Now, even though Nintendo is experiencing positive growth in the digital space, the company has no plans to ditch packaged games. Iwata did, however, acknowledge that there are issues at retail during the company’s latest financial results briefing.

Iwata noted that there are difficulties in forecasting sales. In the end, retailers are typically left with a surplus of stock “which ends up being sold at a huge discount or, in contrast, software shortages could cause lost sales opportunities for retailers.” This unfortunately leads to hesitation on the part of retailers since they are “less willing to accept the inventory risk.”

This shows the digital download sales transitions. For the current fiscal year, we have just finished the third quarter, but the digital sales have already reached 11.1 billion yen so far, and it is certain that in this fiscal year we will see our largest digital download sales. Another peak in digital sales you can see around the center of this graph is when Wii was widespread and Nintendo DSi had just been launched. In spite of the fact that the current installed base of Nintendo 3DS is still much smaller than how popular Wii was back then, we are already seeing the growth in digital download sales mainly for Nintendo 3DS, which, I believe, is an encouraging trend. I have no intention of simply replacing the packaged business with the digital download one, but it is also true that there are several issues with the current packaged software distribution business. For example, before launching a software title, no one can precisely forecast how many units of software will sell in the market. Everyone develops and launches a software title with the hope to make it a smash hit, but when it comes to the actual sales in the market, even the most seasoned marketers cannot forecast the figures accurately. As a result, retailers are often left with surplus stock, which ends up being sold at a huge discount or, in contrast, software shortages could cause lost sales opportunities for retailers. With these kinds of issues becoming increasingly challenging, retailers are less willing to accept the inventory risk. In this situation, even when a developer has created software with high potential to become a smash hit, it is likely to fall short of its real sales potential. Or, even though a quality software title can successfully attract the interest of potential fans, making and shipping just a little more than the actual demand can lead to a big discount in the marketplace and, thus, destroy the game’s brand. We have seen repeated cases of these. When I discussed with Shinji Hatano (Senior Managing Director, General Manager of Marketing Division) the company’s endeavors with the POSA card to expand our digital download sales outlets to retail shops, he stressed that it would provide distributors with a huge opportunity to solve the existing issues. A fairly large volume of “Animal Crossing: New Leaf” for Nintendo 3DS was sold in the form of a POSA card, which is activated only when it goes through POS registers at retailers and therefore the retailers do not have to shoulder the physical inventory risk. The growing sales of the POSA version of this game must have helped retailers see the business opportunity for video games with such a business structure. We therefore expect that our publishers may be interested in selling POSA cards for some titles they are publishing as download-only titles and that they will want to make more games available in POSA card format. Although convenience stores have limited shelf space to spare for a number of video game POSA cards, retailers with more shelf space might expand the areas designated to the video game POSA cards. They might even educate their customers who are not familiar with digital download software. We can expect to see a number of new possibilities. We expect our digital distribution to increase in importance and become an important revenue source.

Source

Miyamoto and Iwata talk asymmetric gameplay, Pikmin 3

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 0 comments

One of the Wii U’s prominent features is its ability to offer asymmetric gameplay. A player can experience one thing on the television while another may be involved with something completely different on the GamePad. Asymmetric gameplay is certainly an important aspect for Wii U, but according to Shigeru Miyamoto, it won’t be shoehorned into every title.

Pikmin 3 is one such upcoming project that won’t offer asymmetric gameplay. Miyamoto believes that it’s biggest draw is “the high-definition graphics. You can even see Pikmin’s gestures with the graphics.”

Players will be able to view a full map on the GamePad while the TV displays the main visuals. On the other hand, it’s also possible to play off-TV.

LEGO City: Undercover – pure gameplay footage

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments

UK software sales (Week ending 2/2) – Wii U/3DS-specific charts

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments

The latest Wii U/3DS-specific UK software sales are as follows:

Wii U

1. New Super Mario Bros. U – Nintendo
2. Nintendo Land – Nintendo
3. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed – SEGA
4. ZombiU – Ubisoft
5. Assassin’s Creed III – Ubisoft
6. Rabbids Land – Ubisoft
7. Sports Connection – Ubisoft
8. Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth – Ubisoft
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Activision Blizzard
10. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013 – Ubisoft

3DS

1. Paper Mario: Sticker Star – Nintendo
2. New Super Mario Bros. 2 – Nintendo
3. Mario Kart 7 – Nintendo
4. Super Mario 3D Land – Nintendo
5. Angry Birds Trilogy – Activision Blizzard
6. Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask – Nintendo
7. Sonic Generations – SEGA
8. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games – SEGA
9. Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion – Disney Interactive
10. Virtue’s Last Reward – Rising Star Games

Source: Chart-Track

Another LEGO City: Undercover trailer

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments

Capcom: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Wii U a “smash hit” in Japan

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments

Capcom’s latest financial results are in, and the company is taking pride in the sales of its first Wii U game. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, a launch game in Japan, was “a smash hit”.

