Could Wii outsell the PS2? Iwata thinks it can

I doubt the Wii will match PS2 sales, the novelty/fad/publicity will where off for casuals and gamers will grow tired of its tedious party games with last gen graphics.

It will certainly never match PS2 in terms of software sales afterall once you have Wii Sports do you really need another game?

I just don't get the Wii. I wish I did. Maybe because I'm 31, a more 'traditional' gamer all my life starting on a Commedore 64... I understand that the Wii is neat and fun, but I can't grasp why it is doing so well. Same goes for the DS.

I don't think the Wii will beat the PS2, but it will get close and it will definitely be Nintendo's most successful console, beating out the NES's 60 million units. The PS2 wasn't as drastically behind its competitors tech-wise as the Wii is, but the Wii is positioned to sell to just as wide (or wider) of an audience. As the Wii takes first place, more and more games will be developed for it. A large portion of these will be crap, ports, etc, but it won't matter. If even 10% of its library is worth buying, it is going to be a major success.

Unlikey I'd say;

60-80million units will ship depending on how long Ninty gives it before wii 2. That's if it stays in fashion with the 'mainstream'.

Not to mention, the PS2 still sells (so it's numbers still go up, it's around 120million now, I think)

The DS has a far better chance. Anyway, good luck to Ninty, nice to see them back from the dead.

fyi.. PS2 is over 118 million units now.

Do people really think Wii is going to be pushing PS2 numbers (250-300k/month) in 7 years?

Now, answer that honestly.. cause (1) PS2 is STILL selling.. so its a MOVING target.. the final sales number will be over 130 million units, easily. And, (2) Wii is already outdated tech wise.. its below the PS2 in terms of graphics TODAY.. how is it going to fare when PS4 and XBOX720 are out? HDTV adoption is already increasing faster than Shiggy predicted.

Now, the DS may have a chance of matching PS2 numbers.. but, again, the PS2 is a moving target.

You mean one game console may or may not sell as many units as another game console?

I'm shocked. Shocked and sleepy.

I say it'll be able to.
The Wii got off to a better start than the PS2, all it needs to do is keep the momentum going. With Galaxy, Brawl, Prime 3, Mario Kart all coming out in the next 6 months it's going to be a juggernaut in terms of sales. Just as the DS did when Mario Kart and Nintendogs hit - nothing could stop it.

In the grand scheme of things, even if the Wii doesn't outsell the PS2 it'll still be the closest any other system has got. I just can't see PS3 or 360 doing that well compared.

I'm still a little shaky on how great the Wii is going to sell in the future, even as an owner, but I'm fairly confident in its selling ability at present.

But to outsell PS2? That might be a little difficult.

Smartass joystiq.

Couldn't care less how the Wii sells. Nintendo has turned its back on gamers in favor of little children and grandmas.

How can it not outssell the PS2. The PS2 only catetered to hardcore gamers, the Wii grabs the the women, the old, the young, the casual, etc. as well as the hardcore gamers.

As stated the earlier the PS2 numbers is a moving target. I don't think they will surpass it because the wii's hardware will eventually seem out dated, and Nintendo wii probably simply release an update.

While I don't think most people really want or even desire "Grafix" right now, to keep the mass market that Nintendo is aiming at they have to continue to be "trendy". And to stay trendy (as seen with the Ipod) you have to continue to update. You don't have to use bleeding edge tech but you do need to keep it fresh and apparently "new" at least in the eyes of Joe Public.

You don't understand why the DS is doing well? Um. How about good games? The PSP might have better graphics, but 90% of the games that come out on it are crap. Plus the DS is fun.

The Wii actually DOES have good games. It's not only Wii Sports. There's Zelda, Godfather, Paper Mario, RE4. There are a lot of other good games coming out soon too.

I don't understand all this BS surrounding the Wii. It's a GOOD system that has GOOD games. There are a lot of good games for "hardcore" gamers. It's so hilarious how people are complaining that the Wii isn't "hardcore" enough. I guess if you want to be cool you gotta buy the 360 or PS3 and have fun with all the FPS games that they have.

