PS3 outsells Wii - meaningful or fluke?

[shmokes]

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/17/japanese-hardware-sales-nov-5-nov-11-twice-in-a-lifecycle/


I've said since launch that it was well premature to write off the PS3 and that I suspected that as the novelty wore off the Wii, and as its deficiency in horsepower (not to mention flaws in the motion sensor design) caught up with it, both PS3 and Xbox 360 would begin to pull ahead in sales.  Well, PS3 outsold the Wii last week in Japan.  VERY likely meaningless, considering this is just one week, while the Wii has pretty much 50 or so weeks of domination under its belt, but who knows?  Is this a harbinger of things to come?

[RTSDaddy2]

I saw and read the article as well earlier...and honestly, I'd have to say I don't know which it is right now.

What kills me is how - and I'm leaving you out of my generalization here shmokes, because we've had some heated, but decent, dialogues that have helped me "grow up"
 as a gamer -  is how the PS3 crowd is wetting their pants over 1 week of outselling the Wii.  If we are looking at sales only, I'd have to say it's way too early to be jumping up and down hollering "SEE! TOLD YOU SO!"  Especially when Nintendo is already admitting they will not be able to keep up demand through Christmas.

Games wise it may be a different story.  A lot of you, who know my love of the Wii well, will not believe what I'm  about to say, but while I'm later getting here than most it is past time to do something other than another collection of mini-games.   Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime certainly fit that bill....from what I understand so does Zak and Wikki,  and we need more of this. It would appear from releases coming up that we will see fewer mini-games....but if the Wii is only going to be a mini-game machine, it goes without saying that it becomes one dimensional which will be very bad for it over time.

That said, I don't think the above will happen. Here's what I hope is going on: the third party people, caught offguard by the Wii's success, churned out whatever they could to get a title out.  Their second releases, now having grown accustomed to the little unit, will be better, and the third better than that, etc.

I think - or at least I hope -somewhere in these forums that I've said I don't doubt the power of the PS3....but even with the price cuts I would not buy it yet.  There just aren't enough games out there for it  that I'd really like to play, and I've got a DVD player and a PC....why should I pop $400 down on this thing?  On the other hand, the Wii has Metroid Prime, Super Mario Galaxy, Zelda :TP,  and the  occasional good sporting game.  Those right there - if I didn't already own a Wii - would be enough to make me stand in line for one.

Just my two cents....

[patrickl]

For me the problem with the PS3 and Xbox 360 is that I have a PC already. If I want nice graphics and complex gameplay I will use the PC. I'm not going to shell out a fortune for basically the same thing again.

I feel that a PC doesn't compare to the Wii. I bought the Wii for my kid and indeed he plays most on it. I find the games unrefined (overly simple/childish) and the motion sensor gimmick annoyingly imprecise. On the other hand, I do love the IR sensor. It really makes games like Resident Evil even better. My kid loves the Wii and even my parents play games on it.

The Wii has a much wider audience and therefore it will probably sell in higher volumes overall. i don't think horse power or graphics matter for the audience it's targeted at.

It does make sense that the PS3 sales are going to pick up now that there are more games coming out for it and Sony lowered the prices.

[shmokes]

RTSDaddy,

I agree 100% that it's too early to jump up and down hollering "SEE! TOLD YOU SO!".  Not only that, but I would be perfectly happy if I never have that chance.  I have NEVER played a PS3, not even at a Kiosk.  I've played about five minutes of Xbox 360.  I own a Wii.  Nintendo is my favorite videogame company, and has been for aver two decades (though Tim Schafer might actually be my favorite individual developer).  My conclusions about the future of the three systems are based entirely on observations and my own (possibly flawed) analysis.  They are not based on my desires.  In fact, before the Wii was released, I was constantly evangelizing the system, attempting to get everybody to embrace it unless they wanted to be tied to the primitive gamepad for the next decade or two.  I'm sure I could round up a thread or two to show this.

