Tag Archives: NintendoWii

Nintendo sees next opportunity for Wii success in Latin America, Eastern Europe

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"We will continue to sell the Wii," Nintendo America president and CEO Reggie Fils-Aime told investors today in a Q&A followup to the company's big Wii U event in New York City. "In the US, the Wii has sold about 40 million units. We believe that there continues to be an opportunity with the Wii." However, where Fils-Aime sees the most opportunity may not be where you expect. "I'm responsible for Canada, and Latin America as well," he said. "We think there's opportunity in both of those markets, especially Latin America." The Wii is currently offered by Nintendo in North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe, but not Latin America. The Wii ranges from $140 to $250, depending on what it comes with.

"You can reach price points, you can reach consumers that, candidly, we won't be able to reach with the Wii U. That's gonna continue to be an opportunity," he said. Fils-Aime and Nintendo also have their eyes on Eastern Europe. "On a global base, certainly there are markets in Eastern Europe. There are a number of other markets where if Wii has an attractive price point, it'll do well."

He also stood behind the console continuing to sell in its currently available markets alongside the Wii U after the new console launches this November. "We do believe there's still opportunity for the Wii, and we will continue to sell the Wii side-by-side for some period of time." Unsurprisingly, he didn't say exactly how long Nintendo is planning that support, nor would he say if we should expect a price drop for the aging console, but if we had to guess, we'd say "The Wii will drop in price" and "soon."

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Nintendo sees next opportunity for Wii success in Latin America, Eastern Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NPD: Xbox 360 ruled a steadily declining video game empire in July

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Xbox 360 slim review

Microsoft must sometimes feel like its lead in the game market is a Pyrrhic victory. The Xbox 360 once again topped the NPD Group's hardware charts in July, claiming a near-majority 49 percent market share of consoles -- but the 203,000 units sold were a steep drop from the 257,000 units that traded hands in June, and a far cry from the glory days that would have given a victory more meaning. Nintendo and Sony haven't shared their own figures, although the analyst group notes that only Nintendo's 3DS and DSi had any kind of increase in the month. The industry as a whole was unmistakably feeling the combined effects of the pre-holiday doldrums and a console generation that's long in the tooth: hardware revenue was down 32 percent in the month to $150.7 million, while the games in question saw revenue dip 23 percent to $260.7 million. If you need a culprit, earlier reports for the second quarter had credited similar shifts to sales of physical game copies declining faster than digital sales could replace them. Hope remains in the usual fall spike; even so, the July figures suggest the big three platforms might be living on borrowed time.

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NPD: Xbox 360 ruled a steadily declining video game empire in July originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 16:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD exec behind Wii and Xbox 360 graphics jumps the fence to NVIDIA

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Xbox 360 Valhalla teardown

AMD has been suffering a conspicuous brain drain, with executives like ATI veteran Rick Bergman and CTO Eric Demers crossing over to tangentially or directly competitive companies like NVIDIA and Qualcomm. Chalk up another one for the list -- strategic development VP Bob Feldstein has bounded towards NVIDIA's (literally) greener pastures. The blow cuts deeper than usual through Feldstein's responsibility for graphics in most of the consoles from the past few years: he headed up work behind the Xenos chip in earlier Xbox 360s and the Hollywood core in the Wii, and he likely had some say in the Wii U's video hardware as well. While the staff shuffle won't directly affect AMD's Fusion processors or Radeon cards, it's hard to see much of a positive for AMD's future in video gaming, even in the light of rumors that the next PlayStation and Xbox might use some of Feldstein's work.

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AMD exec behind Wii and Xbox 360 graphics jumps the fence to NVIDIA originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NPD: Nintendo 3DS sales hit 5 million in US, Xbox 360 still claims the console crown

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Nintendo 3DS review

The NPD Group's gaming figures for June have made the rounds, and both Microsoft as well as Nintendo have something to crow about, albeit for very different reasons. Nintendo is the most eager to prove itself and says that the 3DS has hit five million total sales in the US since it reached gamers' hands in the country. The tally doesn't compete with the heady numbers smartphone designers are used to, but it's a milestone for a handheld console whose prospects were dim until a sudden price cut fueled sales a year ago. Before Nintendo lets the 155,000 3DS units it sold in June get to its head, however, it's important to get context from Microsoft's own achievements: Redmond shipped 257,000 Xbox 360 units that month and has had the lead among all US consoles for the past year and a half. We're in the dark on Sony data, although it's important that just 90,000 Wii units traded hands in the same month -- as clear a sign as any that the Wii U can't come quickly enough for Satoru Iwata and company.

Continue reading NPD: Nintendo 3DS sales hit 5 million in US, Xbox 360 still claims the console crown

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NPD: Nintendo 3DS sales hit 5 million in US, Xbox 360 still claims the console crown originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 19:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Editorial: Ouya’s success is opportunity missed for Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony

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Editorial Ouya's success is opportunity missed for Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony

While today's videogames are bigger, flashier and more impressive than ever, it's hard not to think that the golden era of console gaming is behind us. Back in the late '80s and early-to-mid '90s, when a new console came out every couple of years to cut its predecessors off at the knees and brutally savage the bank accounts of the hardcore gamer who had to have them all, there was genuine excitement. Now, with modern consoles showing their age and throwing on more and more gimmicks like so much makeup to compensate, it's hard to really get properly enthused about any of them.

