Wii "an impulse buy" ?

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http://www.tgdaily.com/2007/02/01/wii_ps3_war_of_words/
Culver City (CA) - Responding to high sales figures and consumer frenzy that continue to push the Wii to a "sold out" state in stores around the world, Sony recently said that any comparison between the PS3 and the Wii is invalid.

"Wii could be considered an impulse buy more that anything else, but we believe the PS3 will be the console to attract hardcore, committed gamers, while Wii will do little beyond satisfying new and casual players," said Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) spokesperson Dave Karraker.

The PS3 was once at a level of hype unlike anything ever seen for a video game console, but once the system was actually released and first impressions from owners criticized the console, consumer interest plummeted, and last-minute before Christmas shipments largely remained on store shelves.





The two are battling to eat into the market share currently held by the Xbox 360, which continues to sell well after 14 months on the market. Nintendo contends it is the only real video game console, because the other two focus more on other media aspects, like music and movies. It is the first console battle where each of the three contenders are wildly different from each other, so predictions about which will win are all across the board.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, I remember when I bought mine. I had just purchased my grocieries for the week at Kroger, and as I was in the checkout line I looked over, said "Why the fuck not?", and purchased a Wii and a Charleston Chew.
 
oddly enough, I feel like there's some truth to that. I enjoyed my system a lot, then stopped playing it altogether about 2 weeks ago. The release list is barren-- no games are set in stone and unless Super Paper Mario comes out in April, my system would probably not be played until next Fall/Winter. Even if it did come out, I'd play that and a couple VC titles for nostalgia, some gamecube games and that's it. So I sold the system. I can't imagine what those people who just bought it for Wii sports will do.

but I'd argue against his use of the label "hardcore gamers" as Nintendo fans are pretty hardcore.

Also, the PS3 is an incredibly worse impulse buy than the Wii. The only reason to own one right now is for Blu-ray. At least the wii launch games provided 2 months of fun. Just as the 360 was when it launched. Buying a system at launch when there are no games scheduled for the better part of a year is an impulse buy, imo.
 
Sony's just jealous they're getting their ass kicked by the Wii. That wasn't even a biased statement either.
 
being a gamer I was on the line if I wanted to get one. I was up playing on xbox live around 3AM then night the Wii launched, and was just like fuck it, I may as well just stay up another 3 hours and go wait outside for wal-mart to open and buy a Wii.
 
If one could actively pick one up at any store, there might be some truth to it. However, I don't think people standing in line for hours in the December and January cold are there on impulse. It's all been premeditated up to this point.

Come summer? I could see this arguemnt being made, but not now.
 
I think he could be sorta right for the non-hardcore crowd. They may play it in the store, think "Wow this is really fun" and then buy it because they had a great time with it
 
Mine was an impulse buy on Black Friday. Woke up early and knew they were getting them in at Gamestop from CAG. Wasn't sure if I wanted one or not but figured since I was up I would stop by Gamestop (less than a mile away) and see if the line was large. Only 1 person was waiting so I figured what the heck and waited in line for an hour and a half until they opened and got one. Had a lot of fun for a couple of weeks but since my Wii has been collecting dust. I only periodically turn it on to check what classic game downloads have become available.
 
I think the guy in the article is talking about the outlook of the system, not what lead up to the moment it was bought-- that most people are buying it because they saw Wii sports at someone's house and that they may be disappointed when, after the novelty wears off, there isn't much to look forward to.

(and again, same goes for the PS3. This is the "PSP doesn't compete with the DS" line all over again.)
 
If it was an impulse buy, there wouldnt have been so many people waiting in line all night to get one and wasting hours of their lives seeking one.
 
I totally agree that its a complete impulse buy. The people who camped out were the hardcore Nintendo fans who wanted one for sure. It has turned into a well $250 isn't that much and it has motion sense OMG. I have completely ignored the Wii and continued to play my 360 and i could give absolutely TWO shits. This is the first generation of systems where I haven't owned all the systems the day they came out. I could also care less because there is NOTHING that the Wii is doing or the PS3 is doing that my 360 cant do. Dont even say motion sensing or will slap you in your pussy face.
 
[quote name='Maynard']I totally agree that its a complete impulse buy. The people who camped out were the hardcore Nintendo fans who wanted one for sure. It has turned into a well $250 isn't that much and it has motion sense OMG. I have completely ignored the Wii and continued to play my 360 and i could give absolutely TWO shits. This is the first generation of systems where I haven't owned all the systems the day they came out. I could also care less because there is NOTHING that the Wii is doing or the PS3 is doing that my 360 cant do. Dont even say motion sensing or will slap you in your pussy face.[/quote] Why because a guy who would impulse buy (A non gamer, one of Nintendo's market) wants to have fun with a system? Yeah what can the 360 do? Oh and don't say good online and graphics, a bunch of shooters. It's easy to take a key thing away from a system, aint it. The PS3 I can see why you wouldn't think but the Wii does have another element, no matter if you like it or not.
 
