Nintendo Wii Sports- To Bundle or Unbundle?
The Nintendo Wii has grown increasingly more popular since its launch December of 2006. Will was first conceptualized at the prestigous E3 press conference in 2004. Than it was finally given a sneak peak at the 2005 E3. At that time Satoru Iwata showed a prototype of the controller at the Tokyo Game Show in 2005.
Since it was first made available in the states in November of 2006 the Nintendo Wii sports bundle is selling like pancakes. Kids and adults alike are raving about how cool the Nintendo Wii Sports Bundle is. During its debut in the 2006 E3, Nintendo Wii won the Best Hardware and Best of Show Awards from the Game Critics Awards. Every reputable gaming magazine is also hailing the Wii as the game console breakthrough. The Wii even got an Emmy from The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for Game Controller Innovation.
Why Is Wii So Popular? The question that begs to be answered is: Why is Wii so popular? What does Wii have that PS3 and XBOX360 can’t simply surpass its fan base?
The media has been whining about how our kids are getting unhealthier by the day, due to technology (i.e. video games) so Nintendo came up with the revolutionary gaming console that is Nintendo Wii. Inadvertently it seems that aside from addressing the dilemma of our kids becoming couch potatoes Nintendo Wii has provided interactive gaming that makes the player feel like he or she is really in the game.
The Nintendo Wii Sports Bundle is the main motivating factor for the rise of this phenomenon. When you purchase the Wii console it comes with 5 cool sports games. The neat thing is that you can really express yourself when you play with the Wii console.
Some people out there are now proposing that Nintendo Wii Sports be unbundled from the initial purchase. If you break up the bundle it will bring the price of the console down. Your initial purchase is currently around $300. But that could be lowered by as much as $100 to make it “more affordable”. One conclusions the marketing prophets are making is that the Nintendo Wii Sports bundle sales will be heading for a decline unless Nintendo considers unbundling its Wii Sports offering. Sales would bounce in 2009 if they did.
When we view Wii’s popularity it is of value to note that part of what makes it popular is the very fact that it is sold as a bundle. On top of that, one has to question the market predictions of Nintendo Wii Sports Bundle decline when in fact Nintendo is currently scrambling to fill all of purchase orders. When you have this kind of demand that is exceeding the supply even as Nintendo produces 1.8 million consoles a month, one has to question the wisdom of the marketing prophets.
Finally, Nintendo Wii Sports bundle is not just popular with the kids, grandma loves her Wii also. Wii fans are saying that after their purchase they just don’t find the need to buy any other games. So why change a popular game when people are perfectly happy with the Nintendo Wii sports Bundle just as it is?