Figures collated by the NPD Group show that the newly launched Nintendo Wii U games console has beaten the original Wii in a key business performance metric. When looking at the revenue generation of the two consoles, at the same stage in their life cycle, the Wii U comes out on top.
According to NPD Group, in the 41 days since its launch, the Nintendo Wii U has sold 890,000 units in the USA. Nintendo compared the amount of US revenue generated by the new Wii U and the original Wii in the same time frame; the Wii U has brought in about $300 million, the original Wii brought in just over $270 million in the first 41 days after its launch.
As a report on AllThingsD rightly points out; “the only reason it was able to exceed prior sales is because it upped the price — not because it sold more units”. The original Wii console launch price in the US was $250, the new Wii U was sold in two bundles priced from $299 to $349. Making an extra $30 million during the same comparative time frame isn’t so spectacular in that respect. On the other hand, when the original Wii was launched it didn’t face the same strength and depth of competition in gaming on smartphones, tablets and online.
In a press release, heralding the Wii U’s success in America during its first six weeks, Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing said “While the Wii launch established new benchmarks in the United States, Wii U has surpassed its predecessor in perhaps the most important category: revenue generation.” He continued, triumphantly “The demand for the Deluxe SKU, which was essentially sold out at retail this holiday, and the strong attach rate of New Super Mario Bros. U, shows that we have the value and the games to drive momentum in 2013. We look forward to offering great new experiences and bringing smiles to millions of new faces throughout the year.”
The good news heralded by Nintendo has resulted in a share price boost of 5.6 per cent. Nintendo revealed other positive figures, from December 2012, that will have also helped this rise;
- 65 per cent of Wii U buyers bought the New Super Mario Bros U game.
- The Nintendo 3DS sold over 1.25 million units in December and is outpacing the sales rate of its predecessor, the very successful Nintendo DS (which sold 470,000 units in December).
- The original Wii was still selling well and sold 475,000 units in December and Just Dance 3 for the Wii surpassed 5 million sales.
Can Nintendo keep up the momentum or is this simply a “dead cat bounce” helped along by Christmas?
