Nintendo Announces Wii Breaks Aussie Sales Record

Post by Steve Farrelly @ 10:07am 23/07/08 | 17 Comments

Nintendo of Australia have just sent through word the Wii is "officially the fastest selling home console to sell through 500,000 units in Australia". According to the Press Release this data (via GFK) sees the Wii reaching the 500,000 unit mark some 23 weeks faster than the previous record holder.

While this sounds cool, Nintendo still have an uphill battle to face among the more core audience of gamers after a very lacklustre E3 performance (stay tuned for our thoughts on their presence very shortly) with virtually no new serious titles announced beyond Pikmin 3 and Animal Crossing City Folk. The Aussie press release (linked above), however, does point out some key releases for the platform this year (DS as well), so be sure to have a look.

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mrbign
Posted 11:47am 23/7/08

Forget Nintendo's lineup - they've already dropped most of their big franchises onto the Wii already. The real question is where are the 3rd parties?

There's fortunes to be made on the Wii and where are the developers? Well they're all complaining about how they need to go cross platform on 360 & PS3 to stay profitable. Hello! You guys f***ed up and picked the most expensive and less popular consoles to develop on. Nintendo has done its part and it's the Ubi, EA, etc idiots who dropped the bag on us. They'll be just getting up to speed in time for the next Metroid, Zelda, Mario, Kirby, DK, etc and when they get outsold they'll complain about how the Wii isn't for the hardcore.

Retards.

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reso
Posted 12:01pm 23/7/08

But the Wii isn't for the hardcore straight edge

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Dan
Posted 01:41pm 23/7/08

There's fortunes to be made on the Wii and where are the developers? Well they're all complaining about how they need to go cross platform on 360 & PS3 to stay profitable.

Why would any third party dev want to limit the scope of a big budget title to one platform if it can be economically ported to multiple machines.

Statistically. Wii might have the biggest install base but its game attach rate is trash compared to the Xbox 360. They can boast all they want about how many people have bought their console, but their consoles are still sitting in the cupboard of thousands of homes with the copy of Wii Sports it came with.

I agree that Wii has the potential for games that are just as fun as the more powerful machines, and Nintendo's first party titles prove this. But looking from the point of view of a third party pub going multi-platform appears the safest option for return on investment and the PC/X360/PS3 combo is the obvious primary choice because of performance similarities.

Wii might be in more homes than any other single console, but not even close to more than the others combined who are also more likely to actually buy new games for their machines.

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Twisted
Posted 06:41pm 23/7/08

There's fortunes to be made on the Wii and where are the developers? Well they're all complaining about how they need to go cross platform on 360 & PS3 to stay profitable. Hello! You guys f***ed up and picked the most expensive and less popular consoles to develop on.

According to a lot of stats sites the attachment rate for the Wii is something between 3-5:1. The 360 is something between 6-8:1. As a developer, you will make a lot more money focusing your energy on the PS3/360 market. That is just my opinion though. It is all good to sell a lot of consoles, but if you're not selling titles then why would you attract more developers.

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Tim Tibbetts
Posted 09:47pm 23/7/08

Twisted I don't think it's as simple as that.

Development on Wii is considerably cheaper than PS3 and Xbox360. Also if there are more Wiis around, then you don't need a compareable attach rate of games to console as there are more consoles around.

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Tollaz0r!
Posted 05:59am 24/7/08

Most of the big companies seem to like the graphics wow factor to sell their games. "OMG look at that game it has uber graphics!" It has been that way for years.
If you develop on the Wii you cant really use that method of getting attention.

Perhaps the big companies who like nice predictable, steady sales don't know how to sell their games on the Wii so they stick to what they know.

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natslovR
Posted 08:10am 24/7/08

they make a high attach rate sound like it is good for gamers, it is not. I would hazzard a guess, that the 360s problem is the games do not last. You buy a big name title. 2 weeks later you are over it and looking for something else to use your expensive console on. that is probably why the MS Arcade titles are so popular.... I need to be entertained by my expensive console, oh hey.. bejeweled.

for developers a whole heap of other uncaptivating, short lasting games is a big draw card, but they have to ask themselves, if no one else can make compelling games on the 360, how can we? the answer is probably that they won't and so will rely on flashy graphics and marketing dollars to recover their costs, duping 360 owners once again, increasing attachment rate and continuing the cycle.

