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Why do people keep saying that "Wii won last gen?"

DrWong

Member
In 10 years, we'll have a thread entitled: "Why do people still say the 3DS won last gen?". Then they'll rationalize that position by focusing entirely on whatever arbitrary and/or subjective metric to say the Vita was actually the true winner.

I'm calling it.

(In fact, I can see this thread being made sometime this year. In that thread, YoY will be the sole determinant of success. The reasonable people will try to talk some sense into the deliberately obtuse people and we'll have another double digit thread on our hands. Go GAF.)

Spot on.
 

Phades

Member
Wii won the gen. You say it's not a race but the generation ended and Wii was the monetary winner. Can't argue that even if you didn't like the Wii

So, the PS3s and 360s are no longer being sold? That no new software is being produced for them. When did this happen? Generations tend to end when all parties stop producing for it, not when Nintendo decides to drop support or make a new console.

The last gen isn't over. However, that doesn't automatically mean that either of them will outsell the current (and stagnant) Wii figure. Then again, for all we know, Nintendo could torpedo the WiiU eschewing this sales period entirely and ressurect the old Wii and slim it down again to try to revitalize the brand focus in the movement/fitness realm.

History is only written after it occurs, not before.

I bought a PS2 game at Gamestop yesterday. I guess gen 6 isn't over.

And when exactly was that title published? I mean seriously, is this bad comedy hour?
 
It pains me to still see people perpetuating the myth that the Wii didn't have any good games.

I hear it all the time on podcasts and on GAF.

Yes, there was a ton of shovelware, but there were a ton of exclusive, unique titles on the platform from third parties and Nintendo.
 

Principate

Saint Titanfall
So, the PS3s and 360s are no longer being sold? That no new software is being produced for them. When did this happen? Generations tend to end when all parties stop producing for it, not when Nintendo decides to drop support or make a new console.

The last gen isn't over. However, that doesn't automatically mean that either of them will outsell the current (and stagnant) Wii figure. Then again, for all we know, Nintendo could torpedo the WiiU eschewing this sales period entirely and ressurect the old Wii and slim it down again to try to revitalize the brand focus in the movement/fitness realm.

History is only written after it occurs, not before.



And when exactly was that title published? I mean seriously, is this bad comedy hour?

Fifa 14 was released on the PS2 yeah that's right.
 
My posts don't exist in a vacuum. I was responding to somebody who is arguing that the only possible metric MS was ahead in is an important one to consider.

The Wii without a doubt was ahead in both sales and profit, so I'm not sure what we're talking about.

I know it doesn't exist in a vacuum, yet you try to prove him wrong like profit even matters. It doesn't. It's a bad form of measurement, and I gave an example of how and why it doesn't work.
 

MrT-Tar

Member
The Wii was the winner, it just didn't get the fruits of victory that one usually expects from the winner, most notably considerably high profile 3rd party support.
 

Majmun

Member
The Wii sure won when it comes to charts. And it was definitely a winner for Nintendo, who made a lot of money from it.

But who plays it anymore, or even remembers it? The brand seems to be dead.

The Ps3 and X360 are still quite popular, on the other hand.
 

Principate

Saint Titanfall
So, your argument is that the last generation ended or are you agreeing with me? Crossgen titles not withstanding.

I'm stating that your supposition that PS2 games aren't published recently anymore is incorrect that is all.

It's a pointless argument either way, unless someone honestly believes ps3 or x360 will sell another 20 million from now onwards despite a significant year on year decreases last year.

Then the Wii is very likely to win the generation either way.
 

Opiate

Member
Yeah, I'm hip. I agree it has next to nothing to do with the manufacturer and everything to do with a product flying right in the face of established values. I'm just surprised that the anger keeps going and going.

I mean it ultimately worked out pretty well for the audience that was most offended by the Wii. 3rd parties largely shunned it, the enthusiast crowd shunned it, enthusiast media, etc etc. It wasn't stealing games, or forcing games of it's theme on other consoles (in significant numbers) and now even the successor has proven to be a catastrophe sales wise, so it's not like there was some huge follow up that changed the industry forever to the detriment of the enthusiast crowd. There's only these sales, which have already proven to be meaningless to gamers (as far as future impact) when you get right down to it.

