What's up with Nintendo hardware shortages?

[atarian63]

 

The Wii was essentially a fad, extremely popular the first few years of its life, abandoned by its userbase later in its life. Its library consisted of large numbers of crap games AKA 'shovelware' with a relative handful of great titles.

 

I had a Wii, I thought long and hard about upgrading to a Wii U. But in the end it wasn't that the Wii was good enough. It was the Wii U that wasn't good enough- It promised more of the same, except worse because sales were slow. Decided to get a PS4 instead. Turned out to be the right decision for me.

Wii was my favorite for a long time (true alot of shovelware) then the Wii u . I finally got a used ps4 a few months ago but have yet to plug it in, moving stuff around with 30 + systems has seemed too much work for the little gaming I would get out of it for now. Skipped xbone entirely.Still buying the occasional Wii u or wii game.

[godslabrat]

Wii was my favorite for a long time (true alot of shovelware) then the Wii u . I finally got a used ps4 a few months ago but have yet to plug it in, moving stuff around with 30 + systems has seemed too much work for the little gaming I would get out of it for now. Skipped xbone entirely.Still buying the occasional Wii u or wii game.

Speaking entirely subjectively, the Wii-U is Nintendo's best console since the SNES. It's got great HD visuals, is compatible with two generations of physical games, and has access to a substantial VC back catalog. The tablet, while it doesn't live up to the hype, is by no means a negative. IMO, the U is what the Wii should have been from Day 1, minus the tablet. If it were, we may have seen a real competitor for the PS3 and 360, but that's very speculative.

 

The problem really started when the U was named and marketed almost identically to the Wii. Too many people thought it was just a new controller for the Wii, and this led them to dismiss the console without ever really knowing what it was. I would argue that the Wii U was more than good enough, but Nintendo lacked the confidence needed to sell it on its own merits, rather than the gimmick of the tablet. And unlike the Wii's motion controller, which people legitimately went crazy over, no one really cared about the tablet because by then, if people wanted a tablet, they were buying iPads and Surfaces.

[Rick Dangerous]

Speaking entirely subjectively, the Wii-U is Nintendo's best console since the SNES. It's got great HD visuals, is compatible with two generations of physical games, and has access to a substantial VC back catalog. The tablet, while it doesn't live up to the hype, is by no means a negative. IMO, the U is what the Wii should have been from Day 1, minus the tablet. If it were, we may have seen a real competitor for the PS3 and 360, but that's very speculative.

 

The problem really started when the U was named and marketed almost identically to the Wii. Too many people thought it was just a new controller for the Wii, and this led them to dismiss the console without ever really knowing what it was. I would argue that the Wii U was more than good enough, but Nintendo lacked the confidence needed to sell it on its own merits, rather than the gimmick of the tablet. And unlike the Wii's motion controller, which people legitimately went crazy over, no one really cared about the tablet because by then, if people wanted a tablet, they were buying iPads and Surfaces.

 

It was a great console. A little business known as "brand differentiation" was a major problem. I would also argue that the lack of RAM and consumer adoption led to a drop off in third party support and porting of triple A titles being ported.

 

But for purely playing 1st party IP it was an absolute gem!

[Flojomojo]

Thread summary

 

Speculation

Assumption of bad intentions by Nintendo

Anecdotal experiences

Statements of personal preferences

[Rick Dangerous]

Thread summary

 

Speculation

Assumption of bad intentions by Nintendo

Anecdotal experiences

Statements of personal preferences

 

Well this is a forum isn't it? You wan't quantified scientific research with multiple double blind studies cited?

[Tanooki]

 

Well this is a forum isn't it? You wan't quantified scientific research with multiple double blind studies cited?

 

Actually considering people want to pretend to act like adults these days, so yes. Better to be the one forum that isn't a troll house.

[toptenmaterial]

I can't imagine any scalpers making big profits from this. Though I don't doubt many imbeciles will try.

 

It isn't a must-have holiday or anything like that. Only rush could be some birthdays or shit like that.

