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[Pineconn]

Why would it go up?

Next month will be even worse. There is no way the Wii U sales will go up until software releases and no software (an original game with limited demographic appeal, a limited demographic port from the 3DS, and a late port of a racing game) will be released in March.

Shit's gonna be fucked for a while!

Yeah, February will be bad. March and April should be pretty good (100K+, at least).

The obvious reason for the poor January sales and the impending poor February sales is that there is no additional incentive to buy Wii U past what launch offered. Very few games were released, and none of them were high impact. February's catalyst was supposed to be Rayman Legends. I'm looking at Monster Hunter to be a good driving force for March/April.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Probably would've been for the best. If they do make DMC5, then it'll benefit from being at the start of the next-gen.

It's just a shame. DmC was a good game (IMO), but it just couldn't get away from the cloud hanging over it. Though a part of me thinks Capcom and Ninja Theory knew this would happen.

The question now is what happens to DmC2? If the rumors are true, Capcom already has that title in pre-production. They were hoping for a Blue Castle situation where they knock it out of the park and it sells comparable numbers to the last game and they can acquire them and name them Capcom (Location).

But it's clearly not working out that way. So do they see this next project through and hope it bounces back or cut ties now?

 

[GraveRobberX]

Even if you do 10K-15K WiiU's per week, or 1500 per day

You still don't hit 70K sold in February

It would be 40K-60K @ Best

 

[TheUnknownForce]

Marketing Lego City is going to do jack shit. The game is not going to move systems and I doubt it sells well by itself.

But it has a chance to do something more than the Wii U is doing now with nothing releasing. Either way, I think Nintendo will push Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon a lot more, though.

 

[Forceatowulf]

*Skims thread for DmC numbers*

Taste. So. Good.

 

[theviolenthero]

Seriously, the nintendo is "doomed" shit never stops here.

AND YOU GUYS ARE ALWAYS WRONG. Nintendo realized their product isn't delivering so they increase software output and sales always follow..

3DS is just about to hit it's stride. I can see 3DS even surpassing DS sales by the end of this year, in the same respective time frame.

Everyone knows Nintendo will deliver high quality 1st party content butthis isn't about Nintendo, it's about a healthy system!!!!!!!!
The #1 issue is the lack of quality 3rd party support.

Here's a list of the notable 3rd party games being released on the Wii U for the first 6 months of this year:

Injustice: Gods Among Us
LEGO City Undercover
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
Need for Speed: Most Wanted - A Criterion Game
Resident Evil: Revelations

5 major 3rd party games in 6 months,5.
I would put up a list of E-shop only games but i couldn't find a single notable one being released for it the entire year!

 

[Drakeon]

The numbers aren't great but the WiiU is still the top selling next gen console on the market. And by the time the PS4 hits the market at $400-500, the WiiU will have a nice price cut and a host of top selling franchises ready to launch. This isn't over. We don't know what Retro has been working on, I have a feeling they'll provide the killer app gamers are looking for.

Just a couple moves can fix this, I really don't see a point in jumping to conclusions. Nintendo can potentially purchase Valve, given their financial problems. Also given the ridiculous situation at Ubisoft, I think master talents like Ancel could flock to Nintendo. Those two moves alone would shore up the US and UK markets, and Japan will fall in line for Animal Crossing WiiU.

Man, you are just as bad about predicting gaming trends as political trends.

 

[Quentyn]

Just woke up. Wii U 55k, what? WHAT?

The first few pages are hilarious. From amazing to complete disaster in a matter of minutes.

 

[BadAss2961]

The question now is what happens to DmC2? If the rumors are true, Capcom already has that title in pre-production. They were hoping for a Blue Castle situation where they knock it out of the park and it sells comparable numbers to the last game and they can acquire them and name them Capcom (Location).

But it's clearly not working out that way. So do they see this next project through and hope it bounces back or cut ties now?

Cut ties ASAP.

 

[rdrr gnr]

That .gif is almost a requirement when PD posts.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Oh man. Those Wii U numbers are pretty atrocious.

However the calls for Nintendo to shaft the system are dumb. Wait until Zelda, Mario Kart, Smash Bros. all come out, or for the price to drop, or for Nintendo to aggressively start pursuing third party exclusives (which they should be doing - an exclusive GTA, Kingdom Hearts, Resident Evil, maybe some DLC for the next COD). And if the rumors about PS4/Xbox 3 having shit anti-consumer "features" is true it's going to look a lot better by comparison.

