Watch Dogs shifts almost no copies on its Wii U launch

In news that has shocked nobody, GFK has released information on sales numbers for the recent week of Wii U software. Dominating the list is Mario Kart 8 and New Super Mario Bros. U, with Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric squeezing in an unlikely third from unfortunately unknowing parents and grandparents. The biggest reveal from the charts is that Watch Dogs has placed 14th, failing to even make it into the top 10 on its launch week.

[KiwiViper85]

Sad for Nintendo. I know Watch_dogs was released super late, but poor sales don't entice other 3rd party developers to port games to wiiu

[Metallox]

It's not only super late, it was priced at 60 dollars, this is why it flopped so hard.

Tell me, would you pay that price for a regular game that it's already cheaper on 360 and PS3?

[XiYakushijuAkeginuXi]

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[KiwiViper85]

If wiiU was my only console, yep.

[Mastadope42]

Considering the enhancements then yes I would just like how I do for my PS4...

[MRMagoo123]

The fact that WiiU owners got the game so late they knew what they were missing and chose to miss it, as I would have done but alas I paid for that poop game on ps4.

[InTheLab]

Mass affect 2 on PS3
Bioshock on PS3

Late games for full price is not a WiiU exclusive.

[vishmarx]

and it continues.wii u owners wont buy late 3rd party games and devs wont put effort in then unless wii u owners actually start buying them
the question however is, who loses more?

[marloc_x]

To ANY gamer who has used the phrase,
"Vote With Your Wallets!"

I don't play that shit..

[TheGrimReaper0011]

and now at discount on PC, PS4 (and XB1? Not sure about that one)

[Aloren]

"Tell me, would you pay that price for a regular game that it's already cheaper on 360 and PS3?"

Why not ? basically every new game comes out a lot cheaper on PC, that doesn't stop people from buying them on consoles.

And it's almost always like that anyway : the last of us PS4, GTA 5 xboxone and ps4; Halo CE Gears of War and Dark Souls 1 on PC, Unreal Tournament 3 or Virtua Fighter 5 on 360, Red Alert 3 or as someone mentioned above ME2 or bioshock on PS3...

[guitarded77]

We should also consider that most adult gamers that would be drawn toward a game like Watch Dogs probably own more than one platform, and have probably already played it. Every person I know with a Wii U (including myself) has already played it. Just like we already played Mass Effect and Darksiders. They can't expect a game to come out months later on what is considered an alternate platform to many gamers and sell gangbusters.

EDIT: And this $60 late-launch re-launch pricing has got to stop. Whether it's Watch Dogs, Tomb Raider, Injustice, Sleeping Dogs, etc. Gamers need to protest with their wallets. A re-release port shouldn't cost $60 at launch. $40 - $50 was the model last gen. They're just milking the "new hardware" thing. I think it's disrespectful to gamers.

[DarXyde]

I wish Ubisoft would make sense of that, but sadly they'll assume it's just the console. Guarantee they would've sold more if they didn't wait so late.

Oh well. No one with a Wii U (myself included) is even thinking about Watch_Dogs very much right now with Smash and Bayonetta 2 already out.

[Angeljuice]

If they had a fluffy bunny as the main protagonist it would have sold like hotcakes.

It must be embarrassing to own a platform where a turd like Sonic Boom trounces a solid title like watchdogs.

Owners complain about a lack of third party support for their console, then fail to support any third party software.

They get what they deserve!

[Army_of_Darkness]

Watch dogs wiiU should of added Mario and Zelda skins too this game to fool, errr.... Ummm, I mean convince wiiU owners to buy it ;-)

[morganfell]

I will often rebuy a title on other platforms if it has the right enhancements. When I picked up my Wii U I grabbed Arkham and Splinter Cell. But after my experience with Watchdogs on the PS3 and the crap policies of Ubisoft lately, there is no way I am going to disgrace my Wii U with that game. Fool me once...

A lot of people have picked up the Wii U as a second console and do not need another dose of crap from Ubi to learn their lesson. For those who have the Wii U as their main or only console, they would have to have been living under a rock not to have witnessed the issues with Watchdogs and Ubi.

I would say many of them either have chosen not to get the game because of the game itself rather than due to preferences as a Wii U owner. Or possibly with Christmas sales on top of us they are simply being smart by waiting on a price drop. They know if you are going to buy a turd, even a polished one, at least be smart enough to get that stinker as cheap as possible.

[vakarian75]

@Angeljuice I'm pretty sure its the people that don't own a Wii U that are complaining about the lack of third party support.

[herbs]

Not to mention it released the same week as Smash :[

[NuggetsOfGod]

If it was $40 think would stiill flop.

JUST enjoy nintendo games mostly. Its over for 3rd party.

[UltimateMaster]

OMG! I'm shocked! not even a little.

[BG11579]

WD only sold well the first week after it's releases on every other platforms. The sdcond week after it's release, there were tons of people reselling the game.
The game only sold well the first week because of Ubi's PR bull... I was one of those. Who in their right mind would buy this game now?

[Nintentional2]

Not only that, but the game was recieved with lukewarm reactions. It wasnt even worth the hype, it was delayed on Nintendo's console, it came out the same time as Smash Bros, dragon age, gta V, ect, it lacks DLC, and Ubisoft tried charging full price.

This should not represent how third party games actually sell, and if anyone takes this as real concrete evidence, then they lack common sense.

[BlackWolf12]

You guys can talk Internets all day about how you know so much about marketing and that this doesn't mean anything, but the facts are that the game sold like crap, and all publishers will see this as evidence that games don't sell on the Wii U.

This is a bad thing for the Wii U regardless of bro talk.

[Chupa-Chupa]

if other 3rd party devs rely on watch dogs wii u sale numbers and use this as a reason to not bring games to the wii u, then they are just as stupid as ubisoft. This game was doomed from the beginning, a 10 year old can tell you that Ubisoft fucked this up. If you don't get it, then you don't understand the business.

