• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Techradar: How the Nintendo Wii won the console war

Not sure how one can disagree with that statement.
Sure, the Wii U isn't selling like hot cakes, but the Wii U wasn't part of the last generation.

Nintendo did "win" the "console war" with the Wii, even if they in the process screwed up their chances of winning the next (current) console war.
 
The Wii won despite motion control being a gimmick disaster for any serious gaming, which is why it was used to replace button presses until motion plus came along, and was still used in place of button presses because they divided their audience potential by not having motion plus from the beginning.

Nintendo won because of 3 things:

1. Nintendo legacy
2. Family appeal
3. Cheap price
 
Good for Nintendo, and I hope wii owners enjoyed it a ton. I tried to like it but that resolution on a HDTV was pretty horrible, also bad third party games, I don't care for mario stuff anymore though I see the appeal.
 
Gamerloid said:
The Wii defined this generation though. The PS3 did not.
Click to expand...

Wii defined probably 3 years of a 8 year generation.
From a market pov DS defined the casual software , it "invented" that demand, and its heritage could be seen in smartphones games. Wii didn't. We haven't a "Wii heritage", the wii public left the building and the console died way before the end of the generation.
We can call the Wii a fad, a short trend.
 
Gamerloid said:
They didn't drop out early, it's weak hardware couldn't survive the later years. No way in heck, but that's what happens when you make such a weak system. Regardless, it did kick their butts. I can easily say that because the Wii was great financial success while the 360 and PS3 were bad for business.
Click to expand...
The hardware didn't seem to bother it in the first year when it was already outdated. Every year after that (except for the last) was also the same thing.

Edit: They also introduced motionplus in 2009. Why couldn't they have used that to boost the system?
 
Echoenigma said:
Can you point to where I brought that up at all? You're moving the goalpost. We are talking strictly sales and who won the console war.
Click to expand...

The console war isn't over yet. Current gen is still selling- or did you miss GTAV break every record known to man this year? Generally, we count all consoles sold until termination as "the generation", otherwise the PS2 only sold "100 million" units and not "150", since a third of those sales were after all next gen consoles were on shelves.

It's very likely Sony, Microsoft, or both will pass the Wii in overall units sold and software sold before they decide to discontinue production, ending the generation.

No one in their right mind would trade Sony or Microsoft's positions right now- which is that their current consoles and console software are still selling- with Nintendo whose current gen console is dead and has been dead for about 2 years.
 
Nilaul said:
Nope, they still made way less money then Nintendo on their 1st and 2nd Party games. They don't really get any real revenue from third party.
Click to expand...

Can you stop moving goal posts ? Why their earnings mean so much to you as gamer ?
No one question that Wii earned a lot for Nintendo.
 
Vashetti said:
The PS2 sold many more millions after the PS3 came out.

The PS3 still has plenty of wiggle room for price cuts, it's going to sell for years to come.
Click to expand...

Atolm said:
It will, and easily. PS2 sold 50M after PS3 release.
Click to expand...

Are you people really believing PS3 will sell at the same level the PS2 did post its own generation? lol, how? you realize their sales momentum were slightly different while they were on their own gens, right?
 
Zekra Dezivad said:
Wii defined probably 3 years of a 8 year generation.
From a market pov DS defined the casual software , it "invented" that demand, and its heritage could be seen in smartphones games. Wii didn't. We haven't a "Wii heritage", the wii public left the building and the console died way before the end of the generation.
We can call the Wii a fad, a short trend.
Click to expand...

Nahh Wii doesn't have a heritage at all, that's why you you never ever have the option of using motion controls for driving games in PS3 games or future PS4 games. Its is the reason why people don't complain about the lack of move support for Killshock. Its the reason why battlefield 4 has no head tilt detection. It is the reason why Dualshock 4 has no motion sensing built in. It is also the reason why no mobile games use any motion sensing. It is not the reason why the new XBOX shoves a kinect down everyone's throat, it is not the reason why the PS4 has a 3D camera.

In conclusion the Wii has no heritage; and motion detection of any sorts is a fad.
 
Zekra Dezivad said:
Wii defined probably 3 years of a 8 year generation.
From a market pov DS defined the casual software , it "invented" that demand, and its heritage could be seen in smartphones games. Wii didn't. We haven't a "Wii heritage", the wii public left the building and the console died way before the end of the generation.
We can call the Wii a fad, a short trend.
Click to expand...

A fad.

The wii, dropped off the cliff and didn't sell almost anything for 2 years and the other two STILL have not caught up with it. Sony and MS HAD NO CHOICE but to extend the generation out for 8 years, 2 to 3 longer than normal, because if they didn't they'd had lost even more money and we'd not have a PS4 or Xbone right now.

So bottom line is no matter how you spin it, talk about it, Nintendo "won".
 
Definitely a definitive example of a pyrrhic victory.

Win the short term, lose the long term. 80-90 million consumers, gone. Just like that.
 
