Video Game Biz: Is Wii Fit Going to Hit $200B in a Year?
The question on everyone’s lips is, “Is Game Market going to hit $200B in 2021?”. It looks like the Wii Fit is a real hit, and Nintendo has already announced some significant releases for the future. I have a few comments on that. First, however, let’s look at this logically and think about if it makes sense.
First, let’s look at the people who are into playing video games. These are usually the hardcore gamers. They are constantly online; they are heavy gamers. If they are not spending time online and playing these games, they are probably busy reading magazines or books or even cooking dinner.
So if you are reading this article, you must mean that a large percentage of the game market is not dedicated to hardcore gamers. That would make sense, right? So if most game lovers do not play games like Call of Duty or Halo, why would the game market target this group? Well, the answer is simple. Game companies need to make more money to stay in business. People are spending hundreds of dollars on games and accessories, so companies want to cash in on this market to remain in business.
Second, does it make sense for Nintendo to enter the game market? They already made and released several smash hit games. They have Mario, Zelda, and now Pokemon.
And they have two franchises now, aside from Wii Sports. One of which is selling over 5 million units. The other is pretty good, especially considering that it’s the flagship game for the Wii console. So is this the right move by Nintendo to enter the gaming industry?
I don’t think so. Let’s put it this way. There’s a chance for Game Over from every major game company. If the PSP doesn’t sell, EA will be creating a new IP for the PC and PlayStation 3. I feel that Call of Duty Black Ops II may be on its way to becoming the next big franchise.
Do you think it’s brilliant for them to spend much money on a single title when they could create multiple games that would do much better if sold individually? It would cost less since the game creator can create multiple labels at a much lower cost than developing one game. This would allow them to create more games while making more money.
Do you think Nintendo should enter the gaming market with Wii Fit and Guitar Hero? Wii Fit and Guitar Hero are popular games, but they don’t have the potential to make twice as much money as EA did with EA Sports Active. For a long time, Wii Fit could only be obtained at an outlet that had a subscription. The gaming industry has evolved so much that the average player has easy access to a game. Wii Fit can only be obtained at retail outlets, which means Nintendo is at a severe disadvantage when it comes to the potential to make twice as much money as EA did with EA Sports Active.
Do you believe EA was trying to compete with the NFL by creating a game where your kids could get active and play sports? While EA is making a lot of money, it wouldn’t be anywhere near as profitable as Microsoft. They already have the base of gamers, and now they want to give them another option, one that brings them in front of more of an audience.
Do you think Wii Fit will set the video game market back several years? That would be a mistake because there are still plenty of opportunities for other developers to create quality games that consumers will want to purchase instead of downloads. Why would consumers prefer an illegal download over a legitimate one? Because illegal downloads don’t cost anywhere near as much like a real game. With all of the competition between Game Stop, Amazon, and iTunes, it wouldn’t be surprising if you purchased a game through one of those stores rather than illegally download it from torrent websites. These companies make billions each year off of video game sales, and they would lose out on that money if everyone downloaded their games from torrent websites.
If Microsoft and Sony are right and Wii Fit does not do well, then the future of the video game market looks grim. However, the end of the video game market is changing quickly, and it is up to us, the consumer, to decide how we feel about these new changes. Do you think a new Wii or Xbox game will make the video game market a better place? Or do you think they’ll all be left in the dark once again?
