Analysts Clash On Wii Longevity Question

Author: by Staff

A new Los Angeles Times article discusses the strong start and continuing sales leadership for Nintendo's Wii among the next-gen consoles, with analysts from Gartner and Frank N. Magid Associates disagreeing on whether the console's keen consumer interest will continue in the longer-term. The newly published article cites Van Baker of analyst firm Gartner suggesting of the Wii: "Its appeal is primarily to casual gamers, and there's a serious question about how long casual gamers will stay engaged with the platform... It wouldn't be surprising to see them lose interest after a relatively short amount of time." The piece also quizzes execs from Majesco and THQ on the significant appeal of the console to developers, but Baker continues by suggesting: "The Wii in a couple of years is going to look like old technology with low resolution, slow performance... People may not be accepting of that." However, the article then cites the same Frank N. Magid Associates survey recently discussed by Gamasutra, noting that 31% of Wii owners surveyed in March said they expected to play the Wii more often a year from now, compared to 21% of Xbox 360 owners. It also references Magid's Mike Vorhaus as rebutting Baker, and suggesting: "We don't see [the Wii] fading." The same Magid survey had the Wii showing the lowest negative result from all of the next-gen consoles in terms of purchasing intent, with 49%. 17% of those asked were in the owners/definitely/probably buying category (6%/5%/6%), and a significant 16% of respondents said they had a 50/50 chance of buying a Wii.