Wii U Sales Better Than PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

After launching last November the Wii U has sold 2.6 million units globally, according to aggregated figures from VG Chartz. While there has been widespread reports that Nintendo's console is underperforming, its sales figures after four months compare favourably to other console launches.

After a similar period of time on the market the PlayStation 3 had sold just 2.4 million units worldwide, whereas the Xbox 360 had sold only 2 million units.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

People trying to spin data that comes from vgchartz... Which is itself totally fictional.

[aceitman]

I looked and its better than the ps3 and 360 , but the sales for the week had dropped a lot , 360 73,000 a week ps3 80,000 a week , wii u 27,000 a week at there 1st 5 months . this is where the wii u falls bad. and the wii u had a big launch but also had a big fall. it will not be as big as the wii, which was selling 200,000 at its 5 month mark , this is where the wii u is in trouble the casual market will not buy into this , and don't know if the Nintendo games and there fans will be enough to keep it alive , I hope its not going to be like the gamecube. no fanboy stuff here I own it and hope my purchase of the wii u is not a waste of money.

[NeoTribe]

I wasnt aware gamecube did bad. That was one of my favorite consoles at that time. Thats when nintendo had 3rd party support and seemed like a core console.

[BullyMangler]

here we go with the SALES of things again .
Sales do not mattter.
What matters most is the QUALITY of the GAMES and the VALUE they bring.

SALES do not determine somethings glory.

Although it is pretty neat how wiiU sold more units than sony and microsoft even though the wiiU has NONE of its REAL games to showcase yet. daing.

. this years E3 is gonna be crazy

[fr0sty]

These "sales don't matter" kids crack me up. You tell Nintendo their sales don't matter. I'm sure they'll disagree. Sales are what funds future projects, so when a game console you enjoy has poor sales, chances are it won't have as many well funded projects and therefore the quality and quantity of the games will suffer as a result. Sales sure mattered to Sega, and when Dreamcast sales dove off a cliff you saw what happened. Dreamcast was a great console, but died before it's time due to poor sales. Imagine all the good games it would have seen had it sold better.

[Computersaysno]

What matters is sustaining sales, rather than taking a few months in isolation, or launch windows.

Wii U has the benefit of no 'next gen' competition right now. It is difficult or impossible to really tell how well the long term future of the console will work out based on sales with less than 6 months of data around.

[ABizzel1]

The fact of the matter is this is only half the truth.

The PS3 was $499 and $599, compared to the Wii U's modest $299 and $349, that's a $150 difference between the most expensive Wii U and the cheapest PS3, and a $300 difference between the cheapest Wii U and most expensive PS3. Yet there's only a 200k difference between sales.

The Xbox 360 was closer in price, but it was coming off the back of the mildly received original Xbox, and had more to prove for it's brand than Nintendo does.

Another point of interest is that the Xbox and PS3 were struggling with manufacturing demands during their launch. The demand was high, but the supply couldn't keep up, and especially with the PS3, many people had to wait until the following year before they could actually find one on shelves after it's launch. The Wii U doesn't have that problem.

You can try to spin it anyway you want, but the truth is the Wii U is seeing hard times early on, and it's a bad sign. The problems are:

1. PS360 owners have no reason to get a Wii U when they already have a PS360 and the Wii U is barely an upgrade to their current offerings. On top of the the PS4 and Nextbox are soon to be releasing and seem to completely out power the Wii U which is what PS360 gamers are looking for. And questionable third party support means PS360 owners aren't going with Wii U. On top of all this there's a stigma that Nintendo is for kids and casual which isn't true, but that's partly Nintendo's fault for catering so much first party software to casual gamers during the Wii's lifecycle. Most core games (aka the people who'll be around through thick and thin) are in their twenties and thirties, and they want adult experiences and Nintendo has failed to evolve and create franchises for that audience. We love Mario, Zelda, Metorid, and others, but we also want Uncharted's, Halo's, God of War's, Gears, and more.

2. A large majority of Wii owners were casual gamers on the bandwagon, and aren't going to upgrade. Looking at the previous sales of all Nintendo's consoles it's quite possible that half of the Wii's sales are from casual gamers, and Nintendo is going to struggle to get them to upgrade at most they'll get 10% meaning the Wii U may struggle to reach over 60 million sales. Not bad at all, but not Wii numbers.

