At 57K sold, Wii U's January performance is historically abysmal

Gamasutra, Matt Matthews- "I wrote on Monday that the NPD Group's retail sales estimates for the U.S. video game market would reveal the kind of enthusiasm that consumers had for Nintendo's hardware in the post-holiday period. I surely didn't foresee figures in the 50,000-59,000 range, but that's what our internal estimates showed. CNet's sources put that number at 57,000, so we'll just go with that.

Those aren't just terrible figures for the Wii U; they're terrible for any system in recent memory."

[Gimmemorebubblez]

Ouch!

[LOL_WUT]

autsch!

[WrAiTh Sp3cTr3]

Nah, this is just to keep the attention off of Vita.

[miyamoto]

Price cut imminent!
like GameCube and 3DS

going HD not ready ....
hurry up Ninty

[darthv72]

will be worth more in the long run if it fails to get a footing.

The obscure consoles of the past have some of the most sought after titles because they didnt sell as much.

That is looking at it from a collectors POV.

[DatNJDom81]

I understand that the wii-u is not performing well. But all these doomed articles are jumping the gun. Lets give the wii-u some time and wait till its game library grows. I wont be buying a wii-u since PS4 is around the corner. But Im pretty sure wii-u will begin picking up eventually.

[AsimLeonheart]

Nintendo fanboys cannot refute or deny this news. It is backed by facts and figures. I do not hate Nintendo or Wii U but I do hate denial and failure to accept reality.

[Crazyglues]

Ouch! is a bit of an understatement...

[elmaton98]

The gamecube was a great system. The nintendo wii was nevolutionary but now the wiiu is competing with the ps360 so their not doing anything great with what they have right now but still nintendo has always been about the exclusive and nothing else or so i think

[SilentNegotiator]

People were saying that WiiU was one of the "fastest selling" way too soon. An explosive launch means very little in the long run.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

I am not gonna count nintnedo out. I rather wait 2 years then 3 months to see their future. I remember when ps3 was dead in 2006 - 2007.

Seems to be doing good now.

It's seems a lot of people here want nintendo to go out of business because nintendo seems to offend peoples love for other consoles somehow.

Seriously imagine the game industry with only sony and MS. Nintendo fills a void as they are like no other company imo. They are just as great as sony but different. And MS I can care less about.

[perfectCarbonara]

When people said PS3 was dead in 06 there werent new HD consoles on the horizon. So plenty of time for it to recover. Now you tell me, when the superior PS4 and Xbox720 get announced in a couple of weeks who's gonna remember WiiU ?

[SilentNegotiator]

Except Ps3 was called "dead" when it was actually selling and as PerfectCarbonara said "there werent new HD consoles on the horizon"

[Muffins1223]

Yep...im not surprised.The seconde they announced wiiu i sold nintendo's stock...also i would buy sony's and microsoft's stock.Now i know the xbox brad will do bad next gen guys but xbox is just a small porportion of microsoft....

[SilentNegotiator]

The time to sell NTDOY was a long time ago. At this point, they may not even sink much lower and will see a nice growth once they start seeing early costs climbed over. BUYING NTDOY soon might be a smarter move.

SNE is a toss up. They're at a pretty low point. They will have to impress to turn things around. I think it's worth waiting to see if they make some more smart changes.

MSFT hasn't made serious growth away from the $30-ish average in over a decade. If a "at least my money will be safe" approach is what you want, then fine, invest in MSFT. If you're like me and belief that investing is a waste of time unless your money grows (because money becomes worth less over time, thanks to inflation), then MSFT isn't the way to go.

I put a lot of thought into investing in the big three, but decided against it.

@Darkride
DEFINITELY materials. Well, 5-10 years ago, anyway. I kick myself every day for not investing in gold while it was getting hot. I could be sitting on a literal goldmine.

[Anon1974]

I wouldn't touch any of them. Who knows what's going to happen with Nintendo in the next couple of years. The company has a long way to go replacing the revenue the DS and Wii provided. I'm sure they'll be fine, but I can't see the stock doing anything in the near term.

