CE-Oh no he didn't! Part LVII: Howard Stringer says the Wii is not 'a competitor'

Further confirming his utter disconnect from reality, Sony head Howard Stringer referred to Nintendo's market-dominating Wii as an "expensive niche game device." Previous to making that statement, Stringer bafflingly said, "I've played a Nintendo Wii, I don't see it as a competitor." Now look -- we're not saying you're in some kind of CEO super-denial, but all signs point to the possibility that you should probably consider the Wii a competitor (since it is... well... a competing system and platform), and perhaps recognize that "niche" is typically not synonymous with "best selling." Of course, you're the guy running Sony, we're just watching the crackup from the sidelines.

[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

[maff @ Jul 15th 2008 9:57AM]

expensive? no
niche? no way!

[Michael @ Jul 15th 2008 10:24AM]

If anything, the PS3 is the niche, expensive console.

[Eric M. @ Jul 15th 2008 10:37AM]

@Michael

If anything than the 360 is apart of a niche also, the PS3 and 360 are just about even in price point at this current time.

@maff

And the Wii started off aiming for the niche market of family orientated game play, but then turned that niche into one of the largests markets within the gaming industry and the big N deserves kudos for that!

[Bob @ Jul 15th 2008 10:59AM]

I think Sony should be more worried about how it is going to respond to losing a MAJOR exclusive in Final Fantasy XIII rather than bashing a system that has an installed base 4x larger than it's own. It is time to start figuring out how to get people to buy the PS3.

[jason51873 @ Jul 15th 2008 10:59AM]

@Eric M

I love people like this Eric M guy. The Wii is killing the PS3 on pretty much all levels but he is such a fanboy that he has to try and find anyway to make it look like its not what people say it is. He even will go so far as to compare its price (for some unknown reason) to the 360 (which was not even brought up in this article) and try to find any loop hole so he can to justify is fanboyism.

The PS3 is a NICHE machine 10x over before the Wii is. The PS3 is STILL more then the 360 and STILL more then a Wii (a lot more). Not to mention the games @ $60 to $70 a pop.

You probably spent $600+ on your PS3 because you stood in line to buy one the day they came out so of coarse you are going to try to defend your precious NICHE MACHINE.

[Eric M. @ Jul 15th 2008 11:22AM]

@jason51873

One thing, how am I a fanboy? The PS3 and the 360 are comparable in price. 360 wasn't mentioned, but I used it as a comparison. And I couldn't care less, I have a PS3 and a 360 and yes I do think the PS3 is better hardware than the 360, but the 360 has the games.

And the Wii is killing EVERYTHING! You just seem as if you're a Sony bashing more than I look like a fanboy. And if you're telling me that you predicted that the Wii was going to be such a hit, you're a freaking lier. No one could have predicted that the Wii would be such a hit. The Wii started off aiming for a niche in the gaming market that wasn't there. The Wii was Nintendo's last stand, and it became a success and broadened the gaming market.

So how about you actually READ my post and tell me how I'm a fanboy? And no I didn't wait for my PS3, it was a gift and I actually purchased my 360.

[Eric M. @ Jul 15th 2008 11:22AM]

@jason51873

One thing, how am I a fanboy? The PS3 and the 360 are comparable in price. 360 wasn't mentioned, but I used it as a comparison. And I couldn't care less, I have a PS3 and a 360 and yes I do think the PS3 is better hardware than the 360, but the 360 has the games.

And the Wii is killing EVERYTHING! You just seem as if you're a Sony bashing more than I look like a fanboy. And if you're telling me that you predicted that the Wii was going to be such a hit, you're a freaking lier. No one could have predicted that the Wii would be such a hit. The Wii started off aiming for a niche in the gaming market that wasn't there. The Wii was Nintendo's last stand, and it became a success and broadened the gaming market.

So how about you actually READ my post and tell me how I'm a fanboy? And no I didn't wait for my PS3, it was a gift and I actually purchased my 360.

[ekwmin @ Jul 15th 2008 12:13PM]

@ Eric M
I hate it when people cry "fanboi" as much anyone else. But you have your facts wrong. Nitendo didn't really target a different group, rather they simply didn't focus on the core gamer like the other console makers. Core gamers are something like 8% of the US population. Casual gamers are something like 30-40% or more. So saying the the Wii is niche is completely wrong. They used this strategy for both the DS and Wii and it makes sense. Let Sony and MS fight for 8% of the pie, we'll go for the other 22+% that they simply forgot about. I'm a core gamer myself, but just because something is not catered to me doesn't make it a bad product.