Out of nowhere came Ouya and, based on the $2.6 million it raised in 24 hours alone, it's safe to say it has succeeded in renewing that excitement. That's a stark contrast to the general feeling of malaise at this year's E3. I'm excited too -- but cautiously so.

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Editorial: Ouya's success is opportunity missed for Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CTA Digital unlocks your Nintendo 3DS’s inflatable race car potential

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Forget about Sony and Microsoft. The Wii U? Ha! Everyone knows inflatable race car add-ons are what E3 2012 is all about. CTA Digital is leading the way, doing for the 3DS what it did for the Wii before it, letting players clip their portable console into the giant peripheral's steering wheel. The Inflatable Sports Car is also Wii compatible, for those who are bi-console. You can pick one up for $40 on Amazon, foot pump included. Shoes, clearly, are optional.

Continue reading CTA Digital unlocks your Nintendo 3DS's inflatable race car potential

CTA Digital unlocks your Nintendo 3DS's inflatable race car potential originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Jun 2012 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alternative Wii U controller design makes brief appearance on Twitter, goes into hiding

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Alternative Wii U controller design makes brief Twitter appearance, goes into hiding

Excited for Nintendo's new tablet-esque controller? So are the kids in TT Games' QA department. An over-excited tester tweeted out an image of a slightly different Wii U slab than the one we laid hands on at E3 2011, teasing "look we what we have at work!" Answering the call does indeed reveal something worth looking at -- a somewhat wider looking Wii U slate featuring two full-sized analog sticks (as opposed to 3DS-like circle pads), a pair of unmarked button-like squares, and a new starboard home for the controller's plus and minus buttons.

The tweet was summarily pulled, of course, but not before our friends at Joystiq nabbed a screenshot. Naturally, the rumor mill started right up, churning out speculation of developer specific slabs, early prototypes and late redesigns. The truth? We'll probably need to wait until E3 to find out, but we reached out to Nintendo for a comment all the same. We'll let you know if we hear anything more than the usual "Nintendo doesn't comment on rumors and speculation" line.

Alternative Wii U controller design makes brief appearance on Twitter, goes into hiding originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 02:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo patent application lends a look at Wii U’s core technology, add-ons too

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Little did we know that, just two months after we were trying the Wii U for ourselves, Nintendo was busy patenting nearly everything its unique game console would have to offer. A pair of just-published US Patent Office applications filed last August get into the nuts and bolts of how the controller and the legacy Wii remote will play with the new device. It's clear that the patent work had started before Nintendo had redesigned the main system -- the box at the center of the patents looks like the existing Wii -- but it does show the nitty-gritty of things we only saw at last year's Nintendo E3 keynote, such as the gun attachment or playing golf with a combination of the Wii U controller and the traditional Wiimote. Nintendo also gave itself some wiggle room on the controller's screen size: although the LCD is officially 6.2 inches across, the patent allows that it might be "5 inches or larger." We're wondering how much of the overall look and technology will survive through to the finished Wii U design's unveiling at this year's E3. For now, though, you can explore the patents yourself at the links below.

Nintendo patent application lends a look at Wii U's core technology, add-ons too originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 May 2012 00:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaked Rayman Legends for Wii U trailer showcases NFC feature (video)

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Leaked Rayman Legends for Wii U trailer showcases NFC feature (video)

If you're counting down the days till the Wii U is released, you might recall that back in January Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata said the console will ship with an NFC chip inside. Well, you can now get a taste of how games will incorporate that feature, thanks to this just-leaked trailer for Rayman Legends. According to the video, Rayman Rabbid action figures can jump into the game when a player taps them to the Wii U's screen. (It looks like that trick will work with an Assassin's Creed Ezio Auditore da Firenze figurine too.) Check out the trailer, courtesy of Gamekult, while you can -- after all, Ubisoft didn't want you to glimpse the U's magical powers just yet.

Continue reading Leaked Rayman Legends for Wii U trailer showcases NFC feature (video)

Leaked Rayman Legends for Wii U trailer showcases NFC feature (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo aims to flog 18 million 3DS, up to 10.5 million home consoles this fiscal year

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All eyes are on Nintendo, now that it has revealed losses of $460 million. Buried in all of the financial paperwork were the revelations that it sells the 3DS at a loss, its plans for digital distribution and its projected sales figures for this year. It aims to flog 18.5 million 3DS handhelds and 10.5 million Wii consoles by March 31st 2013. But wait, what about the Wii U? That figure actually encompasses both old and new hardware, so it is either hoping for a sharp fall in Wii sales or a tough opening for the new baby. It's a bold pair of figures that relies upon how well New Super Mario Bros 2, Animal Crossing and the new hardware capture the public's imagination in a time when people are tightening their belts (especially if they've been using Wii Fit).

Continue reading Nintendo aims to flog 18 million 3DS, up to 10.5 million home consoles this fiscal year

Nintendo aims to flog 18 million 3DS, up to 10.5 million home consoles this fiscal year originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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