Wii Problems

Nintendo, Wii have a problem. Sounds like the previously undisputed leader of game consoles is starting to show some signs of weakness.

Wii and Wii Fit

Checkout the recent Yahoo.com article about Wii Problems that have been seen lately. Whether it's the market share decline, or the difficulty experienced by third party game developers, or the need for the next big hit game. There is no shortage of Wii problems to discuss...

Troubled times for the Wii?
by Ben Silverman

In the three years since it first launched, the Nintendo Wii has sailed past competing systems from Sony and Microsoft to consistently claim the top spot in the console war.

But if a recent rash of troubling stories about the Wii is a vision of things to come, the tide might be turning for the seemingly unbeatable machine.

Kinks in the system's shiny white armor starting showing last month. Despite steady success in Japan, the Wii fell into second place in March as the underdog Playstation 3 clambered atop the region's sales charts for the first time in 16 months. That was enough to garner some uncharacteristically somber comments from Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, who deemed the climate in Japan "unhealthy" for the Wii.

But to Cowan & Company analyst Doug Creutz, the U.S. market isn’t necessarily any healthier, at least if you're thinking of investing in a console game. In an interview with Gamasutra, Creutz called the Wii "fool's gold" for third-party game developers.

"The choice here is really between investing for the Xbox 360 and PS3 -- since their capabilities are fairly similar -- or the Wii," he said. "I would caution investors and developers that the larger installed base of the Wii is really a bit of a red herring."

Crueutz goes on to point out that while the 19 million Wiis in North America trounce competing consoles individually, combined sales of the 360 and PS3 actually top 22 million. That represents a larger chunk of the pie for game developers who can more easily port games back and forth from the two systems. Additionally, Creutz notes that Nintendo's first-party games and the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises account for nearly one-half of all Wii software sales, a far larger percentage than what's found on the other consoles. Comparatively, the Wii is simply a tougher nut to crack for third-party developers.

Peter Moore, president of enormous third-party game maker EA Sports, echoed Creutz's concerns while speaking at a recent conference.

"You simply can't take what you're doing on the PS3 and Xbox and port - that's a dirty word - down to the Wii," he said, insisting that instead you have to build Wii games "from the ground up."

He's not the only one at EA with issues. Earlier in the month, an EA producer confessed to having trouble incorporating Nintendo's upcoming Wii MotionPlus control attachment into its Grand Slam Tennis game, raising questions about when the tech would be ready for consumers. Nintendo answered that by officially announcing a release date only to curiously push back the release of the game they've repeatedly used to show off the new technology, surefire smash sequel Wii Sports: Resort.

Of course, it's not all doom and gloom. NPD Group reports that the Wii again led the way in March 2009, outselling both the 360 and PS3 by a wide margin. Nintendo is also enjoying strong numbers for its newly released DSi handheld, with the company reporting first-week sales of over 600,000 units in the U.S. and Europe. Mario's checking account won't run out of funds any time soon.

The question is, will gamers run out of interest? The last two major first-party Wii games, Wii Music and Animal Crossing: City Folk, failed to generate the kind of excitement (and, in turn, sales) that Nintendo is accustomed to, a fact that analyst Ed Barton of Screen Digest believes is a big reason why the Wii is struggling. While older blockbusters like Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii are still selling well, Barton points out that the company needs new experiences to drive new sales.

Nintendo hopes to deliver exactly that with upcoming high-profile games like the aforementioned Wii Sports sequel and a remake of classic boxing game Punch Out!, but that still leaves plenty of wiggle room for the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 to continue closing the gap. And if Japan is any indication (and it usually is), that gap can disappear in a heartbeat.

So what do you think? Is the Wii destined for a downfall, or is this just a mid-life crisis?

Article Source: Yahoo.com

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Video Game History

If you were a child of the 80's like me, you probably played your first video game on the Atari or Nintendo Family Computer. Those were the days before Playstation, Xbox and Wii. Either you owned an Atari or Family Computer, or you know somebody among your neighbors or friends who owned an Atari or Family Computer and you went to their houses to play.

I can still remember playing Frogger on my mother's office computer when I was very young. I would play during their lunch break. Frogger offered a unique challenge which required a unique skill at that time: eye-hand coordination.

