Unofficial Wii bundles make Nintendo unhappy

by Scott Jon Siegel { Dec 18th 2007 at 10:27AM }

Nintendo sure loves talking about things it dislikes. Recently we learned that Wii shortages were on the company's ever-growing list of pet peeves. Now, Reuters reports that Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is speaking up against unofficial Wii bundles, which force customers to buy the console with additional games and peripherals not of their own choosing.

We're all too familiar with Wii bundles, which artificially increase the price of the relatively cheap console. GameStop does it. Wal-Mart does it. Now, Reggie is expressing distaste over the practice, claiming that it masks the console's price advantage over its competitors, and forces customers to buy things they don't want.

Though Reggie states that Nintendo has contacted specific retailers to express their feelings, he does not address Reuters' question as to whether Nintendo threatened those retailers with fewer shipments. Reggie recently announced a plan to guarantee Wii consoles in 2008 to purchasers who pick up rain check certificates at GameStop retail locations later this week.

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

Tags: bundle, nintendo, reggie, reggie-fils-aime, reggiefilsaime, retail

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Stupidiot @ Dec 18th 2007 10:35AM

Heh, somehow this reminds me of the whole price justification thing for the PS3 over the X360.
'But you get teh blu rayz!'

"forces customers to buy things they don't want."

lol.

GRANTED @ Dec 18th 2007 10:50AM

Blueray is a feature. If you don't want bluray, don't buy a PS3. Consumers have a choice, and believe it or not, some consumers want it.

Nintendo is pissed because a retailers are determining the bundle. In Sony's case, it can determine it's own feature set. As you can tell its a huge difference you fucking troll. Get over the bluray thing, it's been the cheapest bluray player on the market for a while, stop complaining you fucking troll.

Stupidiot @ Dec 18th 2007 10:56AM

I know that very well, thank you. I wasn't trying to make a trollish comment, the phrase just reminds me of the whole thing when everyone was complaining about the PS3's price tag when it was released. Blu-ray was just one of the things that raised the price of the console that lots of people didn't necessarily want.

Try not to take things so personally, and be a little more light-hearted about it.

bounchfx @ Dec 18th 2007 11:12AM

well guess what, bluray is an annoying ass 'feature' that most people did not care for thanks to it grossly inflating the price of the system.

and sony sure as hell knows that now.

good thing it will pay off in the future.. I guess. but personally - I'm a gamer. I don't give a shit about movies. DVD is cool with me !(the extra storage will sure be nice when we actually need it)

baby sea tuna @ Dec 18th 2007 11:14AM

In case you haven't noticed, SDF'ers tend to take Sony slights a little personally.

Fernando Rocker @ Dec 18th 2007 11:21AM

Bluray is absolutely no necesary for gaming right now... just watch the best games of this year, Bioshock, Orange Box, Mario Galaxy, Metroid, Halo 3, Mass Effect, Call of Duty 4 and next year, Burnout Paradise, Smash Bros... and many more.

All this games fits perfectly in a DVD 9. With multiple languages. With HD graphics. With surround sound.

Bluray is just a trojan horse. Plain and simple.

Stupidiot @ Dec 18th 2007 11:24AM

Wow, didn't expect this. Sorry for derailing the comments here folks.

Adam @ Dec 18th 2007 2:27PM

As far as I remember blu ray isn't really a "extra" feature If all you are doing is playing games... seeing all ps3 games are on blu ray disks.

FidliousWong @ Dec 18th 2007 10:38AM

Okay, on one hand, it is annoying to have to buy bundles. Especially the huge ones.

But on the other, retailers make $8 on the Wii, well below what they would need to turn a profit and I see so many people buying the Wii and nothing else. It's nice Nintendo is getting money but the stores need some two. If Nintendo was really concerned about forced bundles, they would reduce the cost of the machine to support profit being able to cover cost of operations. After all, the old ruse of "what type of games were you wanting" gets lost when WiiSports is bundled.

SoulBlade @ Dec 18th 2007 11:01AM

Me thinks your numbers were a bit confused?

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061016-8000.html

Wii gets retailers about 12 bucks, where the 360 gets them 15. Core 360 was getting them 8 bucks.

