A theory behind January's weak Wii U sales

The NPD Group recently reported alarmingly low U.S. retail sales numbers for January 2013. Gamasutra analyst Matt Matthews says there may be more to that story...

[lilbroRx]

People are so fast to jump a negative conclusion when the Wii U is involved and they never want to check all of the facts. In fact, it actually seems like they want to suppress details and other possibilities.

The gaming community makes me bow my head in shame sometimes. I've never seen people "want" something bad to happen to a company so much as I see now. The resentment is ridiculous.

[PopRocks359]

That's pretty much what I've been getting at for the past handful of weeks.

The Wii U's weak January sales are cause and effect and nothing more. It was literally just after the biggest consumer event of the year and no new games came out for the it at the time. In fact, the biggest release in the following month was delayed for a little over half a year. You can't move hardware without software and right now the Wii U has nothing new that you can see on shelves.

As for the people labeling the console as a failure, sometimes in a happy or mocking manner, it is certainly sad to see that sort of immature behavior. I honestly would not mind the criticism as much if it was at least HONEST criticism.

Wii U is terrible and should fail because...

"They should go third party!" Implying that you like their games, but don't want their systems. I'm not getting Jak and Ape Escape on 3DS anytime soon, but I ain't complaining.

"You have to rebuy VC games!" Actually it's a $1 - $2 upgrade. The transfer is free and you can play your games anytime in Wii mode. You don't even get that luxury on Vita unless you bought your PSP games on PSN, and not all games were put on there. And the PS4 has zero backwards compatibility with the chance of making you rebuy games on Gaikai.

"Wii U is current gen!" Okay one, no. It's a generation after the Wii. And besides, Criterion and the developers of Trine 2 and Nano Assault Neo already proved it's stronger than the 360 and PS3!

Wow. Sorry for the wall of text guys. Rant over.

[toguns]

So much defensiveness. I'm glad you are happy with your wii u purchase however i will not be buying one for the following reasons:

First and foremoest it has no games that I am interested in

Nintendo are really out of touch with the things I like and care about as a consumer

My wii was never used. It was mostly a paper weight. I used it for maybe 200 hours in the 8ish years that I had it. I played skyrim for longer than that.

It's significantly less powerful than the nextbox and the PS4. This means that any multiplats it gets will be less powerful versions of the ones other consoles and pc get or even worse they will be less good games developed by B teams and merely released with the same title.

First 3 are fact and the last is a guess based on available information. But those are my reasons

[Donnieboi]

Stronger than ps3 and 360 isn't saying much when next gen REALLY starts. And by next gen, I mean technologically, not your manufactured idea of next gen. Remember Ouya is new too, so does that make it's tech next gen? No. So where does that leave wii U?

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

Good words @PopRocks "Well Said" Bubble-UP

@Tiqila
(Edit see this article: http://n4g.com/news/1185133...

1st Next Gen means, Next Generation (Next Invention)
BUT

Some are taking it to mean Max-Specs

which I think is a dumb way of seeing things because if PS4 is more powerful than XB720 does that mean 720 isn't Next Gen?

Where does that arbitrary Processing Power number begin and enter in Next Gen?

And if Max-Specs is the definition: then no console is Next Gen- Some PC Build is always going to be better.

@Top "Interesting" Bubble-UP

It's not defensiveness.
It's just dealing with the illogical onslaught of Fanboys, Press, and Analyst, who can't seem to get the facts straight.
It's still hard for them to admit that the WiiU is more powerful than Last Gen.

@Donnieboi
We are not boasting that the WiiU is more powerful than last Gen, it's just a fact, a FACT that many (even in the Press) have denied.
So, you can say, "Of COURSE IT IS!" -
BUT
Understand there were and still are people that don't know as much as you do.

[Cupid_Viper_3]

@CouldHaveYelledUiiW

"1st Next Gen means, Next Generation (Next Invention)
BUT Some are taking it to mean Max-Specs"

No one is taking it to mean "Max Specs" that's a make belief argument from you. But people rather associate next-gen with a "significant leap" over what's currently available. Meaning if you need a magnifying glass to spot the difference, or side by side comparisons, then it's not significant enough for the average Joe to tell it's an upgrade.

