Iwata: The Wii has recovered

Why are all 360 and PS3 fanboys looking at this? I think it should be news for Wii Fans ONLY.

The Wii was failing because of no good title's for children over the age of 4. Sadly that is also the reason it has stayed afloat for two years. If Nintendo want's older gamers it needs sequels to some of the original Wii games and Gamecube games. The Wii is taking a step in the right direction with No More Heroes 2, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid: Other M, and Zelda Wii. They should also make a new SSB game, (two on one console isn't bad) a new Starfox game, and a new F -Zero game. Finally, they should drop motion control. (It already failed once for Nintendo!)

@ kavadias1981 i stated just about all the game genres there are.. so where do u get off saying they might not necessarily appeal to another ps3 owner.. :S .. im sorta confused here.. how would another ps3 owner pass up every 1 of these games.. im not aware of any other genres on the ps3 that could be recommendable.. sure every 1 has their personal taste but if some 1 comes out and says something like "your list may not neccessarily appeal to another PS3 owner" when theres games of every genre ON MY LIST - i would question their owning a ps3 in the 1st place.. and in the 2nd place.. why would he own a ps3 if not for its 1st party lineup.

@kuroshiro99 I enjoy playing on my PS3 as much as any owner but you don't need to go thowing lists of games around like some kind of bragging tool. After all, games are personal taste so your list may not neccessarily appeal to another PS3 owner. Also, sales figures in no way represent which console is "better". It just so happens that for whatever reason, people decided to buy more PS3s for xmas this year.

To anyone who read x-2tha-z's comment, haha, i just finished watching the commercial for Just Dance on youtube and i looked at a few of the comments and people are raving about how good and fun the game is. I personally thought the game looked terrible at first but it did look like it could be fun. Just goes to show you that you cant judge a book by its cover... Whatever nintendo is doing its working

@ BabyMario11-who said-" I bear full respect for Sony and Microsoft, but the Wii will always outshine them. " The wii cant even outshine my ps2. Playstation 3 = GOD OF WAR III - End of Console war. FULL STOP. but just to sprinkle a bit of salt - metal gear solid 4, uncharted 2, uncharted 1, demons souls , killzone 2, resistance 1 , resistance 2, little big planet, motorstorm , motorstorm pacific rift, infamous, ninja gaiden sigma 2, valkyria chronicles, white knight chronicles, heavenly sword, warhawk and a grrrrrr8888 3rd party lineup that i dont even need to mention... OUTSHINE THAT! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA .. btw 3.8 mil sales > 3 mil sales .

Lol. I'm watching tv right now. An ad just came on for a Wii game. The game was called Just Dance. The ad showed the terrible looking game and showed some people dancing around with Wiimotes in their hands. What a load of crap. The last 360 and PS3 game I seen advertised on tv was Bayonetta. I know which game I'd rather have. Ha, I found the ad on YouTube. Check it out... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oyhtuWW0vk Terrible. This really is recovery Nintendo. Lol. Well done.

@MagicOneUp Yes, they are supposed to sell as many consoles as they can. What's your point? My point was, the people who bought a Wii need more good games. It doesn't matter to me how many consoles they sell. I just want games. 60 million more sales won't make more good games appear. They have to make them. Do that, then talk about the Wii recovering. This is like a slap in the face for people like me who bought a Wii but can't get enough good games to play on it. I think the Wii is in a terrible state. The Gamecube probably had more good games than the Wii.

@x-2tha-z that is their business is it? they are out there to sell as much consoles as possible. their numbers are always in the millions, so they have must done something right.

@ huntervaneg 'victory will be in the pocket' ???? i thought victory was already in the pocket years ago and is still growing?

I haven't touched my Wii in months. I am about to put it in my closet next to my 360. Who cares about console sales, where are the AAA Nintendo franchises we all know and love? Atleast we have Bioware to distract us with Bioshock 2, Mass effect 2 and the Dragon Age Origins expansion.

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I believed wii's AAA games will appeared in 2011 ... after few (i hope) succesful momentums like the release of Monster Hunter Tri, Tatsunoko vs Capcom, Arc Rise Fantasia, No More Heroes 2, etc ... if they manage to be succeed (reach 7 digit sales number), then the future wii sales will be bright ...

Vitality sensor + wiirelax is gonna be HUGE sellers this summer WATCH!

It may have recovered, but unless the Wii starts to get more quality games it's going to slow down again. There's too many mediocre titles and not enough AAA games.

At the end despite the bad momentum of last year, it appears that the Wii will be the king of this generations in sales. Get the heavy hitters (F-Zero, Star Fox, Zelda, Pikmin, Metroid and more Mario) to the light and the victory will be in the pocket.

