Wii MotionPlus could be a game-changer

Wii MotionPlus

Wii MotionPlus will likely make the Wiimote much better.

(Credit: Nintendo)

The MotionPlus, a $20 accessory designed to improve motion detection for the Nintendo Wii remote control, will easily sell 10 million units after its market debut on June 8, an analyst contends.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter told Edge this week that the majority of those sales will occur when the accessory is bundled with Wii Sports Resort, EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’10 later this year.

He contends that 20 percent of U.S. and European Wii owners will buy those three titles, helping the Nintendo sell 8 million units of the Wii MotionPlus in just a few months. Pachter predicts another 2 million units will sell with new Wii consoles.

EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich, also interviewed by Edge, isn’t so quick to agree. He estimates that only 3 million units of the accessory will sell by the end of 2009 and that sales will reach 10 million units during Nintendo’s next fiscal year, which starts in March 2010.

Although they don’t agree on exactly when the 10 million mark will be reached, the analysts both predict that the accessory will be popular.

“I expect MotionPlus to be a sneaky success and ultimately attach to at least one third of the (Wii’s) installed base,” Pachter told Edge.

“Our forecast could be conservative,” Divnich added. “Yearly sales could balloon much higher.”

In addition to selling well, the MotionPlus is set to transform the Wii experience.

Originally posted at The Digital Home

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