"It's just dealing with the illogical onslaught of Fanboys, Press, and Analyst, who can't seem to get the facts straight.
It's still hard for them to admit that the WiiU is more powerful than Last Gen."

I agree that there's a lot of non-sense out there, things that you wouldn't expect from respected website. But at the same time, It's hard to admit that the Wii U is more powerful then Last Gen, because it Hardly IS.

I don't mean this to slight you in any way,shape or form, but please give me a list of games on the Wii U that looks better then God of War 3 and Ascension, The uncharted Series, Gran Turismo 5, the upcoming TLoU, and Beyound: 2 Souls.

Sure, 100 is greater then 90, but by only 10 percent. Nintendo Made the Wii U with 2 GB or ram, but reserved Half of it for stuff that The PS4 and the Next XBox will be able to do without breaking a sweat. Yet half of the of system is dedicated to it. In my opinion, the gamble didn't quite pay off this time. 8 and 32 GB of hard drive space? Be serious, that's not really attractive.

Sony can sell a $600.00 console with an insane amount of bad press, yet Nintendo can't sell a $350.00 machine? It's not the press that's causing the poor sales, Nintendo simply got something seriously wrong in their equation, and the market and sales are sort of reflecting that. Whether that is price, or the offerings themselves, we have yet to find out.

It's the Same with the PS Vita for Sony, People have associated the Vita to be a slightly better PSP. (though we all know it's way more powerful) but they're not quite willing to spend that kind of money on it, plus memory cards. So a price drop is what they're waiting on.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

@ Cupid_Viper_3 - "Interesting" Bubble-Up
(I was not the one who disagreed with you)

You Say: "But people rather associate next-gen with a "significant leap" over what's currently available."

Me: That is a better ALT definition and it is a valid definition, language changes.
BUT the original meaning is the Next Invention...

You say: "I agree that there's a lot of non-sense out there, things that you wouldn't expect from respected website. But at the same time, It's hard to admit that the Wii U is more powerful then Last Gen, because it Hardly IS."

Me: I get why you say this BUT what game is built from the ground-up for the WiiU on the WiiU?
Don't get me wrong I am sure that the PS4 and 720 will be more powerful - heck even Iwata guessed it would be-
The amount is yet to be seen.

You said: "Sony can sell a $600.00 console with an insane amount of bad press, yet Nintendo can't sell a $350.00 machine?"

Me:
Again it has been 3 months.
The 3DS was declared dead and now it thrives.
Plus, even with the current lull it has out pace PS3 and 360's launch.
So, while I get your point, you are kin of comparing the KNOWN with the UNKNOWN.

So, until we Know- I will continue fighting the WiiU-Fight, like you or some people fought for PS3.

PS.
I do want to add that one thing I praise Sony for in it PS4 release was that it made sure to have launch titles that displayed the extra power to the "Core".
My only hope for Nintendo's plan for the "Core", is that the New Talent that RETRO Studios has been hiring will show something that displays the WiiU's Power and Abilities in a very "Core" way.

[MrMister]

What's this got to do with the article?

[Jadedz]

Some people (on this site anyway) don't like Nintendo, and nothing will change their opinion about the company.

@PopRocks359

It's ridiculous that some people see the Wii U as ''invaluable'' when it offers native BC with Wii games and accessories. That was the one of the reasons to buy the PS2 over the N64 (according to some - which at the time, graphics didn't matter).

As long as the Wii U sells enough units to satisfy Nintendo financially and owners get decent 3rd party support, then I'll be happy with the console.

[BitbyDeath]

"I've never seen people "want" something bad to happen to a company so much as I see now."

You missed all the hatred that PS3/Sony got over the past 7 years?

Wii was the top dog last gen as PS2 was for the gen before. Chin up you've likely got another 6 more years of Nintendo hate to come if PS3 is anything to go by.

[Orionsangel]

The Wii U is another Gamecube. Is that a bad thing?

