The Nintendo Wii has so far been the success story of this generation. It’s sold in the millions, it’s profitable, and it appeals to a wide demographic. But will the bandwagon keep on rolling forever or is the Wii’s time due to come to an end soon?

When I first heard about the Wii, I sniggered at the name, and then I wondered what the hell Nintendo was playing at. Here was a console totally underpowered compared to the PS3 and Xbox 360, and with some funky new control method that could take off but could ultimately end in complete failure. Yes, I was a skeptic, and I very much doubt I was alone.

But the Wii seemed to grab the public’s attention like no games machine I have ever seen. Nintendo fanboys lapped it up of course, but so did other sets of gamers who were glad to get back to the fun and frivolous elements of gaming. Then the mainstream got on board and the rest is history. History that is still in the making.

The Wii is now leading this generation of home consoles by quite a margin, despite being released a year later than the Xbox 360. And while sales of the Xbox 360 have gone up and down, the Wii has consistently done well every month, with peaks at the time of big new releases. The PS3, meanwhile, hasn’t really even got started.

But how long can this Wii bandwagon roll on for? Surely there will come a time when every casual intrigued enough by the system to be tempted to buy one has done just that? Maybe not, because Nintendo keeps adding reasons for casuals to be tempted.

Look at Wii Fit, more a lifestyle device than game, which has been almost eternally sold out since it was released. That one IP alone probably convinced millions of people (probably of the fat variety) that they had to buy a Wii. Then there’s Wii Music, which despite getting poor reviews, is likely to persuade many parents to shell out for a Wii this Christmas in order to get their little cherub into music.

There are expected to be shortages of the Wii again this Christmas, the third holiday season it’s been on sale. And although this prompted me to ask who on earth was buying them, I can see this pattern carrying on for a few more years to come.

Next year will see the release of Wii Sports Resort, and alongside it, MotionPlus. This control system add-on will make the Wii a truly next-gen games machine by making the Wii Remote much more accurate than it currently is. And it’s likely to persuade even more people to give the Wii a spin, especially if Nintendo drop the price in the new year.

To answer my own question, I can’t see the Wii bandwagon ending any time soon, although I kind of wish it would. The more popular the Wii is, and the bigger lead it opens up against the PS3 and Xbox 360 in terms of sales, the more those two consoles are going to try and mimic it in order to catch-up. It may not be a dystopian future we’re facing, but it is without doubt a casual gaming one.

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Entry was posted on Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 at 11:32 am under Hardware, Industry, Nintendo, Opinion, Sales Figures, Wii.

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
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