Wii After a Year

[PARANOiA]

No offense but your opinion on the typical Wii owner is so cliched I have a hard time believing you know many Wii owners at all. Maybe you should get to know some more before basing your stereotypes on internet chatter.

Ugh. So my dozen or so Wii-owning friends don't add up to the B3D crew as a whole. I didn't say they didn't exist, I simply mentioned my surprise that there are more Wii-hardcore gamers than 360 and PS3 gamers combined based on the GH3 charts. You're added to my ignore list. Try pulling the stick out of your ass before hitting reply next time.

Nice to see two other civil replys though - cheers, guys.

 

[Nesh]

No offense but your opinion on the typical Wii owner is so cliched I have a hard time believing you know many Wii owners at all. Maybe you should get to know some more before basing your stereotypes on internet chatter.

He didnt say that there are no hardcore owners that own a Wii. He meant that they are few and that in his personal environment he still never met one.

It is safe to bet that the majority of Wii owners are extremely casual people and the few hardcore that own a Wii most likely own another platform as well.

 

[ninzel]

Ugh. So my dozen or so Wii-owning friends don't add up to the B3D crew as a whole. I didn't say they didn't exist, I simply mentioned my surprise that there are more Wii-hardcore gamers than 360 and PS3 gamers combined based on the GH3 charts. You're added to my ignore list. Try pulling the stick out of your ass before hitting reply next time.

Nice to see two other civil replys though - cheers, guys.

Your view on Wii onwers sounds like it's basicaly pulled word for word from every other Wii thread on certain forums. Not my fault it sounds cliched.

 

[_xxx_]

Here's another "hardcore" gamer with only one console (Wii).

 

[woundingchaney]

Your view on Wii onwers sounds like it's basicaly pulled word for word from every other Wii thread on certain forums. Not my fault it sounds cliched.

Perhaps it is cliche because there is some relevance to truth. Much like the above poster (Paranoia) the people I know personally that own a Wii arent by any means "hardcore gamers" they seem to have bought the console for its casual appeal and positive word of mouth. In addition, dare I say it, they seem to be buying the console primarily for their kids for its motion based gameplay and generalized audience appeal. Although, all that own the console speak encouragingly of its "fun" centered nature.

I completely agree that some hardcore gamers are buying the Wii although this is not evident in my social environment or amongst my acquaintances.

 

[ninzel]

It is safe to bet that the majority of Wii owners are extremely casual people and the few hardcore that own a Wii most likely own another platform as well.

How do you define hardcore vs casual?I define it based on how hard people play games,how much time they put in to it and how persistent they are with any given game they choose to play. Not by how much money they have to spend or whether they insist on high def over SD.
If a person sit's down at a computer and constantly plays the hardest 2d games on an emulator to completion,is the 360 owner that has the fat wallet and is buying the latest game because it's all the buzz right now,still more hardcore?
I think that's why it would be interesting to track gamers usage. How much time do they spend on their games,do they play other systems,for how long etc?

 

[ninzel]

Perhaps it is cliche because there is some relevance to truth.

I've never really bought into that.Saying something over and over that's false to begin with,doesn't automatically make it true.

 

[fearsomepirate]

It doesn't take more than ten hardcore Wii owners to make the GH top 10. There will obviously be a certain segment of Wii owners consisting of foaming at the mouth Nintendo fans. These guys aren't going to go for GH3 on an HD console, nor are they casual gamers in the slightest.

 

[Nesh]

How do you define hardcore vs casual?I define it based on how hard people play games,how much time they put in to it and how persistent they are with any given game they choose to play. Not by how much money they have to spend or whether they insist on high def over SD.
If a person sit's down at a computer and constantly plays the hardest 2d games on an emulator to completion,is the 360 owner that has the fat wallet and is buying the latest game because it's all the buzz right now,still more hardcore?
I think that's why it would be interesting to track gamers usage. How much time do they spend on their games,do they play other systems,for how long etc?

Nah, I didnt try to imply anything about the budget spent on games. I was refering to the time spent, the elements they seek from a game and the type of games they tend to spend that time on.

 

[ninzel]

It doesn't take more than ten hardcore 360 owners to make the GH top 10. There will obviously be a certain segment of 360 owners consisting of foaming at the mouth Xbox fans. These guys aren't going to go for GH3 on anyhting less than an HD console, nor are they casual gamers in the slightest.

AGREED!

 

[ninzel]

I was refering to the time spent, the elements they seek from a game and the type of games they tend to spend that time on.

Even then I'm hesistant to jump to conclusions about what makes a hardcore gamer. Any 360 owner with an extra $60 could go and pick up Halo3,set it an easy,breeze through it in 10 hours and never touch it again. Or a Wii owner could spend countless hours mastering Mario Galaxy to completion. Which one is more hardcore.
The type of game by itself only tells my what your tastes in games are,it say's nothing to me about whether your hardcore or not. Exceptions being really simple easy games of course where there is little to no challennge at all.

 

[Nesh]

Even then I'm hesistant to jump to conclusions about what makes a hardcore gamer. Any 360 owner with an extra $60 could go and pick up Halo3,set it an easy,breeze through it in 10 hours and never touch it again. Or a Wii owner could spend countless hours mastering Mario Galaxy to completion. Which one is more hardcore.
The type of game by itself only tells my what your tastes in games are,it say's nothing to me about whether your hardcore or not. Exceptions being really simple easy games of course where there is little to no challennge at all.