As for the PC argument, I think that in reality the PC makes little difference.  Console makers don't even consider the PC to be a direct competitor.  Exclusivity contracts never even extend to the PC.  One thing to keep in mind is that to get a PC that is as capable as the PS3 you literally have to spend AT LEAST three times as much as the PS3 -- probably more like six times as much.  The PS3 is already the ultra-expensive of the three consoles.  Additionally, the PC just makes a very poor substitute for a lot of games.  You can't get a group of people around a PC to play multiplayer games.  The opposite, of course, is also true.  Playing Civilization, and even FPS games isn't nearly as good on a PS3 because the controls are inadequate.  The point is, the PC excels at one thing, the PS3 excels at another.  That, and the enormous price difference keeps the two systems from have very overlapping markets.

So, anyway, I think that five years from now the PS3 will actually be ahead of the Wii, if not in terms of overall hardware sales, at least in software sales (Grandma may buy herself a Wii cos Wii Sports was such a hoot, but she's probably not going to suddenly transform into a gamer -- and her game collection will likely never extend beyond the pack-in).  I think this latest development in Japan is likely just a fluke and the Wii will be back on top next week.  But I think it's coming, even if last week was not the turning point.

[TOK]

I think the PS3 is priced low enough now that people will be buying it as a Blue Ray player that doubles as a game machine rather than the other way around. I also think system sales will pick up now that the PS3's must-have title is right around the corner... Gran Turismo 5 is due out in Japan in early December.

I don't consider myself a console gamer at all. I have a PS1 and an XBox that probably don't have 50 hours of play on them total. My wife recently got my daughter a Wii, which I think is kind of the niche that put Nintendo over the top. I was amazed by the success of the Wii. I saw it as a Gamecube with a motion sensor grafted on, and I didn't think anyone would fall for it.

I think the thing Nintendo may face now is that those casual gamers will start to get bored with gaming and abandon it.

[tommy]

Yeah, the PS3 shelves are just fully stocked from people not buying them in the past and the Wii shelf is empty. That's why.

[shmokes]

Tommy, that doesn't really account for the fact that people are buying them now, does it?  One thing Nintendo has in it's corner, though, is that ---smurfing--- FINALLY, now that PS3 does look like it could pick up steam, at least Nintendo has some software available for the thing.  There are actually a few real gems coming out for the holiday season that might make people pick up their Wii remotes again (most people I talked to have been letting their Wiis gather dust for the better part of 2007).

[tommy]

Since the PS3 has dropped it's price combined with the fact that the Wii shelf is empty, all that added up makes the PS3 a bit more tempting to buyers. Now, have a fully stocked Wii shelf right next to it and i think the PS3 stack stays there again.

If there is nothing to buy that they want sometimes people will buy something else.

[patrickl]

Are the Wii shelves actually empty though?

[pointdablame]

Are the Wii shelves actually empty though?

In my area (NJ) they most certainly are.  I've said it somewhere in here before, but I personally have only seen ONE Wii sitting on a shelf since release (and I bought it).

Now I didn't go out looking for them, didn't check dates they were shipped to EB, etc etc.  I'm also told that Nintendo World in NYC has a shipment every day and if you're willing to make the trip, its a good place to get one.  But for someone who just went to stores normally and would look at the game section for a Wii, there are next to none in my area. 

I'm sure you can get one if you put in the effort to track them down, but the shelves are most certainly empty in Central/North NJ

[shmokes]

Sure . . . there's truth to that.  I can understand that point of view.  But there are still a couple of factors that help Sony.  For one thing, the Wii sales were actually down.  Was this because Nintendo's production capabilities decreased?  Could be.  Or maybe they shifted production to better meet demand in another territory.  Maybe there really were just fewer Wiis on the shelves that week than the week before.  Or maybe Japan's population is so low, and the Wii so popular, that it's actually starting to reach saturation.  Maybe every household in Japan already has a Wii now, so it would be crazy to expect sales to keep up.  I don't know.

