Sony sez Nintendo Wii is an "impulse buy"
By Darren Murph 
posted Feb 1st 2007 8:39PM
posted Feb 1st 2007 8:39PM
Here's one that's sure get at least half (or so) of you fired up. In speaking with the New York Times, Sony Computer Entertainment of America spokesperson Dave Karraker was boasting about how "100,000" PlayStation 3 units were being shipped stateside each week, and were continuing to "sell out" nationwide. Aside from the fact that a large majority of the country can find, secure, and purchase a PS3 now without worry over being shot up or forced to pay ridiculous prices, Mr. Karraker proceeded to dig himself a little deeper by insinuating that Sony's latest console is "much more powerful and should therefore be regarded as being in a different category." As if sparks weren't already about to fly, he then stated that Nintendo's Wii "could be considered an impulse buy more than anything else," simultaneously slamming any citizen who doesn't consider $250 a drop in the bucket and indirectly proclaiming that millions upon millions of Americans are still unable to resist their "impulses" by snapping up Wii units as quick as they arrive. Of course, he attributed the vast shortage of Wii consoles to Nintendo's stingy shipments, but the Big N's vice president of marketing, Perrin Kaplan, simply deemed that "absolutely inaccurate." So, inquiring minds are dying to know: was your Wii purchase well-planned, or are you still coping with buyer's remorse?
its common to use "sez" even in newspapers, maybe you just dont read much.
Well, my gf and I have been BIG Nintendo fans...we own all the American consoles, even some game and watch keys from my relatives...so, NO, it was NOT an impulse buy when we bought the Wii.
It was more like the next step in my "purchasing evolution" and we were more than satisfied to get it.
Haha, those wacky Sony guys. Now there's no need to get too upset with them - Engadget would only have three or four posts a week if it weren't for Sony!
buyers remorse. I feel like a pig with a shaking twitching disease.
Ditto, But I feel like some one with a nervous disorder when I play. It takes fans to buy something this silly since the glove. Never agian.
They should be more concerned about how they're going to reinvigorate sales. I've been searching for months to find a Nintendo Wii to no avail, but almost all stores I've looked at have had multiple PS3s in stock. Although the Playstation 3 fever started off strong ("What!? Someone got shot!?"), it's over now. Wii fever (Wiiver?) is still crazy months after launch, and Sony's just sore losers.
Dude, we have wii's in plentiful supply where I live and I'd be glad to help a brother out. Let me know if you're interested!
ditto, But I feel Like I have a nervous disorder when i play.
Yeah, because I spent 12 hours in line and 6 months of waiting to make an 'impulse' buy. Sony's remarks remind me of what I hear in CS:S servers.
Sony 'I pwn you wii noobs. people shoot to play me'
Wii. 'whatever'
After wii launch day
Sony' Noob camper'
Wii.'....'
Sony' Awp whore'
Wii'....'
I know I have $250 just laying around the house... I don't know about everyone else... oh wait, no, I can barely find a quarter.
How can the Wii be an impulse buy when it takes days of planning, dutifully watching the Best Buy shipments, and then racing to the store when the truck gets there to get your hands on one? Whereas a PS3 can supposedly be had just by walking into your local brick and mortar establishment with your most recent paycheck in hand, ready to sign it over to EB Games?
Meh... I have a Wii, and it is sweet. I have no desire to buy a PS3 right now cuz I don't have 6 bills!!! layin around and there aren't any games I really want. In fact I'll get a 360 before I buy a Ps3... cuz I need Halo 3 :-D Wii wasn't an impulse cuz it brings something to the table that PS3 and the 360 doesn't. :-P
sell out eh?
my local best buy cant get rid of them.
I am so sick of Sony. They continue to bash the competetors but they are the losers now. Kind of like Apple. They bash PCs, but they are still selling more PCs than Macs.
Yeah, 'cos I sat outside in the cold in the middle of the night on an impulse. I'm whacky!
Wow... Sony, you dissappoint me. I totally agree with Andy on this one. I just really really hope Sony v. Nintendo doesn't happen like Mac v. M$ is going on right now. Sooo childish.
