Nintendo hails strongest Xmas Wii line-up

Nintendo is convinced that Wii Fit Plus and New Super Mario Bros. Wii make up its best Christmas Wii line-up yet, and expects both titles to dominate the Top 40 well into 2010.

The new releases – along with Wii Sports Resort – will be backed by the platform holder’s ‘groundbreaking’ Q4 marketing campaign featuring Ant and Dec. And Nintendo’s senior product manager Rob Lowe feels the products will appeal to all forms of gamer.

We think this is the strongest festive line-up we’ve had yet on Wii,” he told MCV.

We’ve got New Super Mario Bros. Wii for the families and gamers, Wii Fit Plus for the women and the older audience, and Wii Sports Resort for pretty much everybody. We’ve also got Ant and Dec as the face of Nintendo. It’s a groundbreaking campaign that really heralds the move of gaming from a niche pursuit into the mainstream consciousness.

The sales curves on our titles are much more like FMCG products and less like traditional video games. You will see marketing for all of our key products – Wii Fit Plus, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Sports Resort – continuing well into 2010.”

Nintendo is also optimistic that one of its titles could snatch the Christmas No.1 position – with Wii Sports Resort a surprise contender.

It might be a dark horse,” said Lowe, especially as it now comes with the Wii console. It’s tough to call, but if you’re having a punt on the Xmas No.1, it might be worth putting a few quid on it!”