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.
The first screenshots and details for the new version of Steel Empire have emerged. We’ve learned that the 3DS eShop release is not just a simple port. This time around, Steel Empire will feature improved visuals, stereoscopic 3D support, and rebalanced difficulty.
Steel Empire is hitting the Japanese 3DS eShop in December. Given UFO Interactive’s fairly strong relationship with developer Starfish, a North American launch could be in the cards.
“I think we were actually looking back at Assassin’s Creed Revelations and Assassin’s Creed 3, both of which had kind of gone towards a more linear Uncharted style of experience. We wanted to go back to Assassin’s Creed 1/Assasson’s Creed 2 style open-ended assassinations, so even before we saw the result of what Assassin’s Creed 3 was doing, we just knew this was a philosophy we wanted to follow.”
– Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag lead writer Darby McDevitt
Darby also talked about the character of Edward Kenway, saying he’s perhaps a bit more like Ezio (ACII, Revelations) than Connor (ACIII) in terms of personality, but ultimately he’s different than any other characters in the franchise.
Pokemon Tretta Lab may be heading westward. A couple of trademarks have been registered in the US which may have something to do with the 3DS game. Poketretta Battles and Poketretta Tournament are both official names in the states.
In other news, Pokefigure Arena and Pokefigure have also been registered in the US. Could these have something to do with a Wii U game involving NFC figures?
We’ve got the poll ready and waiting for you below. All you need is an idea of which online games for Wii U and 3DS you’d want to play this coming Sunday at 4PM ET. We’ll take a look at the votes and let you know which games we’ll be playing in time for you to prepare. Friends will be added on Sunday in the IRC chat.
Please don’t fill this out unless you plan on playing this weekend. There will be a new poll each week, so you can fill out a future one if/when you plan on participating.
Ripstone Games has announced two titles for Wii U thus far: Knytt Underground and Pure Chess. The company also recently said that further support is planned.
Ripstone isn’t ready to reveal any new games just yet, but we were told that six games are planned for the Wii U in total.
Regarding future support for the eShop, creative director Phil Gaskell said the following in an interview that will be published on the site in just a couple of days:
“Yes we’ll be continuing to support Nintendo and the eShop. We’ve announced that the visually stunning Pure Chess is making its way over to both Wii U and 3DS, both of which look awesome and feature a great cross-platform multiplayer feature. We’re also working on a number of other games with developers that will appear on eShop but we’re not quite ready to show them off yet. Right now if we include the titles we’ve announced we have plans to bring 6 games to Wii U.”
Kadokawa Games sent out new details on its High School DxD game for the 3DS. You can find new screenshots (beware of some not safe for work images…) and details below, including information on a limited edition.
– Visual novel and turn-based RPG elements
– Take on fallen angels and other enemies
– Watch scenes from the first season
– These act as cut-ins during battle
– Boost, Attack, Dragon Shot, Dress Change, and Dress Break options during battle
– Dragon Shot: more powerful attack
– Dress Break destroys the opponents clothes if she is female
– Dress Change: change the opponent’s clothes
– Can use the Dress Break or Dress Change commands on an ally
– Limited edition includes earphones, a cord manager strap, two elastic bands, a microfiber cloth, and an illustrated card
