A Good Weekend for Nintendo's Wii
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Although there's much talk about the game console wars between Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, and Sony's Playstation 3, the Wii actually appeals to a somewhat different audience. Nintendo's Wii costs about half as much as the PS3 and the Xbox. And the Wii is geared more toward kids and new users, rather than hardcore gamers.
es, it was a good weekend for the Wii, though not so joyous for some shoppers. Reports from around the U.S. indicate that Nintendo's new game console, which competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony Relevant Products/Services's PlayStation 3, sold out quickly. Many would-be buyers went home empty-handed, in spite of braving long lines and cold weather to purchase the much coveted game console.
Leading retailer Toys 'R Us declined to comment on the specifics of Wii sales as a matter of policy, but company spokesman Bob Friedland noted that Nintendo's new console is moving briskly. "The Wii is a hot seller at Toys 'R Us," he said.
"We'll be receiving shipments for the Wii throughout the season and expect to have them throughout the holiday," said Friedland.
A Sony Shortage
With so much demand and a gift-giving season upon us, choosing and then actually finding the right console can be tough.
Most experts believe Sony's PlayStation 3, with its bleeding-edge graphics and a built-in Blue-ray DVD drive, dominates the console market. But a production snag has led the Japanese firm to cut U.S. shipments by hundreds of thousands of units, leaving a steep shortage of PS3 units.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 could benefit from Sony's bad luck, since the Xbox vies with the PlayStation for the best graphics and sleekest effects. However, a recent snag with the Xbox 360 Live service hampered sales over the long Thanksgiving weekend. Apparently, many users who tried to download games, movies, and TV shows ran into extra-long or failed downloads.
A Different Kind of Console
Nintendo's Wii is looking better and better to plenty of gamers who don't live and die by Gears of War or Madden NFL.
In fact, the Wii is designed to reach a different market completely, one that warms to its modest price tag and balks at the price of the other, more expensive consoles. At $250, Nintendo's Wii is less than half the cost of Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox. Its games are kid- and novice-friendly, geared more towards new users and not the hardcore-gamer crowd with overly muscular thumbs.
The Wii also has a few features the others don't, including the Wiimote, a motion-sensing remote control that lets users play games simply by waving their arms through the air. Just hold the Wiimote and pretend you're swinging a golf club or shooting a gun, and your on-screen character will do the same.
The bottom line? This season's gaming king is yet to be crowned -- but the battle for consumers' hearts and hands will certainly be every bit as fierce as a good round of Thrillville, Urban Chaos, or the brand-new Bully.