Microsoft I wouldn't touch with an 8 foot pole. Sales of Windows 8 hasn't done nearly what they expected and the PC market is just being taken to town as tablet sales skyrocket. Microsoft isn't going anywhere, but I just don't see the growth there (and the size of the game division as a whole just isn't enough to make a difference on way or another). I just don't know where their growth is going to come from in the next few years. I can't see the stock really going anywhere.

Sony's in the same boat as far as I'm concerned. I see the analysts at my old firm has Sony at a "Strong Buy" but they're still at the mercy of foreign exchange markets while half way through a pretty extensive recovery. Gamers will no doubt be excited about the PS4, but just like Microsoft the gaming division is just a drop in the bucket compared to overall operations. If Sony is able to restructure and come out stronger, this would probably be the time to buy and tuck the stuck away for a couple of years..but at best it's a gamble given the current market conditions, and I can't see the TV market picking up anytime soon.

If you've got money to lose, take a gamble, but for investors with a longer time horizon I wouldn't touch any of the above.

Nope. Financials, Energy, Materials, a few bonds. Buy and hold, ride it out. Mind you, I've been out of the financial planning game for a few years now. :)

[MarkusMcNugen]

@darkride66

Microsoft may be worth investing into in a few months. Although Windows 8 isnt doing so well at the moment, if the rumors about Windows Blue are true, adoption rate may go up a decent amount. Of course there's Windows 9 at some point in the future. Invest at a low price while Windows 8 is doing terrible, and watch the price rise when Windows Blue and/or Windows 9 is rumored and on the way.

Also, while the Surface RT has not sold that great, sales for Surface Pro are expected to be high. If they sell well enough, I would not be surprised if Microsoft becomes a permanent player in the tablet market with a future Surface lineup.

But hey, Im just a guy making some guesses.

[BullyMangler]

12

[BullyMangler]

i dont understand how in the bloody earth a videogame system gonna sell 57,000 FIFTY SEVEN THOUSAND UNITS in just one month when it aint even got any REAL games yet? ? . mindboggling

[user3915800]

The WII-U was not abysmal, its simply the greatest low expectation of nintendo, from the consumer point of view. They tried to engage on gimmicks like on the wii, casual fail for it and now has learn, that they had the console with less support and the games were low compare to both ps3 and 360. They tried to compete with ps3/360 and now have a console 7 years old coming in looking for a naxt gen. People can be open minded, but now you are aware that chances given and kindness can only last so long. WII-U its A DISASTER, this console will drop their shares down so fast, but at least they have the guts to bring something to move forward. STOP THE WIIU NOW, be polite and cruel with mission depended goals and bring us a console on par with 720 and ps4, just get rid of the garbage wiiu.

[bicfitness]

I wouldn't be surprised if they miss their 4 million goal at this rate. I don't think that MH in March will give them the boost they're hoping for. Those "core" Nintendo fans were the ones who bought the system at Launch.

[d0nni3]

MH Will give them a big boost in Japan, that's pretty much a given. Looking at the near future it's hard to see where the system sellers will be world wide, it's going to be a rough year for Nintendo and i hope they can produce some quality content to help improve their sales because the PS4, Nextbox pre launches and the actual launch could really kill off the enthusiasm

[bicfitness]

I thought it was already out in Japan. The HD version - not the 3DS one. It is unlikely that MH will be much of a system seller in NA, and that's all Ninty really have left in terms of "big" releases for the quarter.

[Qrphe]

It already came out in Japan and sold 0.2 million units. If anything, hope for a boost in the West.

[SpartanGR]

Nintendo sucks and people won't fall for another wiigate. They sell old hardware at premium price.

[Kos-Mos]

No, you`re a towel.

[SpartanGR]

And you're a faucet

[bicfitness]

Bubbled up for "funny", SpartanGR. Nothing like a good counter-troll. And everything you said in your first post is spot on.