3. The greatest reasons is the lack of games, specifically 1st party games. There's no Mario, Pokemon, Zelda, Metroid, Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, etc.... All their biggest games are still missing from the console, and once they show up people will start buying the console including me.

Nintendo needs to get it together, they need to start producing games, and get their console running smooth and seamlessly (20 and 30 second waiting for navigating menus is ridiculous).

[from the beach]

It's not a half-truth, lol, assuming these figures are accurate the Wii U outsold PS3 and 360 across a similar time frame, end of.

Tough if Microsoft and Sony couldn't sell their machines for less, tough that Sony couldn't launch across all regions at the same time. What if, what if.

[lilbroRx]

Cherry picking details are we? And you talk about spinning.

I can go you one more on price and point out that the economy was a LOT more stable and people had far more expendable income when the PS3/360/Wii launched.

There was also far less competition from the previous generations of consoles as the PS2 was the only one still holding steadfast. There was also no competition from smart phones, and steam had no where near the level of dominance it has now.

The price is irrelevant without the entirety of the details. You basically only pulled the variables that are to your arguments favor out of context, and ignored or dismissed the ones that aren't favorable.

The argument here was console sales, not console price as that add entire realm of new issues. He stated no half truth. He stated what was relevant.

[ABizzel1]

@from the beach

Stop being one of those ignorant defensive fanboys.

The Wii U is not doing well. Does that phrase hurt you in any kind of way? Because you fanboys seem to be hurt by it.

Those are the real facts. The Wii U is a new console and being outsold by everything that's considered relevant (3DS, PS3, 360, and even PSVita). PSVita and PSP were neck and neck with the Wii U, and neither had sales to brag about. Thanks to the recent price drop Vita is now seeing good numbers, but Wii U and PSP are still running neck and neck, that's not good no matter how you put it. It's in trouble, and Nintendo's taking it's sweet time to save it.

No one is bashing, well at least I'm not, we're trying to display concern. The Wii U isn't going to sell like the Wii did point blank.

[from the beach]

Nice, personal attack..

[xursz]

Perfectly said by Abizzle. Another point is that Wiiu had a full simultaneous launch WW. The PS3 didn't, it took about 4 months until it was even available WW.

Does anyone remember when the PS3 was considered utter failure? Well put that into perspective with how well it holds up to the WiiU launch even being the last to market and at 600 usd.

Its not time to panic but it's scary how irrelevant the Wiiu is right now.

[from the beach]

It's not another point, it's another excuse, and I already addressed it in my comment anyway.

The fact that Sony couldn't launch in Europe was a scandal at the time, and I'll be damned if people are now going to argue it as a point in their favour.

You're also wrong about the PS3 being viewed as an "utter failure" - the earliest sales figures were actually quite positive, despite the challenges, and on it went from there.

Sure there were doomsayers, same as these current Wii U ones.

[SilentNegotiator]

"Half of the story" is the phrase you're looking for over "half-truth", I think.

Sure, it's "true" that the Wii U has sold more than the Ps3/360 did when accumulating the first few months of their launches, but it won't be true for long at the rate Wii U has fallen. Wii U lacks major hook to convert Ps3/360 gamers and it doesn't have the same features that the masses enjoyed with Wii, thus unimpressive sales aside from people running out to purchase the "sold out" hardware at the very start.

The article was meant to be response to all of the articles saying that it isn't selling well, and it's hiding poor recent sales (a holding trend for the Wii U) by pushing them into an accumulative one.

[jmc8888]

Wrong.

If you know specs, and you must not otherwise you'd know what you said is hogwash, is that the Wii U is 1/3rd roughly the specs of the mighty underpowered PS4.

In the context that of such power, whether it's the 360/PS3, the Wii U, the 720, the PS4, or the 3x better midrange 2013 PC, or the 3x better uber PC (i.e. 9x better than a PS4)....you'd understand that THIS generation has a wide range. The games can be played on last gen or this gen. That the Wii U, while being the low end of this next gen still is capable of much better graphics that suck up a significant portion of the gain say from PS3 to PS4.

Hey what do I have to gain. I own an i7 920 @ 4ghz and a GTX 670. I own a PS3 and a 360...in launch window (+- 3 days of xmas of launch year). I own a Wii U at launch. I will be a PS4 and 720 owner at launch despite ALL 3 of the 'next gen' systems being inferior to my PC.

