March 2014 NPD: Combined Wii/Wii U sales under 100,000 units, Yoshi sales

The latest NPD leaks provide estimated sales for the Wii/Wii U and Yoshi in the US last month.

[sinncross]

The hell...

[iamnsuperman]

70k is abysmal especially since its competitors are doing around that in a week. I get Nintendo may be holding out for Mario Kart but they need to do something now

[badz149]

Holding out for MK? Lol those Wii U are collecing dust on shelves and for you Nintendo is holding out? You're funny.

[iamnsuperman]

@badz149

I am unsure I get what you mean. I think Nintendo will wait until Mario Kart releases to do anything about this lack of sales issue. But I think they need to do something now

[thehitman]

@super

What bad was trying to say is that they have consoles sitting on the shelves they know they have to do something ASAP to boost sales. They are not "holding" for anything they have no choice but to wait since they have nothing else. That is the state of Nintendo since GameCube.

I think Wii was the worst thing that couldve happened to them it gave them false success that they didnt take the opportunity to learn from.

[XisThatKid]

^this omg this

[Roger2Doger]

Vita sold only 10k, which is also abysmal.

[iplay1up2]

Nintendo should have done more months ago, I do not think waiting for Mario Kart 8 to come out is going to make much of a difference. I mean it comes out in 6 weeks.

The Mario Kart Bundles are going to sell well, I am sure. Mario Kart 8 breathes a breath of fresh air into gaming. It looks AMAZING. Why any gamer would not own a Wii U at this point in time, I do not understand. The general public I get, but not gamers.

I am still playing Wii U more than PS4, and once Mario Kart comes out, I will be playing that all the time for weeks I am sure, and the replay value should be great, now that online is finally something Nintendo is getting right.

[TitanUp]

what can they do about the sales issue? drop the price even lower?

[Metallox]

Wii U it's extremely overtracked in VGC then...

[randomass171]

Sigh. Nintendo can do better. Mario Kart 8 will generate an increase for sure.

[FriedGoat]

Good luck to em'

[Magicite]

an insignificant increase.

[MightyNoX]

I hope you're right. Damn it, Nintendo, pull yourselves together.

[badz149]

At first, NSMBU was touted as a system seller but it was a short boost. Then it was Pikmin 3 which will save the Wii U but it didn't happen. And then it was gonna be Wonderful 101, same story followed by Mario 3D World...this game is believed to be the true savior the Wii U critically needed but then the PS4 and Xbone happened and Mario could only do so much and faded to the shadow. It was kinda embarassing too when people compared its sales with Knack! Oh how the mighty have fallen. Next, it's time for Zelda WW bundle and DKTF, didn't happen either.

To fanboys, no those are just the beginning, the real system seller will be MK8 and SSBU. Yeah sure...but those aren't gonna be the beginning of it but might be the last hope the Wii U have to make and impact this gen because that's almost everything Nintendo have in their arsenal of milk, sorry, games released already for the Wii U! If neither of the 2 sell buck load of consoles and then sustain it for monre than a month, I think, sadly, the Wii u will be as good as dead!

[bobacdigital]

Price drives anything... Nintendo could make the value proposition so good it will drive people to buy it. It is a huge long shot if the system ever truly sells but with their heavy hitters and a hefty price drop the might be able to put up decent numbers.

179.99 or 199.99 for a bundle?

[Concertoine]

This comment is so damn old.
Pikmin 3 never had a CHANCE to be a system seller. Its an obscure gamecube-exclusive series thats been dormant for almost a decade. The few consoles it did sell came as a surprise. Wonderful 101 is a quirky Platinum Games (never once meets sales expectations) title with absolutely no promotion.
The only games that have EVER come out on wii u with a chance to sell systems were the mario games and maybe Windwaker. And hell, they did! I would say 2/3 of wii u's sales come from around the release of those 3 games.
Also 3D World obliterated Knack in sales. It was in one country, the UK, where Knack outsold it. Knack might be closer now that it was bundled in japan.
I'm by no means suggesting the wii u is doing well by refuting your comment, its doing horribly. But most these points havent been relevant since like november.

