Will Nintendo's Wii whip Sony's PlayStation 3?

Charles Arthur
Thursday November 16, 2006
The Guardian

It certainly looks that way, based on the reactions of non-gamers who have been trying it out. In the US, reviewers have been raving about it: "The Wii is a fun, engaging, wildly innovative game console that's dramatically different from the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 - and dramatically more affordable," commented Jim Louderback, editor of PC Magazine. The combination of its surprising wireless controller and a troupe of games that fall outside the normal gaming fare (driving, shooting) and instead are more like those which a whole demographic is used to: physical movement.

Of course, Nintendo, presently a distant third in the console race, is making the most of this, earmarking $200m (£105m) for a marketing campaign that aims to wrest sales away from Americans who were thinking of getting an Xbox 360 (now that it's a year old, and bedded down) or a PS3 (which is shiny and new, but comparatively very pricey).
In fact, the PS3 - with its cutting-edge processor and cutting-edge Blu-ray player, contributing to its bleeding-edge price in the US of $500 - might be the victim of Sony's unwillingness to compromise on components. An analysis at curmudgeongamer.com in May found that the PS3's $500 price is historically high for a console. At the time, the Wii's price wasn't announced, but the $250 cost puts it squarely in the range where it looks historically cheap.

There are obvious objections: the PS3 and the Wii are going after different markets; the Wii is limited because Nintendo can't command the publishers that Sony can; Sony has the might of its corporate empire, including records and films, to make the PS3 and Blu-ray into a success despite everything that has held it back, including multiple delays and the completely separate $249m cost of recalling and replacing millions of faulty batteries used in many manufacturers' laptop computers worldwide.

But the Wii is going after a new market - the family - in a way that the Xbox and PlayStation haven't. The gonintendo site (hardly, let's agree, unbiased) carried one post from a blogger who took a Wii to a family do and left with four orders to get one that weekend. Sony might not like it, but swishing controllers might be the next big thing in games