Nintendo stock downgraded on fears of slowing system demand

ITT Fanboys with wishful thinking.

I have trouble believing sales of the Wii will slow any time soon. Look at how the DS continues to see strong sales even after it seems that everyone on the planet must already own one. Look at how the PS2 outsells the PS3. If Wii demand ever slows down, all Nintendo has to do is drop the Wii's price, and they'll get a whole new stream of price-conscious parents to keep their sales up.

Fernando Rocker... I've read this blog for 2 days and already noticed you are one of the worst console fanboys I have ever seen. It's disgusting.

I think it's going to have to decline somewhat. Not because I think it's gonna go downhill or anything, but because it would be hard to top last year's profits.

The Wii isn't doomed yet, though just about everybody on the internet would have you believe otherwise.

What goes up must come down

But it has to go a long way down to start getting beat by the competition

People jump to conclusions around here, everyone commenting in this thread seems to think this means Wii is going to tank (and apparently eagerly awaiting said tanking)

This is the same fear mongering as the "recession" people. Let's let fear we can't do anything affect us from doing anything!

I think that Wii sales will slow down for a couple of reasons. The casual crowd Nintendo focuses on buy a Wii but don't buy many games to compliment their new purchase. This makes for a horrid attach rate.

Secondly, the core gamer either owns a Wii already or doesn’t want one. Core gamers represent about 10 to 15% of the Wii audience and with them being either owners or disinterested parties that removes a good chunk of business from the model.

I also believe that Wii sales will slow because of a poor gaming library. Aside from the AAA in house titles, Nintendo offers nothing but cheap, boring, and repetitive party games. Some of the titles are bad ports, have poor graphics, and just aren’t fun to play. Looking ahead at the release schedule this year, I don’t see a change in this trend. Games like Mario Kart will undoubtedly sell well but where are the rest of the big games?

Perhaps it’s because Nintendo’s target audience isn’t the core gamer that the Wii’s Virtual Console is mired by a sea of average to below average retro titles. Mind you I’m not speaking of games like Metroid and Zelda but the majority of VC games are lacking in appeal. The exclusion of big titles like Mega Man, Chrono Trigger, and Earthbound for any reason might well keep people from buying a Wii. The Nintendo and Sega libraries are far stronger than what’s represented on the Virtual Console.

As a Wii owner myself I have enjoyed the big titles and a small number of casual titles. As times has passed however I play the Wii less and less and I find myself suggesting other consoles to those who ask which one to buy. These interested parties are made up of both core gamers as well as casuals but rarely to I recommend picking up a Wii. I found that aside from Metroid Prime 3, the waggling the Wii remote does little more than act as a substitute for button mashing. Many find quickly as I did that you don’t have to swing a remote like a real baseball bat to hit the ball in Wii Sports. A simple flick of the wrist will do. This exposes the controller as more a novelty than an innovation.

I hear both Wii owners and non owners say the same things about the Wii as I have. With Microsoft developing a type of Wii remote this could really hurt the Wii because wit that type of controller on a system as powerful as that, it really negates what the Wii is all about.