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Nintendo Sees Wii U Sales Increase After Price Drop

October 18, 2013

Wii U lowers price, does well

By Paul Thomson :: 1:36 AM

Nintendo today announced that U.S. sales of its Wii U console gaming system rose over 200% last month over August sales due to a price cut of $50 on September 20.

In the U.K. sales were up over 600%, due to a special bundled offering of a limited-edition Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD package that was introduced at the beginning of this month.

The Wii U isn’t the only bright spot for Nintendo right now. The company also discussed data from the NPD Group, that showed its 3DS was the best-selling game system in the U.S. for the fifth month running. The company declined to provide specific sales numbers for either the Wii or the 3DS.

“Nintendo has one of the strongest and most diverse video game lineups in our history,” Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo’s president and COO in its Americas division said back in August when it announced the price drop for the Wii U. “We’re making those unique Nintendo experiences more accessible and affordable.”

Indeed, the Wii U is expected to be a major player in this year’s holiday wish list, with many retailers already working on additional incentives and bundles to bring shoppers in the door who are hoping to put a Wii U under the Christmas tree.

Many gamers are eagerly awaiting the fall lineup of new games, which is expected to include:

  • Wii Party U: Launches Oct. 25 bundled with a Wii Remote Plus controller and stand at a suggested retail price of $49.99.
  • Super Mario 3D World: Launches Nov. 22 at a suggested retail price of $59.99.
  • Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze: Launches Dec. 6 at a suggested retail price of $49.99.
  • Wii Fit U: Launches this holiday season. Availability date not set yet.
  • • Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Availability date not set yet.

Third-party titles expected soon for the Wii U include: Call of Duty: Ghosts (Nov. 5) from Activision Publishing; Sonic Lost World (Oct. 22) from SEGA, Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag (Oct. 29) and Watch_Dogs (Nov. 19) from Ubisoft.

Filed under → Games, Social Media

One Comment
  1. R. Ali permalink

    Nintendo needs to modernize and speed up the UI on their eshop. That along with a slew of new games will make it a success even in the face of strong competition.