Now that most of the major console producers have released sales figures from the holiday season, it is clear that the Wii has widened the gap on its next-gen rivals. Nintendo has recently confirmed that the Wii has reached the 20 million units sold worldwide mark. This is a worthy achievement for any console, especially considering that Nintendo’s last console struggled to sell about this many throughout its entire product lifespan and the Wii has only been out for a little over a year.
In fact, when was the last time any console ever sold this amount of units in such a small time period? Hint: the PS2, when it sold 22.5 million units in its second year after launch. Second year. Right now, the Wii is ahead of where the PS2 was after its first year and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. The Wii is in a position to not only shatter the PS2’s one year sales record, but dethrone the PS2 as the number one best selling console of all time. Here’s why:
The Market is Bigger
While the PS2 might have carved out more market share within the “core” gaming market in its hey-day, it did so in a smaller overall market. The “core” gaming market was smaller 8 years ago than it is today. More to the point, however, Nintendo has successfully expanded the video game market to include non-traditional gamers that never would have heard of the PS2 (or PS3…or any other console). That’s not to say it’s doing all that terribly in the “core” market either, but any edge the PS2 had on the Wii in that department is easily compensated for in the process of evangelizing non-gamers. Blue Ocean abound.
Killer Lineup of Killer Apps
Sure, the big Mario and Zelda titles are out of the bag. Many would suggest that Nintendo has played all their aces when it comes to games since they have traditionally relied heavily on their in-house franchises. I disagree for several reasons. First, it has always been the case that to the console victor goes the spoils of nigh universal publisher support, and the Wii is certainly getting plenty of that. Second, there’s still some major in-house titles that haven’t seen the light day on a Wii.
Conspicuously absent from the release list is Smash Bros Brawl. It’s a singular reason to buy (and not to have bought thus far) the Wii for many a devoted fan, and its addictive group play qualities will easily lure in the uninitiated. This will be huge and it’s happening next year.
Also absent from the standard Nintendo cast is a Mario Kart game for the Wii. Not for much longer. Mario Kart Wii is set for release in 2008 as well, along with a cool wheel (wiil? sorry, sorry). This along with the Wii’s unique interface could really breathe some new life into the series.
Further, a brand new entry into the Nintendo family, Wii Fit, has the potential to change everything. The premise is simple: make exercise and fitness fun. It’s already released in Japan and people went crazy for it. Granted, the Japanese have been known to go crazy for some crazy things, but given the mass hysteria about obesity and weight loss in the U.S., I don’t think there is a more fertile market for a video game delivered fitness program.
Price Drop?
It’s hard to know with certainty, but precedent does suggest that a price drop is in the Wii’s future this year. A price drop, along its ever impressive game lineup, could bring the Wii from a “well maybe when I have more money” purchasing decision to an easy impulse buy.
All of these factors combined point to a record breaking sales year for the Wii, setting it on a course to claim the throne as the number one selling home console of all time.
