Analyst says Nintendo fed Wii-starved US with Japanese stock

Despite the launch of the Wii in the US occurring months and months ago, there is still a perceivable shortage of the little white console. Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter made his own analysis of the recent upturn in US Wii console sales by predicting that Nintendo filled the gap by diverting manufacturing in Japan to feed the US stores. It's almost beyond belief that Nintendo still hasn't been able to get a grasp on its manufacturing process, over nine months since the Wii was released. Wasn't half the point of focusing on casual gaming -- and therefore lower specs -- that the console would be easy to manufacture in vast quantities?

[Via Joystiq]

[Fatima @ Aug 25th 2007 5:48PM]

Well duh, they wanna keep supply low to make artificial demand.

[eh @ Aug 25th 2007 11:24PM]

agree, MS and Sony both did and still do it with their own units. All why I still use my PC!

[Halfmad @ Aug 25th 2007 6:05PM]

Well Nintendo have managed to sell twice as many consoles as Microsoft in half the time without the large number of hardware failures. I'd say that was pretty damn good going personally.

[DickHardknocks @ Aug 25th 2007 7:58PM]

Perhaps the WII would have had more hardware failures IF IT ACTUALLY HAD SOME REAL HARDWARE IN IT.

Damn thing can't even play DVD's

[sdman @ Aug 25th 2007 9:38PM]

Hey,
the PS3 doesn't doesn't break as much as the 360, and it has the same(if not better) hardware in it so yeah.

Perhaps the 360 wouldn't have brojken as much if MS had taken the time to do proper product testing OoO

[Slvrgun @ Aug 26th 2007 1:24AM]

Well the price definitely helps. How much would the Wii sell at the same price point as either Microsoft or Sony?

[JeffDM @ Aug 26th 2007 12:30PM]

Dick, to make a legal DVD player, it costs another $20 just for the license fees, and don't forget the requisite retailer mark-up and such. The $30 players that you see are from scofflaws that manage to skirt those license fees, which change their brands as often as they have to to keep selling their product.

A bigger company like Nintendo cannot do that, so I'd guess a Wii would cost another $30 to get another DVD player which most people already have. I really don't think it makes sense to demand a DVD player in it because there would be better DVD players out there, or most households already have many DVD players already.

[Justin @ Aug 25th 2007 6:07PM]

DINGDINGDING

You win the prize! They're smart, not a lot of their big heavyweights have come to market yet, so throttle supply to create demand.

Sony should have done the same until they had more games as well, and I would be they'd have a much rosier view by the public.

[DickHardknocks @ Aug 25th 2007 6:14PM]

There is a GAMESTOP up the block from me on Merrick Blvd which had at least 5 WII's last time I went there. I assumed the shortage was over.

I never considered buying a WII until I saw all the controversy MANHUNT 2 would generate if it was released on that system. I never played the original MANHUNT but for a crack at that level of graphic violence, I probably would buy a $250 WII.

I want Engadget to do an article on MANHUNT 2's banning.

[Scooter @ Aug 25th 2007 6:15PM]

seen today in Germany, consoles on sale for 249 Euro. That's 100 Euro above "retail" and the only way the big box retailer (ProMarkt) can get away with it, is through shortages.
Nintendo is effectively enabling its customers to be fleeced, and it should lose some street cred for that reason.

[Tavis Veighey @ Aug 25th 2007 6:36PM]

All the stores here have it set at $250usd. Even with the shortage. The only FLEECING is in private party sales, such as eBay and the like.

[Jamar @ Aug 26th 2007 1:51AM]

Well. at least here in China there's no fleecing going on and no shortage. Prices generally hover at 1800RMB-1600RMB because there's whole bazaars, everyone trying to steal sales from other places. They even include modchips and free games.

And the fact that there's no shortage might have something to do with the fact that they're made here... So China is the place to get a Wii if you have no clue how to apply a mod and want one.

[Krono6 @ Aug 26th 2007 1:38PM]

Here in the UK, the only store selling Wii's in December were Computer Exchange (CEX).
They were selling Nintendo Wii's for £350. Wanting one in for Christmas, I made the purchase.
Not all people would purchase the Wii for £170 above retail.
Ovcourse, I'm sure Nintendo didn't think the Wii would sell THIS much. People have to take into consideration of how popular the console is, and how many are selling. Nintendo 'are' trying, it's just that they need to try a little bit harder, is all.

