TOKYO, Oct 30 — Nintendo Co’s Wii U is showing renewed signs of life almost two years after its release.

The struggling console posted its first consecutive quarterly sales gains as new software titles led by Mario Kart 8 boosted demand, according to earnings results announced yesterday by the Kyoto, Japan-based game maker. The company’s shares rose the most since January.

Wii U sales more than doubled from a year earlier to 1.12 million devices in the six months ended September, giving Nintendo momentum as it prepares for the year-end holiday shopping season with more new titles, the release of its Amiibo figurines that interact with games, and an updated 3DS handheld player. The Wii U had been struggling amid a dearth of hit software as consumers shifted to games played on smartphones and Sony Corp’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Corp’s Xbox One.

“Consoles sell when the contents are there to attract users, and Mario Kart 8 did just that,” said Tomoaki Kawasaki, a Tokyo-based analyst with Iwai Cosmo Securities Co. “Amiibo’s entry in the year-end lineup is one place to watch as it may help broaden the user base.”

Nintendo rose as much as 7.7 per cent in Tokyo, the biggest intraday gain since January 8, before trading 0.7 per cent higher as of the 11.30am midday break. Nintendo American depositary receipts rose 7 per cent to US$13.80 (RM45.40) yesterday in New York, the most since January 21.

President Satoru Iwata maintained his full-year profit and revenue forecasts for Nintendo after sales of software for the Wii U jumped 49 per cent to 9.4 million units in the first half.

Super Smash Bros

“The pace of sales changed significantly after the global launch of Mario Kart 8 in May,” Iwata said in a briefing yesterday in Osaka. “For the year-end we will have Super Smash Bros as well as Mario Kart 8 multiplayer titles, a first for the holiday season.”

The 3DS posted a 15 per cent drop to 23.3 million software units as sales of the player slumped 46 per cent to 2.09 million. Nintendo maintained its full-year projection to sell 3.6 million Wii U consoles and 12 million 3DS handhelds.

Demand for the Wii U is still dwarfed by the PlayStation 4. Sony’s newest console has outsold the Wii U this year by almost 4 to 1, according to data from vgchartz.com.

“Whether or not Nintendo can keep releasing titles for the Wii U next year will be the next big theme,” Eiji Maeda, a Tokyo-based analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc, said before yesterday’s earnings release.

New titles

By next year, Nintendo plans to introduce several new titles including Splatoon, which lets two teams take on roles as squids that morph into people and shoot different-coloured ink in timed matches. It will release a new Zelda game, a title called Xenoblade Chronicles X and a Mario racing game that lets users make their own courses.

The company is also entering the multibillion-dollar, collectible-toy market with its Amiibo figurines, which are similar to Activision Blizzard Inc’s Skylanders. Players can enter a Nintendo character into a game through the Wii U’s GamePad tablet.

Nintendo is planning to enter a new health-oriented business targeting sleep and fatigue, Iwata told reporters today in Tokyo. The company will introduce a non-wearable product that monitors users’ sleep and sends data to the cloud, he said.

Nintendo’s net income in the three months ended September 30 was ¥24.2 billion compared with a loss of ¥8 billion a year earlier, according to figures derived from first-half results reported yesterday. Nintendo booked a ¥15.5 billion gain in the first half from the weaker Japanese currency. — Bloomberg