What Nintendo needs to do is put out some games. They should. We don't know conclusively until E3, but I'm almost sure we're going to see a full slate of games worthy of purchase.

You can't play all game unless you own PC/PS4/720/Wii U....that's a fact.

That's also the power levels of what they are, YET they'll all be capable of playing the same games, just at different fidelity levels.

Enjoy!

[hellvaguy]

"3. The greatest reasons is the lack of games, specifically 1st party games. There's no Mario, Pokemon, Zelda, Metroid, Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, etc.... All their biggest games are still missing from the console"

Mario Wii U says hi!

[jrbeerman11]

hellovaguy,

nobody buys a new "next gen" console for a side scroller mario game. if mario galaxy 2 was held back for wiiu and in HD then wiiu would be selling more.

also new super mario brothers esque titles are getting stale, they still haven't surpassed super mario world and mario 3 yet IMO.

WiiU needs games end of story....(and not ones that are on PS360)

[showtimefolks]

Guess what still no 3rd party support and gangs something both ps3 and xbox360 had

Wiiu will sell 45-60 million life time which is success but it won't be able to compete with Xbox or ps4

[stragomccloud]

Just like the Wii, right?

[jrbeerman11]

the wii sold because of the novelty of the controller. I bet a majority of Wiis sold never played anything other than wiisports.

[Eyeco]

That can be further backed by the Wii having the lowest attach rate of any console this gen and according to a neilson study it's also the least used console of the gen. I mean look at the top 20 best selling games on the system, the vast majority of all the games sold on the Wii can be attributed to just those 20 games.

[kikizoo]

Ok, but don't forget : it's now, or never for wiiu, after ps4/720 launch = the end.

[BullyMangler]

wounded

[falcon79]

The WiiU sold 3 million by end of december 2012 thats the true data its close to 3.5 million now.

[Kran]

Imagine a world where it wasn't? o.O

[jester1122]

The wii u has a 32 gb hard drive and no Ethernet port all I need to know about a so called next console. I mean no Ethernet port is so ridiculous means they don't care about online gaming. Because all I need is a bunch of people with 1.5 mps using wireless connections no thanks...

[Gamer1982]

There also comparing to 2 consoles that had NO games at the times. How about they compare it to the PS3 launch in Europe alone? The PS3 launch wasn't worldwide and it sold almost as many as the WiiU and thats without the goliath that is COD and no massive first party games. It sold 2 million in Europe in its first week! So this story is just trying to prove that the WiiU is a better console when its not.. IT's not even out selling a console thats near the end of its lifecycle thats already had its next generation announced!

[Dj7FairyTail]

Wii U

Hardware 3.06m
Software 11.69m
NSMB U 2.01m (dat attach rate)
Nintendo Land 2.33m (this one is bundled with Deluxe WiiU)

Nintendo Q3 Reports

search it

[ijust2good]

The differences were that XBOX 360 and Original Wii at huge shortages. U can go to any retailer and see tons of unsold Wii U's.

[MaverickStar7]

People like the VGchartz stats when they say what they want them to say, hate them when they don't. So what other source shall we use? Even if they are not 100% accurate, the margin of error is probably small. And for the purpose of armchair analysts arguing among themselves like it actually means anything to their lives, VGchartz is a more than adequate source.

[Gimmemorebubblez]

The WiiU is not dead but the fact of the matter is that after launch the WiiU's sales dropped off a cliff. No one talks much about the WiiU. Do I thinks it's doomed? No
Do I think it's in trouble? Yes.

[Kos-Mos]

Don`t give this one more bubbles. It`s a troll.

[HammadTheBeast]

Oh the irony!

[Nodoze]

Agreed. IMHO I think the WiiU is in far worse shape than the 3DS was in before Nintendo put all hands on deck. The 3DS has since course corrected. Nintendo needs the same approach for the WiiU. They need to flood it with quality first party offerings.

Also the fact that there was no WiiU Sports as part of the initial offering was EXTREMELY short sighted on the part of Nintendo. This would have potentially brought in those casuals. Instead they opted to target the 'core' with a console that is at best dated. The fact that there is no hard drive is REALLY going to limit the longevity.

[aquamala]

people have such a short memory, what were people saying about 3DS this time last year? how is it doing now?

