Is the Wii an inferior good? (poll)

No, it's been selling for well over a year now, and ebay proves that people are willing to drop a lot of cash on the system, even above normal retail price.

The Wii's sales are not based on price, they're based on a variety of factors and the lower price happens to be the icing on the cake for many consumers.

[QUOTE="Kirlok"]what?AmyMizuno

ah much better, i dont think so, the wii is jsut fun and cheap. i mean economy has been worse before.

the competition being $150 more also helped alot

[QUOTE="Kirlok"]what?AmyMizuno

no, i think its selling good because its something new, a fresh idea in reality motion controls arent really new and fresh, but to the public its like "OMFG IF I SWING THIS THE GUY IN THE ELF SUIT SWINGS HIS SWORD...MUST BUY" with technology people like different ideas things the competition isnt doing AKA the WII

I just sold my wii in favor of buying a 360 and while I'm more than happy with it, if the wii was more well rounded in types and quality of games it'd be the best console by far. Take driving games for example, 360 has a TON of good driving games while the wii has mario kart. And if it isnt 1st party there are only a couple of good 3rd party games. Once you get past the good games your left wondering whats next and then you see its not much.

But then again how many consoles can you get and play for a good while only to turn around and sell it for a more expensive console and yet not really be out any money? Just for that, I love the wii.

Pricing is more of an understatement when it comes to Wii's success.

GC was $100 cheaper than PS2 & Xbox, but the GC sold poorly (not abyssmally).

Contributing to Wii's success are:

1. Wiimote
2. Small compact size (simplicitiy)
3. Marketing & Hype
4. Non-gaming casual games (and Appeal)
5. Older Franchises
6. Old School VC games

1-4 are the most important contributing factors for Wii's current success.

right now the wii isn't much less expensive than a 360 in most places. While pricing does have some effect i think that there are plenty of ppl that got the wii for it's innovative controls.

also in my own experience the wii is the desired console among the more well to do adults and professionals. there was also a report that 50% of wii households made over 100k. so i don't think it's demand would decrease with higher income.

Only thing is the Wii is an outrageous rip-off at $250. And $60 for a real next gen game like GTA4, MGS4, Gears, Halo3, ect. is far worth it over a $50 minigame collection or even the best Nintendo games. If the Wii was exactly how it is and priced at a good value to production costs then it would be good. But instead all we have is a rip-off overpriced gimmick.Lazy_Boy88

Please just stop posting. I have never seen so much ignorance in one post in this entire month. If $250 is such a rip off then why is it selling out?

$60 for a real next gen game? Don't make me laugh. PC games are $50 so what do you to that?

$50 mini-game collections? I wasn't aware that Zelda TP, Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, No More Heroes, Fire Emblem, Super Paper Mario, and Super Smash Brothers Brawl were mini games :roll:

All these so called real next gen games are all better then even the best Nintendo games. Wow, take your biased opinion else where man.

No, it's just because it's cheaper than the other 2 and the way it's being marketed seems to be attracting more ppl.

[QUOTE="Lazy_Boy88"]Only thing is the Wii is an outrageous rip-off at $250. Blackbond

Please just stop posting. I have never seen so much ignorance in one post in this entire month. If $250 is such a rip off then why is it selling out?

He's actually right on the first part and you probably know it. $250 is a rip off compared to what the other 2 consoles offer.

You ask why it's sold out . It's because ppl just see that it's cheaper and don't know or care they are getting less for their $ or maybe just bought into the Wiimote. When the PS3's $600 price tag was announced it got a lot of negative feedback because it was too expensive. It didn't matter to most they were getting the cheapest BR player and a lot more worth hardware or that Sony was selling it at a loss, they just saw Kaz saying ''599USD''.

[QUOTE="Iyethar"]No. For it to be an inferior good, its utility would have to be completely replaceable by a normal good in the same market. As a unique product with its own specific appeal, it is a normal good.AmyMizuno

Now that I think about it, maybe I am wrong.

Would we be able to come to an agreement that the PS2 is an inferior good?

