Nintendo consoles dominating sales even without big games

According to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States, Nintendo DS and Wii again claimed the top two hardware spots for July, with more than 608,000 DS units and more than 555,000 Wii units sold. Wii claimed a 49 percent share of all console sales in July, and extended its lead as the best-selling console of this generation. Nintendo DS represented a 73 percent share of hand-held sales in July.

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DS passed the PS2 yet? >_>

fhqwhgads said:

DS passed the PS2 yet? >_>

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Still a good 50 million units back.

I think this just shows what kind of audience the Wii and DS are bringing in. The fact that software doesn't greatly effect the console's sales just shows that the people buying the Wii and DS are mostly unaware of the games that are being released.

Homicidal Cherry53 said:

I think this just shows what kind of audience the Wii and DS are bringing in. The fact that software doesn't greatly effect the console's sales just shows that the people buying the Wii and DS are mostly unaware of the games that are being released.

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Or they are showing that the belief that hardcore gamers are the reason why systems succeed or fail could now be called a myth.

Dart said:

Or they are showing that the belief that hardcore gamers are the reason why systems succeed or fail could now be called a myth.

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That pretty much goes along with what I just said. The majority of the market for the Wii and DS isn't aware of games being released, and thus isn't hardcore. The Wii and DS are successful, and most of the people buying the consoles are casual gamers.

Possibility they are people that have very busy lives. They have entered the working world and have different lifestyles than they had before and they want to game, so all they need is a simple pick up and play game that can be played in only a few minutes and be satisfied. Then there is your party game crowd (college campuses) and the casual gamer. There are a lot of people that are new to gaming, that are taking an interest in gaming, with regard to the Wii. It would be interesting to know what the numbers are, of those new gamers. You must remember also that the Wii is entering areas that no other gaming system has gone before, like assistant living homes. You'll find no PS3s nor 360s there. Then there seems to be a lot of parents that have fallen for the Wii, your 40s to 50s crowd. When I am in the local Video Game stores, it is interesting just to look over to see who is going through the Wii games. As everyone has said it is not your typical hardcore gamer.

It is hard to put into words what I am thinking, but I think the usual crowd of gamers has been expanded to include others that have not been a part of that crowd before. I want to say something like the geographical area of gamers has changed. Maybe someone can put it into better words than I.

I will have to admit, the DS has me in its claws in this generation of gaming. :-[

Well, don't forget, you could also pick up tons of older games(like EBA, Castlevania, 64DS, NSMB) for pretty cheap. So, people join in late for cheap consoles and cheaper games.