But, the alternative possibility still exists.  Maybe the PS3 has always been a desirable product, but was priced too high, and now that more people can afford it, they are buying it.  And now that more and more top-rate games are coming out for the PS3 that cannot be done on Wii (due to hardware constraints) people are becoming more and more interested in the machine (I know I am).  If this last one is true, Nintendo has reason to worry, because the differences in horsepower are going to become more pronounced as time goes on.  Like the PS2, the PS3 is notoriously difficult to program for.  We are going to start seeing huge jumps in quality on the PS3 as developers learn to program for the system, and how to harness the overly complex technology under the hood.  The Wii, on the other hand, is super easy to develop for.  It literally uses the same, or slightly modified APIs that the Gamecube used.  Certainly developers will learn to squeeze more out of the limited Wii hardware over time, but don't expect the kind of improvements you will see when you compare 3rd, 4th and 5th gen PS3 games with 1st gen games.

Already Nintendo cannot compete in the visuals department or the sound department.  I don't mean that they cannot beat Sony or MS, I mean that they cannot even play in the same league.  There is already an enormous gulf between Nintendo and the other two companies in terms of presentation.  But that gulf is going to turn into an ocean over the next few years.  Nintendo cannot rely on the motion sensor in their controller to combat this, as the motion sensor sucks too much to base a deep, excellent game on.  So all they really have is the pointer.  The pointer is great, but will it be enough?  I suspect that it will not.

[shmokes]

Are the Wii shelves actually empty though?

I haven't looked since I moved to Miami in July, but in the couple months prior to that I saw Wiis sitting on the shelves at Target and Walmart pretty much every time I looked (which was probably no more than once per week).  Usually only one or two, but one or two is enough to not be an empty shelf.

[ChadTower]

Tommy, that doesn't really account for the fact that people are buying them now, does it? 

For once, I think blind tommy found a nut.  It does present a reasonable explanation.

You're a random present buyer... you want to buy someone a game console, and you'd prefer the Wii as it is cooler and far less expensive... so you look around, and there just aren't any Wiis... but for some reason you must buy them a game console... you don't see very many 360s either... but there are lots of PS3s on shelves.  So you buy the PS3 because it's the only one sitting there when you have both the time to shop and the inclination to drop the cash.

I'd be very interested to see how many of those PS3 buyers already have a Wii.  I would almost put money on many of those buyers being people who have a Wii and have been waiting for the PS3's price to drop a bit and for more games to come out for it.  It's reasonble to think that few people are going to buy a second Wii and also that Wii owners may be buying PS3s now.

[patrickl]

Tommy, that doesn't really account for the fact that people are buying them now, does it? 

For once, I think blind tommy found a nut.  It does present a reasonable explanation.

You're a random present buyer... you want to buy someone a game console, and you'd prefer the Wii as it is cooler and far less expensive... so you look around, and there just aren't any Wiis... but for some reason you must buy them a game console... you don't see very many 360s either... but there are lots of PS3s on shelves.  So you buy the PS3 because it's the only one sitting there when you have both the time to shop and the inclination to drop the cash.

For random buyers it could make sense, but how many of those are there? I remember the Wii shortage we had in the Netherlands for the first half of 2007 and the PS3 or Xbox 360 sales were not up really.

The shelves are actually full of Wii's here. of course these sales figures are about Japan, so the shelves might have been empty there.

I'd be very interested to see how many of those PS3 buyers already have a Wii.  I would almost put money on many of those buyers being people who have a Wii and have been waiting for the PS3's price to drop a bit and for more games to come out for it.  It's reasonble to think that few people are going to buy a second Wii and also that Wii owners may be buying PS3s now.

That's the before mentioned explanation that people are either fed up with their Wii and/or that the price drop made them decide.

[ChadTower]

For random buyers it could make sense, but how many of those are there?

During the Xmas shopping season?  Millions.

That's the before mentioned explanation that people are either fed up with their Wii and/or that the price drop made them decide.

That's not what I said.  I'm talking about people who want to have both, not people who are fed up with the Wii.

[northerngames]

I heard wii's are hard to find and are a shortage an if that were the case that's probably why there not selling as good becuase there is none in the store to buy perhaps?

[shardian]

Playstation has also been ramping up advertising since the price cut and budget console debut. That of course has alot to do with sales. I saw commercials for ps3 on tv when the system debuted, but hardly any since then. In the last 2-3 weeks, I have been seeing tons of ps3 adverts.

[patrickl]

I thought the article was about Japanese sales figures though.

