Srsly. Nintendo included ROB the Robot with the NES so they could call it a toy and get shelf space in toy stores, because nobody wanted to stock video games after the industry crashed a few years before.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Nintendo teams up with Tesco for Wii U fight back
- Thread starter DaSorcerer7
- Start date
Srsly. Nintendo included ROB the Robot with the NES so they could call it a toy and get shelf space in toy stores, because nobody wanted to stock video games after the industry crashed a few years before.
Your nieces & nephews != everyone.
You might find it interesting that Mario 3D Land has sold 8.29 million copies as of March 31, 2013. That was one of the games that jump-started the 3DS back in 2011. Sure enough there might be a few people of those that would be interested in 3D World, no?
Yup. This is very common in grocery and retail. Anyone acting like this is some sort of underhanded dealing is just oblivious to this fact.
Nielsen has done numbers on what kids are playing with nowadays and it's certainly true that Nintendo has lost marketshare in that age group- probably because it's relatively cheap and easy to hand down an old iphone/ipod to the kids.
I'm not talking about a game from 5-10 years ago. Mario games don't give a crap about i-devices. The game is on its way to 9 mil on a doomed handheld that was supposed to have been evaporated to nothingness by these devices and is tearing shit up these days. That is what I'm talking about.
ToastyBanana
Member
Got this in the post today. Marketing is go!
Got this in the post today. Marketing is go!
Lol at "introducing" and "new".
really shows how poor their marketing has been in the UK until now doesn't it?
Tesco really is the smartest retailer for Nintendo to team up with here, though
Robin64
Member
Feel free to "lol" at the leaflet, but this is huge. Tesco have millions of customers, and most of them use the Clubcard because it saves them money on their shopping. Each month, Clubcard owners get a letter through their door with vouchers for things they buy as well as promotions. If this is in all of those letters, that's just a massive amount of advertising.
diddybeats
Member
What will 2000 clubcard points equate to? £20 in vouchers? I can no longer remember.
Robin64
Member
2000 points is £20, yes.
But if you go online and convert them, that'll actually be £80
( http://www.tesco.com/clubcard/deals/ )
But if you go online and convert them, that'll actually be £80
( http://www.tesco.com/clubcard/deals/ )
Triggerhappytel
Member
It's still new though - don't forget that Nintendo's definition of 'launch window' is nine months!
Yes, as I've just checked my account and I had 150 points in August which equated to £1.50. That seems very generous with this 2000 point offer.
This is a valiant effort and it is wise of Nintendo to team up with Tesco, although they should have done this months ago (replace 'months' with 'years' and you've got the Wii U's motto!). In just a matter of weeks the two much more visible, much more talked about rival consoles will be launching, and they'll no doubt have much more presence in Tesco stores as well.
It's most definitely new for most Tesco customers, who were the target market for the Wii anyway.
If Nintendo had teamed up with say, GAME, they'd get much less traction as I'm sure the average GAME customer knows of the Wii U and has already decided if they want one or not. Tesco has a much larger customer base, really this is spot on and what they should have been doing 12 months ago.
If Nintendo had teamed up with say, GAME, they'd get much less traction as I'm sure the average GAME customer knows of the Wii U and has already decided if they want one or not. Tesco has a much larger customer base, really this is spot on and what they should have been doing 12 months ago.
Haunted
Member
As a non-native speaker, I assumed "new" was meant not as "recently released", but as in "Nintendo's next console and not an addon for the Wii".
diddybeats
Member
Has anyone seen any change in stores yet? I assumed as the vouchers were out I would check out the Tesco Extra near my house but there weren't any Wii U consoles on the shelf! They still had all the games mixed in with the Wii games and even then there was only Wind waker and Rayman. The whole isle was lined with Skylanders and Infinity starter packs but they all had the Wii logo on (not sure if they are cross compatible).I thought as part of the deal they were going to have a dedicated section?
Dude. This is Nintendo UK we're talking about. Expect nothing but bullshit.
Nope. My large Tesco still doesn't sell the hardware, and the combined DS/3DS/Wii/Wii U section is much smaller than either the PS3 or 360 sections (which are each around three times the size). They had a whopping 3 Wii U games on the shelf. Even the Vita had 4 (including NFS at £42!).
Nothing in my Tesco Extra. About the same support as launch (a couple of games and no consoles at all). I suppose there's a slim chance they will stock the new hardware bundles when they are released.