FidliousWong @ Dec 18th 2007 11:10AM

Okay, so they make $12. But most stores need a 20% markup in order to maintain costs of operation. The hardware doesn't do that, the software does.

And I'm not defending the bundles, just saying I can see why some stores would do it.

Wilson @ Dec 18th 2007 11:30AM

Because we all know that poor Walmart and Gamestop are barely getting enough money to pay their employees

danny. @ Dec 18th 2007 11:47AM

The wii provides retailers with a huge amount of foot traffic. It's unintentional bait and switch all day everyday this time of year. They'll cope somehow.

Dale @ Dec 18th 2007 1:44PM

I have no sympathy for larger retailers. GameStop will weedle some unnecessary warranty, subscription, pre-order or used game sale out of most of the weaker-willed customers regardless.

My issue with the bundles is less that they exist and more that they force people into buying junk they don't want. The Walmart bundle I ended up buying let you choose, but from a very limited list of games and accessories.

Jason @ Dec 18th 2007 3:45PM

The only thing the bundles do is shine a very bright light on the "Verruca Salt, I want it now" complex that every kid here in America has. Parents don't want to risk having their kid grow up and murder them because they didn't get a Wii for Christmas when they were 10 so they pay $600 for a crappy bundle or the same amount on e-bay for the system and 15 games (Wii sports and Wii play.)

Plaid Ninja @ Dec 18th 2007 10:55AM

God forbid people actually go and do a little price checking on their own. Thanks for having confidence in the ignorance of the consuming public, Reg. BTW, while you're out there spewing useless arguments, hows about you talk to your developers and get them to crank out a few more games?

SoulBlade @ Dec 18th 2007 11:03AM

You wouldn't be pissed that the selling of unofficial bundles is contributing to your shortage to some degree? How about letting the consumers know what options they have and making them available rather than forcing them to buy an unendorsed package of crap that more than doubles the price of what they actually expected to pay?

dsub @ Dec 18th 2007 11:14AM

It would be a valid argument to say that it's contributing to the shortage if these bundles were in stock everywhere you went. They still sellout just as fast as the standalone console. Proving the point that, even if they were selling the system alone, it would sell just as fast. Reggie might have something to fall back on if there was some massive uprising of customers that refused to buy the bundles, but they don't seem to have any problem shelling out $550 for a Wii for little Jimmy for Christmas. They aren't charging over retail for anything. If they were it would also make sense that Reggie is mad, but a lot of these bundles actually save you some money.

It's just like the eBay thing when the 360/PS3/Wii launched. I don't blame the people selling the systems on eBay, because 9/10 of them are selling them starting at retail. It's the insane bidders and relentless parents who dare get their child anything but exactly what they want for Christmas that drive up the cost. A rich parent with a credit card doesn't know how much these things sell for in stores. All they hear is that they are impossible to find, so they just pony up and pay the cost.

FidliousWong @ Dec 18th 2007 11:14AM

I'd really hate to do this but....

These bundles are CONTRIBUTING to system shortages how? If these units were not bundled, they would instantly be snagged up, likely by people who do not have the intention to further support the console with software sales, at least not in the immediate future. Meanwhile, these bundles are essentially assuring a better tie ratio and they are often readily available, or at least achievable, in finding a unit.

The shortage will be there regardless. For many, the bundles are worth it just to avoid sleeping in front of a target overnight because an anonymous tip on the internet said new units tomorrow.

required @ Dec 18th 2007 11:36AM

I more than agree. The wii still has no games that justify getting it. In my opinion, Microsoft's XBox and Sony's PS3 are the only systems worthy attention this time around.

Seems all the wii is good for is filling our landfills with spent batteries.

SoulBlade @ Dec 18th 2007 11:40AM

fidlious -

the bundles prevent people from paying only 250 for a wii. Thus, they reduce the number of Wiis available for 250. Sorry - shoulda been more specific.

FidliousWong @ Dec 18th 2007 12:12PM

Once again, I'm not bashing the bundles nor am I defending them. But I have had people I know who were just tired of the rush for a system walk into smaller game shops and manage to find bundles and buying it without a single complaint. Why is simple, convenience.

