Tag: Retail - Page 4
News Nintendo of America Reminds Gamers of 20% Discount on eShop Cards at Best Buy
Download fans, unite up!
Nintendo is certainly keen for Wii U and 3DS owners to consider going the download route with their favourite games. While there are still some obstacles scaring some away — such as premium prices and hardware-based account data — there have been growing numbers making the move to a virtual library. Nintendo of America,...
News Nintendo's Point of Sale Cards Helping to Drive Downloads in Japan
"It’s safe to say that it’s a risk-free system for the retailers"
New Super Mario Bros. 2 may not be regarded in the future as an iconic, unforgettable 2D Mario game — though various members of the Nintendo Life team do think it's rather good — but it did represent one important piece of Nintendo's modern history. It was the first physical...
News Retail Company Rakuten Highlights the Wii U and iPad as Most Talked About Children's Presents
Somebody think of the children
A week has passed since the actual Black Friday, and in a slight departure from convention all but Sony have been quiet on firm figures; in that respect we know little (in terms of reliable data) about the Wii U's performance in the festive shopping season to date. It is becoming clear that Nintendo's marketing...
News Former Sony Developer Feels The Wii U "Won't See Another Christmas"
Former BigBig Studios staffer Kenny Linder voices his opinion
Nintendo launched Super Mario 3D World in the UK last week, on the same day as Sony released its PS4 console in the country. It was a bold move — no doubt intended to prove that while Sony has the new tech, the Wii U has the best games this Christmas — but it didn't quite go according...
News Reggie Fils-Aime Emphasizes the Wii U's Unique Content in Sales Pitch
"It's our responsibility to show consumers how much fun you can have"
The most vital shopping season is no longer an upcoming event on which we can speculate, but is very much under way. The Black Friday madness has done its worst, and we now settle into a frantic few weeks as consumers weigh up whether to buy a home console and, if so, which one is...
Less than a week after saying the company was facing "the end"
Investment site The Motley Fool — which recently painted a rather dismal picture of Nintendo's future — has performed a complete about-face by claiming that Nintendo could end up being the big winner this holiday season. The opinion piece points out that although the Wii U has...
News Xbox One UK Sales Set to Pass Wii U's Lifetime to Date Figures
North American figures also provide a reminder of the challenge ahead
It's well known and statistically clear that the Wii U has had a poor start on the market, a trend the company is striving to turn around with cheaper prices, value bundle offers, increased marketing and major game releases. The challenge ahead has been brought into focus this...
News European 2DS Pokémon X And Y Bundles Spotted In The Wild
Have you caught one yet?
We recently reported on 2DS Pokémon X And Y bundles hitting South Korea, and at the same time wondered if these packs would see a wider release. Seems we didn't have to wait long for the answer, as we're hearing reports that Euro retailers already have Pokémon X and Y bundles in stock. Dutch toy store
News CNET Outlines Console Purchase Choices And Highlights Wii U as a "Pretty Compelling Buy"
Different talking head, different outcome
There have been a number of times this year when, sometimes correctly and on other occasions harshly, the Wii U has endured negative coverage and, as a result, subsequent issues with its public image. We've had — and still have, to a degree — issues with awareness, while some dry spells of software have...
News GameStop Experiences Profit Gains, With Hardware Increases Driven by 3DS and 2DS Sales
Boxed discs appear to be making a comeback
As some have predicted the imminent demise of retail gaming outlets, brought on by an era of new restrictions on game sharing and the used games market, US retailer GameStop has drawn a course full sail in the opposite direction. A new report by Games Industry reveals that the US gaming giant actually...
News Nintendo's UK Store to Release A Wii U Mario Mega Bundle
Three games, a Mario remote and, most importantly, a Mario hat
In early October Nintendo UK launched its own online store, which has since played host to some pre-order bonuses and a regional exclusive with this rather attractive Luigi-themed 3DS XL. It seems the website is keen to lead the line in terms of driving Wii U sales this Holiday season,...
News Walmart Goes Early With the Link Between Worlds 3DS Bundle in the US, Sort Of
Link's between shelves already
Street dates for games and hardware certainly have a mixed record of enforcement, with the majority observed impeccably and others flagrantly disregarded — Pokémon X & Y was the in the latter camp. So on that score one major retailer in the US is already displaying the Link Between Worlds hardware bundle,...