I really don't think that any major game console can really be considered an inferior good in an economic sense. An example of inferior goods in the gaming industry would be more along the lines of single-game LCD portables - they are clearly an inferior good with respect to normal goods like Game Boy and other full handheld consoles. Another example of inferior goods in the game industry would be true shovelware like Phoenix Games produces, or even more appropriately the $10 crap PC game collections you see at Target and Walmart.

As far as the Wii is concerned, more than a just a few games use the features of the remote that differentiate the product to its audience. Not all of them use all the features of the remote, but the vast majority use more than enough to create an experience that isn't replaceable by other products. Now, maybe you don't value the unique qualities of the experience, but that's a simple matter of preference that isn't relevant to the question you asked.

With regards to the PS2, even now that it is of the prior generation of hardware it would be stretching definitions to the breaking point to categorize it as an inferior good. It has a larger and more diverse game library than any of the current generation consoles, and those games are still in very heavy new and used distribution.

Perhaps this will make things more clear: people do not usually choose inferior goods by preference. They settle for them because they are the most they can afford or because they offer a much greater price or quantity than normal goods. People do not generally buy the Wii or the PS2 because they wanted a 360 or PS3 and couldn't afford one, they buy them because that's what they wanted to get. The BC on some of the PS3 models does call the PS2's status into question very slightly, but this is mostly abrogated by the fact that not all PS3s have BC and the fact that PS2s don't play PS3 games. If the consumer wants to play a PS3 game, he will save up for a PS3, not go "oh well, guess I'll just get a PS2 instead".

It would be insane to argue that any significant portion of the people buying Wiis really want a 360, PS3 or high-end gaming PC and are settling for a Wii instead. Also, the fact that people are still paying above market value for the Wii is ironclad, irrefutable proof that the Wii cannot be considered anywhere approaching being an inferior good. No-one ever pays a premium for an inferior good - if an inferior good becomes scarce then people unable to purchase it because of the scarcity will always buy a suitable normal good instead rather than pay a premium.

now this one is stretching it even for the haters.

That would be good theory, and yes it is a good one. Thing is it has to factor in the fact that the games are different on the Wii and appeal to a greater amount of people, thus pushing up demand. Also factoring in the advertising as well, and the lower cost that would make the demand higher for the Wii then the others.

Also, as a side note, the US/Europe may be going into recession, yet Australia is in a boom at the moment :D

the only contradiction is the demand, i don't think it will go down once people's income will rise, nor will it be affected if the competition decreased it's price to match Wii's.

everything fits so well, but alas Wii is NOT an inferior good, it's a normal good :D

No, it's just because it's cheaper than the other 2 and the way it's being marketed seems to be attracting more ppl.

[QUOTE="Blackbond"]

[QUOTE="Lazy_Boy88"]Only thing is the Wii is an outrageous rip-off at $250. Dystopian-X

Please just stop posting. I have never seen so much ignorance in one post in this entire month. If $250 is such a rip off then why is it selling out?

He's actually right on the first part and you probably know it. $250 is a rip off compared to what the other 2 consoles offer.

You ask why it's sold out . It's because ppl just see that it's cheaper and don't know or care they are getting less for their $ or maybe just bought into the Wiimote. When the PS3's $600 price tag was announced it got a lot of negative feedback because it was too expensive. It didn't matter to most they were getting the cheapest BR player and a lot more worth hardware or that Sony was selling it at a loss, they just saw Kaz saying ''599USD''.

If it was a rip off the market wouldn't buy it. Because the market does buy it and its sold out it is factually not a rip off. It sells at the price and sells out. Its how business works.

yes, i do agree with the OT, the wii is indeed an inferior good. i already sayed that the wii is not from this gen , it belongs to last gen and shouldnt be compared to the X360 or the PS3. the wii is a gamecube with new controllers.

yes, i do agree with the OT, the wii is indeed an inferior good. i already sayed that the wii is not from this gen , it belongs to last gen and shouldnt be compared to the X360 or the PS3. the wii is a gamecube with new controllers.

samiup

i don't think you know that "inferior good" means if that's your reasoning.

yes, i do agree with the OT, the wii is indeed an inferior good. i already sayed that the wii is not from this gen , it belongs to last gen and shouldnt be compared to the X360 or the PS3. the wii is a gamecube with new controllers.

samiup

AHAHAAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAH heh .. phew that was a good laugh.

how old are you?