Someone should let him know the only reason it rebounded was a little holiday called Christmas. I expect the numbers for Feb to drop again to low numbers (yet still out selling the others). And did anyone else find it funny he said 'has recovered' and then in the same statement, "But I'm not sure if it's prudent to use words like revival and recovery lightly before making absolutely certain we can maintain this momentum. So, I steer clear of such words today" So either he wasn't even hearing himself speak, or he did it on purpose so all the media outlets could release a bonehead headline that doesn't actually say what he meant to say.

Nintendo are really starting to annoy me now. All they care about is the amount of consoles they sell. They don't care that everyone is screaming out for more good games because they don't have anything to play. My Wii was virtually unused in 2009.

Nintendo better come up with a new console that can be able to keep up,both the Game cube and the Wii have been missing out.If this continues I might aswell go with Microsoft seeing as the PC continues to grow even more expensive and Wii churns out more accessories which are required for some games. I haven't bought a single Wii game this year thanks to bad support with third party and games that are re stylized for the Wii but end up being the same.

Wait, did something happen between when the Wii hit a brick well and then recover? Some sort of amazing new, ORIGINAL title that came out? (That isn't a formulaic Mario game) Something by a third party perhaps? Oh, I wonder..

Pfft, there goes that word again, "innovative", sure the Wii has lots of fans and deserves to be defended but at least give your argument more merit by not regurgitating a Nintendo marketing catch-phrase like "innovation", that just makes all us gamers look like the biggest consumer whores. For real, at least those mindless Teabag conservatives use a variety of words for their cause like Anti-Christ, Muslim, Nazi, Socialist, Communist, Hitler Stalin, Mao, Kenyan, and terrorist, just to attack President Obama. Wii supporters on the other hand just say "innovative", kind of like how the idiots in Idiocracy could only support Brawndo by saying over and over again "Brawndo's got electrolytes".

@hatieshorrer From about the beginning of Dec to now sales as listed by vgchartz are Wii:5 mill ; PS3: 2.8 mill ; 360: 2.1 mill. I don't call 2.1 million "low sales" at all, though the Wii sales have definitely trounced the PS360. A price-drop, new mario & holiday season add up to sales spike. I'm not dumping on the Wii(love zelda) it just annoys me that Nintendo's strategy of shovelling out shallow games, which makes you buy MORE games because you finished them, is actually working! It's definitely being bouyed by the "whiney kid" factor as well.

To squidracerX: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess may be a GC game at heart, but it made the transition to the Wii quite nicely (RE4 did too). I've played both versions of LoZ: TP and to be quite honest, I prefer the controls that are featured in the Wii version. It may have been the last great GC game, but it was also the first great Wii game.

The Wii is about to get a rude awakening from SEGA with a new On-Live like device called "WideRing" that's aiming for the casual gamer base that will sell for just $150. It's coming soon and uses a GPU simluar to 360 called ATI Radeon 2600 HD Pro. Just letting you Nintendo fanboys know, Wiis got a contender.

sony said they sold 3.8 million over the 5 week holiday.... Wii only did 3 million? im surprised! I would have thought more people would have bought a Wii just for the new Mario Bros since it sold so insanely well. But I guess Wii has sold so well that many people who wanted a Wii have one....

@Scarred_Crow Super Mario Galaxy is awesome I agree, but The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a gamecube game at heart. It was developed for gamecube first and foremost, but sales were so poor of the gamecube they delayed it and quickly pasted on Wii controls, then released them together. i have played both version, and graphics and sound are identical, but the regular controls on the GC are waaaay better than the Wii motion controls.... Just saying it shouldn't be used in a "must have Wii game" argument, I'd consider it the last good Gamecube game. Its the same as Pikman being re-released with Wii controls, its still a gamecube game ya know?

@BabyMario11 wtf? you are dissing sony for NOT trying to get every penny out of the consumer as they could like Nintendo and Microsoft? You make it a negative point that they include a battery in the controller that the other companies charge half a game in price for!? that is messed up! and you seem to support batteries being used? not only are you wasteful in $$ terms, but batteries are some of the worst waste products humans make... they are horrible in our landfills (where most end up). not to mention the ps3 sold more at launch than the ps2 did. it is selling slower now comparatively. your just a nintendo fanboy with mario in your name.....