It also depends on your definition of 'impulse buy'. I mean.. technically.. we all buy something becuase we have an impulse to buy it. I think what he meant was a SHORT-TERM impulse buy... which would therefore still be totally and completely wrong. (I know that was redundant but it was for emphasis.. lol.)
I guess it didn't occur to Sony that people might actually be genuinely INTERESTED in the Wii. Take your thinking, Sony, and apply it to your own product. Then you'd see how dumb you made yourself look.
AWP WHORE! lol. :P
Not a bad article from Engadget... at least they didn't somehow turn it into a bash towards Microsoft.
I bought a Wii, played with it for a few hours with my girlfriend, thought it was cool. By the following evening the 'coolness' of the Piimote had worn off, and Wii sports had gotten boring. Zelda was a snore. Anyway, I sold my Wii, games, and two additional controllers to my nephew for $200 and bought a 360. The games on the 360 are a little bit better, and while the controller isn't as "innovative", I still think it works better for 90% of all the games out there. Sure waving your arms around and making the sword move on screen is cool, but it still isn't like actually having a sword in your hands, just instead of pushing a button you're moving your arm or flicking your wrist.
As a non-gamer, PS3 has more appeal for me - Cheapest Bluray Player. I bought a 20GB PS3 from Amazon for $499 just for that. I don't plan on buying any games for it.
I am definitely having remorse having bought the Wii. If it weren't for being able to play Madden as Vince Young I would sell it. It was definitely an impulse buy for me and although once more games come I'm sure I will enjoy it more, at this time it isn't worth $250.
I camped out 19.5 hours to be closest to the sign at Target that said, "The Wii launches tomorrow! The line stars here."
Not an impulse buy. Planned on buying one for a while. I couldn't see paying $500+ for the PS3. The xbox360 has decent games but the Wiimote definetly adds more to the gaming experience. Hopefully the game developers will take advantage of it..
BTW I just got Elebits and that game rocks.
PS3 is an impulse buy too.. I'm always walkin around the mall and I see something and I am like "Oh that looks cool, I'll drop over half a grand on that."
I did that with my PS3. I was just at a BBY and they were there so I picked one up. Now it's just collecting dust while I play my Wii60.
I was in the mall early in the morning on the day the PS3 launched. There were over 1000 people outside every entrance to rush to the Sony Style in a mad sprint in hopes of getting a PS3. I was number 20 in line by the sony style store when I found out they only had 16 consoles. I left the line b/c I knew there was no hope. I planned on buying the PS3 just to resell it on ebay b/c people were paying upwards of $2,000 for it. I would've been happy even selling it for $1500. I saw groups of latecomers running towards the mob scene, and I yelled out, "Is anybody actually planning on keeping this!?" EVERYONE said no. I think the majority of the PS3 craze was more for people to find a way to double up on money than anything else. The fever stopped once those who really wanteed the PS3 for keeps paid over MSRP.
I bought a Wii, and through my connections I was lucky enough not to have to wait in line, and I got it the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Anyone who comes over to my house and plays it for thee first time is instantly hooked on how much fun it is. I was hooked all the way back when the wiimote video teasers were out where you saw the gameplay. Since I was a kid I always thought it'd be cool when video games would come out where you can play baseball by swinging your controller like a bat. Nintendo made a long time wish come true and I can assure you there's not Buyer's Remorse here.
I was also disappointed with the sword mechanics in Zelda, and Bad Steel for that matter. Yes, Wii Sports gets boring if you only play single player. Multiplayer is where it's at for Wii Sports.
It's funny that every time I go to a big box store I see at least 1 PS3, but oddly enough there are no Wiis. I saw 30+ PS3s last Saturday at a local Fry's but there were no Wiis! Perhaps the Sony mouthpiece meant that PS3s were flying onto the shelves.
