The Playstation 2 launched a year before the competition and dominated sales charts with great games and DVD playback. The Xbox 360 has launched a year before the competition, but has failed to generate the same buzz from the majority of video gamers. Sony enters this generation as the two-time reigning champion, but a high cost, amongst other problems, is causing gamers to look elsewhere. This alone does not mean the Wii will outsell the competition by default. The Wii must stand out as the console of choice for core gamers with no brand preference while catching the attention of casual gamers.
And it has. Quite handily.
It is no secret that video games are the lifeblood of a console. Typically it takes one year after a console’s launch to establish a solid library of games. The Wii will have a good library from day one. Benefiting from the many architectural and developmental similarities to the Gamecube, the Wii will have upwards of 30 games ready to go for launch, including heavy-hitters like Twilight Princess, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Elebits, Madden, Super Monkey Ball, and Red Steel! What is more, there will be a steady release of good games for months to follow, something that the Gamecube and N64 sorely lacked. Major third parties like Activision, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Square-Enix, and SEGA are supporting the Wii, and smaller studios are also looking to take advantage of the controller.
When it comes to sexiness, the Wii is no pushover, with a sleek design and no purple to be found. This makes the console marketable and appeals to the masses. Another point that cannot be overlooked is the Wii will outsell the PS3 this holiday season due to the sheer fact that Nintendo will be shipping many times more consoles than Sony. With high demand, the Wii will quickly catch up to the Xbox 360 in terms of total sales. And the $249.99 price tag never hurts. As far as console launches go, Nintendo has put all the pieces in place to give the Wii perhaps the best launch ever.
This is all icing on the cake, but the Wii’s success is ultimately being determined by the freshness and unique gaming experience being offered. While other companies are offering extensions of the same gaming experience we’ve had for the past ten years, Nintendo has reinvented the way we control games (yet again) with the Wii Remote. Everyone who picks up a Wiimote finds the experience to be a blast. They have fun. Smiles and laughter fill the room. Core gamers and casual gamers alike. This is what playing video games is all about. We can all create Mii characters, bowl a strike in Wii Sports, and check the weather on our Wii’s. We can also complete every dungeon in Twilight Princess, lose sleep playing Red Steel all night, and mock your friends in a Rayman-fest. How you want to play Wii is your choice, but the choice is there. The Wii reaches out to everybody, and satisfies all.
That is exactly why the Wii is about to take the video game industry by storm.