Profits went way down but Nintendo is the only one of the big three that made money.

They still except to sell 26 million units of Wii hardware, to do so, they have to cut the price for the hardware. I wonder, will it be 199 US$ or 149 US$?

Yeah, Nintendo must have some cunning trick up their sleeve... new colors and a price drop, something.

Let's see if "Monster Hunter 3" can drive hardware sales in Japan significantly.

It makes no sense to lower the price, much less $100 when you are still selling more units than the competence (sometimes even combined). Even with the stumble, they are selling more units than the PlayStation 2 at a comparable time frame. I bet they hope Wii Sports Resorts and Wii Fit Plus to drive sales again, plus the black Wii (going into four years in the market and only white Wii still). They could also change the bundle (Wii Sports Resort instead of Wii Sports), or put them both in the bundle.

Capcom shipped a million units of Monster Hunter Tri, so they expect it to be a pretty big success.

They just need to stop being casual for a moment and bring out the games we want. The problem with Nintendo is that they're saving their best games too long. They've held their trump cards long enough. Now it's time for them to start bringing out the big boys. Many developers left over to Microsoft and Sony mainly due to the Wii itself. It doesn't hold up to the power of the other consoles, and because hardware equals power in the video game industry, there was no wonder Wii gets the less hype. But what saved the Wii was the fact that they reached out economically and socially with a broader audience, resulting in the high sales we see already. That's probably the only thing that saved them.

In my opinion, Nintendo should either build upon the Wii and bring out a new system to help better match the quality of the PS3 and Xbox 360, while keeping the Wii for what its good at being: a casual console. The problem lies in the fact that if they do that, then Microsoft and Sony will try to bring out their own new systems to match it. However, this would be a downside for them, mainly due to the fact that they want to prolong the life of their current systems. Nintendo is the only one who can afford to make a risk like that since they haven't take the leap yet. But with Microsoft and Sony bringing out their own wireless freedom moving controllers, it won't be long before Nintendo will have to step up.

With Nintendo releasing Wii Sports Resort, Metroid Prime Trilogy, New Super Mario Bros Wii, and Wii Fit Plus later this year, Nintendo should be selling those games pretty well to make up for these decreased profits.

And as for hardcore games, the Wii got lots of 3rd-party hardcore games like MadWorld and The Conduit, but no one's buying them. If people want more hardcore games on the Wii, we need to purchase those games to communicate to developers that there's a Wii audience that appreciates them. Otherwise, we would just have to wait for the heavy-hitters like the next 3D Mario and Zelda games, and stop complaining about how long they're taking to develop those games.

Maybe hardware isn't selling as well because mostly everyone already owns a Wii, and none of their consoles went "red". If there's any "untapped ocean" of people out there who still don't own a Wii, Nintendo is probably doing the best job out of any other company developing the most unique games that can appeal to them. Wii Fit did an excellent job accomplishing this, and future games that utilize WiiMotionPlus and the upcoming Wii Vitality Sensor can lead to more innovate games that may appeal to these people. And of course price-cuts help too.

The problem is that if Mad World and The Conduit were on any other system, they would be just as ignored, if not moreso. This is like if people started saying that hardcore games don't sell on Xbox 360 because Too Human didn't sell well. I think a genuinely good game (eg. Resident Evil 4), will sell like hot cakes on the Wii.

Well there definitely was a dry well in terms of games. Didn't they originally intend to release Wii Sports Resort in the Q1?

@ Devy : Why should they stop being casual? It's worked for them, hasn't it? It seems like it would be a big mistake to suddenly turn back and start focusing on hardcore audiences again. They need to figure out how to "hold on" to non-gamers. They are obviously trying to do this with Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus.

@ Devy
I don't see why Nintendo should bring out a new system, when it's competitors failed with much more powerful systems. The developement costs for the 360 and the PS3 are much to high to make profit from average selling titles. Activisions new pricing tries to reflect this fact. As someone stated earlier, Nintendos profits may be down, but at least they make profit, Sony and Microsoft aren't.
You say:
"Many developers left over to Microsoft and Sony mainly due to the Wii itself."
Right now it's the exact opposite.