[Scooter @ Aug 26th 2007 3:00PM]

my bad: 249 Euro is retail in Europe (149 Euro for the DS Lite). Sorry ProMarkt!
I had forgotten: it has been a while since I saw some in stock...

[Arthur Nonamiss @ Aug 27th 2007 10:08AM]

If Nintendo discovers a retail chain selling above MSRP, they can and will cut their allotment. That's why you don't see it going for more money anywhere. Sure, in unbridled capitalism, you can sell a device for whatever you feel you can sell it for. On the other hand, in unbridled capitalism, Nintendo can decide that it doesn't want to sell you the device. So that's why you'll (almost) never see the Wii (or MANY other high-demand products) going for over the MSRP. It's not because the stores are competing with each other. It's because Nintendo has said that you sell the Wii for $249, or you move down to the end of the supply list. (Which means you get zero product until they have a surplus.)

[Scooter @ Aug 25th 2007 6:17PM]

sign me up

[Adam Hirsch @ Aug 25th 2007 7:22PM]

Just to say, this was confirmed earlier today to me at the Nintendo World New York by an employee:
http://www.thefattytalks.com/2007/08/25/nintendo-world-has-plenty-of-wii-in-stock-carnival/

[energyvortex @ Aug 25th 2007 6:29PM]

@ Halfmad:
Outselling the 360 in the same time frame isn't hard when your console is 1/3 the price on average.
the wii is a perfect 'full sized' DS if you ask me. It's cute, it's unique in a lot of ways, and it's cheap. Every company wants to capitalize on that formula. I have 4 360s in my house and multiple MCE machines, and even I know that nintendo hit it perfectly. Would have loved to have MS do it, but they don't think the same way nintendo does, especially not since multiple walmart and ibm execs have bloated the upper management layers...

[DickHardknocks @ Aug 25th 2007 6:36PM]

I will never understand why these Nintenbots always claim Nintendo is outselling SONY (PSP vs DS)and outselling Microsoft (WII vs 360) when Nintendo's products tend to be half or 1/3 the price of the competition.

Its a hell of alot easier coming up with $250 than it is coming up with $600.

Where is the logic in this comparison? Not to mention WII will almost certainly be left out of games like GTA4, BIOSHOCK, HALO 3, STRANGELHOLD and pretty much all the MMORPG's due to its lack of technology.

While PS3 and XBOX 360 could probably get by for the next 5 years, Nintendo is probably already trying to build a new console that can meet the techn specifications of future games.

After CRYSIS comes out, alot of game developers are gonna have to up their game considerably.

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Aug 25th 2007 9:11PM]

> WII will almost certainly be left out of games like GTA4, BIOSHOCK, HALO 3, STRANGELHOLD

And who cares about the rehashes of older games?

Probably some guys at GameStop and IGN slapping 9/10 reviews on the crap with "oh! so much better than before!!" comments???

> and pretty much all the MMORPG's due to its lack of technology.

Well. This is hardcore territory. And for hardcore games PC is much much much better than any console was and would be.

PS3/360 suck so much - with all their technology - because you cannot jump over all the limitation of classical controller. And to be frank, I hardly can imaging game which can "benefit" from classical controller. Probably only platformer games - but its only older folks who care about them. To pack all the power, to charge premium for the systems and games - all that to controlled by the feeble thing called "classical controller"??? You must be kidding me.

Wii at least tried to bring something new on gaming table - its controller. Graphics might suck, but this is first console which I even considered to buy. WiiSports and even Excite Truck integrate *so* *naturally* with WiiMote. And play really well. In some aspects - better than PC. On average - magnitudes better what both PS3 & 360 have to offer.

[demented_pants @ Aug 26th 2007 10:59AM]

The reason the Wii is outselling the other two has more to do with the fact that it emphasizes gameplay over Z0MG TEH POLYGONZ, and because it appeals to an entry-level gaming population, than because its price is so low.

It makes sense for Nintendo to outsell the other big two because - get this - it's not only selling units to the hardcore gamers who go, "Cool, a new Zelda game where I actually get to sword fight!" but to the people like my mom, who back in the early '90s would jerk the 8-bit gameboy around all over the place while she was playing Tetris.

It may not be the best graphics out there, but damn it, it's FUN.

[Blah @ Aug 26th 2007 7:59PM]

> WII will almost certainly be left out of games like GTA4, BIOSHOCK, HALO 3, STRANGELHOLD

And who cares about the rehashes of older games?


