Wii demand has Nintendo reconsidering its advertising plans

While Nintendo having trouble meeting demand for the Wii is hardly news, it looks like those supply problems now have the company reconsidering its advertising plans, with some ads in the U.K. apparently already pulled. According to Marketing Week, Nintendo says that's being done in order to "take a responsible stance this Christmas and not fuel demand." In their place, Nintendo will reportedly be running more ads for the DS, which it seemingly has no trouble cranking out (the Wii ads will then return in full force in early 2008). No word if the advertising drawback will also extend to North America, but it certainly seems like there's enough shortages to go around.

[Via Wii Fanboy]

[thef1re @ Dec 8th 2007 6:39AM]

WOW? A company that actually places ethics in front of sales? Thats new!

[Tom @ Dec 8th 2007 6:53AM]

Well it just seems they want to replace ads of the Wii which they think they can't get any more sells out of with more sells of the DS.

They hope that by advertising the DS instead, I wouldn't say it was about ethics so much as it was about maximising sales over the christmas period. No point advertising something that they believe will sell out without the ads.

Go Ninteno :)

[John Sinshack @ Dec 8th 2007 7:46AM]

Well they can't sell more than they can make to begin with, they're probably aiming for a good looking way to pull back on advertising cost, especially because it's unnecessary to push more product than can be sold.

A good move either way though

[G Man @ Dec 8th 2007 8:15PM]

They probably feel that selling them is not big of a challenge.

*Shrugs*

Now the challenge is to sell LESS of them.

THE THRILL!

[saintkamus @ Dec 8th 2007 11:13PM]

They don't... otherwise they wouldn't sell you obsolete hardware for 250 bucks, when it probably costs them anywhere from 25-50 bucks to produce a Wii.

Seriously though... this is like Sony all of a sudden comming out and saying that they can't keep up with the demand of PS2's because yields are so bad that they just can't meet demand... it's a very hard pill to swollow.

Exactly what component inside the Wii is so hard to produce that can keep nintendo from mass producing that thing?

We have to remmember here, this hardware is so simple to make that any obsolete 5 year old computer would run laps compared to this thing, there's absolutley no reason i can think off that can keep them from producing this like SPAM.

[Yoshi Likes Boys @ Dec 8th 2007 6:51AM]

Nintendo isn't really putting ethics in FRONT of sales, as they're going to sell every last little white box no matter what. They're merely scaling back to avoid bad publicity, by doing what's probably the right thing for everyone. I don't think that this is necessarily any kind of noble sacrifice, it's just the right move for Nintendo, and it happens to be one where everyone wins.

[NovaLand @ Dec 8th 2007 10:12AM]

I lost when I failed to find any games to like.. except for tennis that got boring after 25 minutes.

[o29 @ Dec 8th 2007 2:54PM]

Metroid Prime 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess, Resident Evil 4 (if you haven't played it already), Medal of Honor Heroes 2, Super Smash Brothers Brawl (in two months anyway), Guitar Hero 3, etc...

Are you just trolling or have you really never heard of these games?

[Andrew Campbell @ Mar 13th 2008 2:35PM]

@o29: Let's play the fiftieth Mario/Zelda/Metroid sequel, or better yet, the insanely popular Medal of Honor, or the horrific graphics and monaural audio of Guitar Hero 3's Wii port. Go Nintendo!

[Michael @ Dec 8th 2007 7:04AM]

Yes, good on Nintento for waiving their free advertising space in the UK. Wait, what do you mean advertising isn't free?

[Matt @ Dec 8th 2007 7:21AM]

Got min from Amazon.de. Literally NOWHERE here has them.

[Phreak511 @ Dec 8th 2007 8:47AM]

*cut to two Japanese guys walking to a home...*

*Both bow with smiles on their faces*


"Wii would like to play with y...er..wait. Not until sometime in 2008. Sorry."



*cut to Japanese guys driving way in their SMART car"

[NiGhTmArE @ Dec 8th 2007 9:26AM]

What?

[Michael B @ Dec 8th 2007 12:00PM]

@NiGhTmArE

You haven't seen the US Wii commercial yet? Check it out on Youtube, it's really funny:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5cPVP_llfo

[NiGhTmArE @ Dec 8th 2007 12:48PM]

Haha! All makes sense now!

Thanks Michael!