[QUOTE="samiup"]

yes, i do agree with the OT, the wii is indeed an inferior good. i already sayed that the wii is not from this gen , it belongs to last gen and shouldnt be compared to the X360 or the PS3. the wii is a gamecube with new controllers.

nintendo-4life

AHAHAAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAH heh .. phew that was a good laugh.

how old are you?

lol only in SW

yes, i do agree with the OT, the wii is indeed an inferior good. i already sayed that the wii is not from this gen , it belongs to last gen and shouldnt be compared to the X360 or the PS3. the wii is a gamecube with new controllers.

samiup

option three for you fellow...

[QUOTE="samiup"]

yes, i do agree with the OT, the wii is indeed an inferior good. i already sayed that the wii is not from this gen , it belongs to last gen and shouldnt be compared to the X360 or the PS3. the wii is a gamecube with new controllers.

Always-Honest

option three for you fellow...

epic win

[QUOTE="Kirlok"]what?AmyMizuno

I disagree that it selling so well because of the price. If that where true would people just say with their last gen systems. The PS2 still has new games coming out.

People want what games the Wii has to offer. Case in point for me. I am know at work as the Nerd "Which is a title I enjoy." Well someone I talk to but am not close to ran up to me and told me she was part of the Wii family. She had played Wiisports with her husband the other day and she had to get one right away. Now she could have got any gamesytem or she was happy before the Wii she had never owned a gaming system. But Wiisports sold her and not the price.

[QUOTE="Lazy_Boy88"]Only thing is the Wii is an outrageous rip-off at $250. And $60 for a real next gen game like GTA4, MGS4, Gears, Halo3, ect. is far worth it over a $50 minigame collection or even the best Nintendo games. If the Wii was exactly how it is and priced at a good value to production costs then it would be good. But instead all we have is a rip-off overpriced gimmick.Blackbond

Please just stop posting. I have never seen so much ignorance in one post in this entire month. If $250 is such a rip off then why is it selling out?

$60 for a real next gen game? Don't make me laugh. PC games are $50 so what do you to that?

$50 mini-game collections? I wasn't aware that Zelda TP, Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, No More Heroes, Fire Emblem, Super Paper Mario, and Super Smash Brothers Brawl were mini games :roll:

All these so called real next gen games are all better then even the best Nintendo games. Wow, take your biased opinion else where man.

The games you listed - no - they're not "mini-games"; however, they're not anything new either. All of which are ugly and do no dictate"Next-Generation" in any way whatsoever.

No it isn't. If you gave a bunch of young people more money more Wiis would be sold. Simple fact.

The fact that if you give more young people more money PS3s and 360s would also be sold doesn't diminish that more Wiis would be sold as well.

The easiest way to examine this is to compare income levels vs those buying the good. In the case of the Wii, it obviously isn't just poorer people buying the product.

Fact: the phenomenon of the Wii has spread somewhat beyond traditional gaming boundaries...younger people (who are typically poorer than the population as a whole) and average families

Fact: there are wealthier middle income families, rich older people, lawyers and doctors etc than can easily afford any console....who are buying the Wii. I am one of them. I can afford to throw the money away, it means nothing to me. If I was a poor student like I was decades ago I probably wouldn't own a Wii...just my 360 or PS3 (or maybe none)....because I prefer the other game lineups...but hey, why not buy one since I can afford it and there are some games I am interested in. This is the definition of a NORMAL GOOD.

Fact: If you gave every Wii owner $500 they wouldn't suddenly abandon the Wii. They might very well buy something else, maybe even a 360 or PS3, but they wouldn't throw out or abandon their Wii

Fact: If you gave every gamer more and more money eventually all gamers would own all consoles. The exceptions to this would be true non-interest in the game libraries, possibly space or time considerations etc. Which is why there are a considerable number of multi-console owners, many of whom have a Wii.

Thread = epic phail

i think people get the wii to play wii games, not because they want a console and that's the cheapest available

wii owners see the likes of wii sports, SMG, mario kart and wii fit as reasons to own the console

so as their incomes increased, they'd still get a wii .. the only difference is that they might also buy another console with it

It is probable that the United States, as well as the global economy is heading toward recession, yet at the same time, the Wii is continuing to sell particularly well. Do you think that the Wii is an inferior good, or a superior good?

