Nintendo: Ten Reasons It’s at the Top of Its Game
By Shawn on Tuesday, July 24th, 2007 at 4:08 PM PST In Games, Nintendo, Nintendo, Nintendo
Nintendo is definitely the Cinderella of the gaming industry. Long over shadowed by Microsoft and Sony, this year Nintendo is finally coming in to its own.
Since the Wii hit the shelves, bringing with it a whole new way to game, Nintendo experienced a surge of growth in popularity and profit. This is on top of its success with the DS and DS lite handheld systems. The Wii is practically a household name now and the market for casual gaming is growing by leaps and bounds. Here are some of the accomplishments Nintendo has achieved over just the first six months of the year. I imagine some of these statistics would be even higher if Nintendo could meet the demand for the Wii console. No wonder Microsoft and Sony are worried.
–Through the first half of 2007, the total Wiiâ„¢ hardware sell-through in
the United States and Canada combined is more than 2.3 million units (2.1
million United States, 222,000 Canada).–For the first half of 2007, Nintendo represents nearly 70 percent of the
industry growth in the United States and Canada combined.–In June alone, Wii was once again the top-selling home console with
nearly 435,000 units sold in the United States and Canada combined (381,800
United States, 53,000 Canada).–In June alone, Nintendo DSâ„¢ was the top-selling video game system overall
with nearly 608,000 units sold in the United States and Canada combined
(562,000 United States, 46,000 Canada).–Nintendo remained the top video game publisher in the United States and
Canada in June, as well as the top publisher for all of 2007.–In June alone, Nintendo has six of the top 10 best-selling games in the
United States, including the top four: Mario Party® 8 and Wii Play™ for
Wii, and Pokémon® Diamond and Pokémon® Pearl for Nintendo DS.–Of the top 30 best-selling games in the United States for all of 2007,
half are for Nintendo systems.–The three best-selling games in the United States for all of 2007 are for
Nintendo systems: Pokémon Diamond, Wii Play and Pokémon Pearl.–Wii already boasts more than 180 games, including 120 downloadable
Virtual Consoleâ„¢ titles. By the end of the year, that total number will
climb to about 330 games, including an additional 100 new games from every
major third-party publisher, along with an additional 50 Virtual Console
titles.–Approximately 300 games are already available for Nintendo DS, with
another 140 titles expected by the end of the year from every major third-
party publisher.
TBH I don’t think Sony are in the least bit worried. Making money in gaming is a long term business and since the PlayStation’s launch 13 years ago Sony have sold something like 160 million more home consoles than Nintendo.
IMO they aren’t currently competing for the same market in terms of home consoles and if anything I think the Wii will benefit the PS3 in the long term because it’s attracting a heck of a lot of previous non gamers to gaming.
Wii has never been in the race for consoles. It’s a great selling console of it’s own genre, a gaming console for everyone. Xbox and PS are more for real gamers, they have been racing between eachother for years now.
Nintendo (Wii&DS) is like World of Warcraft: it’s a game that is for the general public, anyone can play it because it’s easy and addicting. But ask a gamer, a real one, if they like WoW and I can pretty much guarantee you that they say it sucks. I’m not saying WoW is bad on it’s own, it’s quite contrary one of the best selling games EVER, I’m just saying its more for the general public than the hardcore gaming community.
SO, what I’m saying is that of course Nintendo is doing great because it’s target audience is pretty much everyone. Sony and Microsoft are here for the real gamers who a more intense gaming experience.
PS: Yes, Im aware Nintendo has released great games that apply to hardcore gamers too but it does not compare in quantity to what Sony and Microsoft have in their inventory