Wii Not a Success... Yet

[Kamalot]

Despite selling out around the world, commanding consumer interest (http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2007/09/wii_leads_the_way_in_consumer_sentiment.html), and out-pacing both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 in sales, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently claimed in an interview (http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/?v=news&p=17199) that he does not consider Wii a success, yet.

"Everyone thinks Wii is such a success, but Nintendo hasn't become overproud of it," Itoi added. "Actually, I don't think I ever heard you say 'Wii is a success.'"

"Not yet," Iwata replied. "It's a good start. It's been a good start, but it's only the beginning. "We want to have the customers continue playing. We want to continue coming up with new proposals to them, and have them keep playing. Only then can we say that we've accomplished our goals. We've been preparing to make things happen."What criteria should be used to determine when/if the Wii is a success?

[II ZoiD II]

I think if the sales stay strong for another year or so then I would consider it a success. With all the big games coming out this fall and more to follow over the next 12 months, and if they keep flying off the shelves well then he could rest an even happier millionaire!

[Zaro]

Considering the new market they want, it'll be a success when my mom will by one.
Maybe WitFit will help.

[Mdot23]

Considering the new market they want, it'll be a success when my mom will by one.
Maybe WitFit will help.

I was going to say the same thing.

[DaXIthR]

I believe Iwata said at E3 06 that the minimum he expects from the Wii is double the lifetime GC sales....or something like that.

Wii is the global market leader, and should be the market leader in each major territory by the end of the year - probably a lot sooner.

I've said before...critical mass is around 40M to 50M units globally. If you're the first to reach there, no publisher can ignore you, especially if you're cheap to develop for. Also, Nintendo's ridiculously close to the $199 magically mass-market figure. They'll be the firs to hit that benchmark as well.

I find it hard to believe that Nintendo's going to give away this generation after having it by the throat like this....

[Doctor Setebos]

For those curious, this "interview" comes from a dinner discussion Iwata shared with a good friend of his, Shigesato Itoi, of the game company Hobonichi. They've been posting daily transcripts of their conversation (http://www.1101.com/iwata/index.html) on their website, and it all makes for a really interesting read.

[Purple Santa]

I think Iwata wants to see the Wii not just seen as a "fad" by those newcomers who have bought the Wii. I think he also wants what is being called the "hardcore" audience to recognize the Wii as not just something soccor moms are buying and enjoying. As great as a buzz there is from the newer demographic the Wii has brought to console gaming, I think it would be the goal of Nintendo to lure in and/or more games from third party developers that are considered "hardcore". I don't believe Nintendo want's all of Xbox/PS audience, but I think they want enough of it to sustain a lifeline from those who are necessary for a sysem to continue living sucessfully this generation but also the next one.

[Norse]

The hardware is a huge success, but how is 3rd party games selling? From what I've heard the attach rate for games isn't as high as it should be yet. Since I haven't seen any solid numbers I might be wrong though.

[Wyrm]

I own a Wii, but I don't own very many games for it. I'm also not particularly excited by many games that are coming in the future, except of course for Smash Bros. I bought the machine solely to play Brawl, so for me, everything else is icing on the cake.

I do think that the Wii could benefit from more third party titles, but honestly, I think what's hurting it the most right now is the fact that no one has used the remote to do anything incredibly interesting. What is supposedly the system's defining feature turns out to be mildly engaging at best, and at worst, a faulty gimmick.

I think another thing that would help is a brand spanking new Nintendo IP that takes all kinds of advantage of the remote and is every bit as compelling as their other outings. I'd love to see them bring us another iconic character that we will forever associate with the Wii.

[Kamalot]

The hardware is a huge success, but how is 3rd party games selling? From what I've heard the attach rate for games isn't as high as it should be yet. Since I haven't seen any solid numbers I might be wrong though.
Didn't Capcom just state that their stock rose on greater-than-expected sales of Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition?

[Wyrm]

Didn't Capcom just state that their stock rose on greater-than-expected sales of Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition?

Speaking of which, that's another company that needs to roll out a badass new IP for the Wii. Give us something as awesome as Devil May Cry or Viewtiful Joe that uses the remote to its full potential!