[fact4game]

Exactly. You said it better... and these kids who relies on somebody else to buy their games make comments(Oh yeah sorry.. "OPINION") as honorable journalist.
For me, Just finished Bayo1 and starting Bayo2 (Our fav is "God Of War" genre: Hack and Slash) and we loooove it. Kids are jumping into Smash Bros now and having fun. I am liking Bayo 2 as one of the best hack and slash out there so far and waiting for Captain Toad Treasure(Dec'14), DEVILS THIRD, X and ZELDA for 2015. Good Gaming...

[badz149]

I don't think Nintendo only gamers should sound THAT arrogant regarding 3rd party games nowadays. you guys do know that Ubi or other 3rd parties don't really have to release every AAA game they have on Wii U because they make tons of money already by just selling it on the other consoles, right? the Wii U is pretty much an afterthought at this point and following this trend, it won't be long before all 3rd parties leave the Wii U altogether if they aren't already.

sure Nintendo games are great and all but just remember this one thing, no console in history has ever survived the lack of 3rd parties.

[NuggetsOfGod]

How many 3rd party games sold over 500,000 on wiiu?

Cod and rockstar dont need wiiu obviously.

[N4g_null]

I call bs badz149. The only ones arrogant here are ubisoft for believing we were all stupid enough to be this game after if was hated by everyone who bought it. I'm glad shovel knight is out selling them. It serves them right and if you work for them you should be ashamed.

If a game is good then we buy. Wtf is up with this entitlement crap? The wiiu is a goldmine for any self respecting development studio who knows they make great games.

[badz149]

@scissor_runner

gold mine? sure...because Wonderful 101 and Bayo2 sold millions of copies, right? /s

[jspsc123]

watch dogs was garbage

[NuggetsOfGod]

True.. but to be far wiiU hardware is just as garbage. Wont run games like the witcher 3. Can't wait for that!!

Open to any proof that wiiu can handle a game like I famous..

[N4g_null]

It seems the bigger story is it actually looks on par with the ps4 version, so does that make the ps4 garbage also? Well if only the Witcher guys tried to port it. I'm pretty sure it would run on the wiiu. Hey but they won't so you will never know since you can only go off pr.

[cocadaking]

@nuggets PS4 and Xbox One could easily run the New Zelda, Smash, Bayonetta, MK8...but, you know, won't ever happen!

[jspsc123]

@scissor_runner Are you stupid? Do you understand my comment? I said watch dogs was garbage not the wii u version, every version. What does that have to do with the ps4, or who ported it?

[JsonHenry]

And it got mediocre reviews at best on other platforms. Its not like Uncharted or Halo made its debut on the WiiU and flopped. This is a flop of a game flopping.

[TheJacksonRGN]

A game is considered a flop if it fails to sell, that has nothing to do with reviews. As for "mediocre reviews at best" WD has a good overall score because it got mostly good reviews and scores.

he game also sold around 9 million copies at this point.

This isn't a "flop of a game flopping", this is best selling game flopping on one platform.

[starchild]

Huh? Let's not reinvent history now. Watch Dogs has an 80 on metacritic and sold very well.

[dennett316]

@TheJackson and starchild, please don't confuse quantity with quality. Watch Dogs is your typical Ubisoft open world game, no more, no less. It got some over-inflated scores from the usual sites who see the words "open world" and "huge marketing budget", and the game gets an automatic 8 out of 10.

User opinion is much more divided, for many it's a game that does nothing really badly, but not much really well either. Bland, repetitive, characterless, thoroughly outshone by the likes of Sleeping Dogs and GTA 5. It's manufactured hype....and that's about it.

History has proved only that marketing works, and Ubisoft successfully marketed a mediocre game that recycled more than a little from it's own Assassin's Creed series. That doesn't make it quality, or deserving of success...it just means that bland formula still has legs in the market for people after a safe, AAA game that they're familiar with.

Wii U owners were made to wait a long time, and the console is home to a lot of high quality titles that, frankly, embarrass Watch Dogs in terms of gameplay, quality and polish. The mainstream that made up the bulk of those 9 million sales don't care about high quality, they care about slick marketing and safe games that don't challenge them too much. Watch Dogs fits that bill perfectly.

[gangsta_red]

I agree with Dennett316, after the hype for Watch_Dogs died down people seriously saw a mediocre game that was pretty much all hype.

And more than likely WiiU owners got this game for 360/PS3. To release this game at this time made absolutely no sense. It was a bad business decision on Ubi.

I just hope Ubi doesn't see this as a "See, we tried" type of maneuver and decide not to support the WiiU because of lack of sales.

[Shadowstar]

Unfortunately, third parties probably are going to assume it's the WiiU rather than the crappy game that was Watchdogs. I sold mine the week after I got it. So bland, so not what I wanted. A bad GTA clone with an extra minigame mechanic that didn't work very well...

[deafdani]

As per Metacritic:

PC version = 77
PS4 version = 80
Xbox One version = 78

Those scores are hardly "mediocre". People discredit Watch Dogs way too much just because it wasn't the second coming of Christ like everyone hoped it would be. Of course, that was also Ubisoft's fault, who hyped this game to hell and back, it was ridiculous.

The same could be said about a lot of game releases this year that were actually good games, but people were expecting them to be the best games ever made, so now they love to trash talk them. Destiny, TItanfall, Assassin's Creed Unity, Driveclub. What's next?

:/

[Segata]

Super late. Ubi said they no longer cared about Wii U months before hand and said Watchdogs be the last game they release not named dance something. Then release no screenshots 2 days before release then release it same week as smash. It's Ubi's fault. Even if it was not released same week as smash Ubi said they already gave up so part of it is many gamers felt no point in supporting it.

[gpturbo81]

not just smash, there was like 10 games that released last week.

[Fireseed]

That or because Watch Dogs was a god awful... but ya know... whatever.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

@Viper Sad for Nintendo? Lol hardly the game wasn't that great anyway.

WD was one of the most hyped games of this year in fact that game was widely hyped for 2 whole years after the reveal at E3 2012.

Nintendo fans are busy playing SSB. And not thinking twice about this unpromising game.

[3-4-5]

Watchdogs isn't a system seller, it's a game you buy once you've bought a bunch of other games and need something else to play.

