Comments on: Why won't Sony or Microsoft admit Nintendo is a competitor?

Don Reisinger thinks Nintendo is a direct competitor to both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. And he doesn't understand why neither company is willing to admit it.

[deconus]

I wouldn't consider a repackaged Gamecube with a motion sensor to be a competitor either. Can anyone name a Wii game that doesn't get boring after 15 minutes? Anyone? I have 3 friends with Wii's, I still have yet to play anything that has any kind of lasting appeal. Oh what about Boom Blocks!.....Or Cement Drying!....Or Grass Growing!.... Nintendo is making a bunch of money back from the Gameflop with some cheesy gimmicks and a bunch of molded plastic to shove the remote in, OH WOW SO INNOVATIVE! Maybe next generation they can actually develop a new platform....

[aztec92154]

Ever heard of a game called Wii Sport? No? How about Mario Kart?

[choclatpup]

Here's an idea that might not sit well with your readers. Get rid of your gaming consoles and send your kids outside to play "actual reality" games. When, exactly, did video games replace balls and bats, or bicycles? With everything in the news about the obesity of our young today and the answer is to create "active video games" such as the Wii Fit? Assinine!

[aztec92154]

Have you played the "Rayman Raving Rabbids" Wii game? You actually just sit on the balance board and wiggle around. You actually play the game by pressing your butt on the balance board. What will they think of next?

[colamix]

Does "Vista is a Winner" ring a bell? Microsoft is without shame, nothing to see here...move along

[AdventSign]

....Is that sarcasm? I have never really been a big fan of Vista. I tested it out and there is a lot of benefits to it although some games won't run on Vista. Windows XP is the only thing I need...some people want/need more stuff though and usually with getting more stuff the money you need to get it goes up...although there are exceptions...

[nate2551]

If you are considering the fact that all three are game consoles, yes, they are all competing. But if you are comparing the type of games PS3, 360 and WII have, then I don't think they are competing. I haven't played a single game on the WII that comes even close in quality that I have on the PS3.

[nathongunn]

Probably very few Nintendo fans will have much recollection of this, but it reminds me of how Apple and IBM completely ignored Commodore Amiga in advertising throughout the eighties. I went to the computer museum in Boston just a few years ago and the only Amiga in there was covered in a metal case so you couldn't tell what it was. Pretty hard to explain in a museum setting well after any battles have been won, but an effective strategy for marginalizing competition and useful if your idea of a museum is to rewrite history.

[revolruf]

Ha, this is great. Wii, a wonderful 'gaming' machine for those of us who ACTUALLY HAVE A LIFE! B*tch all you want about it guys but I have a blast with mine when I'm not out HIKING, BIKING, CAMPING, CANOING or other real life things that 'hardcore gaming' losers just don't seem to have time for, hmmm wonder why not? I hope it puts the other two outta business!

[dtpape]

i bet you also own a mac.

[AdventSign]

dtpape...I don't understand that comment. And the only thing that disappoints me with the Wii is that there are not many games that use the motion sensor and stick with the tried and true method. Revolruf...you can still play the playstation 3 or xbox360 for an hour or so and still have a life. Trust me the Wii will not put Playstation 3 or Xbox360 out of business. The Wii is no threat to Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 and the Xbox360 are apparently no threat to the Wii. Most of the Wii games are rated E or T while alot of the Playstation 3/Xbox360 games are T or M.....the Wii is basically not competing due to the target audience...the only way it would be "competing" would be financially with sales and profits. The Wii can exist together with Playstation 3 and Xbox360 as long as the Wii continues to aim for "family games" and the other systems aim for an older audience. From what I see right now, the Wii is sitting back while the two graphical powerhouses battle it out to see who is superior. I don't see a problem for the Wii right now because nobody is competiting against it.

[bearvp]

The Wii can't be ignored, but it is aimed at a complete different audience than the 360/PS3. The Wii has basically abandoned 'hardcore' or mature gamers by releasing very few games to satisfy that crowd and have instead released boatloads of 'casual' games that feature mini-games and very easy games meant for non-gamers to get into.

MS and Sony are going after different consumers than the Wii, so it is legit for them to say they aren't competing with them very much.

I own all 3 consoles and find the Wii to really lack any good games beyond a couple. Most of its games seem to be made for women and little kids.

[No_Spark]

This is turning out to be a really interesting debate.

I think that the XBox and PSx have superior technology in the form of a "platform" but the Wii just hit a price point and fun level that hit a much bigger market. The XBox and PSx may be break even or perhaps lose money on platform sales but hope to make it up in the game and accessory markets. (Consider the razor handle / Blade refill market). Wii happened to hit the magic number for platform cost and game cost so they are enjoying a huge financial success.