ARE YOU KIDDING???: MARIO GAMES!!!! ZELDA GAMES!!!! DONKEY KONG GAMES!!!! METROID GAMES!!!! MARIO PARTY!!!! MARIO KART!!!! POKEMON GAMES!!!!

Obviously Nintendo cares about the rehashes of older games!!! Dont pass blame to others when Nintendo is known for new games off of old franchises that they cant seem to let go of. When Nintendo stops being stuck on their past, i might buy a console from them. But as it currently is, the Third Party is the only one that is offering originality to the Wii, and those can be obtained on the other consoles most of the time, so i wont cripple myself using the wiimote.

Besides, Bioshock is a brand new game, but is a "spiritual successor of System Shock", and Stranglehold is completely new.

[queshy @ Aug 25th 2007 6:39PM]

Haha thought so

[Sean DL @ Aug 25th 2007 6:34PM]

Seriously, can we get some numbers in here before people shot "They aren't producing enough!" and "They are creating this shortage!"

Let get answers to these questions first:

*How many Wiis are being made a month.

*How many Wiis are being sold a month.

*How many number of consoles MS and Sony create/sell a month.

*What the numbers of the last gen consoles sold in June, July and August of the last five years. and compare that to the Wii numbers this year.


If things don't match up then you can start screaming conspiracies.

Just look at last weeks numbers of sold consoles. the Wii sold 400K in July, so let say Nintendo is producing 500K a month...Yeah, you can see why we have shortages. They could push it up to a million a month, but then they be over making consoles. and no one does that.

[chris joseph @ Aug 25th 2007 6:44PM]

My wife just came home from a work trip to Omaha, Nebraska and said there are plenty of wii's in stock at best buy and target...

so perhaps nintendo should redistribute some of these that no one has snatched up yet, too

[Josh @ Aug 25th 2007 8:58PM]

I'm not an expert on this sort of thing by any means (in fact, I'm basically talking out my ass here)... But I wouldn't think Nintendo has much to do with it after they've already sold the units to the distributors/retailers.

That is, if Walart and Target, et al are too dumb to move stock to locations that it will actually sell in, Nintendo is basically SOL and stuck with the bad publicity this would generate.

[Shelby @ Aug 25th 2007 6:57PM]

Maybe they want to build them right the first time so they don't have to replace them. (Red Ring of Death)

[Yo @ Aug 25th 2007 7:26PM]

The Euro is currently worth 1.368 USD, so, no, the Europeans are being fleeced. That said, that 36.8% increase is of course partially due to their VAT (note that we're leaving out US state sales tax in discussions of the USD price point) and may also be due to special fees for media players not often found in the states.

[SD @ Aug 25th 2007 8:25PM]

It's about where you live. There are plenty in the stores around my home.

[Patrick @ Aug 25th 2007 8:26PM]

Aside from what all these "experts" say, supply and demand is a curve. Nintendo's got a lot of demand, but that is not infinite. Eventually it'll drop. If they increase capacity just to meet current demand they'll just have too much inventory when supply is no longer there. I don't see a shortage really. Been to a few states, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan, and there's a Wii in every store. No one seems to be out of stock.

[nDee @ Aug 25th 2007 11:19PM]

A bit silly to tell:
Do you know that every single Wii in Hong Kong is
parallel- import?
That is because the stupid distributer didn't import
So there are tons of Wiis Shipped from Nippon to Hong Kong Everyday.
I wonder how stupid that company is.

[Gerardo Flores Torres @ Aug 25th 2007 8:46PM]

it's all allocation of resources but Nintendo must have had two things in mind. Just like the xbox 360, they needed to flood a foreign market that isn't always keen on their products but. The problem of course, must have been that they also underestimated Japanese demand.

[finnith @ Aug 25th 2007 10:06PM]

Why do we need to have console wars? Anything that has to do with a console on the internet eventually deteriorates into a useless argument about which one is better. Why must we have these arguments?

[Josh @ Aug 26th 2007 5:10PM]

Console wars = price wars, which are good because the consumer wins out by competition-driven price cuts.

I think you're thinking of fanboy flame wars, which I agree are idiotic :)

[chefgon_ign @ Aug 25th 2007 10:11PM]

Considering that they have outsold both of their competitors combined every single month since launch, I don't think low supplies are the problem here. Its not like they're only shipping a couple units here and there, they sell nearly half a million units every thirty days!

