Thursday, September 30, 2010

Console Post (Addendum)

Michael Pachter had this to say yesterday:
"[Nintendo] screwed up on the Wii. It was sold out for two full years! You just couldn't get one," Pachter said. "What was the point? They should have sold it for $300 at launch, and made another $50 for every Wii sold during that period. It sold so competitively in the first few weeks that it was going for $1,000 on eBay -- and they absolutely don't want to see the 3DS on eBay."

This might be the funniest thing Michael Pachter has ever said.

Take a look at Nintendo's fiscal year earnings for the last few years:
2007-1.47b
2008-2.57b
2009-2.73b
2010 (projected)-1.08b

That's right--making $1 billion during the fiscal year is a disappointment. For Nintendo.

Their profit in the last three years? 6.77 billion dollars.

If any of us ever "screw up" like that, it will be the luckiest day of our lives.

Remember when the Wii launched? Yes, it was sold out instantly, and yes, units went for $600-$800 on eBay. Regularly.

Getting a Wii became an event. The Wii was the single hottest consumer product in this country for over two years. It was a happening.

It made Sony and Microsoft seem unimportant in comparison.

Would all that have happened at $299? Who knows? But it did happen at $249.

"Screw up" posts, in this generation, should be limited to Microsoft and Sony. Both have ample material.

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