Despite launching almost two years ago and having tepid sales in the region, UK marketing executive Shelly Pearce seems confident that Wii U sales in the UK are going to continue growing. According to Pearce, sales of the Wii U console in the region are up 60% compared to where they were at launch and that Christmas will be an important factor in the console’s continued momentum. Pearce says a big marketing campaign will be vital to the Wii U’s success during the holidays.
When it comes with competing with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 that ship – for want of a better cliché – has sailed. But Wii U is actually growing. Sales are up over 60 per cent in the UK this year. And from Nintendo UK’s perspective there’s been a change in public opinion.
According to Pearce, Nintendo UK can contribute this change of public opinion to the release of Mario Kart 8 back in May, which was received well among fans and potential new customers alike.
We’ve really seen momentum pick up with Mario Kart 8 back in May. That was when we saw a step change, not just in terms of sales but also people’s attitudes to Wii U. People are starting to consider buying now, which was cemented by our E3 activity. All the software that we showed then gave people confidence that there were lots of games coming that they wanted.
It’s nice to see one branch of Nintendo taking the Christmas season especially seriously. One of the major shortcomings in the early days of the Wii U is that Nintendo expected the console to market itself thanks to its unique features. Instead of relying heavily on advertising such as TV spots, the first year of the Wii U release was relatively quiet as Nintendo expected sales to go the same as the original Wii console. When that didn’t occur, Nintendo began stepping up marketing with the release of titles like Super Mario 3D World and Mario Kart 8.