News Pokémon X & Y Enjoyed the Strongest Ever Nintendo Game Launch in Australia and New Zealand
Stock shortages to be resolved soon
Just recently we reported on the US NPD results for October, in which it was announced that the 3DS and 2DS systems had achieved monthly sales of 452,000 units, an impressive figure. Pokémon X & Y, unsurprisingly, played a major role in that success — between them the two titles passed 1.7 million sales in...
News DuckTales: Remastered Hits Retail Shelves in North America
New video celebrates its release (we think?)
If you've been holding off on DuckTales: Remastered until you had a version you could hold in your own two mitts and/or amass a swimmable vault-full of, then today is your day — if you're in North America, at least. The physical retail version of DuckTales: Remastered has been released to stores today...
News 2DS For $99.99 Among Major Sales Arriving On Black Friday
Plenty of cheap thrills summarised inside
Nothing captures the Holiday spirit quite like a line of angry shoppers wrapped around the outside of a Walmart store. On 29th November, Americans will officially ring in the Christmas season with the arrival of Black Friday, that annual all-day shopping event when retailers nationwide offer up countless...
Feature Why Nintendo Isn't Popular in Poland
Rob Burgess explains how a country with 40 million people has been missed
Earlier this year we posted an article based on a Nintendo fan's blog, which explained how difficult it was to buy a Wii U in Poland, a large European country. Rob Burgess, the author of that blog, has since written a follow up article in which he explains in a little more...
News Famitsu Reveals Japan's Best Selling Games Of The 21st Century
New Super Mario Claims Top Spot
Japanese video game publication Famitsu has just unveiled the top 100 Best Selling Video Games in Japan for the 21st Century (the period 1st January 2001 until 29th September 2013), and as expected Nintendo games feature heavily, with nine of the top ten games being for Nintendo platforms — seven of which are for...
News Former Video Game Destination Blockbuster Video Closes Its Doors In The US
Wow, what a difference: no more Blockbuster
Although GameStop and Target remain as the two great retail destinations for video games in the US, the digital revolution has cemented the end of yet another large corporation — Blockbuster Video announced yesterday that it will be closing its doors for good. The movie and games giant has confirmed that...
News Mamma Mia! The Mario & Luigi Wii U Bundle Is Sold Out At Target And GameStop
New set flies off shelves in lead up to the holiday season
With the recent influx of new Wii U bundles offering pack-in games such as The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD, Wii Party U, Just Dance 2014 and Skylanders SWAP Force, it’s clear Nintendo is offering a wide variety of options in order to entice potential customers this holiday season.
Poll Is Nintendo's Wii U Advertising and Marketing Doing Enough?
It's safe to say the 3DS messaging is doing fine
It's a common refrain for critics of Nintendo to state that it doesn't do marketing well. Some may see adverts featuring celebrities or colourful trailers of smiling children and despair, as there's often a sense that in targeting families and young gamers with much of its advertising the company has...
News The Wii Mini Will Arrive in the U.S. in November
Includes a copy of Mario Kart Wii and will cost $99
Back in December 2012 we imported a Wii Mini from Canada — before it was confirmed for Europe — and gave our assessment in a hardware review. Here's what we said in summary: The Wii Mini is, as we were largely aware - a scaled-down version of Nintendo's best-selling system. The lack of online...
News Nintendo of America Cuts Recommended Price for Nintendo Land
If you don't have it with your Wii U, now's the time
We suspect a significant percentage of current Wii U owners have a copy of Nintendo Land, simply due to the 32GB model — with which it was originally bundled at launch — selling in greater numbers in the system's early days. A number of upcoming bundles are shaking up the formula, however, and...
News Nicalis Quizzes Fans Over Potential For a Physical Release of the Cave Story 3DS eShop Version
Europe says hi
Cave Story has been released four times in total, though that number drops to two if you live in PAL regions. We've had versions on WiiWare, DSiWare, a retail Cave Story 3D and most recently an excellent 3DS eShop version. The latter edition is arguably the best, incorp
News Nintendo Announces Skylanders SWAP Force Wii U Hardware Bundle
Time to swap out that Wii?
Nintendo certainly appears to be gearing up to tempt potential Wii U owners this Holiday, with a variety of bundles joining upcoming releases to try and win over the market. Nintendo of America has now announced another option to tempt gamers in the region, teaming up with Activision to offer a Skylanders SWAP Force...
News Nintendo UK Joins Japan By Calling Time On Wii, Wii Mini Expected To Fill The Void
"Wii imports to Europe have been discontinued"
Nintendo has recently confirmed that production of the Wii is set to cease in Japan and despite some assurances from Nintendo of America, it's inevitable that western regions will follow suit. MCV has had confirmation from Nintendo UK that the system is also b
News 2DS Now Available For Less Than £100 In The UK
The run up to the holiday season is upon us
The Nintendo 2DS launched less than two weeks ago on the same day as Pokémon X & Y landed on shelves around the world. Retailers in the UK set the price at £109.99 but with Christmas fast approaching several of them have made the move to knock a whole ten pounds off to get the console under that...