[RTSDaddy2]

RTSDaddy,

I agree 100% that it's too early to jump up and down hollering "SEE! TOLD YOU SO!".  Not only that, but I would be perfectly happy if I never have that chance.  I have NEVER played a PS3, not even at a Kiosk.  I've played about five minutes of Xbox 360.  I own a Wii.  Nintendo is my favorite videogame company, and has been for aver two decades (though Tim Schafer might actually be my favorite individual developer).  My conclusions about the future of the three systems are based entirely on observations and my own (possibly flawed) analysis.  They are not based on my desires.  In fact, before the Wii was released, I was constantly evangelizing the system, attempting to get everybody to embrace it unless they wanted to be tied to the primitive gamepad for the next decade or two.  I'm sure I could round up a thread or two to show this.

Duly noted, and I must apologize....because quite truthfully, thinking back on your posts, you've always seemed more interested in the Wii.  I was in error there, no doubt.  My apologies. 
 

[patrickl]

It could also be because scientists are using ps3's to replace their supercomputers

Gaurav Khanna’s eight PlayStation 3s aren’t running Heavenly Sword -- they’re using Linux plus custom code to solve complex computations.

[shmokes]

For once, I think blind tommy found a nut.  It does present a reasonable explanation.

I agree to an extent, but only an extent.  The fact is, having loads of PS3s on the shelves while the Wiis sell out is nothing new, but has been an ongoing state since launch.  If the Wiis are selling through, that means the only thing that can account for the PS3s outselling them is either a dip in Wii production or an increase in PS3 demand.  There may be some increased generalized videogame console demand generated by the upcoming holidays, with parents picking up a PS3 on the sole basis of it being available when they go to make their purchase while the Wii is sold out, but this is not really the most plausible explanation.  The logical conclusion is that the sharp spike in demand is a direct result in the sharp drop in price. 

[ChadTower]

It's probably some of both.  How many people do all of us know who keep saying "I want a PS3 but it costs too much"?

[Malenko]

It's probably some of both.  How many people do all of us know who keep saying "I want a PS3 but it costs too much"?

I hear more people say "Id want a PS3 but theres nothing to play on it"

Ive said it myself, and other then the new ratchet and clank.... there really isnt any exclusive catching my eye

[danny_galaga]

It could also be because scientists are using ps3's to replace their supercomputers

Gaurav Khanna’s eight PlayStation 3s aren’t running Heavenly Sword -- they’re using Linux plus custom code to solve complex computations.

how cool is that? 

[patrickl]

It could also be because scientists are using ps3's to replace their supercomputers

Gaurav Khanna’s eight PlayStation 3s aren’t running Heavenly Sword -- they’re using Linux plus custom code to solve complex computations.

how cool is that? 

Pretty cool indeed    "Retecool" as the dutch would say.

I thought the ability to install Linux on a PS3 would get more hype, but maybe the units are still too expensive for that to really take off. I guess you could turn a PS3 into a great HD media player. Like a KISS, but then so that it actually works.

:edit:  ok nevermind I see the PS3 is a streaming mediaplayer out of the box already. It actually would run media files straight of my Infrant ReadyNAS. Sounds like a pretty good excuse to get one

[TyrannosaurusRox]

It could also be because scientists are using ps3's to replace their supercomputers

Gaurav Khanna’s eight PlayStation 3s aren’t running Heavenly Sword -- they’re using Linux plus custom code to solve complex computations.

how cool is that? 

Pretty cool indeed    "Retecool" as the dutch would say.

I thought the ability to install Linux on a PS3 would get more hype, but maybe the units are still too expensive for that to really take off. I guess you could turn a PS3 into a great HD media player. Like a KISS, but then so that it actually works.

:edit:  ok nevermind I see the PS3 is a streaming mediaplayer out of the box already. It actually would run media files straight of my Infrant ReadyNAS. Sounds like a pretty good excuse to get one

Yeah, I picked one of the 60GB models up while you can still get them in the UK and admittedly there's not a lot to play on it at the minute (it can only get better, plus I've got Mario Galaxy to keep me happy for the time being!) it's being used daily as media center in the front room. 
It's also super easy to drop a new laptop hard drive in there and increase the storage space and streaming content off my laptop works a charm.

