Yeah Wii Fit is still selling like crazy everywhere.....except the US! I forget where I saw that but I found that funny.

and 2) The Wii-Mote, which looks like an acquired taste any damn way. Doesn't seem like the best way to control all of your video games.

I used to be a HUGE Nintendo Fanboy, especially during the Gamecube time. I do own all three of the next gen systems; Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360. And before they were released, I was extremely excited for the Nintendo Wii. But I don't know now, it just feels.....cheap. Maybe I'm just used to control a game the conventional way, I don't know. But the Playstation 3 definately feels way more grown up and sexy and sophisticated. I'm still a sucker for the Nintendo franchises; Mario, Zelda, Super Smash Bros., Donkey Kong, Star Fox, Metroid etc... But if a game was coming out on all consoles, like Need For Speed, I'd definately get it on the Playstation 3 before the Nintendo Wii. And Grand Theft Auto IV kills anything I've played on any of the systems. Having the Nintendo Wii for over a year, I really can't see anything coming out for it that will excite me in the way Grand Theft Auto IV did, because it's all been done before. They just end up making sequels. The only thing I can even think of that Nintendo can dish out that will really make me excited, would be a 3D Pokemon game. Not like the Pokemon Stadium type of games that have been coming out, but a 3D version of the Game Boy game! Even though I'm too old for Pokemon, but I'd definately get that! And as for the Nintendo Wii selling more units than the Sony Playstation 3,
And the Xbox 360 sucks!

Toyota sells way more of these:

Than Mercedes sells of these:

Yeah the DS has always been extremely strong with all its releases. I cant wait for FF4 to come out already!

The PSP was a massive failure from the 1st day. I mean look at the UMD movies! They don't even make them anymore!

kcwm said:

You can go a gamestop and find the UMD movies for like $4

Not to mention the games aren't that good either. They're mostly ports of PS1 games

• PSP Slim sold more in first two months only because DS Lite couldn't.The PSP-2000 may have reinvigorated the platform, with Sony shipping 2 million units in the first two months. And that's impressive, especially since total DS figures were only 1,828,621 over the same period of time. The difference? Nintendo didn't sell/ship more because they were out of hardware—DSs were sold out everywhere. And it didn't start with the DS Lite, either. From hardware importer Play Asia at the DS launch:

Hardware supply of the Nintendo DS™ has been tight since end of 2005, most shops were completely sold out for weeks and once supply arrived, all units were sold out like hot cakes. When Nintendo announced the new Nintendo DS™ Lite in the end of January, everyone was hoping for a hold back and increased supply upon release of the improved hardware...

• As long as we're talking about sales, the DS has topped 40 million units worldwide. Sony has, respectably, reached 25 million. Both numbers look big, but remember, Nintendo already has a nearly 2:1 lead. And that's plenty of breathing room when you...

• Nintendo has the one-two brand punch of Wii, which is the leading home console in the world. Since its launch, the Nintendo Wii has not been outsold for a month worldwide ever by the Xbox 360 or PS3. There's simply no stronger brand right now in video games than Nintendo.

• The PSP doesn't offer an alternative experience so the PSP will inherently always battle the PlayStation brand for market share. What do I mean? The PSP is exactly what it promises to be: a portable PlayStation. And while that's great, the lack of a different interface on the PSP means that other than its portable nature, there is little gaming-wise drawing consumers to the product. In other words, Sony is essentially selling oranges and smaller oranges.

Nintendo, in its two screens and use of touch, is selling oranges and apples. While this was a gamble originally, the public likes the unique taste of both flavors of gaming. Buying a Wii cannot replace the experience of buying a DS, or vice versa. So people are more tempted to buy both.

• The DS supports more than just the DS through backward compatibility. Sure, the PSP is great at playing PSP games. But with the DS, Nintendo took a lesson from Sony's PS2 and made their portable compatible with Game Boy Advance titles (GBA). Is it a huge deal? Maybe not. But one thing's for sure: backwards compatibility never hurt a console's sales, especially when it supported such a large library.

• DS games sell better. Way better. Let's turn away from consoles sold for a minute and look at the software moved—a stat just as important for the success of a platform. The PSP has no titles whatsoever in the top 100 of all time video game sales charts. Their best selling title is Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories which has moved a meager 4.5 million units...at least when compared to the success of the DS. From my count, the DS has 8 titles in the top 100 charts, with Nintendogs breaking the top 10 with 15.41 million copies sold worldwide. And it's not the only title to move more than 10 million copies. Oh, and Mario and Pokemon and case closed.

• The casual market is the real deal. Whether you love it or hate it, casual gaming exists and it's big. We've seen estimates as high as $2.5 billion a year (even if that number is a little questionable). Bottom line: the DS attracts both casual and "hardcore" gamers. Does the PSP do the same? I don't think so.

• The DS just had the most successful week in history with Black Friday. Nintendo moved 653,000 DS units, the most consoles in one week ever.