[badz149]

@bobacdigital

The Wii U already has the price advantage but what it doesn't have is the specs and HDD space. And if you think Nintendo would sell it bundled with a game at under 200 anytime soon, you must be dreaming. The tablet controller is holding them back from doing a price cut even when the system is struggling and games are not selling even Mario is doing abyssimal by its own standard.

[Metallox]

How Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101 could have moved consoles? Stop with that, they are niche games. The reason why Wii U it's not selling it's Nintendo's own fault. Terrible marketing and no games at all.

[The 10th Rider]

Ummm, excluding games that released on multiple platforms, Mario Kart Wii is the third highest selling game of all time. Yes Mario Kart 8 will move systems. A lot? Maybe, maybe not. I personally wouldn't be surprised to see Nintendo give the Wii U a huge push at E3, right after Mario Kart hits. If not then they squandered the biggest window of opportunity by releasing their game with the highest potential to turn the system around with nothing to support it. If that's the case Nintendo is fairly hopeless.

And if you don't think they'll push it around E3, think about this: They have Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2, X, Hyrule Warriors, and Sonic Boom all supposedly hitting this year; SMT X FE, Yarn Yoshi, Miyamoto's new project, Zelda Wii U, Next Level Games new project, an NFC title, and probably a Metroid in the works. Assuming they have another surprise or two, if they show everything coming this year and half the stuff they've got coming next year that's close to ten exclusives. Many of which are top-tier games.

[Locknuts]

Haha people really disagree that Mario Kart will create an increase in sales? I think it will create 2 noticeable increases. One at launch and it will help the Wii U have a better Christmas this year. Won't save it, but it will help.

[No_Limit]

"That is just Turrible." Charles Barkley

On a serious note, I seriously don't think any game will save the Wii U now judging by these numbers. I already got the system just for the upcoming Mario Kart but the system is in dire straight now.

[randomass171]

Gotta disagree. I think any console can make a comeback. Wii U can comeback if Nintendo gets their act together.

[4Sh0w]

Wii was 28k, WiiU just over 70k,PSP around 5k, PSV little over 10k, 3DS 159k.

Nah, randomass I don't see how wii u can comeback now it's been out awhile now and sales are looking worst than ever. Mario Kart is likely to provide a short lived boost but then what? This idea that nintendo can get their act together sounds good but really how can they change wii u's current unfortunate position from their own self inflicted branding as a niche console overnight?

At least 3ds keeps kicking butt, by comparison Vita #'s are miserably low on the handheld side.

[staticdash22]

How can they make a comeback with almost non existent third party support? Multi-platform presence on your console is important, because it keeps consumers within your ecosystem. If all of the major third party franchises come to your console, then they won't invest in the competition as much. People don't buy consoles ONLY to play exclusives, regardless of how much they shout it. Even if they do, that number of people is significantly smaller than the monday night football watchers, the neighborhood families that invite friends over for BBQ and bring out the Xbox for the kids to play, etc.

Everyone doesn't have a gaming PC, and in today's economy, do you think consumers are going out and shelling almost $1,000 on three brand game consoles? Probably not. If GTA, watch dogs, COD, assassins creed, and etc all come to Wii u without them having to go buy a PS4 to play those, then you've done your job.

Much of the causal consumer base wants the all in one. Meaning they want to get COD, and GTA all on the same box. that will drive adoption of that system. This is why exclusives matter in that regard. Once you convince a consumer that your console is cool, and you have great exclusive games, plus they can play COD on it, and madden every year, they will get it. It's that simple. Nintendo has failed in this regard. Your goal is to provide all of your consumer's needs, so they won't feel the need to buy the competitor's machines, they're getting all of their needs met already.