The 3DS version of Ultimate had also been re-released under a new “Best Price!” label. According to Capcom, it has “enjoyed steady growth.”

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate launches simultaneously in North America on March 19 and on March 22 in Europe.

Source

MercurySteam would consider HD version of Castlevania – Mirror of Fate

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 0 comments

At the moment, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate is a 3DS exclusive. That could change in the future, however.

MercurySteam producer David Cox revealed to CVG that all of the game’s assets were made in HD. That includes the textures, levels, and models. But to have everything fit on the 3DS, the team shrunk things down. Cox said that MercurySteam does “have an HD version of the game sitting there in a computer somewhere.”

“We created everything in high definition – all the textures, all the levels, high-poly models, everything – and we kind of shrunk it all down into the 3DS. Then we lost bones from characters, you know, we dropped the resolution of the textures and everything to make it fit. At MercurySteam we have an HD version of the game sitting there in a computer somewhere.”

This new information begs the question: could we ever seen an HD version of Mirror of Fate? Cox is more than open to the possibility:

“Absolutely, yeah. We would consider it. We want as many people to play it as possible. Obviously we have an exclusivity deal with Nintendo right now though and they’ve been very supportive of the product.”

Source

UK software sales (Week ending 2/2)

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 0 comments

Individual formats

LW	TW	Title	Format	Label	Publisher
–	1	NI NO KUNI: WRATH OF THE WHITE WITCH	PS3	NAMCO BANDAI GAMES	NAMCO BANDAI GAMES
1	2	CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II	XB360	ACTIVISION	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
2	3	FIFA 13	XB360	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
5	4	FAR CRY 3	XB360	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
4	5	FIFA 13	PS3	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
3	6	CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II	PS3	ACTIVISION	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
7	7	JUST DANCE 4	WII	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
–	8	HITMAN: HD TRILOGY	XB360	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
6	9	FOOTBALL MANAGER 2013	PC	SEGA	SEGA
11	10	FAR CRY 3	PS3	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
12	11	HALO 4	XB360	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
15	12	FORZA HORIZON	XB360	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
10	13	ASSASSIN’S CREED III	XB360	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
8	14	THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM	XB360	BETHESDA SOFTWORKS	BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
–	15	HITMAN: HD TRILOGY	PS3	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
17	16	ASSASSIN’S CREED III	PS3	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
19	17	HITMAN ABSOLUTION	XB360	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
14	18	FORZA MOTORSPORT 4	XB360	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
–	19	ABBA: YOU CAN DANCE	WII	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
18	20	NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED	PS3	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
21	21	GRAN TURISMO 5 ACADEMY EDITION	PS3	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
22	22	HITMAN ABSOLUTION	PS3	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
16	23	NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED	XB360	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
9	24	DMC	XB360	CAPCOM	CAPCOM
20	25	PAPER MARIO STICKER STAR	3DS	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
13	26	DMC	PS3	CAPCOM	CAPCOM
23	27	NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. 2	3DS	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
27	28	GRAND THEFT AUTO IV	XB360	XBOX 360 CLASSICS	TAKE 2
25	29	MARIO KART 7	3DS	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
37	30	UNCHARTED 3: DRAKE’S DECEPTION GOTY	PS3	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
24	31	DISHONORED	XB360	BETHESDA SOFTWORKS	BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
28	32	BORDERLANDS 2	XB360	2K GAMES	TAKE 2
29	33	WWE ’13	XB360	THQ	THQ
30	34	SUPER MARIO 3D LAND	3DS	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
–	35	SLEEPING DOGS	XB360	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
–	36	SKYLANDERS GIANTS	WII	SKYLANDERS	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
36	37	DEAD ISLAND GOTY EDITION	XB360	DEEP SILVER	KOCH MEDIA
–	38	SLEEPING DOGS	PS3	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
34	39	WWE ’13	PS3	THQ	THQ
31	40	MEDAL OF HONOR: WARFIGHTER	XB360	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS

