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No Nintendo for GAME -- sales are up, but shortages suck
Those purple folk at the GAME Group (a prominent games retailer) have released European sales details for the first half of 2008, and it's looking pretty good. Group sales are up 54 percent, with like-for-like sales up 28.4 percent. Like-for-like is such a dumb term. Reminds us of these things.Anyway, despite the strong performance of the group as a whole, the constant shortage of Nintendo products has left a gap in the big fat bricks of cash they're raking in. Well, the UK and Ireland are doing okay, but international performance isn't as high -- "particularly in Spain." Those wacky Spaniards and their neverending lust for technology! Total international sales were up 43.9 percent, with like-for-like (arrgh!) sales on the low end of the scale at 16.9 percent. GAME will be opening 60 new stores before the end of the year, so if you aren't familiar with that big, neon purple logo, you soon will be.
Analyst says Nintendo deliberately redirecting Wii Fit to Europe
While the supposed Wii Fit shortages are nothing compared to the now infamous Wii shortages we've seen, at least one of those ever-insightful analysts now claims to deduced the cause of them, and he's laying the blame squarely on the big N. According to Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter, Nintendo has shipped some 2 million Wii Fit units to Europe, while reserving a mere 500,000 for North America, which he surmises can only mean that Nintendo is deliberately redirecting 'em in order to take advantage of the strong Euro. Pachter seems to think that Nintendo will still make out alright in the end, however, saying that, "they know that Americans will be just as fat a few months from now," when it'll have more units available. [Via GameSpot]
Pachter: Unbalanced Wii Fit shipments due to weak dollar
Superstar game industry analyst Michael Pachter told the LA Times that Nintendo's smaller North American supply of Wii Fit units can be blamed, just like everything else that has anything to do with business, on the value of the dollar. "The shortage demonstrates one consequence of the weak dollar. We're seeing companies ignore their largest market simply because they can make a greater profit elsewhere." Then -- seemingly to make sure blogs quoted him -- Pachter added, "They know that Americans will be just as fat a few months from now." The article states that about 500,000 Wii Fits were shipped to the U.S., versus "as many as 2 million" to Europe. We think that if the disparity is indeed strategic, it has less to do with the decreasing value of the dollar, and more to do with two other trends: Nintendo of Europe's increased friendliness toward nontraditional "expanded audience" games, and European gamers' acceptance of exorbitant game prices. It's not so much that $90 is low for Wii Fit -- it's that they can get away with selling it for $140 in Europe.%Gallery-4745%
Nintendo pledges more Wii Fit stock to UK
Last month's reassurances over UK shortages of Wii Fit did nothing! Far from "coming in all the time on a weekly basis," stock of the fitness title seems to have dwindled down to an all-time low, leaving an entire nation starved of Wii Fitness and the streets awash with angry stay-at-home mums and overturned cars. This week's UK charts tell the whole story -- Wii Fit sank from third spot to outside the Top 40, and to fifteenth in the Wii's own chart. That's below Game Party.Anyway, this dramatic fall from grace has led to Nintendo having to make further reassurances about the situation, with the company promising that supplies will be replenished as quickly as possible. "There are pockets of stock shortages in areas of the UK", a Ninty spokesman remarked to GamesIndustry.biz. By "areas of the UK," we trust he means "the whole damn country."%Gallery-23454%
UK runs out of Wii Fit, Nintendo will replenish ASAP
Nintendo tells GI.biz that it will replenish the UK's stock of Wii Fit "as soon as possible." A Wii Fit shortage in the UK became quite obvious this past week as the fat-reduction simulator practically disappeared from the UK sales charts. Meaning, either citizens of the UK made a collective Borg decision to stop purchasing the game life-altering product or stock sold out.A Nintendo representative put semi-adequate spin on the situation stating that there are "pockets of stock shortages" around the UK. When a game goes from the #2 spot on the sales chart to dropping off the Top 40, that appears to be more than just "pockets" of shortages. Nintendo claims that fat little girls around the UK will be able to pick up a Wii Fit soon enough as the company continues to replenish stock on a weekly basis.
