then that doesnt answer my question. Where did all those 100 mil wii owners go? cause as it stands right now it would have retained 1/5th of its audience, for comparison's that much worst than Sony which went form 150mil PS2 to 80mil PS3

Most will still be undecided at this point, just as most PS2 owners were this far into PS3's life.

Obviously people switch sides, the drop from PS2 to PS3 is proof enough of that. But the "everyone just used it for a month, never touched it again" cliche is simply out of touch with reality. If it were true, we'd be seeing a 2-4 attach rate, and Wii software wouldn't have outsold Wii hardware this latest week by 21:1.

That's the only figure that is in any way related to satisfaction of owners... It's the most relevant detail in this case.  If the Wii was a fad and people were interested in it only for a couple of years you wouldn't only see a decline in hardware, but also a massive decline in software.

It's also a figure that is largely inflated due to bundling, for all platforms, but most heavilly on Nintendo systems, and compared to the install base, current software sales have seen a massive decline, though because the hardware has been discontinued and new software scarce, pinning and accurate figure on why is guesswork at best.

S when these people are trading in Wii's, what are happening to the games they bought?  These should be on the market as well, which should lead to lower softare sales. If their is a massive amount of used hardware, there should also be a massive amount of used software. 

Used games are inherantly rarely the latest, and the occasions they are, stores selling used games price the newly released second hand games so high most people lay down the few bucks extra for a fresh copy, the point here is not "nobody ever plays wii or buys wii games" the point here is that the attach rate does not give an indication of individual customer satisfaction for the platform, as if someone doesnt like it and trades it in, unless its broken it will be sold on and the chances of the new owner buying new software for it during their time with the console, fairly high, so what you see is high software sales per device, as you do with other devies.

I'll let you in on a little background, I worked for many years in the refurbishing business , specifically it was my job to design replacement packaging for used items, as such and in direct cooperation with our clients, I was privvy to the quantity of each packaging type ordered, so I have a fairly clear idea of how frequently Wiis, PS3s and Xbox 360s changed hands through various worldwide game store chains.

If you want proof of this, report this post and request an admin to pm me and I will provide them my credentials to back up these claims, happily.

People obviously still go out and buy new consoles, theres no denying the Wii sold well, but the point i am making here is that someone not liking the system or being bored of it, does not instantly mean that it would be reflected in software sales.

Hardware figures don't support you at all on this.   Wii hardware outsold XBox 360 and PS3 until 2010 and was competitive with the two in 2011.  IF each Wii owners only used the console for two months, you'd expect hardware to fall at a much faster rate as the market was flooded with used hardware.  You'd also expect an absolute massive amount of Wii software flooding the market.  The shelves should be covered with used Wii games which should drive down their price, and should lead to incredibly poor sales for older Wii consoles.  This was not the case. Wii games (nintendo's in particular) maintained their value, hardware outsold competition until 2010.  Nothing suggests a massive second hand market of Wiis.

Just like curl you're getting hung up on the idea that im trying to put across that ALL wii owners ditched the console, I'm not, and as i clearly proved earlier in the thread, while i didnt play mine much i still to this day own it and have it set up, new unit hardware numbers have nothing to do with the topic of software sales for used devices.

As for used hardware, used wiis did flood the market, hell i recall in blockbuster consoles with a game, wiimote and nunchuck being sold for 40 pounds each, while new consoles were still 95, but like with most nintendo hardware, and indeed with other hardware from other platforms, while some people are perfectly fine with a used product, many others are not, and when you consider that a large portion of Wii units were most likely given as presents on birthdays and christmas, theres an inherant stigmata to give a NEW console as a gift, as giving a used item as a gift is seen as cheaping out.

As for Wii games flooding the market, thanks to avid nintendo fans buying marquee titles consistently, such titles hold their value fairly well though are still significantly cheaper than retail, others however..  http://www.gamestop.com/browse/nintendo-wii?nav=16k-3-wii,28xp0,138a  pages and pages and pages of games under $5, at least 3 pages worth under a buck a piece.

There is simply nothing to suggest that people sold their Wiis within months.  None of the data we have supports that AT ALL.  If that were the case, you'd see software for the back catalog fall due to used software, and you'd see a very steep decline in new hardware sales far before 2012.  

Again, data does not reflect used market impact because used market only bolsters software attachment rates by providing active buyers, key titles will always be priced high and as mentioned above, there will always be a stigmata behind toys (and sorry, games consoles are exactly that), to buy new devices when giving gifts.

All the data gives you is how many consoles were sold and how many games were sold, these two figures do not paint a complete picture, so using these figures in defence without any other sort of information to back it up does nothing.

Are you suggesting that the Wii outsold the XBox 360 and PS3 and each Wii had about 3 owners?  So... about 300 million people owned a Wii at one point in time?  The data does not support that.

I am suggesting that at least 20-30% (potentially 30-40%) of Wii's had at least 2 owners, from my experience in the refurb industry and from general observations of sites such as ebay, these figures are a little lower for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 primarilly due to a large portion of users being weary of used units due to hardware issues.

In that case, the PS3 was traded in WAY more than the Wii cause it has a higher tie ratio.  The XBox 360 is more traded in then both systems since it has the highest attach rate.  Congrats.  You've just proved that the Wii was the most loved console of its generation.

PS3 and 360 were traded in at roughly 70% of the Wii's trade in rate, and indeed these consoles, if working, would go on to be used and contribute towards sales of new and used titles from their new owners, the difference here is that these consoles are still on the market and games are still being produced and released for them in significant numbers, but if you want to twist that for your agenda, theres clearly no stopping you.

The Wii has been discontinued, just as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have been discontinued, the only consoles now available at the Wii Mini, Xbox 360 Slim, and PlayStation 3 super slim.

And yes, software is still moving, at least 1 out of every 100 wiis is being fed a new game.

That means that despite a lack of new owners, people who already own the system are still playing it and still buying new software.  To make it more apparent lets exagerrate.  Suppose 1 Wii was sold and 5 million pieces of software were sold.  That means that people who already own the Wii are buying lots of games, which means they likely are happy with their purchase. 

The number of hardware versus the number of software sold at this point means nothing, ratios for what is essentially a dead console will not provide a worthwhile figure, that does not mean however that the 100m or so units sold will no longer result in any sales, and at no point have i ever claimed that, however, selling one piece of software per 100 units sold, does not suggest in any way that a large portion of the consumer base are still happy with their purchase, it simply means that a small number of owners are still buying software, or taking advantage of something people worldwide like to call "January sales".

Again, there is absoultely nothing to suggest that the second hand market you claim exists did.  In fact, all evidence is to the contrary.  The long sales life of Nintendo software, the rate of hardware sales, and the continued value of Nintendo's software all go against your theory.

Sorry, but I worked too long peddling numbers back and forth for the likes of Gamestop, EB, Blockbusters and so on to agree with you, and you're clearly far too weighted on your opinion (read, biased) to budge on your preconvieved reality of the situation, so discussing this further is a waste of our time.

Hate is the wrong word.

Its a console that offers poor value as a long term investment for a one console owner.

this is all

thats nonsense and you know it, its pretty much decided. PS2 owners either bought PS3, 360 or Wii, not that it matters, because you are dodging the question. Where did those 100 mil Wii owners go? PS4 has record breaking sales, so its safe to assume that PS3 owners, and some 360 even some Wii are flocking to the system. Its not undecided, Wii U has been out long enough that we have trends.