Wii sales start slow in Korea
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jun 2nd 2008 at 10:25AM }
Don't feel too bad for the Wii. According to Korean game magazines, the Xbox 360 only sold 150,000 units during its first year, while the PS3 sold around 50,000. Meaning, despite not being the blockbuster it is in other regions, the Wii is still on the path of becoming the top selling (now-gen) console in the country.
[Via GI.biz]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
name123 @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:31AM
It's because it's crap.
xFenixKnightx @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:36AM
YOU'RE CRAP!!!
Blazur @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:40AM
Such a simple, yet remarkably humorous response. True too!
baby sea tuna @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:44AM
You're both right!
I love it when there's things that people can agree on!
Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:44AM
But at this point, isn't it pretty much assumed that name123 is crap? It's kind of like being a kid and having your mom interupt your time on California games to remark "you should be outside, the sun is out." Well no shit, it's 3pm during summer.
I get the same kind of feeling from name123 flames. I lovingly refer to it as Duhja Vu.
jsn @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:44AM
I think they just prefer their games with a little more subtance.
Maverick Saturn @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:54AM
:O What, like Starcraft? Yup, that has lotsa substance
bm @ Jun 2nd 2008 11:04AM
"I think they just prefer their games with a little more subtance."
Haha, you're right, and that must be why "the Wii is still on the path of becoming the top selling (now-gen) console in the country."
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 2nd 2008 12:43PM
"I think they just prefer their games with a little more subtance"
Substance + Wii= does not compute
Blazur @ Jun 2nd 2008 1:25PM
"Substance + Wii= does not compute"
Not only does it not compute, but it results in a buffer overflow error causing a data dump onto the hard drive, eliminating whatever little space you have remaining.
Booxatron @ Jun 2nd 2008 1:27PM
What hard drive?
Kendall B @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:37AM
I think a lot of the reason is the fact that you can go to any local electronics district and purchase a modded Wii with games included.
I have a friend that just returned from teaching English over there, and he said that purchasing a modded console was not only easy, but encouraged.
Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:38AM
Region locking in a market like this... fucking idiots.
PSP and Nintendo DS took off in South Korea BECAUSE they didn't have region locks. But considering DS came out in January of last year for SK, I shouldn't be suprised by Nintendos shockingly stupid tactics in the market.
*sighs*
These are the people who brought us DJ Max Portable, we should do better by them...
chez @ Jun 2nd 2008 12:05PM
Exactly. PS1, PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, Wii. Region locking is bollocks. If only all 3 were fully region free - including HD video.
Vcize @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:42AM
This doesn't surprise me that much. Isn't Korea A) more hardcore oriented and B) more PC oriented?
Plus, gaming is already mainstream in Korea so there's no need to entice people with casual games to make it mainstream like elsewhere.
baby sea tuna @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:45AM
The hardest of the hardcore. People there'll play *until they die!*
Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:53AM
Couple problems.
1. S Korea is more PC oriented because that's the only platform that truly acknowledges the region. Of all three hardware manufacturers, only Sony has been buddy buddy with Korean developers and even invested in several studios. Basically it was said before, it bears being said again. S Korea is the most wired country in the world, but it's the last priority for anyone. Sony said S Korea has the potential to become the fourth largest market. Unfortunately, nobody is really pushing into that market so the assumption that PC dominates is driven further just because the only system to make a REAL concerted effort in S Korea is PSP. And that system is doing quite well there and reaped the benefits of that push.
2. S Korea is part of the Asia region for games. Which means they only see about 30% of the Japanese games released when all is said and done. Which is ridiculous considering the region locking. Asia release games on 360 are region free. PS3 has no region locking. Nintendo is pushing region locking and launching with four games. Now if you were a South Korean, wouldn't you take these facts as blatantly hostile towards your market?
3. Bad blood. The Japanese and S Koreans hate each other. It's such blatantly racists tension that it's borderline comical. Sony had a long hard fight to make PSP accepted. Nintendo needs to put more effort in and even then, there will still be racism behind most of the decisions.
Maverick Saturn @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:56AM
The mistake people make (stereotype to a degree) is assume Koreans are the same as Japanese.
Fernando Rocker @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:45AM
They sold 40,000 in the first month, and Nintendo only sent 50,000 to Korea.
80% of the total shipment is not a bad thing.
Maverick Saturn @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:52AM
Anything to make the situation seem good ¬_¬
Fernando Rocker @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:55AM
How can be bad to sell in one month what Sony sold in one year?
Maverick Saturn @ Jun 2nd 2008 11:35AM
They all sold bad, full stop, theres no saving em ¬_¬
el serpiente @ Jun 2nd 2008 11:56AM
FERNANDOMENT UNLOCKED!: Defend poor wii sales with non-sequitir reference to PS3 sales.
ill trooper @ Jun 2nd 2008 12:15PM
Seems Fern can't gauge the success of his platform of choice by it's own merits, but rather only by comparing the competition's sales and metareviews.
