Wii U January sales paint a dismal picture

NewsPublish Date 15/02/2013 - 9:45am GMT

January 2013 Wii U sales in the US reported to be between 45,000 and 59,000 units.

Wii U is reported to have sold a staggeringly low 45,000 to 59,000 units during a five week January tracking period in the US.

NPD doesn't provide specific figures, but a rep did tell Gamasutra that Wii U hardware sales for its first three months are down 38 per cent compared to the Wii at the same point in time.

Gamasutra has been told by someone with access to NPD data that Wii U's January figure is well under 100,000 units, and by its estimates shifted between 45,000 and 59,000 units.

Xbox 360 sold approximately 250,000 in its first January (2006), while PS3 sold 243,000 during its first a year later, and Wii shifted a huge 435,000 units during its first January also in 2007.

Back to January 2013 and Xbox 360 continues to dominate with sales of 281,000 units, the 25th straight month as the top selling console in the US.

Software sales were again led by Black Ops 2, with DmC charting at No.6 and Ni No Kuni new at No.11.

Source: Gamasutra

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pblive

ooh, I'm gonna have to reply to that... :)

YouTube Video

Give me a second I,
I need to get my story straight
I'm sitting in the front room and Mario's getting me quite irate
My lover she’s waiting for me to turn over the TV
My game's been taken by Eastenders but it won't bother me, cause
I know I 'l play it on the gamepad screen
I know you’re trying to forget
But between the delayed release dates
The holes in Nintendo's scheduling, you know
I’ve got more games to crack.
So if by the time the bar closes
And you feel like playing games
My Wii U's at home

Tonight
Wii U's young
So let’s set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun

Tonight
Wii U's young
So let’s set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun

Now I know that It's not
All that you got
I guess that I, I just thought
Maybe we could find new ways to play our games
But our friends are back
So let’s raise a toast
‘Cause I found some dual screen gaming for

Tonight
Wii U's young
So let’s set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun

Tonight
Wii U's young
So let’s set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun

Wii U's at my home tonight (Nananananana)
Mario U's home tonight (Nananananana)
Nintendo Land's home tonight (Nananananana)
Just play Wii U at home tonight (Nananananana)

Nintendo is on my side (Nananananana)
I have no reason to run (Nananananana)
So Zelda will come and carry me home tonight (Nananananana)
The Rayman never arrived (Nananananana)
But I can hear the choir (Nananananana)
So Wii U come and carry me home (Nananananana)

Tonight
WIi U's young
So let’s set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun

Tonight
Wii U's young
So let’s set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun

So if by the time the bar closes
And you feel like playing games
I’ll see Wii U at home tonight

Posted 22:14 on 17 February 2013

altaranga @ MJTH

Just yanking a few chains. :p

Posted 21:54 on 17 February 2013

MJTH @ altaranga

Whilst I don't agree with what this implies... I can't help but love the effort that has gone into it! :D

Posted 21:28 on 16 February 2013

altaranga

YouTube Video

Wii, U, yeah
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, oh hoh, oh
Wii, U, yeah
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, say it again y'all
Wii, U, good God
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, listen to me

Wii U, makes me lol
'Cause they rushed releasing it in last year's fall
They made sure it was out when Christmas came
It's just a pity they forgot to make a game

I said
Wii, U, good God y'all
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, just say it again
Wii, U, Lord
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, listen to me

Wii, it ain't nothin' but wastin' money
U, so crap even it's name is funny

Wii U, my bad it has the Zombi-U
One game, it's not much to do
If you queued to get it on day 1 coz it looked cool
Don't blame the rest of us we don't pity the fool

Wii, U, good God, y'all
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, say it, say it, say it
Wii, U, yeah, huh
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, listen to me

Wii, it ain't nothin' but wastin' money
U, so crap even it's name is funny

Wii U has shattered even Woffl's dreams
Also pblive awakens to screams
They thought they had bought a console that was really something
But what they'd really got was a £200 dumpling

Wii, U, good God y'all
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, say it again
Wii, U, Lord
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, listen to me

Wii, it ain't nothin' but wastin' money
U, so crap even it's name is funny

Microsoft and Sony will announce
Their new consoles any day
I'm sure they'll also have more than one game
So look out for all those Wii U's on eBay

Wii, U, good God y'all
What is it good for?
You tell 'em, say it, say it, say it, say it
Wii, good Lord, U,
What is it good for?
Stand up and shout it, nothing

Wii, it ain't nothin' but wastin' money

Posted 19:28 on 16 February 2013

Wido @ dudester

Agreed!

