Nintendo Wii Sales Fall for the 5th Consecutive Year
Growing up in the 2000s, two things were certain: the 11th day of September in grade school was always really awkward, and going to a friend’s house meant you would be playing a Nintendo Wii. The Wii is one of the most successful video game consoles of all time with worldwide hits like Wii Sports, Super Smash Bros., and Mario Kart (mainly the Coconut Mall track). This console has won countless awards, and it ultimately defined a generation. With all of this said, however, the Wii is currently facing its 7th consecutive year of falling sales. How could a console of such reverence be failing with no end in sight?
I recently had the chance to sit down with Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawa to talk about the failure of this console. Below is the transcript of our conversation.
ME: Hello Mr. Shuntaro Furukawa, thank you for meeting with me over Zoom for this interview.
FURUKAWA: *mouth moving but no sound echoing*
ME: Mr. Furukawa, please unmute your microphone.
FURUKAWA: Sorry Mr. McDonnell, I am new to Zoom.
ME: How are you new to Zoom? The COVID-19 Pandemic came and went, with Zoom easily taking over the video conferencing space. You haven’t used it once?
FURUKAWA: *more silence, but this time he is not speaking, just staring blankly into the camera*
ME: Okay, well Mr. Furukawa, we are here today to talk about the Nintendo Wii and the failures it has faced over the past few years. Can you explain what is happening, and tell us how you are trying to turn things around for this dying console.
FURUKAWA: I don’t think I understand the question. You are asking about the Wii in the last few years?
ME: Yes. I don’t think I could possibly be more clear.
FURUKAWA: Well, the question in itself is confusing. We have had multiple home consoles released since the Wii was introduced in 2006. Currently, we are manufacturing and selling the Nintendo Switch, a console that can be played at home or on the go.
*Mr. Furukawa holds up some device that I can only assume to be the Nintendo Switch*
ME: But that doesn’t account for the falling Wii sales. You are simply avoiding the question.
FURUKAWA: We haven’t produced the Wii in years. We now sell the successors to the Wii. We are not selling that console anymore.
ME: Ah I see. So a lack of manufacturing has led to a fall in sales. Do you blame COVID for these manufacturing failures?
FURUKAWA: Sir I do not think you understand what I am saying. We no longer sell the Wii. We do not care about falling numbers of a console that is no longer in production.
ME: I am dumbfounded Mr. Furukawa. Is there anything else you’d like to say?
FURUKAWA: Yes. Please buy the Nintendo Switch and play games like--
*I end the call*
What baffled me the most about this interview is the clear incompetence of the man behind the wheel of Nintendo. Not only could Mr. Furukawa barely use Zoom, he didn’t seem to even care about the Wii. I would recommend selling all Nintendo stock at the next chance you get. This ship is going down, and fast. If Mr. Furukawa can’t get his Wii sales up, Nintendo is in for a rude awakening.