News
Nintendo unleashes Wii Fit marketing – but is there enough stock?
Neil Long and Jonathon Harker Apr 18 2008, 11:02am
Comments (5)
“Ground-breaking” campaign set to dwarf Wii launch; but demand set to outstrip supply
A bullish Nintendo UK has also triumphantly called Wii Fit the answer to those critics who blame the gaming industry for a lack of health and fitness among children.
Nintendo’s Rob Lowe, senior product manager for Wii Fit told MCV: “Overall it’s the biggest and most ground-breaking Wii campaign we’ve ever done – including the launch of the Wii itself.”
Nintendo’s confidence in Wii Fit follows the highly significant launch of the title in Japan, where the software broke records. “It’s been one of the fastest selling pieces of Wii software released, and the reaction has been absolutely fantastic – especially from housewives, who are one of our key targets for the UK launch,” said Lowe.
Alongside the title’s marketing campaign, Wii Fit also goes some to way hitting back at those who blame the games industry for a lack of health and fitness amongst kids, according to Lowe.
“It definitely answers a lot of the criticisms historically levelled at video games,” he added. “Wii Sports was held up as a less sedentary and more sociable way of playing games – and Wii Fit definitely takes it a stage further.”
But at retail level, there are concerns over whether Nintendo can keep up with the huge demand for the title.
“For a product of this nature our pre-orders have been exceptional. We are expecting huge demand pre and post release. It’s another highly innovative product from Nintendo that will expand the market for games,” said Woolworths head of games Gerry Berkley.
A Nintendo spokesperson told MCV that the company is doing its best to keep up with demand: “With the launch of Wii Fit, as with all our launches, we are working very hard with all our retail partners to be as open and as transparent as possible with allocations. All of Nintendo's direct customers in the UK and Ireland were informed of their day one allocations for Wii Fit by March 10th.”
“We’re disappointed if even one person can’t get hold of one of our products and we are doing everything we can to ensure we have as much Wii Fit stock as possible coming into the UK and Ireland not just at launch, but continually, to try and minimise any potential disappointment as much as possible.”
Comments
“Demand outstrips supply”
Posted by: Stephen Staley - Apr 18, 3:42pm
Simple answer = No! Great product, no stock
“Supply is fixed”
Posted: Apr 18, 4:38pm
The allocations for this game are stupidly low.
Will it mimic Mario Kart, in that the indies get next to no stock on launch. Allowing the supermarkets & multiples to clean up, only for a load of extra stock to mysteriously appear a few days later.
Who is responsible for the stock being held back from the indies?
“Re: Supply is fixed”
Posted: Apr 18, 6:28pm
money talks....thats the be all and end all!
“Re: Supply is fixed”
Posted by: Bob - Apr 18, 8:02pm
@3
So a indies money isn't as good as a supermarkets?
“Re: Supply is fixed”
Posted by: Gerry - Apr 18, 10:37pm
Indies money is better than the Supermarkets because it's guaranteed.
Supermarkets abandon formats and games as they become less profitable. Telling a chain that they get a larger Wii Fit allocation if they order more of other key nintendo titles, and sell them has far more effect on the exposure of non gamers to the product than the same deal with an indie.
The first shops to drop NGC support were the mainstreams of Dixons & Argos and it hurt the perceptions of the format. Wii Fit boxes on a row end in Tesco make it far easier to move into the 2nd phase of the Wii casual strategy - getting the user to turn the thing on more regularly so that it becomes part of the routine and not the special.
Wii Fit is the flagship title for casual gaming, indies SHOULD be in last place. Smash Brothers for example should be the total reverse - gamer stores get priority. Only time will tell whether this will happen.