In Activision's post-earnings call, company CEO Bobby Kotick touted the sucess of their Skylanders franchise, has acknowledged concerns about the franchise's impact on NIntendo's next-gen console the Wii U; and has even admitted that they were "somewhat" disappointed with the console.
As you know, we were somewhat disappointed with the launch of the Wii U…And I think it's a challenging environment this year, and one of the things we are concerned about is what the install base of hardware will be like for 6-11-year-olds. But we have a lot of confidence in the franchise in the long term. I think we're delivering another great product this year.
Later in the same call, Kotick talked a bit about next-gen, how 2013 is a "transitional year," and how they publisher isn't immune to unfavorable market dynamics.
While we had a strong 2012, we recognize that 2013 is a transition year as we enter the ninth year of the current generation of console video game systems…We encounter new threats from unproven business models, and we compete against new category entrants. We aren't immune to unfavorable market dynamics, but we have navigated these transitions many times before, and we are prepared to do so again.
This hasn't been a very good week for the Wii U. Not only is the world's biggest videogame publisher disappointed with their next-gen console, but one of their former exclusives — Rayman Legends — is now being delayed and is even set to appear on other platforms, too.
Source: GamesIndustry