All formats

LW	TW	Title	Developer	Label	Publisher
–	1	NI NO KUNI: WRATH OF THE WHITE WITCH	LEVEL 5	NAMCO BANDAI GAMES	NAMCO BANDAI GAMES
2	2	FIFA 13	EA CANADA	EA SPORTS	ELECTRONIC ARTS
1	3	CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II	TREYARCH	ACTIVISION	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
3	4	FAR CRY 3	UBISOFT (MONTREAL)	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
–	5	HITMAN: HD TRILOGY	IO INTERACTIVE	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
5	6	ASSASSIN’S CREED III	UBISOFT (MONTREAL)	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
6	7	NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED	CRITERION GAMES	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
7	8	JUST DANCE 4	UBISOFT (FRANCE)	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
10	9	HITMAN ABSOLUTION	IO INTERACTIVE	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
9	10	THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM	BETHESDA	BETHESDA SOFTWORKS	BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
4	11	DMC	NINJA THEORY	CAPCOM	CAPCOM
8	12	FOOTBALL MANAGER 2013	SPORTS INTERACTIVE	SEGA	SEGA
13	13	HALO 4	343 INDUSTRIES	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
19	14	FORZA HORIZON	TURN 10/PLAYGROUND	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
15	15	SKYLANDERS GIANTS	TOYS FOR BOB	SKYLANDERS	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
11	16	LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES	TRAVELLER’S TALES	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
12	17	LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS	TRAVELLER’S TALES	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
14	18	SONIC & ALL STARS RACING TRANSFORMED	SUMO DIGITAL	SEGA	SEGA
16	19	WWE ’13	YUKE’S	THQ	THQ
28	20	SLEEPING DOGS	UNITED FRONT GAMES	SQUARE ENIX	SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
18	21	FORZA MOTORSPORT 4	TURN 10 STUDIOS	MICROSOFT	MICROSOFT
20	22	BORDERLANDS 2	GEARBOX SOFTWARE	2K GAMES	TAKE 2
17	23	DISHONORED	ARKANE STUDIOS	BETHESDA SOFTWORKS	BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
–	24	ABBA: YOU CAN DANCE	UBISOFT (FRANCE)	UBISOFT	UBISOFT
25	25	GRAN TURISMO 5 ACADEMY EDITION	POLYPHONY DIGITAL	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
22	26	GRAND THEFT AUTO IV	ROCKSTAR NORTH	XBOX 360 CLASSICS	TAKE 2
26	27	ANGRY BIRDS TRILOGY	ROVIO	ACTIVISION	ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
24	28	DEAD ISLAND GOTY EDITION	TECHLAND	DEEP SILVER	KOCH MEDIA
21	29	MEDAL OF HONOR: WARFIGHTER	DANGER CLOSE	EA GAMES	ELECTRONIC ARTS
29	30	GRAND THEFT AUTO EPISODES – LIBERTY CITY	ROCKSTAR NORTH	ROCKSTAR	TAKE 2
23	31	PAPER MARIO STICKER STAR	INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
–	32	RED DEAD REDEMPTION: GOTY	ROCKSTAR SAN DIEGO	ROCKSTAR	TAKE 2
27	33	MARIO & SONIC LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES	SEGA	SEGA	SEGA
–	34	XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN	FIRAXIS	2K GAMES	TAKE 2
33	35	NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. 2	NINTENDO	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
32	36	PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2013	KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT	KONAMI	KONAMI
34	37	MARIO KART 7	RETRO STUDIOS / NINTENDO	NINTENDO	NINTENDO
–	38	UNCHARTED 3: DRAKE’S DECEPTION GOTY	NAUGHTY DOG	SONY COMPUTER ENT.	SONY COMPUTER ENT.
40	39	LEGO HARRY POTTER: YEARS 5-7	TRAVELLER’S TALES	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE	WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
30	40	NBA 2K13	VISUAL CONCEPTS	2K SPORTS	TAKE 2

Source 1, Source 2

Zelda: Wind Waker HD pre-orders now live

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Podcast Stories, Wii U | 0 comments

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD can now be pre-ordered from either Amazon or GameStop. Amazon’s product page is located here. Alternatively, you can pre-order from GameStop here.

Both retailers list a December 31 release date, but that’s obviously just a placeholder. Wind Waker will be out on Wii U this fall.

Resident Evil: Revelations HD not a direct port, why it’s coming to consoles, more

Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 0 comments

Resident Evil: Revelations producer Masachika Kawata fielded a few questions about Capcom’s new HD version in an interview with Nowgamer. Kawata commented on the game’s new aspects, why it’s being brought to consoles, and more. There’s general talk about the Resident Evil series, too.

Head past the break for the full Q&A.