If you own a Wii and a PS3 or 360 with it, you shouldn't be complaining. :D

I have a ps3 and a wii I love the wii but it needs HDD High Definition And Trophies or something

Condelirios, that is the biggest bullsh*t I have heard. I am a Nintendo Gamer and Mario, Zelda, Pokemon,Smash bros, Boom Blox, and sequel and whatever, whatever you call Drake´s Fortune,GTA,and Madden 10 are way too hyped. It is THEY who are a waste of plastic, THEY who were the failures you said Nintendo was. Don´t get me wrong, I have nothing against Sony in general, but most titles like those you mentioned are way too overhyped, and the PS3 is a very good console... BUT... Sony and it´s third-party developers hype the games which are not half as good as they are advertised as, and then there are some much better games hiding in the masses! Sony and the rest overhype. Don´t let me get started on Halo 3... And if you are making a big deal about batteries, you shouldn´t be a gamer. Sony lost everything in the Playstation 3´s release period due to that they didn´t sell anything and even though they are making a HUGE comeback now, they will never truly make up for the billions lost there. They lost their best-selling Playstation-only series and that is a huge setback. Condelirios, I bear full respect for Sony and Microsoft, but the Wii will always outshine them.

The gaming experience the Wii brought to us is top tier. Playing WarioWare, Punch-Out, I havent played it yet, but Playing New Super Mario, with friends and family, there u realized how awesome this motion sensor is. U wont get the same experience on any other console. And the fact that ANYONE can grab a Wii mote and play, regardless of gaming history, is an awesome thing. For this and for alot of other things, the Will will never die and will keep raping the sale charts.

To condelirios: I think that Super Mario Galaxy can easily be compared to the best games on both the PS3 and 360. I also feel that The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is right up there too.

Let me start by saying, I love the Wii... It has some quite innovative games and a lot of them (Super Smash Bros, Wii Sports Resort, Boom Blox) are FANTASTIC multiplayer games. Boom Blox is a third party title and it even has an excellent sequel! However, Nothing on the Wii even comes close to comparing with Uncharted, Uncharted 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, Grand Theft Auto IV or Madden 10(the Wii edition is a waste of plastic) on the Playstation 3. NOT CLOSE. It isn't just graphics, it is a whole different level of gameplay. AND aside from the gameplay, the PS3 offers an incredible online experience...including tie ins to the PSP, Netflix streaming, with more and more new features added all the time. The Wii's online experience is good with regard to the online store, but the games are all hampered with that silly if they aren't your friend, you can't play against them nonsense. To top it all off, the PS3 is the best Blu-Ray player on the market. It also has RECHARGABLE batteries built into the controllers and it has a HD for storing massive amounts of content! The PS3 also NEVER fails to have the controllers immediately connect via bluetooth and the Wii loses connection... constantly. So... in short, the extra $100 for a PS3 is totally worth it, if you aren't able to afford both. I would pick the PS3 over Wii all the time. Obviously, the Xbox isn't even on my radar as it offers nothing over either of them and the added problem of massively defective hardware.

To angelGP32: nintendoboy16 also said that you can avoid the shovelware and still find some pretty decent games. I mentioned many more in my first comment if you want to take a look.

I like how Iwata said to steer clear of the word "recovery," but the title of this article is "The Wii has recovered." I lolled certain parts of my anatomy right off.

nintendo will always have mario, zelda, and metroid. It seems that's all their 1st party make, sequels after sequels. Fact is, the 3rd party support is seriously lacking and is only getting worst, devs stating they will stop support and all. For some reasons, the wii sells a lot in america, even without games, but it almost got outsold in japan by the ps3 this year, thanks to mario, yet again, it managed to sell a lil bit more this year. America has made it clear that the wii will continue to sell no matter what, idk if it's cause it's the ideal console for kids but that's just what it is.

@kuroshiro99 A price cut would be awesome. =]

@ nintendoboy16: its the percentage of games, so you list 7 games, but how many shovelware titles will there be, probably upwards of 100 easily. For every decent game on the Wii there is literally 25 terrible games, I would bet my next paycheck, if you looked at the current library of games, that the Wii as it is today, as the worst bad to good game ratio of any system in HISTORY. Yes even taking in to account the game crash of 84 when everybody was making terrible games, the Atari 2600 was flooded, but I bet it's close and I bet the Wii would edge it out.

Cut down a +$50 and i might think bout gettin a wii.

What excites me the most are the reasons WHY it's back on track: Great games and better prices. If we have more SMBWii and Sports Resort, all the better. I only wish Zelda and other IPs were part of the reason so that encourages a better turn around of such games. I hope the strength of PS3/360 continue to take market share as well so that Nintendo can't ignore processing power/graphics are part of the next solution

When the Wii has been used the way it should, you have great games like these: Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Paper Mario, Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Punch Out, Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and No More Heroes. All Exclusives. And good games like these: Mario Kart Wii, MadWorld, Little King's Story, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, Dead Space Extraction, A Boy and His Blob and Zak and Wiki: Quest For Barbaros' Treasure. All Exclusives. Upcoming: Pikmin 3, New Zelda, New Mario, New Metroid I've mentioned a lot of exclusives right there and as far as I'm concerned, that's enough for me to purchase a console. There are some great games on the Wii that can easily be considered some of the best games of this generation (Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption). On top of all that, you have the VC. To be quite honest, a lot of those games on the VC are better than most current releases. It's depressing to think that some people need more.

