Some call it a retailer's dream: a heavily pre-sold product that promotes itself, uses no advertising dollars and is presently riding the wave of intense popularity.
This star is Nintendo, and it has the cash registers of America's toy retailers ringing. "All you need to do is have a shipment come in and it sells," said Donald E. Leftt, president of Manhattan's Toy Park stores.
Nintendo sets the standard
It's no wonder that, to many retailers, Nintendo has become synonymous with video. The category leader presently commands about an 80 percent share of market, with Atari and Sega sharing the remainder of the sales.
Since early last year, the Nintendo Action Set and Control Deck have appeared on NPD Research's Toy Retail Sales Tracking Service (TRSTS) list of best-selling toys. But, during the holiday selling period, the story was not all Nintendo.
According to the TRSTS report for December 1988, video game systems and related software captured seven of the top 20 positions. The Nintendo Action and Power Sets held the first and second positions, respectively, while the Sega Master System, The Legend of Zelda cartridge, the Advantage Joystick, Atari's 7800 game system and its 2600 system all appeared on the best-seller list. …
Playthings; August 1, 1997
Playthings; February 1, 1997
Playthings; January 1, 2003
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