Nintendo’s next-generation console, the Wii U, continued to do just okay during the holiday season, with its GameStop sales remained below expectations.
This claim was made by the Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia in a note to the investors.
The industry watcher said that while it was being feared that the largest retailer in the US will end up facing a shortage of the new dual-gaming console, which would cause consumers some serious inconvenience as they would have to face a similar situation
to what they faced at the time of its launch, which was November 18, 2012.
However, that did not turn out to be the case as the Wii U units continued to be in abundance at GameSpot throughout the holiday season, much to the relief of the consumers and disappointment of the retailer and company.
According to Bhatia, it was the $350 Deluxe edition of the Wii U that remained a consumer favourite during the holiday season instead of the $300 basic version.
With 32GB of built-in storage space, a bundled copy of Nintendo Land, and a few additional components, the Deluxe version of Nintendo’s dual-screen gaming console could easily be assumed to offer a greater value to consumers than its counter-part.
The Sterne Agee analyst also went on to reveal that the software attach rate for Wii U continued to remain low during the period under discussion, though he did not provide any specific rate.
“Our conclusion is the Nintendo Wii U launch has been slightly disappointing,” Bhatia said.
While the learned opinion of the industry watcher could hardly be considered as a claim without merit, it is difficult to call the launch of Nintendo’s first-ever HD console a disappointing one, with it selling 400,000 units in North America during its first
week of launch, whereas the first-week sales in Japan were 308, 570 units.
The figures are impressive irrespective of what angle they are seen with. The thing that makes these figures even more impressive is the fact that Nintendo is still holding back some of its most prolific franchises, which include Zelda and Metroid. A surge
in sales is expected once these brands arrive on the Wii U.
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