I have played all three machines and the XBox/PSx are a much more heady experience while the Wii is simple, easy, and emotionally fun. Sort of like vegatables (Microsoft/Sony) or dessert (Nintendo) or news vs comics. Both have a time and place.

However what is more interesting is that the "talking Marketing heads" at both Sony and Microsoft absolutely cannot afford failure at any level. Career limiting don't you know...... So these companies tell us what we want and like, tell us why we are wrong, and tell us how we should view their products. They become the standard onto themselves and cannot bring themselves to say in public that any feature of a competitor's (or non-competitors product, heh-heh) could possibly be better.

Consider this quote from the main article.
Sony isn't innocent either, of course. Just a few weeks later, the company's CEO, Howard Stringer, told Bloomberg that he's played the Wii and he's not impressed.

"I've played a Nintendo Wii," he said. "I don't see it as a competitor. It's more of an expensive niche game device."

Go figure... You can almost hear the talk at MS and Sony "Let's belittle this tiny box so we can feel good about ourselves and re-affirm out marketing prowess! We know what people want even if they don't! " And so many well intentioned gamers get sucked into it.

I say enjoy the technology and let's see what happens in the next generation.

[Dragon_Myr]

Microsoft and Sony don't like how the Wii completely ignores their media hub aspirations and gets gaming done right. They don't understand that lots of hardware running software shooters with linear, tedious, mindless maps and boring characters aren't the only thing that sells. In an effort to make themselves look better and make it look like they know what they're doing, Microsoft and Sony collectively ignore Nintendo's dominance in the market and discredit it for everything it does differently. They treat Nintendo like a dinosaur relic rather than the adaptable and modern company it's transitioned into. When you can't win, first rule of competition is to handicap your opponent.

Sure, Nintendo doesn't have as much third party support as they should, but they're definitely doing something right when they're beating Xbox 360 and PS3 sales combined. I don't think Microsoft or Sony knows as much about the video gaming market as they think they do and the third parties supporting their platforms are just following along riding the image of what's hip and cool. Ultimately, it's a business decision some companies, like EA, have already publicly admitted to be poor judgment.

Microsoft and Sony should start treating Nintendo as a competitor or they'll just set themselves back up for another beat down when Wii 2 or whatever it's called comes out. Putting a 3 behind your console's name didn't work. Adding in Blu-ray and HD-DVD didn't work. Promoting all these hardware specifications and tech demos didn't work. Full third party support also didn't slow down the Wii. The Wii manages to come out on top without all that extra fluff. The analysts and decision makers over at Microsoft and Sony have clearly got their face in the books and randomly flail around instead of being on the ball like the Nintendo people have been this generation.

Microsoft and Sony have forgotten what exactly makes a video game entertainment platform. Their media hubs are getting stomped on by the only true video game entertainment platform of this generation.

[Gibby29]

Uh, do you even play video games?

[Dragon_Myr]

@Gibby29
Uh, do you have a clue how well the Wii sells compared to the Xbox 360 and PS3? This is the video game industry, and regardless of whether or not the Wii is gimmicky, childish, casual, last-gen, or any of that other stuff, it's absolutely lighting the sales charts on fire. I maintain that Microsoft and Sony are in for a world of hurt when the Wii's replacement comes out unless they start recognizing Nintendo as a competitor.

It was obvious by my post that I play video games. I have played video games for a very long time. Microsoft and Sony have this ill-informed idea that cutting edge graphics, technology, and media solutions sell video game consoles regardless of price. As the Wii has consistently demonstrated, the video games market is much wider and diverse than any of those analysts at Microsoft and Sony could have predicted.

[AdventSign]

@Dragon_Myr
Wii outselling everybody doesn't mean that it is superior. As far as I understand, there is a bigger library of games on PS3/Xbox360/PC than there is on Wii. Some people are different...my friend will only play a game if it has top of the line graphics while I am attracted to hard games that make you think regardless of graphics. Think of it this way: The Wii "branched out" from what video games were in the past...they feel that things can be fun without furthering the graphics and opted to make a "different" type of system instead of improving the graphical system they had on Gamecube. The PS3 and Xbox360 feel that realism and indepth details make games more fun so they are both going that same route. I am happy that the Wii exists but I am also happy that my PC/Xbox360/PS3 exist too...the developers can make or break a game no matter how good or how innovative a system is. Good games will come out for all systems....you just got to know which ones are good and which ones were bad.

[DENOBIN]

Why are FPS' considered the only *serious* games? Is it only a serious game if you are perpetrating violence, death and destruction? It IS a differnet experience, but if you dismiss Wii as a gaming system then you also dismiss every other console up to the PS2.