[AtomSmasher]

Looks like it was a fluke since Nov. 12 - Nov. 18 stats are now up and from the little I can understand, the Wii outsold the PS3 (by an admittedly small margin if I understand the numbers right).  http://www.m-create.com/ranking/

Thats the site that the article got its statistics from if your wondering.

[Edgedamage]

Looks like the PS3 did it again.
http://pspupdates.qj.net/PS3-beats-Wii-sales-in-Japan-for-the-third-week/pg/49/aid/108334

wow the douchebox 360 has a solid dead last place. No I am not a ps3 fanboy I don't even have one. But I am a fan of hardware that works more than two months.

[AtomSmasher]

Looks like the PS3 did it again.
http://pspupdates.qj.net/PS3-beats-Wii-sales-in-Japan-for-the-third-week/pg/49/aid/108334

wow the douchebox 360 has a solid dead last place. No I am not a ps3 fanboy I don't even have one. But I am a fan of hardware that works more than two months.

Well thats odd.  I guess I understand the ranking numbers on the japanese ranking site even less then I thought.

edit* I can not figure out how they got their numbers from that site.  Last week it made perfect sense looking at the site, and seeing what the english sites reported, but this week the numbers don't seem to match at all.  Very weird.  I guess they change things up each week to keep us non-japanese speakers guessing 

edit of the edit* ah, theres another thing down towards the bottom that has the total numbers.  I remember last week the top numbers making sense as well 

[AtomSmasher]

I just came across an interesting site that tracks the sales of pretty much everything video game related.

Heres a pretty interesting chart that shows the worldwide sales for the three consoles for the past year:  http://vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php

[geomartin]

I just came across an interesting site that tracks the sales of pretty much everything video game related.

Heres a pretty interesting chart that shows the worldwide sales for the three consoles for the past year:  http://vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php

If you check the cumulative sales charts from this site I would say that the 360 is no where near dead last place!

[tommy]

 No I am not a ps3 fanboy I don't even have one. But I am a fan of hardware that works more than two months.

 

[Howard_Casto]

I think is is a common sense thing actually and nothing to get excited about. 

The ps3 is selling so poorly and the wii is selling so well that eventually something had to break.  I mean even gasonline has it's low sales months.  I really think the reason is simple... It's very hard to get a wii in japan right now and very easy to get a ps3.  The ps3's price has dropped a lot.  The holidays are coming.  Japan's houses are very small and thus don't have a lot of room for multiple electronics.  The ps3 is a blueray player and the Japaneese are VERY loyal to sony-branded media formats, even the crappy ones like the mini-disc and umd. 

So you do the math.... some happy asians are getting a 600 dollar brick, err I mean 450 dollar brick, err I mean worthless blueray player that'll remain current for about a year until the format is dropped... err I mean a fantastic next-gen gaming system with hd media playback!!

[Dartful Dodger]

I agree with patrickl.

I'm leaning toward a Wii.  If I don't get the Wii, I'm going to upgrade my computer.  the PS3 is no longer an option.

I'm waiting until after Christmas, I have enough to buy before Christmas.  But when I look the Wii is always sold out.

[ChadTower]

Just for the hell of it I'm going to try and snag a Wii for Xmas... mostly to see if I can actually do it.   

[shmokes]

Hah!  You've been trying to rationalize/justify this purchase for months.  We'll see if you can finally get yourself to bite the bullet under this new theory.   

[ChadTower]

Hah!  You've been trying to rationalize/justify this purchase for months.  We'll see if you can finally get yourself to bite the bullet under this new theory.   

Odds are I don't even get the chance to try this close to Xmas, but we'll see how that one goes.   

[krutknut]

On the WII you can swing a laser sword in the Star Wars game. On the PS3, I suppose you can instead watch a hi-res sword on the screen.

[shmokes]

Yes.  Because we all hated videogames before the Wii came on the scene.

[ChadTower]

Just had one in my cart from Walmart.com but it was a $675 bundle... I think I'll pass and wait for a smaller one.   

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5303671

In stock right now.

[btp2k2]

not anymore....