Well it is obvious that hardcore and casuals exist on all formats, and that there are various types of casuals.

Comparing someone playing Halo with someone playing Mario Galaxy is like comparing apples to oranges and we isolate the examples too much. Ofcourse you cant jump to ocnlusions. Its like taking a sample of 2 observations and try to extract statistical conclusions.

How many games do people buy, what type of games are these, what exactly do these people seek from the games they buy, and how many hours do they spend on them? It is an observation of many people not of just a few isolated occasions,

If you just take one game on each console and create scenarios, well you wont be able to extract any conclusions about the type of gamers participating on a format.

 

[ninzel]

Well it is obvious that hardcore and casuals exist on all formats, and that there are various types of casuals.

Comparing someone playing Halo with someone playing Mario Galaxy is like comparing apples to oranges and we isolate the examples too much. Ofcourse you cant jump to ocnlusions. Its like taking a sample of 2 observations and try to extract statistical conclusions.

How many games do people buy, what type of games are these, what exactly do these people seek from the games they buy, and how many hours do they spend on them? It is an observation of many people not of just a few isolated occasions,

If you just take one game on each console and create scenarios, well you wont be able to extract any conclusions about the type of gamers participating on a format.

I really don't think that we have enough data about the exact usage of each system to jump to any conclusions,which is why I advocate stopping the stereotyping and comments meant to diminish, and giving each system and gamer the respect they deserve.
Like the money issue.
The 360 due to it's price could be attracting a more affluent gamer. The Wii a less affluent one. Again though it says nothing to me about hardcore vs casual.
Person A could buy a Wii game for $50 which might represent 25% of their weekly income.
Person B could buy a $60 360 game which represents 5% of their weekly income.
Who's making the relatively greater sacrifice to game?
Or how about a poor gamer who rents but plays the crap out of games? The guy with the 360 who has the cash to buy the latest game every month get's to buy his status as a hardcore gamer?
I think money spent is a factor for sure,but in relative terms not absolute and if it's spent in conjunction with hardcore playing.
If a person plays only HD games with a scowling male character that blows stuff up,does that make you hardcore are just a fan of a particular genre and technology?
How about deep complex storylines,is that hardcore or just make you a fan of good stories?
Ultimately IMO it comes down to playing with passion and committment.

 

[Cryect]

Like the money issue.
The 360 due to it's price could be attracting a more affluent gamer. The Wii a less affluent one.

Amusingly it was actually the opposite in some study I seem to recall (only wish I could remember the name of it). Makes sense when the type of "traditional" gamers people think of aren't really the executive type and somehow Nintendo has expanded who seems to be buying them (for better or worse).

 

[ninzel]

Amusingly it was actually the opposite in some study I seem to recall (only wish I could remember the name of it). Makes sense when the type of "traditional" gamers people think of aren't really the executive type and somehow Nintendo has expanded who seems to be buying them (for better or worse).

I think a few things are happening with the Wii..possibly.
The Wii might be attractimg more affluent parents,while the 360 is being purchased by the primary gamer themselves.
360 is appealing to it's base,Nintendo is trying to expand it's base. MS is making games for gamers that are already there,Nintendo is trying to make games to attract gamers that aren't already there. Which would partly explain poor third party sales. Just some thoughts.

 

[_xxx_]

Wii is definitely attracting a buttload of non-gamers. I personally know at least 20 people who never gamed before Wii and now bought it just to have some "social" fun with their kids, friends etc. The TV-ads and word of mouth were enough to make them buy it. So it's definitely not the hardcore bunch who made Wii successful.

 

[Arwin]

We just had a guest over and in her circle (fairly affluent, though fairly young too) there were a lot of Wii's ... she describes the way they were bought as your typical trendy, whimsical purchase. That's not to say anything about it's value, but I think it shows that the Wii combines the right price with the right amount of novelty to be a fashion hit. Again, that also says nothing about it's long term value, not in the least. Just sharing some more anecdotal data here.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

If you like the Wii it's pretty easy to pick one up for only $250 with its built-in game. Not a lot of money really.

 

[Teasy]

He didnt say that there are no hardcore owners that own a Wii. He meant that they are few and that in his personal environment he still never met one.

It is safe to bet that the majority of Wii owners are extremely casual people and the few hardcore that own a Wii most likely own another platform as well.

Its safe to say you make far too many assumptions. I mean how do you know that the majority of Wii owners are this and the few are that? If you're going to continue making these wild claims then at least try to back them up with fact.

BTW did you know that the majority of PS3 owners have blonde hair?.. I think that's a safe bet, because everyone I know who owns a PS3 has blonde hair and someone also said it was a fact on a website somewhere that I can't remember the link to, but its definitely a safe bet, honest...

 

[liuelson]

If you like the Wii it's pretty easy to pick one up for only $250 with its built-in game. Not a lot of money really.

Yes and no. Take your standard supply/demand curve, and draw a straight line at the supply-constrained quantity, and you'll have 2 price intersections. One is the $250 for which Nintendo is manufacturing, and the other is the ~$500 that auctions are fetching. For some lucky few, it is not a lot of money. For others, they are willing to pay much more.