I commented this on the last Wii article about how it was going to have another great holiday of being on top. The Wii has sold consoles to every person who is ever going to own one. They will see a significant permanent drop (barring another price decrease) over the next year.

Nintendo might just have to start appealing to the core gamer. The casual audience has been buying for the past few years and after the price cut for the PS3 I think that microsoft and sony are going to start pushing ahead unless Nintentdo does something drastic. Honestly I know many core gamers who are selling their wii's and buying playstations. (Playstations because they already have xbox's) Since the Wii's graphics aren't anything special and Sony and Microsoft are both exploring motion control alternatives to the Wii I think the Wii sales will steadily decline until they release a new console.

There's still people buying WIIs, I mean, who has not a WII (besides me)

Well Nintendo's put themselves in a position that no previous console has been in before (at least not successfully).  To develop for the Wii you need to have a separate development team that can't even use the same art assets!  That seems to be the main reason third party developers are struggling with the system -and the fact that no one, other than Nintendo, seems to be able to implement decent motion controls.

It's interesting that Nintendos strategy of continuing to use older hardware, rather than upgrading, back-fired in a way other than they intended.  I think they always thought it would be fine if their system didn't have as good graphic capabilities as the others.  I don't think they expected what's actually happening; not only are the graphics different (and worse), but the games are being developed separately -normally into shoddy half-assed versions of the original property.  Who knew that the repercussions of staying away from the cutting edge would be so severe?

I think it would help if they did a mid-cycle re-launch of the system that had motion plus built into the controllers, the ability to handle graphics up to 1080p, and gave it a small hard drive/flash drive.

the wii is done.

Well that was fun... if you enjoyed terrible shovelware games...

maybe it just finally leveling off

Here's an analogy for you:

There are people who, every day, go to the gym to work out. They are serious about treating their bodies like a temmple. Serious about working out. So they opt to purchase a membership at an expensive gym so that they have access to the latest and most efficient equipment to work out on.

Then there are those who, after a large dinner, sit at home on their couches while a commercial for the Ab Rocker flashes before their eyes. Or Maybe it was an infomercial for the latest set of DVDs designed specifically for the "busy person, who simply doesn't have time to hit the gym every day but wants to look great!"

My friends, the XBox 360 and the PS3 are the expensive gyms where the serious folk play.

The Wii is the Ab Rocker...the set of Turbo Jam DVDs you once bought thinking it would be "fun" to work out at home but after you used it once or twice, it now gathers dust somewhere in your basement or maybe it's already up on Craigslist.

Sure the concept is neat, even revolutionary it may seem. Realistically though, from what I'm reading here and elsewhere, the Wii's days are numbered because the "casual gamer" they aim to please is not the type to go out and purchase upgrades or for that matter, new software.

When was the last time you heard someone say: "Hey! Guess what I just bought! The double chin attachment for my Ab Rocker!"

The Wii was a great success in that it introduced gaming to the masses on a scale not previously seen, making lots of $$$ along the way.  that said, the masses tend to become bored after a while and move on to the next big thing, while the core gamers have and will continue to support the industry.  I wonder if Nintendo will now attempt to reach out to the core gamers for more sales (doubtful looking at the 2010 line up) or ramp up design of a next gen casual game console and try for more mass appeal.  meanwhile the DS is still selling like hot cakes.

The Wii has run its course if we don't see some games produced for more dedicated gamers. Stuff like Wii Fit, Wii Sports, etc. is fun for about an hour or two, and then its back to real games. The Wii has to change its focus if it wants to survive.

wii sucks

 Experienced gamers, like me, tend to keep in mind the time line line of which video game history is made on. The Wii was released in 2006-2007. Not many, if any games were out except Wii Sports, which we all know was included, yet still everyone had to have it. Soon games did come out, though and Wii owners everywhere started renting and buying Wii games...and retailers as well as Nintendo were quite satisfied. Back then people were focusing more on family gaming more than hard-core, realistic gaming, but it didn't take long for people to see how boringly simple the Wii was.

 People soon began realizing that just because the controller was wireless and that you used more arm motion playing the games, it didn't necessarily make the Wii more fun to play. Plus people also figured that more hard-core gaming console, like the Xbox 360 had much better graphics, which was true, and that these days, video gamers are more intrested in game genres such as shooters, like Call of Duty, one important genre that the Wii didn't have enough of. By now, Microsoft had released the Xbox 360 Elite and soon even reduced the price down $100, and the PS 3 was catching on as well. We soon come to the time of the present and now see that the hard-core consoles (Xbox 360 and PS 3) have won this match...and possibly the last one. If the Wii can still make useful sale by 2011 it probaly would be a miniscule amount compared to the hard-core consoles, but I doubt it would even survive in the gaming world until mid-2010. That's my comment on this situation, what's yours.

i dont think it will hurt the wii. but lol ....printing money hehe

I really hope that the Wii has not run it's course.  I just think that Third-party devs. just got to stop making shovelware for the system.  It they can just make blockbuster games for the Wii and give it some love, then maybe the Wii will have a chance with the other systems on the market.  I just hope they don't stop making them.

Nintendo has no doubt hurt itself by sticking with old technology. Not so much because the graphics but because the system isn't good for adding exciting new functionality. When was the last time the Wii got an update as cool as the NXE or the latest Facebook/Last.fm update? Plus the good third party games don't get the advertising they need. Games like Okami, De Blob, and a few others sit on store shelves because they are reletively unfamiliar to audiences. How many Zelda fans ignored Okami when it is very much the next "zelda" for Wii (until the actual Zelda for wii comes anyways)? Plus, how many people realize that they can get all of the classics on the Virtual Console or games like World of Goo on WiiWare? As a owner of all three consoles, I love the Wii. Do I play it as much as the PS3 or 360? No. Is it because of bad games? No. Its mostly because nothing exciting happens on it like on the 360 (and sometimes PS3). Wii is great but they need to create larger consumer awareness.

The Wii is $250 Twilight Princess + Mario Galaxy player.

Everyone has one...  Or so it seems.  That would be the reason why sales drop.

@ The Bishop, Great analogy.

Another part of the problem is that Nintendo ignored some key features like HD, Hard drives and competent online for a gimmick...motion controls.  And gimmicks never last.  Nintendos been making crappy controllers since the N64, and why they think we want to flail our arms around like a moron playing every game is beyond me, and apparently, millions of others.

DIE WII, DIE!