Also I'm a little glad DmC didn't do too well. Not because it's a bad game (i haven't played it) but Capcom seemed kind of dickish about it. Whatever.

 

[Nekofrog]

People who play it seem to like it, people who haven't played it haven't played it. I'm not sure we even have the numbers to quantify it.

edit: Seems several people are making this basic mistake.

Guess why they haven't played it? Because it's not flying off shelves.

Wii Sports sold the Wii U. It was THE killer app, probably the biggest killer app of all video game generations. People played it and HAD to have it. Moms played it. Grandmothers played it. Aunts, uncles, everyone.

Grandma's ain't gonna be clamoring for some Nintendoland.

 

[Artemisia]

Marketing Lego City is going to do jack shit. The game is not going to move systems and I doubt it sells well by itself.

Right?

Do they honestly think it's going to sell systems?

 

[BruiserBear]

Man, you are just as bad about predicting gaming trends as political trends.

I assumed he was joking with that post. Right? Riiight?

 

[ShockingAlberto]

One thing no one is talking about with regard to Wii U software sales is that launch software is still MSRPing for full price. That's crazy, because people might buy things to take risks, but not at $60. Someone might be interested in Zombi U or, god forbid, Ninja Gaiden, but they're $40 or so interested.

Since no new software is coming, nothing is driving launch software prices down. Since launch software price isn't being driven down, no one is buying software.

Obviously the software sales would still be shit even if they were cheaper, but it's the difference between shit on your shoe and shit on your feet.

 

[GraveRobberX]

I assumed he was joking with that post. Right? Riiight?

This is PD we are talking about...

 

[Bel_Air_Jeff]

Guess why they haven't played it? Because it's not flying off shelves.

Wii Sports sold the Wii U. It was THE killer app, probably the biggest killer app of all video game generations. People played it and HAD to have it. Moms played it. Grandmothers played it. Aunts, uncles, everyone.

Grandma's ain't gonna be clamoring for some Nintendoland.

Lightning doesn't strike twice...

 

[metalslimer]

Yeah, February will be bad. March and April should be pretty good (100K+, at least).

The obvious reason for the poor January sales and the impending poor February sales is that there is no additional incentive to buy Wii U past what launch offered. Very few games were released, and none of them were high impact. February's catalyst was supposed to be Rayman Legends. I'm looking at Monster Hunter to be a good driving force for March/April.

No way in hell Wii U reaches 100k based on a game like Monster Hunter. Like predicting Gravity Rush to sell a ton of Vitas. Niche franchises do not push many systems. You would have an easer time if you said Lego City, but even then I don't think parents will be buying their kids a 300 dollar console to play the newest lego game. I don't understand why anyone thinks Lego City is actually going to drive sales. We've seen so many Lego games over the years it's not even funny. No matter how different this one is it does not change that fact. The game will also have a version (even if its not the same) on 3DS. No the first game that has a shot at pushing a significant number of Wii U's is Pikmin 3.

 

[Alcibiades]

The only two known games that have a chance of breaking through are Mario Kart and Wii Sports U. Everything else is awesome for hardcore gamers and Wii Fit U and Wii U Party are great casual titles but Just Dance has kinda taken the "fitness" crowd and Wii Party will be just another party game out of many.

Mario Kart Double Dash almost had a hand in helping the GCN recover back in 2003 except Nintendo decided to stop shipping systems in October so the shelves were empty during the holiday season despite great demand for the system that had just received a pricecut to $99. You put an 2 million or so consoles on the shelves that holiday season and the trajectory for GCN might have been slightly different. By the time March 2004 came around and systems were readily available Nintendo had lost their moment of opportunity to gain some momentum in the U.S.

Wii Sports had such a high attach rate due to bundling and the exposure to the franchise is too large for a sequel on Wii U to completely unnoticed. It might not do 50 million in sales, but I think it can easily push some systems if they keep it accessible and market the heck out of it.

 

[Nekofrog]

DOOOOOOOOOMED DOOOOOOOOOOOMED.

You're not going to last long.