* Doesn't help it already had a bad rep heading into release.

* Everybody with a Wii U is playing Smash Brothers & Mario Kart 8 right now.....

Captain Toad is out Dec.5th and then there is a nice gap where this game could sell a few units.

[Sathur]

Can I just say that here in the UK Smash Bros is not released yet. And when I do pick it up with a few Amiibo characters it will be under the tree for Christmas. Until then I Will play Watch Dogs on WiiU as an alternative to GTA5 which I will never buy.
As a gaming addict I need the latest games...this is a bad time of year for me. I could have picked Watch Dogs up on PS4, but my HD is almost full. Watch Dogs is better suited to WiiU in my opinion.

[Date_Um_Sage]

I saw Watch Dogs for £55, why would i buy that when i could buy lets say wonderful 101 for £20.

Never got into the hype of watch dogs anyway.

[truechainz]

There are plenty of 3rd party games that have sales that would rightfully cause concern for releasing on wii u. This is not one of them. It was clear this game, which I already didn't enjoy on other consoles, was going to be farted out on wii u. No need even paying attention to games that Ubisoft releases in this fashion.

[SnakeCQC]

nintendo fans were probably expecting broken games so they didn't buy it

[Sathur]

I walked into GAME with money to burn on Sunday. Wall to Wall Grand Theft Auto and second hand Watch Dogs for PS4 in the corner.
I bought Watch Dogs on WiiU and I will tell you why...
If I bought it on PS4 I would have to install it on my HD (already nearly full) I cant play the game when kids are on telly so off Screen play on WiiU is perfect. And its really a last gen game. On wiiU it looks better than PS3 and Xbox 360.
I like that you can be a good guy and save people from being attacked etc.. In GTA5 you are bad all the time...No moral compass with GTA5
I am more than happy so far. I will never buy GTA5. And Watch Dogs is a good alternative.

[ICANPLAYGAMES2]

Well it was Ubi's own fault, the way they've treated their fans on Nintendo's systems has been pretty crappy. Of course this is all the fans doing, since they don't support the games by buying them, but why should they when everyone knows 3rd party developers have been giving Nintendo players inferior products, late releases, and pricing more expensive than current iterations that are already availabe by the time they release on Nintendo, what did they expect?

[showtimefolks]

I am a ps4 fan but this is no fault of Nintendo wiiu, when you release a game so late on wiiu than charge full price than this kind of stuff will happen. Publishers always say Nintendo him consoles don't sell 3rd party games, yet most of them release year old ports at full prices and expect the game to sell like it sold at original launch

How about releasing major blockbusters at the same time as Xbox one and ps4?

Again I am a ps4 fan but I been a gamer long enough to see all sides and not just the crap publishers try to feed us

[gpturbo81]

not only is it full price, you gotta pay another $12 for some half-assed dlc..

[u4one]

personally i think people considering this on the wii had the luxury of seeing this bullet coming for miles and were easily able to dodge it. i do think nintendo needs stronger 3rd party support, however. it seems to be the bulk of content on the other consoles and you can only stuff Mario, Link and Donkey Kong into so many IP's before people start wondering what else is out there. Its a shame. I really wanted the post Wii console to shine, and it probably still could with support.

[Old_Prodigy]

Who could blame them for that shit excuse for a game.

[Link2DaFutcha]

Honestly I'm fine with them just doing exclusive releases. The AAA titles coming out now aren't going to convert well, so why not just focus on making games that fit in with the Wii U, big multiplayer party games, and fun single player experiences that take advantage of the Wii U as a unique system. Releasing a sub par game like Watch_Dogs on a system that it isn't optimized for, and months after it's initial release isn't going to entice people, so of course it's not going to sell. Surprised this even got released, bad move by Ubisoft, but what's new, right?

[N4g_null]

This was ubisoft chance to redeem themselves to ps4 and xbone owners by fixing their game. Yet they burn every bridge they see like trolls. Yet this is what 9 million copies of a bad game does. It makes you not care.

Welcome European ea to the industry.

[protocol10]

Poor games dont entice gamers either. Everyone knew this was going to happen. This is all Ubisofts fault.

[Metallox]

It's funny to look at the factores that led to this flop.

It was a 6 month delayed port of a regular game, priced at 60 dollars, on a weaker console compared to ONE and PS4, platforms where the game is much cheaper right now.

Ubisoft shouldn't complain after this disaster.

[Xorglord]

And yet, they almost certainly will. When they announce their next game, and it isn't coming to Wii U, they will point to the poor sales of Watch Dogs as their reason.

The conspiracy theorist in me wants to say they intentionally tanked the game so they'd have a good reason to not bring any more to the Wii U.

[MsmackyM]

Watchdogs for Wii U was pretty much a stealth release. Indy games have received more press than this game. There was absolutely nothing showed about the game from Ubisoft almost as if Ubisoft didn't want you to remember they were still releasing the game for the Wii U. Only to make matters worst they released the 3 days ahead of the most anticipated game of the year Smash Bros.

[rdgneoz3]

"Watchdogs for Wii U was pretty much a stealth release."

Releasing it around the time AC:U, Far Cry 4, DA:I, and Smash Bros overshadowed what little press the game did receive. If they cut the game to $40 and gave it a little more advertisement, it might have done better. $60 for a 6 month old game that got average reviews (and made WiiU owners feel screwed over to begin with for the delay) was not gonna shift anything.

[Snookies12]

What did they expect...? Sucks for the Wii U though, it's certainly not going to give a good impression to other developers. Even though this poor launch was no fault of Nintendo's.

[Mastadope42]

It's alot of Nintendo's fault, the Wii U is their console. It's the reason why all these third party predicaments are happening.

[Realplaya]

It's there fault rightttttttttttttttttttt!

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

So Nintendo fault for a game they own or developed sure bud

[Snookies12]

No, it was Ubisoft who couldn't see this port through. They're the ones to blame for this.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

The console isn't the reason the game tanked, dude.
It tanked because it was poorly handled.

They should have just made Zombi U 2, instead; with the right improvements and some online multiplayer, that might have surpassed the first game's sales of 700K.

