Home Gaming Q&A with Core Group about the Nintendo Wii

Q&A with Core Group about the Nintendo Wii

3 min read
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RJ van Spaandonk the executive director of Core Group was kind enough to answer some questions that I emailed through to them.

As you can see I would have loved to follow up on some of the answers but since it was an email Q&A my opportunities are limited… So here we go..

Q. Do we have a definitive launch date for the Wii as yet?
A. The Nintendo Wii will be launched towards end of September 2007.

Q. What is the cost of the Wii going to be, and the games?
A. We have seen the Wii advertised at R2,899, and games for between R549 and R649.

Q. The Xbox 360 Core retails for R2699 and is more expensive than the Wii overseas so why the difference in South Africa?
A. We cannot comment on other companies? pricing policies.

Q. How many games will be launched with the Wii?
A. Initially, the following games will be available: Wii Sports, Wii Play, Zelda.

Q. Do you think the Wii will be able to compete against the PlayStation brand in South Africa & what about the huge gaming catalogue of the 360?
A. We are confident that we have a compelling product offering that many people in South Africa will like.

Q. What is your target market?
A. The Nintendo Wii appeals to almost everyone, and we therefore focus on the entire South African market.

Q. Any predictions on sales in the upcoming holiday season?
A. We cannot make any predictions.

Q. The worldwide stock shortages are well publicised, do you expect us to suffer from the same problems?
A. We have sufficient stock for the upcoming holiday retail season.

Q. Will the Wii’s online ability be officially supported in South Africa?
A. Not at this time.

Q.. While the Wii has a great reliability record some do break. How is support going to work in South Africa? Are you going to follow Microsoft?s lead and just replace faulty consoles?
A. Nintendo products are supported by a 12 month warranty. (yes but how is the support going to work?)

Q. How would you answer the common statement that the Wii is just a fad?
A. We are not aware of this ?common statement? and can therefore not comment. (Obviously hasn’t been reading Sony’s statements 😉 )

Q. Where can we expect to see the Wii for sale? Is it going to follow your Apple distribution line or are you going to open it up to more of the casual market?
A. The Nintendo Wii will be available from most consumer electronics and mass market retail stores. Points of sale can be found at www.nintendo.co.za.

Q. The PS3 has a stated 10 (2016) year lifespan and most analysts expect the 360 to last about 5 (2011) years. When can we expect to see the next Wii?
A. No comment. (Seems like an odd one to avoid?)

Q. Are you also bringing in the Nintendo DS and other Nintendo Accessories?
A. Nintendo DS will be launched in Q1 2008, but small quantities will be available over the Xmas period. (About time)

Q. How do the game distributor licences work, can we expect you to import all of them?
A. The most important publishers have representatives in SA, and it would be their decision whether or not to bring in third party game titles for Nintendo Wii.

Okay that’s it… My personal feeling is that they are not going to be flogging the console as a cheap option in South Africa, those game prices are insane. Whether it will break into the mainstream still needs to be seen.

Last Updated: September 20, 2007

18 Comments

  1. ManesanZA

    September 20, 2007 at 14:27

    Does the console not come bundled with Wii Sports??

    Reply

  2. JP

    September 20, 2007 at 14:31

    I got the impreession like they don’t really care. Sounds like another Futronic.

    Reply

  3. LazySAGamer

    September 20, 2007 at 14:32

    It should, the media launch is next week and I will have a lot more information then hopefully….

    Reply

  4. Craig Nicholson

    September 20, 2007 at 15:00

    I think the launch of the DS in SA will be more of an event and have more followers. The Wii I don’t believe will compete that well in the local market but only time and sales figures will tell.

    Reply

  5. Milesh Bhana

    September 20, 2007 at 15:01

    agree with JP, the dude who answered the e-mail doesn’t appear to want to talk to you and also doesn’t appear to know much about the local gaming industry.

    Reply

  6. LazySAGamer

    September 20, 2007 at 15:09

    @JP & Milesh, I am also very worried about how they are going about this so far… so far things are not looking great but in their defense they have managed to get an ad on TV already… that’s something at least…

    Reply

  7. doobiwan

    September 20, 2007 at 15:15

    Thanks lazy, nice QA.

    From that response I get the impression they’re more interested in selling it because it’s the same colour as their other products rather than as avid gamers 🙁

    Reply

  8. Recoil

    September 20, 2007 at 15:18

    Man… I feel sorry for South Africa. The Wii and DS still haven’t launched there? That’s just… mind-blowing. And I thought Europe had it bad.

    Reply

  9. LazySAGamer

    September 20, 2007 at 15:23

    @Recoil, feel our pain dude 🙁

    It’s a long story the previous distributors were a bunch of raving idiots and lost the rights to distribute Nintendo products, we finally got someone new and so we can join up with the rest of the world again…

    I heard yesterday that Russia still didn’t have the 360 though so we don’t have it that bad 😉

    Reply

  10. abe

    September 20, 2007 at 15:46

    Huh, I thought the DS was already available for ages, my mate had one ths time last year and he didnt import it or anything, I had a whirl on it and its pretty cool, although I think the psp is better altough more flawed

    Reply

  11. PillsburyDeeBoy

    September 20, 2007 at 16:16

    “We cannot comment on other companies’ price policies?” How about, “f you, you guys know it’s an overpriced and freakin ridiculous asking price for that console” . PR speech. Bastards.

    Reply

  12. JP

    September 20, 2007 at 16:35

    @ PillsburyDeeBoy

    Well said.

    Reply

  13. evilredzombie

    September 20, 2007 at 16:59

    Nope…. with that price tag they just cant compete …

    Reply

  14. Ruslan

    September 21, 2007 at 07:06

    No Wii online features for SA either? Gosh.

    Reply

  15. XennoX

    September 21, 2007 at 18:36

    @ Ruslan, seems like MS all over doesn’t it?

    Reply

  16. Jevous

    September 22, 2007 at 16:47

    Wow, it really seems like this guy know what he’s talking about. *sigh* Futronic, where are you?!

    Reply

  17. Koopa

    September 26, 2007 at 09:35

    With pricing policies like that, I wont even feel bad going and buying a chipped one, why get ripped off because these guys want to make a quick buck. Rather hit them were it hurts. SA is a country of thieves, if you dont have a guy waiting by your car window to steal your cell phone, or a cop hiding in a bush to catch you speeding you have The Core Group waiting to take all your hard earned money. Get real guys.

    Reply

  18. Gareth

    September 27, 2007 at 17:28

    hello price gouging.

    Reply

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