[shmokes]

That's not the question at all.  Point in fact, Nintendo cannot "pump" these games out.  Nintendo has ALWAYS been able to release games of exceptional quality, but they cannot create enough to carry the system (at least not enough to carry the system as a market leader).  The important question is whether 3rd parties will deliver the Grand Theft Autos, Metal Gear Solids, Rock Bands, Resident Evils, Bioshocks, Half Lifes, Splinter Cells (the first Wii Splinter Cell is a piece of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- compared to the 360 and ps3 counterparts), etc.

Of course Nintendo will keep making extremely high quality titles.  It's what Nintendo does -- what they've always done.  But so far with the Wii, third parties have been just shoveling inexcusable PS2 ports with tacked on waggle "enhancements" onto the system.  Unlike Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo does not have a quality approval process that third party games are submitted to.  They will have to do better or gamers will (or at leas damned well ought to) look to another console as their primary gaming machine.

[AtomSmasher]

I agree the 3rd party games on the Wii have been mediocore at best, but I disagree with the comment that Nintendo left us hanging for 11 months with crummy games.  In my opinion Zelda:TP, Super Paper Mario, and Metroid Prime 3 have all been really good games.  Lets just hope some 3rd party developers start to step up to the challenge and start creating some good games as well.

[AtomSmasher]

Ports or not, I didn't think Zelda or Paper Mario were crummy games, but you are entitled to your opinion.

[shmokes]

Well . . . you're both right.  They weren't crummy games, but they're not Wii games either -- not in the sense that you normally think of games for a new console.  When you bought games for your Super NES, they were ALWAYS something that couldn't have been done on the NES.  When you bought games for your Nintendo 64, they were ALWAYS something that couldn't be done on the Super NES.  Same goes for Gamecube.  But the Wii is different.  The games you're talking about not only could be done on the Gamecube, but were actually made for the Gamecube and only artificially deemed Wii exclusives.  Nobody wants to plunk down $$$ for a next-gen system for an experience that does not differ in any substantial way from the one they can get on their last-gen system.

I haven't played MP3 yet, but I suspect I would love it, and the Wii did bring something big to the table there, i.e., the best console fps controls in history.

But Nintendo has definitely left us hanging with a terrible drought of games.  They released the system without a single full-on, deep gaming experience developed from the ground up to take advantage of the hardware (at least not one worth mentioning).  The first we got was Wario Ware, which is literally a three-hour game from start to finish.  Much later on we got Super Mario Strikers and, finally Metroid Prime, but that ain't very many games in a 9 month period.

And third parties were even worse.  By far the best we got were Trauma Center and Resident Evil 4, both direct ports from inferior systems.

[AtomSmasher]

Well, like I said, your entitled to your opinion, but I (and most reviewers, and from what I recall from previous threads, most people on this board) completely disagree with you.

And while I also would of prefered more games specifically made for the Wii at launch, I don't believe a port of a game automatically means its a crummy game.  Besides, I liked the functionality the Wii added to the games.  I'm sure I would of absolutely hated the bow and arrow and the grappling hook in Zelda if I had to use the analog stick to control them, and the same goes for the butterfly thing in SPM.  And even though I hated the gamecube version, I'm planning on getting Res. Evil 4 on the Wii for Christmas simply because of the better controls.

[patrickl]

I'm quite disappointed with the use of the new controller too. I loved the sports games as a demo, but from the advertisements there is so much emphasis on this natural movement type play and you get practically none of that from the actual games.

The Wiimote is nice as a simple lightgun, but it is really bad as a "steering wheel" and often you have to make completely nonsensical shakes where a button press would be a lot easier. Raving Rabbids 2 went from shake-to-reload to press-A-to-reload.

BTW I didn't like Zelda very much and I though Trauma center and paper mario were --- bull excrements ---.

[AtomSmasher]

Well, like I said, your entitled to your opinion, but I (and most reviewers, and from what I recall from previous threads, most people on this board) completely disagree with you.

It's beginning to creep me out that you keep making this same point over and over.

Its creeping you out that I keep saying that I liked several of the games on the Wii, when all your doing is saying you didn't?  Your definately an odd one.