Perkel said:
Can you stop moving goal posts ? Why their earnings mean so much to you as gamer ?
No one question that Wii earned a lot for Nintendo.
Click to expand...

exactly. Earnings are great. profitability is great. The PS3 and 360 were incredibly expensive. everyone gets that.

But when you're claiming a "win" when the wii has been outsold by the PS3 and 360 Month after month for several years straight, the system is discontinued, third parties have abandoned it and even nintendo doesn't bother putting out more than a game or two a year worth playing...what kind of win is that?

PS360 gamers are still up to their necks in more games than they can play. You can't really say that for the Wii.
 
Manmademan said:
The console war isn't over yet. Current gen is still selling- or did you miss GTAV break every record known to man this year? Generally, we count all consoles sold until termination as "the generation", otherwise the PS2 only sold "100 million" units and not "150", since a third of those sales were after all next gen consoles were on shelves.

It's very likely Sony, Microsoft, or both will pass the Wii in overall units sold and software sold before they decide to discontinue production, ending the generation.

No one in their right mind would trade Sony or Microsoft's positions right now- which is that their current consoles and console software are still selling- with Nintendo whose current gen console is dead and has been dead for about 2 years.
Click to expand...

X360/PS3 won't sell 20mln. 1. This gen was too long 2. They will eat each other sales meaning combined maybe they will reach 50-60mln units more (ps2 didn't have really any competition)
 
Perkel said:
Can you stop moving goal posts ? Why their earnings mean so much to you as gamer ?
No one question that Wii earned a lot for Nintendo.
Click to expand...

For me as a gamer Nintendo won; they had the best games. Third party games? They where good, I played a few of them my PC but it doesn't mean the PC won the generation.
 
This story + GAF's generally going crazy and gearing up for the next round of Console Warz is generating some bitter, bitter salt. haha.

Anyway, Wii won for me no matter what metric. I wasn't much interested in the 360 and PS3's offerings, aside from Dark Souls and Dead Rising. I have a ton of Wii games though. At least 40. I'm giving my Wii and most of those games (plus my 360) to my wife's family next week, however.
Gonna buy a Wii U after that and not wonder about what I'm missing.
 
Seeds said:
Well, the thread is about which console won the war, not console owner.
Click to expand...

Winning is kind of vague, I'd say. Personally, I looked at it as a combination of platform that had the most support, sold the most (hardware and software), and was played most by the world.

In the past, one platform would usually be able to claim all of the above and thus we had clear winners, but this generation was a bit different.
 
It lost the war? Are we talking about some ongoing console war? I guess yes if that's the case, but no one ever wins that war... since someone new will always come into power. It definitely won that generation though. Unlike the PS3 (and even the 360 to an extent), it made Nintendo MONEY. The PS3 took billions of dollars to recover, just to get them back onto an even playing field after the monumental PS2.
 
Atolm said:
The war isn't over. Well, for the Wii it is, it died of being too outdated. PS3 will surpass it in the end.
Click to expand...

Yeah it is. Noone seems to mention it, but the PS3 needs another 23 million or so to catch the Wii. Its currently at 80 million. 23 million is over 25% of its already existing userbase. Its not going to happen, especially with the Wii still being sold.

The only console to do numbers like that (massive 25% of its userbase at the time of its newer version releasing) is probably the PS2... And thats IF the PS2 hit that kind of ratio. Its a staggering percentage to manage after a successor hits the market, and the PS3 and 360 ain't no damn PS2... PS2 dominated in every facet and on every level and every metric to achieve that kind of tail, and the generation was shorter. Toss in the fact that the 360 competes with the PS3 in terms of their sales 'tail' and its clear neither of them will make it to the moving target that is the Wii's 100+ million.

They aren't catching the Wii, but thats okay, because that shits old and done now anyway. The past won't save Nintendo now, and the PS4 is about ready to curb stomp the life out of the WiiU.
 
supersanni said:
First post GAF is real. Damn.

Too bad the Wii was an anomaly in the slipping relevance of Nintendo though. I wish they translated the success into something more long lasting.
Click to expand...

The problem was Nintendo never did anything to keep their new audience engaged and interested. When that fickle casual crowd started moving to tablets and smartphones, Nintendo did... nothing. And then when the Wii U launched they expected that same audience to still be there somehow. Just a horribly mismanaged situation.
 
Perkel said:
X360/PS3 won't sell 20mln. 1. This gen was too long 2. They will eat each other sales meaning combined maybe they will reach 50-60mln units more (ps2 didn't have really any competition)
Click to expand...

not sure what you're getting at here. if "combined" they maybe hit 50-60 million more units that's easily WAY more than 20 million units per system. both would pass the Wii since they're at 80 million units a piece, and neither has hit holiday season 2013 yet.

and I've already given my reasons why i think the PS360 will enjoy more robust sales than the PS2. increased functionality (Netflix, HBO go, Amazon Video, MLB apps, etc) as well as the ability to sell direct to customer with PSN means they stay viable longer than the PS2. Don't forget, the most popular Netflix platform in the country right now is the PS3.
 
