Recently, Wedbush Morgan Analyst Michael Pachter stated that, in what I’m sure comes as a complete surprise to absolutely no one, Nintendo’s Wii Fit advertising is “killing” their hardcore crowd. Further, he feels that Wii advertising in general is using more traditional methods than what is needed to reach the Wii’s target demographic, particularly at retail.
“Advertising on GameInformer and 1up.com just isn’t reaching this audience,” Mr Pachter said. “When you make a game like Zack & Wiki or Boogie, which turns the hardcore off and doesn’t reach the masses, then you’re in trouble.”
Retailers are seeing sales taper off after an initial burst as well, as Xavier Pervez, GameStop employee notes: “We sold a couple thousand copies [of Super Smash Bros Brawl] in the first week, [but] it’s dropped off significantly now. Maybe 100 in each of the last couple of weeks.” Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which moved an impressive 1.4 million copies in the early going, has seen sales taper off by over 90 percent in the month since.
Pachter, noting where he believes the strategy has gone awry, stated: “Wii Fit is just not aimed at hardcore gamers … It’s definitely aimed at the Oprah crowd. I bet they sell a million units a week for every pound that Oprah says she lost on it.”
I thought they were trying to get it on Oprah, last I heard. But what do you think? Does Nintendo’s left hand (advertising) seem unaware of what the right (development) is doing?