[DigitalSmoke]

My good friends, I love Nintendo, but this isn't it.
The WiiU will not be a Wii type of succes and i knew it right away when i saw the controler.
If they released a Wii2 with seriously upgraded hardware and Wiimote sales would have been much better, shit i would have got one.

[Crazyglues]

Actually the controller is the best part of the system, have you played Zombie U or anything else on it... Having that extra screen in the hand is a good feature... Not that special, but the screen on controller works Awesome..

...And being able to be on the controller playing the game while in another room or while someone else is watching the TV... Awesome...

No Nintendo's Real problem is, once again what every system has to worry about, where are the Games? -The ones people want to play... (you know the reason why I bought your console right now instead of waiting)

-There are games don't get me wrong but the die-hard's are waiting for Zelda and the real Mario game and the other big games.. The key franchise blockbusters... -before they buy.

A system doesn't sell itself, the Games sell the system, so sadly your system can only be as good as it's games....

[DigitalSmoke]

There are no games because the screen is a Gimick...
Zelda is great, it sells anything even cardboard boxes, that doesn't mean the boxes are good.

Its not getting close to the succes of the Wii, not in a long shot since it does not capture the imagination like the Wii did, nor does it pack the punch to battle Playstation or the Nextbox.

[NeoTribe]

You said the screen was a great feature than immediately said that its nothing special. Thats where i stopped reading your comment.

[Crazyglues]

@ NeoTribe

Well that's too bad for you, because like I said it's a great feature, while it's nothing special meaning it's not a must have (like I have to buy this system because it has this)

It is however a nice feature, because having the option is better then not having it...

If you can't understand that then I really need to stop making comments on N4G because the level of comprehension from you kids is at an all time low..

R.I.F (Reading is Fundamental) -how can you understand something or get a good idea of what the person is talking about if you didn't even bother to read it... ???

[nintendoland]

@digitalsmoke

"There are no games because the screen is a Gimick"

that doesn't even make any sense

[NYC_Gamer]

Nintendo thought the casuals would eat Wii-U up like they did with the original Wii

[Rainstorm81]

Sad thing is most casuals don't know exactly what the Wii-U is..........the slow start of the Wii-U shows that the way a company unveils a console has a lasting effect

[Crazyglues]

Not just that, but calling it the Wii-U didn't help either because to the casual market they just think the Wii-U is some accessory for the Wii..

Hell I just read an article the other day where that's exactly what they were calling the Wii-U (an accessory for your Wii, they literary said you can add this controller with a screen to your wii)

Epic Fail..

[AngelicIceDiamond]

That's the thing about the casual market. You have to explain things to them Real...slowww. Casuals are easily the misled market.

[gillri]

Gimme an exclusive Wii U Metroid or Wii U Zelda and ill buy you for certain...until then not a chance

[ozzywazzy]

The Wii U is one for the history books.

[dark-hollow]

If you think that is bad and it will lead to the console demise then you are delusional because it selling as good or even better as the 360/ps3 were at launch.

[NYC_Gamer]

PS3 and 360 where much higher at launch and both sold more units in january

Jan 07 PS3&360 numbers-
Xbox 360: 294,000
PlayStation 3: 244,000

http://www.psxextreme.com/p...

[miyamoto]

Sony knows its target market since 1994.

PS3 can easily counter a $50 price cut Wii U offers at any given time with a $200 SRP.

I saw it in 2009 and the PS3 will replace the original Wii as the more affordable console this year.

[SilentNegotiator]

So you completely and utterly don't understand the idea of "January performance being historically abysmal" then?

They had an explosive launch. So what? Now they have to try to keep long term success, and 57K, even in a January, is not doing so.

[riverstars86]

In all honesty, who exactly is going to buy the Wii U once the new Playstation and Xbox come out? The console doesn't have the mainstream appeal from casual gamers and doesn't have the games that core gamers want. It is going to have very little 3rd party support and the only reason I own one is for 1st party games. It really is a disaster of a system, Nintendo severely overestimated the Wii brandname and did a horrendous job of marketing their new system.