[DustinFoley]

It is because nintendo isn't in direct competition with the PS3/Xbox360 for the same customer base. The nintendo Wii IS outselling any other counsel at the moment, but that is simply because there are far more people between the ages of 5-25 that only have a few hours a day to devote to social game play, and with a time limit like that, its more advantageous to invest a smaller ammount of money in a system that does the very minimal requirements.

When nintendo tries to market a system at people who want more then a 1-2 hour investment a day, then they wil be in the same court as microsoft/sony and WILL be in direct competition

[oneiros22]

No, the wii is not a direct competitor to the PS3 nor the Xbox 360. The Wii is an entirely different beast than the PS3 or Xbox.The only thing all three have in common is that they play games. You want to call the Wii a competitor, you may as well call mobile phones and PCs competitors. They all play games and far outsell the Wii. No one claims cheap cars like the Chevy Cobalt are competitors to Lexus. People, experts and consumers alike, make a distinction between the two, even thought they do the same basic thing.

But to play into the discussion, Is the Wii a better console? The two things Nintendo is doing right is the appearance of being accessible to non-gamers and working the hype machine better. And Nintendo being innovative? Please. The Wii-mote is not innovative, there's been cheap plug-and-play systems with motion sensing golf club and tennis racket "controllers" for years. Everyone needs to be honest here: If the Wii had any other name attached to it other than Nintendo, it would have been a has-been by now. The allure of having the "new" Nintendo and the "production shortages" game is still bringing people to buy the console. Look into attach rates, 3rd party sales, reviews, etc to see that the Wii is not even in the same league or above.

And if you really want to point to the true innovator in the industry, look at Microsoft. Their implementation of online connectivity/multiplayer and the dashboard were both copied by Nintendo and Sony. And the Xbox Marketplace? That COMPLETELY changed the industry. Nintendo and Sony are still playing catch-up.

[AdventSign]

Yeah Microsoft has the upper hand with being in the gaming industry AND the computer industry. Once computers first got the internet, it was only a matter of time before the internet was brought to video games. The idea is to combine a computer and a game system all in one. In theory that should be the Xbox360's strength but here has always been technical issues with Windows and some Microsoft games...the "better" they get, the easier it is to make errors in programs and games. The PS3 and the Xbox360 overheat quickly and can break down quicker depending on the parts used and the time spent working on it BUT are far more advanced than the Wii graphically....soon we will need to get water cooling for those big systems. The Wii is more simple and the parts needed aren't that expensive to get. The Wii doesn't overheat quickly but it definately isn't a powerhouse. You will probably need a storage device because the Wii doesn't have alot of room to fit game saves and updates in. The graphics will be at the VERY best Playstation 2 graphics.

Nintendo tried doing stuff like this using the Virtual Boy system a long time ago....the result was horrible.

[jamirand]

HAHAHAHA...Can you imagine hacking someone with the Wiimote or whatever that thing is call while playing GTA 4 or Knifing the enemy in one of the COD IV chapters....that will be definetely a social activity to get the party started!!!

[archimago42]

If you want to boil it down to whether the system plays video games or not, of course they are competitors but that is a pretty silly argument.

Many Wii owners will NEVER buy a Xbox 360 or a PS3 aka (my girlfriend and my mother who both own a wii but wouldn't touch the other systems if their lives depended on it). XBOX and PS owners would buy a Wii because they like videogames and Wii is something totally different from what the other systems (consoles and PCs) have to offer. We have one in my apartment just for the hell of it and because it is relatively cheap.

The difference to someone who plays Halo 3 with their friends and Fallout 3 and RTS's on their PC when along is drastic. I would never consider the Wii a substitute for a PC or Xbox 360 or PS3. That doesn't mean I wouldn't buy a Wii but it does mean the Wii does not compete for my dollars anymore than a new desk does.

[etshea]

If Wii wasn't around I would have bought a PS3. Does that make them competitors?

[Hunnter2k3]

I have to say, lol @ all the fanboyism in here.

Anyway, i have a Wii and PS3 here, might get a 360 next year, but i have a feeling Microsoft are going to do something that will make me (again) kick myself for "jumping in".
Wii barely gets any game time, in fact, i haven't played it in almost half a year, if not, then longer.
Reason? Whats with all the stupid cute and kiddy games?!

Holy crap, if anyone has ever hated Nintendo consoles for kiddy games, they must outright despise them right now.
I have a few select games that actually do stand out, No More Heroes being one of the better ones.
The only other thing there is decent is the fact it can play some Gamecube games, and previous console games using Virtual Console.
The game selection is a joke, it really is, and this is coming from a Nintendo fan who grew up with them in their gaming quest.
Every Wii game look like Clones of each other.
Oh hey, its incredibly cute and over-exaggerated people playing Golf, FIVE!
Oh hey, its incredibly cute and over-exaggerated people racing, island adventure!
I really don't like to say these things, but this is just my view on how Nintendo lost my interest.

