Can Nintendo sell 35 willion Wii’s by 2012?

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Sunday, 27 May 2007 19:16

Your IT - Entertainment

Far and away the most popular ‘next-gen’ games console in terms of the speed of units sold, the Wii has catapulted Nintendo back into the limelight as genuine innovators that understand gamers, games and people.

According to a Bloomberg news report, Nintendo of America Inc.’s marketing chief George Harrison predicts they’ll have sold 35 million Wii’s in the US alone by 2011 or 2012, and is increasing production to ensure the supply is there to meet the expected demand, which so far, shows no signs of abating as the Wii wins the sales charts for total units sold month after month, catching up on the Xbox 360 and more than doubling the number of PS3’s sold.

Harrison also explained to Bloomberg that a successor to the Wii would be coming only when they deemed it necessary, as superior technology clearly isn’t always the answer, although it can’t be put off inevitably, with the expectation that the Wii will still be on sale in 2012 which is in line with the at least 5 year lifespan of consoles today.

Still, one would imagine Nintendo would have a new console out by 2010, but naturally Harrison isn’t in any way specific – the Wii is where it’s at right now, after all. He said that: “We're starting to see in the performance of the PS3 and Xbox 360 that that's not necessarily motivating the market the way it used to. So we're going to start work on future technology only when we believe it's necessary.”

Of course, none of that is to say that Sony and Microsoft don’t also possess some pretty impressive knowledge themselves of what customers want, so successful have they been in putting products onto the marketplace that people buy in large numbers, even if their latest hits, the PS3 and Vista, haven’t been the absolute mega blockbuster smash hits from day one that each company hoped their product would enjoy.

That said, Microsoft claims 40m copies of Vista sold (without specifying the actual number of copies of Vista in use), and Nexgenwars.com says Sony have sold 3.1 million PS3 (with over 5 million meant to have been shipped into worldwide channels by now).

But despite the incredible graphics prowess of both the Xbox 360 and potentially even more so of the PS3, along with the ability to use either console as a digital media center connected to everything else in your home, as well as some great games for both platforms, Nintendo’s simpler, smaller, less graphically powerful system is still selling so swiftly in the US that it’s reported to still be difficult to find a new Wii on sale.

Why? Not only because the US $249 price is $50 cheaper than the cheapest Xbox 360 and less than half the price of the 60Gb PS3, but also because it is cheap enough to buy in addition to another games console, just so you can have the experience. The days of buying only one games console have long since gone, with fanatics owning all three consoles and a souped up gaming PC.

But as anyone who has played the Nintendo Wii knows, it’s instantly compelling, intriguingly unique, and has a quick, easy to learn and seemingly ‘natural’ motion sensing control system that truly lets anyone in the family play.

It has set the public’s imagination alight worldwide, as well as enticed people who rarely or never played console games before to get involved, thereby increasing the market in ways that do not necessarily have to mean lesser market share for Microsoft or Sony.

For Sony and Microsoft to gain traction against the Wii, they not only need more and better games, including even more engaging social experiences as all three console manufacturers strive to offer, but will likely need to drop prices at some point, although everyone always says price drops aren’t coming anytime soon lest that causes consumers to wait and sales to stop.

Likely there will be some great specials, bundles or other deals come the Christmas and holiday season this year, with all three companies splashing out with mega games launches and frenetic activity to capture the attention of games worldwide, getting existing customers to buy more games, and customers-to-be to shell out on more digital entertainment, games console style.

14 new games are on the way for the Nintendo Wii, due to arrive in the third quarter before the all important holiday season, while both Sony and Microsoft have plenty of new games on the way too.

That the Wii rides at the top of monthly sales with a ‘new’ way to actually play games, with the ability to play high-def games on either an Xbox 360, a PS3 or even a suitably equipped gaming PC shows just how much we are truly in a new golden age of gaming. As long as new games for the Wii engage us with great gameplay and make innovative use of the controller, in games that can be played by all ages, there's no reason why the Wii can't sell 35 million units in the US alone - and more worldwide.  

Enjoy this golden age of gaming while it lasts, knowing that the longer you support it and play along, the longer the golden age will continue, with everyone a Wii-ner!