[Soplox]

Because the 3DS received a huge pricecut 6 months later after its launch day. IDT the Wii U will get a pricecut, at least not so soon. If I remember Reggi said that it wont get a pricecut and copared it to the Wii saying that the Wii stayed at it launch price for a long time.

[Dj7FairyTail]

3DS need Price Cut and Games.

Wii U just need the games. Which are taken too long to come because we all know Nintendo they spend time on they games to make sure is FULL GAME not a rushed half assed game that will have lock Content and Day one DLC

[jrbeerman11]

Nintendo is the KING of handhelds, a price cut and more games and its doing well. besides, every parent that ever buys their kids a handheld is going to buy a gameboy, i just needs to be withing price range.

the console however needs to do something more compelling, people already have wiimotes and tablets, need to give consumers another reason to purchase.

i feel like nintendo spends so much time trying to find new markets, that it forgets the core market. xbox is not far behind.

the tablet controller does not have the same selling power as the wiimote unfortunately, so nintendo needs to do more to move units. like super smash bros, metroid, 3d mario or zelda. (one of these should have been a launch title CMON)

[porkChop]

"i feel like nintendo spends so much time trying to find new markets, that it forgets the core market. xbox is not far behind."

_______________

That's exactly what Nintendo does. They cater to one market/demographic, and then when they launch a new console they completely abandon their previous market and fans in favor of searching for something new.

It seems like Nintendo thinks that the previous market will automatically buy the new console so Nintendo doesn't have to cater to them anymore to get their money. But it doesn't work like that. You can't just expect the console to sell itself to one market while you work at selling it to another one.

Another huge problem that Nintendo is facing is that the 2 main markets (core and casual) aren't interested in what Nintendo is offering.

Casual gamers have moved on to tablets, smartphones, etc. where they can get cheap or free games that suit all their needs, and they have the benefit of being able to take them anywhere.

Nintendo completely abandoned the core gamers. The core gamers are the most important market for any console. They're the gamers who will buy up all those games. They're the lifeblood of consoles and are where the vast majority of support comes from. Nintendo burned them, and those gamers aren't stupid. They're not going to be fooled again.

They expect lots of power and 3rd party support in their consoles. Nintendo had strong 3rd party support at launch, and now its mostly died off. As for power, it's obvious that the Wii U is little more than a current gen console with a tablet. It's going to be very hard to get those core gamers on board now.

With those markets gone, all Nintendo really has right now is the die-hard Nintendo fans. Still a significant chunk of gamers there no doubt, but it's not enough to sustain the console in the long run.

[Jek_Porkins]

I think VG Chartz is off, like always. I have read from several places that the Wii U is over 3 million sold, which is on par or a tad better than the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Wii U needs compelling software and possibly a price drop, thinking Nintendo uses great AAA first party titles and that price drop to combat the next Xbox and PlayStation launches respectively. Nintendo could also benefit from a shortage from those other two systems.

[BitbyDeath]

VG Chartz only grabs numbers from-
USA, UK, Germany, France, Japan

Link - http://www.vgchartz.com/met...

So it is missing a large portion of sales from the rest of the world.

[BitbyDeath]

They really comparing Wii U's global release numbers to PS3 which had only launched in Japan and US in the same timeframe?

[bicfitness]

I know. And the PS3 (and 360) was supply constrained at launch. The Nintendo hardcore are clutching at straws. No one is arguing that the Wii U didn't have a nice Christmas and sell out to the Ninty fans. It just hasn't sold to anyone else.

Neither the PS3 nor the 360 did 57-64K sales/ month IN ANY OF THEIR FIRST FOUR MONTHS ON THE NORTH AMERICAN MARKET. That is what everyone with sense knows.

The demand for the Wii U has dropped right off a cliff.

[jmc8888]

You forget that the 360 and PS3 didn't have the 360 and PS3 worthy consoles competing against it at much lower prices.

Basically the basic PS3 and 360 are at Wii prices, while the Wii U is there. So it's not the same marketplace.

Plus we are in a depression. (unless you believe the made up numbers lol)

[jakmckratos]

well with a $300 an $350 price point they are a lot cheaper..don't forget that.

[jmc8888]

Than the 360 and PS3?

No they are not.

[porkChop]

He's talking about launch prices.