[Kurt @ Dec 8th 2007 7:39AM]

I still don't get it....I have a Wii with like 10 games and none of them are any good. The best game is Wii Sports. I played Zelda once and haven't gotten around to playing Metroid but every other game I have played as been mediocre.

[Alan Partridge @ Dec 8th 2007 7:55AM]

If you don't get it by now, you're probably not going to. Why not sell it to a desperate mother and make a small fortune?






(Theres only one Ricky Hatton)

[whatsdamattau @ Dec 8th 2007 12:44PM]

Kirt, I agree with you 100%. The best game IS Wii Sports. The other games that are available aren't very good. I tried the latest Resident Evil and it was just okay. Madden is just alright. Spiderman 3, we won't talk about that wasted $50. Call of Duty 3? It needs high def and is just an okay shooter. Wii Sports is the only one I would throw in to play with other people consistently. Other than those the unit has been sitting around unused for months now. We are planning on selling it or giving it to our relatives.

The Xbox 360 is infinitely much more fun to play. The quality of games and the game play is really head and shoulders above the Wii's offering.

[ChrisB @ Dec 8th 2007 5:04PM]

Its funny for me to watch people totally miss the marketability of the Wii outside of the conventional Video Gaming community. See.. that game Wii sports is INFINITELY more interesting to the vast majority of consumers out there, then ANY other title on the 360 or the PS3. Its simple, easy to play, and really fun.

Thats why the Wii is winning, while MS and Sony wring their hands desperately trying to understand whats going on. Casuals don't care about Halo and real-mapping, and how many polys you can vomit on the screen. They want to be able to play a game with their friends who come over to join them for a spot of tea. This reality is getting nintendo cash for now, but once the market is saturated they're going to need to figure out what comes next.

[mabhatter @ Dec 9th 2007 2:35AM]

Wii is fun for the Friday nite crowd... those that play games for a few hours a week (not day). The games like Wii Sport and Wii Play are quick and easy to pick up... they need some depth, maybe online play, but they're just FUN.

I have a stack of half-played games because they're simply too time consuming to get good at... would game companies prefer I not buy any? Even WoW I don't play enough to even break level 20 and I've paid for 12 months almost. There's a huge market of people that only have a little bit of time for games... spending $500 for a PS3 or 360 set up is wasteful.

Nintendo has a good thing going, but they REALLY need games.. online, interaction, even more of the mini-game genre, but something that's not overly complex. Nintendo has a terrible problem with not delivering games to properly use their hardware... very frustrating when you do take the time to collect all the bits for group games that share resources.

[sam @ Dec 8th 2007 8:03AM]

well actually the article is a little wrong, ds's are sold out everywhere in the UK too. so nintendo need to stop advertising the wii and the ds!

[jessy @ Dec 8th 2007 8:25AM]

are they using them as gaming products or food? jesus...

[ssuk @ Dec 8th 2007 8:59AM]

That's odd, 'cause there seems to be plenty of DS units around where I am (Birmingham, West Midlands). The release of the Silver DS helped keep stock levels pretty much plentiful for the time being. However, if they'll keep around until Christmas, I can't be sure of.

[Alex Padilla @ Dec 8th 2007 8:18AM]

This is amazing. Who would've thought that at the start of this generation of gaming that Nintendo would be having this problem? Surely not I. To me, Nintendo was dead and done for, but apparently they still remembered what makes us buy game consoles: they're fun to play. Congrats, Nintendo.

[EdMercer @ Dec 8th 2007 8:57AM]

My thoughts exactly Alex... Man, did I bite my tongue hard this time. At least I got the "Sony's gonna f-up BIG TIME" right.

[Panq @ Dec 8th 2007 8:19AM]

So are Nintendo's consoles really popular, or do they just not make that many?

[loudambiance @ Dec 8th 2007 9:32AM]

As seeing that over Thanksgiving and Black Friday the Wii reclaimed the lead from Xbox 360 for number of systems sold (and the 360 was out a year longer) I would say that it is THAT popular...

[Jason @ Dec 8th 2007 8:24AM]

Ok anyone who thinks Nintendo is not limiting supplies on purpose to create hype and demand is delusional. The hardware is over a year old and is hardly anything exotic to produce. It's basically a GameCube on a small dose of steroids with a new controller.

Ask yourself this. Has any successful video game hardware been this limited and hard to find over 12 months after relase? Ever? No. It's why companies normall ramp up production. This is a sad joke.

