Nintendo president: 'The Wii has stalled'

Chi Kong Lui · 11-02-2009, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Though it once appeared to be a tiny sales juggernaut, Nintendo's top-selling Wii console has struggled in 2009.

In July, the Japanese publisher reported April-June revenues that slid 40 percent from a year prior to 253 billion yen (US$2.81 billion). Nintendo didn't fare much better during its July-September quarter, saying Thursday that sales fell 34.5 percent to 548 billion yen (US$6.09 billion) during the first half of its fiscal year.

Nintendo's slipping performance has not gone unnoticed by the publisher's president. As reported by Japan's Mainichi Newspaper and translated by GameSpot, Nintendo executive Satoru Iwata told analysts and investors as part of a post-earnings Q&A that a weak software lineup has contributed to the Wii's sluggish performance.

"The Wii has stalled," Iwata said. "Games of high demand could not be continuously released and the good mood has chilled." Iwata went on to note that it will be difficult to recover from "the slowdown in demand", but he also expressed optimism over Nintendo's ability to continue selling Wiis.
According to Japan's Nikkan Sports (also translated by GameSpot), Iwata said during the conference that Nintendo misjudged market conditions as they pertained to the publisher's sales strategy.

http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/hardwa...g=content;col1

eaps · 11-02-2009, 03:05 PM

It's interesting to see Nintendo talk frankly about the slip in Wii sales and what they can do to change the situation. I don't really want to start a flame war or anything but (which nicely negates the first half of the sentence), it's the exact opposite of another console maker that insists it is the "#1 home entertainment console of the living room" or something like that.

I just hope that Nintendo can come up with some compelling reasons for me to break out my wiimote again.

Richard Naik · 11-04-2009, 08:12 PM

I'm seriously considering selling my Wii. There just haven't been any titles that have interested me since Metroid Prime 3 was released, and I haven't turned it on in what feels like months.

Brad Gallaway · 11-04-2009, 09:08 PM

There's been some choice WiiWare, but yeah... the games are a flop. Anybody who thought the Wii would stand a chance once the hype wore off didn't really understand games or gamers.

It's funny to me that Nintendo is (halfheartedly) pinning hopes on the new SMB Wii. "four players!" is the big hook? uh, seriously? was *anybody* asking for this? NSMB on DS was pretty weaktastic, and I'm expecting this new one to be more of the same.

gonna be a cold christmas for the Big N, i think.

joetbd · 11-04-2009, 11:07 PM

The Wii has been the big runaway hit.
Going on 3 years now.

I believe a lot of their success with the Wii has come about despite Nintendo's actions. It will be interesting to see if they can actively turn this slump around, and actively create sales.

For a couple of years now, they have been competing with the PS2 for a spot in history. Now they are actually being challenged by the 360 and PS3 in monthly sales.

Dale Weir · 11-05-2009, 01:14 AM

Not to sound like a Negative Nelly, but I don't see how Nintendo turns things around without a more drastic price drop and some actual quality controls on third party shovelware.

New Super Mario Bros Wii is really a nice try, but it doesn't work on many levels. For one thing, who is this aimed at? Nintendo itself has said it will be the hardest game its ever made. Is that so it appeals to the hardcore? Does the hardcore still care? Is Demo Play supposed to open things up to the casuals?

And that is the only game worth a damn, save for maybe Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles still to be released for the holiday season.

And Wii sales have stalled has a different meaning. Will the Wii continue to sell for 10 years? Probably not. Whoever believed that was kidding themselves. I think I even said it once so shame on me. Technology evolves and so do expectations. The PS3 and 360 are closer in price and will soon be offering competing gesture control technology so Nintendo will start to see stronger competition.

(As I've always said, those other companies have to resell their public image in order to grab a hold of the casual consumer they crave. That's going to take some work on their part.)

The Wii is still selling extremely well, just not as well as last year. I think the economy has just caught up with Nintendo.

