Bundled packages, black Wii Nintendo consoles and classic games attracted gamers' attention over the festive season.
Retailers say customers were looking for value, and products that boasted a unique feature also sold well.
Patrick Raymond, CNA merchandise executive, says, although Christmas was a “challenging” period, the chain did see good sales on key games and platforms. “As anticipated, price continued to play an important role in trade, in both software and hardware,” Raymond says.
Massmart corporate affairs executive Brian Leroni adds that handheld games did not sell well through its Game and Dion stores, with shoppers preferring the larger format devices.
Makro, another Massmart company, reported that the black Wii limited edition device was a “huge mover” with 1 700 sets sold in three weeks.
Top sellers
Specialist buyer Anthony White says CNA's top selling game was Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, which he says was not surprising and sold well across all platforms. “This was influenced by an exclusive bandwidth deal which CNA bundled with the release of the game, which we were able to achieve in collaboration with Club Connect,” explains White.
Assassins Creed 2 also faired well, but was only released on Xbox and PlayStation 3 (PS3) over December, which limited the potential, White adds. He says, however, the PC version is planned for release in March.
White adds that Nintendo performed well over December “due to the mass appeal that Wii consoles have in relation to Xbox and PS3”. The best selling title on this platform was Wii Sports Resort, a sports game the whole family can enjoy, he says.
“We reduced our pricing on various PS2 and PC titles during December, which resulted in good volume increases,” he adds.
The PS3 was a sought-after gift during the festive season due to its new slim-line console. The Edcon group's credit offering aided sales of these products, adds White. CNA is part of the Edcon group, which also owns Jet and Edgars.
“PS2 console sales exceeded our expectations and we oversold, which meant that we ran short of stock in many of our top stores prior to Christmas. Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain additional stock from our supplier in time and missed out,” says White.
Holding up
Heinz Stephan, technology director at Comztek, says the Xbox has been selling better than Microsoft expected. He concurs that consumers are looking for value.
Gamers are looking for bundled deals, but new releases and “hot” titles are also good sellers, Stephan adds.
In the year ahead, he expects technological advancements in the gaming sector to spur interest in the market. Stephan is expecting “something really new, something hot”.
In addition, cheaper televisions in large-size formats will spill over into more demand for games, as the experience becomes more “real”, he adds. “This is opening the door to fantastic-type realistic gaming.”
Stephan says the company is also seeing more demand from people wanting to connect their Xboxes through HDMI cables. He adds that the April break will also bolster sales as children go on holiday.
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