Oh but you must check your local craigslist my friend! Switch with Zelda could be yours TODAY for only $800!!!

[toptenmaterial]

EDIT: I was responding to zzip's observation that the Wii was a fad.

 

 

Define fad. Serious question. The Wii sold very well and had a great stock of first party titles. And yes, much crapware. Is it a fad because they couldn't or didn't make a true successor of the same platform?

Edited March 8, 2017 by toptenmaterial

[Keatah]

Oh but you must check your local craigslist my friend! Switch with Zelda could be yours TODAY for only $800!!!

 

TODAY.. my ass!!

 

This is a shipping consoles that is actually in some stores. Maybe not widespread, but getting there. And for those that can't find one today, just wait a couple of weeks, you'll get one. And not scalped either. I guess..

 

And for those of you wanting to give it as a gift, but can't due to availability, I found that making a cardboard placard cutout or an old-school PrintShop type card with a picture of the item, or a fake gift card, to be just as good. As long as it's good and valid and NOT A JOKE like those empty boxes with kids crying on youtube, it'll work.

 

I did that with the wife's DSLR kit. The camera wasn't due to be released until July, but I needed it in April. So I made a fake Nikon gift card for presentation and told her in the meantime to pick out lenses and accessories. By the the time it shipped we were ready to roll.

 

---

 

Anyways, artificial shortages may work once or twice. But I would hope that people wise-up and don't do it again. Once you're seasoned and have been around the block, none of it matters. In today's day and age there's plenty of material to take its place. Put it on the back burner, and revisit in a month or two.

[zzip]

EDIT: I was responding to zzip's observation that the Wii was a fad.

 

 

Define fad. Serious question. The Wii sold very well and had a great stock of first party titles. And yes, much crapware. Is it a fad because they couldn't or didn't make a true successor of the same platform?

 

Fad is something that nearly everybody jumps on at the same time, and then all lose interest in around the same time.

 

Tons of people bought the Wii on the promise of motion-control bowling or whatever, but most abandoned it within a couple years. Probably went onto play Mafia Wars and Farmville on FB-- AKA the next fad.

 

Technically the Wii won the sales war of its generation with over 100 million units sold, but owning one felt like you owned the system with the worst sales. I remember looking though a gaming magazine every month and seeing page after page of these great-looking PS3/360 game reviewed, but then only one about one game each issue for the Wii typically. It was like owning an Atari 8-bit again and seeing all the great games and apps on C64/Apple that you couldn't play

 

And despite the Wii selling over 100 mil, the Wii U sold around 13 mil. Where did the other ~90 mil go? They lost interest! That's why I say it was a fad.

[Tanooki]

I don't think the Wii qualifies really unless you want to define between a short team and long term fad then perhaps I'd agree. It most definitely was a fad on the PS3 though as move tanked hard and fast. Also it would be fair to say the Wii had a decent library but the video gaming media is the most immature by leaps and bounds of any neck of the 'media' world out there. They acted like complete petulant brats about it from almost day one making childish to downright mean jokes about the system and those who would buy it trying to turn Nintendo owners into pariahs which was insulting as well. The most coverage the Wii ever fairly got was almost entirely first party games, anything quality others did would either gloss it, find something to ridicule about it, or they'd just nitpick it to death while whining nothing was in HD as if that wasn't understood 3 weeks into it let alone 3 years later of repetitive bitching.

 

The WiiU sales were directly tied to very poor hardware, a suicidally difficult coding setup to it, a high price of entry to develop and on the back end to purchase, and developers not supporting it within a year of its arrival and already dumping on it before it even came out to market.

[0078265317]

10 games anyways. about 8 of them are crap 1 is meh and one is good. Wonder what they will try to market in 2020 as there next system and leave the switch dead. As a consumer I won't get fooled again.

This N cycle of bs is for newbies.

 

Looks like it.

[0078265317]

 

The Wii was essentially a fad, extremely popular the first few years of its life, abandoned by its userbase later in its life. Its library consisted of large numbers of crap games AKA 'shovelware' with a relative handful of great titles.

