Aussie retailer neglects Wii U in favour of next gen hardware
Nintendo's Wii U is struggling down under. Retailer EB Games Australia has bumped it from its website's homepage, favouring next gen consoles Xbox One and PlayStation 4 along with current gen hardware.
While Microsoft and Sony gaming devices dominate prominent placement on the site, the Wii U has even been bumped by PC, a platform that relies almost exclusively on digital sales. Wii U on the other hand needs retailers like EB Games, as its digital foothold isn't strong enough to entice gamers to download games through the console's online store.
It's a telling revelation for a console that was released only eight months ago. Sales have been falling ever since, with the console consistently beaten by the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, seven and six years old respectively.
While Nintendo's other gaming platform, the 3DS, continues to perform strongly, the Wii U risks falling off the radar completely with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 primed for release this November.
A lack of quality software may be the cause for the Wii U's fall from grace. The console's two biggest releases between now and the end of the year include a remake of a ten-year-old game, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, and Pikmin 3, a popular strategy game but hardly the type of title that can sell hardware.
Last month Nintendo responded to concerns about the Wii U's struggling sales, with Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata, telling CNBC, "We are to blame".
"We relaxed our (marketing) efforts, so the consumers today still cannot understand what's so good and unique about the Wii U."
The Wii U has struggled primarily because consumers don't quite know what it is. Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, told NBC in November that the console was "a baffling thing", and has frequently questioned Nintendo's intentions with the product.
"I've always said that I think they came up with a solution and never identified the problem that they were solving," Pachter said then.
Interestingly, Nintendo now appears to agree with Pachter.
"Because we're always trying to be unique, it takes some energies on our side to (help) people understand the real attractions about whatever we are doing," Iwata said.
GamesFIX contacted EB Games for comment on the Wii U neglect. At the time of publishing the retailer had not yet responded.
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