[Baron Samedi]

After this holiday season and once online and WiiWare comes together, Wii will be a power to be reckoned with.

[Wyrm]

Honestly, all they really need to do is drop the price to $150, come out with a few games that are marketed specifically toward the 30-60 demographic, and bam, there will be one in almost every household in America.

Nintendo may actually be the only company that got it right this generation in terms of price and appeal, but only time will tell for sure.

I believe that the Wii will hold the largest market share this time around, and the sole reason is because it's so much cheaper than the other two. Some above average third party titles will push it into the place the PS2 is still currently in.

[Kamalot]

Speaking of which, that's another company that needs to roll out a badass new IP for the Wii. Give us something as awesome as Devil May Cry or Viewtiful Joe that uses the remote to its full potential!

How about Zack and Wiki (http://wii.ign.com/articles/797/797414p1.html)?

[Wyrm]

How about Zack and Wiki?

Haven't paid enough attention to know that was a Capcom game. Need to check some more info out on that one.

[rein]

I can't fathom how anyone cannot consider the Wii a success. Once third party publishers pledged support and stories like the Capcom one mentioned by Kamalot above surface, I think it is time to take the next step and call it a success. It is the worldwide market leader of current generation consoles.

[Wyrm]

I can't fathom how anyone cannot consider the Wii a success. Once third party publishers pledged support and stories like the Capcom one mentioned by Kamalot above surface, I think it is time to take the next step and call it a success. It is the worldwide market leader of current generation consoles.

I'm not saying it isn't a big success, because it absolutely is. It defied my own expectations, as I didn't see myself going after one so quickly after launch, but here it sits, gathering dust below my television.

I think at this point though, even if Iwata doesn't consider the Wii a success, Nintendo should be pretty happy that their newest console isn't anything like the last two. (sans the god awful approach to online gaming)

[Telefrog]

I think the Wii hardware is definitely a success, but as an industry standard, it's still got some ground to cover. The control scheme is so different and the specs are so low, that developers seem to be having a difficult time putting out anything other than the rare gem and a lot of crap.

I'm sure part of that success measurement would be to increase the attach rate with games. Right now, the majority of Wii consoles might as well have had Wii Sports permanently glued into the tray.

[torrefaction]

Eh, when they have significantly more and better games, it'll be a success. Metroid does not an awesome console, make.

[roboninja]

I think it is refreshing to see a company executive that does not at least act like he is utterly impressed with his console's results. All we hear is bluster from the other two camps.

[digitalErich]

Even with the install base of the Wii, this is a healthy attitude to take. It can only help them.

[Loki_09]

What criteria should be used to determine when/if the Wii is a success?

When my library of quality Wii games measures half that of my quality 360 games (I have ~10-15 games for the 360). I just havent been overly impressed with the games on the Wii yet. TP was fun. In Nintendo's defense, I haven't tried Prime yet, but will eventually.

[violentp]

Why do I picture the Wii as Germany circa 1940?

[PathMaster]

Honestly, most of the games currently out are trash, but common trash. By that I mean, they were produced and released ASAP to take advantage of the initial success of the hardware. They are by no means indicative of the games they will be released next year. The Wii hardware met with such surprising sales, that games were rushed out to grab sales and quick money. Now that the console is reaching a year of age, I think publishers are finally realizing that the Wii is here to stay and NOT just a passing fad. They will start, if they have not already, to produce games to take advantage of the console's success and innovative control scheme.

I would love to rehash this subject a year from now and see what games are being released currently or in the near future for not just the Wii, but for all systems.

[torrefaction]

Why do I picture the Wii as Germany circa 1940?

Did you just compare the Wii to the goddamn Nazi's, you insensitive bastard?

Awesome.

[violentp]

Did you just compare the Wii to the goddamn Nazi's, you insensitive bastard?

Awesome.

Emotions are for chumps.

[shnastybiznastic]

Yeah, Hopefully they have realized that on a meta-level they need to be humble and not come across as lording their position at the top over everyone else.