[randomass171]

It boils down to Nintendo's first party content. Their franchises are some of the heaviest hitters in the industry. If they can produce new and exciting iterations in their franchises, that would definitely generate excitement for the console. Wii U doesn't need to sell higher than Xbox One and PS4 to be successful, so Nintendo should focus on just increasing sales as much as they can. There is a ton of indie games, there is Bayonetta 2, Smash Bros., X, Fire Emblem x Shin Megami Tensei, and a plethora of largely untapped franchises at their disposal. I think a lot of people want to play these games and those games will help Wii U sell better. Nintendo CAN do it. I know for certain that they can. It only starts when they make it happen though.

[MoveTheGlow]

A couple of things could fix the issue:

- A cheaper system reboot with a price drop: People would buy a system for Mario Kart and SSB if it weren't so overpriced given the limited library. This would be tough since the gamepad is the expensive part of the system - I think Nintendo would have to reboot the system itself and its manufacturing process in order to make this happen.

If we don't hear that at e3, it's never going to happen in any game- changing capacity, and they're taking their lumps quietly while making a new console.

- Cross-platform downloadable titles: I don't care how the gamepad/TV interface might be imperfect for a DS/3DS experience. 3DS downloadable titles should be available on the WiiU to anyone who previously bought them on 3DS through emulation. The WiiU's library isn't vast, but the DS and 3DS ones sure are. This would at least give someone *something else* to play on it, a la Super Game Boy.

Let's face it: these probably won't happen. Nintendo will show up at e3 with a new Zelda and a 3D World 2, maybe an Animal Crossing U, and hope they sell the system. They won't until the price of the console drops so low that the cost of that gamepad makes it a loss "leader" years after the console's release.

[ritsuka666]

I blame Nintendo for not release the big games like Mario Kart 8 in the first year of you life.

[shivvy24]

I blame their marketing, parents still think the wii u is a peripheral

[FriedGoat]

It's not marketing. It's just the casuals have moved on from the Wii to greener pastures. Unfortunately, all that leaves for Nintendo is the hardcore Ninty fans. As to my knowledge most gamers (who own all systems) felt the Wii was actually one of the worst Nintendo platforms in recent years.
They decided to go the Gimmick route again, bad move.

[Beastforlifenoob]

Wait wait wait...

Maybe its because the WII U has abysmal 3rd party support, under powered console at a premium price, trying to target casual yet again (with a gimmicky controller only diehard nintendo fans want), limited HDD space (cmon its 2013 and the PS4/XBX1 offer 500GB), no blu-ray support and also the fact that the PS4 is out for a similar price and can do everything the wii u does 10x better whilst missing out on some milked franchises that everyone and their mothers are sick and tired of seeing.
ALSO the PS4 and XBX1 are wayyyyy better value for money.

Der....

[fonger08]

Terrible marketing no must have launch titles and 350 price to start definitely did not help it and really continues to plague it.

@beastnoob and yet after all that nintendo STILL makes more money on gaming than Sony, shocking...

[DarthZoolu]

I blame them for making games for kids instead of gamers. Everything Nintendo does needs to be more hardcore.

[ovnipc]

I have a dream. Nintendo and sega unite forces and make the dreamcast 2. More powerull than the ps4 and xone. Sega claims all their exclusives and sell only in their console with nintendo games focus on children with nintendo games and hardcore gamers. That will be awesome! A man can dream right?

[Vegamyster]

Nothing is coming out right now so lower sales are to be expected, If the rumored MK8 Bundle is real and Nintendo advertises it aggressively it should boost the sales as the game has far more hype then anything that has previously come to the system.

[Chuk5]

I actually laughed out loud and now I feel bad.

[randomass171]

I don't see why you would laugh. It's literally a set of numbers. :/

[LKHGFDSA]

I hate it when people misuse the word "literally".
There goes a bubble for you.
Also you sighed at the set of numbers, your comment doesn't make any sense.

On topic, Nintendo walked right into this and it's their problem now.

[SilentNegotiator]

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

[silkylove]

Expected. That's better than it sold last March, and there were no games released this March.

[LKHGFDSA]

PS4 sold around 370k, and it's around double the price of the Wii U.

