Wii Launches, Sells Out Peacefully 565
porcupine8 writes "Like the Playstation 3, the Nintendo Wii sold out on launch day this weekend. Unlike the PS3, the launch was a peaceful affair with no reports yet of console-related violence in the US. This may be partially due to the fact that Nintendo promises to have a total of four million units in stores by Christmas, with the bulk of those going to North America.
Midnight launch parties on both the east and west coasts ushered the new console in with a bang." Please, if you've managed to snag a Wii yourself, share your opinions below! Update: 11/20 17:25 GMT by Z : A few quick impressions from 24 hours of owning a Wii, and some links on the subject if you Read More.
All I have to say so far is pretty positive. I snagged Rayman Raving Rabbids, Zelda, and (on a lark) Red Steel. I haven't had the heart to play Red Steel yet, but Rayman is a great, quirky mini-game game. I think this format is going to be pretty common for the Wii, and I'm actually looking forward to it. Zelda is ... Zelda. I really, really like it, but if you're getting tired of the same old thing you're going to be disappointed. My big complaint is the glacially slow internet connection. I have never owned a Genesis, and so wanted to snag Sonic for some cheap laughs. Purchasing Wii points took about half an hour, and I never actually managed to download the game (despite having paid for it). I'm hoping that today, with less hammering on the servers, I'll have more luck. Expect a more complete review next week. In the mean time, Chris Kohler at Game|Life has had a Wii since last week, and has some considered opinions on its launch issues, and a bit more specifically on virtual console problems.
Local Gamestore Figures (Score:5, Interesting)
PS3: 1 unit
The question that's coming in the spring, when the PS3 might actually be available in quantity, is what kind of demand will exist once all the hardcore types already have theirs.
I expected it (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Resell (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:As I expected (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm sure no one camped out for a week for the Wii (like so many did for the PS3), although many camped out for around 20+ hours.
I got up at 5am on sunday morning and my friend picked me up and we were going to go to bestbuy, but there were around 200 people in line outside, then we went to another bestbuy where there were at least 100 people in line. A nearby target had an enormous crowd outside, too.
We finally went to a slightly hidden Circuit city where there were 21 people waiting and we got in line. After talking to the guys there, we learned that the store had 16 units physically at the store and were expecting a *possible* shipment of 15 more at 7am, and we'd find out at that time. Since we really didn't know where else to go at that time, we decided to stick it out.
The couple of guys immediately in front of us were there for only about 20 minutes when we arrived (at about 5:30) and the guys in front of them got there at midnight. The group of guys at the head of the line were there since 8am the day before and had sleeping bags and a tent.
It's kinda funny because several people came and went in those early hours (the store was gonna open at 10) but since it wasn't a sure thing, no one really wanted to stick it out to find out if those extra 15 units were going to show up, so until about 9:30 (the truck had gotten a flat and hadn't shown up yet) there were only about 10 people behind us... it wasn't until about then that suddenly people were showing up left and right.
and AT 10, a couple of people showed up thinking they'd avoid the crowd and get there when they first open to pick their wii up. they were a little shocked that people were waiting outside. they didn't understand.
heh.
but I got one!! and it's AWESOME.
red steel sucks, though.
Technical Specs? (Score:5, Interesting)
People (Score:5, Interesting)
It might also have nothing to do with money and more to do with personality and character. PS3's and Wii's probably attract different kinds of people, but each attract a certain type of person. Back in the 90s I did a study of people using browsers by first blocking IE and allowing Netscape users in, allowing that to happen for a couple months and then switching it around so that Netscape users where blocked and IE users where allowed in. The site was a fan site for a musician and so people visiting had a strong desire to see the content. In each case, when I blocked a certain browser, I would receive angry emails from the people that were blocked. Maybe about 25-50 for each browser. I found that IE users on average would use poor grammar, make more spelling mistakes and generally shorter words than Netscape users. I also found that most Netscape users would send longer emails while several IE users would be very short and frank with me. The same effect is most likely the case with gaming consoles, computers, operating systems and everything else.
Re:Why a Christmas Launch? (Score:3, Interesting)
I waited for 10 hours (Score:4, Interesting)
Although I waited all night, the line I was in didn't actually fill up until about 6:30 am. At 8 the store handed out vouches to the first 24 people in line, then we all lined up again at 9 (along with quite a lot of people who had no idea that there had been vouchers handed out earlier, and were hoping to get a system).
I got Zelda and Red Steel (although now that I have heard how abysmal the Red Steel seems to be, and since I haven't opened it, I'm considering making an attempt at returning it and getting Monkey Ball instead), and I have to say that so far the system has definitely been worth it.
