GameStop says holiday 2013 is key for Wii U, sees potential for improved performance thanks to upcoming titles
Michael P. Hogan, executive VP of strategic business and brand development at GameStop, had new insight for Wii U during a recent financial call.
Holiday 2013 will be a “key” period for the console, according to Hogan:
We’ve been asked a number of times about the performance of the Wii U and how that factors into the model projections. In previous versions of the model, we assumed the success rate for the new 2013 consoles, the Sony and Microsoft consoles, at 80% to 85% of prior generation. Based upon what we knew at the time however, we had modeled the Wii U at a much lower multiple of prior generation sales for both hardware and software. Thus, we already had very conservative assumptions for the Wii U. And at launch, the Wii U exceeded those expectations. They all since then have been softer, but the key will be holiday 2013 performance.
Hogan also addressed the Wii U’s struggles, once again highlighting the importance of new games. GameStop’s own research has indicated that the lack of prominent software is the top reason for consumers’ disinterest. But with big releases scheduled to arrive over the next few months and leading into the holidays, Hogan said: “we do see the potential for significantly improved performance this fall and holiday.”
It is worth noting that in our PowerUp Rewards consumer research, the No. 1 reason consumers give for not yet purchasing the Wii U is the limited number of new games for this console. Post E3, we are excited about the number of new games from Nintendo, and we do see the potential for significantly improved performance this fall and holiday.
