Mainstream coverage of the games industry has been a mixed bag for decades. It’s often harmless – a reviewer gets in over his head, or a stat gets misquoted. Sometimes, it’s much more serious, and some desperate reporter drops in a Jack Thompson quote or throws around some baseless claim about violence in games that turn kids into serial killers.
Nick Wingfield at the Wall Street Journal has actually assembled a respectable body of work, covering the industry with the same level of respect and insight that he employed when he covered Apple Computer in the 80′s. Along with Seth Schiesel and Charles Herrold, Nick’s on the short list of gaming specialists that are worth reading every day. This week, he covered Nintendo’s Wii supply issues with remarkable clarity.
As the gaming community’s grown over the years, new system launches have gone from non-events (do you remember where you were when the Super Nintendo launched?) to frenzied riots that claim entire weekends and tragically, some lives. This phenomenon of launch hype has also given rise to perhaps my single biggest pet peeve: conspiracy theories from morons insisting that “they” (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have all worn this mantle at one time or another) are shorting supply (of the 360, PS2, PS3, N64 and Wii, respectively) on purpose, to hype demand.
You’re reading Liquid Architecture, so you’re smart, right? So you know just how stupid the concept of purposely shorting supply for a console would be, right? Especially considering EVERY system since the NES, up until the Wii, has been produced and sold under a razors-and-blades business model, where its manufacturer needs to put the absolute maximum number of consoles in players’ hands on launch day to recover hardware costs by selling more games. Good thing you know, because explaining that every time a hot console launches really gets under my skin.
Up until very recently, these types of mindless, armchair “exposes” were the domain of low-rent “outlets” like some jerk you work with, or a guy at school that insists you can see a ghost in “Three Men and a Baby.” Unfortunately, blogs (not unlike this one) have given these guys (and their crackpot theories) an audience in recent. Even worse, a few legit news sources have fallen into the trap, spurned by some loose-lipped executives that should know better.
Bottom line: Wiis are still hard to find at retail. Yes, it’s rare for the same system to run scarce two years in a row. But c’mon, it’s the Wii! Anyways, you should read Nick’s piece ’cause it’s a rational explanation of the shortage. And next time someone tells you how Nintendo’s keeping them off shelves on purpose, send them this article.