How can anyone here be proud of Nintendo for this crap?

[Raul @ Dec 8th 2007 3:31PM]

Jason, you asked if any successful videogame hardware been this limited and hard to find in it's first 12 months, do you realize that no system has ever sold as many Units as the Wii has done in it's first year? Yup, the Wii is the fastest selling console in history so it's not like they're pumping them out at a snails pace, they're shipping more then Microsoft or Sony has. As for Nintendo's reluctance to flood the market with Wii's, well they did get burned doing this with the Gamecube. In fact, in it's first year on the market, Nintendo made so many gamecube's that they had to halt production for several months.

[iofthestorm @ Dec 8th 2007 1:10PM]

Has it ever occurred to you that they have repeatedly announced that they are ramping up production, and that has been seen in the monthly sales numbers? Because, y'know, they have.

[Clinton @ Dec 10th 2007 9:45AM]

Here is South Africa there are no shortages (yet), it's only been available officially for about 3 weeks though. If you're really desperate, hit up a south african online retailer for yours (like kalahari.net or digitalplanet.co.za)

They're retailing for R2899.00 (about $430)

[roberto @ Dec 8th 2007 8:41AM]

Wii is sold out so is the DS - hey nintendo guys, why don't you just push a little more on that gamecube thing?

[zamir.evan @ Dec 8th 2007 8:55AM]

It was rather cute to be able to say I couldn't find a Wii last year, but this is getting annoying, and I'm getting older. I'm not even sure I want one anymore. I think Nintendo is going to eventually regret that they didn't release more.

[ssuk @ Dec 8th 2007 8:54AM]

"Hm, supply in Europe is pretty low... Maybe we should step up how many units we give them and take them away from Japan's already buoyant stock level?"
"... Nah, let's just pull advertising and say we're doing our best for Europe"
"Tut, why didn't I think of that?"

I'm sure that's what that decision was like.

[Grant @ Dec 8th 2007 10:07AM]

Wait wait wait.

anyone who really thinks that those incredibly stupid "we would like to play commercials" fuel demand for the system more than word of mouth/news reports already have, they are seriously out of touch.

Advertising the wii is like advertising crack. People are already addicted, everyone knows about it, Nintendo is just wasting money advertising what people already know and want.

[John P @ Dec 8th 2007 10:12AM]

I've said this before. There is no reason a company would limit supply on purpose. They have everything to lose and nothing to gain by doing that. While I agree they should have been able to ramp up production of the Wii, they also aren't holding a stockpile of Wiis in Japan and laughing at people who can't find them. Every Wii is more profit for Nintendo, and companies like one thing and one thing only - profits.

Also, what does it matter if there is a Cell processor or an IBM power pc processor in the machine? You solder them in just the same, so nothing is really that "exotic." In fact, it isnt like Nintendo is making the processors, and neither are Sony or Microsoft. Same for GPUs. Nintendo puts together the machine, programs it, sells it. Furthermore, there are some variables that no gaming company has ever had to take into account, specifically the demand has stayed consistent year-round. Most companies probably just stockpile consoles after the holiday season in preparation for the next one if they anticipate high demand. Nintendo really hasn't had a chance to do this at any time over the past year. They average over 500,000 consoles sold a month. I don't think the PS2 even sold that many consistently after its first holiday season (I Could be wrong, though). Needless to say, I'm sure they'd love to sell everyone who wants a Wii a wii.

[mythicflux @ Dec 10th 2007 3:28PM]

Actually there is something that can gain by limiting supply: Consistent sales over an extended period of time.

Look at sales completely from a business standpoint. Is it better to sell a million consoles within a month and have nothing else to sell or is it better to sell those same million consoles over a six month period and show your investors that you have a sustainable product. Is it easier from a marketing perspective to spend those 6 months taking about how hard to find your product is due to consumer demand or is it better to simply let a trick of those million come out and became a must have luxury item.

I'm not saying that it's actually happening this way but the truth is that anyone who claims any business wouldn't artificially limit supply doesn't understand basic business practices. Nintendo would rather spend the next 2-3 years selling out of Wii's consistantly than meet consumer demand 6 months after launch. Doing this keeps them relevant and looks good to share holders.