Let's put it this way... during Sony's third christmas season, across two months, Sony managed to SHIP over five million PS2s to the US, Granted, this was directly responsible to the massive imbalance of machines to memory cards issue which would surface over the following three month period but regardless, look at that number. November and December, 5 million units. Now look at the Wii, in November, they couldn't break a million shipped. Now do you really think this is a good thing, bundles or no? The bundles make a good "plan B."

Johnnyg0 @ Dec 18th 2007 11:06AM

A store called Gamebuzz in Montreal wouldn't let you buy a Wii unless you bought 3 games + a second controller. They only told that detail to me at the cash register. I left it there, bought one at HMV the next day, got back to Gamebuzz, showed my new Wii to the manager and told him "You wouldn't sell me a Wii yesterday. That`s fine, I won't buy any games for my Wii here, I just wanted you to know". I bought 15 games since in other less restrictive stores.

Moral of the story : Piss off your customers, they will go elsewhere, and some of them will come back to heckle you.

Count Noobula @ Dec 18th 2007 11:17AM

Well done man, well done.

baby sea tuna @ Dec 18th 2007 11:17AM

That's all well and good, until you realize that you ended up with at least 8-10 bad Wii games in that deal.

Jeff Smith @ Dec 18th 2007 11:34AM

Understandable. But here's my side of it,as an independent retailer.

Wii's(and other new systems)have NO markup on them. We pay $249 for them. If someone uses a credit card , we lose money.

We are constantly having to buy games and accessories just to even have a chance of getting a few Wii's when the distributor gets some in stock. If we don't get enough MarioGalaxy's etc. , we don't get any Wii's. If I didn't sell games with it , I would just be ordering them to lose money.

Wii's are near impossible to get , and like with anything , more people will want them if they think they can make a quick buck. In my experience , packages usually discourage the scalpers from purchasing , so it can actually help the people who actually want the system find one.

If I just wanted to make $200 , I'd sell all of them I got on Ebay. As an independent store , I am simply doing what I must to survive.

In case you're wondering , my package includes - Wii , Mario Galaxies , Wii Play , and Crossbow Trainer for $369. It's not a jacked up pack , with crap games.

Get mad at the big chains all you want , but please , be nice to the little guys. It's not done to screw you.

Burnt Meatloaf @ Dec 19th 2007 8:03AM

So, now that Nintendo is actually making money on the system hardware thanks to their penny pinching, they won't share with the other children?

dsub @ Dec 18th 2007 11:06AM

The whole gamestop rain check thing isn't going to fix a damn thing. Why? Each store is only getting 10-30 consoles to pre-order. Do you have any idea how many people come into my store on a daily basis wanting the Wii? I have 25 people lined up every morning starting at 6:30. EVERY SINGLE DAY.

We get to give out 18 rain checks. That's it. What does this mean? It means that from December 21st to January 25th (the date the systems are guaranteed by) I will get to tell an average of 50 people per day that any Wii's we get in go directly to the customers that pre-ordered one. Then I will get to explain to them how we can't take any more pre-orders and how they STILL CANNOT GET A NINTENDO WII.

Thus, the only thing that changes is my reasoning for why I don't have any to sell.

phihexy27 @ Dec 18th 2007 6:24PM

"I will get to tell an average of 50 people per day that any Wii's we get in go directly to the customers that pre-ordered one."

I let me just add that 50 people per day is definitely shooting a little low. We take about 50 calls alone before 12 noon everyday for people looking for the Wii.

Count Noobula @ Dec 18th 2007 11:09AM

You tell 'em Reggie. You tell the world!

Forcing consumers to buy the bundles is retarded. At that price I would skip the Wii at Christmas (if I didn't have one already) and get a 360 or a PS3.

hi2u @ Dec 18th 2007 3:38PM

Forcing customers to buy the bundle (and in doing so, increasing the price of consoles) is potentially the best choice for a lot of retailers. If demand exceeds supply greatly for the standalone console and the retailer is still able to sell out the bundles quickly despite the higher price, then they're losing substantial money by not bundling in the short term. The retailer has no reason to care if you, or even several hundred thousand, customers decide to get a PS3 instead so long as the Wii bundles are still selling out.

hi2u @ Dec 18th 2007 3:45PM

Oh, and I realize that technically, the bundles don't rise the price of the console itself. When the games included are games that would normally sell in much smaller quantities, however, a bundle is the only profit-maximizing manner in which a big-chain retailer can respond to the shortage.