Posted 12:48 on 16 February 2013

munkee

What's a Wii-U and what does one do?

Posted 12:38 on 16 February 2013

Woffls

Yeah, these are very low numbers, but Nintendo hardware/software is much more bound to the retail cycle than other manufacturers because of who they're targeting.

Even if this wasn't the case, a console is going to sell to a very specific audience at launch in the current market, because mainstream adoption just isn't there.

As has been said, this happened with 3DS as well and I hear 3DS is doing pretty well now. I don't know if Wii U will take as quick a turn as 3DS did because the competition landscape is drastically different.

I don't know if Nintendo should be directly concerned about Sony and Microsoft, but they really should be concerned about their marketing approach. They don't need to try and sell people their console instead of somebody else's, they just need to sell people an idea. <insert Inception quote here>.

Posted 10:48 on 16 February 2013

dudester

Stop appying reasoning no one cared when npds figures were always xbox over ps3 even if rest of the world didnt. :D

Posted 18:47 on 15 February 2013

CheekyLee

It should be pointed out that these exact same NPD figures show Wii U outselling XBox 360 and PS3 in their first three months.

NPD November 2005: 360 - 326K
NPD December 2005: 360 - 281K
NPD January 2006: 360 - 250K

NPD November 2006: PS3 - 197K
NPD December 2006: PS3 - 491K
NPD January 2007: PS3 - 244K

NPD November 2012: Wii U - 425K
NPD December 2012: Wii U - 460K
NPD January 2013: Wii U - ~55K

Yes, January was AWFUL, and February is predicted to be quite dire as well. But let's have a little perspective. These doom predictions were thrown at the 3DS, and Vita, and now it is Wii U's turn. 6 months time, we could well be looking at an entirely different story. By then we will have Lego City Undercover, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, and a couple more versions of multiplatforms. We don't actually know what Sony and MS will be announcing, but anybody who thinks PS4 will be cheaper than a Wii U needs their head examining.

I was in Sainsbury's earlier, and I went to look at their games section. Wii U was nowhere to be seen. Nor have I seen it in ASDA and Morrison's. This leaves Tesco, which means that the console is quite seriously lacking presence. Nintendo needs to get the thing out there into the public consciousness. Nintendoland in the hands of a family is a guaranteed sale, just seeing other people play alone won't do it this time.

Posted 18:41 on 15 February 2013

TheLastProphet

The problem facing Nintendo are the looming reveals of the PS4 and the next Xbox. The PS4 reveal is less than a week away, and the next Xbox will surely be revealed at E3 - and once the consoles have been revealed who will want to spend £300-£400 on a Wii U, games, and accessories? The vast majority of people will save their money for one or both of the new consoles, and the promise of Mario and Zelda games with a new lick of paint simply won't be enough to persuade serious gamers to invest in the Wii U

Posted 12:55 on 15 February 2013

Wido

I haven't played my Wii U in a such long while. The Wii U pretty much stays at fiancée's, and then again, they don't play it either. I'm certainly not falling for anything like that again.

Posted 11:52 on 15 February 2013

guyderman

They should show the Aliens:CM footage - that'll shift some units :0)

Posted 11:50 on 15 February 2013

pblive

PR is certainly one of the big issues. There are still so many of Nintendo's prime audience unaware of just what the Wii U is.

But, like 3DS, it also needs the games and there have been big issues with delays of late. Nintendo need to step in and help the 3rd party teams.

Posted 11:30 on 15 February 2013

rbevanx@ MJTH

I think if the rumours are true where Sony and MS console lock the games, Nintendo really need to get the messageout their that their console isn't.

They need to show it can be a media center and also have the same and even more features than their rivals.

Posted 11:27 on 15 February 2013

MJTH

Things 3 months aren't looking good, but in a period where the console is still new and expensive, and the release schedule is baron due to delays and lack of titles of course it looks bad. Barely anyone will want to buy a console if no games are coming out on a regular basis (as proven by this, the PS Vita, first months of 3DS). It's a good thing games releases set to pick up this March, with some key exclusives. Nintendo do need to continue doing these Nintendo Direct conferences and have a brilliant E3 showing.

Things are bad, but could also be much worse... It's not "screwed" quite yet.

Posted 10:38 on 15 February 2013