Retail News, Retail Features

"It prints money", etc

Nintendo of America has reported that first party 3DS software sales have risen by 52 percent in the past year. In the first four months of the 2013, more than 2.1 million first party 3DS games were sold in the U.S. alone. Back in 2012, it took 30 weeks for first party 3DS game sales to reach 2 million units. This year, that...

Premium bundle now £199

UK supermarket Asda has reduced the prices of its Wii U bundles for the second time this year. The Basic Wii U pack now costs £149 and the Premium

Another step forward

This week it was announced that Nintendo of Europe had established an agreement with retailer GAME, for it to exclusively sell select download codes from the high street and its website; it's the first serious move to match up to similar download cards already available in Japan. The GAME retail group has stores across Europe...

The hunt is back on

Getting hold of a copy of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate in the UK has been easier said than done since the game launched in March; the popularity of Capcom's beast-slaying epic has resulted in a situation where demand has far outstripped supply. Thankfully, Nintendo UK has gotten in touch with us this morning to confirm that the...

Toyzone offering a Wii U for as little as R1,500

In order to help boost Wii U sales, many UK retailers decided to cut the price of the system. Back in March Asda and Amazon sliced £50 off the price tag, while HMV knocked a staggering £140 off a Premium console and ZombiU bundle. It seems heavy price drops aren't exclusive to the UK though, as it...

The dog's been thrown a bone

In recent weeks we've reported on the worrying fate of the HMV brand in the UK; rather like GAME last year, it went into administration and 81 stores were closed down as the administrators worked to salvage the business. As one of only a few retailers that stocks a relatively substantial range of video games on the UK...

You know there's also this "Vita" thing...?

Kotaku’s Jason Schreier has long been intrigued by Amazon.com’s lack of direct supply when it comes to Nintendo consoles. Now he has reported on another unusual habit: the advertising of other brand names on Nintendo consoles’ product pages. Looking up Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles on Amazon shows...

125 percent increase compared to previous week

MCV has reported that Wii U hardware sales rose by 125 percent in the UK last week. The staggering leap is thought to have been caused by the UK launch of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, as well as HMV's price reduction on the Premium bundle - a deal which represents a saving of £140. Were you one of the...

More first party titles will enable system to "take off"

Earlier in the month, GameStop President Tony Bartel said Wii U sales had been slower than the company had anticipated and that the system would need some great first party titles in order to compete. The games retailer recently had its post-earnings financial call, which has been reported on...

Nintendo 'needs to build awareness'

Wii U has had a difficult few months in practically every country since the New Year. Many have attributed it to a distinct lack of new releases - something that is beginning to improve with the release of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. One nation where Wii U owners have had a more difficult time than others is...

£199.99 bundle represents a £140 saving

Embattled UK high street retailer HMV has reduced the price of the Wii U Premium bundle to just £199.99. The store is also throwing in a copy of Ubisoft's ZombiU for that price, which means buyers are making a saving of £140. This marks a new low for the Wii U's UK price, with retailers in the region...

"We look forward to updating – and exciting – our partners"

It's common knowledge that Wii U sales have lost momentum, worldwide, in the early months of 2013. After a promising set of launch figures, NPD results for North America in January and February have been low, Japanese sales are currently only beating Wii and Xbox 360 (which sells poorly...

Copies hard to find, retailers expecting stock later this week

LEGO City: Undercover launched in North America this week, but reports are coming in that finding the game isn't as easy as it possibly should be. Just as happened with Fire Emblem: Awakening a while back, it would seem that there's been some kind of shipping problem, as US stores are...

Sales have been "slower than expected"

It's no secret that Wii U sales have been a bit on the sluggish side in 2013, but many retailers are hopeful they'll soon pick up once a few more games start being released. One games retailer that has been disappointed with the number of Wii U units flying off the shelves is GameStop. In an interview with...

Basic and Premium bundles down to £199 and £249 respectively

The cries for a Wii U price cut seem to have caused a reaction, as both Amazon.co.uk and UK superstore Asda have knocked £50 off the price of both Wii U bundles. Asda — which is owned by US store Walmart — was the first to move, cutting the price of the Basic and Premium bundles...

Around 120 stores could remain

Earlier in the year we reported that the UK and Ireland retail firm HMV had gone into administration, the latest embattled high-street chain to do so. Although best known in the past for selling music, its stock has diversified to other areas such as video games, making it one of the most prominent high street sellers...

Wishful thinking or inside knowledge?

Last week, we reported on the rumour that Ubisoft's Watch Dogs was Wii U-bound. The story was the result of a leak of promotional materials which stated that the game was coming to "All home consoles". That rumour has been given a little more weight by the fact that GameStop has posted a preorder listing for...

Nintendo's console set to lose its UK crown

Microsoft's Xbox 360 console has topped 8 million consoles sold in the UK to date, and is now on track to surpass Nintendo Wii's sales record in the region. This would secure the system's position as the UK's number 1 selling console. But that incoming PlayStation announcement on February 20th could...

“Wii U has not caught the public’s imagination yet”

UK games trade publication MCV has spoken to a wide range of retailers and the general feeling seems to be that the system needs a price cut — as well as new games and better marketing — to turn its fortunes around. January marked the console's second month on sale in the UK, and it...