Count Noobula @ Dec 18th 2007 3:59PM

Yeah I get all that, but thanks for stating the obvious. I still hate being forced into buying a bundle I may not want.

Mort @ Dec 18th 2007 11:12AM

"a plan to guarantee Wii consoles in 2008"

Does this mean that if you pick up a raincheck it will no longer be in Jan of 08, just sometime in 08 eventually? So maybe by next Christmas you can get that Wii you paid for this Christmas.

Lord HowitHurtz @ Dec 18th 2007 11:29AM

You would think Reg would be happy about the additional push of software. From what I've been reading of late the majority of casual gamers who are buying the wii are playing nothing but wii sports and are not purchasing additional software.

Fernando Rocker @ Dec 18th 2007 11:34AM

This is for last week:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=218055

Nintendo is selling more software than the PS3. And not only in Europe, like this chart, but in everywhere.

boogeyratt @ Dec 18th 2007 11:22AM

I know this was touched on, but I'm going to reinforce the fact. If Nintendo would ship more of thier crummy Wiis the retailers wouldn't be able to get away with bundling like they are. So sorry Reggie... blame your company for creating the opportunity.

And, they did the same with the PS3.

Fernando Rocker @ Dec 18th 2007 11:27AM

But they can't ship more! They are producing at the fullest... 1.8 millions of Wii's per month.

Thats an impressive quantity.

boogeyratt @ Dec 18th 2007 11:36AM

*If* they're shipping the max they can, it really doesn't seem like it. If a store doesn't know when their next shipment's coming in, to me that says that they're not getting them frequently enough.

Also, you're telling me that the Wii has sold over 20 million units state side? Well, not according to http://nexgenwars.com/

Fernando Rocker @ Dec 18th 2007 11:40AM

They increased the production a few monts ago. Don't you read the gaming news, newbie?

boogeyratt @ Dec 18th 2007 11:41AM

Oh noes, called a newbie. That all you could come up with? =( Sheesh. There's no hope for today's youth.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Dec 18th 2007 11:59AM

Ok, let me help:

They increased the production a few months ago. Don't you read the gaming news, you stupid waste of human flesh? God, wtf is wrong with all the wii conspiracy theorists? Are you dumb enough to think that Nintendo selling less hardware is good for nintendo? Do you think Nintendo has hundreds of thousands of wii's collecting dust in a warehouse somewhere? Do you realize how retarded that position is?

Jebus.

idioteraser @ Dec 18th 2007 11:29AM

Now I don't mind bundles that aren't forced meaning you can buy the console sepeartly if they have it with only bundles being online or just say 10% of each wii shipment. Usually I only saw bundles being offered online and a few weren't actually that bad compared to last year. Even last year there were a few good bundle offers.

The ones that allowed you to pick an accessorcy from a list (classic controller for instance) six games from a list of 20 titles. Only thing you didn't have a choice was Mario Party 8, extra wiimote, nunchuck. Most people wouldn't complain about that bundle offer. I would pick up if I didn't get a wii last year since I could have gotten Fire Emblem:Radiant Dawn, Metroid Prime 3, Resident Evil:Umbrella Chronicles, Zack and Wiki, Wii play, frack forget what the six title I would have gotten was. Now that wasn't bad bundle for 700 bucks.

Fabes @ Dec 18th 2007 11:30AM

Well, I have to comment on this post.

It makes Nintendo mad when retailers bundle?

One thing Nintendo is GROSSLY overlooking here is that THEY are the ones supplying the retailers allocations based on attach and sales of DS. So NINTENDO has created their own monster here.

It is easy for Nintendo to sit high above and try and pass public blame for bundling thier systems on retailers when thier system of replenishment is the one that is causing bundling industry wide.

I think in business school this is called PASSING THE BUCK.