Pachter says Mario Kart 8 and SSB will exceed Nintendo’s estimates

In a recent interview with GamingBolt, Michael Pachter discussed the future of Nintendo and the Wii U. Pachter has been notably critical of the Wii U, but this time he actually agreed that the newest financial estimates given by Nintendo after their financial call are very conservative on the eve of Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. releasing this year.
According to Pachter, we can expect to see around 5 to 10 million units sold because of these two games, but he doesn’t see them sparking the momentum for lifetime console sales to reach 30 million. He also states that Nintendo won’t go third party, despite these sales.

[iplay1up2]

Yes I agree with Patcher, WOW! Thats a first!

[iDadio]

Well when his estimates are so hilariously vague it's hard not to, he says 5 to 10 million like the difference between the two numbers is small

[randomass171]

For a PS2 or DS those numbers ARE small. :P But I get what you mean.

[mikeslemonade]

How about tell me something I already don't know. Of course WiiU should get to 10 mil eventually. The question is how fast. Neither MK8 and Super Smash will be enough.

From what I see on the boards the game is gonna sell a lot to people who own the WiiU. I'm not seeing a huge following of people who will buy a WiiU because of these two games. WiiU maxes out at 15 mil tops this generation before the next system comes out.

The fan-fare for Nitendo on N4G is shocking. Y'all are so delusional.

[3-4-5]

* Smash Brothers has a chance to sell even more because by then, the install base of the Wii U will be even larger, and hopefully even more so because of Mario Kart 8 + E3 announcements.

[DanManDantheMan]

Nintendo aimed reasonably low this time so they probably will.

We're talking about games that are consistently top console sellers and that sold over 33.5 and 12.4 million units their own last gen.

[randomass171]

I'm thinking that both should be able to reach at least 2 - 4 million before the end their second fiscal years.

[thehobbyist]

Hey, it's almost like these are same estimates I made just by looking at VG chartz! Oh wait, anyone with access to VG chartz could have made that assumption because none of the games in the two series have sold less than 5 million. So Pacther expecting a minimum of 5 million isn't any kind of intelligent. The guy's a joke.

[PygmelionHunter]

It's common knowledge that this guy either states the obvious, or goes against any common sense. There is no middle ground here...

[MNGamer-N]

The flipper flopper at it again.

[randomass171]

Has he ever commented specifically on Mario Kart and Smash sales before?

[Geekman]

He's usually on track with software sales predictions.

[eworthington0]

I havent been following game related news articles long. But this is the first time this dude has said something positive about nintendo. Like from the very beginning.

[Moonman]

Nintendo aimed low so they won't have to apologize for selling way more. :)

[patrik23]

nintendo shipped 2.7 million wii u consoles last fiscal year. They expect 3.6 million for this

[FlyingFoxy]

Mario Kart 8 selling really well is pretty much a given, as for ssb i'm not sure as i'm not really a fan of it.

[ELpork]

SSB maybe, but not Mario Kart.

[Chrischi1988]

What? Do you live on the moon? As much as I like Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart is definitely the bigger franchise.

[ELpork]

IN FACT I DO! ON THE WEB NOBODY KNOWS YOUR A TALKING SPACE APE!

Also I do stand corrected. I talked to a few ex-coworkers at the GStop, Mario Kart in my area is not high on the preorder list, but company wide it's selling pretty well. I'd LIKE to believe that if they put out a solid new Metroid it'd sell better but I know deep down in that crusted out thing I call a heart that it wouldn't do as well as those crap Kart games.

[Chrischi1988]

Your area doenst mean worldwide.

[Ripco_Keller]

I believe they will sell somewhere between 1 and 15 million copies.

Also can we stop giving Pachter whatever air of legitimacy he's gaining from being linked on this site?

[eworthington0]

Dude, those numbers are way too close. Its outragious to predict something like that.
Id gotta say anywhere between 0 - 1 trillion.

[thejigisup]

These games are definitely hgoing to sell. Half wiiu owners are gonna buy them. Imo these are the first real games for the system to be really excited about

[randomass171]

I think a lot of people will also adopt the system for these games as well. The boost should be pretty big.

[thejigisup]

Most definitely. I'll be picking up a wii u in a few years along with ss. Love the game but I'm really not to much off a ninty fan in recent years.

[D-riders]

def agree. nintendo wont abandon the Wii U. doesnt need to but slide into the place of the wii. then launch another system next year. that give the wii u 3.5 4 years on the market before the next console which is a short lifecycle. but they need to separate themselves from the wii period. continuing on with the Wii u was a mistake. the wii got played out after 5 years. so contiuing to push the wii name was a marketing flaw/

[Question_Mark]

Wow, Pachter actually said something positive about Nintendo? History has been made today.

[randomass171]

Haha I was thinking the same thing. Pachter is very critical of Nintendo so it's really surreal to see him say they will succeed somewhere.

[Chrischi1988]

I bet he just wanted to act like a neutral spokesman of the biz. But who will actually believe him? Him saying positive thing about something Nintendo, freaks the hell out of me.

[eworthington0]

If anything it could be a jinx. Well played...

[ritsuka666]

Looks Pachter is not more a hater of Nintendo? That's is news for me...

[Geekman]

I actually agree with him. I seriously doubt 2 games ar gonna cause sales to go up to 30 million.

*Glances at Pokemon X and Y.* Ok, we could be wrong.

[DoggyBiscuit]

This is the nicest thing Patcher ever said bout Nintendo

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

I don't care if Pachter freaking proposes to Nintendo, at this point; I still just want him out of the industry.

[optimus]

Well, i highly doubt those 2 games will move that many wiiU's...nintendo needs to bring out the big guns in one felt swoop to get things moving. Metroid, zelda, mario... Along with a massive discount and a heavy tv campaign to even get back on the radar.

[calvincrack]

I have a Super Smash Boner just thinking about all this

[LaserEyeKitty]

Doubt it. Both games are not huge system movers. Combined, the games may move six million copies within a year and maybe a low six figure sales of the WiiU. But I doubt these games will give the WiiU the sales boost or the influx of user base people believe the WiiU will get. I don't see the WiiU selling more than 900,000 more units by the end of this year at the rate they're going.