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[ezekial45]

hope Namco Bandai is happy with the Ni no Kuni numbers

it's hard to tell given DmC did not do too well and came in at #6

I'm pretty surprised it outsold games like Halo and AC. Especially when both those games are massive hits for their franchises.

 

[Spongebob]

Dreamcast 2.0? Dreamcast 2.0.

 

[Apophis2036]

Even though these are terrible, terrible numbers and also that the Wii U is by far Nintendo's worst home console ever, I still want Iwata to stay as their president. He's one of the very few things I like about this industry.

I agree about Iwata but it's unbelievable to think he let a repeat of the 3DS fiasco happen again (overpriced / very little software).

Considering how long Nintendo have been preparing WiiU, 3D Mario and Mario Kart should have been launch games with NSMB U coming in time for it's second Xmas along with Smash Bros where they could take advantage of the larger install base.

 

[Cheebo]

The sad part is that aside from "looks and feels cheap" everything he said is kinda... fact.

Firing Reggie won't fix the fact that the Wii U was stillborn in Europe and flatlining in Japan. I'm starting to feel like the iron sights ought to be aimed squarely at NCL.

Reggie needs to go for the 3DS. 3DS is lackluster in America but doing amazing in Japan.

 

[Doffen]

The Wii U has dropped like crazy here in Norway. It launched at 4000 NOK and now its dropped to 2800 NOK - I'm talking about Deluxe Edition.

 

[MrDaravon]

I have to admit that I am way more interested in the Playstation conference now than I was before. Wonder if Sony is going to go for blood or hold off a bit until E3.

 

[CosmicQueso]

Is that a million each per month for the first three months or a million each for the first three months ?.

Million each for the combined first three months. However, in the past, the first few months of sales were supply-restricted. MS and Sony couldn't push out enough boxes to meet demand. So true demand is probably a bit higher. Hard to say where true demand was for the previous gen launches.

 

[vilmer_]

55k in a 5 month period? Wow :/

 

[VanWinkle]

The Wii U numbers fill me with sadness. I never play mine, but it has a lot of potential. I love the gamepad.

 

[HamPster PamPster]

Oh Nintendo :lol

Just make me an ambassador already

 

[liger05]

I think publishers like Activision are right to worry about the WiiU at this point, that demographic of 6-11 year olds that buy Skylanders might not be obtaining the WiiU. I worry that it's the same older men who always buy Nintendo systems near launch, an older generation of people with surplus cash for anything latest and greatest.

I think Lego City is going to be a really tough sell if this is the case.

releasing same time as luigi's mansion as well. I think its in trouble.

 

[darkside31337]

You ain't seen the price yet.

There is no way D+O are doing worse than Vita numbers 3 months from launch.

 

[Chinpoko_Master]

Oh yeah, this was a 5 week month wasn't it?

lol

That just makes these sales seem even worse.

 

[Zoramon089]

Still LOL.

So...is the WiiU number accurate or not?

 

[The_Lump]

Yep, unfortunately. I do like Iwata, and I'm indifferent on Reggie, but Nintendo as a whole have had 3 generations in a row now to recognize that the conservative bullshit isn't going to cut it with consoles.

Time to fire them and bring in someone who is willing to go where the market is going. Loss leading hardware, vast online infrastructure, media services, strong third party outreach, and making your money back over the longhaul with sales of services and software from first and third party.

This ain't the 2006 anymore.

Fixed

 

[sangreal]

This isn't even including third party efforts, of which there will be two very notable exclusives for Sony fans.

Do tell

 

[Mileena]

Well, maybe NOW Nintendo will learn that you need to have a launch with a consistent flow of software.

We saw the exact same thing with the Vita.

and the 3DS, so you'd think they would have learned

 

[Reiko]

Dreamcast 2.0? Dreamcast 2.0.

I thought Dreamcast did good in the US.

Japan however...

 

[Plinko]

more important we saw what happened with the 3ds. Nintendo knew what would happen but did nothing to stop it.

Which is absolutely mind-boggling. The only thing I can think of is sheer arrogance.

 

[pestul]

All the talk about Nintendo doing a good soft relaunch later the year.. well that will kind of be stymied by stores not wanting to give Wii U shelve space. I have Wii U and love it.. but even I can see that this platform is in serious trouble.

