AranhaHunter
Banned
schuelma said:
FF Agito XII should pick up the slack I think.
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Media Create Sales: 01/26 - 02/01
- Thread starter PantherLotus
- Start date
FF Agito XII should pick up the slack I think.
I'm actually a bit baffled by Nintendo's shortsightedness in all of this. I know it probably seemed obvious that Wii Music and AC:CF would not only sell in droves but increase interest and demand in Wii hardware not only upon release but for month after, but didn't anyone stop to think, "What if that doesn't pan out?" Or did someone ask that and the asnwer from the higher ups was, "We've got Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis!"
I know they're rolling in dough no matter what, but it just seems a bit dense to me...
Regardless, it'll be interesting to see what their next steps will be.
I know they're rolling in dough no matter what, but it just seems a bit dense to me...
Regardless, it'll be interesting to see what their next steps will be.
d+pad said:
I think for the short term the steps are clear.
Wii Sports Resort with Motion Plus
Increased 3rd party support.
And a real effort towards making the Wii the de facto entertainment device for the living room, with the various channels coming soon.
milanbaros
Member?
Oh God, the Japanese market is just so bad these days. Its already fallen behind the UK on units in 2008 and if the first 5 weeks of 2009 are anything to go by then its going to fall behind on revenue as well, despite the weak pound and strong yen.
link
UK up 37% in units compared to first 5 weeks last year and 21% in revenue.
link
UK up 37% in units compared to first 5 weeks last year and 21% in revenue.
schuelma said:
I guess if that ends up being their next steps in the very short-term, that's not so bad, but even then it makes me scratch my head. The relative failure of Wii Music in Japan should have shown them that nothing is a given these days, despite the overwhelming popularity of the Wii and the Wii line of software. Like some have said here, what if Wii Sports Resort sells 2 million copies but fails to bolster hardware sales (or only boosts them for a month or two)?
Relying on third-party efforts is a shaky thing to do, too. What if Monster Hunter 3 sells on par with the second PS2 offering - or less? Sure, it would still be among the best-selling third-party Wii games, but is that all they're hoping for? And even if it sells, what if it does so without significantly boosting hardware?
I'd love to be a mouse running around the offices of NOJ. What are they talking about right now? Do they know what they're doing - is all going as planned - or were they as surprised as the rest of us at the popularity of the Wii, and now they're trying to figure out how to keep everything going? Sometimes I wonder...
d+pad said:
It's been pretty weird watching them seemingly 'allow' wii to slump over the last 9 months in Japan but they've been pretty open about all of the stuff you mentioned. They don't freak out because they do what they can, and hope for the best.
Even back when DS Lite and Brain Training were breaking records all over Japan and being featured on morning tv shows, Nintendo's attitude was 'we're fortunate people like our products at the moment'.
So of course they're plotting what to do next to make another big hit - they've openly said so recently - but I'm also sure they've got plenty of plans laid for what happens over the next few years. The timings may need to shuffle, is all.
If Nintendo's bosses reacted like sales GAF reacts we'd be seeing huge announcements for the next 24 months' worth of games, and IGN would have loads of promo videos to publicise.
Ahhhh, the good old days...
d+pad said:
Satoru Iwata: On the other hand, just a few years ago, a year or two before we launched Wii, I doubt that anyone in the industry was able to correctly forecast the current sales situation of Wii. Of course, Nintendo was hopeful that we would make this new system the best selling hardware in the next generation. Even so, if you ask me if we were able to foresee todays situation, I am not that optimistic so I have to admit that todays situation is exceeding even our original expectations.
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/090130qa/index.html
Link said:
No because the GC was losing to the Xbox in the other 2 major regions. The Wii is ahead in all three regions and continues to gain in Japan. It's hit a down slump in Japan but it's not like there have been a whole lot of games that you would EXPECT to bump them up significantly. Nintendo's probably more concerned about making sure the US and Europe have enough hardware available than about Japan wanting the hardware less right now.
Support always lags performance (except at the beginning of a generation, for example the expectation the PS3 would be dominant led to a large amount of developer support for the PS3 some of which has fallen off). There is no other obvious console system Japanese devs would be inclined to support instead of the Wii. The PSP may get some more games (though that hasn't been showing in their release lists yet to a significant degree), obviously the DS is going to keep getting games, but in terms of games developers want on a console there's no obvious other system for developers to be inclined to go towards.
And it's worth noting that it wasn't all that long ago DQ10 was announced for the Wii. There's no reason to think developers are going to start jumping ship right now.
And it's worth noting that it wasn't all that long ago DQ10 was announced for the Wii. There's no reason to think developers are going to start jumping ship right now.
Link
The Autumn Wind
It's more not getting on the ship in the first place than jumping off, but I digress. Right now, a lot of Japanese developers are falling into two groups. You've got the ones making the decidedly "Japanese" games and sticking to handhelds, and you've got the ones reaching out to western audiences and making games for the HD consoles, sometimes in-house, a lot of times outsourced.