[fanman @ Jul 15th 2008 2:16PM]

In other news, the PS2 remains half the price of the wii dispite having twice the hardware.

[Tom Boucher @ Jul 15th 2008 9:57AM]

of course it isn't a competitor, Sony would have to be selling the PS3 as a GAME CONSOLE for it to be one instead of a 'cheap blu-ray player'

[inteller @ Jul 15th 2008 10:50AM]

Just look at this guy. Does he look like someone in tune with the industry he is supposedly leading?

Never trust a guy in a suit to run a video game company.

[Kelmon @ Jul 15th 2008 11:13AM]

@inteller

From that picture, I'd swear there was a touch of the Jerry Springer about him...

[Pdexter @ Jul 15th 2008 11:57AM]

Yeah i agree with you Static. After buying Wii i just simply got bored with it after rather short time i can't say i enjoy PS3 games as much i used to enjoy N64 and PS2 games. I have't touched the gaming department for some time on the PS3, but at least you can play blu-rays on it and that function i use every week.

I just don't agree with the:
Wii=kids
PS3/xbox=adults

[gad get @ Jul 15th 2008 9:53PM]

@ Kelmon

Is he Stringer, or is he Springer? I'm so confused!

[Dale @ Jul 15th 2008 9:58AM]

It's a competitor. Every $250 someone spends on the Wii is $250 they're not spending on your platforms.

Every franchise Nintendo secures is a game, or several, not appearing on your platforms.

Every piece of media coverage it and its high profile titles like Wii Fit gets are eyeballs lured away from your platforms.

It's a competitor, and you are an idiot if you don't recognise that, regardless of teraflops, gigabytes, fill rates and the disc format it uses.

[Kurian @ Jul 15th 2008 10:27AM]

Its not. People who buy Wii's don't usually play mature games which are on the PC/Other consoles. Majority of the people who own Wiis wouldn't have bought a console if there was no Wii.

[Mike @ Jul 15th 2008 10:27AM]

you win teh internets

[Mobius_1 @ Jul 15th 2008 10:44AM]

But all those kids wanting (and mostly getting) Wiis for Xmas and Bdays means all those kids not getting PS3's or 360's, and judging by the sold-out demand for the Wii not too long ago, that is quite a lot of them.

[Pdexter @ Jul 15th 2008 11:28AM]

This "Wii players aren't mature" just dosen't fit to my head. To me this sounds like 14 years talking who thinks that it's not cool to play Wii.
I'm 20 years old and have had N64, PS2, GC, Wii and PS 3 and Wii is the console that feels like it actually is something different and i don't get bored to it as i do with many PS3 games that just feel like i have played already hundreds of time.
Thought PS3 is the better console even if i play the fraction i used to play beofre, but with friends and large TV you can get so much out of the Wii than any other console. If the console has under 18 age group games it dosen't mean it's a kids console.

[Static @ Jul 15th 2008 11:30AM]

Thats a weak assumption the point is that the majority ofe people spending money on the wii most likely would not have spent money on a PS3 or 360 Anyways. My workplace is the biggest example of that.

The wii has captured many nongamers but how many are going to transition from a person with a new trendy toy into a gamer? Just going again by my workplace and other people who own a wii it seems as if gamers such as myself and friends are going to be overshadowed.

He has a point and I think he is right. How many gamers here still play the wii? I am still waiting for the new Crystal Chronicles but other than that my Wii isn't getting much play time. Maybe if I was more interested in 'games' such as wii fit, I could join in with trumpeting the wii as a growing addition to gaming culture. But for some reason I feel like they just created a new NICHE market within the gaming community.

[Andrew @ Jul 15th 2008 11:37AM]

@Kurian

I don't neccesarily agree. I was a big fan of the original XBOX and loved Halo 1 & 2, Need For Speed Underground, NCAA 06, etc. However, I just got a Wii because its affordable and fun as hell... so far I have the Nintendo exclusives (Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, Zelda) but I am getting NCAA 09 today and from the reviews, it looks great.

I don't really need my game system to be the "center of my digital world." That's what a computer is for and it hooks up just fine to my stereo and TV if I need to play music or do something else. I'm of the mindset that my gamesystem should be fun, which the Wii certainly is. I would no doubt think about getting a 360 or PS3 if I was not a poor law student (if not just for the Blu-Ray player in the PS3), but for now, I'm having a great time with the Wii.

Just my thoughts.

[Dale @ Jul 15th 2008 11:39AM]

I have both the Xbox 360 and the Wii. I have no intention of buying a third system... and personally regret even buying the Wii. I don't deny that there are plenty of people out there who, like me, have two of the three systems. They are very few and far between. Fewer still are the people who own all three systems.

