UK Wii revenues decline 40%

Following dips in both sales and revenue at leading UK games retailer GAME, the chain has pegged Nintendo’s hardware duo of Wii and DS as one of the main drivers of the dip.

Specifically, GAME and Gamestation stores have seen a 40 per cent decline in hardware sales of the WIi and DS in year-to-date 2010.

On the flip side, the Xbox 360 has seen gains of 16 per cent in the period and the PS3 has done even better – selling 17 per cent more consoles so far in 2010 than it had by this point in 2009.

The July launch of the remodelled Microsoft Xbox 360 250GB was the principal event in the year so far and GAME was Microsoft’s lead European retail partner,” chairman Peter Lewis stated.

The first half release schedule was dominated by core gamer titles such as Red Dead Redemption and Battlefield Bad Company 2. GAME took a leading market share on these products, reflecting the strength of our relationship with suppliers, our core gamer appeal and customer recognition of the value of our new release offer.

Sony has recently launched new models of the PS3 Slim and Nintendo is expected to release the handheld 3DS in Europe next year. Initial reviews of this technology have been very positive.”

Lewis also expects a decent uplift from Sony’s recent Move launch and the upcoming arrival of Kinect, though warns that their full market potential might not be realised until a little later down the line.

New motion sensing peripherals from Microsoft and Sony will extend the functionality and appeal of their consoles, particularly when a full range of new software titles becomes available next year,” he added.

PlayStation Move launched in Europe on September 17th and we look forward to seeing the growth in sales as we head into Christmas. Microsoft’s Kinect will launch in Europe on 10 November and is generating good pre-orders.”