[Trago1337]

It's quite simple, when the games come, the sales will pick right back up. Why are people so surprised about this concept? i mean, look at the Vita, There isn't a single "Must Have" game on the platform at the moment, there are great games available for it, but no System seller.

Same thing with Wii U, Monster Hunter, Lego city, great games, but not system sellers.

Even upcoming games, like Bayonetta 2, will likely be great, but i'm not too sure if it will sell that many systems. it's like the retailers keep harping, it needs strong first party software to drive sales.

So until that happens, Wii U sales will trudge along slowly.

I am very interested to see how Sony and MS will price the PS4 and 720, and how they plan on competing with the Wii U.

[brew]

The PS3 wasn't even out in Europe yet at this point.

[GamersRulz]

also it was $250 more expensive than WiiU

[PeZuS]

This. Align launches and PS3 sales are destroying WiiU sales.

[Grimhammer00]

Do we really need to discuss apples & oranges?
Economical climate was different back during ps3 launch. The consoles were fighting the HD surge with people not certain they needed to go HD.
Games were also just getting interesting....and both consoles were quick to get games into our hands. Then theres the 3rd party love that ninny haven't had in 7yrs!!!!

They thought they could ride the motion control success into tablet trend. They failed to understand what tablets bring to our tables. In terms of ninny....games..Tablet gaming is cheap.
Ninny can not or will not go there.

They also have great ips! But don't understand how to get them into console hands.

Ninny are just lost. Kinda in freefall. But certainly have money to burn. So wiiU won't destroy them.
They may even turn it around. But the difficult choices they'll need to make may feel very un-ninny

[josephayal]

The Wii U doesn’t need a price cut – it needs a better strategy

[hahaha]

The strategy is a price cut.

[MysticStrummer]

WiiU needs a price cut to even stay a semi relevant topic. Right or wrong, it's not seen as being next gen.

[hahaha]

Totally agree. Most people only see it as a Wii version 2.0

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

Only the people here on N4g see it as not next gen, and that's what? A few hundred people? Next gen = the next generation of console. Spin it as much as you want and sound as desperate as you want, you can't change that.

[ozstar]

It has a strategy, be really cheap and be different.

When 720, PS4 and Steam Machine compete for the same market, Nintendo keeps their own slice.

[tonywood]

NOT SO FAST.....
Wii U numbers are already leveling off, where as the "Real" next/current gen systems blew up. That happened because the other 2 systems' released big time games.

The Wii U doesnt have anything that makes people want to buy it in the future. Wii 1 stole money, thanks to presenting a new way to play...using that mis-direction to distract from pricey add on's (controllers, wii mote, wheels..ect), and weak graphics. Wii U must drop price (a lot) or it will be the next dreamcast. (Man, I loved the dreamcast! )

[americanman1]

yes, fanboys cannot handle reality, when the ps4 and 720 come out and they do not sale as well as wii u, everyone will say, give them time! and vgs sales fictional? where do you get your numbers, sony and Microsoft must win dot com? please. video games charts is legit. just because Nintendo haters say the charts are fictional, does not make it so. sony and micro soft fans just choose not to live in reality.. Nintendo wii u will last, it's not up to the biased haters, but the Nintendo fans. games like Mario, Zelda, monster hunter, smash bros. they always keep Nintendo afloat.. but what ever helps the haters sleep at night.. again what charts do you go by mike pachter? yeah, what a crap of bull crap face biased lair he is!! yeah he hates Nintendo and has his nose so far up sony and Microsoft's butt, it's like trusting fox news for honest and fair news about Obama.. just because you do not like the video game sales charts, does not mean they are not facts!! get over it haters!!

[Mr_Writer85]

Can't handle reality? Irony?

How did Zelda, Mario, Metroid and all the others save the N64 and GC? They didn't that's why Nintendo went chasing non gamers because its fanboys let then down.

The WiiU is going to bomb as Nintendo have lucked out, the casuals and non gamers don't care about another gimmicky console. They've moved onto the next fad.

So all Nintendo are left with are the die hards. And these first party games the fanboys go on about? Ha other then Mario the others don't sell any better then 1st party games on other consoles. You know the two that sold over 75millilon each.

The WiiU will be lucky to sell 10million 13 when Nintendo cut their losses and sell it for less then £/€/$ 80.

