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Considering how abnormally strong sales of the Wii have been since its launch, it’s only natural that the system’s performance start to taper off a little, four years into its life. While investors and analysts are concerned about the Wii’s slowing performance, Nintendo aren’t quite ready to panic just yet.
Speaking to investors, Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata, addressed the subject of global Wii sales and the lackluster effect of games like Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the system. Iwata believes the end-of-year holiday season will be an important period of growth for the Wii, given the reputation of Nintendo products as gift items.
Said Iwata to his investors:
“This is not an observation held by Nintendo alone. In fact, as we discuss with many retailers around the world as to what will become of this year-end sales season, most of them view the trend just as we do. Accordingly, when our consumers are ready to select what they want to purchase for a Christmas gift, how we can encourage them to choose Wii, has now become important. In other words, we do not have the mindset that our home game console business will not see any further growth so therefore, we have to do something to sustain the sales.
Having said that, however, in that critical sales season, if everything doesn’t go ahead just as we hope, and if we do not do anything about it, our platform business will be in trouble. We will need to prepare for such situations. For your information, we announced “Wii Remote Plus” today. This offer is just one part of our endeavors.”
In addition to the Wii Remote Plus, Nintendo are also releasing a special Mario Red Wii bundle in Japan and Europe, in celebration of Mario’s 25th anniversary. Iwata made no comment regarding products being prepared for 2011 that could potentially drive Wii growth, like the Wii Vitality Sensor.
