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U.S. Wii, 3DS Hardware Sales Drop In April
by Kyle Orland [Console/PC, Business]
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May 13, 2011
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Nintendo's Wii showed its lowest month of new U.S. sales ever in April, while the Nintendo 3DS sold less than half as many units in the entire month as it did during its March launch week.
Nintendo reported sales of 172,000 Wiis for the month, according to a MarketWatch report -- down 38 percent from last April and the lowest monthly mark for the system since its late 2006 launch.
April sales for the Wii are off more than 75 percent from a high of 714,000 in April 2008, amidst the system's record-setting sales year. The previous low monthly mark for U.S. Wii sales was 232,000 in October of 2010.
Many market watchers suspect declining Wii sales are behind Nintendo's plans to unveil a successor to the Wii at next month's E3 show, ahead of a planned launch in 2012.
The Nintendo 3DS portable, meanwhile, sold 194,000 units in April, according to MarketWatch. That's down sharply from roughly 400,000 units sold during the first week of U.S. availability in late March.
The new 3DS sales numbers confirm earlier analyst reports that 3DS sales have slowed considerably since launch, and mirror similar post-launch sales declines in Japan.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently admitted the 3DS was performing below Nintendo's sales expectations, and committed to a renewed marketing campaign to sell consumers on the system's unique features.
NPD reported yesterday that U.S. 3DS sales for April were behind sales for the original Nintendo DS, despite the latter system's age and existing market penetration.
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Curious where that came from. Based on the NPD reported sales numbers (when they did that sort of thing) the Wii has had 5 months where it sold less than 259K units (July 09, July - Oct 2010). The previous low information appears to be factually incorrect.
Joking aside, Nintendo feel into a lazy habit of coasting on their "evergreen" hits, even when the Wii was selling like gangbusters. It must have felt like a relief to know Wii Play and Mario Kart and Wii Fit could keep the hardware moving by themselves, but surely they must have known that wouldn't last forever. And those games have to be what the public demands, not personal vanity projects.
Of course, I also remember the Wii's stellar lineup in late 2010, and it's a bit surprising that games like NBA Jam, Goldeneye, and Epic Mickey didn't become bigger hits. Even Donkey Kong Country wasn't as big as New Super Mario Bros Wii (cough lousy controls cough). No doubt Nintendo was counting on another round of evergreen games, and that hasn't happened.
As for the 3DS, I'm sure the sales numbers would improve if the price was brought down to more reasonable levels. $250 is unacceptable for a handheld videogame system. Also, games. I'm still playing Gameboy Tetris on my GBA. Make a few more games like that.
As for the 3DS--only games I've picked up are Street Fighter, Samaurai Warriors and most recently Dream Trigger. But I could see how people could not be interested in any of them. Devs/publishers really need to re-evaluate why original DS games sold well. So far games have been lackluster. My favorite one at this time...off all my purchases..is Dream Trigger---its an innovative/different game..I have enjoyed it though it is kind of difficult at the start.