As for comparing the PS3 and 360 launch numbers to the Wii U launch numbers, the market isn't the same as it was 7 years ago. The PS3 and 360 brought new groundbreaking technology and games, something the Wii U doesn't. Over those last 7 years, over 100 million consumers bought those systems to experience the new leap in gaming technology. With the Wii U, besides a touch screen controller, (which btw most people don't care about) there is nothing that separates the system from the PS3 and 360. In fact, the online infrastructure for the Wii U is abysmal compared to 7 year old consoles.

Basically what I am trying to say is those 100+ million consumers are going to want to move on to the PS4 and 720 over the Wii U because they will prove to be a lot more superior in overall capability compared to the Wii U, PS3, and 360. The Wii U has a strong chance of being Nintendo's worst selling console of all time. Nintendo really messed up bad this generation, hopefully they don't end up leaving the console business because of it.

[IAmTheBest35]

nintendo really messed up bad this generation? dude, this generation has barely even started. LOL wow. you really do have to step back and recognize what youre saying. really think about it, youre saying that nintendo has really messed up bad this generation, when the competition hasnt even been ANNOUNCED yet. what if they mess up worse? what if they dont allow used games? what if they force you to be online just to play your games? we have not even the slightest clue as to what this next generation could be like, so dont act like you know how its going to go down.

you say hopefully nintendo doesnt leave the console business because of it.. well, i assure you, they wont. nintendo makes a lot more money off of games than sony, microsoft, activision, or ea. i promise you, they are here to stay.

[dgonza40]

Hopefully this pushes their creativity software-wise and they come up with some great new stuff.

They also need to market this better because if i was a casual gamer/consumer, i would think the WiiU is an add-on.
these sales seem to reflect that sentiment.

[paul1974]

You lot make me sick to the core! why beat down on Nintendo??? you think Sony and MS are not taking note and are concerned? this is the sad times the world economy finds itself i'm afraid! the fact many people on here wish the demise of nintendo is horrid! they are part of the reason consoles survive! they co-worked with sony to bring ps1!!! support is needed by everyone and also to say its pathetic console is damn right wrong! I have sony and wii u and i enjoy the wiiu it offers great features such as off screen tv play! miiverse is excellent, the web engine is fantastic! and the games will only get better! you wishing for Nintendo to fail shows you are just kids as if they were to fail means people lively hoods are lost and more gaming companies whp produce games also will fail!!! I wish nintendo well and hope this is just a blip with more advertising and better games will see it reach its goals

[KwietStorm_BLM]

!!!! !! !!!!!!! !

[Rainstorm81]

Other more expensive devices selling extremely well speak against the economy excuse....the problem IMHO is brand confusion.

Nintendo released numerous peripherals/games with the Wii surname that now Nintys main audience from this generation undoubtedly thinks the Wii-U is a 300-350$ Wii add-on

Nintendo created the situation that they are in.

[riverstars86]

The Wii U is not going to be successful Paul. It was critical for Nintendo to show the value of owning a Wii U during the 1 year head start they had on the competition and Nintendo failed MISERABLY. No one knows about the console or if it is even a console to begin with. That is awful marketing and Nintendo dropped the bomb on their chance to make an positive impression with the Wii U. Once the PS4 and 720 are revealed to come out this year, do you think that is going to help Wii U sales? Nintendo failed on all fronts; hardware, software, and marketing.

[Ck1x]

Because being out on the market for 4 months suddenly equals a year now... When will you silly little children ever learn not to count Nintendo out so soon? They are probably the only videogame company around that could have survived 2 generations of back-2-back home consoles with a 30 million or less installed base and still make profits at the same time. So when sales do pick up for the system it would be nice to see all of you back here in those articles claiming once again how sales suddenly don't matter. Many Sony fanboys claim that the PS3 won this generation because it has the best exclusive games and not for sales. So when did sales all of a sudden matter to you guys? Worry about what's in your own house before you start laying claims on other outside companies. Nintendo can survive with great sales of the 3ds and even a much lower than Wii installed base for the WiiU. But can Sony survive in the game industry with a struggling handheld and if PS4 fails to take off? Nothing is a guaranteed sales hit! So sure Sony diehards will sell blood to get the PS4 regardless of price. But developers are starting to talk and are worried that one of the consoles will launch with a very high price, which should concern most of you in these times.

