Hey, so remember how for a few weeks, all the so called experts have been going non-stop with their “Well, Nintendo had its run, but the demand for the Wii and the DS has clearly died out, and it’s time for the PlayStation Move and Xbox Kinect to take the commanding lead”? Well, guess what: they were clearly wrong. Again.
According to Nintendo, and as reported by Kotaku, along with numerous other outlets, 1.5 million systems bearing the Nintendo name were sold across the country last week, which as we all know was the busiest holiday shopping season. That’s 9,000 units of Nintendo hardware an hour. Yikes!
Many are stating that it’s the new red tinted Wii, to help commemorate the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros, along with a pair of DSi holiday bundles that got folks all hot and bothered. That and how all three items were featured prominently in a good deal of the Black Friday sales going on.
But the same could be said for the Move and Kinect, and even though it’s way too early to say, since sales numbers have yet to be revealed, early word is that they didn’t do too hot. I know anecdotal evidence is the work of the devil, but most folks I spoke to made note of how hardly anyone in line at Gamestops and Targets across the country had anything attached to those two platforms when they were out shopping.
Though in Sony’s defense, I do know that there was a shortage of Move Motion controllers immediately after its launch, which might still be going on.
In the end, what matters the most are the games, stupid. Kinect has yet to truly excite gamers (Kinect Sports is alright, but no Wii Sports). And even though there’s a decent selection of Move compatible titles, let me ask you this: if you’re facing off against a squad in Black Ops online, which is what most folks are interested in when playing such a title, are you gonna go the fancy new way of moving your arms around or the tried and true manner? Exactly.
But don’t tell hardcore gamers these things. There’s one comment in that Kotaku post that pretty much tells the whole story:
Kid in 3 months time “Wish I had picked up a real console”
Sure dude, whatever.
Still, everyone who knows what is up is well aware of what is the most sought after gizmo for kids this Christmas – Apple’s iPad. Their iOS devices have been slowly eating away at Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft’s market share… or so we have been told. Cuz when you get down to it, that platform has its own audience, with some overlap for sure, but not a ton. Which might actually be the case if it does get into all the hands of those that want one. But it’s still quite the costly item, plus some are expecting shortages as we draw closer to Christmas Eve.
So what’s a parent to do? In the end, if they can’t get their kids the non-gaming game system they want, which again is the iPad, they’ll get the next best thing, i.e. the Wii or DS.