Sony CEO Dismisses Wii as "Niche" Product

The massively popular Nintendo Wii is merely an "expensive niche" product, Sony CEO Howard Stringer recently said.

Speaking at the Allen & Co Media Conference, Stringer dimissed the Wii as a potential competitor to the PlayStation 3.

"I've played a Nintendo Wii," he said, "I don't see it as a competitor. It's more of an expensive niche game device. We're selling a lot of PlayStation 3s now and it's still the best way to buy a Blu-ray player."

Both Sony and Microsoft officials have spoken of the Wii with a mixture of derision and contempt, claiming it is not a competing product.

This is a rather convenient position, as the Wii's monthly sales numbers consistently put both other consoles to shame, leaving open the question what is truly "niche" about it.

Source: Ars Technica

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Seeing as they're backing a system that just got seriously fucked they really shouldn't be criticizing nintendo's MUCH more successful business model.

It's sort of true though. It seems to me like everyone owns a Wii for family and friendly multiplayer, and either a PS3 or 360. Some people own all three, some people only own one. But it seems to me like the Wii, with its cheap price tag and overall completely different style of games, it's not even really part of the competition.

I agree, the Wii is not a competitor to the PS3, because the wii already kicked it in the balls, and pushed down a cliff. Ending all competition right there.

I think Mr. Stringer has it backwards; the PS3 is the expensive niche device.

Churchman:
I agree, the Wii is not a competitor to the PS3, because the wii already kicked it in the balls, and pushed down a cliff. Ending all competition right there.

Ha! The Wii isn't a competitor because Sony and Microsoft are both competing for second in this console war, especially once the Wii gets that really interesting looking FPS with system optimized graphics (cannot recall title) and Arc Rise Fantasia to appease the Hard Core crowd.

PedroSteckecilo:

Churchman:
I agree, the Wii is not a competitor to the PS3, because the wii already kicked it in the balls, and pushed down a cliff. Ending all competition right there.

Ha! The Wii isn't a competitor because Sony and Microsoft are both competing for second in this console war, especially once the Wii gets that really interesting looking FPS with system optimized graphics (cannot recall title) and Arc Rise Fantasia to appease the Hard Core crowd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5EhfHNPA8g

A niche product? Lol, In my opinion only rich idiots with huge TVs want a PS3. Maybe they're a tad bitter because the Wii is doing so well. I agree with Churchman, ''The Wii already kicked it in the balls, then pushed it down a cliff''.

I agree and disagree, the Wii can not really be put in the same category with the Xbox 360 and PS3 since in terms of hardware both the Xbox 360 and PS3 are leaps and bounds above the Wii, so I agree in that the products could be classified differently. However I disagree that it isn't competition to the Xbox 360 and PS3 since it's quite obvious it is, a competitor is someone who sells a product that would seriously eat into sales of your own product.

However I think ultimately the Wii will be the 'second' console in the home, since I think having more then 1 console in the home will start to become much more popular over the next few years and the Wii is a great way to ease people into that, since people may not be able to afford the Xbox 360 and PS3 and then support them with games that cost quite a bit. So basically I think owning a PS3 or Xbox 360 for more intensive gaming with a few games and owning a Wii with quite a lot of fun and cheap games will start to become the norm.

of course Nintendo here will be the ultimate winner for appealing to a much larger market and even if my predictions come true, they would hold the upperground since although it would be classified as the 'second' console in the home, it would probably beat the rest hands down in sales.

It's a niche alright... it's called "most people" ^^

the Wii is competition to the PS3 and 360 in the same way that Upscaled DVD Players are competition against Blu-Ray and HDVD players.

Oh, this is painful.

To dismiss the power Nintendo has with the Wii is just, well, stupid and idiotic.

Maybe he needs to realize that even CEO's have to face the truth some times.

In my opinion, the Wii has better more original games. To me, the only good exclusive games for PS3 are Resistance and Uncharted, both of which I could live without. 360 and Wii FTW!

Wow! Apparently, Sony has been taken over by the Bush administration!

Dcarty745:
In my opinion, the Wii has better more original games. To me, the only good exclusive games for PS3 are Resistance and Uncharted, both of which I could live without. 360 and Wii FTW!

In my opinion the Wii has very few original games, I like Nintendo but how long do they have to abuse their game franchises like Mario, Sonic etc. would love to see some creativity so they could actually come up with some new iconic characters.

Skrapt:

Dcarty745:
In my opinion, the Wii has better more original games. To me, the only good exclusive games for PS3 are Resistance and Uncharted, both of which I could live without. 360 and Wii FTW!

