Wii U launch window is over – How well did the Wii U Go?

Before the Launch of the Wii U, Nintendo was confident of a successful launch. Boasting a Mario game at launch and in addition to much high quality titles, you can see where that confidents was coming from. March is almost over, marking the end of the Wii U launch window – so how well did the Wii U go?

[1upgamer99]

So Wii U is not doing that bad as far as console sales compared to other launches, but wow I am a little surprised at 3rd party software. Nintendo needs to get off the pot and PUSH the Wii U. I have written Nintendo about their crappy marketing for the system. They say they listen, but I don't think they do. Some marketing team is making tons of money off of Nintendo, when they should not even have jobs at all. Let a Nintendo fan handle the marketing and I bet sales would be MUCH better.

[PopRocks359]

To be fair, Miyamoto has outright stated they have not communicated the Wii U's value. I'm pretty sure Nintendo's well aware of the issues, they're just taking a while to rectify them as usual.

[ps3_pwns]

Did you see the wii launch by any chance? also its not that great of a luanch if you dont see people on ebay making bank on selling consoles for double and tripple the price like they made for past launch consoles. the wii u launch had them all bringing them extra wiis back to the store. i never seen that before in the history of console launches ever. the wii u would of been a success and been selling like hotcakes if it had pikmin 3, wonderful 101 and a 3d mario game instead of the rehash nsmb u . in addition to that the console needed to be cheaper then current gen consoles or the same price.

the wii u is not value because no one cares for the tablet. people have 3d's they used that for when they want off screen play because you can go anywhere in the house.

[AWBrawler]

Oh please stop speaking for everyone. Just say you don't care. Obviously theres over 3million who do care. Your opinion is not a fact, so stop stating it as if its a fact just so you can bash Wii U

[BullyMangler]

you: the wii u is not value because no one cares for the tablet. people have 3d's

ME: nope, you sound confused and fanboy at same time. . because . . so you are saying that if I choose to one day play (Viewtiful Joe 3) on my Nintendo wiiU Gamepad, that would be a NORMAL thing how?

that pad even rumbles dude . poor Vita

until you have FACTS backing up your opinions, you will always sound lost my friend, as Nintendo has yet to begin (: you PRE-judging things
E3 is almost here, THEN you can start critiquing . . you want to be a slacker your whole life ? (:

[1upgamer99]

Uh, perhaps you do not care for the tablet, but I do. It makes allot of games much better. There are only some similarities to the 3DS and Wii U. The thing that I like most about Wii U is, it offers a new way to play. I don't lug a smart phone and 3Ds around when I am on the go. I use my smartphone for games. When I get home I choose WiiU/PS3.

[kneon]

If you just look at total sales then the launch wasn't so bad. But the problem is that sales were all at the front end, since then sales have been way down and tracking well below previous console launches.

But that's not too surprising, they were almost guaranteed good sales up front as the Nintendo fans were sure to buy up plenty. But they have failed to attract much of the casual and non-Nintendo core audience. And there is a good chance they never will with the PS4 and Xbox.next soon to be released.

[PopRocks359]

Well, the launch was seemingly a moderate success. The months after were a nasty game drought with lower hardware sales. March was a saving grace month for the console, as some nice games came out for it and a solid looking rerelease was announced. Now we have Pikmin, Wonderful 101 and the upcoming E3 show (as well as any and all digital games that come out in between).

[mcstorm]

I agree. I did go abit over the top with game on the WiiU though as I got MarioU, ZombieU, Sonic Allstar racers 2, Tekken Tag WiiU, Nintendo Land and BO2 and they have all kept me from playing Forza Horizon, Halo 4, PS All Stars that I got on my PS3 and 360 which to me I though it would be the other way round with those games keeping me off the WiiU.

I think Nintendo will have a hit with the WiiU once the right games come out for it. NFSMW looks good on the WiiU but I have it for the Vita but I get Lego City tomorrow and have pikmin 3 on pre order to.

I do think a lot of the fan boys will be in for a shock when the PS4 and Next xbox come out though as I expect the sales for the 2 consoles to be about the same as the WiiU's 1st few months as the 360 and PS3 will still be getting the big name games like BF4, COD ect.

[SAYGUH]

Yea I'll give em that, they had a much better launch than their rivals. The thang is they need to fix this launch deal next time around, a couple of other IPs need the launch spotlight besides Mario & Link, give other franchises a fightin chance. Make the BIGGEST 3rd party games a priority, & get to work on Smash Bros a lot sooner instead of beginning after another project, poor Sakurai...