@John: I don't mean for Nintendo to stop being casual. In fact, that's there strong point right now and I think they should hold onto it with firm iron-gripping hands. I just think that, like Derek just stated, Nintendo should continue to put out the games that work, such as another 3D zelda or Mario. Due to the length of time it takes to make games these days, it's not conventional to wait a certain number of months or years before showing the next big thing. They'll need to give the people something to expect, even if it's just a title. When they showcased the Spirit Tracks DS game, I wasn't at all interested in it because to me it was just another DS zelda game. Like everyone else at E3 this year, people were waiting for the next Zelda game installment. Fortunately, during a later interview with Miyamoto, he did state that there is one being worked on, but for now they are trying out different innovative things before they shoot it out. That gives some hope, and luckily Nintendo has leeway and the fanbase for now to hold out.

@Christian: My statement is mainly that because Nintendo's development console costs aren't high to begin with, they have the advantage right now in making a better system if they wanted to. Couple that with the fact that they have a considerable market right now and they're pretty much in the safe zone. To me, this article doesn't say anything other than what you said, which was that "everyone" or most people has a wii now. But like all good systems, Nintendo now knows that to keep their revenues flowing in, they're going to need games flowing in healthily that'll keep the consumers interested.

The Wii Sports Resort is going to be pretty fun from what I saw, but I still question what they're going to use the Wii Vitality Sensor for aside from testing one's pulse.

All I can do is wait to see what is in store for them. If you are correct in that developers will be coming over to the Wii side, then I'll keep my eye out for that possibility. The PS3 is shaky already, but the Xbox 360 is still a threat. This is Microsoft we're talking about here, after all, a company that nearly monopolized the computer industry. So it'll be interesting to see how Nintendo battles them.

@Devy Crockett: Your assertion makes no sense. Nintendo already released all of their big titles for this console generation (new Mario platform,er, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Metroid title, Zelda title, etc). And despite the fact that they usually only do one of the above types of titles within a console generation, we're still getting a new Mario platformer (Galaxy 2), another Mario-related title (New Mario Bros Wii), and a Metroid title (other M).

If anything, they're catering to their core demographic more than they have in at least a decade.

Interesting to find people around that still think Microsoft and Sony have even a slight chance of converting themselves in a threat for Nintendo, at least during this generation. It is pretty obvious whose horse will win this race, isn't it?

Sean, that they are releasing games for the hardcore doesn't mean they need them in order to continue growing. The hardcore market is very small (analysts used to put it at 60 million gamers worldwide) while the casual market could be five times that amount. What they are doing, though, is trying to balance the casual and hardcore markets.

@Sean: I apologize if I sound a bit ranty. I'm from the Nintendo, Super Nintendo, PS One, and N64 age, so it's sad to see a lower outcome of games than what we were getting a decade and some years ago. Because it costs more to make console games these days, along with an increasing demographic of indie games, you don't get that same quality as we use to. The DS and the PSP are the only sign of a consistent flow of games to play because they represent the software and time-of-production we use to have back in the day. But people enjoy the convenience of having a bigger monitor, a controller in their hand, and sitting a bit further from the screen.

To not go tangent off the topic, if Nintendo is giving a longer life to the Wii, they still need to keep bringing out games that'll keep most of its consumers happy. And to do that, I'll need to see more developers making games for it.

This sadly reminds me of the gamecube. Nintendo were the only ones making good games for it. People simply didn't buy the 3rd party games and eventually the third parties had to conceed defeat and drop the platform. Soon after the gamecube died. It's going exactly the same way for the Wii. Only EA are makning any 3rd party cash from the Wii. Others like Activision, Eidos etc. etc have tried their best but, will soon have to conceed and drop their support for it. There may be a huge number of Wii out there but, the sales for third parties is rediculously low. People who bought Wii (the vast majority anyway) simply are not interested in conventional games.

I'm excited about New Super Mario Bros. Wii. I can literally play that game with anyone, and casual gamers who don't know how to play side-scrolling platformers will be able to do so like hardcore gamers in no time.

We need more games like this that are fun for both casual and hardcore audiences. That's probably why Super Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Kart Wii, and Wii Fit sold well last year.