I think whatever I make will outsell the leading thing in it's genre. Doesn't mean it's true.

"I think whatever I make will outsell the leading thing in it's genre. Doesn't mean it's true."

Wrong. Iwata said "we could exceed that". He did not say it will.

With how well the Wii is selling at $250, imagine the sales at $200, or $150, or even $100. Years down the road I could see the Wii at $100 or less. The GC went down to $80 towards the end of its life.

Meanwhile the 360 and PS3 will be between the $200-$300 range if they're lucky.

If Nintendo can keep up a good, steady flow of games and release some heavy-hitting hardcore titles (Brawl, Metroid, Galaxy) then they're set to set the snowball in motion.

Jared Rea, first of all, PS2 has shipped/sold 120.10 million units as of May 30, 2007. Way to try minimizing Sony's unprecendented success.

Second of all, PS2 was the most powerful home console at the time of its launch. Yes, it was more powerful than Dreamcast.

Third of all, it offered online play. i know the service wasnt as good as Xbox Live 1.0, but it was/still is light years ahead of the online crap Nintendo is offering/will offer (2 player Mario Strikers Charged/Pokemon Battle anyone?).

Fourth of all, PS2 offered DVD movie playback and is attributed to DVD's mainstream penetration, much like how Blu-ray HAS become the HD movie standard due largely to PS3/Blu-ray movie sales.

There is no way in hell Wii will sell 100 million plus units. It isnt worthy of being called the the PS2 of this gen.

"Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses, yearning to play Wii."

- As quoted from the Treaty of Hyrule.

Any student of history will know this as the document that effectively legalized the immigration and naturalization of millions of disillusioned gamers to the shores of Wii-topia. During the chaotic years that followed the The Seventh Console War, gamers were among those that suffered the most. Amid reports that the dreaded "red ring of death" was exactly that (anyone who saw the ring died seventeen months later), and the constant threat of what has become known as Halfassedus Motioncontrollicus, it's common name being Sixaxis Disease, gamers were being effectively routed. This story is made even more depressing when one considers the betrayal suffered by gamers at the hands of Sony and Microsoft, but I digress. At the height of the slaughter it became increasingly clear that...

- An excerpt from "Wii Pledge Allegiance"

I think the big question is how many of those PS2s were consoles bought to replace a PS2 that failed after a year. I know I bought 2 PS2s, the first I waited in line for 4 hours to get. The 2nd was about a year later after my original PS2 started only giving dirty disk errors. Nintendo would have to allow their consoles to break to get that many sold, thats how Sony did it from what I can tell.

Before Sony fanboys start, be honest and admit you got the dirty disk issues. We know tons did.

i think we are all trying to guess the size of an iceberg here. nobody will know the demand for the wii until nintendo can surpass that demand with more supply. sony dont have that problem because their supply outstrips their demand, they know the exact size of the demand for the ps3. nintendo could magically double supply and STILL not meet demand, then all of us "experts" would have to re-guess. Alternatively they could find that the demand was only slightly bigger. but we just dont know for now.

"I think the big question is how many of those PS2s were consoles bought to replace a PS2 that failed after a year."

It's not really a "big question". People who say this act as if we don't have software numbers to back up the hardware numbers. The fact is proportionally speaking, as many copies of software per PS2 are/were being sold as for any other console. And that proportion did not drop as more hardware was sold, which is what you'd expect if people were buying replacement hardware.

I just can't believe we still see this argument, as if your personal experience with your PS2 adds up to anything. Well, how about this: I have two launch PS2's (one US, one JP) and both are as good as new, still hooked up and still playing games like the day I got them. I guess that means nobody's PS2 has ever broken, right? Because my experience clearly must be the same as everybody else's, nevermind what statistics say.

Some interesting comments on this thread. Some based in reality, some not.

The Wii, Ds comparisons hold little water. A portable system does not need cutting edge tech. It needs fun games that you can play on the go for 15min at a time. You are also looking at a small screen so the lack of detail/bad graphics are minimized.