 

I had a Wii, I thought long and hard about upgrading to a Wii U. But in the end it wasn't that the Wii was good enough. It was the Wii U that wasn't good enough- It promised more of the same, except worse because sales were slow. Decided to get a PS4 instead. Turned out to be the right decision for me.

 

Exactly my thinking. Except a week ago it was 289 on amazon but its gone now.

[krslam]

Back to the topic of shortages, my local Fred Meyer has both 3DS and 2DS systems back in Stock as well as several Switch consoles and a dozen or so copies of Zelda BotW. No sign of the smaller black Friday 3DS or NES classic, though.

[atarian63]

Speaking entirely subjectively, the Wii-U is Nintendo's best console since the SNES. It's got great HD visuals, is compatible with two generations of physical games, and has access to a substantial VC back catalog. The tablet, while it doesn't live up to the hype, is by no means a negative. IMO, the U is what the Wii should have been from Day 1, minus the tablet. If it were, we may have seen a real competitor for the PS3 and 360, but that's very speculative.

 

The problem really started when the U was named and marketed almost identically to the Wii. Too many people thought it was just a new controller for the Wii, and this led them to dismiss the console without ever really knowing what it was. I would argue that the Wii U was more than good enough, but Nintendo lacked the confidence needed to sell it on its own merits, rather than the gimmick of the tablet. And unlike the Wii's motion controller, which people legitimately went crazy over, no one really cared about the tablet because by then, if people wanted a tablet, they were buying iPads and Surfaces.

Well put!

[zzip]

I don't think the Wii qualifies really unless you want to define between a short team and long term fad then perhaps I'd agree. It most definitely was a fad on the PS3 though as move tanked hard and fast. Also it would be fair to say the Wii had a decent library but the video gaming media is the most immature by leaps and bounds of any neck of the 'media' world out there. They acted like complete petulant brats about it from almost day one making childish to downright mean jokes about the system and those who would buy it trying to turn Nintendo owners into pariahs which was insulting as well. The most coverage the Wii ever fairly got was almost entirely first party games, anything quality others did would either gloss it, find something to ridicule about it, or they'd just nitpick it to death while whining nothing was in HD as if that wasn't understood 3 weeks into it let alone 3 years later of repetitive bitching.

 

That is kind of irrelevant as every platform gets made fun of by some segment of the gaming community. (Sony Ponies, Xbots, PCMR basement dwellers, etc) Nintendo deliberately went after a casual market for the Wii, and they have historically poor relations with the major third party developers. The casuals turned out to not be a committed bunch-- The Wii offered little for the hardcore gamer.

[leods]

I live in Wuppertal Germany. I went today to a Mediamarkt store.

 

They had in stock:

 

Nintendo 2ds, Nintendo new 3dsXL, ONE WiiU, Nintendo Switch (both colors) and joycons.

 

They did NOT have: New 3ds (the smaller model), Nes Classic mini, Switch Pro Controller, WiiU pro controller or Zelda Breath of the Wild (for either system).

 

Just thought I'd s´hare since people seem to care.

 

On the day the switch launched they had a bunch of switches and over a dozen Classic Minis. They also had a bunch of Pro Controllers and Zelda.

[0078265317]

See my local bestbuy empty also.

 

[HoshiChiri]

I wish I could remember the article/video that pointed this out to me, but Ninteno doesn't operate like an electronics company. They work like a toy company. Toy companies revel in limited stock- it increases interest in product and triggers a provider instinct in parents ('I must support the well-being of my spawn!') Plus there's the status bonus- "he got a NINTENDO! No one can get those! He's so cool!"

 

Basically, they'really preying on our instincts around scarcity to make us want a product we might otherwise not buy. It also keeps people from questioning pricing.

[Tanooki]

I've seen a few copies of that dumb dance game, 1-2 switch and zelda today along with various non-neon single and 2 packs of the joycons and other licensed third party accessories.

 

My wife picked up the thick case with link on it in blue to hold the switch and quite a few games / memory cards in little plastic cases. I went out looking for a breath of the wild book in hardback form(didn't find either.)