In a sense, I am saying that the reason for the Wii's spectacular sales may bebecause of bearish consumers, not ready to drop $400 dollars on a PS3, and certianly not ready to spend $60 dollars on a game (games are the compliments of consoles).

The Wii, being at an affordable price may simply be in the right place at the right time, given current economic conditions. What do you think?

PS: An explination of the term inferior good is below. It does not mean it is of lesser quality.

-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferior_good

"In Consumer Theory, an inferior good is a good that decreases in demand when the consumers income rises, unlike Normal Goods, for which the opposite is observed. Inferiority, in this sense, is an observable fact relating to affordability rather than a statement about the quality of the good. As a rule, too much of a good thing is easily achieved with such goods, and as more costly substitutes that offer more pleasure or at least variety become available, the use of the inferior goods diminishes."

AmyMizuno

The economy is different, we can't go basing theories off of 100 year old economics.Sushimaster

The state of the economy may be different, but Economics is the study of how economies act. The basic rules of economics were in place when a barter system was used and will still be in place when we all have chips inbedded in our necks that keep a running tab of our net worth. That being said, what do you propose that we base our economic forecasts on?

To answer the question posed by the TC. The answer is no. There is no real substitute good and the demand has been shown to be relatively inelastic. That being said. The current US situation is largely a readjustment of two industries. Unfortunately, those two industries are basically the largest two purchases made by the American public and as such the troubles have infiltrated the financial establishments. That being said, if the financial institutions had been a bit tighter with the purse strings, we wouldn't have seen the backlash that we have.

Gas is a contributing factor, but not as much as a lot of people are trying to make it seem (because it is an election year and gas can be directly attributed to Bush). Food is less of an issue for the US population than it is for the global population because we've had a large expendable income so we can carry the brunt of the price increases with a little hit to our lifestyles. The most interesting result of this is that high gas prices have caused an increase in the creation of ethynol which has hit the grain supply pretty hard and the government subsidies to create a false supply ceiling has actually lead to the food crisis because we were addressing the gas crisis as an isolated factor.

This is just another example of government involvement doing more to complicate the economic situation and create pitfalls. I'm not heartless, but if we had too much competition in the grain market, why don't we let economics work it out instead of rigging a slipshod fix that does more to create reliance on the government than help it's constituency bring value to the population?

Everyone who went with the third option needs to just pass over my post...

Also...I seem to remember a study about the Wii being purchased primarily by affluent households. Affluent households aren't greatly effected by market factors.

[QUOTE="Blackbond"]

[QUOTE="Lazy_Boy88"]Only thing is the Wii is an outrageous rip-off at $250. And $60 for a real next gen game like GTA4, MGS4, Gears, Halo3, ect. is far worth it over a $50 minigame collection or even the best Nintendo games. If the Wii was exactly how it is and priced at a good value to production costs then it would be good. But instead all we have is a rip-off overpriced gimmick.Stevo_the_gamer

Please just stop posting. I have never seen so much ignorance in one post in this entire month. If $250 is such a rip off then why is it selling out?

$60 for a real next gen game? Don't make me laugh. PC games are $50 so what do you to that?

$50 mini-game collections? I wasn't aware that Zelda TP, Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, No More Heroes, Fire Emblem, Super Paper Mario, and Super Smash Brothers Brawl were mini games :roll:

All these so called real next gen games are all better then even the best Nintendo games. Wow, take your biased opinion else where man.

The games you listed - no - they're not "mini-games"; however, they're not anything new either. All of which are ugly and do no dictate"Next-Generation" in any way whatsoever.

consumers often pay prices higher than the goods actual value. take cell phones for example that cost a couple bucks to make but are sold for hundreds of dollars. value does not dictate cost. the market of the product dictates the cost. if no one was buy the wii the cost would drop. the fact they can not keep it in stores is why the price is where it is at. Ninty priced thier console very well. Keeping it afforadable but also keeping it sold out. they are doing very well and are in a position MS and Sony would love to be in.

Also I dont know what a next gen game to you is. I have not see one as of yet. Half life 2 in my opinion has not been surpased other than in technical graphics.