GameStop: Post-Xmas Wii U sales slower than expected

Wii U’s poor performance in the February US market has been compounded by worrying noise from the country’s leading games retailer.

Following the holiday launch period, sales have been slower than we expected,” GameStop president Tony Bartel told Forbes. Nintendo plans on launching some of their biggest IP over the next few months which we think will increase gamer interest.

Software will play a big role in each console’s success over the holidays. We’re already seeing great developer and publisher support for PS4, so Wii U will need some great titles, especially first-party titles, to compete. There’s also a need to increase consumer awareness of the new features available on the Wii U and its tethered tablet features.”

Nonetheless, Bartel remains optimistic that the new consoles from Sony and Microsoft will enjoy a far stronger start to life on the High Street.

It will be huge,” he replied when asked what impact the machines will have. Dollars are flowing towards new technology so we believe gaming consumers are ready for innovation. We expect these new console launches to re-energize the entire industry.

Video gaming is much more mainstream now than it was at the start of the last cycle, so there are a lot more dollars to fight for this time around. I also think consumers’ expectations for technology improvements are much greater now than it was seven years ago. Finally, gaming is becoming increasingly social, so continuing to expand the connection to other gamers will be key.”