The problem we're seeing with Nintendo's strategy is that most of the new gamers don't see the Wii as a console that is capable of many different things. They see it as a Wii Sports machine or a Wii Fit machine. You buy an exercise bike in order to use the exercise bike. A lot of the new consumers see the Wii as the same type of thing. If they do know that their exercise bike can also be scuba gear or a gun or a car, they're not interested in using for those things.
Nintendo's "bridge" theory, of lassoing new gamers in with Wii Sports and tying them up with Mario Kart so that they can eventually enjoy Zelda, isn't as successful as planned. I bought into it because it sounds GREAT on paper, but when we actually look at the paper, it isn't quite working that way.The newer, older, and more casual Wii Sports or Wii Fit owners aren't buying stacks of traditional games. I'd LOVE for that to happen, but it just isn't.
I see the Sports Authority deal as kind of an acknowledgment of the fact that the Wii has two manifestations. The Wii is for gamers primarily (just look at the library), so of course it's sold mainly at game stores; but it's also for people who want to get off their butts and have fun doing it, so it's being sold at a sports place as well. The cross-section of these two types of people is much smaller than it was expected to be.
JordanElek
Totally agreed. That's why Nintendo is failing to please the core audience, therefore defining their future plans on gaming. Let's see what they bring us next gen...
Log in to comment