The largest online retailer
Amazon.com Inc.
(
AMZN
) has recently introduced an Instant Video app for
Nintendo
's (
NTDOY
) Wii U home console.
The app will enable Wii U owners to buy, rent and stream more
than 140,000 movies and TV episodes from Amazon's Instant Video
Store. Moreover, Amazon Prime customers can enjoy more than
30,000 movies and TV episodes for free.
The Instant Video app will be located in the Wii U eShop.
Console owners can search and browse their favorite movies and TV
shows with the help of the Wii U's 6.2-inch touch screen GamePad
controller.
Wii U is Nintendo's first console upgrade in six years since
the release of Wii. In addition, a seventh-generation console,
Wii U is Nintendo's first offering with HD graphics. The earlier
version, Wii, competed against other gaming console manufacturers
such as
Microsoft
's (
MSFT
) Xbox 360 and
Sony
's (
SNE
) PlayStation. Until September 2012, 97.18 million units of Wiis
were shipped worldwide, followed by 70.2 million PlayStations and
70.0 million Xboxs.
Amazon's unique offering may entice gamers, as they can watch
their favorite movies and TV shows while playing games on the
console. This app is expected to be well received by both parents
and kids as they can watch family-friendly programs. This will
allow the viewers multiple screening options for viewing their
favorite shows from Amazon.
An Amazon app in a gaming console is a smart marketing
strategy by the e-commerce giant. The strategic partnership may
open up new and exciting screening devices where people will get
more chance to buy or maybe rent what they want to see while
playing and enjoying their games. Nintendo launched the gaming
console just before the holiday season. Thus, Amazon can largely
benefit as demand usually goes up during the holiday season.
A study by IDC suggests that there will be 257 million active
gaming consoles worldwide by 2015. Banking on the higher
demand for gaming consoles, Amazon may have an opportunity to
expand further via these kinds of partnerships in the future.
Amazon's third quarter revenue was $13.81 billion, up 7.6%
sequentially and 26.9% from the year-ago quarter. This was better
than management expectations and more or less in line with the
Zacks Consensus Estimates. Excluding unfavorable currency impact,
revenue increased 30.0% year over year.
Currently, Amazon has a Zacks #4 Rank, which implies a Sell
rating. Nintendo and Sony carry a Zacks #2 Rank, implying a Buy
rating in the short term. Microsoft carries a Zacks #3 Rank,
implying a short-term Hold rating.
AMAZON.COM INC (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis
Report
MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis
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(NTDOY): ETF Research Reports
SONY CORP ADR (SNE): Free Stock Analysis
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