[digitalErich]

Yeah, Hopefully they have realized that on a meta-level they need to be humble and not come across as lording their position at the top over everyone else.
I think it's more that this is Nintendo. They released the NES. They know better than anyone that if your hardware is a runaway success, you need to have quality games in order to keep money coming in (and keep the buzz alive, but when the install base gets to a certain level, that stops being a key concern.)

[Doctor Setebos]

Why do I picture the Wii as Germany circa 1940?Nazi reference by the 23rd post. Congratulations! I don't know what you win.

[shnastybiznastic]

Not only that, but they dealt with the fallout over the SNES. They learned that no matter the reasoning behind your decisions, you need to appear as if you care about everybody down the development line. Otherwise it's probable that they will dump you for the competitor.

It's going to be interesting to see how Nintendo pans out this generation.

[violentp]

Nazi reference by the 23rd post. Congratulations! I don't know what you win.

False sense of accomplishment? Yeah, that's it.

[Digital Outlaw]

I want a Wii for playing games offline (besides Mario Kart) which is freakin WEIRD... I love playing games online and this makes almost no sense to me.... Even worse is that my Wife wants one, so Ill buy "her" one for Christmas and play TP when she goes to sleep...

[rein]

When my library of quality Wii games measures half that of my quality 360 games (I have ~10-15 games for the 360). I just havent been overly impressed with the games on the Wii yet. TP was fun. In Nintendo's defense, I haven't tried Prime yet, but will eventually.

...but, the Wii has only been out about half the time of the Xbox 360. If you are saying you have about 5-7 (half of 10-15) quality Wii titles in its first year I would consider that a success. The 360 was in the same boat the first year and I assume you considered it a success at that stage in its life.

I was one of the early doubters about the Wii and I have to admit that Nintendo has proved me wrong.

[CrysDark]

I am actually not happy with the Wii. I am worried that Christmas 08' is going to be less Bioshock type games and more BrainAge 17 games; because companies will want to capitalize on this new demographic...

[rein]

False sense of accomplishment? Yeah, that's it.
I assumed that is what you meant, but how can they have a false sense of accomplishment if the article is about them saying the Wii is not a success? :confused:

[Loki_09]

...but, the Wii has only been out about half the time of the Xbox 360. If you are saying you have about 5-7 (half of 10-15) quality Wii titles in its first year I would consider that a success. The 360 was in the same boat the first year and I assume you considered it a success at that stage in its life.

I was one of the early doubters about the Wii and I have to admit that Nintendo has proved me wrong.

I am fully aware that the Wii has only been out a year, and that launch and first year games are typically anemic. But thats the underlying idea for this thread: When will the Wii be considered a success? My answer is when there are more quality games. I didn't consider the 360 a success during the first 12 months of launch for the same reason.

[LikeTheRazor]

I love how this guy is so modest compared to the other console companies.

Sony: Of course we are a major success, just look at advanced blu-ray cell technology now with gyro-controlled dragons.

Microsoft: Of course we are a major success, we enter every market and create the superior product and take over.

Nintendo: The Wii isn't a success yet, we are just the worldwide market leader.

[violentp]

I assumed that is what you meant, but how can they have a false sense of accomplishment if the article is about them saying the Wii is not a success? :confused:

Oh, no. I was talking to Setebos telling him what I won. On topic, I consider the Wii very successful even though there are fewer games for me to play(and enjoy) than the PS3 at the moment. I am no fan of motion controls and could live happily without them. Lucky for Nintendo, that opinion does not determine success.

[rein]

Oh, no. I was talking to Setebos telling him what I won. On topic, I consider the Wii very successful even though there are fewer games for me to play(and enjoy) than the PS3 at the moment. I am no fan of motion controls and could live happily without them. Lucky for Nintendo, that opinion does not determine success.
Oh! My bad. :o

My thought when I first read your statement was that Nintendo is taking the globe by storm but will have their asses handed to them by the time the war is over. Am I close?

[LostToys]

I recall an interview where Iwata said that they would not be a success unless they equal the market penetration that the PS2 had. I wish him all the best on that endevour.

