AfterDawn: News

Wii controls female console market, says Nintendo

According to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, the Wii has dominant control over the female home console "primary players" market in the United States, totaling 80 percent.

As reported by Kotaku from the BMO Capital Markets event today, Fils-Aime showed a chart with the Wii at 80 percent of the market, the Xbox 360 at 11 percent and the PS3 controlling the rest of the pie. Handhelds and PC gamers were not included.



The definition of "primary players" is those that are the main users of the console in a household, and Fils-Aime said there were 11.7 million female primary players in the US, with 9.36 million of those playing the Wii.

"This didn't happen by accident," Fils-Aime added. "It's the result of a deliberate attempt to expand the market."



Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Nov 2009 15:06

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• 22 comments

• Jenn73

  I'm not sure that the women are the primary user of the Wii console, but rather their kids. I think women brought the Wii into the home so the kids could play, but then later found out how fun the interactive platform really is and found exercise games and Wii Fit accessories to make these games more fun. Maybe that's how they became the primary users.

  27.11.2009 15:35 #1

• navi1199

  this is just an excuse to make them feel better cause the wii has lousy games and no one wants to buy it anymore... and this is coming from a true blue nintendo fan... they need better games QQ

  27.11.2009 17:43 #2

• scorpNZ

  The wii is for girls is what i'm read'n,i'm sure it would look pretty in pink with tedy bears & hearts,so come on guys fess up how many of you own one & you do realise your all "girly men" :p *runs*

  27.11.2009 18:39 #3

• joeroni

  WOW who would have thunk that.

  27.11.2009 19:00 #4

• Amak

  Because they watch daytime TV. $50 says many own Wii Fit. My mother has sadly fallen for this...she actually believed some story where a guy used JUST Wii Fit to lose a lot of weight...

  27.11.2009 19:15 #5

• KSib

  Originally posted by navi1199: this is just an excuse to make them feel better cause the wii has lousy games and no one wants to buy it anymore... and this is coming from a true blue nintendo fan... they need better games QQI have a Wii and I also feel this is true. They do need better games. I remember when they tried to dodge the "where are the games for hardcore gamers?" question awhile back they responded by listing the older hits they had, but that was then, now we want some more stuff. Good thing I have my PC and these SWEET Steam holiday deals. omg such good deals haha.

  28.11.2009 00:30 #6

• 82Eazy82

  Time for GTA wii, beating the crap outta muthas with your wii-mote. Gangsta. (anyone else love strangling fools on wii godfather?intense..)

  28.11.2009 02:04 #7

• KSib

  No. I want a game with some substance.

  28.11.2009 02:12 #8

• KillerBug

  Originally posted by 82Eazy82: Time for GTA wii, beating the crap outta muthas with your wii-mote. Gangsta. (anyone else love strangling fools on wii godfather?intense..)It would look like GTA:SA with wIIs crummy graphics. They can't compete for serious gamers anymore than the PS2 can. That said, they don't have the collection of games that the PS2 has, so they can't even compete with the last generation, let alone the current one.
  
  I know there are some dedicated female gamers (I have heard them durring online play on PS3)...but they are only a small percentage of the users. Claiming to be the most popular with women is something like claiming to be the most popular amoung native americans...it does not translate to big sales.

  28.11.2009 04:50 #9

• xnonsuchx

  Originally posted by scorpNZ: The wii is for girls is what i'm read'n,i'm sure it would look pretty in pink with tedy bears & hearts,so come on guys fess up how many of you own one & you do realise your all "girly men" :p *runs*
  No, I don't own one, but at least most "girly men" probably know how to write and spell correctly. :-)

  28.11.2009 05:48 #10

• KSib

  I actually don't even remember reading his post. Maybe I just glanced over the poor writing and subconsciously ignored it.