[americanman1]

so they sold zero copies? sorry, check your reality, MARIO 64 SOLD 16 MILLION COPIES, ZELDA OCORANA OF TIME SOLD OVER 8 MILLION COPIES!!! what is wrong with you??? use your brain!! check the facts!!! yes I am living in reality!!! you need to wake up kiddo!! seriously, if you do not like Nintendo fine, but my god!!! to say Mario 64 and Zelda oft, did not sale is just plain stupid!!! wake up! hello are you asleep??? wow!!!! get your facts straight kid, or go ask mommy and daddy to help you look up the info okay??

[Dark_king]

@americanman1 he never said the games didn't sell.He said they didn't make the N64 and Gamecube Sell high numbers.That the Wii's success was do to bringing in a new crowd of gamers. An that many of those new gamers moved on to the next fad,which is not the WiiU.

[Mr_Writer85]

http://www.vgchartz.com/pla...

Mario sold 11millon not 16

Gran Turismo also sold 11million copies

http://www.vgchartz.com/pla...

But the Nintendo64 only sold 33million consoles compared to the 104million Playstations sold
http://www.vgchartz.com/ana...

The GameCube sold less then that. They only shifted 21million, where not ONE game made it into double figures.
http://www.vgchartz.com/pla...

So there full facts you cretin. The hardcore moved on to better things, so Nintendo went for the casuals. Watch the TV ads for the DS, 3DS and Wii all featuring family's young kids, old people, and even celebs. I give Nintendo credit they got the best out of them.

Look at the games that sold best on the Wii. Mario Galaxy, a hard core game on a casual console. Sold on 10millon copies on a console that has nearly sold 100million units. 10% of Wii owners own Galaxy, that tells you everything you need to know,

New super Mario did amazing numbers, but was aimed at the casuals who laped it up as they had nothing to play.

As I have said they have moved onto tablets, there Wii's either gathering dust or in the loft boxed away.

[ALLWRONG]

DFunny how you guys say "Nintendo will fail" when all they ever do is crush the competition. PS3 and 360 had none of the impact of the Wii. Don't get me started with how the 3DS dominates the Vita. It took the PS3 and 360 5 years just to catch up to the first couple years of Wii sales. The Wii U launch is going better than the PS3/360 launch. It's not that much higher but there it is.

[Mr_Writer85]

Errmmm N64 and the GameCube???? Failed you cretin.

Ps1 104million N64 33million

Ps2 120million GC 21million

Ps3 77million Wii 99million

Now again consider the Wii is a casual console the ps3 is only 22million and that's despite being a hardcore console and a higher price.

[shammgod]

And heeeeeeeeeeeerrrrre we go

[dangerousjo33]

the only reason wiiu is selling better 4 now then the 360/ps3 is b/c of its big 500.000 units start comepared to xbox360/ps3 300.000 starts but month to month wiiu is not touching were x360/ps3 were wiiu is selling at a all time 4 the hd gen low 99.000 units xbox360 nor ps3 has ever sold so little of units and wiiu cost less but its not a shocker the main casual buyers of nin already have a wii they stop playings years ago so why buy a new dust eater lol

[AWBrawler]

hasn't it been confirmed wii u sold over 3 million now? this article is off

[PopRocks359]

No one should be downplaying the fact that Wii U sales are slow. Though it seems like everyone ready to jump out of their seat to point that out likes to ignore the fact that it, as of now, has sold more units than the 360/PS3 in the same span of time.

And based on the comments there are people who don't even grasp the context of that sentence. Typical.

[porkChop]

You're also ignoring some facts.

1. The PS3 didn't launch worldwide like the Wii U.

2. Both the 360 and PS3 launched at much higher entry points than the Wii U.

3. The 360 and PS3 were both completely sold out for much of their 1st year, whereas there are boxes upon boxes of Wii U's just sitting on store shelves.

4. The PS3 and 360 maintained steady numbers throughout their life cycle. The Wii U sales completely dropped off only 4 months into its life cycle.

5. The attach rate of the 360 and PS3 were high, whereas the attach rate of the Wii U is very low. The people who have Wii U's aren't buying any games.

If you take all of that into account, the Wii U launch has been very bad. It doesn't matter that the Wii U had a good first 2 or 3 months. Those sales have died off and the system is in a very bad spot. Far more powerful consoles, with far more games and capabilities are coming out this year. If the Wii U isn't selling now, just imagine what's going to happen when the real next gen systems come out.

