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If you enjoy reading this site, you might also want to check out these Think Services sites:
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 Worlds In Motion (discussing the business of online worlds.)
 Game Set Watch (the Group's alt.game weblog.) |
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Report: Wii Manufacturing Costs Down 45% Since Launch
by David Jenkins
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April 7, 2009
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Analysts have suggested that Nintendo has been able to cut the manufacturing costs of the Wii by 45 percent since its launch, leaving the company plenty of scope for future price cuts.
The figure was suggested by Credit Suisse analyst Koya Tabata, who also argued that Nintendo could introduce a lower-priced version of the hardware in emerging markets.
Although Wii sales continue to dominate the home console market in the West, they have been underperforming in Japan for several months. With few new software titles to stimulate demand, the PlayStation 3 has outsold the Wii for the last five weeks, according to Media Create data.
Recent Enterbrain data also puts the PlayStation 3 ahead of the Wii during March, at 146,948 units to 99,335. This puts Wii sales down 63 percent on a year ago.
Commenting on the figures in a Financial Times report, a Nintendo spokesperson commented: "It is still the first few months of the year when sales are slow for the industry, so we are not particularly concerned."
The PS3 has been boosted by recent titles such as Yakuza 3 and Resident Evil 5. When asked about the lack of new titles for the Wii, the spokesperson commented: "We hope to line up strong software to support hardware sales in the second half of the year."
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Concerning the software, Nintendo has not released anything this year on Wii that has caught the eye.
Personally I think part of the problem is that the novelty or gimmick factor of the Wii has worn off. It really didnt revolutionize anything. Now this is due in large part to the fact that 3rd party developers (ie anyone not Nintendo) rarely used the controllers to their true potential, nor did they create new and unique games that were just lame versions of what the industry has already done... like really a FPS on the Wii that plays like every other FPS? Lame.
Japan is another matter. The market has been doing a portable transition, so it should be no surprise Wii will not reach half PS2 install base. I am guessing other markets will do such a shift in the future.