There is always a sales push leading up to the holiday period, and for Nintendo this Christmas is no exception. However, Nintendo’s upcoming release of the Wii U won’t be the sole focus of the companies festive advertising push, with a strong 3DS XL presence also expected.
The videogame giant is said to be investing significantly in marketing for its most recent handheld, released in July, in order to ensure its future growth.
Shelly Pearce, the Marketing and PR director at Nintendo UK, spoke to MCV:
“We are spending significantly this Christmas – it is in peak season where 3DS will come into its own.”
“There is lots of excitement about our new console hardware, of course, but from a retail point of view a lot of dollars are going into tills this year thanks to our handhelds.”
Nintendo, the undisputed leader in the handheld market, clearly want to keep that title, so it’s with little surprise to see focus placed on the XL, as Pearce touched upon:
“We want 3DS to be up there as the No.1 Xmas gift for kids, and have campaigns ready to engage children, reassure parents, reach female gamers, and tempt older players back into games,” she explained.
“We’re targeting DS owners and non-upgraders who have held out for a new Layton – which has a massive audience amongst over 45-year-olds – to convince them to try 3DS.”
So, expect to see the XL along with Layton and other franchises heavily promoted across television, social media and print advertising over the next few months.
Pikachu 3DS XL
Nintendo’s efforts to shift more XL handhelds will also be helped thanks to Pikachu. The 3DS XL range will be bulked up with the introduction of a special edition Pikachu machine — following in the footsteps of the Nintendo 64.
Pika up one soon
No UK release date has been given for the limited edition version of the console, but expect it to be released in time for Christmas.