Psychotext
Member
No changes in the two "extra" stores near me. Maybe on the run up to Christmas.
Prince Vultan
Banned
Much the same at my local Tesco, except mine doesn't stock anything Vita related
Doesn't seem like it bothers getting in new Wii U releases at all nowadays though. Pikmin 3 was the last new release they got in for the console. Wii U doesn't even have it's own section here, just half a shelf of the Wii section.
Ovek
7Member7
The guy in a blue T-shirt playing on a proper console behind the fake happy family
I jest!
I dunno about the UK, but in the US that's exactly who's playing GTA and CoD.
It's the kid second from left, at least for CoD ;-)
Not that Nintendo has ever been the target market for those games, and even if they tried they would probably fail, so a moot point really.
Psychotext
Member
I wonder how much money you can make as a diverse family these days. Seems everyone wants you for adverts!
Had to bump this thread, as we are a couple of weeks from Christmas and I popped into a Tesco for the first time in ages. It's a massive Tesco Extra. A major, major supermarket in our area. Probably the biggest in a 30-odd mile radius. And this is the extent of their Nintendo display. Wii, Wii U, DS, 3DS all compiled into one convenient, easy-to-navigate shelf space:
Pathetic. Great work Shelly.
Pathetic. Great work Shelly.
bequietdrive
Member
This is the most Wii U games I've seen in a Tesco. I'm actually quite impressed.
Corleth the Fey
Member
Fuck me - Skyrim on the Wii U!
It's the PC version
7. Matches the number of Wii games.
Oppo
Member
Maybe. But a little perspective.
Fruit Ninja pushed something like 350 million copies.
I know they're not directly comparable, but the numbers are in a whole 'nother league.
It's Reyn Time!
Member
The target for those games? Second from the left.
Wickerbasket
Member
Yeah, I'm actually impressed they stock any Nintendo stuff at all.
My local Tesco just stocks 360/Xbox One and PS3/PS4 stuff.
No shit they aren't. Fruit Ninja isn't $40.
stuminus3
Banned
I'm not usually anecdotal about this kind of thing but being a Brit that lives in Ontario, Canada I think it's worth mentioning that Nintendo already get front and center in half the Walmart stores in the province, it's similar to what was being planned for Tesco. And you know what? Nobody cares. The entire store could be Nintendo themed. Nobody. Cares.
The problem isn't with software. The problem isn't with brand confusion. The problem isn't that there isn't enough marketing. The general public aren't that stupid. They know that the Wii U exists, they know what it is.
It's just that nobody, and I mean nobody, gives a single fuck.
(Except for me and maybe that cashier girl that told me she loved the old Pikmin games).
The problem isn't with software. The problem isn't with brand confusion. The problem isn't that there isn't enough marketing. The general public aren't that stupid. They know that the Wii U exists, they know what it is.
It's just that nobody, and I mean nobody, gives a single fuck.
(Except for me and maybe that cashier girl that told me she loved the old Pikmin games).
Triggerhappytel
Member
Never seen the Wii and Wii U logos together like that. Fuck's sake; it's no wonder people struggle with their dumb naming conventions. They really need to drop this stupid shit next time around.
Aquamarine
Member
The fact that there is only one third-party Wii U game is more worrying than the fact that it's a tiny display.
Pancakes R Us
Member
Wii UK: The Last Stand. This console is totally dead here, there really is no saving it. Anyone on the fence should wait for super bomba bargain prices next year.
Psychotext
Member
There never was a fightback. This was simply Nintendo slipping the doctor a tenner so that they didn't turn the machine off for a little while longer.
Freezie KO
Banned
This is meaningless. You can't just say "the problem with Wii U is that nobody gives a fuck." What's the reason they don't give a fuck?
They don't give a fuck because they don't want to buy the console for the games it offers. The problem is software.
How many did PS4 and XB1 just sell at launch in the UK again?
And if we're talking about Tesco, and not meaning to be a snob here, it's a demographic thing, the majority of their customer's 5 yo children are playing COD.
Freezie KO
Banned
A lot, precisely because of the promise of games. Both of those are brands the customers can trust to get a wealth of third-party games in franchises they want to play in addition to any new franchises that pop up like Destiny, Division, and Titanfall.
Nintendo's console brand, specifically Wii, isn't trustworthy. You can trust it to get droughts and minimal third party support.