I suppose it's fairly typical behavior.

I largely agree, but I do want to point out that this process has come at some cost. There was a time not too long ago -- even within the last decade -- when consoles were absolutely dominant in the gaming universe, and seemed like the clear path forward for the industry as a whole.

That time is now clearly over, and while consoles aren't dying they also aren't ascendant or dominant as they were in the time of the PS2. I feel reasonably confident that this excising of the casual/social/etc. gamers has directly aided the rise of iOS gaming and Facebook gaming and the re-emergence of PC gaming, too.

In short, I think traditional console gamers have successful quarantined themselves, after a fashion. It has produced a reasonably stable market focused primarily on traditional "core" gamers. However, console gaming has in the process passed the torch of "the clear path forward" over to the social and casual platforms. Whether that means anything to you or to the typical consumer is unclear.
 

Mory Dunz

Member
Wow, 12 pages.

I just have a quick question I guess.

Do people really believe the hd twins will pass the Wii? I'm actually asking because I hear it a lot.

My view is...both consoles are pretty much tied so you're expecting both to get to 100 mill. It's not like one will die suddenly and never sell again.

And it's a new generation. So that's 40 million consoles sold in the next few years. 40 million consoles that aren't the x1 or ps4. Unless the new gen flops, I don't see that happening. That's a crazy amount. It's like the 3DSs LTD.
 

Mlatador

Banned
In 10 years, we'll have a thread entitled: "Why do people still say the 3DS won last gen?". Then they'll rationalize that position by focusing entirely on whatever arbitrary and/or subjective metric to say the Vita was actually the true winner.

I'm calling it.

(In fact, I can see this thread being made sometime this year. In that thread, YoY will be the sole determinant of success. The reasonable people will try to talk some sense into the deliberately obtuse people and we'll have another double digit thread on our hands. Go GAF.)

And why do you think that is?

The answer might be very simple.

The personal console preference of all GAF members is not distributed equally. There is no 33% Sony fans, 33% Nintendo fans, 33% Microsoft fans, 1% Ouya fans ratio on this board.

If I had to guess, I'd say it would be more like: 40% Sony fans, 20% Nintendo fans, 20% Microsoft fans and 20% PC fans.

No wonder a certain group tries to spin reality in a certain way.
 

pvpness

Member
I agree, but I do want to point out that this has come at some cost. There was a time not too long ago -- even within the last decade -- when consoles were absolutely dominant in the gaming universe, and seemed like the clear path forward for the industry as a whole.

That time is now clearly over, and while consoles aren't dying they also aren't ascendant or dominant as they were in the time of the PS2. I feel reasonably confident that this excising of the casual/social/etc. gamers has directly aided the rise of iOS gaming and Facebook gaming and the re-emergence of PC gaming, too.

In short, I think traditional console gamers have successful quarantined themselves, after a fashion. It has produced a reasonably stable market focused primarily on traditional "core" gamers. However, console gaming has in the process passed the torch of "growing market leader" over to the social and casual platforms. Whether that means anything to you or to the typical consumer is unclear.

Agreed. I thought the Wii was a pretty decent effort to get consoles back into the hands of the mainstream, but the industry at large seemed to disagree. There's definitely been a narrowing of interests in the video game industry for a long time now (the quarantine) because the enthusiasts put in a lot of money and are pretty easy to peg desire-wise. The only problem is that you have to be able to afford giving them what they desire, which is where all the consolidation has come form. They focus on a smaller, dedicated market at a much higher cost while competitors (iOS, Android, Wii) picked up the slack on everybody else. Which of course is where the growth is going to be (not gonna get new johns pulling the same old tricks right?) Super high stakes at this point too, for the established players.

It only matters to me in the sense that I'm watching "gaming" move closer to what I actually value in games, as opposed to the modern day enthusiasts. I was there once though, so I know how they feel. If consoles have to die to get away from this bloated, homogenized, and over produced schlock most venders are slinging, then so be it. I've always been a PC guy and have only picked up consoles because they used to offer something in addition to PC games. Not so much the case anymore.