[rich @ Dec 14th 2007 8:05PM]

"Is it better to sell a million consoles within a month and have nothing else to sell or is it better to sell those same million consoles over a six month period and show your investors that you have a sustainable product."


Well, except for the fact that they're selling OVER a million consoles a month over a one year period. That's an insane amount to produce.

[Slyrunks @ Dec 8th 2007 10:23AM]

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!

[Aaron @ Dec 8th 2007 10:39AM]

If the cost of the advertising has already been arranged and they can't sell any more Wiis or DSs, then I vote that they start running their vintage NES ads instead...or anything from the Play It Loud campaign...with a "Happy Holidays from Nintendo" message slapped on at the end. I don't know if any of those commercials carry the nostalgia in Europe that they do in the US, but it might allow them to salvage their public image despite their production troubles.

Someone else suggested adding onto the GameCube, but I'm asking for mobile Internet access on my GBA for Christmas. How about it Nintendo? There was a BlueTooth module for it back in the day, but they've long since dried up.

[Iridium @ Dec 8th 2007 10:55AM]

Companies hold back stock and production on a popular item all the time. It is a business tactic. You know that with limited stock you are going to sell every item you ship. However if you flood the market you risk having inventory sit on shelves, this makes it look like the hype for the product has died down. If something is available people may say "I'll get one when I really feel like it" right now people are buying a Wii even if they don't really need it, just because they might want it and don't want to miss thier chance.

Right now the Wii is selling like crazy becuase the hype has made it seem like you have to have one becuase everyone else is trying to get one. If you get one you are better than all the people who tried to get one and failed.

Nintendo should be able to manufacture more than enough to meet demand. If you need to bring on a few more suppliers then do it. Wii production parts are essentially the same as the Gamecube, just clocked higher. The only reason why there is a shortage is that Nintendo wants to keep the hype high. They aren't losing any sales and selling every unit you make looks great on financial reports for stock performance.

As long as the shortage doesn't create more negative press and reactions than positive it will continue. If there were 100 Wii's on every store shelf there wouldn't be any news stories about it.

I've been contemplating selling my Wii since it gathers dust most of the time. I'm getting a Metroid and Mario for christmas so I'll hold off. This holiday season has just more than confirmed the Wii is going to cement itself as a minigame machine. Still shoudl have bought Nintendo stock, had a good feeling about it but didn't have the cash.

[Pete @ Dec 8th 2007 11:25AM]

Here's what throws me off: if Nintendo can produce 1.8 million Wii's per month and in the same time period sell a mere five hundred thousand, then what happened to the other 1.3 million?


An even bigger kick is of those Wii's that are sold, how many are actually being played? Roughly 200,000 per month. The other 300,000 are being sold on auction sites like eBay for three times the amount!

[Irfan @ Dec 9th 2007 8:33PM]

500,000 is the US market alone.. not worldwide

[Robert Hunt @ Dec 8th 2007 11:58AM]

It's very difficult to get hold of a Wii where I live in the UK at the moment, If you live in a smaller town you actually have a much higher chance of being able to get one from the high street. Online is still your best chance of getting hold of one though as they can normally estimate stock levels better.

One of the main channels here in the UK seems to have DS adverts on every program and other channels have them quite frequently played. At least you can get hold of a DS, some places have no stock but you have more chance to find a DS than a Wii, it seems strange that I can sell my 1 year old console for more than I bought it for a year later.

[Ian @ Dec 8th 2007 12:19PM]

The great music in the Wii commercials is "Kodo - Inside The Sun Remix" by the Yoshida Brothers.

[Steve Browne @ Dec 8th 2007 12:15PM]

DS Lites are almost nowhere to be found either and all stocks will be gone by the end of this coming week I expect. I agree with the poster above who said why advertise what everyone wants anyway. Use the ad time on promoting games instead.

[kha630 @ Dec 8th 2007 12:13PM]

in my area there are 3 targets. each of them had roughly 30-40 wii's in the past week delivered. they were all sold with in the same day.

its not hype.

[Tom @ Dec 8th 2007 12:55PM]

Now why wasn't Virtual Boy this successful?

[SLB @ Dec 8th 2007 4:06PM]

Well damn Nintendo :o They need to do something because I still can't find a Nitnendo Wii.

[Jon @ Dec 8th 2007 3:18PM]

Sure they say they are doing it for the public but the real reason is they don't need to advertise because of such demand and pulling advertising saves nintendo money.