A home console is being played increasingly on a HDTV where dated hardware is more apparent in it's shortcomings not just in the graphics department but A.I. environments, physics, sound etc.

Iwata is living in one of his companies Mario fantasy lands if he thinks that the Wii will outpace the PS2. That statement not only wreaks of arrogance, it is full of ignorance also.

In 1 to at most 2 years time, the Wii will look so weak and dated that no amount of "motion control" is going to keep it going. Sure, it will still sell. It will pump out mindless mini-game after Mario after Zelda after Mario after Mini-game.

I believe even the casual gamers (except grandma and grandpa) will see their neighbors playing the 360 and PS3 on a HDTV and they will realize that what they are looking at in terms of a believable videogame experience FAR EXCEEDS their pitiful little Wii.

The disparity of the Wii and the 360, PS3 is as vast as a PSone is to an Xbox or PS2. Are you going to tell me that had Nintendo had "motion controls" during the PS2 hayday with a console comparable in power to a PSone that they would have outsold the PS2?

Developers are just about to take off the training wheels on their PS3 SDK's and they have been riding the 360 SDK's without training wheels for maybe 6 months.

In another year or two, the PS3 and 360 developers will really be pushing the hardware and the games that they create will far exceed anything we are seeing now. Maybe not as much graphics wise but the more important attributes that will make for good gameplay.

I wonder, how many Wii owners are kinda sick of their Wii already. How much has the novelty worn off?

If you are a Wii owner, I would appreciate any feedback you can give.

If you are happy with your Wii, then more power to you. But ask yourself this, will you be happy with your Wii in 1 year, how about 2? I know I will be happy with my PS3 and I also know I will be playing games that will make Killzone 2, GoW look old and dated.

Now that E3 is out of the way, we need TGS!!!

Did you expect him to say anything less?

I think it is quite possible considering the demographic that Nintendo is aimed at and to be able to keep even some (or most) hardcore gamers content with their 1st party IP's.

I think there will be more 'visually appealing' games coming out in the near future as developers begin to unlock more power and use the Wii's hardware to its full potential.

We'll have to wait and see, but I'm sure that it is a realistic possibility for Nintendo to achieve that accolade.

dont forget, the PSX remained in production for over 11 years and managed to sell 102.49 million units.

PS2 is still barely 7 years old and has already sold 120.10 million units.

by the time Sony actually stops producing PS2 systems, total hardware sales could possibly exceed even 150 million units.

They're certainly not going to be able to unless they ramp up production a little bit and lessen the artificial demand because the things are so hard to find still.
While I don't doubt this will probably be one of Nintendo's more successful, if not MOST successful, consoles, I'm not sure it'll have the steam to surpass the PS2. Still, we'll have to see how things go in the coming months.

*Cry* *Cry* *Cry* "Nintendo forgot me, the hardcore gamer" "There not making games that i would play anymore"

Stop bitchin already! The Wii is not the only console available. There's two more, pick one! An stop bitchin please.

godisamyth- I play my wii everyday and am more interested now than when I waited in line all day to get it. Oh, and you work for joystiq.

"It will pump out mindless mini-game"

The complaint against the Wii's seemingly endless supply of mini-game collections is a valid one. HOWEVER, the 360 and PS3 also have a severe handicap as far as variety of gaming goes, and that's original IPs. They simply don't exist anymore. Almost all new games are sequels to old franchises that you either like or you don't.

I know, I know. There are new games coming like Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, LittleBigPlanet, whatever. But my point is, most of what we've seen in HD has mostly been the same old crap, just with a shiney new finish.

While developers are learning to untilize the 360 and PS3 effectively, developers will also learn how to utilize the Wii motion control. So while games on 360/PS3 will get more impressive due to technical prowess, the Wii will get more impressive, creative usage of motion control outside of tacky minigame collections.

It will be an interesting battle to be sure. But I still think Wii has the best chance of beating the PS2, mostly due to its attractive price. I don't think 360 or PS3 have half a hell's chance of beating the PS2.

The DS is the only system that can beat the PS2. The Wii is selling fast but its very very hard to believe it can keep that pace after 5 years.