GameStop on Wii U sales, not performing like Wii, blockbuster needed
Wii U may not have obtained the same sort of success as the Wii did at launch, but it was by no means a disaster. Since then, though, sales have fallen off.
GameStop CFO Rob Lloyd spoke about the Wii U’s performance at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference earlier today. While he noted that the system’s launch “performed at expectation”, interest has waned.
Lloyd said there are a “variety of theories as to why that might be.” One big reason is the lack of a true “blockbuster” – in other words, a system seller.
Lloyd’s comments on Wii U sales in full:
“We were pleased with the allocation [of Wii U units] that we got through the launch. I think for us, it performed at expectation. I think what what you’re [now] seeing is the interest has not been to the overall level that [Nintendo] had hoped for. And it’s not performing like the Wii did. There are a variety of theories as to why that might be. But among them is there hasn’t been the blockbuster from Nintendo. So Nintendo I think understands the need to have that first-party software available to drive Wii U sales.”
Nintendo has some heavy hitters on the way – it’s just a matter of when big titles will be released. We know Wind Waker HD is due out this fall, but something like Mario Kart or that new 3D Mario could boost sales as well.