[randomass171]

I don't see why Nintendo has to market Ubisoft's game and give it a decent release date. That's Ubisoft's job. Sony does not do Activision's marketing with CoD or Ubisoft's job with AC:U. :/

[LightDiego]

That was expected, a lot of people already played Watch Dogs on another platforms, and the game is mediocre at best, few people would buy the game now for $60.

[Muzikguy]

I sure as h3ll wouldn't. I was duped once. WD was the biggest disappointment for me in years. I wouldn't blame people for not wanting it on WiiU

@xorglord
I feel the same

[MRMagoo123]

Yeh like I said above , the WiiU owners were lucky they got to see what they were missing cos it wasnt a good game at all, I wish I could have gotten a refund myself but I traded it in toward other games. Biggest disappointment for years for me too.

[GreetingsfromCanada]

This pretty much sums up why no third party dev is left on the Wii U

[Mastadope42]

Lol at your disagrees, truth hurts for ppl.

[SteamPowered]

It's not Nintendo's fault ubisoft are being dinks. Claiming this as a reason for 3rd party to leave Ninty is using some pretty broad strokes.

[General Shrooms]

are you surprised that people with wii u's dont wanna buy a shitty game?

[dredgewalker]

No one would want to buy a mediocre game, even people who bought it for other platforms got disappointed with that game. Would anyone buy AC Unity if it was launched for the Wii U?

[Angeljuice]

@General Shrooms
"are you surprised that people with wii u's dont wanna buy a shitty game?"

Its 1000x better than Sonic Boom (which is currently at number 3 in WiiU sales).

[ZainreFang]

No one is going to buy a game that is 6 months late, and lacks DLC of the other versions. Not to mention hype was a huge selling point of Watch Dogs and all of that was lost by the time it came out on Wii U.

There's no way of telling whether Wii U owners would buy third party support because it has never been done correctly on Wii U. There's always something. Lateness, high price, glitches, lack of parity, just plain being a bad game, and more.

[eferreira]

Lots bought bioshock when it came a year later on ps3

[iluvmaPS3]

Lack of parity?? Are you saying the the ps4 and xbone should suffer because Nintendo went the cheap route?

[Sathur]

Actually the Watch Dogs DLC is on WiiU. Here in the UK there are two versions of the game for sale. Standard version £49 and DLC special version £59. The USA is so lucky that all of their games are cheaper..$60 is around £40 here in the UK

[darkstar18]

i guess Rayman was a flop on the wii u too huh..oh wait.

[TisoSpencer]

Rayman had the fortune of being released with the other versions at the same time and proved why it was the better version.

[truechainz]

Cmon you are smarter than that. Pretty much every other 3rd party release points to why there are no major 3rd party devs on wii u. This sums up how Ubisoft expects to sell literal feces to gamers.

[u4one]

probably for the best. that game was a huge disappointment and ubi might learn something from this.

[Nodoze]

They won't. They will just use this as a reason not to release WiiU software.

[vakarian75]

They already said this was going to be the last mature game they make for the Wii U.

[DeusEx-Machina]

With how this company currently makes games, this is not really a big loss IMHO.

[Muzikguy]

The only thing I think they're learning is not to support WiiU. They made a bad game that disappointed "millions" but expected another version to sell?! LMAO

[u4one]

sadly its true.

[Gamerbeyond]

sells over 4million on ps4/xbone.

sells less than 100k on wiiu,

easy lesson, dont waste your time on the wiiu.

[benji101]

Or there 4.1 million stupid gamers.

[Kevlar009]

Not gonna spend $60 on a game that is way past its prime. We all know how average the game is, nothing about the game is remotely revolutionary at this point in time.

A part of me wants this game, but not until it hits about $40 or less.

[starchild]

It has to be revolutionary to be a good game?

[Gamerbeyond]

yeah like mario saving princess peach for the past 25yrs. lol

[madjedi]

You would be surprised at the number of people that argue that exact nonsense to the death with you.

You forgot to add innovative, fresh and original, that or all triple a games are garbage and we can only be saved by the indie gameplay revolution.

I am struggling to come up with a game that is radically different gameplay than it's prequels or similar previous titles released.

Alot of games released now, basically is similar games from previous gens, with a few tweaks here and there and more advanced effects graphics ect.

Maybe star citizen or w101.

[Muzikguy]

I'd pay $10. That's what it was worth to me. Played for maybe 5 days and none since

[SteamPowered]

I think the real story is how many disappointed kids will get Sonic Rise of Lyric for Xmas. How does that crappy game post 3rd place?

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

Cartoon Network tv show plus kidsand some delusional sonic fans

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Because tie-ins to a good show work wonders.
Neither Sonic Rise of Lyric nor Watch Dogs deserve high sales; they're both crap games.

[AKR]

This isn't surprising in the least.

The general view of this game is that it's an underwhelming off-shot of GTA. This is supported by user reviews and professional reviews.

On top of that, Ubisoft released this 6 months later, EXCLUSIVELY behind 5 other versions. And then to add insult to injury, they have the gall to charge full price.

This was a bad idea in the making. They had NO good reason to delay it for so long, and even more so, charge full price. They can only blame themselves.

[DryBoneKoopa85]

Another HUGE factor to consider is Ubisoft delayed the game to literally three days before Super Smash Bross 4. Their was NO marketing for the Wii U version. Not even a single god d*mn screen shot of the Wii U version.

This was just simply poor mishandling on Ubisoft part.

[Adolph Fitler]

Yeah, the game was not as great as anticipated...But TOO many were expecting some GTA killing giant...For where it released on XBOne & PS4, it was a good filler game, until the king of the block rehashed itself & showed up....But seeing Wii-U HAS NOTHING like this game (unless you include that open world Lego game), then Watchdogs should not be scoffed at, for the machine.... But, I'm guessing TOO many Wii-U owners are like myself, & already own another console, that they were able to get this game on months & months ago.

