In an effort to retain the momentum that has seen Nintendo become the most profitable games Company in the world the Japanese Company is now set to cut deals with third party manufacturers to make combat and sporting games for the Wii platform.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal the President of Nintendo’s US operation, Reggie Fils-Aime said that the number of games made by third party manufacturers could be as high as 70% of the available portfolio for the highly popular Nintendo Wii.
He also said Nintendo doesn’t plan to cut the price of the Wii, whose current price hasn’t changed since its debut. “Price cuts are a short-term incentive,” he said. “In the long run, you need software to excite people.”
The #1 selling game on the Wii platform is Wii Play which has sold over 10 million units. More than 50 million Wii consoles have been sold since being launched two years ago.
Wii Play has sold more than three times as many units as the top game by an outside publisher, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock by Activision Blizzard, which has sold 2.9 million copies, according to market research firm NPD Group.
The WSJ said that as part of that effort, Nintendo is taking an unusual step in allowing videogame publisher Electronic Arts Inc. to release two sports games that take advantage of a brand new hardware accessory more than a month before Nintendo’s own marquee game is released.
EA plans to sell Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 packaged with the Wii MotionPlus, an attachment for the Wii’s wireless controller that makes it more sensitive to movement. In Europe, EA also plans to sell a second game, Grand Slam Tennis.
Both EA games will launch in early June, ahead of Nintendo’s own game for the attachment, Wii Sports Resort, which will debut in late July. “We really liked what we could get from the MotionPlus,” said EA’s chief executive John Riccitiello.
see: www.wsj.com
