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GameStop's McKenzie: Wii Supply 'Finally' Sufficient
by Christian Nutt
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March 19, 2009
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Last week, Gamasutra had a chance to ask GameStop SVP of Merchandising Bob McKenzie about Nintendo pricing issues, following reports that the wholesale price of the Wii has been raised in the UK.
McKenzie doesn't foresee Nintendo of America raising the wholesale price of the Wii like its UK arm. While conceding that the UK change "does make sense because the pound is weakening," McKenzie says that he would "see that as a pretty isolated opportunity" specific to the UK market.
When it comes to the Wii, GameStop feels that this far after launch, it is finally getting to an equilibrium with supply.
"I don't think they need to make the price move down either, on the Wii," says McKenzie. "I think finally we've gotten to the point where we're going to be able to get a real good run rate on this thing."
"You know, three years later, we finally have enough inventory on the shelf, and we've got a couple of weeks in supply of this. That's good because we can finally determine and gauge it before we get into the fourth holiday season."
When asked if he is happy with the current lineup of Wii games, McKenzie said, "I think EA Active coming up is again another one of those innovative products where that's gonna help to just continue to drive that type of innovation along on that system."
He also revealed that GameStop was surprised at the popularity of Wii Fit, saying that "we weren't sure if that was really gonna be successful or not, and to be honest I don't think Nintendo really knew how successful that would be", but clearly foresees growth in the fitness category.
The full interview with McKenzie will be published on Gamasutra in the near future.
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So what does one have to do to be considered an industry analyst?
You must be myopic and a good guesser. That's my guess... :)