News Wii U Isn't Getting Need For Speed: Rivals Thanks To Low Sales Of Most Wanted
"I’d love for it to be way bigger than it was"
The Wii U version of Need for Speed: Most Wanted is arguably the definitive version, adding in new features which are exclusive to Nintendo's console. However, it didn't sell as well as expected — which seems to be a key reason why we're not getting Need for Speed: Rivals. The Six
News Hey Australia! You're Getting The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Chest Too!
Will be a free gift with pre-orders at EB Games
Earlier this week Nintendo confirmed a special musical chest would be a special bonus for those who pre-order The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds on 3DS at GAME in the UK. As it turns out, the lovely little gift is actually part of a limited edition set exclusive to the retailer that also...
News UK Retailer GAME Less Than Happy With Rivals Ignoring Pokémon X & Y Street Date
"We are seeing street date breaches occur on a frequent basis"
Last week saw the release of Pokémon X & Y on the Nintendo 3DS, unquestionably one of the year's biggest releases. Nintendo took the brave step of releasing the game globally on the same day — October 12th — which meant that everyone could experience the adventure together,...
News Refurbished 3DS Systems on Sale at Nintendo Online Store
Includes discontinued Aqua Blue
Looking to save a bit of coin on a 3DS or a 3DS XL? You might want to consider a newly discounted refurbished unit from the Nintendo Online Store. Nintendo has taken an extra $10 of several varieties of its handheld. The Aqua Blue and Midnight Purple 3DSes are now $109.99 while the Blue/Black and Red/Black 3DS XL...
Rumour Sony Running Campaign To Push Potential Wii U Buyers Towards PS4 And Vita
Sneaky business afoot in Germany?
The Wii U is unique in that it offers the second screen experience right out of the box — with rival consoles attempting to leverage smartphone and tablet applications to create the same kind of gameplay, Nintendo has an advantage in that users don't have to own additional hardware to achieve the same result...
News "Uninformed" Store Staff Are Hurting Wii U Sales, Claims Senior Games Analyst
"They didn't even understand what it was"
The poor sales of the Wii U have been blamed on a lot of things, such as a lack of games and high price point. However, there's also the question of the branding and whether or not Nintendo has been successful enough in informing potential buyers about the difference between the new console and its...
News GAME Offers Music-Playing Chest With A Link Between Worlds Pre-Orders
It plays exactly what you think it does
Follow along, children: The Link goes “YAHHHH!” The Navi goes “HEY!” And the item chest goes “Ta-da-da-DAAAA!” For UK fans of that last iconic fanfare, pre-orders of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds from GAME will come with a musical collectable chest to triumphantly hold over your head...
News UK Retailers Break Release Date for Pokémon X & Y
It's not just early deliveries any more
Earlier this week we bemoaned the fact that Nintendo's global release plans for Pokémon X & Y had been undermined; what was a concerted effort to release the new generation of the franchise to everyone at once had been let down by some of the gaming press, public and retailers. It had been an...
News Zelda: Wind Waker HD Release Triggers 685% Increase In UK Wii U Hardware Sales
...although it's not known how many units were actually shifted
Trade publication MCV has revealed that the release of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD has caused a 685% increase in Wii U console sales in the United Kingdom — however, it's not been revealed exactly how many units that jump entails. The news backs up Nintendo's stance that games...
News Nintendo UK: Awareness Is The Real Issue With The Wii U, Not Price
"Many mums don’t know what this is"
Nintendo UK's marketing head Shelly Pearce has been speaking to MCV about the challenges facing the Wii U this Christmas, and admits that the company still has work to do when it comes to educating buyers about the difference between the original Wii and its successor: There was a big misconception at launch...
Talking Point Nintendo's Catch-22 With Retail Game Pricing
Go high, get criticised. Go low, get criticised...
This week Nintendo UK launched its own online retail store, stepping into the market typically occupied by the likes of Amazon, Gamestop, GAME and various others; even the bricks-and-mortar retailers mentioned have an increasing reliance on web sales. It's a more up-to-date, relevant proposition...
