We know that Nintendo's Wii is selling well, but how much better would they have fared if console supplies were plentiful?
There's no way to know for sure, but James Lin, senior analyst at the MDB Capital Group, tells the New York Times that Nintendo may have missed out on over a billion dollars in sales. What's worse is that this figure does not include related software sales.
“It’s staggering,” said James Lin, referring to this holiday season. “They could easily sell double what they’re selling.”
Nintendo says that they've done no wrong, blaming shortages on scheduling problems and disk drive shortages.
“We don’t feel like we’ve made any mistakes,” said George Harrison, senior vice president for marketing at Nintendo of America. “It’s a good problem to have.”
Harrison does admit to a possible downside. “We do worry about not satisfying consumers and that they will drift to a competitor’s system.”
I don't know about a drift factor; I think that families and casual gamers want a Wii, and they won't settle for a Xbox 360 or PS3 instead. One thing's for sure: eBay resellers and console scalpers are making some of Nintendo's lost money for themselves.
Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site
Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools.
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Contest:
10:53 AM on 12.14.2007
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There's nothing illegal about reselling, but somehow I doubt these guys are reporting the income. Some high-profile jail time might help discourage the practice.
It's attracting people who aren't usually into video games. Say soccer mom down the street wants a Wii from her husband for xmas. They aren't going to go to the store, see that wii is sold out, and then buy her a 360 or a shitload of DVDs instead. It's in a fairly unique position in that it is what it is and there's nothing that's in so much demand right now.. except the DS.
Place all bets now when this "shortage" ends.
Let's ask you the same fuck question 100 times a day and see how composed you are by the third week of it.
...NINTENDO HAS A DORMANT VOLCANO OFF THE COAST OF MAUI FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH WII'S! THEY WON'T SELL THEM UNTIL YOU BUY A DS THOUGH!
There...does that suffice?