As i am sure more people have said, Wii was just a fad.
They will continue to throw out more "party" games, and "family" games.
"IT PRINTS MONEY" comes to mind, because that is all it is for Nintendo, they don't care anymore, well, most of them don't, not like they used to.

[AdventSign]

The real problem is how do you know if they care or not? Nintendo hasn't exactly been the fairest player in game history and were sometimes known as ruthless. :/

[shigata]

They wont admit it because they largely aren't in the same market. Nintendo is not bleeding edge gaming.. it is about the casual gamer and non-gamer (parents playing wii) whereas M$ and Sony are competing head on for the regular or hard-core gamer with games that deliver bleeding edge graphics.

I own a wii and an xbox... for different reasons. Pretty simple concept here... way to drop the ball on this story

Why won't Shakespeare or Edgar Allan Poe admit Don Reisinger is a competitor? CNET seems to be throwing around the term Technology Writer pretty loosely these days. I am all for opinions but a lot of Don's facts are just wrong. Many people have already stated that Nintendo's business strategy for the Wii is nowhere in line with that of MSFT & SONY.

[aztec92154]

LOL :-) Well, the reason Don is competition with said writers is because people read his column. If no one read it, he'd be gone in a second. The fact is, people do like to read his column. They disagree, they yell, they scream, they criticize, they inform, they correct, they attack, they flame, they - you get it. I keep coming back because his articles seem to attract an insane mix of VERY opinionated people. Love it.

[warlord435]

Wow. Lots of different opinions here, the only problem is that everyone is right. Yes the Wii is a competitor and no not on the actual blockbuster games. Wii has their share of blockbusters that will work for the console, but it doesn't offer the control of a ps3 or 360. The Wii blows the ps360 out of the water with console sales, but as M$ and Sony have proved, the hardware is the least valuable part. When you sell millions of copies of halo and other blockbusters on midnight releases you don't look at how much money you lost on the console, you only care about the money that huge release that just pulled in. Lose 30-100$ on a console and make it back in a matter of months. Wii is family fun, while ps360 is for more controlled gaming where the games are ported to different systems with ease and have major revenue. Its not a console selling war, just a game selling war. Thats how the ps2 easily stayed ahead of the xbox. I leave you with these words. Is it so wrong to have the best of both worlds?

[aztec92154]

"Lose 30-100$ on a console and make it back in a matter of months." Um, dude, the PS3 is loosing money. If it were Sonys bread and butter, their stock might have bottomed out.

[AdventSign]

Yeah Sony also sells electronics such as TVs and DVD/BluRay players. In that field Sony is competing with so many other electronic companies....it is a real risktaker for them. I don't really know how they can make a profit off of the PS3.

[Rey118]

X-box and Sony are realistically looking at their target markets and who is targetting them. The Wii would have to begin offering similar titles that play as well to better or look better than the titles that the X-box and Playstation do. There are not a lot of gamers that I know of who walk into the store and think; do I want a quirky cooking game, or the new Call of Duty? The Wii simply does not have the hardware to compete with GAMER tastes. That's fine, but it has caused my Wii to collect dust as it was simply not designed for Mii (ha ha).

Nintendo knows that there is no problem with ignoring the traditional market for games. They lost that fight long ago on the Game Cube. I remember press releases about how Nintendo was going to fade into the realm of third party development. Much the way Sega was forced to do. What did Nintendo do while back into the corner of a market that had been shanghaied by fierce competitors that knew what the current market wanted and adjusted to an increasingly more "hard core" and older audience? Make a whole new audience to their liking!

Both are commendable goals and risky maneuvers. Everything from the controller design to the games were carefully designed to entice people who would have gawked at the idea of picking up a X-Box controller or PS3 controller. Once Microsoft of Sony decide they have collected a mass of fan boys that will stick with them while they march on Nintendo's door step once again and explore new options that will compete with this new market segment, maybe they will consider Nintendo Competition. Chances are this won?t happen in the form of one system that tries to appease everyone. Now that the X-box 360 has become Microsoft?s most profitable sector (according to the sales agents during my visit to the Paris Microsoft facility during July, 2008), you will likely see an entirely separate project designed to take on the Nintendo ?innovative gaming? line of consoles. After all, it?s what they did with the X-box. They had PC gaming, however consoles were lucrative enough that they invested billions to break into it. Most likely they will do the same to Nintendo?s new market sometime in the future.