How about you? What were your nostalgic video game memories? Feel free to contribute to our topic and answer my "mini survey" by posting a comment below, or by writing about it in your own blog or website and track back (create a link back) to this post.

1. What was the very first video game you ever remembered playing?

Frogger in my mother's office PC back in the 80's.

2. What was the very first video game console you ever owned?

My parents bought a Nintendo Family Computer one Christmas. I was apparently the first to own one in our neighborhood. My next console was the Sega Mega Drive.

3. What is(are) your most favorite of the classic video games?

My favorites would be Mega Man 2 and Earthworm Jim 2.

Speaking of old video games, Applemctom has created his own Youtube channel about video game history. His video library includes titles such as Classic Games Nostalgia, Best Games of All Time, and Tribute to my SEGA childhood. Let me leave you with his Final (subtitled and extended) edition of my History of Video Games video. Check it out and see how many games you can identify and relate with.



May update:I got an email from Applemctom if I could help in pushing his new batch of videos. I said sure! Click on the Youtube links below to watch them. Don't forget to bookmark this page so you can go back here to watch the other videos some other time. Enjoy!

History of Gaming in 2 1/2 minutes


History of Mobile Gaming in 1 1/2 minutes

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Sony vs. Nintendo

Sony vs. Nintendo: same bad economy, very different results

Sony and Nintendo released their financial reports on the holiday quarter this week, and both are being pummeled by the strength of the Japanese Yen. But Nintendo's focus on gaming and the strength of its console have left it in far better shape than its bigger rival.

By John Timmer

Recently, Sony gave a preview of its third quarter earnings that set the stage for a grim set of final figures. Those figures were released Thursday, on the same day that Nintendo unveiled the results of its sales during the third quarter. Although both companies are facing the same problems when it comes to general economic conditions, Nintendo seems set to stay in the black regardless, and it's worth taking a look at why.

The most fundamental problem that both companies face is that much of their income comes from overseas sales, and the Yen has strengthened considerably against many currencies as people flock to its relative stability. That means that all of the overseas revenue is diluted in value when it's converted to Yen on its return to the company.

Sony: trouble in diversity (PlayStation 3 Consoles and Accessories)

This can be clearly seen in Sony's financial statement, which broke out the company's electronics operations revenue in detail. From having over ¥200 billion in revenue (currently about $2.2 billion) in the Q3 of 2007, the division slid to a loss of ¥16 billion. Nearly half of that drop, ¥94 billion, came from the exchange rate alone. Nintendo took a hit from the foreign exchange problem as well, but nothing nearly that severe. The company isn't breaking out quarterly figures, but is instead giving combined numbers for the first nine months of its current fiscal year. During that time, the damage from the foreign exchange rate has eaten into its profits, but only to the tune of an 18 percent year-over-year drop.

Part of Sony's problem is its diversity. For the most part, its different electronics offerings aren't mutually supportive—owning a Vaio PC doesn't seem to make anyone more likely to buy a Bravia TV or a PS3. As such, sales of nearly everything plummeted. This was especially true of its mobile phone affiliate, Sony Ericsson, which made a big contribution to the ¥45 billion lost by the electronics division.

The game division, all things considered, did moderately well for Sony. Sales dropped by about a third year-over-year, but the group managed to stay above water, bringing in a profit of ¥400 million. That's a big (97 percent) drop year-over-year, but Sony calculated how that figure would look if the Yen's value were pegged at where it started the fiscal year, and found it would actually be up by over 150 percent.

That sounds great, at least until you look at the numbers, which suggest that most of this boost comes from changes in margins and PS3 software sales, as sales of everything else were down. The flagship PS3 was down nine percent year-over-year, the PSP dropped slightly more, while the PS2 was clearly slouching towards end-of-life territory, with sales plunging by over half. Its software sales followed it with a similar plunge, and PSP software sales were in line with its drop, as well. The only win? PS3 software sales, which rose by over 50 percent.

