Nintendo’s popular new creation the Wii continues to dominate the video game industry. According to the latest sales figures collected from the marketing research firm NPD Group, in March Nintendo sold 259,000 Wii consoles, compared to the 199,000 Xbox 360 consoles sold by Microsoft and the 130,000 Playstation 3 consoles sold by Sony, according to a Reuters report. The March numbers are consistent with previous months’ reports, which have all shown the Wii outselling the competition from the very start. According to Nintendo, the sales figures of the Wii make it the fastest-selling console in more than a decade. The high demand for the Wii has made the console a hard item to find. Arlen Bethay, general manager of the Best Buy on Bluebonnet Boulevard, said his store has not had any units in stock since early March. “The demand absolutely outweighs the supply,” Bethay said. “[Nintendo is] trying to catch up to that demand, and they’re anticipating some small shipments to begin hitting the stores in late April and continuing throughout the summer.” Bethay said his store will not take preorders for the future shipments and will sell them on a first-come-first-served basis. Best Buy currently has no trouble keeping the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 in stock, according to Bethay. “The Playstation 3 was in the exact same boat as the Wii for the first couple months after the release,” he said. “But now with the PS3 we do have them out on our shelves; we have them in stock probably six out of seven days of the week.” Bethay said the Wii’s dominance of the market has come as a surprise to many because of the hype surrounding the Playstation 3 prior to the system’s release. “Everybody asked about the Playstation because of the graphics, because of the high definition, being able to play the Blu-Ray discs,” he said. “It had all the technical gear, and it was the coolest thing out there.” But the Wii’s price tag and unique gameplay have overshadowed the technical prowess of the Playstation 3, according to Bethay. “The Wii’s demand is significantly higher because of the price point,” Bethay said. “You’re talking about a $350 difference.” Bethay said the interactive qualities of the Wii set it apart from its competitors. “You’re swinging a tennis racket and a golf club and a baseball bat and boxing, the whole nine yards,” he said. “It’s more participatory, and I think people like that.” In an interview last year before the launch of the Wii, Gamespot.com senior editor Ricardo Torres said he expected the Wii to revolutionize the video game industry. “It’s truly unique; it’s truly different,” Torres said. “People are actually realizing that the same types of games aren’t exactly cutting it with people any more. Not only do you need to make sure that you’ve got cutting-edge graphics, you need to actually think about the kind of experience that you’re offering. You need to do something fresh; you need to do something fun and different and interesting.” Many gamers on campus said they were not surprised to see the Wii outsell its competition. “The Wii is so innovative,” said David Suire, history senior and owner of a Wii and Playstation 3. “It’s far more fun than I’ve had playing a PS3 or a PS2 in a very long time.” Suire said he thinks the Wii has been helped by a video game market that has evolved greatly in recent years. “The market has grown to a point now that gaming is becoming so much more mainstream, and people are looking to be more of casual gamers,” Suire said. “Innovation and fun factor are the main determining things now; it’s not about sheer muscle, and I think Sony really got away from that.” Justin Hayden, information systems and decision sciences senior, said the Wii is popular because people who do not normally play video games can still enjoy it. “My mom can play ‘Wii sports,'” Hayden said. “Anybody can really pick it up and play it, but everyone can have a good time at the same time.” Hayden said the Wii is so different from other video game systems that he does not think people will continue to see it as a competitor of other systems but as a new market of its own. “Nintendo has completely separated themselves from the rest of the market,” Hayden said. “The real competition is going to be between Xbox and Playstation.”
—–Contact Michael Mims at [email protected]