Famitsu publisher says 67% of Wii owners aren't playing

by Kevin Kelly { Oct 16th 2007 at 12:27PM }

Are you reading this on your Wii right now? Have you fired it up and played anything lately? According to Famitsu, almost seven out of ten Wii owners aren't using the system at all, which seems like a fairly high number. This came out in a report from Enterbrain President (and Famitsu publisher) Hirokazu Hamamura which was praising Nintendo and citing big things ahead, especially for the DS platform, which he predicts will have 30 million units in Japan in 2009.

However, it makes it hard to understand how the Wii will continue to be a success if the majority of people who bought one aren't playing it. He goes on to say that part of the problem is that the Wii hasn't had a second hit that was as big as Wii Sports. In other words, he's calling the Wii a novelty. A fad that is starting to wear thin. Remember how big Tamagotchis were? If not, then we've just dated ourselves, but if so, then you'll probably also remember how quickly they vanished after they rolled in.

While he cites the attention that Wii Fit is getting, and the coming (sometime) Monster Hunter 3, we'd like to know what sort of a polling system they're using to get these numbers. It seems like these figures are pure speculation at best. We'll start our own very unofficial Joystiq poll:

Tags: Enterbrain, Famitsu, Monster Hunter 3, MonsterHunter3, Wii Fit, Wii Sports, WiiFit, WiiPlay, WiiSports

Reader Comments (Page 4 of 5)

TwEE @ Oct 16th 2007 1:58PM

I got mine this summer, so I've had Zelda, Resident Evil, Metroid prime, God Father, wii sports...ect ect.. to keep me busy.. Then theres the VC games (I'm currently kicking the snot out of super goals and ghost).

Its easy to carry around so bringing it to a party and leaving it there all night for the drunks to mess around with is easy, and since the system didn't set me back a half a grand I don't have to sit there and baby sit it..

Forgive me if somebody already said this a million times but the reason so many people are not playing it is because of the lack of really great 3rd party games.. There are a few.. but not enough. And it seems to me the reason there is a lack of great 3rd party support is because everybody wrote nintendo off long ago.. and only realized after the wii took off that they made a mistake..

They now have bigger games in development but they obviously need time to make these games and in the meantime they'll be porting anything they have over to the wii to make their presence felt on the system.. kinda like the 360's first year.. Remember that?.. Anybody? Yeah the 360 had a first year.. It didn't start with Gears of War.

Oh well Im done stating the obvious..

GoonieGooGoo @ Oct 16th 2007 1:59PM

TO be honest...I have all 3 systems and buy all games.

For my Wii....its for my nieces to play...I have a stack of games for Wii that remain unopened (Metroid 3, Mario Strikers, Etc.)

Just don't have time......when you can buy all games as they come out...there are just too many good 360 games to play. I use it even less than my PS3...as my PS3 at least plays movies (thanks to NETFLIX).

Wonderflex @ Oct 16th 2007 2:54PM

I honestly don't use my Wii at all, and haven't for a long time. There are just too few games that keep me coming back and playing. Wii sports was awesome for a long time, but now I just don't seem to play even that.

I find that most of the time I'm on my DS or my PS3 (which also has few games at the momment - but at least I can still keep going with Puzzle Fighter and Rainbow Six).

Maybe things will change here come the holiday season, but if it doesn't then I'm not all too sure how much use it will see in it's lifetime.

Word of the street(IDF-Digital Ruler). @ Oct 16th 2007 2:01PM

Not surprised at all also Japan is more hooked into the DS and PSP right now just look at the hardware charts PSP and DS in the top Wii in the thrid place.

timnc @ Oct 16th 2007 2:04PM

My Wii just sits and glows blue. I guess eventually I'll get that system update so it'll stop glowing blue. Eventually something will come out for Wii that gets my attention again.... I hope.

fuzzy @ Oct 16th 2007 2:07PM

You do realize that it's eating up power and producing heat, right?

I turned mine OFF, not to standby. I don't need it to glow blue when it has some minor update when I don't play it.

timnc @ Oct 16th 2007 3:37PM

But the blue light makes my den have a warm-fuzzy feeling.

Alan @ Oct 16th 2007 2:09PM

Mine's actually stuffed away in the closet. My PS3 is hooked up but collecting dust. My 360 gets the love everyday.

Knighthawk @ Oct 17th 2007 8:04AM

megaStryk replied to my comment with "Sounds like the PS1 and PS2, honestly."

