NPD: Wii usurps Xbox 360 as best selling US game console, pulling away
By Thomas Ricker 
posted July 18th 2008 1:17AM
posted July 18th 2008 1:17AM
posted July 18th 2008 1:17AM
Microsoft Xbox 360
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One has to wonder if "Best selling" equals "Most profitable". The money in these things comes largely from the amount of games sold. Last I heard, 360 was in the lead with an attach rate of 7 games. What's the attach rate for Wii?
in this case best selling is most profitable. wii was making a profit on hardware from day one , they had no hardware problems excpt a minor one. i dont know exact figures but with the 360's hardwe nightmare and sellinh the console at loss in the first couple of years i think wii is leading on profitabilty.
Regardless of the attach rate, each Wii sold has been a profit for Nintendo. The Wii was never sold at a loss to the company, right from the very beginning.
The 360 and PS3, on the other hand, were both sold at a loss to their respective companies for a substantial part of their lives. This means the attach rate for these consoles is what is/was important for profit. Nintendo, on the other hand, could be selling no games at all and still raking in the dough.
I've got 22 Wii games, though, not including the pack-ins like Wii sports and Link's crossbow training.
The Wii sold 60 million games in its first 19 months, compared with about 35 for the Xbox 360 during its first 19 months. The console itself is also more profitable for Nintendo, so I wouldn't worry about their bottom line.
But how many of the Wii software sales includes WiiPlay? Which is REALLY a accessory sale, not software, IMO. I don't have any research, but every time they show the top 10 software sales, it seems WIiplay is always there.
Just wondering what the sales/attach rate is if you exclude Wiiplay...
apples to oranges comparison. As a developer its not a matter of whether you're going to turn you AAAA title out on the wii, 360 or the ps3, but rather hte 360 or the ps3. Wii owners have a super low attach rate and buy maybe 1-3 games a year unlike their 360/ps3 counterparts. I'd equate the wii to a dvd player or board game before I equate it to the ps3/360. \
I must be an extraordinary Wii owner then. I've had one for a little over a year and own...23 games.
And I'm not made of money either. I just really, really enjoy their game lineup and set aside money over time for anticipated games. I'm not a Nintendo fanboy by nature either, as I own maybe 7 GCN games, compared to about 40 PS2 games.
There was the longest time that I really wanted a PS3 simply so I could actually play next-gen hockey, but now with NHL 2K9 getting a Wii release (way to drop the ball again, EA Sports) with special controls for the Wiimote, I really have no reason to even consider another console at least for a few years (price drop with a PS3 slim?).
kudos to you dude, but the stats show that you're in the minority. I'd search it up but I'm on company time now :X
Don't look now, but Wii games have outsold PS3 games nearly 3 to 1. http://www.joystiq.com/media/2008/07/p1000595b.jpg
pwned!
Fred: Last I heard, Microsoft was just now breaking even on console sales. It took them 2 yrs to get to that point. Wiis have been profitable(system along) since Day 1. The have to have an attach rate of at least 3 games per system more than Wii just to break even.
It's funny that Nintendo out-marketed Microsoft.
It'd be interesting to see how many games have been sold for each console. I wouldn't be suprised if Wii's bottom of that list.
i bought a wii as well, but the only game i bought for it is wii fit cuz i needed the board. That system will never see another dollar in terms of games from me. So yah many people buy the system, but does anyone buy any games for it? I got my 360 and I buy games for that thing on regularly because the games are in HD and are well worth it. So just cuz the wii sells alot, doesn't mean anyone other then nintendo is making any money on it
Super Smash Bros was the last game I bought for my Wii, and that was mainly because it doesn't use the pointing/motion sensing features of the Wiimote at all. If I want a workout, I'll go to the gym. If I want a good gaming experience, I'll stick with my PC or PS3.
Well...seeing as how the Wii is about $150-200 cheaper than a 360 (not counting the core), it would make sense that it'd sell more.
If you look at what your getting the best value system is the 360. The Wii is pretty expensive for what you're getting. Its not that powerful of a system (no HD at all) , you don't get any built in storage and wiimotes + nunchucks are pretty expensive. Not to mention the "Pro" 360 will be $300 for a while till they phase out the 20gb model.
No wonder nintendo is making a profit. Thats a good thing though.
Too bad the Wii has nothing but kiddie games. It was interesting at first, but after trying to play anything beyond Wii Sports, it quickly becomes an exercise in frustration and boredom.
Yeah, that "No More Heroes" sure is a kiddie game with all that blood and cursing.
There is no stopping the Wii or Nintendo now. They have sold their souls to the devil :o
They are doing something right, because people are still flocking to it. My 60 year old father in law just bought one with a bunch of games. I currently own all 3 and Before my son was born, I was all about the 360. The Wii got very little love and the PS3 has only seen Blu-ray discs for more than a year. Now that my son is more "Aware" I've traded in 90% of my 360 collection, yet still retain my 100plus original Xbox games, for family friendly Wii games and I couldn't be happier, because now my non gaming wife love playing the Wii. The 360 only gets used for Rock Band and GH. I'd say that I'm pretty close to 50 Wii titles and If I have the urge for some quick violence, I just fire up the PSP for a PS2 port. I could play some of the 360 games I've held onto after he goes to bed, but I have no problem getting my gaming fix on the Wii.
