Thanksgiving week was kind to Nintendo’s DS handheld, but the Wii failed to surpass last year’s sales. In a press release, Nintendo said that it sold roughly 550,000 Wii consoles during Thanksgiving week. In 2008, Nintendo sold 800,000 units, so it looks like a pretty steep drop, except that in 2007 only 350,000 units were sold. Meanwhile, Nintendo DS sales continue to ascent, with over 1 million DS and DSi handhelds sold last week. Nintendo says that breaks the all-time Thanksgiving week sales record for handhelds, surpassing 2002 sales of the Game Boy Advance.
Why did Wii sales falter, then? Perhaps Nintendo just didn’t have any killer Wii deals for Black Friday. Looking back at our coverage, there were no Wii bundles that rivaled those of the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, which included two or more games for the same price as the console alone. The best you could find for the Wii was a Walmart bundle that cost extra. I’m not saying shoppers bought the PS3 or Xbox 360 instead, but with no great deals, there’s no rush to buy. The Nintendo DS Lite, meanwhile, could be had for just $98 from Walmart, a $31 discount. So, does the success of the Nintendo DS equate to a net gain for Nintendo? Nope. Bloomberg reports that shares were down as much as 2.7 percent on the news. Mama mia. [via PC World]
Monday, November 23, 2009 11:00AM - By Jared Newman
WiiWare’s getting retro today with both the 17-year-old Super Mario Kart and the brand new Bit.Trip Void. The former is a Super Nintendo classic, unfortunately neglected due to the popularity of 1997′s Mario Kart 64 (already available on WiiWare for $10), but that doesn’t mean it’s an inferior game. It actually feels a bit faster and more challenging than Mario Kart 64, which by comparison really stressed party-friendliness and handicapping. If you want the most hardcore of Mario Kart experiences, the SNES version is where it’s at, and you can get it now through the Wii Shop channel for 800 points, equivalent to $8. Bit.Trip Void? That game’s just crazy. Video after the jump.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 12:37PM - By Benjamin Opal
We might’ve erred by raving last week about Best Buy’s Black Friday deals, because Wal-Mart’s Black Friday ad is a real doozy for gamers. Let’s start with the console bundles: For the same $299 you’d normally spend on a Playstation 3, you’ll also get Infamous and Batman: Arkham Asylum — two critically-acclaimed games, mind you — plus The Dark Knight on Blu-ray. There’s also an online-only offer for a Wii bundle, sold at $250 instead of $200 for the console alone, including two games (unspecified) and an extra set of Nyko controllers. By comparison, Wal-Mart’s $199 Xbox 360 Arcade bundle is pretty lame unless you really like the movie Madigascar, as both the original and sequel are included on DVD, along with the video game Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. There’s also a Nintendo DS Lite for $98, straight-up. Crazy game discounts after the jump.
Monday, November 16, 2009 9:13AM - By Jared Newman
Unsurprisingly, reviews of New Super Mario Bros. Wii are generally favorable. This is, of course, a new Mario game with a lot of the same old 2D platforming that put Nintendo’s iconic Italian plumber on the map. But what about the game’s multiplayer, which allows you to bring three other players in on the action? Nintendo has hyped this feature as innovative, some might call it a gimmick, but it’s certainly the freshest thing New Super Mario Bros. Wii has going for it. So how’d the multiplayer fare? Impressions from around the Web after the jump.
Thursday, November 5, 2009 10:26AM - By Jared Newman
Great news for people whose Wii MotionPlus peripherals are collecting dust: Nintendo intends to use MotionPlus for Link’s swordplay and targeting in the next Zelda game. The word comes from series creator Shigeru Miyamoto, who said in a recent Tokyo Q&A session that “we’re using MotionPlus to make you feel much more like you’re actually fighting while holding a sword in your hand.” He also added that MotionPlus will replace the last game’s method of using the Wii’s infrared sensor for targeting. “In the previous game, you aimed at things by pointing at the screen, but this time we’ll use MotionPlus to create a much more convenient targeting system and a more pleasurable playing experience,” he said.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:00AM - By Benjamin Opal
You can cool those “printing money” and “we’re rich as f—” jokes now, as Nintendo is coming to terms with a stagnating Wii. Speaking to analysts and investors, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said the “Wii has stalled,” according to a translation by Andria Sang. “We were unable to continually release strong software, and let the nice mood cool.” Another report from Sankei Shimbun quotes Iwata as saying, “We were unable to show a new game to become ‘the next thing.’” For the six-month period ending September 30, the company’s profits dropped for the first time in four years. The Nintendo DS continues to do well, at least from what I’ve seen in North America, but overall Wii sales dropped 43 percent from last year, causing Nintendo to lower its sales forecasts.
Still, Iwata is optimistic, saying that price cuts will boost sales, even if they don’t reach the levels of last year. Indeed, it ultimately comes down to the software, and no matter what Nintendo comes up with, I think it’ll be hard for the company to match the hysteria of Wii Fit, Wii Sports, Mario Kart Wii and Super Mario Galaxy. New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which is due in North America on November 15, will help, but Nintendo really needs bigger long-term plans to get its groove back. [via Andria Sang]
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 3:43PM - By Jared Newman
Somewhere between the artist’s renderings of Epic Mickey and the Wii’s graphical limitations, the game lost the abstract feel we thought it would have. That’s okay, though, as the screenshots being passed around the Internet now look like they could still give you a moderately bizarre nightmare. Above, you see Mickey fending off a — um, I actually have no idea what that thing is. Same goes for a lot of the foes in the Epic Mickey screenshots you’ll see after the jump. Other revelations from the game’s creative director, Warren Spector: Disney realized that past Mickey games have been terrible, and that the star needs a redo, Mickey’s friends appear in robot form, the game is a mix of action and RPGs involving paint and paint thinner, and the game world changes based on how you play. We’re just happy that the attitude isn’t “we can still move copies with mindless button mashing.” [via G4TV]
With Excitebike: World Rally, we’re getting more evidence of Nintendo’s newest strategy: Exploit the snot out of your beloved 2D franchises, but justify it by adding simultaneous multiplayer. So it goes with the upcoming revamp of the NES classic Excitebike, due to drop on November 9 in the United States. If you can cringe through the feigned excitement of the hosts above, you’ll see a game that’s just like the motorcycle racing of old, with little bikers racing on a straight track laced with huge jumps. The mind-blowing twist? Up to four players, at home or over Wi-Fi. I guess it’s better than a completely different game that exploits the name alone. [via CVG]
What a difference $100 can make. Armed with a newly competitive price of $300, the Playstation 3 sold 491,800 units in North America last month, according to the NPD Group, making it the top-selling home console in September. However, Sony’s top standing may be short lived, as the Wii wasn’t far behind with 462,800 units sold, and that was mostly before Nintendo cut the console’s price by $50. While Microsoft’s Xbox 360 trailed behind both consoles with just 352,600 units sold, it’s not all bad news for Microsoft. Halo 3: ODST was by far the best-selling game of last month with 1.52 copies sold, and half the games in the top 10 were for the Xbox 360. See? Plenty of points for every PR team to spin. [via Gamasutra]