Yeah you could say that and I would agree to some extent. However with the PS1 and PS2 there were alot more 1st party games then Nintendo's handful a year with the PS1 and PS2. There were also alot of great 3rd party games (and alot of crap ones) on the PS1 and PS2. Face it man, Nintendo has gone down hill with their 3rd party support since Nintendo 64 and will publish almost anything on their systems now adays. Sony and Microsoft are not perfect either, but they do have higher standards when it come to what titles get published on their consoles.

megaStryke @ Oct 17th 2007 9:31AM

More first-party games? I'm not so sure about that. I would love to see some lists. As for third parties, once they stop dicking around, you will see some better efforts on the Wii. Of course, you will STILL see a mess of crap. Also remember that the PS1 garnered support BECAUSE Nintendo used to be so strict. The PS2 just brought in all the support from the PS1 era. Wii, however, is trying to apologize for all the mistakes in the past, but developers are really shy and unsure.

batzarro @ Oct 16th 2007 2:12PM

It makes sense. Wii captures the great Nintendo tradition of having all good games be 1rst Party. It's been on since N64... wich is coincidentially the time I left them for good. Only now, the control and graphics manage to limit even more the possible apearance of a good 3rd party game, even a port! So, if you're a "shitty hardcore gamer that grew up between 1998-2001"(feh. cursed by birthright, I am), you might not get much Wii time(in fact, I'm surprised you got a Wii at all). And the casual gamers don't play that much, because, well, that's what casual gamer means. So this isn't a surprise. The Wii was meant for Nintendo fans who can stand in a wasteland waiting for the next Mario title, and, indeed, females and old folks who don't generaly play. Nothing wrong with that, but that's not everyones cup of tea.

Craig Ravitch @ Oct 16th 2007 2:14PM

And why would we be playing our Wii's?? There's nothing to play and everything that has come out in the last year has been luke warm at best!! Even the mightySamus couldn't get me to stop playing Bio Shock and now Halo 3!! Past Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. what's there to look foward to in 08'??

Neil @ Oct 16th 2007 3:09PM

This is what I'm afraid of and why I haven't been able to bring myself to buy a Wii. There just aren't any games on the system that I want to play. Twilight Princess is great, but it seemed easier and cheaper to get it for my Gamecube (which I did).

I played the original Metroid Prime game for 10 mins. and never played it again. The New Mario game looks interesting, but I still have misgivings about it so I'm taking a wait and see approach to it and the Wii.

borntokill @ Oct 16th 2007 3:09PM

lol, i guess the kool aid that nintendos been serving is finally wearing off. I really hope the halo kool aid runs out soon too.

WiNG @ Oct 16th 2007 4:02PM

The Halo Kool Aid is actually called

Mountin Dew GAMERFUEL.

Jon @ Oct 16th 2007 2:16PM

The last time I turned it on was last week for a system update. Noticed nothing new so I switched it off. Never turned it on since.

Beginning to regret the purchase. So far it is PS2+DS that consumes my gaming life.

Andy S. @ Oct 16th 2007 2:24PM

Actually, I fired up the Wii last night to try out the Opera browser with the new wireless keyboard I just bought.

So for the record, the BTC 9019URFIII wireless keyboard works like a champ with the Wii.

SimonBob @ Oct 16th 2007 2:30PM

Wii Sports got a lot more fun when I realized I could use Baseball as a drinking game. Get to first, take a drink. Score a run, take a drink. And of course, the third inning is the drink inning.

I don't think it's wrong that I've been using different Miis so I can get on base more often, either.

*hic*

Hohlraum @ Oct 16th 2007 2:30PM

the graphics are just really poor imo. lot of the problem is probably just the fact that i have a large tv, but its just very unappealing compared to my ps3 (which i play every day).

aka Prof Chaos @ Oct 16th 2007 2:31PM

I think that we need to take some of the comments on here with a grain of salt. I mean, how many fanboys are going to lie and say that they have a Wii and don't play it?

That being said, I DO have a Wii and haven't turned it on in months (not even for the update). I have nothing against those who like the Wii, but it just doesn't have much of an appeal for me. Somebody offered to buy mine (let's face it, they are still hard to find), but I'm holding out because I know the first party games are pretty spectacular. You may disagree, but I just don't think the Wii has that many great games right now.

Rob @ Oct 16th 2007 2:45PM

Mine sat dormant for months and months. Then Super Paper Mario came out here in the UK. And now I'm fitting in that and Halo 3. Then we have Orange Box on Friday and Metroid Prime 3 next Friday. So it's actually been receiveing the same amount of play time as my 360 in the last couple of weeks. Before that however, I used it to view my holiday photos on a 42" screen. And that's no joke for a highly anticipated £175 console that I queued up for for 8 hours a year ago.

