Nintendo Wii is winning the third generation video game console race with whopping sales beating both Microsoft and Sony in almost every way. That is exactly why the Wii will not see a price drop like its competition. There is no reason for Nintendo to do so while the sales remain phenomenal. The Wii does have an awesome game and product lineup for 2009, and we’re gonna take a quick peek.
One neat feature Nintendo will introduce in an update is the option to download games from the Wiiware and Wiishop download section directly to an SD card. Surely, if you browse around the Wiishop and have purchased a few games online you know how space is limited on the console; sometimes you may find yourself deleting older content to make room for the new stuff. Nintendo says that will be required no more with the approaching update. Users will be able to store and play/interact with content and games stored directly on an SD card. Games available to play on the SD card?! Wow! Goodbye compact discs and DVDs.
Electronic Arts has announced for all the hardcore gamers out there that they are pushing to release “M” rated and mature content games for the older game addicts who use the Wii. Why should mature content be restricted to just the XBOX 360 and the PS3? This is great news for Wii fanboys who are sick of playing Wii sports and Rayman type kids games. Yes, they are great games but eventually adults need…well, adult games.
Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop is based on an XBOX only title which was released in 2005. The Xbox version features full HD content and hordes upon hordes of spawning zombies which was possible via the powerful console hardware. The Wii, lacking in the hardware department when compared to other consoles, certainly will not be able to handle the same graphics and power, but it can deliver fun-gaming via the Wii-motes. Capcom, the original developers, are producing Dead Rising for the Wii so it looks as if they won’t disappoint.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be released later this year for the Wii along with the other consoles. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and World at War were great ports to the Wii console and offered full support with the Wii-motes, as well as expansive online play. Let’s hope Treyarch keeps up the work and just expands on its past success here. The Call of Duty series already has become a legacy…polish is all it needs now.
I do think that this year is going to be the year of the “M” game on the Wii… there are several big M rated games and the two you just mentioned are just a drop in the bucket. Plus if the Kid Icaris rumor that it got dropped out of E3 last year in the last minutes could mean that may be a HUGE game to make its return this year.
I personally don’t care about M rated games over E rated games like others, i just look for good games regardless. However, it does bring variety to the system and I am excited to see some different and new things on the system.
That being said, I do expect a price drop this year none-the-less. Wii still outsells the competition, but the competition has been catching up slowly but surely. Especially with the 360 going for $200 now, I don’t think we will see a Wii drop that low but I wouldn’t be surprised if by Christmas season we saw it lower by $20 or $25. I didn’t think it would while the stocks couldn’t keep up, Nintendo has finally gotten Wiis consistantly on the shelves. Later this year the Wii Fit will also be on the shelves consistantly. They will want to spice things up to take something off again, I think a price drop would work better than new colors (which I think is likely as well).
Unfortunately Razak I don’t think a price drop will happen for a while; I mean think about it, the consoles are selling so well now Nintendo won’t want to miss out on more money earned. I doubt they will drop the price until sales numbers start to slump even more so.
That leads to exactly what you said though; now that the competition is catching up I’m sure they will release something unique to boost sales a little more; new colors, new bundles, etc…
The Wii is a great family system and it has some great games; but Microsoft beats everyone in the online gaming department. If even one of the other consoles could come up with such a successful online platform (Nintendo included) then the competition would be over.
Playstation 3 hardware is by far the most powerful but a terrible marketing campaign and bad pricing made it drop off for a long time; which in turn lost the platform most of it’s exclusive titles. If it’s one thing the 360 and the Wii have over the Playstation it’s the fact that both systems have a great (and large) selection of console exclusive titles. The Playstation 3 only has a handful.