If this game suffers that bad in sales, Nintendo will also be kissing Ubisoft goodbye...& that would be a shame, as they are the ONLY HUGE 3rd party developer Nintendo seems to have. Plus, with Bayonetta 2 selling pretty averagely.....why would Platinum want to go there again, when there chances of success elsewhere, is 3X greater, at least....
I love my Wii-U, but the fact is, there aren't many games that cater to my tastes, apart from Zombi-U, MarioKart, & Bayonetta 2.....I own more games than that, but have been bitterly disappointed with there direction...Mario has been a joke, either 2D 3DS crossovers, or pseudo 3D, Crash Bandicoot rip off's, like Mario World 3D...Yeah 3D my a$$. And it says something that Tropical Freeze is the BEST platformer on the system (along with Rayman..got both).... I just WISH Miyamota would start putting some effort into Mario games once again, & bringing back the magic that Mario64 encapsulated....Mario's since, have been average & outdone by other platformers...Either that, or move on to another IP, & stop talking crap about developers who are doing a FAAAAAR better job than you.

I do understand Nintendo die hards reluctance to buy the game, as they are probably the most staunch, console owners of the lot....& take it to heart that Ubi made them wait...I also understand that Nintendo owners, are very inclined to favour & purchase Nintendo ONLY games, & 3rd parties often suffer bad sales on the machine... But surely there is something Nintendo can do, to salvage some relationship with 3rd parties, to keep games coming to the system, that don't involve a sexually confused, middle age plumber, in bright red overalls, that jumps in there air, & throws his a$$ at other males heads (rimjob Mario), all done in a 30+yr old 2D setting, or at best, a pseudo 3D/2.5D perspective. I know, even as a long time Nintendo fan, that I'm over it... Yes, MarioKart is great, although a bit TOO familiar, & yes, I would lap up a proper 3D Mario (I mean, I already lapped up the half arsed ones & regretted there purchase), BUT, I need more than that...

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

I would prefer "average selling" games from Platinum games over "million selling overhype shite piles" from Ubisoft and other AAA third parties that can't pull off a good Wii U port to save their careers.
Also, Platinum games rarely ever sell huge numbers; the numbers for Bay 2 are actually quite respectable given the differences in install base and the time it's been out compared to the first version.[which, btw, its first week more than outstripped]
Just saying.

[young7yang]

A big pile of shit cannot be salvaged. Instead we get a pig pile of decomposed shit.

UBISOFT other then Far Cry 4 and a handful of downloadable games your games this year have sucked! period! Gamer's are not stupid!

[hellothere1977]

"Gamer's are not stupid!"

*Looks at article. Sees panned Sonic game ranked 3rd in sales.*

Uh....

[randomass171]

The same article also says that those sales are likely the result of unknowing parents and grandparents. Gamers likely avoided Sonic Boom for the most part.

[Coachkeys]

I'm boycotting it myself. I don't need anymore sandbox games especially with a refreshed gta 5 already released. Plus all of the wii u owners would rather get some amiibos and super smash then play an abandoned game that has no backing from its developers. Ubisoft initially killed it.

[Nodoze]

They release it against Smash? Good luck. Had they released it 6 months ago it would have sold.

[benji101]

6 months ago it would not have sold either. It would have been facing Mariokart 8. The perfect time for this game to have released was June the 16th.

[JacketsNest101]

It would have sold more releasing around MK8 than Smash.

[KrisButtar]

I enjoyed WD more than GTAV and I would have bought the Wii U version if I didn't have anything else to play it on.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Not me; I'd have sucked it up and gotten a cheap last-gen system to play it on instead.
My Wii U's memory space is reserved for good games.
Not shovelware.
And fortunately, it's filling up fast, as is the external HD I've got hooked up to it.

[iluvmaPS3]

What makes the wiiu different from lsstlast gen? (Ps3,360)

[madjedi]

@iluv a gig and half more ram(slower), a newer version of the xbox360 gpu or similar to it and a 2012 release date.

[DivineAssault]

figures... The game wasnt all that to begin with & it was delayed to the point where this was inevitable

[BigDuo]

The reality is, Watch Dogs would have bombed hard on Wii U regardless of whether it came out on time or not. There's a clear pattern of poor third party sales ranging from Call of Duty and Splinter Cell to Tekken and Assassin's Creed on Wii U (games that came out on time, though Call of Duty was hurt by a stealth launches on Wii U, but the reality is it would have sold just as badly anyway because the fan base is not on Nintendo platforms to begin with). Even Nintendo's own published Bayonetta 2, a well marketed game, and probably deserving of game of the year, bombed hard on Wii U worldwide.

Anyway, the game deserved to sell poorly. It may be a AAA title but AAA has nothing to do with the quality of a game, just its marketing and development budgets. Ubisoft admitted the game did not live up to its own expectations (something they said similarly of Assassin's Creed 1). The fact that the game was delayed for months with a full retail price is Ubisoft's fault. The game shouldn't have even been in development for Wii U when it was clear that third party mature software is not ideal fit for Wii U's demographics. Most gamers do not buy third party support on Nintendo home consoles because they are mostly treated as supplemental consoles to a PlayStation, Xbox or PC platforms. Of course, it doesn't help that Nintendo is to ultimately blame for not making Wii U an appealing enough product to consumers. It has great exclusives, but understandably, it's just not enough for many people. GameCube had a chance to do it right, but Nintendo didn't handle the console's marketing well enough and underestimated the perceived consumer value of dvd playback. However, again, it boils down to demographics and Nintendo's home consoles have a clear indication of skewering toward a younger audience. Ironically, Nintendo of America's demographics data revealed, at least in the US, that based on eShop registrated members, most Wii U owners are overwhelmingly male and over the age of 17.

Some of us may have bought a good amount of third party software, including myself, but we are obviously in the minority. Nintendo cannot rely on its increasingly shrunken dedicated fan base even if it made a console that was on par with PS4 and Xbox One. The lack of mind share and demographics issues would have very likely plagued Wii U just as hard as it did with GameCube.

[ape007]

Lol at disagrees , fanboys are in great denial

[benji101]

Reality is the user base for those games is on different consoles. If new IP launched on all the consoles at the same time it may have a chance, but if the game is in any way inferior on the Nintendo system why would someone who owns multiple systems, as many gamers do, choose to buy the game on the wii u?
The only game devs who can feel entitled to be angry at the wii u install base are probably THe most wanted U guys, Critiereon( i think) Who brought the pc port to Wii u and did not get the support from the publishers or Nintendo. The game still has major crash issues.

