All the while forgetting that attach rate is a function of time, not install base size.

360 may maintain a higher attach rate for the next 3 years, even as Wii starts to sell many, many times more software. It shouldn't surprise anyone, or be seen as a cause for concern for Nintendo. Wii is younger than 360, d'oh.