Thu, Apr 09, 2009 | 10:28 BST
Iwata: Wii in “unhealthy condition”
Wii’s peaked in Japan. There’s no denying it. Even Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s admitting it.
“The Wii is in the most unhealthy condition since it hit the Japanese market,” he said, speaking at a Japanese press conference today.
“The current condition in the Japanese market is not the one we want.”
Iwata said at the same conference that there was no chance of a Wii price cut.
“A price cut in a difficult economy cannot really excite the market and drive up sales,” he said.
“As of now I really don’t think that a price cut is a good option for us.”
Nintendo confirmed a June release date for Wii MotionPlus in Japan today.
12 comments
#1
scuz
09/04/09, 10:34 am
or people in japan have nintendo-shit-console-dar
#2
jnms
09/04/09, 10:36 am
Nintendo really squandered all the potential of the Wii didn’t they. It really could have been something very special.
#3
Psychotext
09/04/09, 10:39 am
It’s funny really… it’s been tracking like the PS2 over there, so I’m not sure why they said it’s been in an unhealthy condition since it launched.
That said, it’s not selling like the PS2 did any more.
#4
Blerk
09/04/09, 10:48 am
Time to get working properly on that DS replacement, guys.
#5
dirigiblebill
09/04/09, 11:00 am
I wonder what they’ll be saying after Monster Hunter Tri is released…
#6
Blerk
09/04/09, 11:24 am
They’ll probably be saying “why the hell didn’t this sell anywhere near as many copies as the handheld versions?”.
#7
BraveArse
09/04/09, 11:35 am
And then they’ll say “oh yes, that’ll be because we charged subs for online play”
#8
dirigiblebill
09/04/09, 11:39 am
But MH on PSP doesn’t have an online mode in Japan at all, amirite? Isn’t it local only?
Online play doesn’t figure as large in Japanese gaming culture as over here. It’s something to do with them not being afraid to publicly sit around in groups playing their PSPs like a bunch of disgraceful nerdlings.
#9
Blerk
09/04/09, 11:50 am
Precisely. And that’s why the Wii version isn’t a ‘sure thing’ like a lot of people seem to think it is. The way it works just isn’t the way that the fans play it. The PS2 versions did pretty well, but they were nowhere near the level of sales of the PSP versions.
#10
dirigiblebill
09/04/09, 12:20 pm
I think that’s very perceptive. Much of the PSP games’ appeal over yonder seems to hinge on the spontaneous party aspect, forming little impromptu LAN parties on trains, or stopping off at those specialised MHF cafes.
You’d have thought a DS version would make more sense than a Wii version, in that regard. Technical limitations aside.
On a related note, I wonder if many Japanese people are playing White Knight Chronicles online. Probably bad news for Capcom if they aren’t…
#11
anasui
09/04/09, 2:42 pm
no title is a sure thing on home consoles, just look at the Pokemon games. One would think they’d sell millions, but they don’t. MH3 will sell a lot, but not nearly as much as the tsunami sales it’d get on the ds, its just the way the market works
having said that, Iwata’s been very honest with that statement. New colors, new wii sports will bring things on track again
#12
theevilaires
09/04/09, 4:57 pm
maybe they will launch a wii HD soon