[N4GDgAPc]

@pual1974

Actually your wrong. Nintendo screwed over Sony which is the reason why ps1 was made. Watch this. PlayStation Documentary.

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[PS3DOESIT4ME]

I hope this means they come with a price drop ASAP! That way I can justify my purchase

[Theyellowflash30]

I remember people saying the same things about the 3DS.... then Mario Kart, Mario 3D Land, and a price but hit.

A bad January because of no software does not doom a system. The Vita sold worse, selling around 30,000 units. And even that system still has a chance. They both suffer from a lack of system selling games.

[PR_FROM_OHIO]

SMH i actually have a WiiU can honestly say its been turned on like 3 times!! The reasons no games that i actually want that i cant own on my PS3 an second playing games on that damn controller sucks!

[unmannedrobot]

what an American tail...ya u have a wiiu.

[sdozzo]

Drop the price and I'll buy one for the five exclusives over the next few years.

[tweet75]

well the 2012 christmas season brought in the early adopters and there was nothing new from nintendo in january. The people who wanted a wii u got one last nov/dec. Sales will pick up though as the year goes on and more good games become available.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Can't blame it on marketing Nintendo doesn't have anything to currently market as far as new 3rd party releases go, theyll either get marketed for PlayStation and Xbox. hence last holiday Assassin's Creed and Farcry PlayStation advertise for those games and Xbox Cod and mainly their 1st party offerings

I think what it comes down to is those 3rd party games. They have already found their base of what consoles they wanna play it on, The PlayStation and Xbox. Rayman and Ninja Gaiden went multiplat so that gives consumers even more reason not to pick up a Wii U. Though realistically, Rayman and Ng aren't nearly strong enough 1st party offerings to begin with.

Nintendo needs to showcase their 1st party offerings. In I'm afraid the Wii U will have a slow months ahead because the 3rd party install base have their console of choice. E3 they'll show off stronger 1st party offerings and hopefully pick up sales this holiday.

[MasterCornholio]

Hmm i wonder what the Wii Us ambassador program will be like? That is if they drop the price shortly after launch like the 3DS but that really depends on the price of the 720 and the PS4.

Anyways i hope that Nintendo manages to increase their sales because at the moment the Wii U isnt looking too good.

[lilbroRx]

They added "historically abysmal when I refresged". Click bate confirmed. Though who expected anything less.

[Hicken]

So you're saying it's NOT doing worse than any console in recent memory? Interesting.

And someone brought up the interesting, portentous fact that new consoles will be coming out SOON that will be in direct competition with the Wii U.

Things certainly look bleak, but there's still time for Nintendo to turn it around.

[wiiulee]

wiiu is getting read to sit at 4 million so they are doing ok until the games come out..

[KwietStorm_BLM]

What's wrong with this thing? Why isn't is selling? It has Nintendo's name on it. Other than launch, I don't see any advertisements for it at all, but these numbers its been putting up are still surprising. The thing is only a few months old.

[wynams]

Surprised it has done as well as it has honestly. Non-casual gamer here with 0 interest in anything nintendo.

[the worst]

No Trophies and no zedla game
was tipping point for me not to buy

[SlyFamous02]

In the Wii's defense, it was going downhill long before the Wii-U came along.

[DivineAssault]

Can they recoop? I mean with PS4 around the corner, can they really get many people to go with them instead? Price is going to be very important here.. If PS4 is around $400 & wii u doesnt cut the price after a yr, i doubt it will recover & its sales wont stretch beyond gamecube.. Casuals aint buying this time so no more freak luck

[MEsoJD]

I'm waiting for the imminent price drop.

[LOL_WUT]

I'm pretty sure everyone is ;)

[profgerbik]

Thing is I have a pretty big feeling console sales in general aren't ever going to be as good as they were but I guess we will see. I just feel like this generation has changed quite a bit over the years.