The Wii U doesn't have the hardware or support to compete next gen, hell it's having a hard enough time competing in THIS gen. Gamers are looking to move on from this gen. They're looking for better graphics, more power, bigger worlds, more things happening on screen, better online capabilities, more socially connected ecosystems. They want evolution in all aspects, not just one. The Wii U doesn't provide that. What it provides is an enhanced current gen experience with an interesting take on gameplay. But unfortunately that controller isn't enough.

[PopRocks359]

While you brought up some good points, particularly involving the Wii U's early sales boost, but I have some rebuttals.

"just imagine what's going to happen when the real next gen systems come out."

The Wii U is categorically a next generation console. I get it, the specs are not up to par with the PS4/720. Graphics is not the focus of the Wii U. That's what Nintendo and developers were saying long before it came out. Graphics do not dictate a console's success; The NES, SNES, Playstation, Playstation 2, DS, 3DS and Wii are all examples of it.

"hell it's having a hard enough time competing in THIS gen."

The PS2 was outselling the PS3 for a time and the PSP had been outselling the Vita for a time. New consoles generally have slow beginnings in the market anyway.

"But unfortunately that controller isn't enough."

Any digital artist will tell you that it is not about what tools you have, but how you use them. To be fair, I never expected the Wii U to wow anyone since its controller was not really "new." It has functionality present in the DS/3DS/Vita and other touch based devices.

But I don't see that as detrimental and I also don't see why that would be unappealing, especially if the functionality in question is optional.

[dangerousjo33]

lol wii was doing 900.000 units a month at start till 2010 x360 300.000 units a month from start and still is doing that now n 2013 . ps3 300.000 units a month from start and now doing like 400.000 a month now 2013. wiiu started a 500.000 units first month and then did 1 mill units in dec 2012 then did 200.000 units in jan 2013 then did 99.000 units in feb all time low in hd gen. 64.000 units so far this month march 2013.

[CPTN MITCHELL]

Price tag get it right 599.99 to 349.99 U see the difference

[lilbroRx]

Get it right.

Economy 2006/2007 {GOOD} ( Peope had more income and less competition from other gaming devices)
Economy 2013 {BAD}

See the difference?

Also, for all of you who say the price is the reason for the difference, then why do so many people think the PS4/Durango are going to do better when they will also be higher priced than the Wii U? Do they expect price to only make a difference when its convenient for them?

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

Oh NOW Vgchartz is Wrong?!
(Now that the figure are presented to you correctly.)
What about this? http://www.gamesindustry.bi...

Trolls know they can make excuses and then accuse other people of making excuses.

I have seen these figures and have been saying the same thing.

WiiU has been low compared to Wii- not PS360.

WiiU needs better sales and could have better sales but it needs GAMES.
Yes, Nintendo and the Industry should have had games ready for WiiU.
Yes, it would have been better.
BUT here we are and the WiiU is selling better than the comp. did.

Also, Don't bring up the FUTURE sales of PS4 and 720 as facts, unless you own a Blue Police Box or your name is Hiro.
-The WW Economy stinks and we all will do well to factor that into industry sales.

[AWBrawler]

Lol I doubt anyone else get's the doctor who joke

[khowat]

IMHO who cares if the wii u is doing good or bad, if you're a nintendo fan then you know nintendo's gonna support their console no matter what and if they don't get the third party support they desperately want does it even matter?

[lema008]

Here in America, people have been receiving there tax refunds and have disposable income yet sales are flat.

Did they rely on Rayman Legends too much? That's strange because it's only one game.

[black911]

Shouldn't it be?

[chuckyj1]

I think Nintendo was just too slow getting their big games to the market. Nintendo is what sells Nintendo Systems. Their presence just wasn't there at launch. I guess Mario just wasn't big enough to carry the system alone.

Many people said Wii U had the best launch line-up possibly ever? Well what happened? The games just weren't as good as many people thought they would be.

Nintendo is in a tough spot right now and they know it, but they can rebound. They just need to get their marquee titles out.

[dangerousjo33]

lol wiiu has outsold ps3/xbox360 in the same amount of months by alttle 100.000 units what well wiiu do next month when they sell another 99.000 units and they fall behinde by 300.000 units the wiiu isnt selling more each month their selling less so how well they be able to keep up with what 360/ps3 did and stll are doing.

