Once upon a time it was all gumdrop smiles and rainbow meadows for Nintendo’s Wii, but this year the console has had trouble maintaining its (admittedly insane) traction from 2008. Particularly in Japan, reports the Nikkei, where the Kyoto company is in the process of scaling back Wii production.According to the report, two component manufacturers - Mitsumi and Hosiden - are suffering huge losses in revenue this fiscal year, of more than 50%. The blame is laid on “declining fortunes” of the Wii console and “a drop-off in orders from Nintendo to assemble game systems.”
The news follows recent reports of Nintendo
cutting back its profit margins, and the
admittance by company chief Satoru Iwata that Wii sales in 2009 have been approximately “half the size of last year.”
Do you think it’s time Nintendo started talking about that
new Wii anytime soon? Is the Wii’s time up, or is this simply a temporary slump to normality compared to 2008’s dizzying heights? Sound off in the comments area, as always.
Source: Nikkei (you'll need a subscription, mind)