[ChikeX @ Aug 25th 2007 10:22PM]

I love my Wii...I love it goooooooooood

[ChrisG @ Aug 25th 2007 10:29PM]

Well I heard the shortage of Wii's is due to a shortage of chips for the Wii and that its going to months for Nintendo to manufacture enough. Also Nintendo said the shortage might last around holiday season. However though this awful, we shouldn't be too critical at Nintendo after all from seeing the videogame industry analysts at the NPD groups July report, the Wii sold 425,000 units in July compared to the Xbox 360 selling 170,000, and the PS3 selling 159,000 units in that same month. So when you think about it there's more demand for the Wii then than the normal supply so it's kinda hard to expect Nintendo to manufacture 425,000 units every month to fulfill the consumers needs.

[NONE @ Aug 26th 2007 12:31AM]

MSFT has already lost over a BILLION dollars with their recent warranty write-off - not to mention how much the company was already losing per unit sold.

Not only has Nintendo OUTSOLD Sony and MSFT, they have actually made a profit off of the units sold!

It is simply STUPID to think that Nintendo doesn't want money from selling additional consoles or that they don't want bragging rights over the two inept heavyweights. It's clear that their biggest weakness is manufacturing capacity... and if you are going to have a problem, that is probably the BEST problem to have because it implies there is demand for your product.

So out of the three competitors, Nintendo has not only sold more units, they are also the only company that has managed to make any money.

[Slvrgun @ Aug 26th 2007 1:33AM]

Yeah all that profit going to Nintendo. Big fucking deal. We got a Gamecube 1.5, and *oh shit* here's the kicker: the ability to play should-have-been Gamecube games with a new controller. You want to talk about rehashes of old games...here is one: Mario Party 8 now with motion controls.

[NONE @ Aug 26th 2007 1:48AM]

Wii appeals to a different demographic than you. Don't complain about something that was never intended to pump out high resolution FPS. If that's what you want, go buy yourself a 360 and drop another $50 on fans and cooling.

My point is that Nintendo has schooled Sony and MSFT by taking a different path, marketing for a different demographic, and capitalizing on an incredible franchise of game titles.

[sdman @ Aug 26th 2007 8:55AM]

@slvrgun
It's funny that you complain that the Wii is a "GameCube 1.5" for the following reasons:
1. You say that the Wii's games are rehashes of old games, but "hardcore" gamers still play the games that you mention and almost all of them are sequels plus you still play them with the SAME controller. At least with the Wii, Nintendo brought something different to the table.

[calvin @ Aug 26th 2007 2:36AM]

thats cool

[EddieBrentwood @ Aug 26th 2007 3:14AM]

I think the analysts may be wrong. Lately I have seen wiis all over the place in Tokyo. And the sales of them have gone down only a little.

[EddieBrentwood @ Aug 26th 2007 3:15AM]

and up until about 3 weeks they were nowhere to be found.

[Carbonize @ Aug 26th 2007 3:19AM]

Call me pedantic but how can you predict something that's already happened?

"by predicting that Nintendo filled the gap by diverting manufacturing in Japan to feed the US stores."

Maybe he's a time traveling psychic. He saw what Nintendo were going to do and came into the future to tell everyone how it happened.

I sometimes worry about the state of literacy in the modern journalist.

Anyway this is yet another example of why console manufacturers should not region lock the games consoles. The PSP lets you play games from any country. But no MS region locks you so instead of buying the US version of Halo 3 for $50 (£25) I have to pay £50 ($100).

[MattFM @ Aug 26th 2007 4:12AM]

There's a shortage? US users should import from the UK if they're desperate. We get around 4 to 6 delivered every week since the console launched in the UK.

[Mak @ Aug 26th 2007 8:30AM]

I can't believe how stupid people are.

The Wii is being artifically restrained by Nintendo intentionally, as it creates a false sense of desirability, and thus maintains sales.

If they flooded the market, there would be no mystique, and people will see the Wii for what it really is, a revamped Gamecube, with lots of games that suck.

[devoir @ Aug 26th 2007 9:00AM]

Huh? Show me where you can find a Wii for €150.

€250 is the suggested retail price set by Nintendo for European sales.

Take the VAT (19% in Germany) out of the price and that's €210, or $285US, not a lot higher than the American cost.

[good PR @ Aug 26th 2007 10:11AM]

since the Wii's launch day, I have only seen them in stock twice at my local Wal*Mart :(

and they were gone the next time I passed the electronics section :(

[Maestro @ Aug 26th 2007 10:00AM]

And don't forget that once the novelty of the wii-controllers wears off (and it will, trust me)...you are stuck with a last generation gaming device.