I should probably add that I think it's a better direction for the industry overall (as well as for myself). But then I'm biased when it comes to comparing games designed by a single person as opposed to games designed by mega companies.
 
The Wii sure won when it comes to charts. And it was definitely a winner for Nintendo, who made a lot of money from it.

But who plays it anymore, or even remembers it? The brand seems to be dead.

The Ps3 and X360 are still quite popular, on the other hand.

I'm playing through Xenoblade, Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid prime Trilogy, Rayman Origins, DKC Returns, Okami (2nd time), will get back to TP and SS and have plans to get more games.

As for remembering it.

Well judging by this thread...
 

EGM1966

Member
Wow, 12 pages.

I just have a quick question I guess.

Do people really believe the hd twins will pass the Wii? I'm actually asking because I hear it a lot.

My view is...both consoles are pretty much tied so you're expecting both to get to 100 mill. It's not like one will die suddenly and never sell again.

And it's a new generation. So that's 40 million consoles sold in the next few years. 40 million consoles that aren't the x1 or ps4. Unless the new gen flops, I don't see that happening. That's a crazy amount. It's like the 3DSs LTD.

It's worth remembering some people will believe anything.

Given how sales seem to be shaping up post PS4/XB1 I'd say 360 has more or less zero chance. Sales are dipping too fast and it's really reliant on a few territories (US/UK) which will probably embrace the new gen pretty fast.

PS3 has almost as close to zero change as 360 but might creep a bit closer assuming it has a slightly longer tail in emerging markets (a'la PS2) and as it's more or less matched 360 with one less year on the market so Sony may be able to get one more year of sales out of it going forward.

But I doubt either HD console will pass the Wii in hardware or software sales or profits (although this threat has taught me there are many other creative criteria for success).
 
Hang on a minute, what metric are you using here?

Market share gains/losses. Sony went from owning over 75% of the console market share, down to less than a third. Credit them for righting the ship and building momentum heading into the PS4, but the PS3 was unquestionably the big loser.

Wow, 12 pages.

I just have a quick question I guess.

Do people really believe the hd twins will pass the Wii? I'm actually asking because I hear it a lot.

Even if one of them did, it'd be just as irrelevant as when people were speculating in 2006 that the GameCube might pass the original Xbox when it had an extra year on the market. It doesn't matter then, and doesn't matter now, unless you're big into "console wars". This generation was decided in the first few years, when Nintendo struck gold with Wii Sports and Microsoft got out in front of Sony with third parties. Regardless of what the final tally is, they were the big winners because of the ground they gained compared to the previous generation.
 

jimi_dini

Member
But who plays it anymore, or even remembers it? The brand seems to be dead.

May I list my current (Wii) backlog?

Boom Blox Bash Party
Calling
Captain Morgane and the Golden Turtle
Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop
Dead Space: Extraction
Donkey Kong Country Returns
The Last Story
Lost in Shadow
Marble Saga: Kororinpa
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers
Pandora's Tower
Project Zero 2: Wii Edition
Rabbids Go Home
Sam & Max: Season One
Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Tenchu: Shadow Assassins
Wario Land: Shake It!
Xenoblade Chronicles
Bit.Trip Complete
Kirby's Epic Yarn
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
Sin and Punishment: Star Successor

I'm also not done with my DS. And with my PS3. I think there are even games left on PS2, only a handful though :p And a few games from 20 years ago on PC. And Wii U games, that I have bought without already actually owning a Wii U.
 
Sure, it won in terms of sales, but if you wanted to play anything decent you'd have to sift through the mountains of shovelware

See also:

494px-PS2-Fat-Console-Set.jpg
 

Pain

Banned
Wii won the beginning of the gen.
360 won the middle.
PS3 won the end.

All 3 platforms were relatively successful last-gen.
 

Razgreez

Member
In short, I think traditional console gamers have successful quarantined themselves, after a fashion. It has produced a reasonably stable market focused primarily on traditional "core" gamers. However, console gaming has in the process passed the torch of "the clear path forward" over to the social and casual platforms. Whether that means anything to you or to the typical consumer is unclear.

Passing the torch as opposed to convergence? Are all platforms not merely becoming portals to the same content albeit with differing levels of fidelity
 

Phades

Member
I'm stating that your supposition that PS2 games aren't published recently anymore is incorrect that is all.