 

[Father_Brain]

Why are some people saying that things are going to get better with Vita and things are going to be fine? Sony has done nothing to show that they're going to push the system and when the PS4 is released they'll be pushing that instead of Vita.

Because people don't want to believe that they spent $250 on a system with a two-year lifespan.

 

[Aquamarine]

Even if you do 10K-15K WiiU's per week, or 1500 per day

You still don't hit 70K sold in February

It would be 40K-60K @ Best

Yep. 10K-15K is a good estimate for weekly Wii U sales for February, or 40K-60K for the month. I'm hoping Nintendo does something to help boost sales, so I'm going with the upper end of 60K, but anyone guessing higher than that is just deluding themselves.

The only way Nintendo would hit more than 60K next month is if they did an immediate, $50+ price cut.

 

[nhlducks35]

Oh man. Those Wii U numbers are pretty atrocious.

However the calls for Nintendo to shaft the system are dumb. Wait until Zelda, Mario Kart, Smash Bros. all come out, or for the price to drop, or for Nintendo to aggressively start pursuing third party exclusives (which they should be doing - an exclusive GTA, Kingdom Hearts, Resident Evil, maybe some DLC for the next COD). And if the rumors about PS4/Xbox 3 having shit anti-consumer "features" is true it's going to look a lot better by comparison.

 

[antitrop]

Just woke up. Wii U 55k, what? WHAT?

The first few pages are hilarious. From amazing to complete disaster in a matter of minutes.

The first great rollercoaster thread of the year.
In a year with multiple console announcements and releases, I expect to see a lot of this in the coming months.

I cannot God damn wait. It's thrilling. We live for this shit.

Also, blame Gamasutra. They can't math.

 

[TheUnknownForce]

Guess why they haven't played it? Because it's not flying off shelves.

Wii Sports sold the Wii U. It was THE killer app, probably the biggest killer app of all video game generations. People played it and HAD to have it. Moms played it. Grandmothers played it. Aunts, uncles, everyone.

Grandma's ain't gonna be clamoring for some Nintendoland.

Explaining Wii Sports is so much easier than Nintendo Land.

"You use the remote here like a racket! Swing at the ball!"
vs.
"You use this screen to play as a ghost and try to grab us while we try to shine our light at you. You also have these powers and..."

Without playing it yourself, Nintendo Land is too mysterious to play. S'why a Wii Sports U is very much needed.

 

[GraveRobberX]

One thing no one is talking about with regard to Wii U software sales is that launch software is still MSRPing for full price. That's crazy, because people might buy things to take risks, but not at $60. Someone might be interested in Zombi U or, god forbid, Ninja Gaiden, but they're $40 or so interested.

Since no new software is coming, nothing is driving launch software prices down. Since launch software price isn't being driven down, no one is buying software.

Obviously the software sales would still be shit even if they were cheaper, but it's the difference between shit on your shoe and shit on your feet.

Don't forget those same titles are cheap as fuck on the competitor platforms

Why would anyone who has a 360 or PS3 or both want to move to the WiiU and play Ass Creed III for $60, when it's $30 (hell $20, amazon code) at retailers
Hell uPlay is offering a ridiculous deal on Ass Creed III on their own platform for the PC

 

[ShockingAlberto]

The Vita is straight fucked but that's not news to anyone anymore.

 

[Admiral Bone to Pick]

The only two known games that have a chance of breaking through are Mario Kart and Wii Sports U. Everything else is awesome for hardcore gamers and Wii Fit U and Wii U Party are great casual titles but Just Dance has kinda taken the "fitness" crowd and Wii Party will be just another party game out of many.

Mario Kart Double Dash almost had a hand in helping the GCN recover back in 2003 except Nintendo decided to stop shipping systems in October so the shelves were empty during the holiday season despite great demand for the system that had just received a pricecut to $99. You put an 2 million or so consoles on the shelves that holiday season and the trajectory for GCN might have been slightly different. By the time March 2004 came around and systems were readily available Nintendo had lost their moment of opportunity to gain some momentum in the U.S.

Wii Sports had such a high attach rate due to bundling and the exposure to the franchise is too large for a sequel on Wii U to completely unnoticed. It might not do 50 million in sales, but I think it can easily push some systems if they keep it accessible and market the heck out of it.