But we have to get out of the mindset that everyone who owns a video game console is a hardcore gamer or technophile. We are not representative of the typical gamer. If that were true, the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, DS and Wii would not have accrued such phenomenal sales figures between them.

Sony are falling into the trap of thinking in terms of the hardware's capabilities and targeting to what is clearly a niche - as impressed as anyone is with audio-visual fidelity of new technology, the best selling home and portable systems are the most underpowered in that regard.

[carl @ Jul 15th 2008 3:05PM]

It's not only about spending the money, but spending the time. Every minute spent on a Wii is time spent not playing the PS3. If it's either/or, and people are choosing to spend their time on the Wii, then it's a competitor

[Ogo @ Jul 16th 2008 6:38AM]

It is my guess that the vast majority of people who may lay out 250$, and love the wii, have little or no interest in killing games, high involvement games or games that require 6 button combos to play.

My mother (56) and aunt (48), neither of which have ever played a video game in their lives, both own a wii and wii fit. They would have NEVER bought a PS3.

In my opinion the Wii is not a kid or an adult console, it is a casual console. You can play games like sport and fit (not really a game I guess) with one button.

[xcrunk @ Jul 15th 2008 9:58AM]

The Wii is destroying everything in it's path.

Hasn't it already blown past the 360 in units sold?

And they have this other little thing called the DS.

Good God! Nintendo is f-ing brilliant.

[GatgetMan @ Jul 15th 2008 1:09PM]

As far as a "niche" market, wouldn't that mean a narrow age group, gender, social status etc...

The Wii is absolutely loved by children all the way up to the senior crowd in retirement homes...

So if by "niche" he means: People, then I guess he's right...

[MadMike @ Jul 15th 2008 9:59AM]

Do all high level executives have their heads up their asses? It just seems to me that they all live in some alternate reality than the rest of us.

[Syphon Filter @ Jul 15th 2008 10:13AM]

No, they're just stupid!

[Bob @ Jul 15th 2008 11:11AM]

This is called damage control, make it look like you aren't even worried about the console race when you are losing it or even just not #1.

[gad get @ Jul 15th 2008 9:50PM]

It works better if your comments aren't completely outlandish.

[will @ Jul 15th 2008 10:02AM]

This isn't news, nintendo said themselves along time ago that they're not trying to compete with Sony or Microsoft with the Wii. Come on Engadget, really?

[JamesR @ Jul 15th 2008 10:25AM]

Nintendo can say whatever they want.

The truth is people will spend their console budget $$ on either a Wii, a PS3 or an XBox. That fact alone makes them all competitors.

The fringe that have to have two or three consoles probably don't make up a significant share of the market.

[Chris @ Jul 15th 2008 10:26AM]

They didn't say they weren't trying to compete with Sony and Microsoft. They said they weren't going to get into a "graphics" war with Sony and Microsoft. Instead of spending a ton of money developing a super system with all of the bells and whistles and then selling that machine at a loss while trying to gather market share.

Nintendo didn't have the power to pull off a system like that. Instead they completely re-thought the game system and pulled off a winner.

They're competing alright. And they're kicking ass.

[Steven @ Jul 15th 2008 10:04AM]

Typically Sony defense mechanism... act like the competitor isn't really the competitor.

[xcrunk @ Jul 15th 2008 10:06AM]

Yeah, kind of like Microsoft forgetting to mention that the Wii just overtook them in consoles sold. Whoops. Let's not mention that little tidbit.

[Steven @ Jul 15th 2008 10:08AM]

Of course M$ does it too but definitely not to the same extent that Sony does. Sony is obviously on a high horse that isn't warranted.

[Silverfrog @ Jul 15th 2008 10:12AM]

No, Sony is not on a high horse. Everyone's taking Stringer out of context. I think what he was trying to say is that the Wii's market (that being younger gamers and family members who are not heavy players) does not compete with Sony's market (the hardcore, heavy-playing, 20+ hrs per week crowd).

[Eric M. @ Jul 15th 2008 10:16AM]

Gosh, why do people continue to use "M$". I don't get it, I'm guessing you use it to suggest Microsoft has a lot of money, but then again I bet people wouldn't mind having the kind of money Microsoft and Bill Gates have - I know I wouldn't!

[Steven @ Jul 15th 2008 10:20AM]

Well maybe Sony should say that then. They may not have the same target audience but they are competitors in the same field which makes the Wii... TADA, a direct competitor with the PS3.

[bcj @ Jul 15th 2008 10:36AM]

@ Eric M.

They do it so it is easier for others to realize that there isn't going to be any sort of rational argument made in the post.

