Nintendo’s Wii steals show at Electronic Entertainment Expo

58 Comments

“Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s new Wii video game console, considered the underdog in the console wars because it lacks the high-definition graphics and multimedia features of its rivals, is stealing the show at this week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show. The wait to try out the Wii at E3 pushed past four hours on Thursday afternoon, while the wait for hands-on time with Sony Corp.’s (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 was barely 30 minutes. Both consoles will hit the market later this year, though the Wii is expected to cost much less than rival consoles,” Kemp Powers reports for Reuters. “The Wii (pronounced ‘we’) uses a motion-sensor enabled controller that looks like a TV remote and allows users to direct action on the screen by wielding it like a sword or swinging it like a baseball bat, tennis racket or golf club. ‘It’s basically a whole different thing from anything I’ve seen before,’ said Josef Faulkner, who had been waiting in line for three hours to get his hands on Wii. He still had an hour to go. ‘This is definitely the biggest thing here.'”

“‘You have to play (Wii) in order to understand what it is,’ said Don James, Nintendo’s executive vice president of operations. James said the company knew that lots of people would be drawn to Wii, but he was surprised by the sheer numbers,” Powers reports. “The enduring image of the show might end up being the enormous line, which snakes completely around Nintendo’s floor space.”

Full article here.

Nintendo gave TIME the first look at Wii here.

MacDailyNews Take: Is this Apple-related? Strictly, no. But, we tend to root for the underdog here, especially when they produce what looks like a winner. Watch out Sony and Microsoft, some people just want their games to be fun with controls that don’t require an ambidextrous murder-bent sadistic octopus with a Ph.D. to operate.

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58 Comments

  1. “some people just want their games to be fun with controls that don’t require an ambidextrous murder-bent sadistic octopus with a Ph.D. to operate.”

    That quote made reading this article worth it right there.

    Reply

  4. nintendo, inovating like apple, and including the ‘i-tunes style’ retro game download service ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />, i might actually buy the 1st console since dreamcast.

    Reply

  5. Sony seems to have forgotten that we usually see large shifts in the dominance of the console world upon each new hardware generation. Sony has bucked this trend only one time; that does not make them invincible. Obviously they must feel invincible, as that’s the only way to explain the tremendous hubris of the PS3.

    Reply

  6. I will preorder a Wii as soon as I can… it looks to be very innovative and fun… I just want my consoles to play games, thank you very much. Sony and Microsoft have made gaming confusing (2 different versions of the PS3 and XBox 360).

    Reply

  7. An Apple-related comment about Nintendo from the Times article http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,1191861,00.html …

    — start quote —

    But the name Wii not wii-thstanding, Nintendo has grasped two important notions that have eluded its competitors. The first is, Don’t listen to your customers. The hard-core gaming community is extremely vocal–they blog a lot–but if Nintendo kept listening to them, hard-core gamers would be the only audience it ever had. “[Wii] was unimaginable for them,” Iwata says. “And because it was unimaginable, they could not say that they wanted it. If you are simply listening to requests from the customer, you can satisfy their needs, but you can never surprise them. Sony and Microsoft make daily-necessity kinds of things. They have to listen to the needs of the customers and try to comply with their requests. That kind of approach has been deeply ingrained in their minds.”

    And here’s the second notion: Cutting-edge design has become more important than cutting-edge technology. There is a persistent belief among engineers that consumers want more power and more features. That is incorrect. Look at Apple’s iPod, a device that didn’t and doesn’t do much more than the competition. It won because it’s easier, and sexier, to use. In many ways, Nintendo is the Apple of the gaming world, and it’s betting its future on the same wisdom. The race is not to him who hulas fastest, it’s to him who looks hottest doing it.

    — end quote —

    Reply

  8. I love the wii–hate the name though. The game development process for the wii is not going to be closed like other systems are… it is like open source–anybody will be able to make a game for the wii, so there will be tons of games, and redos of classics, and small budget games that you would never see on a playstation or XBox. Anyway, I love nintendo and can’t wait to get a Wii.

