HD owners tend to buy their games at launch while Wii owners tend to buy them whenever they feel like. So even though people have the choice to wait for them getting cheaper, they still buy them on launch. HD developers couldn't survive if they'd do it the way Nintendo does.

So yes the business model of the HD twins is better for HD games.

No, you're thinking of Greatest Hits.

I don't think you understand what you're talking about.

This model was pushed a lot by Sony, and Nintendo even adopted it at one point but they reversed it with the DS for many reasons. Slashing prices of the bigger sellers creates situations where the focus of marketing and development shift to the early buyer. Also, it greatly diminishes the opportunity of introducing software for lower prices legitimately, without their value getting confused with games which have been price reduced.

When Nintendo launched Brain Age for 19.99, their goal was to introduce a price point that would be consistent with the product throughout its shelf life. If there were a lot of DS games at that price the game would probably have been overlooked, and much of the unpredicted phenomenon associated with it wouldn't have happened. It also allowed them to promote it for months and years because the revenue was consistent at all times.

Slashing prices may be better for ONE type of consumer, but it's not better for gaming in general. Long term, this would have created an environment of blockbusters, where true innovators and surprise hits were very rare. That's a concern Iwata expressed before launching Brain age, and at the time people just thought he was whinning. Most people didn't think they'd be able to actually do something about it, and that it would work.

If you ant Sony's business model it's certainly still there from their side of the woods. Just don't demand Nintendo to stop theirs because believe it or not, there are benefits to everybody, and they're quite big.

The only things I'd like to see improved are:

1. A stronger, more cohesive online strategy.

2. More resources pumped into existing first-party development studios (OUTSIDE of EAD), and acquiring a couple more small studios to diversify our software offerings.


Beyond that, I'm good.

That's.....absolutely absurd and not true at all.

Period.

Oh so I guess the numbers for Mario Kart Wii must be wrong then. Or Wii Fit or Mario & Sonic games or Wii Sports Resort.

They all sold a fraction of their lifetime sales in the first week.

While HD games launch with much higher numbers. (Halo 3, MGS4, CoD MW2 and so on)

You've got to be kidding me. Mario Kart Wii has sold over 20 million copies. So you're saying that because 18 million weren't sold on launch day, that "Wii owners buy games whenever they feel like"? Same goes for Wii Fit and Wii Sports Resort as well.

NSMB Wii and Smash Bros Brawl destroyed NOA sales records for the best selling launch games ever. Guess those gamers also just "buy games whenever they feel like".

That is EXACTLY what I said, yes.

Halo 3 would've flopped with Mario Kart Wii launch numbers.

I just mentioned the more popular games, but hell there are so many Wii games out there, where the launch looks pathetic in comparison with their legs.

Same goes vice versa for HD games.

This is absolutely ridiculous, and a total misunderstanding of the point i was tryin' to make: the "business model" i was talkin' about is created thanks to some ultra-expensive blockbusters with multi-million budgets, needing to sell at least one or two million copies at 60-70 euros/dollars as fast as they can...

Now, what's happening with Wii and people waiting, or not buying everything on day one, has absolutely nothing to do whith "the way Nintendo's doing": do you mean Nintendo send us letters, askin' us not to buy our games too fast? You must be kidding...

When you look at Wii sales, the most successful games (and even some "niche hits") have long tails and stay evergreen, and i don't see why this could be a problem for an industry funding tens and tens of multi-million projects: a very easy parallel could be done with the movies industry, where producers first get some money back from theater's tickets, and then, 6 months or one year later, get more incomes from the DVD sales, with these DVD's then sellin' for years...

If your "super extra-cool high-budget HD devs" can't wait for a few months to make their profits, then there's a financial problem on their side, but the problem is not due to the consumer (supposed to be king) and certainly not due to Nintendo...

And a final point: if they really did their business "the way Nintendo does", they would make billions, not millions... survival of the fittest, right?

This is now official: you're a total idiot, and there's no point in wasting time with you...