It's hard for a lot of people out there. Nintendo made a mistake in not dropping its price to match the climate. When everyone was cash rich, thought they were, or were just hoping things weren't that bad, spending $250 on a cute game console wasn't much of a problem. That was 2006-08. Things are different now. If Nintendo needs to be blamed, it is for not recognizing that and dropping the price by $75-100.

Chi Kong Lui · 11-05-2009, 08:54 AM

This is classic Nintendo being Nintendo. Once again the third-party developers are shut out because they can only sell the illusion of motion controls for so long. Light gun games are the only true working application of the Wii-mote which is why we've seen some good ones on the Wii. Nintendo is busy making the next balance board/gimic. They aren't developing software. The difference between the Wii and past Nintendo failures was that the Wii became a cultural phenomenon, but the lack of quality of games from disinterested developers, who saw through the guise right from the start, is what's bursting the Wii bubble.

gamevet · 11-09-2009, 11:39 PM

I'm not surprised by this at all.

I didn't buy a Wii, because of how horrible 3rd party support was for the N64 and Gamecube. The GC was slightly better than the N64, but the 1st party titles weren't as strong as they'd been in the past. The Wii 1st party titles are even worse, and the 3rd party games are a joke.

Congratulations Nintendo, you've managed to sucker a bunch of very casual gamers into buying your enhanced Gamecube. It's too bad you alienated the group that actually buys games with a console.

NeoRanger · 11-10-2009, 04:02 AM

The news wasn't entirely unexpected. We all more-or-less knew it'd happen the moment Sony announced the PS3 price-drop (followed by Microsoft, no less).

Now I'm actually intrigued to see what they'll do from here. I can't imagine they didn't have any long-term plans for the console race; it was fairly obvious the Wii came with an expiration date.

RandomRob · 11-10-2009, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chi Kong Lui

This is classic Nintendo being Nintendo. Once again the third-party developers are shut out because they can only sell the illusion of motion controls for so long. Light gun games are the only true working application of the Wii-mote which is why we've seen some good ones on the Wii. Nintendo is busy making the next balance board/gimic. They aren't developing software. The difference between the Wii and past Nintendo failures was that the Wii became a cultural phenomenon, but the lack of quality of games from disinterested developers, who saw through the guise right from the start, is what's bursting the Wii bubble.

They also set their sites on bringing in non-gamers, and alienated the majority, which fueled media hype over who's better, etc. Nothing new here, Nintendo's done this before, to the same response. I wouldn't worry about them. They're healthy, they experiment, and they've still got a heck of a lot of talent, even if they keep it close to the vest.

Jet Black · 11-16-2009, 02:09 AM

I agree with the comments above.
Nintendo wants their cake and eat it, too.

I also think the economic slump has caught up with them, too. But the obvious lack of software support and innovation in game design with the Wii mote is the real killer.

Granted... they have Silent Hill Shattered Memories coming up next month. However, one game won't make a console last, nor rebuild their image and give it a boost. They'd need a new image... like PlayStation's slight of hand launching the "Slim"model. But that won't happen in the dream world of Nintendo. Instead we get the overrated "connectivity" sermon once again. Please, will someone send Nintendo a few smoke signals that the Internet has been created already.

But as noted above, the console is still selling big, just not as much as the year before. Their numbers isn't anything to shake a stick at, but when they let all the fuel run out the tank before ringing the warning bell then they've got management problems -- which has plagued Nintendo time after time in their history.

farfus · 11-16-2009, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gamevet

I'm not surprised by this at all.

I didn't buy a Wii, because of how horrible 3rd party support was for the N64 and Gamecube. The GC was slightly better than the N64, but the 1st party titles weren't as strong as they'd been in the past. The Wii 1st party titles are even worse, and the 3rd party games are a joke.

Congratulations Nintendo, you've managed to sucker a bunch of very casual gamers into buying your enhanced Gamecube. It's too bad you alienated the group that actually buys games with a console.

Same here, they lost me for good with the gamecube and i guess their lower price point and novelty helped the wii. But as usual they have run outta ideas...