[WeAreLegion]

A much better launch than their rivals?

No.

It was actually much worse. The PS3 and 360 both outsold the Wii U within this frame of time.

[AWBrawler]

Naw, recheck your info

[lilbroRx]

This is a complete and total lie. Facts everywhere say completely different. The only console to have a better launch than the Wii U was the Wii.

[BootHammer]

The launch was pretty great IMO (I really enjoyed NSMBU and ZombiU) but since then, they have failed to keep the momentum going in both hype and software. As mentioned by others, their marketing...where to being. It's a train wreck and Nintendo use to be pretty awesome at exciting gamers. Hope they regroup and possibly enlist some fresh blood in their crew to turn it around.

Even with announcements at E3, we need games out now or extremely soon, not just a few first party trailers with a TBA release date. There is plenty of potential in the system, they just need to harness its strengths and promote it.

[dark-kyon]

the reality is what wiiu is in serius trouble,when read somebody tring to see how is no too bad this is what i see.

[lilbroRx]

No. The Wii U is in no real trouble. It just needs games as has been said by most who are knowledgeable about the situation and related ones since January.

Games sell consoles. Whenever a big game gets released for the 360 or PS3, the console sales spike. I have no doubt in my mind that the next week number for the Wii U after the release of Lego City, Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate and Most Wanted will spike.

When the Wii U gets a steady stream of games it will get steady sales. Nothing complex or troubling about it. We know the games are coming. We just have to wait for them to get here.

[WeAreLegion]

Can we please get some more games? Lego City: Undercover is great. Will it be great for six months? Doubtful.

[Yodagamer]

Well monster hunter 3 launched along with need for speed u. Tri can last for a year or so it did for me on the orignal wii.

[WeAreLegion]

I've had Need For Speed on my PS3 for awhile and I dislike Monster Hunter. :/

[Yodagamer]

It launched with really good games, but alot of them were ports like all console launches. It's gonna take an exclusive to sell the console like usually. Ps2 had gta3, xbox 360 had gears, ps3 had uncharted, the wii u just needs its system seller which will probably be zelda wind waker (even if it's a remake)

[BootHammer]

I agree a AAA system seller is exactly what it needs to get moving and alongside that some great marketing.

However, if a HD remake ends up being their system seller for 2013, that will be pretty sad. I'm looking forward to "The Wind Waker" but I want a brand new experience that truly pushes the Wii U and its GamePad. E3 will definitely shed some light on whether or not Nintendo has learned anything from their mistakes so far with the Wii U.

[LastXeno]

January- Present... not so well. I'm a prolific Nintendo player too, I just wish Nintendo would build more hype for the thing. Hopefully a Wii U direct comes and soon.

[Hicken]

It started off great, but numbers dropped off pretty quickly. Hopefully, they can get things turned around soon.

[lilbroRx]

Console sales walk hand and hand with game release dates.

People are looking at it from the wrong angle. The Wii U started with a bunch of games, then the games dropped off pretty quickly. Its all about the games.

Lego City and Tri Ultimate were the first retail games released for the Wii U in 3 months. The fact that it sold as well as it did under the circumstances is amazing to me and tells a different story than what people are trying to paint. For people to buy a console with no games coming out at all says that they actually do want the console.

[DarkZane]

It didn't have better launch than the ps3 and 360. The only reason it sold more in the same period of time is because there is more WiiU units that were shipped.

The PS3 and 360 were a lot more expensive to produce and less were shipped at the same time, so less were sold because the supply was too low to sell more.

It was hard to find a PS3 and 360 at launch, now you can find WiiU everywhere.

The thing is, if producing ps3 and 360 back then wouldn't have been a problem, it would probably have beaten the WiiU by a large margin.

Also, if you can't find them on ebay at double and triple the price like someone said, it means it failed.

[PirateThom]

Basically this.

As hard as it may be for some people to swallow, the Wii U was readily available and while it's a good thing everyone who wanted one got one, there's no "sold out everywhere" to hide behind when it comes to sales.

The sold consoles have, basically, gone to the Nintendo hardcore who feel Nintendo never do anything wrong and just can't accept the Wii U's launch, marketing, games and hardware all fall down short.

[o-Sunny-o]

Monster Hunter this and that. Not everyone likes that game but people will pick it up to play something... Nintendo was blonde to release Wii U so soon. I have mine for drawing and mindless chat. I'm waiting for games.