    Reply

  10. A very pleasant surprise, as people have said that “the Wii would have less than 15% market share”. I bet that’s a lie.
    Nintendo making a comeback would be fantastic. Nintendo is the only gaming company that has stayed true to gaming only (I guess Sega and Atari both count as well, although they aren’t hardware makers anymore), and they aren’t trying to make their gaming system have a billion features, they embrace the simplicity of gaming.

    Reply

  11. I don’t really consider Nintendo the underdog. They have been doing this the longest and while Sony and Microsoft have put up bigger numbers Nintendo is actually more profitable than their systems. I still don’t know if xbox has made a profit but corporations like MS and Sony can just keep throwing money at it while nintendo just keeps making great games and profit.

    Reply

  13. The most important similitude, I think, between Nintendo and Apple is that they actually have a bussiness model.

    Both Microsoft in it’s computer department and Sony in the videogame one share one hell of a weakness: They think that market dominance is permanent, so they don’t have a bussiness model, they go with the flow, they don’t have a goal.

    Nintendo has a goal, having as much people play games, even if they never have.
    Apple has a goal, to offer a consumer oriented experience that has enough underlying power to appeal to pros.

    To Microsoft and Sony: LOOK WHAT YOU’RE DOING, GET AN ADVISOR OR SOMETHING!

    Reply

  16. Jay,

    The designation of underdog usually isn’t based on much more than public image and perception. Nintendo didn’t do GREAT with the GameCube by comparison. They’re fighting the perception that Nintendo is for kids. In the market, they’re very much the underdog because many people think so.

    Reply

  25. Can’t believe they named it ‘Wee’ instead of ‘Revolution’. Does ‘Wee’ not mean ‘to urinate’ in the US like it does in the UK. It’s like calling it the Nintendo Piss.

    Not as bad as the Toyota MR-2 in France, admittidly, but it’s still a stupid name.

    Reply

  26. This will be interesting. Sony may be shooting themselves in the foot with the price they’re looking to get.
    I think I heard Wii is going to sell for $250?
    Will the majority wait a year for the price to drop on Sony?
    I hate to see Xbox become the market leader.
    Who wants to bet sony drops the price when it releases by $100 in November.

    Reply

  27. The comment about Nintendo being the underdogs because of perception is right on.
    The reason Wii will succeed is that the people who perceive Nintendo as “kiddie” “uncool” etc. are not Nintendo’s demographic with this console. Nintendo is going for everyone else. The snot-nosed teenagers can go buy their XBOx 360 or PS3. Wii is for the rest of us.
    I know Nintendo’s strategy is working. We have a Gamecube that I picked up dirt cheap on eBay. I love the system and have a blast playing Metroid, Zelda, etc. My wife has never had an interest in games. But then I picked up Animal Crossing – she hasn’t put it down since. She plays it DAILY. That’s Wii in a nutshell. It will appeal to people like my wife, and people like me, who grew up with video games (2600, NES, SNES) but think gaming became too confusing and too violent, etc.
    Nintendo is filling a void, and there’s no doubt in my mind, Wii is going to be very successful.
    As an Apple fan, I see a lot of parallels between Nintendo and Apple. Both are VERY innovative, and have had some tough times (Virtual Boy, GameCube, etc.) In this case, Wii’s simplicity and innovation will give Nintendo a rebirth of sorts – like Apple did with iPod.
    Cool stuff really.

    Reply

  29. I’ve never had a games consol, but have often been on the brink of buying one.

    I’m going to get this one if the price is any where near what they say it’s going to be.

    Nintendo first.
    Sony is a consideration.
    Microsoft, however good or bad they are, are out of the question.

    Yes, I’m extremely predjudiced.

    Reply

  31. Is this Apple-related? Strictly, no.

    —

    Except that everything Nin has done in the last 5 years has been deliberately made to look like it came from Cupertino.

    And Nin is DEFINITELY the most vertical of the three companies

    Reply

  34. There is a parallel between NINTENDO and APPLE. APPLE has always been the leader in personal computer technology, but people tend to look at price before quality. APPLE has always been copied from MICROSOFT, and NINTENDO has always been copied from other video game producers. NINTENDO invented our way of playing video games, and APPLE invented our virtual life.