 

[metalslimer]

After the horrible decisions they've made on this launch, they SHOULD be done.

Exactly. This entire launch strategy is indefensible.

 

[Graphics Horse]

This certainly puts the revised "4 million by April" estimate in question.

That always sounded super optimistic even allowing for 1M of those floating within the supply chain.

 

[RoboPlato]

Hopefully DmC numbers aren't too bad. The game is good and is a great base for a sequel.

 

[boiled goose]

Wii U is failing every where (well..not quite as bad in Japan, but still bad).

This is all on Iwata.

Yup. Wii U is a poorly conceived system.
Wii succeeded because of disruption and WiiU is a boring and safe sequel with the same looks and the same games.
Iwata failed to heavily invest in the future (online gaming and services).
Iwata also failed to release a system that current gen and next gen publishers will support.
Add in the fact that NOA is completely out of touch and you have a recipe for disaster.

Exactly. This entire launch strategy is indefensible.

It is honestly incomprehensible. All the talk for WiiU was that it would be a system for both core gamers and casuals. We have no first or third party games released for the core and no new ideas for casuals.

 

[serplux]

Reggie needs to go for the 3DS. 3DS is lackluster in America but doing amazing in Japan.

It's doing okay in America. Not great, but okay. It'll go up a lot this year though, with its stacked lineup.

 

[Nirolak]

So...is the WiiU number accurate or not?

The original Gamasutra tweet would have suggested 270K.

Their correction suggests 55K.

 

[Striek]

We'll see. I've seen 3 bad hardware launches in the last 2 years or so. I think there should be some level of worry.

This is true. But portables having bad launches - and continual bad sales outside Japan - can easily be attributed to the smartphone/mobile boom. The DS also has died off fast. Dedicated handhelds are products approaching obsolescence.

Its far more sketchy to try and pin a reason for the Wii Us faulty start. The HD twins had a decent year with declines in line with generational fatigue/saturation and steady hardware prices. Theres no evidence than the core console market has gotten any smaller. Only thing we can say so far is the Wii U isn't interesting many people who want something new.

 

[slit]

If that 55k number is true Nintendo better WAKE THE FUCK UP!

If it's not true, they still better not hit the snooze button anymore.

 

[Baconsammy]

After the horrible decisions they've made on this launch, they SHOULD be done.

Not just this launch. This is now two launches in a row that went about as badly as launches can go. Why didn't they learn a single lesson from the 3DS fiasco? That's what their shareholders need to be asking. They're literally making the same exact mistakes in the same exact fashion.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

Some good news.

if overall sales are down 19% does that mean the highest selling title sold 19% less too

Because MW3 sold 386K....

 

[BlackJace]

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Gahiggidy, how many Wii Us were sold at the Wii Barn last month?

 

[Sandfox]

What and how is a new president at Nintendo going to do better than what Iwata has done? It will take at least a year or more to fix this if it isn't to late already

Not really. All they need is a new focus, price drop, and marketing campaign for the second half of the year as an attempt to put the system in a better position. They are probably working on some interesting game ideas to draw people in as well but we'll have to see if they work or not.

Not just this launch. This is now two launches in a row that went about as badly as launches can go. Why didn't they learn a single lesson from the 3DS fiasco? That's what their shareholders need to be asking. They're literally making the same exact mistakes in the same exact fashion.

The 3DS had a decent launch and its real problem was the drought. Nintendo tried to fix this for the Wii U by launching with Mario and Nintendo Land while having their launch window of games. They obviously didn't expect those games to get delayed when planning out the launch.

 

[prwxv3]

i like Iwata but 55k is the end for him. keep him around for Nintendo Directs perhaps.

Same thing with Crazy Ken. He is a cool dude but man did he fuck up with the PS3 and got axed deservingly so.

 

[Cipherr]

I'd maybe be a bit worried about my upcoming launches if I were Sony or Microsoft. There isn't room for error.

BS. A large portion of every third party developer in the worlds futures rest on the 720 and PS4 in some manner. The studios collectively can WILL those consoles to success just by sheer game release support. We saw the same thing happen with the PS3. Against $600, 70k months, a thriving Wii/360 surge, and inferior multiplats, it still found success because the games never stopped coming.