N64 classic system
Gamecube so so
Wii classic system
Wii U so so

This trend of good, bad, good, bad system started in 96 when I cursed Nintendo for still using carts. That's just how it goes. You'll have to wait for Nintendo's next big system to get that amazing classic system. The Wii U's sales will pick up of course when they get that big Mario and Zelda game out there, but the system will never reach that phenomenal level the Wii obtained.

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

Awww come on! the Gamecube was awesome!
One of my favourite consoles!
I personally much preferred it over the Wii

Resident Evil remake
Resident Evil Zero
Luigi's mansion
Mario Sunshine
Smash bro's Melee!
Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes
Tales of Symphonia
Baten Kaitos
Super Monkey Ball 2
Animal Crossing
Paper Mario
Metroid Prime!
Pikmin
Eternal Darness
Resident Evil 4
Chibi Robo
Mario Kart Double Dash
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Billy Hatcher
Zelda Windwaker!

That's 20 amazing exclusives (apart from RE4) and I could give you a list of awesome multiplats too.
e.g Skies Of Arcadia, Timesplitters, Viewtiful Joe etc etc.

[abzdine]

N64 has never been a commercial success.

To go back to the news i dont know Wii U but for what i have seen games are lacking very much on it and lots of games on it are already released months before on other platforms. I like the creativity behind it but i dont feel it's showed correctly to the customers. When i go to a gamestop and i see people trying Wii U i dont see what is exciting in having a game running on TV and Gamepad at the same time cause that's how they are advertising it.

I will only get Wii U when they release a Zelda game on it. I'm not a Mario fan but Zelda has always made me buy Nintendo machines starting with Game Boy

[Statix]

This theory makes no sense. If there were only ~60,000 real people buying the Wii U to play it (not just to re-sell it), then what makes the author think that ~80,000 real people will buy the console in February?

EDIT: Okay, apparently the author thinks those 40,000 returns were from November-December sales, thus not counting as net sales in January. Even this sounds really fallacious to me, as not all of those ~40,000 returns will be from flippers. Many of them will be legitimate returns, or returns from purchases made in the same month (January).

[Donnieboi]

I dunno if that's true, but it sure wont rise that much in March. It likely won't rise, especially after the announcement of PS4. Ps4's showcase will put a huge damper in Wii U's sale. Sony appeared to have a very clear plan. And that's important because people want to know their investment will provide the games they desire. And Microsoft is gonna announce in a matter of weeks. MS already stole Nintendo's casuals with the kinect. So where does this leave Nintendo? Iwata is clueless. Nothing like the NES, SNES, N64 days (those Days were before Iwata became prez)

[Gamerbeyond]

the wiiu will have the shortest console life, nintendo will reveal something better within 5 yrs or even less.

[profgerbik]

If they treat it anything like the DS or 3DS then yes that will probably happen.

[MegaLagann]

There's no theory, it sold poorly because 1) Nintendo isn't advertising the thing and just assuming people will buy it because it has "Nintendo" on the box. 2) No games came out that month.

[LOL_WUT]

And it's only going to get worse once the other two consoles come out that is unless Nintendo drops the price significantly. ;)

[Hicken]

Either drop the price or commence with the games. Preferably both.

Personally, I'm waiting to see if there'll be a third game to draw me in aside from Bayonetta and Project X.

[lilbroRx]

The price point things is ridiculous because it will still be cheaper than both of them.

As it stands, there is only one things hold Wii U sales back. That is lack of actual games.

Games start dropping this month. There will be a guaranteed jump in sales this as result.

Software moves hardware. That has never changed and probably never will.

[MikeMyers]

Not sure why people are advocating a price drop so quickly when Nintendo is already losing money. Were these same people saying the same thing about the Vita after it too didn't meet sales expectations?

[Sammy112]

The Wii u isn't doing good because there aren't enough games. That's and the marketing wasn't good enough (at least here in Canada). Once ssb4 hits and they market it to be the best fighting game ever, Wii u's will fly off the counter especially if there was a bundle edition like the one with zombie poo. with a cool ssb decal on the Wii u