Um, that's only b/c stores know that wii's suck, and will only carry about 2 at a time. Obviously, 2 wii's will sell faster than 30 PS3's (even though they shouldn't)
"Zelda was a snore." ~ Matt
Yeah, if you don't like Zelda then you really don't have any business buying a Wii. No offense or anything, but that game alone sold me on the Wii. Your nephew is lucky: got a Wii and Zelda for $100 off the price... plus some other games and additional controllers?! Why would you take a loss like that? That's it! I don't think I believe your story and you're probably just a lying Sony fanboy. peace!
Since the first of the year, I've seen a lot of PlayStation 3 boxes- equally divided among 20GB and 60GB models. I've seen at least a dozen on Wal Mart shelves, plus the 30 or so that I saw in a huge stack at Best Buy. I was shocked to see all of those- just sitting in a pile in the middle of the store.
Meanwhile, I've seen a grand total of six Wii boxes in stores, including mine and the three others I happened to watch a Target employee putting on the shelf.
There doesn't seem to be a huge demand for PlayStation 3 around here- and this is a huge PlayStation 2 area. I saw a 60GB PS3 in Wal Mart before Christmas, with no one looking at it.
My purchase was well planned. It had to be. Wii was sold out everywhere. I had to stalk the UPS guy around town. I have no remorse. How does Sony explain the high attach rate of games with the Wii and Sony own poor game attach rate?
YEA right, Sony wishes alot more people had the impulse to buy their machine.
That guy is just speaking out of his [condescending] ass instead of keeping it shut when he's not winning the race, as nintendo did with the gamecube and even the 64.
Talk about sore loser.
Nice... first of all Sony endears themselves to us all by getting Lik Sang shuttered. Now they come along bashing a console that for less than 1/2 the price of their PS3, provides the most innovative gaming experience in years. I am waiting now to see if Sony dismisses the iPod as a fad and the internet as a simple distraction. Sadly, the words "Sony" & "Style" should no longer be used together as they seem to have lost theirs. Perhaps "sour" & "grapes" could be integrated into their next campaign
Wow.
Perfect.
Just perfect.
I don't think ignorant is the word, more like stupid, but yeah it's irritating to me too.
I nearly LOL'd reading what that Sony spokesman said. It was also nearly infuriating to read that 300 bucks is just something all us Americans can just throw around without thinking about it.
Sony is always trying to downplay their shortcomings. Which is why I'm off the market when it comes to poor quality Sony products. Nintendo has done a fine job with their console by revolutionizing game play among users. Nintendo deserve an applaude, Sony deserves all the problems they have had with production.
Ok, what Sony doesn't realize is that if they just keep calling different console's names, it really wont affect their sales. The reason that the PS3 won't do as good as the 360 and Wii is because the price tag on the PS3 is too high, and the only people that will buy it are people that just go directly for tech specs. While it is true that the technology behind a game console can make or break sales, you also need a good selection of GAMES!!! Sony does not realize this which is why the PS3's sales will slow down like they think the Wii will and why the PSP hasnt been able to beat the DS yet.
If you look at the PS3 and Wii's launches, which can we say went more smooth? The Wii did indeed sell out, but people didn't resort to violence to try and get one?
And look at the amount of lauch titles for each system?
The Wii had 27 launch titles and the PS3 only had 15, with most of them having many glitches.
Plus, you can only get the total PS3 experience if you have a TV that can display 1080p and a 5.1 channel surround sound system. With the Wii, you only need a 480p television, and a 5.1 channel surround sound system.
So what i'm trying to say is, Sony, make good games, stop making fun of other consoles just because you know yours sucks, and most importantly, STOP GETTING TOTAL IDIOTS TO TALK TO THE PRESS FOR YOU!
P.S. also, please stop saying "OMG! THE 360 IS THE L33TEST CONSOLE EVER YOU N00B!"
When ever you start using internet-talk during a product comparison, you immediately lose any chance of people taking you seriously in life.
This has been a Cowboy Bob Report.