News Nintendo Confirms Three New Wii U Hardware Bundles for Europe
Mario and Luigi, Wii Party U and Just Dance offerings
We've had plenty of speculation in recent times regarding Wii U bundles, as it's seemed inevitable that Nintendo will boost the value of its offerings with packed-in options to cater to various audiences. Nintendo of Europe has today stepped forward with its own offers, all set to arrive in...
News Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut Will Cost $20 More On Wii U Than On PS3 And 360
The Nintendo tax?
When Square Enix announced Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut for the Wii U, everyone was pretty happy about getting to play a past classic with enhanced GamePad functions. However, when the news broke that this "exclusive" version was also coming to the PS3 and 360, some Wii U owners felt slightly short-changed. That...
News Nintendo UK Launches Online Retail Store
Offering consoles, the latest titles and some extras
Nintendo UK has today launched an online store that offers a large range of games, consoles and some gift ideas. It's an intriguing move by the regional team, offering its own online store of physical products alongside conventional retailers. The stock is primarily focused on products developed,...
News US Retailer Lists Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon For Wii U
Newegg claims the 3DS title is making the jump to Wii U this year
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon — or Luigi's Mansion 2, if you're in Europe — was one of 2013's stand-out 3DS titles. It was so good that some lamented the fact that it was on a handheld — it was exactly the kind of epic experience that the Wii U could really have done with during...
News Batman: Arkham Origins Will Be Cheaper on Wii U
Savings in lieu of online multiplayer
Although Batman: Arkham Origins for the Wii U will not be receiving the online multiplayer mode provided to its Xbox 360 and PS3 brethren, the omission does seem to be reflected in a lower price point. Kotaku reports that a $50 price for the Wii U version has been confirmed with a represent
News DuckTales: Remastered Coming to Retail on Wii U in North America
Woo-oo!
DuckTales: Remastered is exactly what the title suggests, it's a re-worked modern version of the classic — and challenging — NES game. For fans of the original that fancied a shiny new run-through it's been largely well-received, but its old-school sensibilities also saw it cop some criticism; it's certainly down to taste. Up to now...
News Wii U Basic Supply Will Become "Limited" in The UK
The white model will soon be hard to find
Earlier today, Nintendo confirmed there will be a couple of Wii U bundles coming to Europe from 4th October, with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD - which comes with a beautifully customised GamePad - and LEGO City: Undercover being the games of choice. Both of these bundle
News Nintendo Confirms Wii U "Price Reduction Initiative" in Europe from 4th October
Limited edition LEGO City Undercover Premium Pack also confirmed
Yesterday brought the news that Nintendo of America is applying a formal $50 price cut to the 32GB Wii U model, beginning on 20th September alongside the launch of a limited edition Wind Waker HD bundle. The price cut will apply to standard bundles, also, but while Nintendo of Europe...
News Wii U Deluxe Model Gets Official $50 Price Cut in North America
Begins on 20th September
After months of speculation and increasing doubt, Nintendo has taken the plunge and confirmed an official price cut on the Wii U Deluxe 32GB model. This takes the form of a new "suggested retail price" of $299 in North America, a $50 cut announced today at the GameStop Managers Show in Las Vegas; the new price will begin on...
News GameStop Sales and Profits Take a Hit Ahead of Vital Shopping Period
"The year has played out as expected"
GameStop may have been in the news for the wrong reasons, for some Nintendo gamers at least, with its recent antics in matching eBay prices on sought after second-hand games, yet it's easy to forget that it's a powerful presence on the high street. That's particularly the case in North America, though the retail...
News Six Ubisoft Games Get a 30% Discount on the 3DS eShop
For one week only
Yesterday we brought the happy news that Atlus has applied discounts to various titles on the 3DS eShop in North America, and not to be left out Ubisoft has now joined in. Six retail downloads have a 30% discount from 20th - 27th August, and the offer appears to be covering both North America and Europe. Below are the games and...
News More Evidence Emerges of a Wind Waker HD Wii U Bundle
32GB model with game to reportedly retail for $349.99
In July we reported the rumour that a Wind Waker HD hardware bundle was on the way, but treated it with plenty of salt due to its lack of any real evidence. More compelling proof has now emerged to back up those claims, along with those of red and blue 3DS XL bundles for Pokémon X & Y, which...
News GAME Expands Its Range of 3DS eShop Codes to Include Virtual Console and Download-Only Games
A useful alternative
Earlier in the year we reported that the GAME retail group had exclusive European rights on eShop download codes, making it the go-to retailer for those that wanted to get their download games by paying with cash or keen to accumulate further loyalty points for the stores. The initial range covered Wii U and 3DS eShop retail...
