Wii

News Byte

Nintendo to Bring Online Game Network, NFC to New Wii

Lauren Goode in Commerce on January 27 at 1:19 pm PT

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told investors today that the Wii U, the company’s long-awaited successor to the Wii gaming console, will come equipped with NFC capabilities that will be used to transfer gaming data and will open the potential for micropayments through the gaming system. Satoru also said the company was readying an online game network for the Wii U system, citing lessons learned from the tepid launch of the 3DS.

Nintendo Swings to Loss

Daisuke Wakabayashi, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on January 26 at 1:40 am PT

Grappling with a sluggish debut for its new hand-held game system and petering demand for its flagship home console, Nintendo Co. swung to a loss for the first nine months of its fiscal year and scaled back sales forecasts for its 3DS portable system and Wii.

CES Hangover: What You Might Have Missed

Lauren Goode in News on January 17 at 7:59 am PT

We came, we saw, we conquered … but we couldn’t possibly write about every one of the more than 20,000 products showcased in Las Vegas last week. Here’s a quick catch-up.

Xbox Accounted for 40 Percent of All Videogame Sales in 2011

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 12 at 5:57 pm PT

Despite sales declines bringing down the overall game industry last year, Microsoft dominated the market, with the Xbox capturing nearly half of all consumer spending from physical sales.

Kinect Helps Keep Aging Xbox at the Top of Its Game

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 10 at 3:23 pm PT

Turns out the big consumer electronics highlight of Microsoft’s final CES keynote last night was its six-year-old Xbox, thanks in large part to the Kinect.

News Byte

The Nintendo Wii Still Managed to Outsell the 3DS in 2011

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 3 at 8:27 am PT

Nintendo released sales figures for 2011 today, reporting that its hot seller continued to be the Wii. The Wii sold 4.5 million units, and in close second was the new portable game unit, the Nintendo 3DS, which sold four million units. In last place was the older Nintendo DS family, which sold more than 3.4 million units. Hardware sales were fueled by Nintendo’s own first-party software titles, like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Wii, which have all sold more than one million titles.

It’s Time to Make a Fool of Yourself Catching Popcorn With Your Mouth

Liz Gannes in Social on December 28, 2011 at 12:50 pm PT

If this one doesn’t make you giggle, you’re a Scrooge.

Nintendo’s President Expecting a Strong Holiday and Says What He Really Thinks of Zynga

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 22, 2011 at 6:00 am PT

Nintendo is seeing some of its biggest consumer demand this year in the weeks leading up to the holiday, resulting in record sales of its Wii, the 3DS and games, too.

Videogame Consoles Still Selling Like Hotcakes, But How Much Life Is Left in the Aging Hardware?

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 1, 2011 at 6:30 am PT

The three major videogame consoles are all nearing the end of their life cycles. But that didn’t stop shoppers from buying — and in some cases fighting over — the hardware.

Experts Give the New Xbox Raves for Control, Creativity (Dec. 6 2001)Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Nintendo Dragged Down by Sluggish Wii Sales

Daisuke Wakabayashi, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on October 27, 2011 at 10:39 am PT

Nintendo Co. sank deeper into the red in the first six months of this fiscal year and forecast its first annual loss in at least three decades, weighed down by sluggish sales of its Wii home console and valuation losses on its foreign-currency holdings.