[quote name='6669']Apparently more people impulse bought a Wii than a PS3.[/QUOTE]


and that is funny cuz it's true!

I know I bought mine for zelda, I also, got trauma center, monkey ball, red steel, elebits and rayman raving rabbids, but I can totally see at this point, it was an impulse buy!


Although I am glad I sold my ps3 for 2000 and it bought my impulse buy (thanks sony, you are the best for paying my rent! I always knew you would do something good for me!
 
fuck sony and their PR people already. Does anyone give a shit what manner of crap comes out of their mouths anymore? You guys know they're on Sony's bill, you know they're paid to throw mud at Nintendo/MS, so what the fuck do you care what they say.. why is this news?

I think the most interesting thing is the LACK of responses to these kind of things from Nintendo. The numbers speak for themselves, and you can come up with all the excuses you want, but the Wii is kicking the PS3's ass all over the place. Even faster than it took the DS to pull away from the PSP.

All these statements show is that Sony's worried and desperate to drag Nintendo's public image (which has to be pretty good right now) down to their level (which is pretty shitty right now) because all people heard about the PS3 launch was miserable people camped out for hours to resell the system for thousands of dollars and people getting shot.
 
If a system has been sold out as long as its been out, how can it possibly be an impulse buy? The people who bought it either pre-ordered it or waited in a line. That gives you plenty of time to decide if you want it or not.
 
Mine wasn't I still play mine quite a bit. My biggest gripe is I want more "solid" games like Zelda, were I can play hours on end. Super Swing Golf, Trauma Center and Wario are fun but only for tiny spurts at a time. I can't play them more than 30 minutes. I check out the News Channel & Weather Channel almost everyday, and use it to chat with a couple pals.

But my PSP was an impulse. It hasn't been used in months.
 
[quote name='pinoy530']If a system has been sold out as long as its been out, how can it possibly be an impulse buy? The people who bought it either pre-ordered it or waited in a line. That gives you plenty of time to decide if you want it or not.[/quote]

I see what you're saying, but if it's sold out everywhere else and you see a few in the store that you're currently in, would you not then buy one impulsively knowing that you might not be able to buy one for months? THat and it's relatively cheaper than any other new console out on the market. But I see where you're going.
 
The Wii is an impulse buy system, just like the PS2 was. I even had a friend who impulse bought a Wii a few weeks ago at Walmart.
 
Sorry but to me an "Impluse" buy is an item that is always located near the checkouts in stores and sells for around $1-$5 .... not a video game console that costs $250
 
The Wii could be a impluse buy for some but so could the xbox360 or PS3 (if a certain game comes out). Anyhow, out of all the next gen consoles Nintendo benefits the most out of being an impluse purchase. Being that they profit at point of purchase (instead of through hardware and peripherals purchases) , they can afford for a customer to buy it and never use it. And if Nintendo wanted to get those casual gamers to dust off their Wii, they would just release a party-centric game (or a hot online casual game title redeveloped for the Wii) and bam they are back. Casual gamers aren't really hard to please and their games aren't high in cost of development. If anyone can handle the fickle or casual gamer, it is most certainly the Wii.
 
Ya...250 bucks an impulse buy? Heck no lol, I still don't have one cause 250 (280 Canadian...which is like 310 with tax plus other accessories and at least one game gets you to 400 easy) is too much.
 
[quote name='Boeing 747']Why because a guy who would impulse buy (A non gamer, one of Nintendo's market) wants to have fun with a system? Yeah what can the 360 do? Oh and don't say good online and graphics, a bunch of shooters. It's easy to take a key thing away from a system, aint it. The PS3 I can see why you wouldn't think but the Wii does have another element, no matter if you like it or not.[/quote]

What is the other element one game? Zelda? weak....

360 has great online establishment, great variety of games, great multiplayer with other people. Not every game is a shooter, until the Wii releases some solid titles I totally agree impulse buy based on the price. If PS3 and 360 were $250 either or would out sell the fuck out of Wii, but based on the price people are more entertained by the idea of a cheaper system and its Nintendo.
 
Reality's Fringe;2631993 said:
Yeah, I remember when I bought mine. I had just purchased my grocieries for the week at Kroger, and as I was in the checkout line I looked over, said "Why the fuck not?", and purchased a Wii and a Charleston Chew.
Click to expand...
RDTFSLMFAO (Rolling down the fucking stairs laughing my fucking ass off)
 
[quote name='Maynard'] If PS3 and 360 were $250 either or would out sell the fuck out of Wii, but based on the price people are more entertained by the idea of a cheaper system and its Nintendo.[/QUOTE]

That is like saying a Mercedes would sell more than a Kia if they were the same price. It's a completely useless argument since the 360 or PS3 could never be the systems they are at that price.

I love the 360 as much as the next guy but it wasn't exactly a beast right out of the gate either.
 