The same things will force the PS4/720 to some level of success guaranteed. These numbers aren't worrisome for anyone but Nintendo.

Same thing with Crazy Ken. He is a cool dude but man did he fuck up with the PS3 and got axed deservingly so.

This is a good point. If Ken was let go because of the PS3 situation, Iwata should be absolutely bounced ASAP.

 

[Plinko]

Madden and FIFA PS360 are still full price at most stores and NBA is $20 more on Wii U (though I think the PS360 prices just recently dropped)

People aren't buying Wii U games, no need to find an excuse.

This is completely false.

Plus, remember the huge Black Friday sales for these games. That's not an "excuse"--that's fact.

 

[timetokill]

but Nintendo as a whole have had 3 generations in a row now to recognize that the conservative bullshit isn't going to cut it with consoles.

What imaginary world are you living in where Nintendo has had 3 generations of "conservative" consoles that "haven't cut it"?

Gamecube - Not conservative, didn't cut it
Wii - Conservative, mega-success
Wii U - Conservative, not cutting it

That's 1 generation, chuck

 

[Baki]

wat it has things like Smash Bros. That could lift this thing our of the hole its in.

That did the GameCube a lot of good.

Nintendo needs another lightning in the bottle if they want any sort of success.

 

[Gospel]

This may look bad, but I bet Wii U sold a lot more digital consoles that are not included in this number.

Hahaha

 

[Father_Brain]

Blaming Reggie or Shibata for Wii U's sales in their respective regions is like blaming Tretton or SCEA's former ad agency for Vita's NA sales.

When new hardware is selling terribly in every territory, the problem starts at the top. Not with regional subsidiaries.

 

[Mrbob]

Happy to know I own a special edition collector's item in the Wii U.

55K in a five week reporting period is amazing. And not the good kind.

 

[Duxxy3]

Dreamcast 2.0? Dreamcast 2.0.

Did the dreamcast sell 55k in its third month?

 

[RurouniZel]

With an exception or two (colors lol), how can you say I'm trolling or being facetious? The situation right now is dire. Nintendo is getting what they deserve.

I HAVE a Wii u. It's just really abysmal right now.

Oh I know. I agree too, the Wii U launch is a disaster. It was just funny how you put it like that so I was just having a bit of fun. ^^;

 

[razgriz417]

Sounding like Ni No Kuni was #11, not bad for a game with no advertising and just going off word of mouth

 

[Unspeakable Evil]

I'm pretty surprised it outsold games like Halo and AC. Especially when both those games are massive hits for their franchises.

Those games have been out for months, but still it impressive. Next month though......

 

[serplux]

Not just this launch. This is now two launches in a row that went about as badly as launches can go. Why didn't they learn a single lesson from the 3DS fiasco? That's what their shareholders need to be asking. They're literally making the same exact mistakes in the same exact fashion.

And they might solve it in the exact same fashion. In any case, this is absurdly horrible for a new console, but Nintendo has a lot of properties it'll churn out to make it a lot better.

 

[neptunes]

You better believe MS and Sony are taking note of WiiU's sales. I believe all three vendors need to sell at least decent for this industry (as we've known it)to flourish.

 

[Black Republican]

I think publishers like Activision are right to worry about the WiiU at this point, that demographic of 6-11 year olds that buy Skylanders might not be obtaining the WiiU. I worry that it's the same older men who always buy Nintendo systems near launch, an older generation of people with surplus cash for anything latest and greatest.

I think Lego City is going to be a really tough sell if this is the case.

3rd parties and kinectmove stole wii's audience bit by bit? heh

but isnt monster hunter coming next month? thats a console mover though right? the WiiU will pick up after that then

 

[Baconsammy]

Ubisoft certainly looks smarter for moving their exclusive Wii U game the hell out of February.

And they might solve it in the exact same fashion. In any case, this is absurdly horrible for a new console, but Nintendo has a lot of properties it'll churn out to make it a lot better.

As a consumer with a Wii U, I hope so. If I was a major shareholder, I'd hope they'd stop repeating the same stupid things.

 

[stktt]

And people wonder why Rayman was moved to September...

With third party sales like that, why would Rayman possibly be delayed?