iPhone shortage hits NYC
While the UK has been reporting a run on current-model iPhones recently, Gizmodo says that the shortage has reached across the pond to New York City. According to an anonymous staffer at the West 14th street Apple Store, "it's been out of stock all week." And to think, you were only worried about rice and flour. If you check out the picture on Gizmodo, you'll see a line of about 30 people who are waiting for an iPhone at the West 14th street store. These people will probably be very upset in a month or two. [Via Cult of Mac]
Wii Fit distributors getting weekly exercise
Wii Fit must be easier to produce than Wii consoles. Nintendo hasn't been able to rectify the console shortage that has stretched since the Wii launch, but they have gotten their act together in terms of Wii Fit production.Nintendo U.K. told GamesIndustry.biz that "stock is coming in all the time on a weekly basis." We're surprised that Nintendo is even pretending to be able to keep up with demand, with Wii Fit as enormously popular as it is there. The true test of their production capacity will be the U.S. launch oh May 19th.
Nintendo "passionately upset" about Wii shortages, won't give out free Mario cakes
Besides being infuriated with leaving over a billion dollars on the table this past holiday season, Nintendo of America is also "passionately upset about the lack of product relative to demand." Those words came straight from Mr. Reggie Fils-Aime himself, who noted that North America was the only Wii-serviced territory where supply and demand were still out of sync. Reportedly, some 40-percent of the 1.8 million Wii consoles manufactured each month are making their way over, but even after 17 months on the market, the average Wii sits around on retail shelves for "just an hour before [it is] purchased." Unfortunately, we're no closer to being able to clone the consoles in order to meet the insatiable appetite.
Another analyst says Wii Fit will push Wii shortages
While it's hard to get game industry analysts to agree on something as simple as whether the PS3 will be the best-selling or worst-selling console of this generation, it seems they are largely in agreement about one thing: Wii Fit is gonna be absolutely ha-yuuuge for Nintendo and the Wii. Lazard Capital Markets Analyst Colin Sebastian told GameDaily today that Wii Fit "could also exacerbate the supply constraints of the Wii console itself," echoing similar comments made yesterday by Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter.In addition to foreseeing supply problems for the Wii Fit game-and-balance-board combo pack itself, Sebastian predicted Nintendo would soon start producing over 2 million Wii units per month (up from 1.8 million currently) in a desperate attempt to meet demand for the system. A great idea, and one we'll recommend to Nintendo one-and-a-half years ago, as soon as our time machine is finished.
Pachter: Wii Fit to raise Wii demand, keep shortages going
Aside from his prediction that he thinks Wii Fit will sell 3-4 million this year, Michael Pachter has grabbed another estimation out from within his bag of tricks: Wii Fit will keep Wii shortages going as it will increase demand for the console. Pachter cited Nintendo's plan to market the crap out of Wii Fit, stating "the increased buzz will drive increased demand for the already difficult to find Wii hardware." Well, we know the UK is crazy over Wii Fit, but Nintendo shouldn't have as hard a time filling demand over there as they have had here in the states. On Pachter's part, this is a pretty safe play to make. The preorders at Amazon are going through the roof and with Wii Fit being on Good Morning, America recently, we're sure the public is very receptive to the product. We're still not sure about that price tag, though.%Gallery-4745%
Sales cease on Dell 3008WFP 30-incher due to "technical issue"
Looks like Dell's run into some issues with its highest end monitor, the droolworthy DisplayPort-packing 30-inch 3008WFP. We heard it'd mysteriously vanished from the site with nary a trace, so we pinged the folks in Round Rock. This is what they had to say:"The Dell 3008 monitor has been well received since launch and has been very popular with customers. In February we experienced a small technical issue with the product that has been long resolved. [Um, it's only April? -Ed.] Currently the monitors are on extended lead times and in order to manage demand, the 3008 is not available on dell.com. We are managing orders on a prioritized basis and hope to have the product available to all customers in the near future."So there you go, down but not out. Expect 'em back, um, eventually.[Thanks, Duane]
Gamestop: Wii shortages aren't going away
Seeing as how the console released in November of 2006, you can probably understand why we're frustrated in having to report on the inability to freely and easily locate our desire out in the world beyond tubes. We want everyone to be able to enjoy the console, so why can't Nintendo churn out enough? Why has it taken them this long to satisfy demand and why has demand been at record highs throughout the console's short lifespan? Gamestop might know, as they recently stated in a report that they expect console shortages to last for another 6 months. We're betting that the retailer's forecast is fairly conservative, as it's easy to imagine another 6 months of early mornings trying to hunt one down. The console has been hard to find since its launch, so another 6 months doesn't seem like much of a stretch to us, at all.This is just the expectations of Gamestop, though, so should Nintendo emerge from the dark mist like some knight in shining armor, we would most definitely take our own foot and place it within our own mouth. But seeing as how Nintendo hasn't figured out how to satisfy demand issues yet, we're going to have to assume it'll take a while to get healthy Wii stock on shelves.