In my opinion the Wii has very few original games, I like Nintendo but how long do they have to abuse their game franchises like Mario, Sonic etc. would love to see some creativity so they could actually come up with some new iconic characters.

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head.

I mean, we can only save the same princess so many times before we want more.

As long as they keep underestimating Nintendo like that (and like they've always had) Sony and MS will NEVER beat them with the PS3 and 360 respectively on this console race.

Gahars:

Skrapt:

Dcarty745:
In my opinion, the Wii has better more original games. To me, the only good exclusive games for PS3 are Resistance and Uncharted, both of which I could live without. 360 and Wii FTW!

In my opinion the Wii has very few original games, I like Nintendo but how long do they have to abuse their game franchises like Mario, Sonic etc. would love to see some creativity so they could actually come up with some new iconic characters.

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head.

I mean, we can only save the same princess so many times before we want more.

I think history shows that's simply not true : P

And that goes for saving the earth from aliens, shooting terrorists and kicking god's ass too.

If the bottled Failure, Sony would be a fine vintage.

Ugh, i bet if a Microsoft employee said the exact same thing everyone would just label him a douche and move on, but NOOOO because someone from Sony said this everyone is all over their ass just because they're in "last place" and give all the shit to Sony.

Errrggh, maybe i'm still pissy about the whole FF13 business, but still....

oh well, but i do agree mostly with the whole "Wii is niche" thing, usually the people i know that have wiis also have either a 360 or PS3 myself included, but even with alleged "great games" (I.E. Galaxy, Metroid, Zelda,.....) I find myself putting them down and never picking them back up again. Weird.

Excuse me. All you Wii defenders fail to realize that there is a reasonable view that holds the Wii is not competing in this generation of consoles. It's competing in the LAST generation. If that's the case, it's still got a long way to go before it wipes the gobsmack of the PS2 off its face. A supporting fact for this position is that the Wii keeps getting PS2 conversions and very little else in the way of 3rd party titles. It's a Nintendo PS2 with a neat controller. It is NOT a 7th-gen system if you look up from the controller and actually look at the graphics, the sound, and the GAMES, you know, those things you buy a console for. Those pocket poker games sell a whole lot, but you wouldn't appreciate me comparing Tiger Football to the DS, now would you?

This is not to say that folks cannot get a lot of fun from the Wii. That's fine and it's not actually the question at hand. Kids, just because Nintendo got a good price point on the last hurrah of SDTV doesn't mean your 480p wonder is going to last forever, or even much past 2009.

SaintWaldo:
Excuse me. All you Wii defenders fail to realize that there is a reasonable view that holds the Wii is not competing in this generation of consoles. It's competing in the LAST generation. If that's the case, it's still got a long way to go before it wipes the gobsmack of the PS2 off its face. A supporting fact for this position is that the Wii keeps getting PS2 conversions and very little else in the way of 3rd party titles. It's a Nintendo PS2 with a neat controller. It is NOT a 7th-gen system if you look up from the controller and actually look at the graphics, the sound, and the GAMES, you know, those things you buy a console for. Those pocket poker games sell a whole lot, but you wouldn't appreciate me comparing Tiger Football to the DS, now would you?

This is not to say that folks cannot get a lot of fun from the Wii. That's fine and it's not actually the question at hand. Kids, just because Nintendo got a good price point on the last hurrah of SDTV doesn't mean your 480p wonder is going to last forever, or even much past 2009.

I kinda agree, it's sort of in a league of its own. I was playing Mario Kart on the Wii on the weekend and it hurt my eyes. Take away the controller and you have a Gamecube (which was a big fail). I don't envy the Wii's mass appeal, it's the first console in a while to drag in the mum and dad gamers, but it really doesn't do much for me. If I want to play tennis or golf or get fit I'll just go out there and do it in real life.

What MS and Sony should realise though is that the Wii is not a flash in the pan and it certainly doesn't seem to be fading into obscurity like they expected it to. Get over it.

SaintWaldo:
Excuse me. All you Wii defenders fail to realize that there is a reasonable view that holds the Wii is not competing in this generation of consoles. It's competing in the LAST generation. If that's the case, it's still got a long way to go before it wipes the gobsmack of the PS2 off its face. A supporting fact for this position is that the Wii keeps getting PS2 conversions and very little else in the way of 3rd party titles. It's a Nintendo PS2 with a neat controller. It is NOT a 7th-gen system if you look up from the controller and actually look at the graphics, the sound, and the GAMES, you know, those things you buy a console for. Those pocket poker games sell a whole lot, but you wouldn't appreciate me comparing Tiger Football to the DS, now would you?

