NEWS


Wii U UK sales spike 685% on Zelda launch


New hardware bundle, software and price LEADER


IS FUSS OVER PS4 STOCK FUTILE? AT THIS very moment, an armada of ships are heading to docks around the world.


Laden with shiny new PS4s and Xbox Ones, they are fresh from the factory line and ready to roll out at retailers in next-gen console launch countries.


But here’s the thing – very few people know exactly how many will turn up on time. One boat or two? How many are set aside for which territory? When will the next wave arrive?


Variables like this put recent concerns from smaller retailers about PS4 stock into a very clear context.


Claims of allocations and pre-orders matter not when it comes to an inevitably oversubscribed launch like this. Retailers were always getting X per cent of Y.


by Christopher Dring


Wii U UK sales rose by more than 685 per cent last week, Nintendo has told MCV. The sudden improvement in sales follows the release of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD, which debuted at No.4 in the Chart-Track All Formats Charts.


Wii U has suffered a poor nine months, which Nintendo attributes to a lack of awareness and the absence of major software on the platform. The firm’s big Q4 campaign started last week for Wii U, and the console has also seen


a slight reduction in price, which coincides with the arrival of a new Zelda hardware bundle. A LEGO City Undercover hardware package is also set to arrive at retail later on this month.


“We have long believed that software sells hardware and it’s great to see that reaffirmed this week with an uplift of Wii U hardware sales to coincide with the launch of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD,” said Nintendo UK’s head of consumer marketing James Honeywell.


And yet some retailers still (overenthusiastically) guaranteed customers they can have part of value X when they never knew the real number in the first place.


Meanwhile, Sony adding a bunch of bundles to the range on shelves (‘on shelves’ in theory – PS4’s looking like a guaranteed sell-out) is an understandable attempt to add more value to the equation.


Value to margins, value to what gamers are getting, value for retailers managing customer expectations.


That makes it pretty tricky to judge or condemn anyone involved in the chain here. A chain where everyone – from format- holder to distributor via retailer – is effectively the middleman in ensuring that consoles go from factory to living room, and reinvigorate the market.


MEDIA DARLINGS 1


1. PS4 CONSOLE + KILLZONE SHADOWFALL SONY..................................................................................PS4


2. Xbox One Console + Dead Rising 3 Microsoft ..............................................................Xbox One


3. Xbox One Console + Forza 5 Microsoft ..............................................................Xbox One


2


4. Xbox One Console + Ryse Microsoft ..............................................................Xbox One


5. Sonic Lost World Deadly Six Edition Nintendo........................................................................Wii U


6. Battlefield 4 + China Rising DLC Pack EA..........................................................................................PS4


7. Watch Dogs – PS4 Exclusive Edition Ubisoft................................................................................PS4


3


8. Xbox One Console + Forza 5 + Wireless Pad Microsoft ..............................................................Xbox One


9. Football Manager 2014 Sega........................................................................................PC


10. Battlefield 4 + China Rising DLC Pack EA.............................................................................Xbox One


www.shopto.net www.mcvuk.com


SAY WHAT you want about the Games Media Awards – and trust me, over the years many people have said plenty, thanks – but its winners have always been pretty spot on.


Any accolade reflects both the success and the context around it. So in a changing world, it makes total sense that the Games Writer of the Year was won by a piece that addresses using games to cope with a bipolar diagnosis.


And that the Games Academy was won by a piece championing an indie game.


Or that there were more female winners this year than ever. Of course, the overly humble voices say that prizes don’t matter. But it’s the words that win. Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk


October 11th 2013 5


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