Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) will make their new Wii video game console available in North America and South America on Nov. 19, just in time for the holiday shopping season.
Their main rival, Sony Corp. (SNE), has been forced to delay their own introduction of PlayStation 3 due to serious problems with the company's new Blu-ray Disc technology. Nintendo's Wii console will sell for $250, notably less than the expected ticket price of $600 for the top version of PlayStation 3.
Another competitor, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), has sold more than five million Xbox 360 game consoles since their introduction in 2005 and hopes to sell more than 10 million by year's end, according to this NYTimes.com article.
Nintendo’s Wii (pronounced we) is less technically ambitious than Sony’s PS3, which is why it will cost far less and be far more available in stores this holiday season. To market the Wii, Nintendo hopes to make up in innovation and accessibility what the machine lacks in sheer silicon horsepower.
Nintendo is No. 3 in the console video game market, behind Sony and Microsoft. But while those competitors have largely focused on appealing to hard-core gamers, Nintendo is now trying to appeal to a broader audience.
“Our goal is to bring gaming back to the masses,” Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, said in a telephone interview. “You see that in our pricing, you see that in the number of units we plan to make available this year and you see that in how we are positioning the Wii to appeal to every member of the household, including but not limited to the hard-core gamer.”
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