No one really cares about consoles or enough it seems. I never see too many kids playing them anymore but there used to be a time when every kid you knew had something. Even so, richer kids have them all but they never use them or care to play them really they rather sit on their phones.

On top of seeing all these studios struggle with every game being critically mauled by it's fan base, I really don't see a bright future for gaming. Seems like the gaming community has changed for the worse as well, everything is so negative all the time it's ridiculous.

Might depend on how ground breaking these new systems are but it just doesn't seem like people care that much about playing decent games anymore to care enough to buy them.

I mean the PS Vita is literally the most functional and powerful gaming handheld in the world right now hardware wise, you think people would be buying them like hot cakes just knowing that but like I said people don't care about that anymore or playing the best games..

I tried to tell people this before the PS Vita was even released it was going to be very hard for them to sell it right now because of all the things that kids already have nowadays and I knew the Wii U would be no different.

Most kids would rather have an iPad or an iPhone over any gaming system these days, I think that is a huge part of the problem. Gaming used to be the trend but that trend is fading and people are moving on to other technology to invest their time with.

[guitar_nerd_23]

That's depressing, I think your right about kids and i-devices but I'd rather you be wrong...

Back in my day it was all about Streets of Rage and Donkey Kong Country followed later by FFVII, Metal Gear and the likes- good times.

Incidentally I picked up a Vita at launch for pretty much the reasons you described!

[josephayal]

DAM 57K? The Wii U appears to be struggling

[SOULJER]

Price drop & people will start singing a different song.

[solid_warlord]

Nintendo Specs came straight from the Ghetto for the Ghetto people.

Ghetto Power!

[BitbyDeath]

Stupid tablet is not helping them, Ninty should repackage the Wii U without it and just include the normal controller so they can lower the price.

[esemce]

It's all about the games and as of now there is nothing worth buying the console for. In time when there are good games and it's at lower price point it should sell just fine.

[XboxInnovation]

The Wii u is not even close to dead. The 3Ds went through the same problem until it started releasing games. Nintendo is so dumb to repeat the same mistake twice, but they wanted holiday sales. Once Nintendo's real games release the console will start to sell.

As far as third party support, I don't know how long it will last. It all depends on how many consoles sell.

[Ck1x]

People waiting for a price drop will keep waiting! Because they are doing exactly what I thought they would do to increase the value, by creating different system bundles. When the other systems are launched I'm sure that Nintendo will probably have even better bundles and promotions then they are currently creating with the MH and ZombiU bundles.

[chukamachine]

Don't waste your money on WII-U.

PS4 is where it's at.

More power, higher quality, top end exclusives.

Want to play Mario, use either a pc, or go use original wii, it's the same game.

[whoyouwit04]

Typical Sony fan boy that's why you guys are the worst type of gamers you glorify the failures of other companies as if it really effects you personally. I really can't imagine how you people would react if the PS4 suffer the same poor sales and it's not like it can't happen, who ever thought Sony would ever be last place any Gen, and don't even bring up that fake ass IDC report that Sony never responded to. That's what I'm saying about you Sony fans, you are so desperate to be number 1 you believe any thing and don't care what happens to the gaming community as a whole as long as Sony's doing good, Sad just plain sad, I hope I never become a corporate sheep.

[jacksheen0000]

@chukamachine

Seems like you have some hustling skills there.

Cool Beans!

[-IronMan-]

Looks like Bayonetta 2 will be multiplatform lol. TeeHeee

[AKR]

Not with Nintendo being the ones who payed to get the game developed in the first place.

Of course they won't let it trot onto other consoles.

[whoyouwit04]

man this is really sad for me to see as a gamer, why i am die hard 360 I hate to see any game company do this bad. I hope Nintendo turn things around soon one thing for sure they need to do more advertising and let people know this is not the Wii, cause I beleive that is the main problem people think its the old wii. plus I haven't seen any more adds since the thing launched.