[vakarian75]

All of the third part games that have come out on the Wii U have been either really old games ported to the Wii U and/or missing any kind of dlc and its hard to justify buying a game like Assassins Creed 3 or Mass Effect 3 on the Wii U when a few days before they release you announce a bundle with all of the previous games is coming out soon on other consoles.

[Aquariusgamer]

Already bought the game on ps4 when it released. I only bought the wii u to play exclusives. I'm currently buying up old wii games I never played, then moving on to wii u stuff. There is just waaay to much neat first party stuff to play to worry about multiplats.

[JuleyJules]

Uh duh. Obviously it hardly sold. Full price. 6 months late. DLC that's extra and not included. Full price. Next, Ubisoft will blame Nintendo and Wii U fans when it was their blatant way to turn around and say Wii U owners don't buy mature games. No, we don't want gimped ports, delayed versions on Wii U, no DLC etc. Such BS!!!

[BigDuo]

Quite frankly, Wii U owners aren't generally buying much of anything. Most Wii U players didn't buy Bayonetta 2 despite how good it is. Games like Demons and Dark Souls are also niche, yet they managed to be surprisingly successful, so there's no excuse why Bayonetta 2 bombed when it was fairly well marketed and one of the finest games of the year. Wii U owners just preferred not to play anything new on Wii U in October.

Heck, most of Nintendo's software on Wii U has not sold as well as Nintendo expected. Well, Mario Kart 8 performed well enough relative to its install base, but it failed at being a strong system-seller given how its one of Nintendo's top 3 biggest flagship IPs.

[Brasi1989]

You keep saying Bayonetta 2 bombed when its not even a month old. Also, only Nintendo themselves will know if the game is a failure or not.

[Ol_G]

Quite frankly you suck

[ZeekQuattro]

Good it will be under $20 in no time. Its about what its worth at this point anyway.

[Kalebninja]

this was no ones fault but ubisoft they cant expect anyone to buy a game that was released incredibly and that 3 better version already exist prior to release. I feel bad for Nintendo that it's going to reflect on their console.

[Whirlwind_Fanfare_08]

LMAO

[ufo8mycat]

Not surprised at all.

The Wii:U is the wrong target audience for Watch Dogs
Watch Dogs is more directed at the core audience rather then the casual gaming audience, which is what the Wii:U is made up of.

[zero_gamer]

Unfortunately for Ubisoft, most of the target audience for Watch_Dogs no longer cares about the game.

[Soldierone]

As a Vita user I feel bad for wiiU. This has almost nothing to do with WiiU at all. It has to deal with ubisoft entirely. Priced too high, released too late, offered nothing special, etc and yet Wiiu will pick up the blame. Just like all the crappy third party games Vita gets, then the publishers blame the Vita for nobody wanting that crap....

[TheProfessional]

This is just another reason why the Wii U is and will continue to be a failure as a "next gen" console: it has zero variety in its game content and fails to attract any notable third party support. This will be the end of any major third party franchises or I.P.s having Wii U ports, and churning out endless Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong sequels isn't going to save the system.

When Nintendo refuses to innovate by pumping out games with the same characters and the same gameplay on a system with mediocre, last gen graphics its really not the best strategy. I'm sorry but whether you like it or not Call of Dutys, Grand Theft Autos and Halos generate more mass appeal than Nintendos exclusives (this is a FACT look at the sales), more mass appeal equals more sales and sales are what make or break a console. The gamecube and wii days are long gone unfortunately.

[iluvmaPS3]

Spot on. I too was hoping after the wii (only Nintendo system I didnt buy besides wiiu) they were going to go back to the gamecube days. But after all the grandmas bought all those wii's we got the wiiu. Well luckily grandma's only need one console and didnt buy the wiiu. So hopefully we get a real console next time and not some stupid gimmick like the wii and weeyou

[cocadaking]

I agree with you, as much as I love the Wii U I can't see it selling half as much as the other consoles without these stupid shooters you mentioned. It's a shame because it has the best games right now.

[TXIDarkAvenger]

Who would want this anyways considering the week it launched is the same week as Super Smash Bros Wii U and Pokemon ORAS.

[nesiguess]

Wtf is watchdogs?

[Coachkeys]

I think a lot of people were waiting for Smash before they picked up they're copy of Bayonetta 2. Although this is a great time to release games, the majority of the consumers are waiting it out for black friday. That's a great excuse to pick up a Wii U bundle with Smash and Bayo 2 for a lower price. Although it's just a theory, I'm hoping Bayo 2 has a better month in sales based off of this assumption.

[captainexplosion]

14th is crazy low considering it is competing against nothing. How the hell does a 6 month old game come in 1st and a 2 year old launch game come in 2nd? Crazy.

[xX1NORM1Xx]

If wii u was my only platform I wouldn't buy this after a massive delay and the game not being as good as we it was made out to be. You can't blame the system for poor sales this time u simply cannot release a game 6 months after the original release and still expect the hype

[SpiralTear]

Didn't help that the game got middling review scores, a huge delay, and a high price. Seriously, I'm surprised Ubisoft even released this version.

[ChristopherJack]

Wouldn't have done much better if it was released the same time as the other consoles. The Wii U has found its niche(the exact same niche as the Wii, just less popular) & it's not for the average 20-30yo male gamer that plays CoD & Fifa & other more mainstream adult games. It's for the Mario/Zelda/etc fans, the kids & the outliers.

I don't normally personally criticize people but anyone that bought a Wii U with the intention of receiving proper 3rd party dev support in-line with the other current gen consoles is a bloody moron.

[Antifan]

I really hope Ubisoft goes under for this. They've be releasing some very poor quality games lately at a high rate.

