Japanese developers concerned about Wii's future

via Games Industry


While demand for the Wii remains strong, and Nintendo's stock has reached record highs, some Japanese developers are concerned about the system's future.

According to an IGN article, citing the Nikkei Business Daily, several Japanese developers claim that Nintendo has been the only beneficiary of the Wii's success.

These develpers claim that, while Nintendo was able to predict demand for the console, other publishers were forced to play catch up, quickly producing titles which often didn't sell.

Other developers think that the Wii is a fad and that its popularity will fade. An unnamed president of one developer went so far as to tell Nikkei that "People bought it out of curiosity, and it's likely a lot of them haven't used it."

The most recent sales data from Japan showed the Wii moving just 168,000 units, which was the worst month of sales since the system was introduced in December 2006. According to the Nikkei Business Daily, companies are now "on guard for signs of a major change."