[ElektroDragon]

The hardware is a huge success, but how is 3rd party games selling? From what I've heard the attach rate for games isn't as high as it should be yet. Since I haven't seen any solid numbers I might be wrong though.

The attach rate is ABYSMAL compared to 360. How do I know? I own 40 retail 360 games and 5 retail Wii games. I own 44 XBLA games and 3 Virtual Console games. My Wii gathers dust. I think ANYONE who owns both 360 and Wii has a 10 times higher attach rate on 360, like I do.

[Loki_09]

The attach rate is ABYSMAL compared to 360. How do I know? I own 40 retail 360 games and 5 retail Wii games. I own 44 XBLA games and 3 Virtual Console games. My Wii gathers dust. I think ANYONE who owns both 360 and Wii has a 10 times higher attach rate on 360, like I do.

I agree with you 100%. But, it is still the first year. And, the Wii has to compete with a system that has had a year head start.

[Kamalot]

The attach rate is ABYSMAL compared to 360. How do I know? I own 40 retail 360 games and 5 retail Wii games. I own 44 XBLA games and 3 Virtual Console games. My Wii gathers dust. I think ANYONE who owns both 360 and Wii has a 10 times higher attach rate on 360, like I do.

You should also note that the 360's attach rate is unprecedented in the industry. The Wii's attach rate is much more like what typical console systems have been like for the past 20 years. The 360 is an anomaly, albeit a great one for Microsoft and 3rd parties.

[KingGorilla]

What is the Wii Attach rate with Nintendo games though. At this point, I would have expected Mario Strikers to sell 2 million by now, and 6 million copies of Zelda. I think that the sales of Smash Bros and Galaxy will really show how many fans have Wiis(IE the people that nintendo depends on for money). Which is what I have seen as the big flaw in the Wii Strategy, they are not getting the console into the hands of game consumers as much as casual buyers. The latter still playing GTA3 and madden on their PS2.

[violentp]

Oh! My bad. :o

My thought when I first read your statement was that Nintendo is taking the globe by storm but will have their asses handed to them by the time the war is over. Am I close?

Possible. Though there is no evidence proving such a possibility. I think no matter what Nintendo does, they got this gen in the bag. Next gen? Who knows. We could easily have another GCN on our hands.

[KarmaGhost]

We want to have the customers continue playing. We want to continue coming up with new proposals to them, and have them keep playing.Well with me, they've failed on that one. I haven't played my Wii in months.

[Bahamut]

I dunno about abysmal, but I know I have bought ~9 Wii games and enjoyed all but 3. As for 360 games, I have bought 7, haven't played 2 yet, although 1 I haven't played was because it was $10 (hard to pass up a game that cheap) - enjoyed all of those that I have bought & played though. For the PS3 I have 5 games, 3 unplayed, enjoyed what I played (although Resistance was a mixed bag at some points with gimmicky sixaxis controls & the poor analog stick locations on the PS3 controller).

I think the slagging on the Wii's games is unwarranted - so far, the Wii really has the best collection of games in under an year for any console in the past few generations, and this holiday looks to cement that.

Well with me, they've failed on that one. I haven't played my Wii in months.

You haven't played Metroid Prime 3? For shame.

[Loki_09]

I think no matter what Nintendo does, they got this gen in the bag.

:rolleyes:

In terms of what? Thats a broad statement. Hardware sales? Yes, likely. Software, highly doubtful.

[violentp]

:rolleyes:

In terms of what? Thats a broad statement. Hardware sales? Yes, likely. Software, highly doubtful.

Sales buddy. That's what's gonna win you the generations war and between all the handhelds and Wiis out there, nobody is catching up.

Good software don't make the win. Look up Dreamcast.

[Lutheran]

The attach rate is ABYSMAL compared to 360. How do I know? I own 40 retail 360 games and 5 retail Wii games. I own 44 XBLA games and 3 Virtual Console games. My Wii gathers dust. I think ANYONE who owns both 360 and Wii has a 10 times higher attach rate on 360, like I do.