[higgins78]

Watch Dogs OR I continue to keep playing Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2 and wait for Smash to arrive in a couple of days....mmm, decisions, decisions. Reviews aside for Watch Dogs - which were average if generous, Watch Dogs sold well because little to nothing else was available (games-wise) when it launched, coupled with the fact it was hyped to hell, falsely. I stick with the same philosophy I have had since I began gaming way back...continue to buy and play the games I consider good without sales EVER coming into it. It's served me well till now.

[Broomfondle]

I was never going to buy this on WiiU anyway after the crap that was AC4. Serves them right. If they put some effort into their games, like Nintendo do, maybe they would sell more copies and get more support.

[d3nworth1]

Well of course it wouldn't move copies. It's $60!! All the other versions are under $50. Unless you only a Wii U there is no reason buy that version when the 3 superior versions are cheaper.

[Hotabang]

Lets see:
Major delay with the release
Watch dogs getting bad press, or generally considered somewhat disappointing as a game
Smash and pokemon just got released
black friday is soon
Ubisoft bitching about nintendo since they became a giant in the gaming industry.

ok let me go buy watchdogs?

[windblowsagain]

I enjoyed the game tbh.

It should have run and looked better, but it's decent.

I think the main problem is people thought it was another GTA.

I'm not into GTA,lol maybe that's why I enjoyed it.

But no game should be full price for a second/third time,lol.

[Apex13]

This wasn't a wii u problem it was a ubisoft taking the piss problem.
Many owners where willing to support but to delay it for so long when the game was done etc and then release it on others whilst keeping others waiting, ubi sent a bad message.

I didn't support Rayman or this because of that very reason. Very disappointed and I didn't purchase it or others on any other platform. They can whistle in the wind till they show equal suport in this gen or next.

[andrewer]

And Ubisoft will probably say it's Nintendo's fault...for not being able to sell that awful game I regret buying...

[Skate-AK]

Watch Dogs wasn't that bad. I got the platinum for it and had more fun than plenty of other games I have played.

[DeezR]

what was ubisoft thinking? Wii U is a family gaming console. if they wanna make a profit off watch dogs for wii u, they had to release it on the same date as ps4/xbox one. 6 month after it's release they release it on wii u, watch dogs is no family or casuel game. every gamer that has a wii u also has a ps3, ps4, xbox or xbone. the chance is big that they already bought it on another console. this was probably the last blockbuster game of any other publisher then nitendo on the wii u. only the raymans and skylanders will be published on the wii u

[Iamnemesis4880]

Sad to say but this is expected one the game is six months old and can be picked up for half the price on other platforms the second Nintendo is in the past with console hardware it is not hard for Nintendo to make a console with the same power as the PS4 or Xb one I remember the days when Nintendo was the top console then when the PS1 came out and after that PS2 and Xbox console Nintendo fell from grace starting with the game cube then it did get a good console out with the WII then the WII U came out yeah a next gen console slightly powerful than a ps3 or 360 Nintendo just need to make a console that has the same spec of the PS4 or X1 and be able to play all the AAA rated games the others play then it would be a runner again.

[qwerty676]

ubisoft either was funded by nintendo to finish this port

or they just did it to prove to everyone "see this is why we dont release our games for the wii u"

[SynestheticRoar]

Ah ha. LOL.

[kakashi81]

funny thing the blame could be third parties,Nintendo, and us as Wii u owners. because Bayonetta2 isn't selling like that (even though I purchased the game).

Wii U owners have a dilemma after all, we either support companies like this so other companies could hop on or we let the companies go the way of the doe-doe bird on the console.

[clouds5]

There are basically no third party studios left. Ubisoft already said that watchdogs was their last game for wii u.
So i still keep my wii u for mario/zelda and of course my most anticipated game: Xenoblade X. Bug it's a good thing I have a gaming PC for all the other stuff or I would be bored...

[Hakoom]

wiiu games should cost 20$ if they want to succeed

[ritsuka666]

It's no surprise Ubisoft spit in the face of nintendo fanboys .

Fuck you Ubisoft,no one cares about you games.

[Reeze]

For me, it's the same story as Rayman. I was initially extremely interested, but since the games' delay, I've found MANY more games to keep me busy.

[Ps4andxb1]

Watchdogs is a great game tarnished because Ubisoft released big time lieing bullshots.

Lesson to all developers.....

Bullshots come back to haunt you and ultimately hurt sales.

Watchdogs deserves better than to not sell.

Ubisoft deserves this situation for lieing.

[vakarian75]

Aside from the fact that it was release late and people have been talking about how it was a big disappointment they also aren't releasing the new DLC for the game so Ubisoft already showed they aren't going to support the game so why should we.

[G_V_Black]

No surprise here. No different than the PvZ: Garden Warfare PS4 release. Rise of the Tomb Raider's eventual PS4 release will play out in the same manner.

[gerbwmu]

Why would I pay $60 for a game I can get in January for $19.99. I've already waited 6 months....what's 2 more? Ubi already stated they won't support the console. Me paying $60 isn't going to change their mind.

[eworthington0]

Well im sure there are a ton of people that potentially would pick it up. If it was launched the same day as ps4, xbone...
now everyone knows what it is and that it didnt live up to the hype.
I was planning on getting it.
I might later when it inevitably drops down to 18.99 like ac4 did.

[randomass171]

People keep making shortsighted arguments about why third party doesn't work on Wii U when in reality this is just really poor marketing on Ubisoft's part. A third party game can do very well if marketed the right way and it's happened before but this game came out in the same time frame as Smash Bros. of all things. Regardless of any other reason holding it back that factor alone doomed the game's release.

[Emme]

This "news" is so clickbait. Its spot number 14, where does it say how many copies that are !?

[clouds5]

I've got a wii u a PC and a ps3. I, eventually buy watchdogs for the wii u. Because wii u is the best system for any open world game. But I absolutely won't spend full price on a port that comes over half a year late and is already cheaper on other systems. Just no.

Every person that has more than just a wii u already played the game. And those only having a wii u are not that many. Also the game is not that great...

Still im gonna buy it as soon as the price drops. There's plenty of other stuff to play atm.

[acekaze]

MY FRIENDS, WATCH DOGS COSTS 7 EUROS ON KINGUIN FOR PC, if you can write on a pc, you can play on a pc. Why would any of the wii U users buy this for 60 euros?

