How Nintendo Became Top Dog in Spite of Itself

As of this month the Nintendo Wii has sold over 50 million units worldwide. That's significantly more than even the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 combined. The question is, how did they do it despite doing everything wrong?

Right off the bat, the Wii's tech specs are barely upgraded over last generation's Gamecube. Below is a chart outlining the minute differences between the two consoles' capabilities.


That's strike one.

One of the major evolutions in the current generation of consoles is the advent of HD gaming. The sharper and clearer picture has contributed to the major leap in overall graphics quality. According to Nintendo, it's not a priority. President Satoru Iwata recently said, "As far as the Wii is concerned, we have not found a significant reason to make it HD-compatible at this time." This coming from the same company that declared online gaming a fad. That's strike two.

Lastly, there is the the most obvious blunder. The lack of games geared toward hardcore gamers. The Wii may have struck gold with casual gamers, but hardcore gamers buy software. Halo 3 sold 2.48 million units on day one. That's more than the first week sales for both Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Mario Galaxy combined. What does this mean? It means that third party support for the Wii is at an all time low. If the Wii's first party games can't even perform on the same level as its competitors, what hope is there for third party developers? That's strike three.

Despite Nintendo's non-progressive viewpoint and poor choices, they continue to dominate the landscape. Many of you are wondering, "Isn't there room for everyone? If people enjoy the Wii, why should it matter to you?" I'll tell you why. Nintendo has shown the gaming world that you can produce inexpensive, low tech hardware and still dominate your competitors. This is dangerous for the gaming industry as a whole. What's to prevent Microsoft or Sony from producing their own versions of the Wii? Games will come to a standstill and companies will no longer be focused on breaking boundaries and pushing the limits of one's imagination. How long before Nintendo has thought of every single type of activity that can be done with a Wii remote? Golfing? Check. Fishing? Check. Lasting Appeal? Let's hope not.

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