That's brilliant business in the making. It's not enough that Sony's games division continues to lose hundreds of millions of dollars a year,(what was it, 500 million last QUARTER?) but instead of scheming up ways to alleviate this issue and sell the potential skeptical buyers, they lash out against a system that's clearly outselling theirs pretty much everywhere you go. And to top it off, does so by sounding exceptionally pretentious ($250 an impulse buy? Maybe if you're clearing $80k a year...) and cocky. Love it or hate it, Nintendo's gamble paid off, and Sony needs to concentrate on saving Blu-Ray, and by extension the PS3 rather than act like spoiled children.
Australia is also facing a Wii shortage. I've been trying to impulsively buy a Wii for weeks now!
Local Best Buy has 30 PS3's sitting on the shelf, and the employee working the department told me they had at least 20 more sitting in the warehouse, with no where to go because they had only sold a couple in the last week.
Not surprising, those impulse items such as Wii's and DS Lites were nowhere to be seen.
I guess they aren't worried about their sales in Canada. I mean if the retailers are raising the price $40 over MSRP, they must be selling so fast they can't keep them in stock. Oh wait...never mind.
Ummm as if being an impulse buy is a bad thing... *rolls eyes* Seriously Sony only wishes their console could be purchased on impulse without needing to sign away the deed to your fracking house to get one.
PS- I never said what type of house....an ice house still counts. :-P
I've been waiting since E3 2005 when they unveiled the thing, so those impulses have been controlled for a very very long time...
They also said the earth is flat :)
I have a HUGE case of buyer's remorse. I didn't think about how my disability would affect me with the latest Nintendo. I can't stand, and I have limited movement with my spine so many games are out. I can only hope that more games I can play come out soon.
I would also be alot happier with the Wii if Nintendo would ship some points cards, at least then I could play some Super Mario Bros. I mean for Christ's sake how hard is it to keep up production and distribution of a plastic card.
@ Cameron Hoverson
There are other ways to buy points if you are that desperate. All you have to do is go into the Virtual Console shop and use a credit card to buy them. Boom. But wait, let me guess, you don't have a credit card? Well, you can always buy one of those rechargable Visa/MC cards from your local drug store and there ya go.
Impulse buy. Total. Was at Costco, saw it on the shelf, said "why not". Sorry, I own both and the WII for me was a throw-away impusle buy.
of course it's an impulse buy...you better be impulsive and buy it if you ever find one in a store... and then be happy you can spend the other $400 you saved not buying a PS3 on games.
I spent a few weeks trying to get a Wii for my little brother (13 years old) in time for Christmas. Before I started looking myself, my dad spent a few weeks stopping in at a local store, every day after work, but got nothing but lies and empty promises from sales associates.
After a while, my friend and I decided to take it upon ourselves to look for a Wii for each of our respective brothers. We stopped at close to 20 different electronics stores between Orlando and Tampa, Florida looking for a Wii. We found everything from a supply of about 20 wiimotes, to a floor full of PS3s (this was a couple weeks before Christmas when they were actually hard to find), but no Wii.
I waited another week and finally found out that most big name stores got their Wiis in stock on Sunday mornings. So my friend and I, now home from college, decided to get up early and wait in line at the local electronic store. We were about 30th in line for an un-announced number of Wiis and were forced to stick it out just in case they had enough. Well, to make a long story short, we eventually got to the door to find out that we were only a few spots behind the last Wii ticket. Despite being offered PS3 tickets several times (they had a lot of extras), we hurried home to grab a laptop and launch a county-wide (county, no "r") expedition to get Wiis for each of our brothers.
Sadly enough, our multi-store, multi-hour trip yielded nothing but a copy of Twilight Princess and Call of Duty. We had one last shot, and it was a long one, but it was almost a guarantee that we would get our Wiis in time for Christmas.
My friend's father works as a pilot and as a reslut, get free airfare. If you're not sure where this is going, think about where a store would get lots of Wiis every day.... Nintendo World Store anyone? So yes, he, his dad, and his little brother flew to the Nintendo World Store in NYC and bought 2 Wiis (tickets there go by person not by family), one for his family and one for mine. All this happened just days before Christmas and was actually one of the coolest trips, despite the fact that I didn't get to go to NYC.
That's a hell of an adventure for an impulse buy...