Nintendo to launch new console in November
Gaming company hopes Wii U and new Super Mario revive sagging sales
NEW YORK — Video game pioneer Nintendo Co. will try to revive its flagging fortunes with a new gaming system, Wii U, that hits U.S. store shelves Nov. 18, complete with a new Super Mario game the Japanese company hopes will retake market share from Internet and mobile rivals.
It will be the first Nintendo machine in 16 years to launch with a dedicated Super Mario game title as the company tries to regain its lead from Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. at a time when console sales are sput- tering. Gamers have been migrating online or to mobile devices such as Apple Inc’s iPad.
Money-losing Nintendo is launching the successor to the blockbuster Wii before the busy year-end holiday shopping season.
Starting at just under $300 U.S., the new version of the console that took the industry by storm six years ago finally catches up to the Xbox with TVii, a streaming service that also allows users to watch and record live television.
It will stream video from Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Google Inc.’s YouTube, and Hulu. It will also come with touch-screen control- lers, helping to push its price tag above rival consoles. Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 start at $250 and $200, respectively.
“Before, Nintendo took a very game-centric approach, avoiding traditional content beyond games. But it’s pretty clear, it’s a necessity,” said Billy Pidgeon, an analyst at M2 Research.
Sales of traditional consoles and packaged video games have slid sharply in past years, hammered by the advent of Internet games designed by the likes of Zynga Inc, and the growing popularity of free, casual games on smartphones.
The original Wii became the world’s biggest-selling home console shortly after its 2006 launch, with motioncontrolled gaming and a slew of software titles that appealed to users beyond traditional gamers.
What became a 100-million-machine bonanza for Nintendo is waning. In the three months to June 30, sales of its Wii more than halved to 710,000 from 1.56 million a year earlier.
In addition to the basic eight-gigabyte model costing $299.99, Nintendo will sell a “deluxe” 32 GB version for $349.99.