The only problem I've had so far is that nintendo's servers seem to be having problems, because I keep running into timeout problems when trying to update the console so I can get into Wii Shop and check out the virtual console.
Managed to pick it up (Score:3, Interesting)
And ya, now my friggin arms hurt! a good workout hurt, but still. This game system may single handledly change the fat kid playing video games generalization to in shape kids. Popped in wii sports when a few friends came over and I must say, we had a great time and had many laughs (heh, boxing is jokes, not perfect but it still gets the heart rate up and kinda makes you look foolish)
I thought this would be a gimmicky system, but so far everything has run perfectly(controller, setup, virtual console, etc).. I'll see how I feel about it in a few months, but so far it's been an awesome experience. Good work nintendo
MrJynxx
My walmart story! (Score:5, Interesting)
WII/PS3 3:1 ratio available (Score:4, Interesting)
Back in the early 90's I worked at an Electronics Boutique with the NES, Sega Master System, SNES, TurboGrafx and Sega Genesis were hot. Sales often came down to availability. If a kid wanted a SNES for Xmas but we only had Genesis in stock, the parent usually ended up getting the Genesis. The reverse also happened often. Both systems were in short supply and high demand for several years around the holidays. They were both comperable and had many of the same games. It looks like the WII will get a much larger system base if they can outsupply Sony 3:1 in the near future. I suspect they could even catch up with the 360.
Re:Resell (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Linux (Score:3, Interesting)
People already have code running on the Wii via native Gamecube mode - but nobody is sure if we have the full power of the system available yet. We'll need to figure out how to break free from the Gamecube mode and enter full Wii mode.
Costco is the way (Score:0, Interesting)
Line Demographics (Score:2, Interesting)
This is most definitely NOT the soccer mom and grandpa crowd
In our line of 41, outside of a Target in Pittsburgh, PA, here's how our group broke down, roughly:
There were about 10 nintendo fanboys. Most were really only there for the new Zelda. These were mostly high school and college aged boys.
There were about 15 gamers/hardcore gamers. Guys aged 20-30 with multiple consoles who were clearly veteran gamers.
Finally, there were about 15 parents and grandparents. They were either there with their kids or there for their kids. I am including a couple of wives who were there for their husbands in this category.
So, I disagree with your statement that these were definitely not soccer moms. Really, it was quite a diverse crowd, where pretty much everyone was represented. A more interesting comparison might be between this crowd and the crowd lined up for PS3s... I think that the PS3 crowd was comprised of only hardcore gamers and profiteers.
Worth the wait (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Resell (Score:3, Interesting)
it turns out that the wiimote was picking up the lights from this lamp next to the TV. I wouldn't have realized that that's what it was except that it's got 5 bulbs in a very unique pattern that I could see when adjusting the sensitivity. Once we turned the lamp off, everything worked great.
Although, this morning, I was having issues again. But it turned out that it was being caused by the fact that our TV is in front of our wall of windows and it was picking up the light from outside... so I guess that means no play during the day. sucks.
Got a Wii and a Mii (Score:5, Interesting)
I have been _very_ impressed. I'm a long-time Mac and Apple fan and the Wii shows signs of thoughtful design. Very easy packaging, simple setup, soothing interface, usable without reading any instructions. We started setting up by 10:20 Central time and the Wii asked to go through two rounds of "update" (about 10 minutes each) after we got the console up on our home wireless. My son picked up Tony Hawk, but has mostly played Wii sports with his father, his brother, and four friends.
A few highlights...
- the little "bump" the controller gives you as you pass over a button in the interface
- the spacial effect of sounds from the controller
- the fun every kid (and I) had designing our own Mii
- the wonderfully smooth action of the control, even allowing a physically challenged brother get into the action
- the soothing music of the interface
- the clever (and appropriate) animation during disk insertion (9 year old _loves_ that one)
- the appearance of all the Miis we'd created on our baseball team (a riot watching kids thank each other for "their" hits)
- the messaging and calendar system with the automatic log (poor cursed son) of play time spent on each game each day
- the ability to email into and out from the console
A few issues...
- neither news nor weather are working (later found the press releases about these being delayed for a few months, but Nintendo really should have updated the Wii Menu to either say that or remove the buttons until they work)
- the lengthy update cycle before we could play (would have been nice to have had some piece of paper or warning that it would happen, or an option to skip until later)
- the Wii froze once during baseball and had to be unplugged, luckily it started up again just fine
Bottom Line...