New Super Mario Bros U. was a successor to one of the Wii's biggest titles and didn't seem to have much impact in driving Wii U sales. Mario Kart DD wouldn't have helped the Gamecube change its market position much at all.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

People who play it seem to like it, people who haven't played it haven't played it. I'm not sure we even have the numbers to quantify it.

edit: Seems several people are making this basic mistake.

What basic mistake? It's a piece of software that's supposed to be the proof of concept for the system. Strong word of mouth should get the console in more people's hands, and then hopefully their friends coming over to check out "that new Wii controller." If your thesis is that the game is great among people who played it, but not many have played it, then might I suggest that this isn't a very good rebuttal?

 

[Pineconn]

No way in hell Wii U reaches 100k based on a game like Monster Hunter. Like predicting Gravity Rush to sell a ton of Vitas. Niche franchises do not push many systems. You would have an easer time if you said Lego City, but even then I don't think parents will be buying their kids a 300 dollar console to play the newest lego game.

I suppose so. It really depends if the Monster Hunter hardcore has bought their Wii U yet. But yeah, I meant to lump MH, Lego, and NFSMWU with March (even though the latter is a late—albeit impressive—port).

The numbers for March will be telling...

 

[InsaneZero]

One thing no one is talking about with regard to Wii U software sales is that launch software is still MSRPing for full price. That's crazy, because people might buy things to take risks, but not at $60. Someone might be interested in Zombi U or, god forbid, Ninja Gaiden, but they're $40 or so interested.

Since no new software is coming, nothing is driving launch software prices down. Since launch software price isn't being driven down, no one is buying software.

Obviously the software sales would still be shit even if they were cheaper, but it's the difference between shit on your shoe and shit on your feet.

That makes me curious about how Lego will do at 50$.

 

[RomanticHeroX]

If there's a lesson to be learned for the others from watching the Wii U's drop off a cliff I'd hope that it's for the love of god have some games ready sometime sooner than 9 months out when you launch a system. Probably not going to happen, but it'd be nice.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Seriously, the nintendo is "doomed" shit never stops here.

AND YOU GUYS ARE ALWAYS WRONG. Nintendo realized their product isn't delivering so they increase software output and sales always follow..

3DS is just about to hit it's stride. I can see 3DS even surpassing DS sales by the end of this year, in the same respective time frame.

Were they wrong with the N64? Were they wrong with the GameCube? Things in terms of game releases and support got worse for those systems as time went on, not better. When you look at the pattern it starts to look more and more like the Wii was the outlier, not the rule, and Nintnndo (and their fans) heavily overestimate how much cache their stock franchises have in the home console market. Mario, Zelda and Mario Kart get Nintendo fans in the door and do it well, but they aren't world beaters and their appeal seems to have been heavily inflated on the Wii.

 

[BruiserBear]

Because people don't want to believe that they spent $250 on a system with a two-year lifespan.

Well that's just wishful thinking on your part. The Wii U is doing really bad, but it's not going to be left behind in a couple years. Crazy talk.

 

[evangd007]

I really hope it's a breakout success for Platinum.
At the very least I expect it to be their best selling game, yet.

The Metal Gear brand name is strong, the Platinum Games respect amongst hardcore gamers is strong, and it's all but a foregone conclusion now that the game will review well.

I would like to see this game destroy the sales charts.

They've certainly set it up to do so.

Judging by the sales of anything Metal Gear related since 4, I don't know if the brand is all that strong anymore.

I'd wager far more things against MGS: Rising (action instead of stealth, Poochie instead of Snake) than for it.

 

[Kusagari]

Wii Sports was the killer app it was because you could look at people playing it and instantly know you had to try it too. It was something you could easily show off and have everyone understand.

You cannot replicate that kind of appeal by making people hold a giant tablet.

 

[ezekial45]

The question now is what happens to DmC2? If the rumors are true, Capcom already has that title in pre-production. They were hoping for a Blue Castle situation where they knock it out of the park and it sells comparable numbers to the last game and they can acquire them and name them Capcom (Location).

But it's clearly not working out that way. So do they see this next project through and hope it bounces back or cut ties now?

Actually, I just think they're working on something else now. They hired a network and online programmer, in addition to a new Creative Director. I'm inclined to think Capcom and NT knew this game wouldn't pan out after the demo and convention circuits didn't raise awareness and temper negativity from fans. Plus, the game had no marketing push post-launch, and that to me shows it was sent out quietly to minimize costs. I'm sure they are satisfied with their work from NT, they did give them a high scoring product after all, so they didn't screw up on the quality of the game. Despite the sales, the game is one of their success stories for working with western developers. Especially after Slant Six.

