Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2008/06/02/korea_wii_outlook/
Analyst predicting tough times ahead for Wii
Korea not Wii smitten
Posted in Personal Tech, 2nd June 2008 12:21 GMT
The Wii's popularity has dominated headlines for the last year or so, but it’s been forecast that a lack of availability in some regions could see the console’s sales start to dwindle.
According to a report by Korean paper the Chosun Ilbo, the Nintendo console has failed to take a hold in Korea since it was launched there in April. Nintendo may have spent a rumoured KRW30bn ($29.1m/£14m/€18.7m) on marketing, but figures from a selection of Korean electronics distributors have shown that a mere 35,000 units have been sold there so far.
By contrast, figures from market watcher NPD have already revealed that the Wii sold roughly 1.3m units in the US between March and June 2007.
A spokesman for one Korean electronics firm told the paper that when the Wii was initially launched there, the retailer was worried about being unable to keep up with demand. Its fears proved unwarranted, he indicated.
In the US, IDC analyst Billy Pidgeon recently warned that the Wii’s sales success may soon diminish if Nintendo’s can’t replenish stocks of the console and Wii Fit. According to an Los Angeles Times report, several US retailers, including Circuit City, have sold out of Wii Fit, while the videogame's being sold for 66 per cent more than its retail value on eBay.