Nintendo plans to launch the “biggest marketing campaign in its history” as part of the lead-up to the May launch of the Wii Fit.
Industry analyst Michael Pachter made the statement yesterday in comments regarding GameStop’s most recent fiscal report. Contacted by GameDaily, Pachter confirmed the information, saying it had come from Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime himself. “It suggests to me that the marketing will be broad-based and mainstream, meaning beyond the normal online and game magazine ads,” Pachter said. “My guess is we will see advertising on TV during American Idol, Oprah, etc., as opposed to ads on MTV during Punk’d.”
Pachter said he didn’t know how much budget Nintendo had allocated for the campaign, but guessed it could be 10-12 percent of projected sales. “If we assume a retail price of $100, that’s $10 million in marketing for each one million units sold. If they go mainstream (have Oprah demo the device), I could see them selling three to four million, maybe more. That suggests the potential for $30-$40 million in marketing,” he said.
Pachter added that such a massive marketing campaign is unlikely to be targeted toward specialty game retailers like GameStop, and would instead more likely target mass-market chains like Target and Best Buy, which he described as “notorious for attracting so-called ‘couch potatoes.'”
Designed by Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto, Wii Fit was released in Japan on December 1, 2007, and has already experienced tremendous success with over 1.5 million units sold. The game will hit North American shelves on May 19.
