Activision ‘disappointed’ with Wii U launch

Outspoken CEO Bobby Kotick has admitted that his company Activision Blizzard had expected Wii U do fare better than it has for in its short life in the market.

"We were somewhat disappointed with the launch of the Wii U,” he told investors when speaking about Nintendo’s machine and what the consequences could be for Activision’s hugely successful Skylanders franchise.

I think it’s a challenging environment this year, and one of the things we are concerned about is what the install base of hardware will be like for six-to-eleven year-olds. But we have a lot of confidence in Skylanders for the long-term. I think we’re delivering another great product this year."

Not that any of this has dented Activision too badly. The publisher just posted its best ever year – all the more impressive considering the hostile nature of the games market over the last 12 months.

It’s yet another body blow for Nintendo, however. In the last 24 hours Wii U has lost two former platform exclusives in the form of Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge and Ubisoft’s Rayman Legends.