Sorry Sony, I can't buy this line here. The old rule of thumb was that $100 is an "impulse" buy. Yeah, are there some people who will blow $250 without thinking, sure. But, by the same token, there are people who will buy $600 PS3 only because it's the most expensive. Let's be honest, these aren't big chunks of the market.

Plus, for those who say their Wii was "impulse" because they aren't playing it now, I have 2 things to say:

1) Do you know what impulse means? Impulse has nothing to do with how long you play it, it's how long you think about making the purchase. Impulse purchases are times you go to the store with no intention of buying the item, but you leave with it (so, if you went to Gamestop to buy some Xbox games and leave with a Wii. it's an impulse buy.

2) It's not unusual to go through a lull of not playing a new system. I'm sure in the next few months game production will start picking up. Though, being Nintendo, I doubt it'll ever be at the level of the other 2 (I don't think Nintendo has ever released tons of games for their system at any one time).
 
Do these people even know what an impulse buy is?

"An impulse purchase is an unplanned or otherwise spontaneous purchase. One who tends to make such purchases is referred to as an impulse buyer. Impulse buying disrupts the normal decision making models in consumers' brains. The logical sequence of the consumers actions is replaced with an irrational moment of self gratification. Impulse items appeal to the emotional side of consumers."

The fact that people wait outside stores for this system, kind of ruins any argument sony has for it being an impulse buy. You aren't in most cases just walking into a store on a whim and picking one up. There is plenty of thought that goes in the decision.

Maybe the fact that they don't even know a simple and very common business term is a hint why their systems don't seem to be doing to hot?
 
Even if the Wii sales were mostly impulse buys (which they aren't), who gives a fuck? Nintendo is making a profit on the hardware, so they're making money on each "impulse" sale.

Sony wishes that the PS3 was an impulse buy. I don't see how getting the Wii into as many houses as possible is a negative thing.
 
id say a little over half of them were sold to fanboys who eat up anything nintendo puts out there. then the rest are split up between peeople who wanted to get into the next gen of gaming but didnt want to pay the inflated prices for a ps3 or 360. and some were definelty sold due to people being sucked in by the commercials the the gimmicky controller and who thought that motion controller would magically add newdepth and playability to nintendo games.


man this gen of gaming suck so bad its ridiculous. the last few gens before this one id be chomping at the bit to finally get a new console now im perfectly content to wait. theyre too expensive the games cost too much and i dont dig all the flaws and bugs the systems seem to have not to mention shady practices with online item sales and having to buy things that were once free in games. its really got me worried that gaming is going to suffer a bit from this crap but in all fairness itll take a good year or 2 to see what really comes out of these new systems.
 
[quote name='lokizz']id say a little over half of them were sold to fanboys who eat up anything nintendo puts out there. then the rest are split up between peeople who wanted to get into the next gen of gaming but didnt want to pay the inflated prices for a ps3 or 360. and some were definelty sold due to people being sucked in by the commercials the the gimmicky controller and who thought that motion controller would magically add newdepth and playability to nintendo games. [/QUOTE]

So this is your analysis in a nutshell

52% - Fanboys
26% - Poor people
22% - Want a new gimmick
 
[quote name='Rodimus Donut']So this is your analysis in a nutshell

52% - Fanboys
26% - Poor people
22% - Want a new gimmick[/quote]

yeah that sounds about right and thanks for doing the math i was too lazy to go into that much detail. but alot of whats making the wii so popular is the controller and theres a growing section of people who buy gaming consoles simply on buzz or word of mouth due to them being hyped on tv. most people here tend to chose what they buy through experience and theirown personal gaming preferences but the wii definelty got alot of powerful positive buzz all over the media world and that helped it to sell alot. that and the lower price.

and with nintendo you can pretty much gaurantee you will end up with alot of the same games youve played on previous versions of their consoles over the years so you have a better idea of what to expect in a way. sony is kinda known but still a mystery if all the buzz around the cell processor and the blu ray disk is all hype or will truly make their games sing.
 
[quote name='Rodimus Donut']So this is your analysis in a nutshell

52% - Fanboys
26% - Poor people
22% - Want a new gimmick[/QUOTE]


Of course, he doesn't really know how to break down the Ps3 sales using the same logic, so I'll do it for him:

Total PS3 sales:
90% Ebayers
8% Fanboys zomg lol
2% Ken Kutaragi
 
Reality's Fringe;2639481 said:
Of course, he doesn't really know how to break down the Ps3 sales using the same logic, so I'll do it for him:

Total PS3 sales:
90% Ebayers
8% Fanboys zomg lol
2% Ken Kutaragi
Click to expand...


lol that one sounds about right too only id say 75 percent ebayers, 15 percent fanboys and 10 percent ken kutaragi lol.
 
[quote name='starman9000']Does Nintendo really contend it's the only real video game console because it can't play movies?[/QUOTE]

Well, more because it's the only system that's meant primarily to play games, as opposed to acting as a Trojan Horse to slip a new disk format into your living room, yeah.
 
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