Thats you m8 , me?? I own about 12 360 games and 6 Wii games. When i go into a gamestore I see about 25 real good 360 games that are real good or better games...thats just me...i don't play sports games or driving games so that cuts down on my selection choices. I own 10 VC games and about 12 XBL games...And I love both my 360 and Wii..next year I am sure there will be an awesome selection of fun Wii games. This fall Mario , Metroid , SSBB are all kickass choices and Mario Kart is around the corner..once the 3rd party developers get with it then the Wii will be well worth owning for most gamers.

[31 Flavas]

The attach rate is ABYSMAL compared to 360. How do I know? I own 40 retail 360 games and 5 retail Wii games. I own 44 XBLA games and 3 Virtual Console games. My Wii gathers dust. I think ANYONE who owns both 360 and Wii has a 10 times higher attach rate on 360, like I do.Ahh, so we can use our own collection of games to find out national attach rates? Well, shit, I can do that too. Check this out!

I own 0 360 games, 0 XBLA games, and 10 Wii games, and 6 Virtual Console games. So the attach rate for 360 is ABYSMAL compared to Wii. ZERO to TEN! My 360 gathers dust, on the store shelf!

[Loki_09]

Sales buddy. That's what's gonna win you the generations war and between all the handhelds and Wiis out there, nobody is catching up.

Good software don't make the win. Look up Dreamcast.

Okay, handhelds aside. We all know Nintendo has that locked up. I was referring to the big three consoles. I don't want to get too deep into this, as there's been a million freakin posts on the console wars, but from personal experience and from my group of friends, the story remains the same. All our Wii's are collecting dust (wow that sounded bad), and our 360's are melting from overplay (unfortunately, it might not be an exaggeration). If you are specifically saying console sales will determine who's got this gen "locked up", yeah, the Wii's got it. I just don't see it in the software department.

And none of the big 3 are going to follow the path of the Dreamcast.

[violentp]

Okay, handhelds aside. We all know Nintendo has that locked up. I was referring to the big three consoles. I don't want to get too deep into this, as there's been a million freakin posts on the console wars, but from personal experience and from my group of friends, the story remains the same. All our Wii's are collecting dust (wow that sounded bad), and our 360's are melting from overplay (unfortunately, it might not be an exaggeration). If you are specifically saying console sales will determine who's got this gen "locked up", yeah, the Wii's got it. I just don't see it in the software department.

And none of the big 3 are going to follow the path of the Dreamcast.

I agree on two things. One, the Wiis library licks balls. Two, there will be no Dreamcast this year.

Now that being said, I think the market is so fucked up at the moment that to make a simple comparison as to which of the three main consoles is going to win is somewhat impossible. The Wii is on a plane of it's own. It's like a new card game played on a table next to the Poker table. The timing between the 360 and PS3 is also off. PS3 hasn't been out for a year yet they plan on a 10 life. That would indicate that the next Box would be out by then. So do we compare the PS3 to new box? Do we only count it for an additional time frame determined by the initial release margin? Doesn't seem quite right to me.

Analysts can say what they want but there is very little pattern to be had here. Only thing we can do is compare the main 3 game divisions. The result means very little but it's more than simple forecasting.

[twophayse]

I think Nintendo's success so far has been due to bridging the gap between kids and parents through a combination of the Wii remote, Virtual Console, franchise sequels and group centric games. They want to expand the market, so women will separate them from the pack. The key to that market is simple: graphic novels with dating/fashion/beauty/fitness minigames, puzzlers, and life sims.

Here's Nintendo's 2008 Lineup:

Wii Fit
Wii Think
Wii Dream
Wii Shop
Wii Date
Wii Dance
Wii Wed
Wii Babies
Wii Retire

With Ms. Pac-Man, Ms. Bookworm, Ms. Textwist, and Ms. Tetris coming from 3rd parties.

[rein]

...With the Nintendo Wii breaking through the age-long barrier between hardcore and casual gamers, as well as tapping into a recently-undiscovered market of non-gamers, it's no surprise that people are standing up and taking notice.

This is the case with the Nikkei Net Kansai, a Japanese economics resource that recently published a report on how the Wii has effectively taken the lead in the world market of videogames - the first time since the Super Nintendo Entertainment System was made.