I'm pretty sure DmC2 won't be happening, but I'm not so sure DMC5 is a go either.

 

[rdrr gnr]

What basic mistake? It's a piece of software that's supposed to be the proof of concept for the system. Strong word of mouth should get the console in more people's hands, and then hopefully their friends coming over to check out "that new Wii controller." If your thesis is that the game is great among people who played it, but not many have played it, then might I suggest that this isn't a very good rebuttal?

Reminds me of the FFXIII arguments. "It sorta opens up after 15 hours."

Well, THAT'S THE PROBLEM.

 

[antitrop]

Judging by the sales of anything Metal Gear related since 4, I don't know if the brand is all that strong anymore.

I'd wager far more things against MGS: Rising (action instead of stealth, Poochie instead of Snake) than for it.

This is the best Metal Gear game since Metal Gear Solid 4. I expect it to sell as such.

 

[Striek]

One thing no one is talking about with regard to Wii U software sales is that launch software is still MSRPing for full price. That's crazy, because people might buy things to take risks, but not at $60. Someone might be interested in Zombi U or, god forbid, Ninja Gaiden, but they're $40 or so interested.

Since no new software is coming, nothing is driving launch software prices down. Since launch software price isn't being driven down, no one is buying software.

Obviously the software sales would still be shit even if they were cheaper, but it's the difference between shit on your shoe and shit on your feet.

Its highly unusual to drop the MSRP after a couple months. Wii U games are discounted all over the place, which is more typical bomba behavior.

 

[Nekofrog]

Nintendo always has something up their sleeve. They created this industry, and they will be here when it collapses.

Regardless, the end of this year will be really exciting to see.

Can't wait to see the launch sales of the Durango and the Orbis.

oh, i see. you're a troll. got it.

 

[FoneBone]

Well that's just wishful thinking on your part. The Wii U is doing really bad, but it's not going to be left behind in a couple years.

He was talking about Vita. I can't see Nintendo outright pulling the plug on Wii U, either.

 

[Father_Brain]

Well that's just wishful thinking on your part. The Wii U is doing really bad, but it's not going to be left behind in a couple years.

Vita, not Wii U. Though I'm not sure what'll happen with Wii U if the first-party lineup in the latter half of this year has only a limited impact.

 

[InsaneZero]

If there's a lesson to be learned for the others from watching the Wii U's drop off a cliff I'd hope that it's for the love of god have some games ready sometime sooner than 9 months out when you launch a system. Probably not going to happen, but it'd be nice.

Launch window will always be mostly ports and sparse amounts of new IP due to how everybody is getting accustomed to new hardware. There's no real way around that.

 

[Soriku]

Yeah, really. Even if it happened in dream land it'd still end up ported.

 

[Alcibiades]

New Super Mario Bros U. was a successor to one of the Wii's biggest titles and didn't seem to have much impact in driving Wii U sales. Mario Kart DD wouldn't have helped the Gamecube change its market position much at all.

Not saying they definitely will, but they have a better shot than the rest of Nintendo's lineup. Although Mario Kart alone wouldn't save the GCN, I think if Nintendo had systems on the shelves when the game was released it could have provided a decent bump in U.S. sales.

 

[Nekofrog]

Looking at the 3DS lineup that was announced, and the Wii U lineup...

Yeah, most of those 3DS games should have been Wii U games. No debate.

 

[Branduil]

The Wii U has one foot in the grave. The Vita is already in its grave, and the dirt is being shoveled on.

The sales for Durango and Orbis should be very interesting.

 

[MechaX]

The Vita is straight fucked but that's not news to anyone anymore.

Sony just does not give a fuck. It's a shame to see really, but man.

 

[GraveRobberX]

I think Platinum Games have gained very good gamer cred

From Bayonetta and Vanquish, they may not be absurd sellers, but you still remember those title and forget what happened in COD BLOPS II 2 days after playing it

I'm just saying Platinum Games leave a good memorable impression


I give them the benefit, hell Wonderful 101 and Bayo 2 look like heavy hitters, but they are so far away....