You ask, 'How can [it] be bad?'
Well, 'it' can be considered a let-down because the Wii does so well everywhere else. You really have no spin on this one. I'm sure it will pick up, but that's 'how can be bad.'
xFenixKnightx @ Jun 2nd 2008 1:20PM
"FERNANDOMENT UNLOCKED"
Serpiente, that was actually funny. +1
Poisoned Al @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:48AM
If you can't play Starcraft on it, the Koreans won't buy it.
bm @ Jun 2nd 2008 11:06AM
I wonder how the N64 sold over there...
velocitySTRIKE @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:52AM
It's because they're all playing on their PCs.
Maverick Saturn @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:53AM
SCARTRAFT :)
Curmeo 2.0 @ Jun 2nd 2008 10:58AM
i heard Korea isnt too big on McDonald's either.
baby sea tuna @ Jun 2nd 2008 11:10AM
Ugh, not this shit again.
Didn't they ban you from this site?
el serpiente @ Jun 2nd 2008 11:54AM
http://cache.kotaku.com/gaming/images/MCDONALDS4.jpg
DonWii @ Jun 2nd 2008 11:12AM
I think too many people are overlooking the last sentence:
"Meaning, despite not being the blockbuster it is in other regions, the Wii is still on the path of becoming the top selling (now-gen) console in the country".
Almost as if *gasp* they only read the title.
Poisoned Al @ Jun 2nd 2008 11:46AM
But reading words is HARD! There's too many of them and it makes my brain hurt!
chez @ Jun 2nd 2008 12:09PM
You honestly expect some of the anti-Nintendo crowd to be able to read?
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 2nd 2008 12:45PM
As much as I would expect pro nintendo people to say something bad about the system or company.
chez @ Jun 2nd 2008 1:30PM
Wii needs a better graphics card just for AA.
DS Lite needs internal storage.
More Wii games need online.
Wii needs a proper Zelda game.
Yea, nice try though tmac...
Luke @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:34AM
Japan didn't do anything to korea.
7718 @ Jun 2nd 2008 12:28PM
You guys make the tension between Korea and Japan out to be some kind of joke? Do any of you geniuses have any idea the kind of torture and rape the Japanese inflicted upon the Koreans during (and before) world war 2? I am an american student of Tae Kwon Do and as part of my training I have studied the noble history of Korea. The horrors of WW2 will not be easily forgotten or forgiven by the people of Korea. The Japanese tried to obliterate there entire way of life, and the actual number of Koreans killed be the Japanese may never be known. So I think you children should not make light of things you do not understand. There are things in the world beyond the realm of videogames.
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 2nd 2008 12:47PM
Get over it.
I'm sure most jews don't go around hating germany anymore. Different era, different regime. It was over 60 years ago for christs sake
Co @ Jun 2nd 2008 1:07PM
How fitting the youngest member on Joystiq replies with that!
tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 2nd 2008 1:25PM
I'm sure there's people younger than 21 on here, like yourself maybe.
My point was it's stupid for someone to hold grudges against someone else for something that happened in WW2. The japanese don't hate us for dropping nukes on them anymore, the jews don't hate the germans anymore and no one should hate the japanese for what their militaristic expansionist regime did almost a lifetime ago.
Poisoned Al @ Jun 2nd 2008 11:11PM
No YOU are!
Luke @ Jun 3rd 2008 3:36AM
Japan didn't do anything to korea.
Carcarius @ Jun 2nd 2008 12:57PM
Japanese Items were banned in Korea untill like 1994 or 98. For those 14 to 18 years they grew on PC Games Not Console. Geez Its just not their thing Peoples.
Ridgecity @ Jun 2nd 2008 1:22PM
They should take out Wii Sports and add Starcraft. that's the only thing they play... Then it will sell billions!
liquidninja @ Jun 2nd 2008 3:38PM
I hate region locking. If Nintendo feels sad about it then I hope that stop that s***.
Wii=Awesome
Wii without region lock=Supreme ruler of the world.
chez @ Jun 3rd 2008 5:58AM
True dat.
bobartig @ Jun 2nd 2008 4:58PM
There is a definite content problem for S. Korean console gamers. My cousin, who is a hardcore gamer, learned japanese so that he could play games that will never be localized into Korean. Out of his collection of PS2 and X360 games, almost all of them were either International English, or Japanese, with very few titles in korean. Only big publishers like Capcom and EA can even take on publishing in S. Korea. What's weird is that he had the Korean version of Final Fantasy XII, which was published by EA.