[Steven @ Jul 15th 2008 10:22AM]

@ Eric

Yes, that's why I use it, lol. Bill Gates is rolling in cash (but he's also very charitable, awwww. I love Billy.)

[Eric M. @ Jul 15th 2008 10:33AM]

(double post? maybe, gosh I hate engadget's commenting system, even wordpress is better than this!)

@Steven

Yeah, you gotta love Billy, not only does he give to developing countries, he also gives millions in software out to school districts!

But yeah, I agree with Silverfrog, and because Sony is goign after a different target audience, that means the Wii is not a direct competitor with the PS3, but I you better believe Sony (and Microsoft) wants to compete with the large market share/audience that the Wii just created!

[Mike @ Jul 15th 2008 10:03AM]

Stringer's kind of right. When it comes to blu-ray (or any movie playback for that matter), HD graphics, 7.1 sound, and some type of online plan, the Wii isn't a competitor.

[Eric M. @ Jul 15th 2008 10:22AM]

Yup, the Wii is fighting for a different market share than the PS3 and the 360. The Wii started off as creating a niche in the market, but has turned that niche into a one of the largest markets in the gaming industry at the moment. This is evident by the fact that the PS3 and 360 are now both fighting to gain some of that family orientated market share.

Well, atleast there's plenty of competition, better for the consumers! =)

[Kelmon @ Jul 15th 2008 11:21AM]

The thing is, Howard is betting that the likes of HD graphics and whizzy sound is what is important to people. Unfortunately, the reality appears to be somewhat different. Yes, there are lots of people who do think this sort of thing is important, and they've no doubt already bought a PS3 or 360. However, it's also fair to say that there are those (like myself) who really don't give a monkeys about HD and just want something fun to play. The Wii has sold a heck of a lot more than Sony and, probably, Nintendo expected, and it's unlikely that the people that bought them were really all that bothered about the likes of Blu-ray. I think Sony got things right by addressing what their existing PS2 customers wanted but didn't look widely enough to see what the untapped market wanted (i.e. cheap and fun).

[Heath Stahl @ Jul 15th 2008 10:06AM]

Actually I agree with him but not for the reasons he stated. Blu-ray and full Internet aren't what make them not compete. Its the games stupid. The type of games and even the type of gamers that use the two systems are for the most part completely different. Nintendo is family/casual friendly and the PS3 is a more "serious" system. If you want fun, casual games and don't care about HD graphics the Wii is great. If you want more hardcore games with great graphics the PS3 is great (as is the 360 - Sony's actual competition). So I really don't see somebody deciding to get only one of those two systems, therefore they aren't competing. Only real competition is when the same game is on both systems which is pretty rare.

And for the record I have a PS3 and 360. And personally I think the Wii is overpriced for what it is but clearly over 22 million people worldwide disagree with me.

[EricR @ Jul 15th 2008 10:13AM]

I think his use of niche was inaccurate -- as you said, the difference comes down to games. When he says "niche" he means "kids/adults playing games" and he is differentiating because his system is for "hardcore gamers"

[z0phi3l @ Jul 15th 2008 10:19AM]

I would considr the PS3 a niche device since it's really a BluRay player doing double duty as a gaming console, and the Wii is a gaming console only

[bender @ Jul 15th 2008 10:06AM]

I'm glad Nintendo is dominating the console world right now. I was fed up with people giving all the credits to graphics and forgetting about game-play and the WII put all those people in a dark room and locked them up. Screw Sony and screw Microsoft. Soon we're all gonna see them both releasing similar controllers in order to let the user interact more with their games since that's what has the WII killing them! Dude i'm "IN THE GAME" with the wii and with all else i'm "on the couch". eh this is getting boring so i'm done.

[Alan Strangis @ Jul 15th 2008 10:58AM]

Sorry, but graphics DO matter for some games (I've got a Wii & 360 and love them both). I NEVER worshipped graphics, but have a real problem with knee-jerk responses like 'graphics don't matter'. For some games, they sure as hell do.

The more complex and realistic graphics get, the more nuanced environments a game developer can create. This in turn allows for more complex emotional responses from the gamer.

Not all games require this, and nor should they aspire towards it. Other games do. Super Mario Galaxy doesn't need anything fancier than a Wii to play, but Bioshock, Assassins Creed &, GTA IV (for example) benefit greatly from the graphics, and not in a flashy special effects way. It's just more immersive.

Imagine GTA IV rendered at a Mario graphics level. It's just wouldn't cut it. On the other hand, Mario doesn't need the level of detail that GTA does, and in some cases, I've seen platformers that use too much flash, and it irritates me.