It's a pointless argument either way, unless someone honestly believes ps3 or x360 will sell another 20 million from now onwards despite a significant year on year decreases last year.

Then the Wii is very likely to win the generation either way.

The only place I could find to buy it is out of amazon.uk. /shrug

It is an easy thing for me to forget that the PS2 is still being actively supported.

The Wii is in a good position to win. It hasn't won yet. Future/past tense things and stuff of that nature. To state that it is still in the lead is more accurate much in the same way that as of the last measurement the PS4 is still in the lead when compared to the XB1.
 

Armaros

Member
Market share gains/losses. Sony went from owning over 75% of the console market share, down to less than a third. Credit them for righting the ship and building momentum heading into the PS4, but the PS3 was unquestionably the big loser.

The PS2 -> PS3 was a bigger lose for Sony monetarily and market share compared to Wii-> WiiU for Nintendo, but no one is going to say the PS2 was a failure, but it's obviously a different standard for Nintendo.
 

Mlatador

Banned
Well, I ask again, according to who?

According to the premise "company's conduct business to make a profit". I know there are company's in this world who don't act according to this premise, but in the case of all video game console manufactures, video game developers it's always been like that. That is the metric by which you determine who "WON" a generation.
 

Principate

Saint Titanfall
Well, I ask again, according to who?

According to most people involved in the industry. Did you miss Sony's PS2 slides, that console war is over, that the difference in sales was less like the silicon valley and more like the grand canyon. Yeah that actually happened. Of course these companies care.
 
The Wii not only had great sales, but it was made at a fraction of the cost of the PS3 / 360 since it reused so much of Nintendo's existing tech. It wasn't just a successful fad, it was a monstrous success in terms of profits. And it had a fair selection of truly great games.
 
most people just wanted to try Wii Sports cus they thought the tennis was cool.

and then it collected dust.

Yeah, those 80 million wii sports sales somehow multiplied ~11.25 times to reach ~900 million software sales

If wii won on hardware sales who won on software sales?

Wii. And about 50% was Nintendo. And they were taking a $170 profit on hardware at starting point. And they didn't deal with fees such as the RROD
 

rob305

Member
It's not sales that proclaim the winner, it's profit. For example, Sony could've theoretically mass produced another 100m PS3 units and sold them at $50 each. This would've easily put them as the number 1 in terms of sales but obviously they'd be making huge losses. The price is just a part of the strategy and therefore you shouldn't measure consoles based on plain sales.
 

SmokyDave

Member
In 10 years, we'll have a thread entitled: "Why do people still say the 3DS won last gen?". Then they'll rationalize that position by focusing entirely on whatever arbitrary and/or subjective metric to say the Vita was actually the true winner.

I'm calling it.

(In fact, I can see this thread being made sometime this year. In that thread, YoY will be the sole determinant of success. The reasonable people will try to talk some sense into the deliberately obtuse people and we'll have another double digit thread on our hands. Go GAF.)
Dude, nobody gives a shit about handhelds. That's why the DS isn't being lauded as the winner of the last console generation. I say this as someone that predominantly games on a handheld.

I also think you're calling a winner rather prematurely. Let's wait and see.
 

Principate

Saint Titanfall
It's not sales that proclaim the winner, it's profit. For example, Sony could've theoretically mass produced another 100m PS3 units and sold them at $50 each. This would've easily put them as the number 1 in terms of sales but obviously they'd be making huge losses. The price is just a part of the strategy and therefore you shouldn't measure consoles based on plain sales.

Which makes the wii even more of the winner, since in profitability it outstrips the HD consoles combined.

I'm not sure why this is difficult to understand facts are facts there's no need to have personal preferences twist them.
 

jimi_dini

Member
most people just wanted to try Wii Sports cus they thought the tennis was cool.

and then it collected dust.

So you are saying that there were quite a lot Wii owners, who bought way more games than 360 or PS3 owners. Otherwise the attach rate wouldn't be possible.
 
Dude, nobody gives a shit about handhelds. That's why the DS isn't being lauded as the winner of the last console generation. I say this as someone that predominantly games on a handheld.