[DarthZoolu]

Its not double. WiiU is $300.

[Agent_hitman]

I felt sad about these sales figure, it's so lackluster.. I just hope that Nintendo will fight back in the home console race.. The competition is not complete without the big N..

[HappyWithOneBubble]

Wii U dead. I don't think Smash Bros or Mario Kart is gonna push huge units like people think. I don't hear people saying they gonna buy a Wii U for these games either. I'd probably buy a Wii U just for Zelda but who knows when that game comes out.

[hulk_bash1987]

Wow those are some bad numbers. Nintendo needs to pull its head out of it's ass. At least Mario Kart and SSB is coming out soon and that should sell a good amount of systems.

[windblowsagain]

Wii u is Finished tbh.

They made big mistakes.

1)Underpowered. (same gigapixel as PS3/360)
2)Tablet Controller - Not needed.
3)The name Wii u.
4)Mums and dads/ etc bought the original. They needed something to keep that audience.

Don't get me wrong, Mario Kart looks fantastic and i want to play it. But for one game i can't buy one.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I tend to agree. WiiU just seems like a system that was released to compete with gen 7 instead of the actual next gen. Its a great machine when you compare it to a 360 or PS3.

[ruefrak]

Sony should use this tactic with the Vita. "Vita sales were under 100k in the US for March." Just don't say how "under" the mark they were.

[Knushwood Butt]

Not even the hardcore Nintendo fanboys on this site can be bothered doing damage control these days.

That says a lot.

[LOL_WUT]

Some of them are trying so hard to spin this and the rest are ignoring it but the sad reality is that Nintendo messed up big time. ;)

[heisenberguk]

People were impressed and enjoyed the motion controls when the wii came out but that ship has sailed now and people don't care anymore!

[Father__Merrin]

ps360 dumps on Wii
ps4xbone dumps on Wiiu

mk8 will not change that cycle which is s shame really. the entire fault is on Nintendo and its fans. Nintendo made a mistake with hardware and the fans are not buying the console period

i don't know how they can turn it round . they are already half the price of next gen consoles

[SoulSercher620]

The ONLY saving grace for this system Smash Bros Wii U. Unless they announce something else like a new Zelda, Starfox, or Metroid at E3 to re-hype the console the grave is slowly getting deeper.

[Knushwood Butt]

Even that is questionable, as Nintendo have this strange plan of releasing the 3DS version first.

All the Wii U has to carry it through the year is Mario Kart and then Smash Bros.

[truechainz]

Strange plan? If you mean the 3DS version is finished first and Sakurai isn't the kind of douche that would hold off a game from fans just for more commercial success, then yeah that is a strange plan...

[Knushwood Butt]

@ truechainz

Strange plan as in, did they intend that to happen, or has development of the two games run into difficulties that forced their hand on the release dates.

It's a strange business plan.

[lemoncake]

I think the wii u will sell a decent amount this holiday season, some nice games already released and due for release before then. Nintendo need to come out with some must have game reveals at e3 though to really start pushing consoles.

[bobacdigital]

Whether the numbers are good or not... We still getting some of the best looking games they have ever made. People are so up inarms about performance... E3 is coming and chances are we getting some good games ... I'm having fun so that is all that matters.

[lodossrage]

People have to face the fact that Smash Bros nor Mario Kart are all of a sudden going to make this system's sales comparable to the PS4 or even the XB1 for that matter.

Mario Kart has been around since the SNES era. It sold good during that era, but it wasn't necessarily because of the game itself, it was because the SNES was pretty much the defacto home system regardless. It was selling great before Mario Kart even came out. Same thing with the Wii version of Mario Kart. The Wii was selling very well even without Mario Kart.

If Mario Kart was such a system seller the way fans on here think it is, the N64 and Gamecube systems would have sold well thanks to the system. But both systems sales were pretty much dwarfed by the PS1 and PS2 respectively.

And everything I said also applies to Smash Bros barring the fact that franchise started on the N64 rather than the SNES.