I think Nintendo has a real hit on its hands. The Wii is just a blast.
One thing I had heard very little about was the integration of Miis into the Wii experience. Each Mii is an avatar of sorts, designed and named by a player. A Mii looks a certain way (maybe a bit like you? maybe not?) and has certain attributes (favorite color, birthday). When you play certain games (Wii Sports, for now) you choose which Mii is playing the game, stats and skills accrue to that Mii. Baseball was especially clever in its use of Miis: your team wears the favorite color of the Mii you picked to play, other Miis from your console populate the home team, etc. Miis can "mingle" and go on "parade" to other consoles (we'll have to wait for a few more Wii's in the hood to test this feature). Miis can also be downloaded to the controller (the Wii Remote) and taken on the road to other Wii consoles where they can be uploaded and used (this is a much more natural process than I just made it sound like). The Miis represent a kind of social gaming trainer that will change how people interact with their gaming environment. It will be really exciting when other game authors come to learn and use the whole Wii ec
Ninentdo vs. Sony/Microsoft (Score:5, Interesting)
However, Nintendo can come in third and be very happy in their market. Sony/MS need HUGE 3rd party support, because they only make about $8/game sold by third parties. Nintendo makes most of the top sellers (keeping $42/game), and publishes most of the rest (keeping between $16 and $30/game... publishing games sometimes means that they pay development costs + profits, and then keep the $42/game, but figure that the royalties + costs brings that down a bit).
Also, Nintendo has traditionally sold consoles at a profit (at some points with the Gamecube, they sold at a loss). Supposedly that's only a few dollars a console at launch, losses during heavy cuts, and profits in later parts of the system's life. Microsoft bit a big bullet in the Xbox because they were using customized parts with contracted pricing, they learned their lesson this time. Nintendo uses mostly off-the-shelf components, and sets their contracts to decline over time, which Microsoft is aping).
Nintendo probably makes money if you buy their System + 1-2 games (a Mario game and a Zelda game, for example), and then cleans up if you buy more. Because Nintendo's stop selling games are normally Mario, Zelda, and a few other of their games, they make much more money per console than Sony and Microsoft do with their third party fees.
Remember, profits are in the games, and Nintendo's premier games normally sell in the same quantity (or higher) than Sony and Microsoft's top games do... not sure how Mario Sunshine vs. Halo worked out, but if Microsoft outsold them, it wasn't the HUGE difference that the console sales volumes would indicate.
Sony owns the market of hardcore gamers, but Microsoft looks like they are going to do well in the Xbox 360 arena. However, hardcore gamers that rent a few games a month may not put more money into Sony and Microsoft's pocket than a casual Nintendo customer that buys Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros., Mario Kart, and a few other premier games.
Hell, Animal Forest never had a huge player base, but it used simple N64 era graphics with simple programming, and no doubt turned a nice profit.
As a gamer, I'd love Mario to be the most high-tech game on the market, but I can appreciate that Nintendo can make games that are 80% as high-tech as the MS/Sony games are for less than half the cost, sell the same number of units, and make more money. Nintendo has spent two generations not being the top dog, and still made money, while Sega dropped out of hardware, Microsoft lost $4 billion, and Sony kept going. It's unclear whether Sony made more money off the Playstation as Nintendo did with the N64 (the companies don't break out numbers, and analysts gave mixed estimates), but the fact that the PS outsold the N64 4:1 and we're not sure who made money demonstrates the power of Nintendo's business plan... and the Xbox 360 and PS3 are requiring MUCH larger hardware subsidies as last round... last round, Nintendo turned profits, and Microsoft outsold them 2:1 and lost money. Competition makes things better for consumers (as the MS vs. Sony battle to destroy profit margins demonstrated), but the companies with more monopoly pricing power do better.
Expect Nintendo to keep doing their thing, making innovative new systems, selling in third place, and making gamers happy along the way.
Alex
My TV now has two Wiis connected to it... (Score:4, Interesting)
Playing the Wii feels like this is the future of gaming, it doesn't have a wow factor graphics wise, but it DOES have a "Wow, this feels like the way games should be played" feel. IMO, it's the freshest idea to come to gaming since 3D. Playing Excite Truck is more like driving than just mashing down buttons and tapping the stick. Playing golf feels actually satisfying. Playing tennis with four people was a blast.
Online capabilities were effectively MIA for the GC. The Wii however... we got IMs going back and forth between them, they have an easy to use store, pleanty of room for more capabilities. I give Nintendo many props for getting thier online stance setup and off and running extremely well.