    I thought it was pretty ironic (and sad) to see that the PS3 bluntly copied the motion sensor of the Wii without even saying thank you! Like MICROSOFT horrible new OS is a pale imitation of OS X, SONY will be a pale imitation of the Wii interaction in game play.

    Even if this news did not have anything to do with APPLE, I believe that it has a parallel, and that it is good to give props to companies that are innovative and refreshing, just like APPLE.

    Thank you MacDailyNews for not forgetting the underdogs: the Real people.

    Reply

  35. Actually…. Nintendo are only the underdog in TV-linked consoles.

    Like Apple with the iPod and portable music, when it comes to portable gaming, Nintendo with GameBoys and DSes are the market leader.

    Rumor has it, that overall, Nintendo are actually the market leader in gaming.

    I’m more excited about the Wii than anything Apple has done for a few years. I’ve never owned a console nor played much games on computers, but I’m definitely getting a Wii when they come out.

    Finally, the parallels between Nintendo and Apple, as others have highlighted, definitely make it ok for MDN to have run this piece.

    MMW: Beyond. Says it all, eh?

    Reply

  37. I haven’t played many games since I turned 16, got a car, got a computer, and got a life (that was around the time the N64 came out), but I’m sure I’ll get a Wii. The only time I like video games nowadays is when I go over to someone’s house, there’s a bunch of people there, and they pop in Mario Kart or Mario Party on the Gamecube. The Wii looks intriguing because it’s a whole console devoted to making short attention span, low-commitment “party games” way more fun. I really don’t get off on ultra-realistic murder and sadism simulators, so I haven’t been at all interested in the XBoxes or Playstations.

    Reply

  38. although i followed gaming through the ps2 and xbox era, that’s around when i started getting bored with games – they were either too complicated, too focused on violence or just the same thing in a different package. nintendo is really taking a chance with the wii, but i, for one, will be getting one the first chance i get. =)

    Reply

  42. It’s all about gaming. Best of luck to Wii and death to the bloated competition. As for Ford buying Mazda, that was about a beancounter-heavy company that can’t make cars buying a beancounter-deficient company that can. And so far, Mazda seems to have managed to stay a step away from Ford’s unintended borg-like brand absorption [and dilution] exercises.

    Reply

  43. Nintendo + Apple the strongest right now… especially since nin has been adopting the apple white hardware… I have been following nintendo as of late JUST as much as apple, and i read about them HOURS a day… not to mention im 10 minutes from the US HQ… ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />

    Reply

  44. Why on earth would apple fans cheer on the wii or Nintendo?

    Nintendo has done nothing but rip off Apple in the last year. From the re-design of the Nintendo DS handheld (totally an Apple rip-off) to the naming/design of the wii and it’s logo, Nintendo is knocking Apple off right and left like a Hong-Kong mp3 player manufacturer.

    Also, Microsoft’s Peter Moore has been quoted several times actually encouraging people to buy an Xbox 360 and wii over Sony’s PS3. If Peter Moore’s “endorsement” doesn’t turn Apple fans off, I don’t know what would.

    Reply

  47. The Wii intrigues me…haven’t had a console system since SNES (though I’ve gone through the complete life cycle of the Gameboy/DS — looking forward to the DS Lite, hope it’s not a tiny piece of crud like the GameBoy Micro), will definitely take a close look at the Wii (might be time to upgrade the TV to one with front input jacks). The problem with most of the modern game consoles is that the controls are too complex for my older hands — that and most of the games are the same shoot-em-before-they-shoot-you crap (except for the sports games which I’d like to try out). I’d like to see more strategy games, more puzzle games — maybe a combination of the two. And I’d like to see more games where you use your whole body — I know several folks who actually play their kids’ Dance Dance Revolution games as part of their aerobic exercise routine! ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />

    Reply

  48. the PS3 is guna own….

    the specs for it are way good

    blue ray.
    digital HD set top box.
    7.1 surround sound.

    its a home entertainment system…

    i cant wait..!

    and also..wat kinda name is Wii….surely they coulda come up with something better.