So when you look at the history, when Nintendo's systems aren't selling well in the first place, their "system sellers" don't magically push sales either. Will they sell well as games, yes. But you're crazy to think those two games will help the system reach and maintain high level sales.

Not to mention everyone said "wait till a Mario game hits the system. The Wii U already has two out so far.

It's ok to like the system. But it's time to face facts on that one guys, it's destined to be compared to the N64 and Gamecube.

[MNGamer-N]

Mario Kart Wii sold 38.82 Million units. Not bad.

[bobacdigital]

You do realize that the X1 reported 5 million sold to retailers? With the fact that there are so many available at retailers would make it safe to assume roughly 3.5 to 4 million sold to people ... That doesnt put it too far from where the Wii U is at now which is estimated to be around 5 million... Im not saying the Wii U is going to pass it or start selling like crazy or beat it long term.. But lets not say both the X1 is selling like hotcakes and flying off the shelves because it is not.. The ps4 is blazing past everyone and the X1 is slowing down tremendously if it wasnt for Titanfall it would be at a snails pace.

The Wii U doesnt need to be the best this gen .. it just has to be a profitable proposition for Nintendo.. Which it is entirely possibly that could happen long term very very slowly .. Use the ps3 as an example, it didnt break even until towards the end of its life cycle ... Mario Kart and Smash Brothers are games that get people to buy systems... Mario Kart Wii is one of the most sold games of ALL TIME.

"So when you look at the history, when Nintendo's systems aren't selling well in the first place, their "system sellers" don't magically push sales either. "

You must not have paid attention when the 3ds was selling like trash when it was priced at 249.99 6 to 8 months into launch ... Nintendo dropped the price to 179.99 and released Mario Kart 7 and that was all she wrote ... it is sitting at 40+ million units and that is because Mario Kart and a price cut jump started it .. after that they started to snowball a bunch of games... So to say Mario Kart doesnt sell consoles is really dumb... Mario Kart Wii drove Wii sales LIKE CRAZY .. You couldnt find Mario Kart Wii let alone a Wii or Wii Wheel when it was released...

It is unlikely the Wii U will ever be in the top 2 this gen or even sell over 25 million.. but that most likely isnt Nintendos target anymore .. They want to just break even or at least make some profit.. The gamecube only sold 20 million or so and that was pretty profitable for Nintendo because it sold games like crazy.

[lodossrage]

"You must not have paid attention when the 3ds was selling like trash when it was priced at 249.99 6 to 8 months into launch ... Nintendo dropped the price to 179.99 and released Mario Kart 7 and that was all she wrote ... it is sitting at 40+ million units and that is because Mario Kart and a price cut jump started it .. after that they started to snowball a bunch of games... So to say Mario Kart doesnt sell consoles is really dumb... Mario Kart Wii drove Wii sales LIKE CRAZY .. You couldnt find Mario Kart Wii let alone a Wii or Wii Wheel when it was released... "

The handheld market is a different animal from the home system demographic so the same rules don't actually apply. And even in that regard, you literally said Mario Kart AND a price drop. So the way I see it, it had more to do with the price drop than the actual game.

And secondly, Mario Kart didn't drive Wii sales. Pay attention to what I said about when the SNES sold well and the N64 and Gamecube didn't. The SNES and Wii systems sold extremely well BEFORE Mario Kart came out on those respective systems. In other words, Mario Kart didn't drive sales because the sales of the systems were ALREADY extremely high anyway. If Mario Kart was a system seller, the N64 and Gamecube systems would have sold the same way the SNES and Wii systems did.

As I said, if their systems don't sell well beforehand, their "system sellers" don't push systems. You even eluded to exactly that when you mentioned the Gamecube only selling 20 million. Mario Kart, Zelda, Smash Bros, etc were on that system as they were the N64.
And on the side note, when did you see me say the Xbox 1 was selling like hotcakes?

[mediate-this]

Nintendo needs to do a whole new crazy wii u campaign, i swear people are still confused