Compiling the figures tallied by Enterbrain, NPD and GfK, sales tracking agencies of Japan, America and Germany respectively, Nikkei Net Kansai proclaimed the Wii as the top of the hill, selling 9.02 million units throughout the three territories as of July. It's to note that the Wii managed to overtake the Xbox 360's huge 8.8 million unit lead, despite the latter having a year's head start as well.

Nikkei Net Kansai also stated in its report that despite the Wii lacking the processing muscle under its hood unlike the PS3 and Xbox 360, it has sold uniformly well across all three territories. The Xbox 360's sales, in contrast, are more from the US territories rather than the other two.

It's a good season for the Wii indeed.


NDS - 30
PS2 - 8
WII - 6
PSP - 3
PS3 - 2
360 - 1


Good enough for me.

[wezlypipz]

I don't care for the Wii, but I will certainly say that I wish more people in the industry shared his opinion.

[brokenFUN]

I think it a cultural thing for JAP developers. They are humble about their success until like five years later when everyone is reminiscing about it and remembering how awesome it was.

[mister_slim]

The hardware is a huge success, but how is 3rd party games selling? From what I've heard the attach rate for games isn't as high as it should be yet. Since I haven't seen any solid numbers I might be wrong though.

As of 2-3 months ago the attach rate for the Wii was 4.6 games per console. That includes WiiSports pack-ins but not VC games. Given that WiiSports is included in 2 of the 3 major sales areas the overall attach rate is about 4, which is quite good for this time in a console's life. To compare, last gen all three consoles had attach rates around 8-9.

[Skyelan]

This is why I think Iwata is the whole reason Nintendo's been making a comeback. The last president may have been 'ambitious', had 'business sense', and did bring us the NES which ressurrected gaming, but his pride became blindness and he did nothing but bad for Nintendo ever since.

Iwata's been steadily rebuilding the once-burnt bridges with the rest of the industry, and, at least in the public eye, he knows how to play the patient strategist role.

Without him, I think Nintendo would have been gone, maybe with a small hand left in the handheld market.

Here's Nintendo's 2008 Lineup:

Wii Fit
Wii Think
Wii Dream
Wii Shop
Wii Date
Wii Dance
Wii Wed
Wii Babies
Wii Retire

With Ms. Pac-Man, Ms. Bookworm, Ms. Textwist, and Ms. Tetris coming from 3rd parties.

Exactly what was said about the DS. EXACTLY. Just replace the 'Wii' series with Brain Games and Nintendogs 5. Oh, and every last third party game (After it was stopped saying that there won't be ANY third party games) would be Brain and Nintendogs ripoffs.

It never stops being funny. Gamer attitutes are following the exact same trend they had with the DS, down to the finest details. At announcement, "That's fucking stupid". At launch, "It'll die soon, competition will destroy it". When success is undeniable, "Third parties won't support it, so it's pointless". When third parties start to show support "It will all be casual games, Nintendo is killing the hardcore market".

But so long as we close our eyes and plug our ears, we can ignore that history is repeating it's own play, and we're acting out our parts just as we did two years ago. :p

[shnastybiznastic]

I think Nintendo's success so far has been due to bridging the gap between kids and parents through a combination of the Wii remote, Virtual Console, franchise sequels and group centric games. They want to expand the market, so women will separate them from the pack. The key to that market is simple: graphic novels with dating/fashion/beauty/fitness minigames, puzzlers, and life sims.

Here's Nintendo's 2008 Lineup:

Wii Fit
Wii Think
Wii Dream
Wii Shop
Wii Date
Wii Dance
Wii Wed
Wii Babies
Wii Retire

With Ms. Pac-Man, Ms. Bookworm, Ms. Textwist, and Ms. Tetris coming from 3rd parties.

Do you mind finding another forum? The adults are trying to have a discussion here.

[DaXIthR]

I am fully aware that the Wii has only been out a year, and that launch and first year games are typically anemic. But thats the underlying idea for this thread: When will the Wii be considered a success? My answer is when there are more quality games. I didn't consider the 360 a success during the first 12 months of launch for the same reason.

