A big launch is a must

Earlier today we brought you the news that Nintendo had cut its profit projections due to half-year results, with the overall picture being one of disappointment if not disaster. One of the reasons for this was lower than expected 3DS sales, with six months worth of results showing around five million unit sales, leaving Nintendo with plenty of work to do to reach its target of 17.5 million units for the year. A busy Holiday season is a must for the handheld.

One thing that Nintendo has done in today's financial report is set a distinct target for Wii U's launch window sales, after a rather vague bundling of the system with Wii in previous projections. The expectation is that 5.5 million consoles will be sold this financial year, which runs until the 31st March — coincidentally the close of the rather lengthy launch window as announced by Nintendo itself. It's also targeting 24 million Wii U game sales, though that figure will in all likelihood include those bundled with the system. Even with that taken into account, that's putting a lot of faith in Wii U gamers buying four or five games each in the space of four months, which is rather high when less enthusiastic gamers are taken into account.

Of course, Nintendo is banking on the willingness and deep pockets of early adopters to hit these figures, while 3DS success is likely to rely on major releases such as Paper Mario: Sticker Star and a Holiday spike in sales. It's a big few months for Satoru Iwata and his business team.

[source eurogamer.net]