With new online store, game bundles, can Nintendo turn things around?

Lagging sales and a bump from UK supermarket Asdo has Nintendo scrambling to find ways to market the Wii U to audiences domestic and abroad.

|
Reuters
A man tries out the Nintendo Wii U GamePad E3 2012 in Los Angeles.

Nintendo was poised to take over the video game console world last November when it followed up its industry-shifting Wii game console with the Wii U.

The Wii U had all the technical innovations that would seem to shake things up once again. It was Nintendo’s first HD graphics capable console, featured a portable controller with a screen that could either be supplemental to a TV screen or work on its own, and it was released along with new versions of its hyper-successful Super Mario Bros franchise and Madden NFL 13.

But things didn’t work out as planned, and now Nintendo is playing catch up before Xbox One and the Sony PS4 are released in late November.

Nintendo only sold 3.61 million Wii U systems since its release last November, with sales in the previous three months only at 160,000 units. By comparison, the Nintendo 3DS sold 32.48 million systems in the same time period. Wii U users complained that the portable game controller, or “game pad,” had low battery life and third-party developers said the system is hard to make games for, which has led to few new game releases. In addition reviewers said the console was so loaded down with small new ideas, it made the overall gaming experience confusing.  

These issues did not translate well to the Wii’s non-traditional gaming audience, which caused sales to suffer. So much so that Walmart-owned UK supermarket chain Asda decided to take the Wii U and Wii U games off its shelved in July, only stocking them on a “merit basis."

But Nintendo, who revolutionized the video game world several times over, isn’t down for the count. Instead it has countered with several Europe-centered updates and strategies, as well as new gadgets for a younger audience.

Nintendo launched a UK-only online store on Thursday that promises exclusive prices, such as free shipping on orders over £200 ($319). The video game company also announced three new game bundles for the Wii U, just for the European market: New Super Mario Bros U, Wii Party U, and Just Dance 2014. In response to battery life issues, it released a high-capacity battery pack for the UK and Germany that extends playing time to five to eight hours (rather than the current three to four).

Nintendo is also looking to appeal to younger gamers. In November, the company will release the WiiFit Fit Meter pedometer, which is a small pedometer that uses Bluetooth to sync steps and fitness stats to a player’s Mii character. This keeps tracks of players’ fitness both while playing Wii, and while away from the screen. Plus, at only $19.99, it’s a bargain for parents looking for an extra Christmas gift for kids who already have the Wii.

But the question remains: Will these strategies keep the Wii U competitive into the Christmas season once the new Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are released in late November?

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to With new online store, game bundles, can Nintendo turn things around?
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2013/1011/With-new-online-store-game-bundles-can-Nintendo-turn-things-around
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe