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BLOG: The Game Guy: Can Mario 'save' the Wii? [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 3--The bloom is off the rose over at Nintendo.
After several years of high interest and robust sales, the company's Wii console is looking a little less appealing to consumers. Sales of the system over the first half of the business year ending Sept. 30 dropped by nearly half, according to Nintendo's latest quarterly report, and the company has scaled down Wii sales predictions for the year by almost 25 percent.
The flagging economy has something to do with that, of course, as does the absence of a big title coming into Wii's inventory for several months. But now economists are saying the recession probably is over [http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=2162030], and there's "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" [http://mariobroswii.com/] coming out Nov. 15. So, things should be fine soon for Nintendo, right?
Well, maybe.
"New Super Mario Bros. Wii" is expected to be the biggest thing to come down the mushroom cap this fall, in particular because it not only brings back the two-dimensional side-scrolling navigation that goes all the way back to , but also includes multiplayer capability for up to four people -- a first for the franchise.
This title is designed to wow longtime fans of Mario Bros. plus expand interest in group play that has turned Wii into a party favor, starting with "Wii Sports" [http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/1OTtO06SP7M52gi5m8pD6CnahbW8CzxE] and "Wii Play," [http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/4SpUUl3-7XKbSPJqBG_aHrThj_sGyJHL] says Nintendo president Satoru Iwata [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703399204574504930023479774.html?mod=dist_smartbrief].
Game Guy's wondering however whether this latest battle to save Princess Peach will also save the Wii's sales from sliding further. With the holidays coming and people needing something to do between turkey servings, the Wii probably will be the centerpiece of numerous family get-togethers anyway. But how many servings of Peach will players be willing to stomach?
What do you think? Does Mario have what it takes to give Nintendo a Merry-er Christmas? Or could Bowser turn out to be something of a grinch this year?
To see more of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stltoday.com.
Copyright (c) 2009, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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