So while the PSP is a wonderful machine and probably doesn't get enough credit—honestly, it looks like two handhelds can get by just fine in this market—the PSP is not dethroning the DS. Sorry, it's just not happening (see above). But a future PSP2 or PSPP or whatever? Who knows? Sony has done pretty well during their first foray in the portable industry.

Whatever....I'm satisfied with my PS3 -

At this year's E3, Microsoft and Sony will be taking the stage to discuss the future of their consoles. After that, Nintendo will gloat about its success and take the opportunity to tell the world that its Wii is second to none.

Of course, during all those press conferences, Nintendo will be the only company to even mention its competitors. Microsoft and Sony, on the other hand, will only talk about the other and make it abundantly clear to everyone that Nintendo isn't being considered a real competitor to either firm.

And just in case you don't believe me, Sony CEO Howard Stringer at a conference last week said that he doesn't even think the Wii is on the same level as his company's console.

"I've played a Nintendo Wii," Stringer said last week at the Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. "I don't see it as a competitor. It's more of an expensive niche game device."

Sorry, Howard, but lest you forget, the Wii is very much a competitor of yours and if you keep thinking otherwise, you won't stop the butt kicking.

The Wii, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360 are all competitors and so far, the Nintendo Wii has taken the top spot. Sure, it may be priced substantially lower than the others, its library of games is much different, and the way you play the games doesn't mimic anything we've ever seen in a video game, but that alone doesn't make it any less of a competitor.

The way I see it, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are all vying for the same customers -- gamers. And although Nintendo has been able to entice other consumers into the space that had heretofore never had any reason to play games, we simply can't denigrate its performance and downgrade its ability to be a major success in this generation.

By its very nature, competition assumes companies are working against each other for the same dollars. And although Microsoft and Sony don't want to believe it, Nintendo is taking money out their pockets every day while they try to tell the rest of us that it's not really happening.

I'm awfully sick and tired of listening to Sony and Microsoft denigrate Nintendo and try to make it seem like it's not even in the gaming industry. On numerous occasions I've been told by both companies' PR teams that Nintendo isn't a competitor and that mantra has been repeated over and over by their CEOs and other top-level executives.

Here's a newsflash: when I go to Gamestop, Target, Wal-Mart, GameCrazy, and any other video game retailer, the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 is sitting right next to the Wii. And when people run down to their local Gamestop to buy a video game, they buy those Wii titles instead of Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 games.

Just because the Wii does gaming differently, it doesn't mean that it's not a video game console. According to Stringer, the Wii is just "an expensive niche gaming device," but I think that comment alone shows exactly why Sony can't get out of its own way in the business. If the Wii was just another niche device, it wouldn't be selling nearly as well as it does and whether Stringer and his cronies want to believe it or not, it wouldn't be beating the hell out of his console.

In reality, Microsoft and Sony are saying this to make themselves feel better. And while it may help them get through the tough times for a while, the reality of the situation dictates that they stop burying their heads in the sand and accept the fact that Nintendo is a major competitor.

If they don't, there's not a chance in the world that either company can supplant the Wii as the leader in this generation.

by Mike Bolander July 14, 2008 2:05 PM

I have to call everyone's BS because most of the comments sound like they are made by 20-something fanboys who don't understand business economics, but have a high understanding of the technical mumbo-jumbo about better graphics. For those who say the Wii isn't next to the PS3 and 360 in the stores--wrong. Actually, most stores have given Wii the prime spot in the front of the gaming section. Maybe the consoles are sold out, but the games are all next to each other. To those who think everyone who ever bought a Wii also owns a 360 or PS3--wrong again. In my lifetime I've owned just about everything back to the Atari 2600, and I have a Wii but haven't had a desire to pick up the PS3 or 360 yet; but I'm leaning toward a PS3 after another price drop or two. I know I can't be the only person in that category, but I refuse to say everyone thinks like me. I do think Sony and MS need to figure out how to reach Wii owners who haven't seen a need to upgrade there PS2 or Xbox yet; a lot of us are just tired of playing a prettier version of the same game. Shock--some of us find it monotonous to replay the same game with new graphics (i.e. all the Final Fantasy retreads; they were fun the first time around, but give me something new if you want my dollars).

Finally, those who talk about the tremendous lack of good third party games on the Wii need to blame the CEOs at the third parties, not Nintendo. Just like Sony and Microsoft, CEOs at the big game publishers immediately dismissed the Wii as a gimick that's not a real competitor, so now they are scrambling to make games just like Sony and MS are scrambling to incorporate a motion controllers into their current generation consoles (it will be there prior to the next generation).[/ Unfortunately, they've put out a lot of poor ports of existing titles with bad control schemes so it's no wonder people aren't buying that garbage. And calling people childish or geriatric because they own a Wii is silly, uniformed, and immediately detracts from any value in the rest of your comments.

Overall, good article with a good representation of the market. As an investor, I'd be pretty happy if I owned Nintendo stock purchased a couple of years ago, but not so much as a Sony or MS investor. Ultimately, all CEOs are measured against who investors view as competitors, not a redefined version of the competitive marketplace that makes them look better to themselves.