To all those saying Wii hasn't recovered because there are still flooded with bad games need to look harder. Especially this year because Nintendo just may as well recover this year. Let's see: First party: Super Mario Galaxy 2 Metroid: Other M (but that might get postponed until next year, they haven't said anything about it since E3) Zelda Wii (might get postponed, like most Zelda games do) Third Party: Tatsunoko vs Capcom Monster Hunter 3 No More Heroes 2 Red Steel 2 (although we might have to be careful on this one, due to the first one being "ugh") Hell, even the third party last year was doing a little better. Not only that, you can avoid all the shovelware and get the games that are good, or what you're interested in. It's not like the Wii has 100% shovelware, in which it doesn't.

Nintendo has nothing to worry about. The Nintendo Wii has concluded itself as an success console wise..but the games..that's another story. I'm happy Nintendo is doing well..now they'll probably kill the competition if the core of the Wii is there but with next gen technology then they'd get harcore gamers and be where Sony was/is with the PS2

I think most of you underestimate the power of good clean fun. I play both my 360 and wii about the same amount. Yeah, the 360 is shinier, but there are some games on the wii that I just enjoy, not for blood and guts, but for outright fun. The new mario game is awesome-- I know they've made a bunch of them, but it's still fun! Wii has a ton of games, most of them are horrible, but mixed in there are some rare gems. Such as the Sims 2: Castaway is strangely addicting. It also has a decent downloadable content, which I think adds significantly to its value. I am glad the Wii is selling well and might continue to sell more. It deserves it for trying something new and remembering that fancy graphics aren't the entire game. For first generation motion sensing technology it's fun. And a side note advantage to its graphics. My boyfriend lost most of his vision at 17 and only has one percent of it now. The wii's graphics still allow him to play some games because they tend to be cartoony. Not true on the other systems so much. So perhaps there is a purpose to everything?

If the Wii was a "failure", why is Sony and Microsoft trying to make motion controls/games for their systems as well? awnser is because they can do better

@Evil_Robo I don't like my Wii. I see no reason to pay money for games like Tatsunoko v. Capcom when I have Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 on my Dreamcast. New Super Mario Brothers? You expect me to pay $50 for that? etc. Most of the games suck and I never buy anything until it gets to around $20 on Amazon Marketplace. I softmodded my wii and now I play VC games occasionally. Other than that, I feel like I've wasted my $250 completely. My only other gaming device is my gaming PC so I'm not some idiot console fanboy.

you should only be happy if you own shares in nintendo. if your a consumer, save that burst of joy until nintendo make good exclusives........which doesnt seem to be anytime soon.

As impressive as the Wii sales are, the Nintendo DS is the real sales monster. Very impressive after almost 6 years on the market.

The slowdown was from a direct lack of games. I hope Nintendo has finally learned they cannot come out with something once in a blue moon to stay on top anymore. 3rd parties are gambles, and even when they do make some truly awesome game the market is fickle, if not unfair.

I'm sure they do, the question is do you? Perhaps you should go play some Wii games as it really does sound like you need the experience. Unless you don't see a difference between Madworld and "Babies first dollhouse". @ninime78362. Who doesn't like the Wii's game library? The trolls and flamers on here who don't own the bloody thing? Silent Hill, Muramasa, Tatsunuko vs Capcom, New super mario bros, A boy and his blob were all bought in the last 2 months. And all scored around 8's or higher. Facts are if you don't own a Wii then you have no idea whats on it. Its not like MS or Sony where you need a big flashy advert to get you to buy the game, its about gameplay. Ironically enough, the games I lised are pretty hardcore titles, not a casual game amongst them, yet people still continue with the tired old "only casual games" argument. I think the user DitkaKenobi, is a prime example of talking about something he has no knowledge of. "Get third party support"? The Wii has tremendous 3rd party support, oh, did you not notice Madworld, guitar hero, No More Heroes, Darkside Chronicles, Zak and Wiki, Little kings story, Sin and Punishment 2, Red Steel 2, Dead Space, Pro Evo, Need for Speed, Final Fantasy, Virtua Tennis, Another Code R, Harvest Moon etc. I could go on and on but lets not let facts get in the way of your flawed argument.