In conclusion:
Launch: great titles, good supply, well organized
Play: fun and fresh
Capabilities: a refreshing feature set that has pleanty of room for expansion
Re:Resell (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Wii/PS3 numbers (Score:3, Interesting)
Best Buy:
28 PS3s
112 Wiis
Circuit City:
4 PS3s
24 Wiis
Wal-Mart #1:
6 PS3s
36 Wiis
Wal-Mart #2:
4 PS3s
24 Wiis
Target #1:
0 PS3s
42 Wiis
Target #2:
0 PS3s
42 Wiis
These are actual numbers of consoles at each of these stores in my area on their respective launch days.
There is no way on earth that the PS3 sold 2/3 of the number of Wiis. My estimation is that the Wii outsold the PS3 on respective launch days by a factor of 4 or more. There have only been a small handful of PS3s since then, so my worldwide estimates are:
PS3: 300k
Wii: 1.2 million
It's day two (Score:4, Interesting)
People who weren't considering getting a wii want one after playing wii sports.
It's simple, it's MUCH better than most reviews give it credit. I think it's meant to wash the unconverted of their hesitance. Red Steel, the other game I picked up for launch, is "ok." I'm expecting some other studio to make something similar, and actually do it right. The game's concept is spot-on, but the execution feels undetailed, and like....a launch game. The sword combat is most dissapointing, I was kinda expecting a hyper-difficult simulator along the lines of "Kengo: Master of Bushido" or "Bushido Blade" - But it's clearly possible, and certainly coming.
Yes, I'm an idiot - I decided to wait on Zelda
Wii Review (Score:2, Interesting)
Picked up Rayman, Zelda, and an extra wiimote and the cases.
First impressions:
Nintendo really capture something with this console. I was getting mad at my gf for being better than me at bowling. The people we played with actually play tennis and were able to add topspin and chop the ball. Bowling adds curves perfectly. The movement recognized by baseball and golf were cool too.
Boxing will take a while to get used to.
Rayman:
Great party game. The on rails shooting sequences are top notch and this game can provide a good workout.
What amazed me the most about the system, being a gamer since the atari 2600, was it's ability to turn anyone onto it. My gf's parents even played the system and were getting totally into it. I understand why nintendo chose this route instead of putting everything into the newest hardware. The last time I can remember a truly memorable console experience was why I played Halo. But that was just a FPS in a nice package. There really hasnt been any innovation in the gaming industry for far too long.
Gripes:
I really want a company to push what the wiimote is capable of doing. I think Wario Ware will give us the first feeling of that and Mario Galazy will take it to a whole other level. But that isn't until 2007.
I've also heard that the wiimotes eat up batteries galore. I want nintendo to make a docking station that recharges the wiimotes through the nunchuck port. Right now I still have the batteries that came with it and they're lasting but I have energizer litium batteries lined up next. From everything in the wiimote its no wonder the batteries would go quickly, speaker plus vibration, plus bluetooth transmitting plus led's = massive battery consumption.
The Future:
I'll have more info when I play through Zelda more. I haven't even unlocked fishing in the game yet.
More to come......
Re:Resell (Score:2, Interesting)
An Alaskan Launch Experience... (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, it was a balmy -25F here in Fairbanks, Alaska. GameStop had sold out preorders, and I have no idea what was going on down at WalMart, but my choice (and the choice of most Fairbanks residence) was the Northwestern based, Kroger owned chain, Fred Meyers, of which there are two Super-center sized box stores in town. The one I went to reported having 100 Wiis and the other reported having 90. Just for your info, they reported having 8 PS3s at launch.
They close at 11pm, but for the Wii openned at 12:01am for an hour. Since it's so cold, lauches up here aren't exactly the same kind of thing they are down in the states, noone camping for hours on end, partially because everyone knew that NOONE else was going to be crazy enough to do that. I got there at about 10:40pm, and stood in line with some guys. It was a really nice, relaxed atmosphere, some people brought chairs, but most stood around and gabbed, trying to keep themselves warm and taking turns going back and forth to warm up in near-by idling cars (noone was going to be an ass about it... it's called "survival"). Nintendo DSs were out of the question, since it's kinda hard to push buttons with thick, canvas and wool gloves.
At just after 11pm, "Freddy's" shoed out it's remaining customers and did something wonderful we didn't expect, they openned their doors, gave people numbered tickets, and let people line up inside. There were many people there (a number of my buds) who weren't even buying that night, but just wanted to join in the festivities. After going inside, some Nintendo DSs broke out, but we were having a good enough time just hanging out that I didn't really have much interest in playing mine.
