Nintendo Co Ltd, already struggling with shortages of its Wii video game console, is also seeing signs of higher-than-expected demand for its DS handheld device, a top executive said on Monday. "The DS continues to perform exceptionally well, with some retailers voicing concerns about DS inventory going into the holiday," Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, told Reuters in an interview. The DS has been the best-selling piece of gaming hardware this year, moving 1.5 million units in November, according to market research firm NPD.
Nintendo, which is striving to meet Wii demand more than a year after the machine first went on sale, had also advised retailers that it did not approve of the practice of bundling the consoles with extra games and accessories and selling the package at a higher price. A Wii by itself sells for $250 -- cheaper than Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox 360 and Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 -- but some retailers have offered bundles priced for double that price. "Retailers have already been given feedback that we are not big fans of that. We think it masks some of the price advantage we have versus our competition and, frankly, the consumer should decide what they want," Fils-Aime said.
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Nintendo, which is striving to meet Wii demand more than a year after the machine first went on sale, had also advised retailers that it did not approve of the practice of bundling the consoles with extra games and accessories and selling the package at a higher price. A Wii by itself sells for $250 -- cheaper than Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox 360 and Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 -- but some retailers have offered bundles priced for double that price. "Retailers have already been given feedback that we are not big fans of that. We think it masks some of the price advantage we have versus our competition and, frankly, the consumer should decide what they want," Fils-Aime said.
View: Full Story @ Reuters
You'll probably see it ship this week. Several stores in my area (well, in the US, so it might not be so soon in other regions) just got restocked today.
Look at Mario Galaxy; it doesn't bring a lot of new stuff to the table. While Galaxy is fun, the Wii's lack of top-notch titles is astounding. There's literally nothing worth shelling out full price for outside of a couple of Nintendo IPs, and even those just barely make the cut. A good chunk of their revenue comes from literally reselling unimproved old games like Castlevania and Pokemon Snap. There is no innovation, only rehashing.
The Wii formula: put ten year old games on five year old hardware. Package it in white, add a little wand to wave around, then sell it to geriatrics/non-gamers/nostalgia-blinded schmucks and make millions. Disgusting, really.
Welcome to the future of gaming--an entire generation of software custom-designed for people who have never played games in their lives and thus don't give a crap if they're good or not.
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