Month after month the video game industry and Nintendo in particular have appeared to defy all logic, racking up strong sales despite a general slowing in consumer spending. The trend has finally caught up with them, though, and now for the first time in recent history Nintendo has seen heavy revenue and profit declines.

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What, did Nintendo think what everyone else was doing was SMART?

They got where they were by doing their own thing, they should keep it that way.

Nintendo got where they are now with the Wii by appealing to the lowest common denominator. It is by no means a technically impressive platform. Sure its controls are somewhat innovative, but I certainly don't prefer them to any other for the games that I play.

Please explain "lowest common denominator"? What is it? I keep hearing this from "hard core" gamers who are miffed because the Wii dominates in console sales beating out XBox 360 and specifiaclly the PS3 quite handily.

And to set the record straight I don't play console games; strictly PC. I am not a fanboi of any console. I like Fallout 3, the Thief series, Command & Conquer, Age of Empires, Baldurs Gate and NWN. Yes, I agree, Nintendo does a poor job of providing more diverse and "can't miss" tiltes.

However, a LOT of people like those controllers. Many people who have bought the Wii have fun. And they do it in groups or as families.

What I have found is that a good number of "hard core" gamers dismiss the causual Wii gamer as "less than; they truly aren't gamers." Since when? They are playing games and as I said having fun. So they are gamers.

I think he's just trying to point out the casual nature of the Wii Route. And that's kind of what it is, a fun casual console for friends and family. I enjoy it for that personally and don't think any less of it or Wii gamers. We all love games and are gamers no matter the platform imo.

Anyway we all know true hardcore gamers are PC gamers ;-) .

I think "lowest common denominator" is a harsh way of putting what was really an "untapped" audience. Which were females (of all ages) and the elderly that before the Wii counted for only an extremely small percentage of gamers. I have to give props to Nintendo for coming up with the Wii and their novel controllers which ultimately attracted that untapped group.

But besides the lack of quality games, I think the Wii's novelty has worn off. People with them are playing a lot less. And indie games are now attracting that same population the Wii originally did.

For example, here's an interesting article on Big Fish online games attracting women.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009506949_womengamers21.html

You also have big hits like "World of Goo" and "Plants vs. Zombies" attracting non-traditional gamers.

I'm also a PC gamer, but don't begrudge anyone else who uses a stand-alone. As far as I'm concerned, if it helps keeping the computer gaming industry alive, then the more the merrier.

Maybe now Nintendo will remember that they're a game company, not Fisher-Price!

Since it's been said, unlike the other competitors, that Nintendo has enjoyed profits in hardware sales since release. And they haven't lowered their price as well, so they're ahead of the competition. I'd imagine that this lull between blockbuster titles hasn't hurt them as much a, say, Sony who needs software title sales to generate revenue. But it does serve as a reality check. Software titles are the point of game consoles.

Yes, they did tap into a demographic that was previously untapped by the gaming market and kudos to them. Even my mother who never really played games, at one point was telling me how fun the Wii looked.

The problem with that in my eyes isn't the casual/hardcore, console/pc or console/console dichotomy or any kind of resentment between the two groups of users. When you make an artifact "for everyone" or for an audience that would probably need the geek squad to install a toaster, you get an artifact where compromises and sacrifices have been made to accommodate such an audience. What I despise are not casual players, but the decision by designers and developers to consciously dumb down and neuter what could be a technically marvelous artifact just to increase their bottom line. And when you do such a thing you limit the enjoyment of one group in order to make the artifact more enjoyable for another group--rather than just make two separate artifacts.

I contend that the modification of an artifact in order to make it appeal to the lowest common denominator in terms of technical understanding, will more times than not leave you with an inferior artifact that is loved by many people and despised by many others, both for what it is and what it is not.

I think the problem that nintendo has started to encounter, and will probably increasinly encounter, is that they are too focused on the 'casual gamer' market. I agree with previous posts about anyone who plays games is a gamer, but I think where xbox + PS will be stronger is retaining the market/consumers they sign up. Because the wii is generally purchased by the more casual user, there doesnt seem to be the same dedication to the console, and after the first month playing the couple of games included in the bundle, the console gets pushed off the tv cabinet and forgotten about, where the xbox/ps user is more likely to keep buying more peripherals, games, subscriptions, etc etc, to keep their gaming experience going.

I could never find any stores that had a Nintedo Wii in stock. So I got so sick and tired of trying that I just gave up and bought a PSP instead.

Maybe, because I have a Wii and several games, yet all I really play is ExciteBots anymore. Even MarioKart has lost much of its appeal (although I did play with the GC controller). But you can't underestimate the social aspect of the Wii. Almost anytime I have friends or family over we play Wii Sports. One of the bars around here has Wii Bowling tournaments and I've heard of retirement homes doing the same. So even if Wii bowling loses its novelty quickly when playing by yourself, it is still fun with others. It is a bit sad when a bundle of games that came with the system is a draw for a large part of its consumers, but it still pushes units. My grandparents actually bought one after playing it at my parents house. And I got my mom one for her birthday because she liked mine so much when she was over here.

So finally the fact that Wii is a gimmick console with a short list of worthwhile titles is coming into effect...The console sales are undeniable, but I'd love to see a study of average hours of console use between Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. I'd be shocked if the 360 and PS3 didn't both individually blow Wii out of the water. I like the Wii, but it simply doesn't have "enough" in many respects for me.

well put matt , the wii , is a wee bit childish , they have some hardcore games , but its really a family console , with family games , for granny and jonny , they marketed it in a clean family fun way and made a killing , anyone seen the tricks that can be done with the wii remote http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw
jonny lee is the man