I think I’ll want a Wii…

If I get a new console I’ll probbaly get a wii to play with my son. The thing is, I’ve delayed since we’ve had too many other costs to worry about. And at the same time I hadn’t thought getting a Wii was that big of a deal. After all the Targets here in town have piles of them. Let alone Walmart.

This article made go hmmmm.

“The PlayStation 1 was certainly a big introduction, but I don’t recall any game system more than six months after its launch still having this kind of demand,” said Chris Byrne, an independent toy analyst.

Back in April, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata acknowledged an
“abnormal”
Wii shortageacknowledged an “abnormal” Wii shortage. Since then, the company has increased production “substantially” to help meet worldwide demand, said spokeswoman Perrin Kaplan.

But Nintendo also has to manage its inventory, said Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets.

“Unfortunately you can’t ask a contract manufacturer to make a million a month, then 5 million,” he said.

Sony’s PS3, which launched within days of the Wii last fall, is readily available in stores and online, but sales have been lagging behind the Wii. Cost could be one reason for this: the PS3 retails for up to $600.

More than 2.8 million Wii consoles have sold in the U.S. since the November debut, according to the NPD Group, a market research company. That’s more than double the number of PlayStation 3 consoles sold. And Nintendo plans to sell 14 million worldwide in the current fiscal year, which ends next March.

“You see it and you
want itYou see it and you want it. Kind of like the iPhone,” said Robert Marcus, waiting to buy a Wii with his wife and three young sons.

Nintendo’s selling point for the Wii has been that it’s for everyone: not just hardcore gamers or young men with impeccable hand-eye coordination. Its intuitive motion-sensitive wireless controller lets players mimic movements for bowling, tennis or sword-fighting instead of pushing complex combinations of buttons.

[Excerpt from USATODAY.com]

Interesting that they are finding the demand as large as it is. After all its also been outselling the PS3 by over 6 to 1.

Tags: Finance, Gaming, Interesting, Wii