Manmademan said:
The console war isn't over yet. Current gen is still selling- or did you miss GTAV break every record known to man this year? Generally, we count all consoles sold until termination as "the generation", otherwise the PS2 only sold "100 million" units and not "150", since a third of those sales were after all next gen consoles were on shelves.

It's very likely Sony, Microsoft, or both will pass the Wii in overall units sold and software sold before they decide to discontinue production, ending the generation.

No one in their right mind would trade Sony or Microsoft's positions right now- which is that their current consoles and console software are still selling- with Nintendo whose current gen console is dead and has been dead for about 2 years.
Click to expand...
So did WiiSports, 2 2D Mario games, 2 MarioKarts, Nintendogs, Pokemon, etc. prior to GTA. That doesn't include their games that sold phenomenally but didn't set new records.

"Breaking every record known to man" is a pretty tough standard even for Nintendo which did it several times this generation. After retail, Nintendo recieved every dollar of those sales. The bulk of GTA's money doesn't go to Sony and MS.
 
Zombie James said:
The problem was Nintendo never did anything to keep their new audience engaged and interested. When that fickle casual crowd started moving to tablets and smartphones, Nintendo did... nothing. And then when the Wii U launched they expected that same audience to still be there somehow. Just a horribly mismanaged situation.
Click to expand...

Should've released a smartphone or at least a true PMP, rather than the 3DS.
 
Manmademan said:
not sure what you're getting at here. if "combined" they maybe hit 50-60 million more units that's easily WAY more than 20 million units per system. both would pass the Wii since they're at 80 million units a piece, and neither has hit holiday season 2013 yet.

and I've already given my reasons why i think the PS360 will enjoy more robust sales than the PS2. increased functionality (Netflix, HBO go, Amazon Video, MLB apps, etc) as well as the ability to sell direct to customer with PSN means they stay viable longer than the PS2. Don't forget, the most popular Netflix platform in the country right now is the PS3.
Click to expand...

Yeah sure..... they aren't matching the tail of the PS2 man. The incredible support after the fact, the domination during the gen, the lack of a competitor during the following years and more contributed to the PS2's tail, and again, Im not even sure the PS2 managed to do a massive 25% additional to its userbase post PS3. Thats just a staggering staggering percentage. They would literally need PS3/360 sales to explode right now and sustain for the next several years to hit those numbers.

I don't think you are looking at this clearly at all. PSN and XBL games aren't going to carry 23 million sales. This Christmas will be last gens last major hurrah, then they will sink to the bottom of NPD/MediaCreate/ChartTrack

Mudkips said:
This thread contains nVidia levels of salt.
Nintendo won, hands down. We've known this for over half a decade.
Click to expand...

Apparently still a sore spot for many. I don't get why though, thats the past. If you are still salty about it, pull last months NPD and you should feel right as rain.
 
MisterHero said:
So did WiiSports, 2 2D Mario games, 2 MarioKarts, Nintendogs, Pokemon, etc. prior to GTA. That doesn't include their games that sold phenomenally but did well anyways.
Click to expand...

none of those are on the level of GTA5.

"Breaking every record known to man" is a pretty tough standard even for Nintendo which did it several times this generation. And Nintendo recieved every dollar of those sales. The bulk of GTA's money doesn't go to Sony and MS.
Click to expand...

Again, we're talking viability of current gen. the most successful standalone game of all time is a current gen game for the PS360, 7/8 years after those systems launched. Show me a nintendo game on any platform selling a $800 million in a day, and a billion dollars in 72 hours AT RETAIL, or 7 years in to a console launch, for any platform they've had. I might be waiting a while, it doesn't exist.

Current gen is still selling, there is still massive interest in it- more than enough to sustain 2 to 3 more years before EOL. There is no interest in the Wii, or it's software, it's dead.
 
Manmademan said:
none of those are on the level of GTA5.



Again, we're talking viability of current gen. the most successful standalone game of all time is a current gen game for the PS360, 7/8 years after those systems launched. Show me a nintendo game on any platform selling a billion dollars in 72 hours AT RETAIL, or 7 years in to a console launch, for any platform they've had. I might be waiting a while, it doesn't exist.

Current gen is still selling, there is still massive interest in it- more than enough to sustain 2 to 3 more years before EOL. There is no interest in the Wii, or it's software, it's dead.
Click to expand...



Well Mario Kart sold like 34 million units. Does that count as earth shattering?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

GameSpot: How Nintendo Won The Console War
Opinion Trailer Game Dev  2 3 4 5
221
2K
Topher replied
  • Poll
Did Nintendo won the traditional console war?
Poll  2 3 4 5 6
296
6K
MrCunningham replied
  • Locked
The Switch 2 is the fastest selling Nintendo console in Spain
3
301
spookyfish replied
Nintendo Nastiest War: WonderSwan vs Game Boy
Analysis Trailer Hardware 
7
357
SantaC replied
Valve enters the console wars [The Verge]
2 3 4 5 6
266
2K
rodrigolfp replied
Top Bottom