Verizon runs into short supply on Sharp LCD offer
Good news / bad news here, folks. First, the good: HD is seeing some impressive uptake amongst everyday consumers. Now the bad: there are isolated shortages of the associated gear. Verizon's FiOS has already been bitten by set-top box shortages, and now is a victim of its own successful promotional offer that promised 19-inch Sharp Aquos LCD TVs to new "triple-play" (internet, video and phone) subscribers. Those LCD TVs are a little short in supply, so affected customers can choose to either wait an additional five weeks for their TV, substitute a Magnavox (used in later promotions) set or take a $200 Best Buy gift card. Our advice -- wait on the Sharp. Meanwhile, let's hope that there's some way Verizon can coordinate the set-top box and TV shortages -- nothing is more frustrating than having new HD service but being stuck with an old SD set![Image courtesy GreatLittleBox]
Motorola: over 15 million HD set-tops served in 2007
We all heard a couple weeks back about Motorola getting a nice shot in the arm from sales of HD set-top boxes. True, there have been regional issues with short supply, but that's not entirely Motorola's fault. To its credit, Motorola shipped over 15 million of the HD-addiction-enablers in 2007, and the total to date comes to a whopping 69 million. So yeah, the company knows how to churn out the goods. So if you're waiting for a HD set-top box, hang in there -- we feel your pain. The surge in demand outstripping some market estimates is a good thing for the format, showing that HD is here to stay. Trust us, both your provider and Motorola want to put the new HD toys in your hands! To those of you who already have your HD set-top boxes, show some support for those still waiting and continue spreading the word!
Hardware shortage hinders Super Mario Galaxy sales
If you've been keeping a keen eye on monthly NPD data, you might have realized that Super Mario Galaxy sales have been dipping in the U.S. And by dipping, we mean plunging.Before you have a stroke, or perhaps get your fighting gloves on, just look at the numbers. While January's Galaxy sales were by no means modest (172,000 for the month), they were a huge drop from December's (1.4 million) and November's before that (1.12 million). The game also fell from it's comfy position at second place, ending up in the sixth spot for January.So, what gives? Is it just a matter of holiday madness (not to mention, other games stepping up), or is there more to it than that?Fortunately, there are analysts around to figure out this kind of thing, so that we don't have to. Jesse Divnich from the simExchange logically reckons that the low sales for Galaxy correlate to the low sales of Wii hardware. Because Wiis have been in such short supply, people haven't been buying them, and thus haven't been buying Galaxy either.Damn that hardware, always keeping Mario down. Hopefully once Nintendo stops diverting Wiis to Japan, we'll see Galaxy rise again. Yet, by then, there will be only one thing on the minds of Wii owners -- you guessed it, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Although Galaxy won't be able to compete with the new game, we hope there's enough room for both to succeed in the charts.%Gallery-4735%
Microsoft issues response to 360 shortages
We all know that the Xbox 360 suffers from a fairly high failure rate, as we've all known someone (or been someone) who has experienced first hand the devastating effect of the dreaded Red Ring. However, many of us haven't seen the widespread effect this failure rate is having on the gaming market -- in a recent convo with Reuters, Microsoft's Jeff "Jeff Bell" Bell reported that retailers are having a hard time keeping the system in stock, and that MS is "running short of product here in the United States."Microsoft issued their own official announcement on the matter in their response to the January NPD report (the same response that those GameDaily gumshoes discovered was chock full o' statistical gerrymandering), saying that "due to this high demand, Xbox 360 is experiencing temporary shortages." We can't help but wonder how much of the shortage is caused by actual post-holiday demand for the system, and how much is caused by the high numbers of Red Ring replacements being shipped out.Then again, we haven't bought any 360s in a while; the shortage might not be as bad as MS is making it out to be. Has anyone had a hard time getting their hands on Microsoft's console/radiator lately?