  28.11.2009 06:17 #11

• atomicxl

  Quote:Originally posted by navi1199: this is just an excuse to make them feel better cause the wii has lousy games and no one wants to buy it anymore... and this is coming from a true blue nintendo fan... they need better games QQ
  I have a Wii and I also feel this is true. They do need better games. I remember when they tried to dodge the "where are the games for hardcore gamers?" question awhile back they responded by listing the older hits they had, but that was then, now we want some more stuff. Good thing I have my PC and these SWEET Steam holiday deals. omg such good deals haha.The Wii is the same as the N64 or the Gamecube. Little to no 3rd party support and the majority of the good games are classic Nintendo franchises. Zelda, Mario Galaxy, Kart, Metroid Prime 3, Smash Brothers, New Mario Wii, etc are pretty far from being lousy games imo and in the opinion of game critics/reviewers. Nintendo has been this way for almost 20 years now.
  
  If you bought a Wii expecting anything other than that... I don't know. What about the Wii advertising made you think was going to stop making kid friendly games this gen and go h4rdc0r3? What made you think they were gonna be 3rd party champs when you went in and purchased your Wii? What about the Wii made everyone forget the reality that Nintendo has been in since the 90s?

  28.11.2009 10:21 #12

• vontratt

  The Wii takes its rightful ownership of the crown...
  

  28.11.2009 14:20 #13

• stuntman_

  9.6 million women who played wii sports twice in 2006 and 2007 and haven't touched it again how sad. <sarcasm> OMG ITS A COOL WHITE TV ACCESSORY I WANT IT!</sarcasm>

  28.11.2009 14:52 #14

• KSib

  Wii Sports has lost it's novelty for me and I don't care about getting Wii Sports Resort either.

  28.11.2009 15:23 #15

• moremony

  hey this is just an excuse to make them feel better cause the wii has lousy games and no one wants to buy it anymore... and this is coming from a true blue nintendo fan...SPAM removed. they need better games QQ..
  SPAM removed

  29.11.2009 07:13 #16

• KillerBug

  Apple should buy nintendo...they both make cheap, featureless electronics in white cases, they both have terrible software selection, they are both technicaly outdated. It is a natural fit.

  29.11.2009 23:28 #17

• 82Eazy82

  Originally posted by KillerBug: Apple should buy nintendo...they both make cheap, featureless electronics in white cases, they both have terrible software selection, they are both technicaly outdated. It is a natural fit.L...M...F..A..O i'm a long time nintendy fan, but thats hilarious.

  30.11.2009 02:19 #18

• LoganXG

  Originally posted by scorpNZ: The wii is for girls is what i'm read'n,i'm sure it would look pretty in pink with tedy bears & hearts,so come on guys fess up how many of you own one & you do realise your all "girly men" :p *runs*Hey my Wii is total badass with Funshine bear on it, so haterz need not apply... ! :p

  4.12.2009 09:12 #19

• wealldoit

  The wife loves Wii. And of course, being a real man (as I am) I play with the wife and it's a prelude to..you know. And I'm thinking of inviting the other women in my neighbourhood around also for a bowling night..They love it...
  So all you single "real men" who play games alone on your 360, PS3 or whatever. Do yourself a favour-if you wanna be the man who the ladies love... get yourself a Wii!

  4.12.2009 15:11 #20

• KSib

  Yeah the thing is, I got the Wii because it was a good system to have in college because just about everyone wanted to play it... guys and girls. Most girls I know are intimidated by controllers or just don't really like the video game scene, but when you give em a wii mote they seem to like that a bit more. (Please resist the innuendos because I'm trying to). Wario Ware and Wii Sports were the two main draws when I got the system, but those were then and right now the novelty is wearing off.

  4.12.2009 17:43 #21

• BroJo79 (unverified)

  As Jenn said way up the comments list, it because thru clever marketing (Jenny McCarthy on Your Shape etc) Nintendo have gone away from just men using the Wii and Wii Fit Accessories and have designed games that men, women and kids alike can use.

  23.4.2010 13:39 #22