AstroZombie @ Oct 16th 2007 3:05PM

I think a lot of the "haven't played it" votes are coming from the UK. You guys are getting screwed on the release dates.

dunnypop @ Oct 16th 2007 2:54PM

the Wii is still going to sell like hot cakes this Christmas.

Personally I haven't played the wii for the last (I don't know) months... 4 of my friends haven't touched it as well. I do have about 6 games for the system and I have no desire to play it.

But I will say, for the people who haven't played the system, and when they try it out they will be buying the system! It's so easy to play. My uncle even bought one... eventhough he didn't know how to set it up.

United Artists @ Oct 16th 2007 2:58PM

I have a Wii, but latley I hardly use it because I have so much school and a social life that is on the verge of destruction.

rokerovakero @ Oct 16th 2007 2:59PM

50% owners are women.
30% owners are above 20 years old.

Only kids have that much free time available to play. I use a lot my DS than my consoles.

rokerovakero @ Oct 16th 2007 3:01PM

did Famitsu asked about the Ps3 and Xbox360? it would be interesting to see what japanese are playing.

Russell @ Oct 16th 2007 3:43PM

I know that it is more than likely that nobody is going to read this comment, seeing as how there are already almost 150 comments to this article. I must say, however, that I still occasionally use my Wii. I haven't managed to bring myself to beat Zelda since it came out last year. I just got bored and sorta quit playing. I'm at the very end, I just can't seem to beat it. I also am in the middle of MP3, which I also need to finish playing before I just completely give up.

The most use that I have seen with my Wii has been my playing Gamecube games. You see, I never owned (or even really played) a Gamecube last generation. I have been playing a lot of Gamecube games because there are simply more of them and they are of higher quality than most of the stuff that has come out on the Wii thus far. Stuff life Super Mario: Sunshine (which I just beat about two days ago), Viewtiful Joe, Eternal Darkness, Killer 7... you just can't beat that stuff. Well, the Wii can't seem to beat it just yet anyhow.

I know for a fact that if it weren't for the backwards compatible capabilities of the Wii, the only time I would have played the Wii at all this year would have been the couple of hours that I have spent with Metroid Prime 3.

daddycool @ Oct 16th 2007 3:14PM

I voted "Wii is for girls and old people" but that's not a dis, that's really what I want to use it for.

I haven't got one yet because there aren't even enough party games out yet.

I'm sure I'll get Galaxy and SSB when I eventually get a Wii, but I'm not buying ANY system just for two or three games. Not for $250. $99 maybe.

Fullmetal Salchemist @ Oct 16th 2007 3:15PM

This news isn't surprising considering how few games we have to play on the console.

CubeGuy @ Oct 16th 2007 3:21PM

I use it for powerpoint presentations.

GoldenS1104 @ Oct 16th 2007 3:34PM

Relative to my 360, I haven't been playing my Wii as much, not due to a lack of games, but due to a lack of time. I still haven't finished Twilight Princess, but when I play that, I like to have at least an hour and a half set aside so I can enjoy myself without having to rush or save at awkward points in the game. With my 360, most of my games are online so I can pick them up an play for 15 minutes and then be done. Once winter break comes along, and I have no homework, I'm going to being playing it a lot (especially since SMG will be out). Not to mention Brawl (if it can live up to Melee) will be my favorite game of all time, so I'll definitely be getting a lot of play time out of that.

Mark A. Hill @ Oct 16th 2007 4:45PM

I bought the Wi for its potential. It's far too early to make any predictions on it. Just like any other Nintendo platform, 95% of its games are complete crap, but it's the awesome 5% that makes it worth having. The Wii just needs a little more time.

crazyman813 @ Oct 16th 2007 3:57PM

this is absolutely true. i haven't played my wii in at least 6 months. NO. FUCKING. GAMES.

that will change, however, when super smash comes out ;)

Jason R @ Oct 16th 2007 4:06PM

Honestly, after I got a PS3 the Wii hasn't gotten any attention at all. Even before that I was playing PS2 games after the initial fun of Wii wore off. I used to turn on Excite Truck for some mindless fun every now and again, but I haven't even done that in the past few months. Sad to say but I think the Wii has proven more gimmick than anything, hopefully some new games will turn that around, but I'm not holding my breath.

Rawnblade @ Oct 16th 2007 4:13PM

Haven't touched it since Super Paper Mario. Before that, it was Zelda.