Now, you've got exceptions like Sega, but I think this setup works for most developers, and if the Wii continues to flounder like it has been, I'm not sure they'll see any reason to rock the boat.
Like I said, I know the Wii has some big guns coming, like DQX and MH3, but it needs better, more consistent support around those, and right now, publishers are getting plenty of water at the wells they're already drinking from.
Now, you've got exceptions like Sega, but I think this setup works for most developers, and if the Wii continues to flounder like it has been, I'm not sure they'll see any reason to rock the boat.
Like I said, I know the Wii has some big guns coming, like DQX and MH3, but it needs better, more consistent support around those, and right now, publishers are getting plenty of water at the wells they're already drinking from.
Link said:
I think this vastly overstates things. Sure some japanese companies are sticking with HD consoles, but a lot of the games that we're seeing for HD consoles have been in development for years and were probably simply too far along to just abandon development. A partial example of this problem is FFXIII. It's Sony exclusive in Japan sure, but it would never be coming to the 360 if square thought it would reach a large enough audience on the PS3. The same is true with MH3, only this time instead of continuing development on the PS3 as originally planned Capcom moved it to the Wii. WHY though?
Simply because userbase and expectations of future growth will trump "brand" and past success once a product is proven. The expense of HD development compared to development for the Wii is also going to be a limiting factor for ambitious but relatively smaller developers. With Nintendo systems like with any system there is risk, but it's easier to spend a smaller amount of money on Wii development and make a polished game than it is to spend the same amount of money on PS3 or 360 development and making a polished game.
I'm just curious, we've heard of several games that either were originally outright slated for the PS3 or would be presumed to be on the PS3 given the series history that instead ended up on or were scheduled for the Wii, have there been very many examples of the opposite?
BishopLamont
Banned
Bad economy, slumping game industry, declining console space...ah things are starting to get interesting once again.
Wii Sports Resort will obviously sell a hell of a lot, but is there anything else big on the horizon before Summer? And will WSR help hardware a significant amount?schuelma said:
They have had a great start, but Nintendo have lost a lot of momentum over the last twelve months on both Wii and DS. Considering the low output on DS, I am thinking something big is going on behind the scenes - a new hardware launch this year perhaps.
Liabe Brave
Member
Huh? Aren't you just restating what I said? Yes, the class is very arbitrary. That's because it came out of an offhand comment. All Spiegel did was point out that there was no larger lesson to be drawn from the comment; it was unremarkable business-as-usual.Jokeropia said:
I'm not sure what you're arguing here.
After reading the Iwata interview there were hints of change coming very soon for Japan.
When he answered the question about why the DS was still so successful he mentioned the variety of colors available. A guilty conscious, or in his case a planned act is always told before doing it.
What I'm saying is that I infer from his interview that new colors are going to be introduced for the Wii in Japan. I bet it happens along side Monster Hunter G.
Maybe its my social behaviors class that is making me see things like this. Or I'm crazy.
But I do think something big is coming from Nintendo very soon if thats new colors, price drop, or game announcements.
Personally I would bring out new colors (I like the color of the classic controller for MHG) and a price drop ($50=?yen) with the release of MHG.
With the recession price has to be a major problem for consumers right now.
When he answered the question about why the DS was still so successful he mentioned the variety of colors available. A guilty conscious, or in his case a planned act is always told before doing it.
What I'm saying is that I infer from his interview that new colors are going to be introduced for the Wii in Japan. I bet it happens along side Monster Hunter G.
Maybe its my social behaviors class that is making me see things like this. Or I'm crazy.
But I do think something big is coming from Nintendo very soon if thats new colors, price drop, or game announcements.
Personally I would bring out new colors (I like the color of the classic controller for MHG) and a price drop ($50=?yen) with the release of MHG.
With the recession price has to be a major problem for consumers right now.
milanbaros said:
It's the DS. The DS was the driver in Japan for 2006 and 2007, and now it's heading down. Yes, there are more consoles selling on the market now, but they aren't replacing the lost sales from just the DS.
HK-47 said:
I've joked about it, as well, but Wii just doesn't have much of anything impactful enough coming up soon. I don't think Motion+ by itself will be the catalyst, but rather the expected/hoped for announcements of whatever the heck Nintendo's been doing while they weren't putting out games for almost the last year. :lol DQX will come out way too late to change anything, so if Wii's going to get moving again, it can't "wait for" DQX.
JoshuaJSlone
Member
Well, it's not just that it's selling slightly faster than PS3; it's that its working through its eighth million faster than PS3 is working through its third. Of course, if all went to plan late last year they'd be on their ninth or tenth.botticus said:
*krsh* I'm sorry, *krsh* there's too much static. *krsh* Did you say everyone try to exploit *krsh* the same group of buyers simultaneously?HK-47 said:
Jonnyram said:
New hardware? I doubt it but it would be crazy if Nintendo would release a DS2 by next march (won´t happen) with a GC+like hardware and MH3portable - instant win. The DS is just to popular around the world so there won´t be a successore in the next 2 years, even a new revision is highly unlikely. The only hardware revision this year will come from Sony (PSP).