Nintendo Sees Strong Demand for Year-End Game Sales in U.S.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?p...d=isPisfbnGWy0
Nintendo Co., the world’s largest maker of handheld video-game players, said it expects year-end U.S. demand to rebound after early holiday-season sales of its flagship Wii console tumbled and industry-wide receipts fell.
“Our read on the consumer is very strong,” Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said in an interview yesterday. “What we are seeing today is a strong momentum for hardware and software.”
The Kyoto, Japan-based company posted a 30 percent slump in Wii sales in the world’s biggest video games market during the Thanksgiving week ended Nov. 28. Industry hardware, software and accessories sales for November fell 7.6 percent on last year to $2.7 billion, researcher NPD Group Inc. said yesterday in a statement.
“Profitability in this industry is in software,” the executive said, without giving any sales estimates. With 23 million consoles in U.S. homes, Nintendo has “a growing advantage against key competitors,” he said. “The software peak in this industry should be this year and next year.”
Source: Bloomberg.com