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The PS3 Gets a Faceful of Wii in '07

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 9 2008 9:00 AM

Submitted by thefreak. Edited By thefreak.

TAGS: Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Playstation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, video games

Amidst all the hoopla in the $40 billion global video game industry, it seems Santa doesn't care about Blu-Ray or overpriced consoles either.

Nintendo's Wii, the little arm-waving, ass-shaking system that could, outsold Sony's Playstation 3 by more than three to one in Japan in 2007, regaining first place in total sales. Mario & Co. couldn't be happier.

Nintendo's Wii outsold rival Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) three-fold in Japan last year, helping the country's multi-billion dollar video game market to notch up its best ever year, a survey showed Monday.

Nintendo sold about 3.63 million Wii consoles in its home market in 2007 while Sony sold 1.21 million PS3s, according to magazine publisher Enterbrain.

The Wii also trounced the PS3 more than three-fold in the key year-end sales period between November 25 and December 30, selling 774,123 Wii consoles against Sony's sales of 232,421 PS3s, the survey showed.

Nintendo enjoys the same 3-1 margin in sales against Sony in North America. When your system can't last long enough on shelves to gather dust (and customers are left sucking the dubious cash cow cock of chain stores to buy overpriced "bundle" packages), you're doing something right.

Or, you know, your company fails at increasing supply to meet demand.

I happen to have a sunnier disposition where the Wii is concerned. Mostly because I camped out for 12 hours outside the nearest Target that fateful November morn to be #2 in line. Your personal experience may differ.

"Consumers both in Japan and overseas are still attracted by the Wii, which remains a fresh concept," said Hiroshi Kamide, a game analyst at KBC Securities.

Sony "either has to slash the price further or increase the number of games available, which is something software makers are reluctant to do" because there are too few owners in the US to make it worthwhile, he added.

Kamide also notes the Xbox 360 is still going strong this side of the pond. That's right. Microsoft is still #1 in the US, selling more than 4 million units this past holiday. However, Bill Gates' little "Red Ring of Death"ed love child is still holding the rear in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Microsoft sold 257,841 Xbox 360s last year in Japan, continuing to struggle on its rivals' home turf two years after the console's launch, the survey showed.

Not to mention the problems they encountered with Xbox Live outages.

Video game blogs such as Joystiq recently reported that users had a slew of problems with the site over the holidays, including trouble signing in, downloading media and getting matched with online opponents.

"We are disappointed in our performance," wrote Marc Whitten, general manager of Xbox Live, on the Xbox 360 support Web site.

Whitten said record-breaking traffic and new-member sign-ups caused the "intermittent Xbox Live issues.".

Much like the storied sports rivalries of old, the fight between the Big Three and their loyal fanbases is everlasting. I don't know about you, but I'm too busy killing zombies and saving princesses to go throw the ball around.

thefreak owns 15 different gaming systems. He's a bigger dork than you.

85 Comments

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Tiwaz

Germany

July 2006

JAN 14, 2008 01:54 AM

Video games are stupid...

scylis

Anchorage, AK

November 2004

JAN 14, 2008 01:57 AM

emotedcreations said:
Video games are stupid...

you suck... like... stuff. a lot of stuff. which you suck. a lot.

yeah.

Kindle

Seattle, WA

March 2006

JAN 14, 2008 02:01 AM

scylis said:

Kindle said:

scylis said:

Kindle said:

scylis said:
also, there is the fact that Nintendo doesn't give out advanced notice of shipments, at least to up here, anyway. Wiis come straight from them.

customer: "do you know when you'll be getting in more Wiis?"
me: "the future."[1]

is "Wiis" really the plural of Wii? or should they be refered to as "Wii systems" when using plurals?

[1]: true story

That too. You're kind to let them know you will be getting them eventually. I just say "Never." In the future I should add that they've been discontinued. Really, I'm trying that the next time I work. I'll let you know how it turns out. Wonder if I can get photos of the crestfallen looks. I imagine it'll be much like Burger King not selling the Whopper anymore.

Holy hell, I could be a You Tube Star with gold like that!.

wow, that's cold. i like it. it'd be a smash hit, for sure!

and you could say it's a kindness, only wrapped in a supremely smug and condescending delivery.

As an update, I did this. I actually went through with it and kept a straight face (even on the phone it was difficult). Here's a small, somewhat accurate recap of how the conversation went. . .

Me: (pick up phone) Electronics (see, I don't give my name here because if I piss someone off I don't want them to be able to name me.)

Dude: Do you have any Nintendo Wiis in stock?

Me: No sir.

Dude: Do you know when you'll be getting any in? (seriously, this was just the line I was waiting for out of all the calls I got for the Wii that day)

Me: Never.

Dude: Huh? (I could hear his bafflement on the on the other line wondering if he had heard me correctly)

Me: We won't be getting anymore shipments of Wii systems in the store. Nintendo has decided to discontinue the product.

Dude: Are you shitting me?

Me: I wish I were. We were just informed ourselves last evening before the store closed.

Dude: What the fuck. You've got to be fucking with me. That's fucking stupid. Why the fuck would they do that? FUCK! (Yeah, he screamed into the phone)

Me: I'm sorry.

Dude: What the fuck and I supposed to do now? I've been trying to get a fucking Wii since before Christmas and now I'm being told that they fucking discontinued it. *growl/scream* (I really have no idea how to explain the noise he made that made me pull the phone away from my ear)

Me: My suggestion is that you try Craigslist or eBay. I'd do it quickly if you want one. As soon as the news gets out to the public you'll be hard pressed to find one anywhere.

(I have to note here that there were other customers standing near me listening to the entire conversation, granted it was only my end of it except when they heard him scream, and my co-workers were nearly rolling on the floor in hysterics)

Him: Oh! Good idea! (I could hear the excitement in his voice and I nearly lost it) *click*

He actually hung up on me before I could tell him it was a joke. I wonder if he actually got one off of eBay.

scylis said:

thefreak said:
Something tells me you're looking for a new job...

-TM

in showbiz!

When you work for the crappy company that scylis and I work for, you're always in the market for a new job.

you're my new hero.

Aww, thank you. I wonder if there's a way to connect to connect our two stores so I can put you on three-way for the next round! Muwahahaha.

Kindle

Seattle, WA

March 2006

JAN 14, 2008 02:02 AM

scylis said:

emotedcreations said:
Video games are stupid...

you suck... like... stuff. a lot of stuff. which you suck. a lot.

yeah.

Department of Redundancy Department?

PsylentNemo

Honolulu, HI

November 2007

JAN 14, 2008 02:11 AM

PsylentNemo

Honolulu, HI

November 2007

JAN 14, 2008 02:16 AM

Let's see if my connection will let me through this time...

StarBelliedBoy said:

So yeah. In another year when standard television signals switch to hd and people start looking for the best movie experience they can get, ask who cares about blu-ray.

Actually, T.V. is switching from an analog signal to a digital signal. This has nothing to do with HD players. Get your facts straight. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this.