I think I spent roughly a week playing each. You know those purchases you regret, but keep telling yourself someday it'll pay off?

Someday..

Mr Khan @ Oct 16th 2007 4:46PM

Well, its been off about 1/2 a month now, but that's just because of Phantom Hourglass, i have no problem finding things to do or play

But then again, i am an unashamed Nintendo-only owner since the Dreamcast's untimely death

Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Oct 16th 2007 4:50PM

I've been busy with school, so I finally got into Metroid Prime 3 this week, and it's pretty badass. I got my older sister into Big Brain Academy, and everybody else into the Everybody Votes Channel and Wii Sports. I recently did a slideshow for my friends with the Photo Channel to show all the photos I took in Japan recently. I use it more than my DVD player, and I'm pretty sure I'll be playing Guitar Hero 3 and Smash Bros. Brawl online for a million years.

I'd like to see a similar poll in a couple months, where the question is "360 owners, have you bought a game SINCE Halo 3?"

Zantac @ Oct 16th 2007 5:39PM

It was amazing how one awesome week with Prime 3 made up for 8 months of crap.

fnc @ Oct 16th 2007 10:12PM

I seriously doubt the Famitsu poll reaches the 'casual' market that is so prominent on the Wii. That said, I wonder what the casual market is buying or playing, if anything, these days. Nintendo needs to get on the ball and release an entire line of Wii Sports titles that dig a little deeper into the individual games. That'll keep the grannies lapping software up.

Disclaimer : I own a Wii, and like Wii Sports.

How long till SM:Galaxy comes out, anyway?

bm @ Oct 16th 2007 5:05PM

Uhh... alright joystiq, what's the deal with the retarded poll? No, I haven't been playing Wii Sports, I've been playing other games. Where's that option?

Fanboy blogs, ugh.

nintendoc @ Oct 16th 2007 5:18PM

I'll start by stating that i grew up in the nintendo revolution in the 80s. I have come to the conclusion that people my age and older have somewhat different tastes in games than people who are from the playstation generation. I have been a nintendo-only gamer since i tried the ps1 and found it wasn't the kind of gaming machine i was used to. Therefore I sold it, got a 64, and enjoyed it despite the dearth of games for it. I haven't been disappointed with the wii so far. It will have a zelda, metroid, and mario game within a year of release. I don't really understand what everyone was expecting. This is still nintendo we're talking about. I think a lot of you have grown up on playstation-type games and are having trouble enjoying nintendo-style games. This is similar to my experiences with the ps1. Different people will always enjoy different games. I think people are criticizing the wii a a little too much. It just may not be your thing. That's perfectly fine, ps3 and 360 aren't my thing. And guess what, I still consider myself "hardcore".

Sean @ Oct 16th 2007 5:18PM

Mine has been sitting unplugged for months now.

Evan @ Oct 16th 2007 5:36PM

It's been a very boring year for games. Outside of console shooters, very few quality AAA games were released in 2007. Most of the hyped games have either failed to impress, or been delayed to 2008. There hasn't been any (non-shooter) games for any console that has demanded my time. Most of my gaming time has been spent going back and finishing old PS2 games.

Evan @ Oct 16th 2007 5:37PM

(I'm talking about ALL consoles, not just the Wii.)

i_hate_mtv @ Oct 16th 2007 5:37PM

Man, I'm always late to the party.

I didn't vote because none of those choices are accurate as far as I'm concerned. I just started playing RE4 on my Wii again.

Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Oct 16th 2007 5:40PM

Since Joystiq slaps more or less on every second Wii game a "non-game" sticker, then the statement may be very well true.

Classical game console is targeted to teenage audience which plays say 4+ hours a day.

Casual demographics (e.g. me) composed mainly from adults has absolutely different gaming habits. They have no spare time to kill. Wii is more like entertainment to them. Like going out to movie theater.

I played a lot four months ago - WiiSports, Excite Truck. Right now I have changed jobs and I plainly do not have time to game at home. While commuting I do kill some time with help of DS. But that's all I can afford right now.

cowfish @ Oct 17th 2007 3:08AM

Nintendo don't need to get people to use it (as it states in a comment somewhere up above, the Wii isn't sold at a loss) and it still seems to somehow not always be in stock, which leads me to believe that it will be the Christmas toy to try and get yet again.

I've got a Wii and a 360 - not touched the Wii since getting the 360 and before that mainly played Virtual console games. I should really get round to picking up Paper Mario and Metroid (when it hits the UK...). But other than those two, not much interest in on the shelf wii games.