US 360 shortage acknowledged by Microsoft
After weeks of reports that Xbox 360s were nowhere to be found in the United States -- we've been discussing it on the Fancast for about a month now -- Microsoft has finally owned up to it. Speaking to Reuters, Microsoft's head of global marketing and comedian extraordinaire Jeff Bell cleared the air saying, "you could say we misjudged demand." Bell noted that many retailers have no stock at all, and in fact are dismayed by the state of affairs. Bell even says that 360 sales are likely to see a dip for January and possibly February, but he expects that Microsoft will be able to meet demand as spring approaches. We won't have to wait too long to find out just how much the shortage affected Microsoft's sales either, as NPD numbers are expected to drop later today. You can bet we'll be here to report them when they do.For the moment, at least, it seems that any rumors of a new 360 model (or a new SKU entirely) have been put to rest.[Via Joystiq]
Microsoft drums up its very own Xbox 360 shortage
The word on the street, nay, the word straight from Jeff Bell's mouth, is that the Xbox 360 is experiencing stock shortages, which could hurt sales for January and February. We'd already heard of Elite shortages, but now they seem to be more widespread. "You could say we misjudged demand," said Bell, head of global marketing for Microsoft games. "We're literally out of stock in many stores. We think this will have an impact on our sales." Apparently the 1.3 million Xboxen sold in December didn't leave many sitting around for the rest of winter, so we could be seeing shortages through February, according to Bell -- but they should be able to meet demand by spring. It almost sounds like Microsoft is playing hard to get like a certain other console we know of, but we'll bite our tongue until we can get a tearful confession out of Major Nelson. Or, you know, two straight years of stock scarcity. [Via Joystiq]
Motorola lifted by sales of HD set-top boxes, no mention of shortages
Motorola exec Dan Maloney reported at the Mobile World Congress that HD set-top boxes accounted for 50% of sales for the Home and Networks unit of the company, and 27% of the company's overall revenue. We're certainly glad Motorola's happy about things, but we can think of a few HDTV owners still waiting for boxes from Cox and Verizon that might have a few questions. We don't know if the service providers simply didn't order enough, or if Motorola just can't make enough to satisfy demand, but hey Dan, next time how about taking care of the shortages before hopping a plane to Barcelona and bragging about more numbers? Thanks.
Cox HDTV set-tops: low supply + high demand = you wait
Looks like Verizon isn't the only one experiencing a shortage of HD supplies their customers are craving. In at least three Cox markets the demand for HD set-tops and DVRs has outstripped the supply, meaning that customers are looking at a wait of "one- to two-weeks" (in Kansas/Arkansas) or a more ominous "weeks" (in New England). It seems that HD subscriptions did better than expected in these areas (buoyed by holiday purchases and the Superbowl, no doubt), and Cox is dependent on Motorola as the sole supplier of the necessary hardware. To those affected by this shortage, a tip of the Engadget HD hat to you -- you've stepped up your HD game over and above what the bean-counters at Cox thought you would. Also, our sympathies on your wait; that last mile (or in this case, feet) is a real chore, right?
