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Analyst: Wii U GameStop sales below expectations

Sterne Agee industry watcher says hardware and software sales for Nintendo's latest fall short during holiday period at speciality retailer.

By Eddie Makuch on January 3, 2013 at 3:51PM PST

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GS News - Analyst: Wii U GameStop sales below expectations

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Wii U hardware and software sales at GameStop during the holiday season were below expectations, according to an investor note from Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia. The industry watcher said Wii U availability at GameStop continues to be "abundant."

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The Wii U made its worldwide debut November 18 in North America and sold 400,000 units during its first week. The console launched in Europe and Australia on November 30, but no specific sales figures for those regions have been announced. The Wii U's December 8 launch in Japan saw first-weekend sales come in at 308,570 units.

Bhatia also revealed that the $350 Wii U Deluxe model is selling at a greater clip than the $300 basic version at GameStop, presumably due to its "better value." The Deluxe model includes 32GB of storage space to the Basic unit's 8GB, as well as a bundled copy of Nintendo Land.

Additionally, Bhatia said the Wii U software attach rate at GameStop is "low," but did not provide a specific rate.

"Our conclusion is the Nintendo Wii U launch has been slightly disappointing," Bhatia said.

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YearoftheSnake5

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YearoftheSnake5

It seems like every time a Wii U article comes out, a bit of the System Wars forum spills over into the comment section.

3 • 12 years ago

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Sony will cut used sales on certain games. most likely big budget established franchises like uncharted, because they know people will buy it day one.

Upvote • 12 years ago

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Well personally I am enjoying my Wii U and you all can point and laugh or what ever you would like to do. I owned a 360 until I suffered from too many RRD. I have 2 PS3 systems....and from what I am hearing about the new PS4 and next Xbox cutting used games out of the picture.....and just for the Xbox fan boys...here is your personal link, don't want you to feel left out...cause I know the first thing to come is MS is not going to do that....

http://www.gamespot.com/news/next-xbox-to-play-blu-rays-block-used-games-report-6349165

It is starting to look like the Wii U may be one of my last consoles to buy.....sadly I may add, I have been playing video games for at least 30 years now....

4 • 12 years ago

YearoftheSnake5

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YearoftheSnake5

@Killer6b9 That article is pretty old. I doubt they'll block used games, because places like Gamestop could refuse to sell the 720/PS4 and cut profits drastically. I quit the 360 about five years ago due to RROD problems and have been using PCWii ever since. I really like my Wii U so far. I doubt I'll have to worry about it dying like my 360s did.

Upvote • 12 years ago

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@Killer6b9 sony has even said that used games sales were cut it would hurt future game sales... in the long run it would hurt first game sales

Upvote • 12 years ago

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Edited By demonkingx5

@CDWJUSTIN theirs some truth to that i bought uncharted 1 used loved it then bought uncharted 2 new on release im sure im not the only 1

Upvote • 12 years ago

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@Killer6b9 they will not cut out used sales

2 • 12 years ago

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@Killer6b9 fyi that is just a patent well at least on Sony side anyways and I'm pretty sure they wont implement it

Upvote • 12 years ago

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@Killer6b9 Lol that article for the NextBox is from JANUARY 2012 lol I remember there being another article a few weeks later stating that microsoft woudn't do that, funny how you don't mention that

Upvote • 12 years ago

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@Killer6b9

Did you add me on MiiVerse? AB88INC4L :D

Upvote • 12 years ago

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Picked one up at Best Buy on black Friday on a whim.....took it back. It's better than the Wii, but not $300 better.

Upvote • 12 years ago

deactivated-58fbfc61e27fe

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deactivated-58fbfc61e27fe

Cut the price then we`ll talk.

Upvote • 12 years ago

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Probably because Gamestop is garbage LOL

3 • 12 years ago

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@digi-demon As a former employee, I'd have to agree. My hours were cut dramatically because I wasn't selling a lot of game warranties. I was asking customers if they wanted them, how is it my fault if they say no?

Upvote • 12 years ago

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@StellaLunaris @digi-demon

Stella. If EVERY employee had terrible warranty suggestive sell rates then I would agree with you. But there's a reason some employees have a large number of warranty sales while some have 0.It's because they try harder. It's not enough to go "Would you like an added warranty for 3$ on your disc?" That won't convince anyone. You need to convince someone to buy the warranty and make them think it's going to save them money. I am a part time server and every night we have a contest that deals with suggestive selling items. I also worked at GameStop for a few years.

I was consistently either first or second place for special menu/warranty suggestive sells. It's not hard, just put some thought behind your pitch and actually give a crap.

Upvote • 12 years ago

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@StellaLunaris @digi-demon Who the hell gets a game warranty?

4 • 12 years ago

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@guzhead @StellaLunaris @digi-demon

I sold a few warranties, it's mainly parents who are buying games for their kids who get it :P

Upvote • 12 years ago

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@digi-demon GameStop is garbage! The manager at mine is a Tool.

3 • 12 years ago

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@Plasmid_king ROFL!!!!! hehehe Thanks XD

Upvote • 12 years ago

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