At 6/28/06 03:51 PM, da_pope wrote:
The Mainstream Public.
They won't buy a Nintendo.
Do you think they care it's "innovative"?
All they care about is graphics and big names. Also, the reputation Nintendo has will cost 'em big, no 14-25 year old (thats not a h-core gamer) will want to own a Nintendo simply because of the rep it has for being "for kids." The name "Wii" doesn't help this cause either. Sony's PS3 and Microsoft X-box 360 appeal to the mainstream. They have big names and they have good graphics. The company's themselves are also very well established and people have trust in them.
Look at the DS and PSP,
PSP: better graphics, Sony's name, a ton more features
DS : Touch screen innovation, bad graphics when compared to PSP's, Nintendo's name, better games
Currently winning : DS
The controller will be over looked because of the lack of a "Grand Theft Auto" or "Halo" for the system. Sure they have "Super Smash Brothers" but thats not a game a casual 20 year old will want to play with his buddies, niether is a Mario game. Even if the controller garner's some attention it will be looked at as childish, "they" will think it's pretty kiddie to throw your arms around and look like a fool. I mean c'mon, think about it, can you picture a 16-20 year old jumping around and waving his arms all over the place? I no I wouldn't do that infront of my friends.
You don't need to wave your arms around for the controller to work, a simple flick of the wrist is just as effective. And it won't matter if a game seems childish or whatever as long as it's fun. Again, can be compared to the DS and PSP games. PSP may have games that seem "more mature" yet, the games are just piece of shit ports so noone buys them. DS games may seem kiddy to the untrained eye and yet as was said earlier; The DS is winning.
Now, the price. Yes it's very low and this will be a huge bonus for parents who are looking for a system to buy for there kids... BUT think about it like this for a second. A non-hardcore gamer is standing infront of the electronics section and sees two consoles (one of which is the Playstation, a system that right now is the face of gaming) at around the $500 mark and one console at $200. He thinks back... "How much did I pay for my last console, roughly $400-$500 bucks, the one before that, same..." to him or her it starts looking more and more like the Wii is just cheap and crappy and lacks in features. Remember, this is just a casual guy or girl who didn't check on the internet which is better, they didn't watch the E3 press confrances. To them, if every console they have bought has cost them around the $400-$500 dollar mark it seems natural that a good console should cost that much and that something so much cheaper has to be lacking. So you see, the biggest thing Nintendo has in it's favour could also hurt it in the long run.
A non-hardcore gamer will not fork out 600 dollars for a fucking system, unless of course they're rich. How many non-hardcore gamers bout the 700 dollar bundles stores were putting out when the 360 came out? not many at all.
You see, this is where Sony and Microsoft and then Nintendo differ. The first two are all about appealing to the mainstream public because thats where the money is. The other one is about pleasing it's established fan base and focusing on the people that have bought Nintendo since day 1. They also aim there products at younger audiences, the people who's parents will buy them the console (Thats where the price helps) while the others aim there product at an older audience, people who are willing to spend the extra $300 for what the mainstream media has told them is the better product.
You just contradicted yourself, is someone is not a hardcore gamer, how will they know what the mainstream says about a certain console being better or not. People will go into a store, see the wii for only 250, then see how much fun it looks to play and buy it. Also, every one who loves nintendo will buy a wii as soon as possible and the hardcore gamers will buy one to experience it and because it won't put a huge dent in their wallets
That is why Nintendo won't win the console war. I'm not saying they'll bomb, I'm just saying that they won't win. Expect a repeat performance and similar numbers to the gamecube.
You may not believe it based on my argument, but I don't think Nintendo will win either, but I would bet money on them at leats coming in second.
Note: I did not side with any console in this argument.
P. S. if nintendo's controller sucks so much, then why the hell did Sony try to copy it?
