Has the Nintendo Wii “Stalled”?

When the Nintendo Wii came out towards the end of 2006, no one, and I mean no one could have predicted what was to become. I can’t think of a single product out there that suffered shortages for more than a year, but the Wii did. People I knew who didn’t even like video gaming wanted a Wii, and people who hadn’t owned a console since the regular Nintendo wanted one. One person bought one, and word spread. If only it were that easy to sell all products!

Even today, the Wii is beating out every other console in sales, and combined with the Nintendo DS(i), Nintendo is a true juggernaut where gaming is concerned. But, believe it or not, company executive Satoru Iwata revealed that the “Wii has stalled”. Although still beating out the competition, the Wii’s overall sales have fallen month over month since this past summer. What could be the reason for such quick change?

Iwata goes on to elaborate, and he primarily blames the lack of quality games, and states that the “good mood has chilled” as a result. This could be true, and it’s been a problem with every Nintendo console that’s ever been sold. First-party games are usually fantastic, but the vast majority of the market is clogged up with third-party games whose developers who don’t put near as much time and energy, or passion, into their games.

What the company is likely to do to reinvigorate Wii gamers is a few things. First are plans to release Netflix for the console, to allow people to download movies to their home. Personally, I think it’s is a waste of time, as the resolution of the Wii is in some cases worse than standard television. If someone owns an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, it’d make more sense to do the Netflix thing there. Also, Nintendo is likely to either re-release the Wii as a true high-definition console in 2010 or 2011, or release an entirely new console altogether – one that would very likely be a proper follow-up.

Notably, reports have emerged that Nintendo is planning a number of enhancements to its console. Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Nintendo would be introducing Netflix’s online video-streaming service to the console, functionality that is already available for the Xbox 360 and will soon be introduced to the PlayStation 3. Analysts and industry insiders also expect the publisher to launch an HD version of the Wii or an all-new system in 2010 or 2011 to better compete with Microsoft and Sony’s consoles.