[metroidfusion2]

I like how people assume so much and know so little facts lol well I will keep doing my research and knowing the facts andhow many times has nintendo been doomed lol and somehow came back and were successful and shut everyone up lol but of course the wii u is doomed with only 1 of the mamy AAA games out that has already sold over 2 million copies and nintendoland has over 2 million copies to come with the console/being sold so of course as soon as the mountain of AAA titles come out then the sales will go up by how much I obviously don't know but everyone knows ninty has the best selling 1st party games hands down and I'm sure there will be new ips coming etc etc ha ha and from my many months or a year+ now of doimg research I know or somewhat know nintendos plan its bad and good but will be more good down the line and I would explain it but people are just too stupid on this website and its sad and yes I check several websites a day 2 times to know all the facts instead of stupid opinions,rumors,what dumbass analysts. Say and pr talk and iwata has already said that they are fixing or are going to fix everything everyone is bitching about like fuckin babies lol and when new problems come then they will probably fix thode too damn too many sheep on this website lol

[Studio-YaMi]

You wanna know what's sad ? I want the Vita to have much more sales and be a success ! because it's a great machine and has good games on it,It's really weird that it's not selling !? :(

As for the WiiU,I'm sure the console will have much more sales when the Nintendo great exclusives starts coming,much like the PS3 and it's first year,now Sony has such great exclusives on it's machine that only an idiot(fanboy) won't get or someone that still can't afford it ?

[mochachino]

It has no games - sorry Nintendoland is not Wii Sports its a touch screen minigame collection.

Sales will pick up when the real games come out but I doubt Wii U will be very popular maybe another Gamecube with a few million more.

[V0LT]

It is severely overpriced for what it offers. I'll say it again... This is what the Wii should have been even with or without the tablet.

[madjedi]

Well who is surprised it's not selling well, the casual ship sailed a long time ago it's a gen 8 console with tweaked last gen hardware.

So gamers getting the next gen itch are looking at a half assed 2007 launch console in 2013 with a very expensive gimmicky controller, at the cost of close to last gen hardware.

It is 2013, certain things like the ability to redownload all purchased content to a new system if the current one dies is a given.

Certain decisions/facts about the wiiu prove nintendo has no idea how to design and build a modern console for the general gaming market.

A bloated 1 gig os, the hd twins are like a tenth of that, the gpu can't utilize the system memory to help make the games run better/smoother wtf really?

Loading or exiting the apps still take 20 or 30 seconds.

Why would a ps3 or 360 gamer want to put up with that bullshit from 2006 or 2007, when their current consoles are vastly superior (optimization wise).

And for $50-100 more and a little patience, they can buy a true next gen console, with next gen visuals that us lowly graphics whores deem important with either the ps4 or 720.

Yeah i really can't see why, the wiiu isn't flying off of the shelves in record numbers. /s

Sony and the ps3 had it turn being crucified by gamers and the media no it's nintendo's and the wiiu's turn.

As for the gamers calling for the fanboyism to stop and people to stop demonizing nintendo and attacking the wiiu. Where the hell were you people in 2007-2008, when the ps3 was getting tortured and nintendo fans were boasting about it's sales.

Oh right you were actively participating in the fud articles and sales articles when nintendo was doing great.

Yeah if your going to sit there and run your mouth off at the competition about how incredible your platform sales ect are, don't cry foul when they put you through the exact shit you put them threw.

Lol at all the converted fanboys, with the lets all play nice and end attacking each others system because the wiiu isn't doing hot atm. I call bullshit you made your bed now lay in it.

And the ps3's worst month was 82k, and that was at a price point of $599, $250 more than the wiiu, plz spin this as a positive it's worth a laugh.

[AKR]

~ Alright, all this doom & gloom and negativity, make it seem like the gaming world is that of a goth club. Everyone is so dark and spiteful, it's crazy.

At the end of the day - I don't like the fact that the Wii U isn't selling all that well, but you don't see me moaning and complaining like it's the end of the world.