I also think you're calling a winner rather prematurely. Let's wait and see.

Also because the DS somehow gained a respectable position in Neogaf's opinion. We were somehow able to sift through the DS', PS2's, PS' shovelware and find the gems, whether they be hidden or not, but refuse to do so with the Wii.

Maybe it's because gaf is obsessed with TWEWY
which I have to get to playing. Only played 1st level and I;m interested
 

Kenai

Member
I largely agree, but I do want to point out that this process has come at some cost. There was a time not too long ago -- even within the last decade -- when consoles were absolutely dominant in the gaming universe, and seemed like the clear path forward for the industry as a whole.

That time is now clearly over, and while consoles aren't dying they also aren't ascendant or dominant as they were in the time of the PS2. I feel reasonably confident that this excising of the casual/social/etc. gamers has directly aided the rise of iOS gaming and Facebook gaming and the re-emergence of PC gaming, too.

In short, I think traditional console gamers have successful quarantined themselves, after a fashion. It has produced a reasonably stable market focused primarily on traditional "core" gamers. However, console gaming has in the process passed the torch of "the clear path forward" over to the social and casual platforms. Whether that means anything to you or to the typical consumer is unclear.

Good post.

Even if that market stales or even shrinks however, it's got a sufficiently big enough market to realistically have a niche, anyway. There's much smaller markets that still manage to cater to enthusiasts. Last gen, this gen and the transition between them are all still taking place (one of the few main points actually worth talking about iit imo) and it's very interesting to note how much has changed, especially when adding in the PS2 era. The current gen is still new enough so that nothing is really set in stone, but I am curious to see what the prospects for the next-gen console landscape look like by the time the PS4/XB1/WiiU have aged.

I think that if that quarantine continues for the foreseeable future regarding innovation with mass market appeal/a large influx of new gamers there might be room for a Wii-like "upset" again if things get stale enough, should somebody (not necessarily Nintendo) desire to take advantage of it, Will the industry be so resistant at that time? Who knows. I probably won't mind, provided it's not something similar in focus to the old XB1 ideas.
 

RionaaM

Unconfirmed Member
Your saying the Wii-U's current predicament has nothing to do with the last few years of the Wii? For me, as I dont like 2D platformers and JRPG's, there was nothing worth playing on it. I know this is probably the wrong forum, but even the most hardcore Wii gamer must recognise that most other gamers abandoned it after the novelty wore off.
Yes, I am saying that. The current state of Wii U is unrelated to how Wii's last years were. For most people, Wii U is a highly unappealing product, which is the complete opposite of its predecessor. For example, I loved the Wii, but don't think I'll ever get a Wii U. At least not in the next few years. There are a couple of games I'd like to play, but it's not a product that tempts me.

And saying that Wii had nothing worth playing apart from 2D platformers and JRPGs is ignorant at best, and disingenuous at worst. What about arcade racing games (Sonic Riders Zero Gravity, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Excitebots)? What about visual novels and graphic adventures (Ace Attorney trilogy, Broken Sword, Sam & Max Seasons 1 & 2, Tales of Monkey Island)? What about brawlers (No More Heroes, MadWorld)? What about 3D platformers (Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands, Jett Rocket)? What about Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, aka one of my top games of last generation? What about the Bit.Trip franchise, or escapeVektor? I know not all of these games are exclusive, but that's not what you're arguing, so it shouldn't matter. Plus it has GC retrocompatibility, not to mention Virtual Console, which allows you to play a lot of old games.

So no, I'm not going to blindly purchase a Wii U because I loved the previous console. And the opposite is true: I wouldn't have written off the Wii U forever if I had hated the Wii. These are independent products, even if they share part of the name.
 

Metallix87

Member
I wake up to find this thread has hit page 23. Amazing.

Are people REALLY that bitter about this? Why is this even worth arguing about? Accept the reality already, people. Wii won in terms of sales, but that doesn't mean you have to consider it the best console of that generation if you don't want to.
 

2+2=5

The Amiga Brotherhood
Sales-wise the Wii won, no discussions about this, but last time i checked i was still a gamer, not an investor, we should care about games and the Wii having the best lineup is very highly debatable.
 
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