I think the NPD number for Wii Play in June was (at least to some extend) a direct result of Mario Party 8. MP8 is a multi-player game, which means Wii owners will need extra controllers. And between buying just a controller, and paying a little extra for some games as well (albeit crappy), I think 293K Wii owners thought it was a good idea to pay that little extra.
This kind of phenomenon could happen again when a quality (read, big name) multi-player game is released, most noticeably Super Smash Bros. Braw. Granted, lots of MP8 owners might buy SSBB as well (which means they already have extra controllers), but I still think that there will be enough new Wii owners snapping up SSBB that will buy Wii Play.
The interesting thing is that sales of Wii Play is affected by sales of other multi-player games. As evident in June, sales of Wii Play increased as gamers buy MP8.
I think Wii Play sales will continue to grow strong. The main selling point of Wii Play is the controller, not the games. There won't be a Wii Play 2 as Nintendo continues to shift their focus onto first party games.
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This kind of phenomenon could happen again when a quality (read, big name) multi-player game is released, most noticeably Super Smash Bros. Braw. Granted, lots of MP8 owners might buy SSBB as well (which means they already have extra controllers), but I still think that there will be enough new Wii owners snapping up SSBB that will buy Wii Play.
The interesting thing is that sales of Wii Play is affected by sales of other multi-player games. As evident in June, sales of Wii Play increased as gamers buy MP8.
I think Wii Play sales will continue to grow strong. The main selling point of Wii Play is the controller, not the games. There won't be a Wii Play 2 as Nintendo continues to shift their focus onto first party games.