    Reply

  49. Nintendo is not the Apple of the videogame’s market : their products are much cheaper than competitor’s ones whereas Apple’s products are (generally) more expensive. This is a huge difference. Beside this, I agree, they have the same interest for innovating.

    Nintendo’s Wii will integrate an Opera browser. I feel sorry about that : I would have preferred an Apple-Nintendo collaboration. It appears to me clearly that Apple will miss this train…

    Reply

  50. Mike Buonarroti,

    thanks! The article was a very good read.

    I’ve never bought a console although I’ve flirted with the idea of a PS.
    But I’m sold on this. With the Wii you take a truely active role in the game. That’s more fun and much healthier.

    I’m getting one.

    Reply

  52. APPLE has always been the leader in personal computer technology, but people tend to look at price before quality.

    You mean like how Apple was the leader in personal computer technology when it took them a year to catch up to dual core processors, PCI-express, DDR2, etc…until finally getting the sense to dump the doomed G5 platform? Yes, when AMD/Intel dual core processors were readily available and high end graphics were only available for PCI express for nearly a year, Apple was still “leading” computer technology with single core G5’s, AGP 8x and 400Mhz DDR.

    Or maybe you must be referring to Apple’s supreme reign in the laptop arena with its almighty G4 based Powerbook, that were the laughing stock of laptops during its time…..with a mobile G5 long promised but never delivered.

    Apple is now a PC vendor since the move to Intel. None of the “computer technology” is “designed” by Apple, not even the motherboard since Intel provides the chipset.

    Reply

  55. I’ve been waiting for Mario Bros. with full human texture maps, DOT-3 bump mapping, fog, specular, stencil and z-buffering, indexed primitives, multiple streams, and high-speed blitting.

    Wii? Oui.

    Reply

  56. Dot 3 bump mapping is old news…was a nice feature back in the days of the Geforce 2 / Radeon 8500 era, before programmable pixel shaders offered much superior and customizable implementations.

    Reply

  57. dem dere jagwires is foreign stuff ain’t they?

    I mean….sure look all covered w/ First On Race Day features and all… Huh?

    Ford makes some pretty decent trucks and cars, they actually pump tons of resources into acquisitions to keep them afloat as semi-indepenent entities.

    GM makes good stuff too…except they have way too many brands and keep marketing the same product w/ different badges.

    Both of them have huge acquisitions from japanese companies.

    So…this JAPANESE…NEVER….LET…US_US_US_BE_LIKE_ME_IDIOT_BUY comment is over the top.

    Next someone will say how they don’t hate asians, they just won’t hire any.

    Get off the nationalistic high horse. If it makes financial sense it’s a done deal…unless you’re microsoft.

    Nintendo is great. I’m sure I’ll get a revolution sticker for my wii…guess they copied apple in naming their product something totally lame ™:

    Revolution = Wii
    PowerBook = MacBookPro
    *(&^)_=Vagina

    wanna ruin some more words for us corporate types?

    The PS3 has a huge advantage in sustainability. It’s called complete backwards compatibility. Hello…it uses OPTICAL MEDIA. Just like the PS1, and PS2. Nintendo…I got so many cartridges it ain’t funny..and paying to download something I have on a cartridge…well..it’s like buying cds to replace cassettes. This is the one time sony isn’t going to get rich on a format shift so cash it in…unless you want to hump your halobox because it’s all cool and kinda glossy white looking like that other computer manufacturer.

    Wii is cool because it will be cheap, provide a few decent titles, and finally allow some good nostalgia play. It’s not going to own and it’s the lower power machine. It’s not an accurate comparison of product or company to go nintendo to APple.

    Reply

  58. This is independent in the election, all this is going to do is give more share to xbox. I was thinking of getting a PS3 but I don’t know now. Maybe M$ saw this coming and rushed out xbox and left Sony to compete with it.

    I give Nintendo a lot of credit. This is very creative. I can’t help but think, pretty risky too.

    Reply

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