[Video]

I haven't seen the things around here either. In the case of the wii, there was a disaster that caused the shortage, and since then, I think Nintendo has been causing artificial shortages every time they release new hardware. Why? Like someone said earlier, Wii was massively popular early in it's life. Then it dropped off. It held popularity for a couple of years, till people realized it was more gimmick than a real console. Interestingly, it held popularity for about the length of time it was hard to come by. Hell, I love Nintendo, but it took me two years to get one, and about two weeks to put it away afterwards.

[godslabrat]

I haven't seen the things around here either. In the case of the wii, there was a disaster that caused the shortage, and since then, I think Nintendo has been causing artificial shortages every time they release new hardware. Why? Like someone said earlier, Wii was massively popular early in it's life. Then it dropped off. It held popularity for a couple of years, till people realized it was more gimmick than a real console. Interestingly, it held popularity for about the length of time it was hard to come by. Hell, I love Nintendo, but it took me two years to get one, and about two weeks to put it away afterwards.

Nintendo has been plagued by shortages since the beginning. Zelda II and SMB2 were known for shortages during their first year, and there have been hit titles and systems every few years since then.

 

This might mean the shortages are manufactured, it might not. But they go way back, regardless.

[Keatah]

Whatever the motivation and reasoning behind the apparent shortages.. people shouldn't let it bother them. There's thousands of other toys and videeyahgamez to pick from. Does it HAVE to be a "nintendo"?

 

And while early on I always wanted to have item X before anyone else on the block did - I don't do that anymore. It's like front-row concert seats. We tried that a couple of times. It turned out to be more expensive and less enjoyable than, say, 10 or 15 rows back.

[AtariLeaf]

Whatever the motivation and reasoning behind the apparent shortages.. people shouldn't let it bother them. There's thousands of other toys and videeyahgamez to pick from. Does it HAVE to be a "nintendo"?

 

And while early on I always wanted to have item X before anyone else on the block did - I don't do that anymore. It's like front-row concert seats. We tried that a couple of times. It turned out to be more expensive and less enjoyable than, say, 10 or 15 rows back.

 

I've never understood the need to own something no one else does, especially a mass produced item that anyone can eventually purchase. In ten years time, the Switch someone bought on day one and the Switch someone bought two years in will be valued exactly the same on the used market. (Assuming no hardware changes in that time)

 

This whole "keeping up with the Jones's" consumer mentality which companies love and the average consumer can't seem to figure out that they're being manipulated, is really stupid. These are the same people that simply must buy the newest iPhone every year because it does some intangible thing slightly better than last years model and oh of course, to be able to brag that they have one and you don't. I've never found it something to brag about, it's something to be pitied as it's an obvious ploy to separate the sheep from their money. Of course if you've got the cash, go ahead, but I feel bad for those that go into debt for gadgets they don't need just to say they have it.

 

Rant over.

[zzip]

 

I've never understood the need to own something no one else does, especially a mass produced item that anyone can eventually purchase. In ten years time, the Switch someone bought on day one and the Switch someone bought two years in will be valued exactly the same on the used market. (Assuming no hardware changes in that time)

 

This whole "keeping up with the Jones's" consumer mentality which companies love and the average consumer can't seem to figure out that they're being manipulated, is really stupid. These are the same people that simply must buy the newest iPhone every year because it does some intangible thing slightly better than last years model and oh of course, to be able to brag that they have one and you don't. I've never found it something to brag about, it's something to be pitied as it's an obvious ploy to separate the sheep from their money. Of course if you've got the cash, go ahead, but I feel bad for those that go into debt for gadgets they don't need just to say they have it.

 

Rant over.

 

Early adopting has a big downside too, not only do you pay a lot more, but you miss out on later revisions/standards that you might kick yourself for.

 

Just off the top of my head:

 

early Atari 800 adopters paid a lot and missed GTIA.

Early 4K adopters paid a lot and missed HDR

 

I know there are many other examples of this.