And you seem to believe this is a strict right or wrong discussion.  We're talking about opinions here (which is why I keep pounding that in), there is no right or wrong.  I never said you're wrong for disliking those games, I just said that most people don't agree with your opinions.  If I said I didn't like pizza, and you said that you did like it and that most people like pizza, would I be wrong because I didn't like it?  Of course not.

Also, I've never played Trauma Center, so I have no idea if I agree with you or not about that game, and is why I have never mentioned it.  As for Zelda, I haven't played the GC version, so I can't say with absolute certainty, but I hate FPS type controls on most consoles which is why I said that I'm sure I hate the controls for the bow and arrow and grapping hook since it is an FPS when shooting them.  And yes, that is repeating what I just said in my last post, but you just said there are no differences between the games, which is not the case.  That small difference may not matter most people, but it does to me and is why I consider the Wii version superior to the GC version.

[hypernova]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but was it only that one week still?  Because from what I can tell, I see this story every so often still. 

[AtomSmasher]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but was it only that one week still?  Because from what I can tell, I see this story every so often still. 

I think it beat it for three weeks in a row, but it looks like the Wii beat the PS3 by a few thousand this past week.

[ChadTower]

I haven't seen anyone point out a potentially obvious cause - a Wii shortage.  Sales go down when supply goes down and the Wii supply definitely ebbs and flows.

[shmokes]

BTW, Trauma Center is WAY WAY WAY better with the nunchuck control.  You can switch tools immediately instead of having to constantly move away from what you're doing to point at it.  It's essentially the difference between having to click "copy" and "paste" form the Windows menus vs. CTRL+C and CTRL+V with your left hand.  If you know the shortcut it's a million times more efficient. 

[patrickl]

I haven't seen anyone point out a potentially obvious cause - a Wii shortage.  Sales go down when supply goes down and the Wii supply definitely ebbs and flows.

Well at the start of the thread that was about the first thing that was discussed.

combined with the fact that the Wii shelf is empty

Are the Wii shelves actually empty though?

In my area (NJ) they most certainly are.

I saw Wiis sitting on the shelves at Target and Walmart pretty much every time I looked

We just had the Sinterklaas shopping season overhere and the shelves are stacked with Wii's. Of course in Japan this could be different.

[btp2k2]

I think the real question is this...

Who really cares?

It's apples and oranges man.

Really the only difference between the Wii and the Xbox or PS3 is that it plays video games. You have your traditional "sit down on your ass with a gamepad in your hand while staring and mind boggling graphics" consoles and then your "stand up and wave your arms psuedo excersize routine with last gen graphics" console. It's like saying "Hey, microwaves sold better than ovens last month...what do you think of that?"

[shmokes]

That's absurd.  They are not different categories of device.  They're both game consoles and they are direct competitors.

[btp2k2]

That's absurd.  They are not different categories of device.  They're both game consoles and they are direct competitors.

And I happen to think giving a crap about who sells more video game consoles is absurd.

[patrickl]

The console with the biggest sales will have the most (and best) games

[btp2k2]

The console with the biggest sales will have the most (and best) games

Wrong.

I dare say the Dreamcast had a handful of games that would smack down about 90% of the PS2 catalog....I dare say the DC sales weren't even close to the PS2.

[Dartful Dodger]

And I happen to think giving a crap about who sells more video game consoles is absurd.

It's like manipulating the numbers to say Macs are better than PCs.

Only Mac guys care about those numbers, but neither side believes them.

[ChadTower]

So I have a Wii in my cart now at Gamestop.com... they want a ---smurfing--- $30 handling fee on it.   

Considering it's a huge bundle (4 games, extra nunchuck, charging station, wii play, 1gb SD card)... $30 just for handling puts it way over the top for me, I think.  That brings the damn thing to well over $600.  Eff Gamestop, they stabbed a baby.

[ChadTower]

Maybe, but not in my family.  You may want to call home and see if everyone is okay there.

[shmokes]

Wrong.

I dare say the Dreamcast had a handful of games that would smack down about 90% of the PS2 catalog....I dare say the DC sales weren't even close to the PS2.

