NEWS
RETAIL INTELLIGENCE Head to
www.mcvuk.com for daily market data and news. This week our Retail Biz section starts on p51
3DS pre-orders already beating Wii as ‘feeding frenzy’ launch looms
100,000 pre-order target in sight as innovative handheld demand grows and grows ahead of March 25th roll-out by Michael French
IT’S OFFICIAL: 3DS will have the most successful launch of any console yet in the UK.
How do we know? Pre- orders. Nintendo’s machine has already been pre-sold more times in the UK than the Wii, and is on course to surpass 100,000 come launch on March 25th. The format-holder confirmed the news to MCV this week in an in-depth interview looking at the pre- release excitement for the glasses-free 3D gaming device. Nintendo says with strong availability, there’s plenty of scope to attract thousands more pre-orders. “Our target was to get over 100,000 pre-orders – and we’re in line with that,” said UK head of sales Andy Yates. “So far, we’ve already beat our personal best for a console launch.
“With three weeks to go we’re in a great position, as
pre-orders are still building. The message to retail right now is that availability is strong and stores can plan with confidence to keep the accelerator on.
“The retailers I’m talking to are very comfortable with our strategy and it has given them confidence. Retailers tell us that things are good, and they’re pretty relieved to have a big launch in March; they need something of that magnitude. We’re very encouraged that it’s going to be a big launch.”
Meanwhile, retailer hype is being supported by an extensive mainstream marketing campaign, which kicked into high gear this week (see ‘85% of UK will see 3DS ads’ below). TV ads began on Tuesday, featuring footage of real consumers getting their first go on the device. The creatives were filmed at Nintendo’s first wave of demo events, which are also
“ ‘85 PER CENT OF UK WILL SEE 3DS ADS’
NINTENDO has a huge mainstream audience in its sights with the 3DS. It says that 85 per cent of the UK will have seen its TV ads three times in the run up to launch, while almost half a million will have had time to go hands on with the device. Explained UK marketing director Dawn Paine: “The campaign is a celebration of the 3D experience. There are two key elements:
experiential and advertising. What will be a departure for us is how we fuse them
4 March 4th 2011
together, in a way we haven’t done before.
“In the campaign we will be showing consumers, real people, getting their first hands-on with 3DS at one of the events. And that in turn drives the people who
Availability is strong and stores can plan with confidence. Andy Yates, Nintendo
400,000 SOLD IN JAPAN’S FIRST WAVE
Overnight queues and midnight openings heralded the launch of the 3DS in Japan last weekend. 400,000 have sold so far – with Nintendo expecting to ship in 1.5m units by the end of the month. The top launch title was a new Professor Layton, which should arrive here at Christmas.
expanding this month into a bigger national tour – all part of turning this into the firm’s biggest launch ever. “We are building towards a launch of Wii-style proportions,” said marketing director Dawn Paine.
“That has been our ambition all along – to get the UK into a ‘feeding frenzy’ situation.”
Nintendo: 01753 483700 Check out the full interview with Paine and Yates on page 16
Real gamer reactions to 3DS feature in the TV ads, which marketing director Dawn Paine (right) says is a “fresh” take on a hardware push
see the ads to the sampling push. It’s a virtuous circle. “It’s very fresh and different –and very, Nintendo, because its all about genuine reactions, there is nothing fake or over-stated, it’s all real.”
Crucially, the ads don’t even try to show the device’s 3D content in 2D media – something that will ultimately play to Nintendo’s advantage. Said Paine: “There’s always a question about how you
execute a 3D product in 2D. That’s where the consumer reactions come into play. It’s not about the intricacies of the technology. The fact you can’t see it on screen will tease and push people to trying it for themselves.”
www.mcvuk.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84