[TheSaint]

Why are they comparing a new console to one that is near the end of it's life?

Doesn't seem sensible. Lets see what the sales are like when the next Sony/MS consoles release.

[Benjaminkno]

Well that's sure got you fanboys all riled up.
At least Nintendo is "making money", which is the entire reason for selling a product.

Those ads in the article are terrible!!

[Optical_Matrix]

I must say, this is some magnificent spin. Bravo. You just lost what little credibility your no name site possibly did have.

@Benjaminkno. Er, no, they're not. They're selling Wii U at a loss.

[arbitor365]

funny. becuase those consoles were pretty much sold out their first 6 months, going for insane mark-ups on ebay and other sites.

the wii u, on the other hand, is piled up in every store you go to and demand is dead in the water. the fact that they are already talking about a price cut, 4 months into the console's life (while its already pretty cheap) should be big indication that the wii u does not have as bright of a future as those consoles.

[Sako]

While launch sales are important, what really matters is that they keep steady sales rates

[blastcorp64]

Why do people hate the wiiu on this site so much? If its irrelevent, why all the discussion?

[BrianC6234]

If people would stop posting this crap nobody would have to talk about it.

[Lysander91]

I have no idea how accurate these numbers are, but the XBox 360 and PS3 were still difficult to find four months after they launched. There have been a stack of WiiU's at the two Best Buy's I shop at since December. Supply constrained 360 and PS3 sales. The WiiU's problem is demand.

[Captain Tuttle]

2 things:

1. Both the 360 and PS3 were severely supply constrained, something the WiiU doesn't suffer from.

2. VGChartz lol

[BrianC6234]

Boring. Why waste your money on a console that is nothing more than the last generation? Just wait until the end of this year and buy a real next gen console.

[THEMIGHTYDOOVDE]

Have to laugh at fanboys for playing down VG Chartz but when it comes to the PS360 sales it the first thing they turn to!

[eliteslaya13]

Weekly sales for a four month-old console are better than those of two seven to eight year-old consoles?

Now that's news-worthy.

[Hydralysk]

Yay, more speculative sales figures/projections!

I'm not looking forward to the next 2 years as I'm pretty sure all the PS3/360/Wii will be coming out of the woodwork to rage at each other based on the newest 'info' (i.e rumours).

[Dj7FairyTail]

WRONG WRONG

http://www.gamespot.com/for...

Nintendo Wii U sold 3.06m as of Nov.18-Dec.31

FROM Nintendo themselves REPORTED THE NUMBERS

VGChartz are undertracked.

[TheCopyNinja]

Yep sales matters most. Go Buy a Wii or Wii U and tell me with a straight face its more fun/better than a PS3 so i can laugh in your face.

[DarkZane]

There is a reason for that, the WiiU just shipped more units than the other 2 in the same time.

I remember trying to buy a ps3 early and couldn't find one in store, while right now, it's impossible not to find a WiiU if you want one.

I imagine a lot of people couldn't find a ps3 or 360, thus why it sold less. If there would have been the same amount on the market, the PS3 and 360 would have sold more.

[jjank11]

I want to sit here and defend Nintendo and say that the Wii U will end up selling a crap load and that the business model for the Wii U is great but i have trouble seeing that right now. The only thing spectacular about the Wii U is the power consumption and one could argue their Nintendo Network is the next leap in social gaming.
The gamepad, although cool, kind of missed a big opportunity.

They missed an opportunity to do something special overall.

Nintendo needs to rethink their business model because all this new mobile technology is going to start eating into their handhelds, if it already has not.

It feels to me like Nintendo is going to have to release a new console in just a couple years time.

The advantage that Nintendo has right now is really only their franchises and that is starting to lose it allure.

[oxcar1]

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.... xD yeah... sure...

[oxcar1]

Who paid that guy?

[solidworm]

The WiiU as bombed, bombed bad, bombed so far into the dust it aint funny. Glad though cos Nintendo have become arrogant money grubbing retards so fcuk em,.

[violents]

It doesn't say much when your brand new "next gen" hardware is barely beating the sales of the 7 year old last gen tech of your competitors. With the ps4/720 consoles on the horizon, ninty must be worried with sales figures like this what will they have to offer when the competition comes out?

[crazysammy]

It makes me almost tear up to see Xbox and PS fans coming together to bash Nintendo... almost.