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Dan
Posted 08:24am 24/7/08

I would hazzard a guess, that the 360s problem is the games do not last. You buy a big name title. 2 weeks later you are over it and looking for something else to use your expensive console on.

Nah, I don't buy that. At least not as a defensive comparison to the Wii. Wii games are just as disposable, if not more so than the 360/PS3 library.

Some of the most popular titles on the 360 and PS3 are your Halos and Call of Dutys and every time they release Xbox Live stats, those are always dominating the multiplayer match numbers. What Wii titles have anywhere near that kind of longevity?

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Spook
Posted 09:24am 24/7/08

ill continue to take gameplay over graphics till the cows come home

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thermite
Posted 10:07am 24/7/08

yeah I am more impressed with a good 'style' than high quality graphics, and some games could pull that off on the sega master system.

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mongie
Posted 11:45am 24/7/08

Despite me not really liking the Wii that much - I found this hilarious.

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Twisted
Posted 07:16pm 24/7/08

Development on Wii is considerably cheaper than PS3 and Xbox360. Also if there are more Wiis around, then you don't need a compareable attach rate of games to console as there are more consoles around.

I'm not a developer...but if I was, I would ask myself. Do I want to develop for a console which sells like hot cakes...but the customers are jumping on a fad therefore are less likely to purchase my game for the console. From personal experience with friends and work mates...I've seen a lot of Wii's get insane play time for about 3-5 weeks before they begin to gather dust. This is just the kind of gamer the Wii attracts.

I would hazzard a guess, that the 360s problem is the games do not last. You buy a big name title. 2 weeks later you are over it and looking for something else to use your expensive console on.

Hasn't been my experience. I've found a lot of the games have massive replay value and really engaging and long stories/gameplay. I think a lot of PC titles have more replay value (RTS, FPS, TBS, MMO), but I think the 360 titles have done quite well.

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Crizane Tribal
Posted 08:07pm 24/7/08

Man, spot the fanboys in this thread... what is it about Nintendo that inspires such blind, impotent zealotry?

As already touched upon, I think the Wii console itself sells heavily upon its gimick aspect. It's easy to be drawn in by the fun of using the Wiimote etc, but then after a while you realise the controls aren't as tight as you'd like. Then you notice the graphics are somewhat lacklustre. Then the games just aren't holding your attention.

The higher attachment rates of the 360 and the PS3 does not surprise me at all. The higher price tag and more mature content of these consoles is of course going to make it more suitable for older gamers on a full time income. The pocket-money friendly Wii on the other hand can be had cheaper and includes a free game (WiiSports ZOMG!). The Wii is more easily within the reach of younger gamers with limited income and those who have to rely on mum and dad's OK.

PC > all anyway.

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mongie
Posted 08:13pm 24/7/08

What it comes down to is... The Wii is a party console, who wants to play Wii games by themselves?

360 / PS3 have both aspects covered - they can be played individually, and they can convert to be entertaining party consoles - they definately have more in-depth games.

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Spook
Posted 09:25pm 24/7/08

What it comes down to is... The Wii is a party console, who wants to play Wii games by themselves?

i dont want to sound like a fanboy, ok i will, i love my wii;

but your wrong mongie

the games ive enjoyed most on my wii are all single player
zelda/mario karts/metroid/re4/no more heroes
and im looking forward to playing smg when im done with no more heroes

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Midda
Posted 10:27pm 24/7/08

What it comes down to is... The Wii is a party console, who wants to play Wii games by themselves?

This is a pretty dumb statement. Just about all of my favourite games I've played on Wii have been single-player.

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lagerman
Posted 05:55am 25/7/08

Agreed - I've spent hours playing SMG and RE4. But the Wii does have a weaker game line-up than the 360 and PS3. Hopefully, the game developers will begin to target it in the future.

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