This is not to say that folks cannot get a lot of fun from the Wii. That's fine and it's not actually the question at hand. Kids, just because Nintendo got a good price point on the last hurrah of SDTV doesn't mean your 480p wonder is going to last forever, or even much past 2009.

...right, except reality.

Gamers who go out to buy consoles are choosing among the Wii, the 360 and the PS3. A number of them are buying the Wii and would have bought one of the other consoles if the Wii had not been on the market. Therefore, the Wii is a competitor to both the 360 and the PS3. Seeing as this is an economic discussion and not a technical one, the specs of the Wii are irrelevant.

The Wii. A poor man's 360.

I agree with the position a lot. It is something of a niche product. Does that mean it can't sell well? Hell no. Does that make it a bad system? Absolutely not. Coming from Sony which, in my opinion is the weakest of the next gen systems in terms of good software, it sounds like a desperate flail to bring down Nintendo, and failing I think.

I love how they constantly bring up the PS3's blu-ray player, even when talking about something else entirely. It's like they're desperate to do anything to bring attention to them. Of course the PS3 is the best way for getting a Blu-ray player. That's because Nintendo doesnt have a Blu-ray drive and regular Blu-ray drives cost 1k.

All in all, I agree with the idea somewhat, but coming from Sony, its just a desperate plea for sales. As weak as the Wii's software support is, there isn't 1 single game on the PS3 that interests me enough to buy one. Resistance, meh, I'll just play gears. Heavenly Sword, I have God of War. MGS4, never played any of the others. So until Kingdom Hearts 3 and/or a FF7 remake, I'll stick to my 360 and Wii.

wadark:
I agree with the position a lot. It is something of a niche product. Does that mean it can't sell well? Hell no. Does that make it a bad system? Absolutely not. Coming from Sony which, in my opinion is the weakest of the next gen systems in terms of good software, it sounds like a desperate flail to bring down Nintendo, and failing I think.

I love how they constantly bring up the PS3's blu-ray player, even when talking about something else entirely. It's like they're desperate to do anything to bring attention to them. Of course the PS3 is the best way for getting a Blu-ray player. That's because Nintendo doesnt have a Blu-ray drive and regular Blu-ray drives cost 1k.

All in all, I agree with the idea somewhat, but coming from Sony, its just a desperate plea for sales. As weak as the Wii's software support is, there isn't 1 single game on the PS3 that interests me enough to buy one. Resistance, meh, I'll just play gears. Heavenly Sword, I have God of War. MGS4, never played any of the others. So until Kingdom Hearts 3 and/or a FF7 remake, I'll stick to my 360 and Wii.

I'm going to laugh when you need to change through 6 discs on resident evil 5

I have the 360, so I'll get it on there instead.

sorry all, but just because nintendos business model and target group are different that DOES NOT mean they are not competing. microsucks and sony both decided to do what they (and nintendo) had done in every generation previous and build a graphics powerhouse, catering only to the same market that they had been catering to for years. nintendo, on the other hand, decided to make a system that, while not a graphics beast, was small, affordable, reliable and that appealed to a much, MUCH larger group of people than just those that had been targeted in the past. because of the wider market they targeted nintendo is getting more sales and more attention, epically in a very large market that neither sony nor microsucks has any sort of a foothold in.

in short, they are all gaming consoles, and it doesn't matter worth s*** how powerful their hardware is, that is only an excuse used by those tho dislike the wii, fact is they are all gaming consoles, they are all competing for sales and market share, and everyone on the face of the planet should want to own shares in nintendo at the moment.

I see people have dumped all their reasoning and resorted to fanboyism in this thread. Whether people like it or not the Wii is a competitor in this generation of platforms, so what if they took a different route. I don't see how the Wii can be called a 'niche' console when every second person seems to own one, last time I checked niche refers to a certain small demographic like people who play old school 2D shooters or NIS style strategy games.

But what I say doesn't matter, these retarded flame wars will continue as long as idiots exist on the internet.

i like the wii, have a 360 too and i play it way more often. the wii is great for parties or if your hanging out with casual gamers or non-gamers. my little cousins love the wii the best and my fiance has the more fun with the wii then anything else. i wouldnt call it a niche product since it has such a wide appeal to all sorts of audiences.

While it's true that the Wii really can't be compared to the Xbox 360 or the PS3, it's arrogant of him to dismiss it. It's arrogant of anyone, but still, I really don't think Sony's in a position to dismiss a competitor that's kicking their arse.