[StormLegend]

It was stupid for them to even make this for WiiU especially since it was delayed....

[DoggyBiscuit]

Ubisoft only got themselves to blame when it comes to these horrible sales, what 3rd party need to realize Wii U owners wanna play quality games not shitty ports

[NixonMonoxide]

LMAO. People are actually surprised at this predictable outcome?

[tigertron]

Reason why:

- Released a long time after the other versions, so no hype.
- Other versions are cheaper
- Full price
- Not as many people have a Wii U
- No marketing

No chance of this being successful.

[zpoc]

why did they even bother releasing this game on wii u? makes no sense. they should have spent that money and time porting assassin's creed rogue to the platform. i would have actually bought the game for it - not interested in buying a new game for 360 or ps3 at this point, but a new wii u game would have been welcome.

[e-p-ayeaH]

Wii U owners are probably too busy playing mario kart

[GeraltofRivia]

I bought a Wii U and tried Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed and Zombie U. I thought they both had terrible graphics. My 6 year old laptop at the time produced much better 1080p graphics compared to those games on Wii U. I returned my Wii U as I was not happy with it.

Does anyone know if the graphics got better with the Wii U, like similar to the PS4? Or is it still basically just mildly better than the last gen consoles?

[MNGamer-N]

Sounds like you'd be happy just staring at a pretty picture on the wall. Try that. If your not happy with the picture tear it down and return it.

[CaptainN]

Try playing games that push the hardware. Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2 and Smash bros have very good graphics.

[masterfox]

lol no really somebody surprise by this ?, Most Nintendo Wii U owners are traumatized by Marios and Pokemons

[MNGamer-N]

What? Please elaborate on your wisdom, I don't fully understand you.

[Paprika]

I reckon its simple. Own a wiiu? Chances are, you want its exclusives, likely have another console for games like watch dogs. Other scenario... you have no internet connection or exposure to trends, reviews, news and gossip related to gaming... bought a wiiu, knowing nothing about other consoles...loved Mario kart... saw watch dogs... gave it a go.

There is simply not one reason to own a wiiu but for its exclusives imo. But that's still a valid reason to own one, they're great! Wiiu is just fine without watch dogs.

[Flames76]

Been saying it from the start people wasnt gonna fall for another gimmick from nintendo.They need to go to a software company before its to late.Hell XOne and ps4 has already passed them worldwide in the first year

[hiawa23]

This really can't be a surprise to anyone. Wiiu is for the Nintendo games

[CaptainN]

Was there a pre order bonus for the Wii-U version? Was there any commercials on TV announcing this game coming to Wii-U? Any exclusive features that warranted a six month delay?(off TV play and a map dont cut it). Any media hype showing off pictures and videos of the game running on Wii-U prior to its launch. Yea I wonder why it didnt sell !!

[jholden3249]

Several reasons why this happened:

1) Nintendo gamers are a fickle and spiteful group- a late port after the Rayman debacle and previous ports with missing modes and lack of DLC was asking for trouble

2) The game was criticized by reviewers, so the hype was killed for any late ports

3) Smash Bros released at the same time

4) Most Wii U gamers own a PC, PS3, PS4, 360 or X1 also. Many interested gamers caved in already and bought the game on other platforms.

5) The Wii U owners that DO NOT own another console, do so for a reason- they don't care about AAA titles. If they did, they'd own a second console.

6) Ubisoft not only failed to run a single advertisement for this version, they didn't even release a single screenshot until a week from release. It's almost as if they did everything in their power to conceal knowledge of this game's existence.

Combine all of these reasons. Now ask yourself did anyone actually expect this NOT to happen?

With all that said, I bought Watch Dogs on Wii U day one. And I own all 3 consoles and both handhelds. I wanted the map on the gamepad and off TV play. And that's what I got, so I'm happy.

[CaptainN]

^This guy gets it !!

[MultiConsoleGamer]

While I completely expected this game to bomb and sell almost no copies, I have to point out something about this article and how it relates to the "quality" of content we see here on N4G.

GFK is a market research company. Nowhere does the author point this out. He simply assumes you already know the background of this company. Much like the NPD Group they do not have direct access to Nintendo sales data. They must make estimates that do not include the entire retail market. (For the record, NPD only covers around 65% of US retailers.) And also like the NPD group, they only cover specific regions.

The author then covers his ass by saying "almost no copies." The truth of the matter is the game came in 14th out of a total of 20 listed games. Also, the exact totals are not listed. So there is no way the author can know that the game "shifted almost no copies." That proves his own bias.

http://www.chart-track.co.u...

tl:dr = This is just click bait with a sensationalist title. The first comment in this comment section is the response the author was hoping to receive from his intended audience. This is pretty typical N4G stuff.

[NarfleGarthok]

What did they expect? lol

[Primal]

It would've sold poorly regardless of its late arrival. The Wii-U appeals to different kind of gamers.

[garethwill]

not really the problem with this was they did not put the game out at the same time. its a myth of a certain type of gamer there is non. that like saying all pc gamer play wow or simulation games.

[Primal]

Many of my friends that prefer the Wii-U over ps4 and Xbox are different type of gamers, different is good I think. I like story based games they like pure gamplay and quirky things (the majority). And the ones that do own a playstation 3 for example mostly play JRPG's, Ratchet and a little bit of COD.

The focus group on Wii-U that buys mature games is minuscule due to lack of 3rd party support so WD would've always struggled on that platform. Not since the Super Nintendo has there been a real presence of third party support.

I mean just look at the numbers, PC gamers love Diablo, Dota, WOW, Starcraft and indies. It is what it is, different preferences, different people. Nintendo gamers love those exclusives, even if its the same iteration of decade old franchises with different suger coating.

[Menkyo]

Why so surprised?

[garethwill]

wow what a surprise NOT! they shot themselves in the foot over this one putting out a game late and not putting out the same DLC for it. what did they think would happen. most people have a ps3 or a 360 so what are the consumer going to do go out and buy the game on the on that if the don't have a ps4 or Xbox one. ubisoft should do better to cater to it customer base.