The Wind Waker HD release rejuvenates Wii U sales in UK
Posted on October 14 2013 by Parker
The Wind Waker HD has only been on the market for a few weeks now, but it has already boosted sales of Nintendo’s ailing Wii U console -in Europe at least. Wii U purchases have increased by a whooping 685 percent across the United Kingdom after the release of the enhanced GameCube remake in Europe on Oct. 4.
Learn more after the jump.
The Wind Waker HD debuted at number four last week on a list tracking game sales in the UK, coming behind Grand Theft Auto V, Fifa 14, and F1 2013. The success of the game and the accompanying increase in Wii U sales wasn’t surprising to James Honeywood, head of consumer marketing for Nintendo UK. “We have long believed that software sells hardware and it’s great to see that reaffirmed this week,” he said following the release of the sales data.
Nintendo officials, including President Satoru Iwata, had previously blamed a lack of high profile software as the reason for the Wii U’s weak sales. Now it appears the company can take heart that the opposite is also true, and notable releases can reinvigorate lagging hardware sales. It’s hardly surprising that a Zelda game would be the one to do this. Even though Mario is the company’s flagship series, Zelda has always drawn a dedicated crowd of enthusiastic fans to Nintendo’s systems.
The Wind Waker was my first Zelda game. It inspired my nearly decade-long love for the series, and I am glad to see its HD remake doing so well now -hopefully reaching a brand-new audience as well as older fans. Some good news regarding the Wii U is also welcome. Hopefully this is just the start to the system’s turnaround and all the doom and gloom surrounding Nintendo’s future will soon be a thing of the past.
Source: MCV via Game Informer