Nintendo: strength in focus (Nintendo Wii Collection)

Nintendo, as we mentioned, only provides its results in terms of the total of the fiscal year, of which the holiday season constituted the third quarter. Some quick math with the previous quarter's results, however, yield some pretty impressive numbers. Net sales were ¥700 billion, yielding a profit of ¥68 billion, or about $750 million. It's not all good news, though—as of its last quarterly report, net income was running about ¥10 billion ahead of the previous year; now they're running about ¥45 billion behind, even though operating income is up substantially.

In terms of actual hardware, the DS moved just shy of 12 million units over the holidays, while the Wii picked up another 10.4 million in sales. That leaves the Wii comfortably ahead of where it was this time last year, and just shy of having 45 million units sold in its lifetime. That huge installed base is driving software sales. With three fiscal quarters down, software sales were nearly double what they were at this point last year, and over 82 million units of software were sold in the holiday quarter. All told, software sales accounted for about ¥250 billion in revenue.

It's clear that Nintendo has guessed right in designing a console that can appeal to the mass market, one that it acknowledges in its earnings statement: "Nintendo will continue to pursue expansion of the gaming audience and provide products that offer unique entertainment that puts smiles on the faces of people of all ages and genders." Its focus on that market has helped it avoid having its success in gaming diluted by the broad losses in many divisions that are plaguing Sony, despite the fact that both companies are facing a similar economic problem.

Article and photo source: Arstechnica.com

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Is The Wii Failing To Meet Its Potential?

Console overwhelmed with "crappy games," says publisher

By Mike Smith

There are too many crappy games on the Wii.

So says the global boss of 2K Games, Christoph Hartmann, and at least in the opinion of video game critics, he's on to something. Using figures from review aggregation site Metacritic.com, almost half of Wii games released since the console launched in 2006 have scored below 65%, compared with about a third of Xbox 360 and PS3 titles. And 65% is a pretty crappy aggregate score, considering that many game review sites rarely score below 50%.

Raise the bar to 85%, and the difference is even more pronounced: 360 owners can play twice as many games rated above 85% as Wii owners, while the PS3 nearly triples Nintendo's numbers.

Broadly, this problem isn't Nintendo's fault. In fact, without sterling first-party games like Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Wii's situation would be far worse. Nintendo-developed games, with the possible exception of Wii Music, are a beacon of quality in a sea of, as Hartmann so indelicately puts it, crap.

Fortunately, this situation isn't lost on most consumers. According to game sales authority NPD Group, the top ten best-selling Wii games -- titles like Mario Kart, Wii Fit, and last year's number one game, Wii Play -- accounted for about 44% of all Wii game purchases in 2008. The remaining 56% spanned over 400 other titles.

That's not the worst of it. Sales of Wii games that reviewed poorly (including 2K Games' own Carnival Games, which aggregated a dismal 56%) eclipse those of many of the Wii's real gems, including the breathtaking Okami, the superb Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and even the lighthearted, family-friendly Steven Spielberg project Boom Blox, which should have been a perfect fit for the Wii's unprecedentedly broad audience. The Wii has a curious ability to make big hits out of low-scoring games.

Perhaps it's the critics' fault. Do video game reviewers, who typically boast decades of gaming experience and a deep affinity for the integrity of video games as a serious pursuit, miss the point of casual-friendly Wii sales hits like Carnival Games? Perhaps, but the connection isn't as tempting as it might appear. Because Roger Ebert lists La Dolce Vita and Aguirre: Wrath of God among his top-ten films, should we assume, when he slams Bride Wars, he's doing it because he's elitist and doesn't understand movie consumers? Or maybe he just knows what makes a crap movie.

By and large, consumers do, too. Who, once burnt by a tempting but terrible Wii game like Ford Racing Off-Road or Jenga: World Tour, would not be hesitant to take a chance on a genuinely outstanding title like Zack & Wiki or Boom Blox? If they buy games at all, consumers will limit their picks to reliable names, while the delightful upstart games to which the Wii is so suited will sink beneath the tide of crap. At worst, they'll be so disgruntled that they'll shelve the Wii altogether, relegated to a dust-gathering embarrassment that's pulled out for a token Wii Sports or Wii Fit session once every few months.

So what can you do about it? Get educated. Without good resources, your odds of dodging bad games are not favorable. Sites like metacritic.com and gamerankings.com both provide great jumping-off points for research. Best of all, take a web-enabled phone with you to the store and you can look them up right before you buy. Although it's true that some reviewers miss the point of broad-appeal titles like Tetris Party or Monopoly, the majority will at least help you dodge the crap.