I dare say you should do the math.  If 10% of PS2's catalog is better than anything on Dreamcast, that probably means there are about 150 PS2 games better than anything on Dreamcast. 

[ChadTower]

YES.

Just snared a Wii at MSRP off Circuitcity.com.

 

[shmokes]

Congrats.  I didn't think I would ever see this day.   

[ChadTower]

Congrats.  I didn't think I would ever see this day.   

I'm almost done with Mario 64 again.  Time for the sequel.  I also bought Super Paper Mario and Super Mario Galaxy.  I'll have to see if I can find a copy of Wii Play now for the second controller.

EDIT:  BTW, wiialerts.com FTW.

[shmokes]

Chad . . . seriously, just get the second controller.  Wii Play is the worst $5 or $10 you'll ever spend.  It is seriously not worth a rental.  I think I still have mine and I'll gladly send it to you if you want it.  Save your money.  Garbage is garbage no matter how inexpensive it is.

[ChadTower]

Chad . . . seriously, just get the second controller.  Wii Play is the worst $5 or $10 you'll ever spend.  It is seriously not worth a rental.  I think I still have mine and I'll gladly send it to you if you want it.  Save your money.  Garbage is garbage no matter how inexpensive it is.

My kids will like it, I think, and from what I'm hearing Wii Play is a lot easier to find right now than a Wiimote.  Thanks for the offer, but if it's not worth $5 to buy it's sure not worth $5 to ship, right?   

[patrickl]

Oh come on Wii Play is nice. Especially if you have kids.

[ChadTower]

BTW, it seems to be popping in and out of stock at Circuitcity.com and this is a great flexible smaller bundle.  If you still need to find a Wii, right now is the time.

[shmokes]

I don't know.  I played it for about three hours when I got home, realized that I was bored out of my mind and playing just for the sake of playing and I have literally never played it again.  Not once. 

[slycrel]

My kids love wii play.

It's great for getting you started and learn about what's going on.  It's basically a bunch of mini-games wrapped up as a tutorial.  Nothing wrong with that, as long as that's what you're expecting.

Just don't expect another mario or zelda and you'll be fine.

[shmokes]

Hey . . . if the kids love it, the kids love it.  I can't argue with that.

[ChadTower]

My 6 year old is a serious little gamer.  He gets mad when he can't figure something out and will sit there all day if we let him trying.  I usually have to make him turn the TV off and go play with toys.  Wii Play will be okay for him at first but he'll want to play a real game soon after that.

My 9 year old has more fun in Mario 64 making him dance and jump than he does getting stars.  He spends time in the title screen stretching Mario's face around and thinks it is hilarious.  Wii Play will be great for him.

I think I have to hunt down the network adapter now.  Crap.

What is a good chick game for the Wii?  I want my wife to take an interest.

[patrickl]

What is a good chick game for the Wii?  I want my wife to take an interest.

My GF likes Wario Smoothmoves and Kororinpa. Smoothmoves is more of a party game though. other than that she likes watching me play Resident Evil and Metroid Prime. She and her sister would really get a heart attack from resident evil. With high pitched squeaks whenever I was attacked unexpectedly by a zombie.

From Wii play I really liked the little tank battle game. It's pretty much something you would expect in mame. I played it wquite a lot actually. Other than that it's more for the kids.

:edit:  oh and the GF likes the Raving Rabbids. The cute little animals theme always works on women I guess.

[shardian]

My kids will like it, I think, and from what I'm hearing Wii Play is a lot easier to find right now than a Wiimote.  Thanks for the offer, but if it's not worth $5 to buy it's sure not worth $5 to ship, right?   

Amazon has wiiplay, wiimotes, nunchucks, etc all in stock. No tax and free shipping in by Christmas.

[ChadTower]

Amazon has wiiplay, wiimotes, nunchucks, etc all in stock. No tax and free shipping in by Christmas.

Just noticed that a few minutes ago... it's friday, though, and I have to actually produce work today before I go home... so I'll snag some of those this afternoon.  Thanks for the pointer.

EDIT:  Okay, that should be it for me... just snagged a component cable, Wii Play, and a LAN adapter from Amazon.  I'm done dropping cash on the Wii for now.