@Peter Dwyer: Have really Activision and Eidos tried their best at the Wii? I really doubt it. But lets face it: CoD:WW sold very well, just like Guitar Hero - so Activision has not much to complain here. And what about Eidos? What have they done besides a bogus Tomb Raider? And how has Eidos succeeded in other consoles? So, no Wii fault here - rather the inability of 3rd parties delivering quality on Wii software. EA is doing that - and getting good attention / sales for doing so.

Nintendo knows that their casual gamers are their bread and butter driving sales right now. When VP of NOA was asked why games such as Madworld and The Conduit were not selling, she simply stated she did not know. She hoped that they would eventually catch on like their top three selling games (Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Mario Kart Wii), but admitted that she is not a core gamer.

My point is, unfortunately, Nintendo is really into their new slogan: Something for Everyone. The majority of "everyone" meaning casual gamers and families.

As for The Conduit, I agree with all that if these games were on Hi-Def systems they would have scored considerably lower. The Conduit is simply an ok game. Some decent visuals by Wii standards, but horrible online, bland level design matched with unbalanced AI, and hokie story.

Once again, this Autumn/Holiday, the Wii will play second fiddle to the Hi-def systems when it comes to games, even though I am looking forward to Super Mario Bros. Wii again. As for Motion Plus, we are not stupid...other than Wii Sports Resort and Tiger, there is nothing to use it for yet!

@Peter Dwyer

The Top 5 best selling games on the Wii for 2009 showed 2 third party titles, EA Sports Active Bundle (with 630000 units) and Lego Star Wars (with 400000 units). So you really can't say 3rd party titles aren't selling on the Wii. Most AAA 3rd party titles for the PS3 and XBox360 went into developement about 2 years ago.
At this time most people didn't expect the Wii to perform so well and Sony and MS to perform so bad.
My guess is that many more AAA 3rd party titles will be published for the Wii in 18 months, cause today many publishers shy away from costy HD game developements.

I think Nintendo has made some brilliant moves. They knew long ago that their hardware doesn't match up... so they took a left turn and developed a new segment of game players that is untouched by the other two consoles.

Also they have a LONG history of being the system that non-gamers turn to and buy because the games just play well. They've continued that with the Wii. Lets not forget that unlike the other big guys, they actually MAKE money on each console.

My latest blog post talks all about how we owe Nintendo a big thank ou!

http://aboutmakinggames.blogspot.com/

Mac

@ Mac, I for one do owe where gaming has gone to Nintendo. Without their push in the 80s, console gaming could have faded into a fad.

It is no secret that Nintendo has fully created a new market of "casual" gamer that Microsoft and Sony are making pushes to seize upon.

It is simply unfortunate for the longtime core fan to have to go elsewhere for their entertainment until the next Mario, Zelda or Metroid come out.

Also, @ Peter Dwyer - completely agree.

@John: "It is simply unfortunate for the longtime core fan to have to go elsewhere for their entertainment until the next Mario, Zelda or Metroid come out."

Or make our own fan games of them, am I right? Haha. Which holds much truth, really.

@ John :"It is simply unfortunate for the longtime core fan to have to go elsewhere for their entertainment until the next Mario, Zelda or Metroid come out."

Nintendo never released a great amount of core titles from the league of Mario, Zelda and Metroid on a single console generation.
The NES saw 3 Mario, 2 Zelda and 1 Metroid Title.
The SNes saw 2 Mario, 1 Zelda and 1 Metroid Title.
The N64 saw 1 Mario, 2 Zelda and 0 Metroid Titles.
The GC saw 1 Mario, 2 Zelda and 2 Metroid Titles.
Thw Wii saw already 1 Mario Title (2 more coming up), 1 Zelda Title and 1 Mario Title.
So I don't see a big change in the ammount of releases.

I believe Christian Keichel meant 1 Mario Title (2 more coming up), 1 Zelda Title and 1 _Metroid_ Title. Also should be added that there's another Metroid title coming up, too.

And in addition, the console listing doesn't take into account handheld games, which while in some cases are considered rather different, in many ways are still important additions to the respective series' (such as Metroid Zero Mission for the GBA).

@Devy: "Or make our own fan games of them, am I right? Haha. Which holds much truth, really."

HaHa. That's what I'm talkin' about! ;)