At midnight, there was a joyous cheer as the line started moving a bit. The staff (all of which were wearing "Wii Play" shirts), had set up a few islands in the middle of the front isle, which had games and accessories. The Wiis were handed out in order of ticket number (I was #44 out of 100), at a window, and everyone (surprisingly calmy) went for games and accessories. When I got there, there were a number of copies of Zelda left (one of which I nabbed), something like 3 VC Controllers left (also one of which I nabbed), but unfortunately they had long since run out of extra Wiimotes and Nunchucks, but that'll be okay for the moment, especially since one of my other friends bought a system, so we'll have two controllers for the moment. Copies of Red Steel were long since bought out, but I hadn't planned on getting one, since Zelda will keep me well enough occupied for a while, and FF12 and Okami are still running strong on my PS2. Overall, a very pleasant and successfull launch experience.
Now, onto my impressions:
I had a little trouble, at first, getting the sensor bar setup in the right place, considering my TV setup, but when I came up with works fairly well, and I'm planning on getting a new TV soon anyway. I was able to get up online instantly, although I noticed that besides the shopping channel, none of the other channels were currently up yet. It's really nice to have the controllers separated for Zelda, I never noticed how ridged a one-piece controller could be. When not having to use the pointer features of the Wiimote, it's wonderfull to just lay your hands down on the couch on either side. My only real gripe is the speaker in the Wiimote... I won't mince words: it sucks. I wasn't expecting anything stellar, but I was hoping that they would be smart enough to use it for only very simple sounds: clinks, and swipes of swords, things like that. But they're trying to use it for too much: voices, menu sound effects, various atmospheric-based sounds that don't even make sense to be coming from your hand... just not smart, and feels a bit gimmicky. I imagine that down the line, companies will become more intelligent about WHEN to use the really really basic speaker in the Wiimote... but it seems they're not, yet. Also, the lack of volume control, or mute on the Wiimote totally baffles me. My only other gripe is th
My mini-review of the Wii (Score:2, Interesting)
Anyway, we decided to try Target next (though they were closed, and I already knew how many they'd be receiving) and there were only two people camping out at the door. We went home, waited until about 6AM, and went back. We got in line (5th in line) and waiting until shortly before the store opened, where the employees handed out the tickets with a 15 minute validity after opening to go and pick up our consoles. Altogether, Target was incredibly professional complete with signs, helpful salespeople, and an orderly process for getting the Wiis to the customers without any problems. My hat off to them (if I wore hats, anyway).
Okay, so after that little adventure, we were the proud owners of a Wii. I am not exaggerating when I say we've enjoyed this console more than any other. We picked up an extra Wiimote and nunchuck attachment, Rayman's Raving Rabbids and Twilight Princess. When we first powered it up and went through the setup, it was as easy as could be to get it updated and ready to rock. We played Wii Sports for a few hours, then Twilight Princess for a few, and finally Rayman for a few hours after that. The controllers worked almost perfectly, and the experience was not only fun but invigorating! Heck, we actually got some exercise from all the bouncing around with the wiimotes.
Just for the heck of it, I also bought and downloaded a copy of Donkey Kong for the virtual console. That worked as promised too, and I had a little bit of old school nostalgia that was easily worth $5.
So far, this is our favorite system ever, and we look forward to getting more games later. I'd say we're interested in the majority of the titles that will be available for the console, especially if they make use of the interactivity the Wiimote provides. Nintendo did an awesome job, and they're going to be receiving many more of my dollars in the future. Sony and Microsoft, on the other hand, won't see a cent.
Citywalk Launch (Score:2, Interesting)
I attended Nintendo's launch event in Los Angeles Saturday night and it was packed with people. I don't think even Nintendo expected this many people to be there. The PR folks kept assuring us there would be more than enough Wiis to go around even without a preorder, but sadly that wasn't the case. They ran out of wristbands for the people in line a few hours before the launch hour and people had to be turned away. Overall, the event was pretty disorganized and when they finally started selling Wiis, the line moved at a sluggish pace.
I don't see why it should ever take this long to move a line. You go in, you say, "Hi I'd like a Wii and X games. No warantee, thanks." Then you pay. But I think there were people who actually waited in line for hours who got to the checkout counter and said, "So...what game do you think is good?"
There's a full recount with pics on my site [runawaysquirrels.com].
Re:Parasites (Score:2, Interesting)
The problem is that the speculators can just return the unopened system to the store they bought it from.