Article Source: Yahoo.com

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Why Sony needs to (but can't) drop the price of the PS3

Posted by Don Reisinger

In a report that could send shock waves through the video game industry, market research firm iSuppli has detailed the real cost and new savings found in Sony's second-generation Playstation 3.

iSuppli's report, issued Monday, says that the current PS3 model contains 2,820 individual parts, including Nvidia's Reality Synthesizer, IBM's Cell Broadband Engine, and Toshiba's I/O controller, which are now made using 65-nanometer process technology, compared to 90-nanometer technology formally employed in the previous iteration. That has drastically reduced the PS3's power supply cost by 30 percent from $30.75 to $21.50.


The costly PS3

(Credit: Sony)Kionix's three-axis accelerometer in the PS3 controller has replaced the Hokuriku Electronic Industry Co. part, saving Sony an estimated $1.45 per unit.

But perhaps the most important cost savings is in the console's vaunted Cell processor from IBM. According to iSuppli, the latest PS3 includes a new version of IBM's Cell Broadband Engine, which is priced at $46.46 -- 28 percent lower than its original cost in the first-generation hardware. A new version of Nvidia's Reality Synthesizer, the console's GPU, at $58.01 per unit is now priced 30 percent lower than it was in the first generation.

Altogether, Sony's second-generation PS3 features a 35 percent total cost reduction from the first-generation model. In dollars and cents, today's PS3 costs Sony about $448.73 to produce, compared to the old model's $690.23 price tag. That said, the lower cost doesn't include software, box contents, and royalty expenses.

Realizing that, and considering the PS3's current price tag of $399, iSuppli has found that Sony is still losing money with each sale of its console. But Andrew Rassweiler, director and principal analyst at iSuppli, believes Sony may be able to break even in 2009.

"With its new-generation PS3, Sony has come closer to breaking even, although it probably hasn't quite reached that mark yet," Rassweiler said in a statement. "With iSuppli's estimated PS3 cost at $448.73, the product retailing in the United States at around $399 and taking into account other expenses, the PS3 may be able to break even in 2009 with further hardware revisions."

Great, but is that enough time? With Microsoft and Nintendo outselling Sony's console each month with ease, Sony's window of opportunity is almost closed.

According to NPD, sales of the PS3 fell 19 percent in November from a year earlier, and according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, analysts are expecting "flat or lower PS3 sales" again in December. Compare that to the Wii's incredible sales numbers and the Xbox 360's jump of 8 percent over last year, and it's apparent that things aren't going so well in the Sony camp right now.

Paying a penalty on pricing
As I look for an answer to why this is happening, I don't see how it can come down to anything else but price. All in all, Sony's hardware and library of games are viable, and Blu-ray is an added bonus for some. But when it comes to price, the average consumer who wants to buy a console will balk at picking up a PS3 because it's so expensive when compared to Microsoft's Xbox Arcade and Pro models or Nintendo's Wii.

There's no secret that Sony's console is priced too high. And although Sony zealots try to pretend that it offers more value and is the "Cadillac" of the video game industry, it's abundantly clear that what consumers want -- an affordable console -- isn't something they find in the PS3. Value or not, consumers want to save money.

Sony knows this and although it's unwilling to admit it, the company seems to want to compete on price too. But with financial troubles unlike anything it has ever seen, Sony is trying to turn a profit and limit losses to keep shareholders happy.

In essence, Sony finds itself in a dangerous position: it needs to make money, so it wants to keep its prices high, but by doing so, it's not selling as many units and its goal of becoming profitable byway of the "value" argument simply isn't working. And as the recession deepens and consumers are looking to save money wherever possible, Sony is quickly finding out that it's not a good time to be the "value leader" instead of the "cost leader."

I truly believe Sony's gaming division wants to drop the price of the PS3 and knows all too well that price is the single factor holding it back. But when a console that has been available for over two years still costs $448.73 to produce and the parent company is in financial trouble, dropping the price to a more suitable level -- $299 -- is almost out of the question.

I get that. I just don't think Sony can expect consumers to like it.

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