Good grief, Nintendo-Trolls and Haters are crawling out of the woodwork, when it comes down to an article that belittles the Wii U even just a little.

People - You have to realize some important factors in the Wii U's slow start:

1.) ECONOMY ~ In case you forgot - the economy of 2013 isn't the economy of 2006. Even though the PS3 had a more expensive SKU - it still sold more. More people had more money to throw around back then. Now, throwing down the bucks for even the Wii U Basic Set is a chore. When my dad got me the Deluxe Set - it actually came to $380 dollars, because of taxes. So honestly, the Wii U is an investment. Yeah, it's worth the price, but money isn't as freely flowing now as it was 7 years ago.

2.) SOFTWARE ~ A console is as only as good and powerful as the software that charges through it's veins. You can have the most amazing car in the world, but if you're a bad driver, it's going to fail.

Same with gaming consoles - A console can have a real punch when it comes to power, but if it doesn't have quality software to drive it the right way - or even no software at all - then it's going to flop. The Wii U is indeed a quality console, with a lot of potential. But, it's support is slumping. January was bare-bones dry. If it wasn't for the few e-Shop releases, it literally would have had no support. Console launches are usually rocky on the software side, but this is expected.

Rayman Legends was supposed to be the drop of water in the parched desert that is the Wii U's current library, but with that being pushed back to September, we're going to have to wait until next month, to get some new software running through the U.

Once the Wii U has some wind in it's sails when it comes down to software - sales will improve.

So honestly - have patience. This may not be too bright, now, but it'll pick up once it's factors are a bit better. Why should Nintendo try and advertise a sleeping console? That's why ads haven't been so proactive. But once games like Pikmin 3, Monster Hunter 3, LEGO City: Undercover, Bayo2, Wind Waker HD, and other big titles are ready and avaliabe, I'm sure we'll see Ninty pushing out some ads.

At this point - I have a gut feeling they're only being silent until Sony and Microsoft make their move. They've been giving us the "silent-but-deadly" approach from since the Wii U was first announced. So, I wouldn't be surprised if they have something big being constructed in the shadows. *CoughCough - I'm talking about you RETRO - CoughCough*

[modesign]

nintendos stock is lower than sony's. not good. i guess people are jumping ship after ninte took the billions in profits on the wii and blew it on this.

[Kidmyst]

Nintendo should do a bundle with custom painted Wii U's like MSFT and Sony have done.

[squarecircle]

Nintendo are in serious trouble.

To the people who say "they need a price cut" Nintendo simple can't do it. They're already making a loss on every console sold, making profit once one game has been bought. So let's say a pricecut was made, that means 2 or 3 games need to be bought with every console to make a profit, but how do you do that when there's hardly any games out for it at the moment?

Secondly to the people who are saying "wait it out give it some time like the PS3". The people who are waiting are the people who are waiting to see what Microsoft and Sony are offering. By the time they're on sale or see the E3 hype, they're probably going to be more blown away by 2 new powerful machines than a technically outdated console that's already been on sale for a year.

At this moment the only thing they can do is quickly get their first party titles out and FAST. Time at the moment is not on their side, they're in such a unique but awkward situation. The PS3 may have been in a similar place, but they didn't have 2 new more powerful machines over the horizon and could afford a price cut.

[wiium64]

http://www.technobuffalo.co... yeah check it out wii u is not a failure, live with it fan boys.

[Thepcz]

the market is changing. the high street is changing. in uk at least. its simply vanishing!

nintendo's wiiu simnply isnt getting seen on the high street, there is no awareness, because what space there is on the shelves, is kept for the already established consoles, ps3, wii, 360 and handhelds. wiiu doesnt get a look in.

i dont think it is a problem related to nintendo, but a problem the whole industry faces.

[wiium64]

uh uh, what a lame excuse, what ever helps you fanboys sleep at night. face it, you are all over blowing this story. so are you saying 1.7 million and 1.8 million for sony and microsoft are sucesses, in their first three months, but for wii u three million is a failure? please. wow are all the sony and microsoft fans butt hurt? sounds like it to me!