wraggster
November 7th, 2012, 14:15
Ubisoft CEO says Nintendo appears to be sending more units of hardware to US than other countries
Nintendo (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/resources/directory/company/nintendo)nintendo-europe.com (http://www.nintendo-europe.com/)
The first country to get the Wii U will also get the most units of the new Nintendo hardware, it seems. Speaking in a post-earnings investor conference call today, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot carefully fielded a question about how he believes Nintendo is allocating its launch hardware between countries.
"The US seems to be having more machines than the other countries, but that's the only thing I can say," Guillemot said.
Regional allocations could be a touchy topic for Nintendo in light of the original Wii launch. That system was an instant sell-out upon its launch in 2006, and remained in short supply for the next year (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/fils-aime-admits-wii-shortages-are-a-missed-opportunity), a situation Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime lamented as a "missed opportunity." Things may be different this time around. For one, Fils-Aime has stressed that the company learned a lot from previous shortages, and that its supply chain is solid (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-09-25-wii-u-supply-chain-solid-says-reggie).
The Wii U is scheduled to launch in the US November 18, with a UK release trailing on November 30 and the system making its Japanese debut December 8. Nintendo has forecast 10 million unit sales by the end of the year, and a number of retailers have run through their pre-order allocations.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-11-06-wii-u-allocation-appears-tilted-to-us
Nintendo (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/resources/directory/company/nintendo)nintendo-europe.com (http://www.nintendo-europe.com/)
The first country to get the Wii U will also get the most units of the new Nintendo hardware, it seems. Speaking in a post-earnings investor conference call today, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot carefully fielded a question about how he believes Nintendo is allocating its launch hardware between countries.
"The US seems to be having more machines than the other countries, but that's the only thing I can say," Guillemot said.
Regional allocations could be a touchy topic for Nintendo in light of the original Wii launch. That system was an instant sell-out upon its launch in 2006, and remained in short supply for the next year (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/fils-aime-admits-wii-shortages-are-a-missed-opportunity), a situation Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime lamented as a "missed opportunity." Things may be different this time around. For one, Fils-Aime has stressed that the company learned a lot from previous shortages, and that its supply chain is solid (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-09-25-wii-u-supply-chain-solid-says-reggie).
The Wii U is scheduled to launch in the US November 18, with a UK release trailing on November 30 and the system making its Japanese debut December 8. Nintendo has forecast 10 million unit sales by the end of the year, and a number of retailers have run through their pre-order allocations.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-11-06-wii-u-allocation-appears-tilted-to-us