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Wii Is The Winner
by Paul McGoldrick
If, like me, you have a child that is demanding a video game on that feared Christmas wish list, you will almost certainly report that the console most requested was the Nintendo Wii. There is an almost Apple iPod must-have ring to the requests.
Sony and Microsoft continue to take the position that the Wii is not a true gaming system, and it is never mentioned in their releases. That darned 800 lb gorilla again!
On Black Friday performance, Microsoft said that Xbox 360 console sales were three times that of the PlayStation 3 and 25% higher than Black Friday sales in 2007.
But try, as I have, to buy a Wii console this Christmas season. Unless you are willing to line up outside a retailers like Future Shop on the morning of an expected delivery, you will not be able to secure one.
I actually have a console en route to me now (don’t tell my daughter!), but I confess that I had to pay a premium to get it. The fact is that the Wii is selling better than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 combined.
Sir Howard Stringer, Sony’s CEO – and one hell of a nice guy – admitted to Bloomberg News that he has played the Wii and found it to be an “expensive niche game device.”
Just admit it is competition, Howard. Same for you, Microsoft… You didn’t reduce the price of the Xbox 360 just to be nice to the Christmas shopper, for Pete’s sake.
Oh, and Howard? Do you really think that you are Nintendo’s target demographic for the games market? I saw grandparents buying Wii games yesterday but they certainly weren’t for themselves. Just because Sony and Microsoft say it isn’t so, Nintendo is clearly wiping the retail floor with the Wii. Ask any teenager – and wait for the onslaught of praise for the product. Tennis, anybody?
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