I think Wii need more Wiis.  Period.

I've "heard" that Nintendo decides on the amount of Wiis that each retailer gets based on their sales of the Nintendo DS Lite.  Do you know if there is any truth to this?  If so, is Wal*Mart/Sam's planning anything to increase DS Lite sales like many other retailers do (bundling a game or an accessory pack or such)?

Aside from that, the Wii is quite awesome - I got mine at launch last year (People laughed at me for waiting in line for 12 hours... 12 months later, who's laughing now?!?) and I've enjoyed it quite a bit.  One of the best features is the downloadable games - nothing like having friends over for 5 Player Bomberman.

With the crazy sales of the Nintendo Wii, combined with the exceptional software sales, will we be seeing more of an effort to increase the selection of available Wii (and for that matter, Nintendo DS) software in Wal*Mart stores?  For example, my Wal*Mart has four game cases - one for Nintendo, one for Microsoft and two for Sony.  Looking at the November hardware sales (from NPD, as reported by NintendoWorldReport.com), Nintendo accounted for over 50% of hardware sold.  Now, granted, that's only one month's sales, but Nintendo's hardware is consistently up there in sales - yet in many stores, they're only alloted 25% (or less in some that I've seen) of the shelf space?  I constantly have to go elsewhere to purchase my Wii and DS games (because of both better selection and better price).  What's being done to address this?

And finally, what's the reason Wal*Mart/Sam's choose not to provide The NPD Group with hardware and software sales figures?  As someone who tries to follow the industry closely, I find this to be very disappointing as estimates put Wal*Mart accounting for over 30% of US sales for this category.

 

J. Richard Cook on 12/15/2007 at 9:04 PM

Thanks for the feedback. Nintendo primarily looks at software sales to determine hardware allocation.  All of the new platforms feature downloadable games. I have plenty for my 360 and PS3, but none for my Wii. It seems to have a conflict with my router. We have made some major changes to the software run at Sam's Club and have added more skus for the coming year. Expect to see us with more titles for all platforms. We have not historically provided data to NPD or other groups as we really do not see an advantage to making that infomation public. We certainly need to know our numbers and how well the industry is doing, but there is no real advantage to telling folks outside the company what we are doing. Good e-mail and thanks for the feedback.

 

Joe Muha on 12/17/2007 at 12:48 PM

Heya!

I had some issues getting my Wii to connect to my router as well.  It would work, but not on a regular basis.  A friend of mine at NintendoWorldReport suggested I try something and it worked absolute wonders!

Go into your router settings.  You can usually do this by pointing your web browser to 192.168.1.1.  Somewhere (depending on your brand of router), there should be a place for Configuration/Wireless Configuration.  Here, you'll see a setting that says "Channel" and is typically set to 5 or 6.  Change it to 1 and save your settings (you *may* have to re-setup any other Wireless equiptmet. I didn't have to though.).

As per hardware/software sales, it's advantageous for the public to know the total sales figures for software so that when we see a game is selling like crazy, then we might consider picking it up.  I never would have purchased Nintendogs if not for the fact that so many people bought it (estimates put the five versions at selling over 4 million copies, I believe).

Look at the Wal*Mart exclusive title Chibi Robo: Park Patrol for the Nintendo DS.  Perhaps if it had gotten a little more exposure, it would have sold a bit better - and perhaps getting *anywhere* on the sales charts could have helped?

Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way though - is there a *disadvantage* to telling folks outside the company how stuff is selling?  I mean, Wal*Mart Inc. spares no expense in telling how well sales are for the quarter and such... Why not promote top selling items on a regular basis - and show the numbers to back up the claims?

Thanks for the reply. :) -Richard

 

J. Richard Cook on 12/17/2007 at 4:28 PM

Thanks, I will try that. I hear what you are saying on the data, but when we report sales, we typically do not break it down by categories. It is a fair question, but I cannot see why we would provide such information. Thanks again for your comments!

 

Joe Muha on 12/19/2007 at 7:13 PM

Since I am usually a very happy Walmart shopper, when asked for suggestions on what to give my children for Christmas, my first response was "Walmart gift cards". 

Christmas is over and we are patiently waiting on the arrival in the stores for the Wii.  I understand that the stores do not know when or if they will be getting them in, as I have called almost all of the stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. 

My actual problem was with the ad that was in our Sunday paper on January 6, 2008.  There on page 7x was a Wii with the price of $249.24.  My boys were very excited when they saw this ad and did not understand that if it was in the ad why it was not in the store.  I did read the small print that stated "Supply limited", but you try telling that to a 7 year old who has $300.00 worth of gift cards and his heart set on one of these games. 

I have also looked here on line to see about ordering one but I cannot afford the "bundle" that is offered.  Understandably, bundling games makes it easier for sales and most times are quite a bit less than you would be paying for each seperately, but there are things I do not need.  I look at the phone companies that sell you a service for $19.99 but if you get 6 services (5 that you don't need and the one you do) it will only be $16.99.  Why make me pay for something I don't want?   

Thanks for letting me vent about the advertising issue and I am still a loyal Walmart shopper, I will just be getting a babysitter for my trips. 

T. McCracken - Fort Worth, TX

 

Tammy McCracken on 1/7/2008 at 1:52 AM

Thanks for your e-mail. We appreciate the feedback and your business. At Sam's Club, we do a limited amount of advertising. We plan our catalogs far in advance, so I assume you are referencing a Wal-Mart advertisement. While I am not certain, I assume those too are planned out well in advance. We were all under the belief that the Wii shortage would not have been as drastic as it was. No one wants our valued Members to become frustrated. We too are frustrated at the lack of supply. We hear you and the Clubs. Everyone wants more and we do too. As for the bundles, we sell core units as well as bundles on the web when we can get them. It is all about providing value to the Member. It is a balance, but when items are short in supply, we have additional pressure. The bundle we put together for Blitz Friday pretty much sold out that day (actually in a few hours). We know that resonated with our Member, and as you might expect, everyone wants another one. On a separate note, this along with the 360, PSP and DS lite shortage makes our jobs as buyers really difficult. It is not a fun task explaining why projections for sales and profit often must be adjusted for reasons beyond our sphere of influence to one's supervisors. We sincerely hope you find one at Sam's Club. The shopping cards are good there as well as our website. Do not give up. We are in contact with Nintendo in an effort to get more.

 

Joe Muha on 1/8/2008 at 12:30 PM

Post a Comment