The question becomes...when did you buy the 360? If you bought it at launch, then you'll have to admit it was a poor decision. And if you bought your Wii at launch as well, then you made the same mistake twice.

If you bought both systems at the same time, then the complaint is also invalid, because you're expecting second generation software out of the gates from Nintendo.

It's unfair to compare attach rates as they are.

You should also note that the 360's attach rate is unprecedented in the industry. The Wii's attach rate is much more like what typical console systems have been like for the past 20 years. The 360 is an anomaly, albeit a great one for Microsoft and 3rd parties.

It's not that simple, either, really.

360 sales have been lukewarm in NA since February. The system isn't selling like it should, and that helps the attach rate. Sony ran the same trick with faulty hardware last generation. Dying PS2's meant customers had to pony up for a new system because they had a personal library of games that were coasters without a system.

Of course, MS has finally admitted a problem, without details, and has offered to pay for repairs. Until a couple months ago, screwed customers stayed screwed and inflated MS sales figures.

I'd love to see global attach rates for the various consoles.

The PS2 had a yearlong lead over its major competitors and put together more platinum sellers annually than months in a year. PS2 software sold great. Its attach rate didn't look as impressive because the hardware figures were also astronomical.

[Johan]

To compare, last gen all three consoles had attach rates around 8-9.

Anyone know what the 360's attach rate is? I'm curious, as I've heard it's insane.

I know I've helped it. 13 retail disks and 48 Arcade titles, not to mention other Marketplace digital download doo-dads. :)

360 sales have been lukewarm in NA since February. The system isn't selling like it should, and that helps the attach rate.

That's an interesting statistical truth.

[RMan]

It's always a bit amusing when people discuss the attach rate for a given system, since it's a useless statistic in a practical sense. I understand some think it might be useful to publishers, but IMO only the silly ones. Since it removes all scope from the number, I don’t see what can be derived from it. What would be useful is dividing the total number of sales or revenue by the number of released titles or game budget (pipe dream :)), that’d give you an idea of average game profitability. I guess some see it as an indicator that a particular system’s average customer is more willing to buy games, but by eliminating factors like number of releases and time in the market, I don’t think it does. Attach rate always struck me as a statistic that boils things down to a point where they’re not useful anymore.

[mister_slim]

Anyone know what the 360's attach rate is? I'm curious, as I've heard it's insane.

Last hard number I remember was 5.3 as of January, not including Live Arcade.

[Wolvie]

Wow, they are currently the hardware market leader, and they aren't trumpeting it? Thats refreshing, and honest. Sony take notes, you guys could use a few lessons in humility.

[D.D.D.]

I am actually not happy with the Wii. I am worried that Christmas 08' is going to be less Bioshock type games and more BrainAge 17 games; because companies will want to capitalize on this new demographic...

Sweet Jebus~ If you want BioShock, Halo, etc, get a 360. Hell, I did. I've got all three current systems. No one system will ever satisfy all gaming aspects, never have, never will. Gotta have them all or you're gonna miss a lot of good stuff. :rolleyes:

[Loki_09]

The question becomes...when did you buy the 360? If you bought it at launch, then you'll have to admit it was a poor decision. And if you bought your Wii at launch as well, then you made the same mistake twice.

If you bought both systems at the same time, then the complaint is also invalid, because you're expecting second generation software out of the gates from Nintendo.

I bought my 360 at launch, and I disagree with your statement that it was a poor decision. Launch console reliability aside, it was still fun, and it was still worth it to buy on launch day. Call of Duty 2 and Kameo, while not outstanding games, were still fun and held my attention quite well. CoD2 still gets some play between friends. The same can not be said for any Wii game released prior to Prime 3, including TP. This, of course, is just my opinion, but TP didnt really do it for me.

And if you read my other posts in this thread, you would see I'm not knocking the Wii, as I realize its only the first year and MS has had a 1 year headstart. I'm expecting first year Wii games to fall short of 2nd year 360 games. The question was raised, when will the Wii be a success? My answer was simple, when the games get better.

[Chameleo]

the biggest disappointment so far for me in the wii has been the sports games (EA's, not wii sports), paper mario and elebits.

everything else has been golden.