As more and more people get HDTVs, Wii's market will be challenged. I was watching blu-ray at a store the other day and my jaw just dropped.
Don't try to bring up the "profitability" card against Nintendo. If there's one thing Nintendo knows how to do, it's make money. Remember, they've never lost money on a console. EVER. They're not willing to play that game, so not only do they make money on every console, they sell the most!
Bah .. that was supposed to be directed @FRED
ding ding ding.
ashley are you single? :)
nintendo is making ridiculous money indeed. Its insane. Good for them.
The media convinced everyone that they had to have a Wii just like th emedia convinced everyone that they had to have an iPhone. America has completely turned to a mob mentality with buying habits. I guess that is what you get with so much control over two generations. We really are almost to the point of the humans in Wal-E. "Blue is the new Red" everyone changes to blue.
On the merits of a system to play games, the Wii is terrible. On the merits of hype, the Wii is like no other console before it. No family wants to be left out, you aren't good parents unless you get a Wii.
My Wii just sits there with nothing to play, so much promise bt so much garbage. I don't think I would ever miss it if it was gone, but my wife is begging me for Wii Fit. She will use it twice and then it will never turn on again. Nintendo got me for $250, and another $75 for a second WiiMote and Nunchuck, then $90 for WiiFit. SO I will have paid over $400 for something that will get about a months worth of playtime in over a year, just to keep the wife happy. SUch is the brilliant marketing campaign by Nintendo.
I agree with you on the games thing....I see games I want coming. But I have not played mine in a few months because nothing is exciting me now. And E3 did nothing for me (except The Conduit.)
America has always shopped like that, you can go through our consumer history and hype, hype, hype has always sold. Was the PS2 any different? It still says something that a company can generate that kind of hype for a product. The media just gives us what we want (or tries too).
Is anyone tired of how people keep saying the Wii only sells more because it is cheaper. If I remember people laughed when the "revolution" was announced, look who's laughing now.
The Wii sells more because people are not as interested in paying for a HD gaming device (or movie player) as Sony and Microsoft thought they were. Nintendo stepped back and decided to go a different way, something tells me the next generation Sony and Microsoft will follow.
Nintendo has won this generation of gaming by creating a new market. The only question is whether Sony will catch Microsoft in that market. I think they will.
I love my Wii.
I enjoy the fact that myself and all my mates (male and female) can get leathered and competitive playing Sports, Racing and all the other top team games for the Wii together.
And then I go to my bro's and watch him and several mates customise a car and race it round a track for 3 hours on his PS3, then we play a team game, which generally consists of him taking me out with continuous headshots until I'm so narked off, i throw the pad at his face.
I have also tried playing Halo online... man that is fun, but it gets boring really quickly. Plus its all about the 14 year old boys smack-talking each other. Boom another headshot... thats it I'm off.
All this talk about which console is better? Its horses for courses!
If you are a boy (or man), who enjoys killing and racing things and have lots of money and few friends, go for the PS3 and Xbox 360
If you like the idea of playing games as a team, that is easy to pick up use the Wii.
I don't understand how the PS3 or 360 expect to compete when their market is aim entirely at teenage boys.
Umm I think you are talking about the 360 and what your brother likes to use it for, rather than the PS3 or people who use the 360 for completely different types of games then the ones you mentioned. There are other types of games that simply do not exist on the Wii, where the player is immersed in a world created by the game developers (such as GTAIV). This is just like reading a book or watching movies, and involes rich and compelling storylines.
And really, if you don't have a job and need to play against girls because you suck at games, don't take it out on everybody else.
Absolutely and how does playing GTAIV differ from the same experience received on the PS2 before it - oh yeah the graphics are better....wow big change.
Oh and how much fun it was watching your friend play it for 13 hours as you get drunk by his side.
You completely missed my point RobertTurbo, but that is forgivable.
PS3 and 360 will always be aimed primarly at solo gamers. The wii is more like a gangbang.
Are you saying that Zelda and Mario are not as immersive as GTAIV? Have you actually played them? Ultimately the arguements for these machines always comes down to "oh the graphics on the wii are horrible compared to PS3 and 360".
As you can see that has meant a lot to those buying Wii's (n't).
See you in a years time, when even more have been sold, and the PS3 (glorified bluray player) and 360 (shooting or racing games only) lag even further behind.
badger out.
The 1st comment is actually appropriate -and funny- here. I wish I could see who ranked this low, so I can rank THEM low.
Nintendo is so stupid. If they simply made the Wii a high-def platform they would totally dominate. The Wii mote and nunchuck control scheme is great, especially when the game developer does not go out of their way to make you shake the remote.
I bought an Xbox 360 just to play GTA4 but i would have preferred to play it on a high def Wii.
For instance, playing Resident Evil 4 withWii controls is far superior to playing it with PS2 controls.
Hopefully Nintendo will smarten up and make a Wii 2 with a blu-ray drive soon
Very impressive numbers for Nintendo, hopefully they can keep up the buzz with some new exciting game releases.
The lifespan of the Wii can only be prolonged with decent upcoming games, and not yet another party game or something like it...
That said there are some fab Nintendo Wii games out there though!
Have a look at my top 5 here:
http://www.hypedworld.com/games/top-51-nintendo-wii-games/
=)
by the end of 08 the ps3 will probaly b ahead of 360 and might b ahead of wii i dont think u should judge the ps3 just cause the internet it actually pretty good