[test_account]

Third parties on 3DS are really selling well. The behaviour of MH3G best price really set a stone in the debate MH on Vita, etc.

Did someone argue that MHTriG sold bad that a Vita version would have to be made to increase the sales of the game?

[blu]

Wow wiiu outsells ps3 and vita combined and the reaction is wiiu doomed?

But WiiU does not outsell ps3, vita and psp combined, so your argument is void.

[Thoraxes]

Wait...

People are dooming over like a 4.1k drop?

What is going on? It's still double-ish the next best best selling console.

[Deku Tree]

Nintendo dominates Japan these days...

[Sadist]

Maybe not bad, but a little underwhelming compared to previous week, seeing how 3DS and PSP had a boost whereas Wii U dropped. On the other hand, Wii U software - I mean SMBU, NintendoLand and MH3U - is selling quite well all things being considered.

That was to be expected right?

In these threads we're mostly talking about handheld dominance and how consoles aren't as relevant anymore in Japan. All things considered, I'd say Wii U's performance isn't bad at all. A 4k drop for a console without the Wii Sports-like killerapp and a higher pricepoint than Wii needs to be considered here.

[thehypocrite]

No need to contextualize? I just think the game would have sold more overall, and it would have helped them build the brand on the 3DS as well, is all.

Oh I see, the old "all games should be on 3DS, no other platform should get support"

That makes no sense, If you want to use the userbase argument then all games for the japanese market should be made for GREEE/Mobile/Etc.

So I will make this question, why you say 3DS & not the mobile platforms if their userbase is bigger?

[Beysus]

Wow wiiu outsells ps3 and vita combined and the reaction is wiiu doomed?

Well, it's a new Nintendo console released three weeks ago during holiday season. And there don't seem to be any shortages, unlike with the original Wii.

Plus it launched with a new NSMB and a MH game. And this week usually goes with hardware + software getting a sales boost.

So yeah, I can image people being surprised by the Wii U HW drop...

[Smiles and Cries]

Nintendo dominates Japan these days...

I miss the days when it was a 2 horse race those are more fun to watch each week

[Thoraxes]

Well, it's a new console released three weeks ago during holiday season. And there don't seem to be any shortages, unlike with the original Wii. Plus it launched with a new NSMB and a MH game. And this week usually goes with hardware + software getting a sales boost. So yeah, I can image people being surprised by the Wii U HW drop...

Where's the story about no shortages?

[Lord_Byron28]

So uh, we're damning the Wii U to doomed status? Well that was quick. Or my sarcasm detector must be broken. 3DS in beast mode.

No, GAF just has a big chicken little squad.

Week 1: Sold less than Vita!!!!! Just wait till next week when it really bombs .
Week 2: over 50% drop!!!! Just wait till next week where it drops below 100k.
Week 3: It dropped 4 K!!!!!! Just wait till the holidays are over and it is screwed.

For the record, I do expect dismal january sales. Unless Nintendo has a more complete release list for january.

[Qurupeke]

3DS is the king.

[Erethian]

Wait... People are dooming over like a 4.1k drop? What is going on? It's still double-ish the next best best selling console.

There was an expectation sales would increase over the previous week because this is the biggest sales week of the year.

Of course it also depends on what your expectations are for a console in Japan in this day and age.

[Chris1964]

Doomed.

doomed?

iOS?

Nice tries but it means low sales after holidays are inevitable.

[Sohter.Nura]

Oh I see, the old "all games should be on 3DS, no other platform should get support" That makes no sense, If you want to use the userbase argument then all games for the japanese market should be made for GREEE/Mobile/Etc. So I will make this question, why you say 3DS & not the mobile platforms if their userbase is bigger?

You're paranoid. I'm not going to reply to you anymore from here on :P

[yon61]

Wait... People are dooming over like a 4.1k drop? What is going on? It's still double-ish the next best best selling console.

The fact is that it dropped during the week before Christmas, and that really isn't a good sign for the weeks to come.

It's not that hard.

[StreetsAhead]

Unless Nintendo has an actual release list for january.

Fixed for truth.

[farnham]

Well, it's a new Nintendo console released three weeks ago during holiday season. And there don't seem to be any shortages, unlike with the original Wii. Plus it launched with a new NSMB and a MH game. And this week usually goes with hardware + software getting a sales boost. So yeah, I can image people being surprised by the Wii U HW drop...

Well it also outsold psv and ps3 combined

[Beysus]

Where's the story about no shortages?

Read this thread and the previous one. Wii U consoles don't seem very hard to find...

[Sammy Samusu]

For a console to drop in Week 51, it's either completely fucked or out of stock.

Pick whatever you want, doesn't matter, Wii U will go down to 20k-ish in January either way.

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/schedule/1301.html

[StreetsAhead]

Nice tries but it means low sales after holidays are inevitable.

No games until at least Feb (right now), 2D Mario (which only just came out on the 3DS), Nintendo Land and Monster Hunter not being the drives they thought (maybe), and a small amount of low selling 3rd party software.

[Lord_Byron28]

Read this thread and the previous one. Wii U console don't seem very hard to find...

Im not sure about currently but just last week iwata was apologizing about supply issues. Also launch day and the following day they sold 90% of the first shipment.

[LayLa]

surprised how little AKB managed to bump the Vita hardware figures, January is going to get ugly

[wrowa]

Well, it's a new Nintendo console released three weeks ago during holiday season. And there don't seem to be any shortages, unlike with the original Wii. Plus it launched with a new NSMB and a MH game. And this week usually goes with hardware + software getting a sales boost. So yeah, I can image people being surprised by the Wii U HW drop...

Well, it launched with the 3rd release of MH3 and with the second NSMB in half a year when even the first one comparatively underperformed. The line-up is much weaker than it looks on first sight imo, especially because the software future is uncertain. Right now there's pretty much nothing announced yet.

Taking this into consideration and the console being quite a bit more expensive than the Wii at launch, I think it's easy to see why it's not selling as well.

Right now it's pretty solid, imo. I don't think it was reasonable to expect the Wii U to sell comparative to the Wii to begin with, though.

[Scum]

Drop for Wii U this week means only one thing.

Nintendo Direct. :-)

[Bruno MB]

The biggest concern about Wii U launch figures is its abysmal software sales figures. All titles outside the big trio have bombed badly (sell-troughs for almost all of those titles are extremely shameful), on top of it even Monster Hunter 3G HD has failed to chart this week in the top 30, and it just needed to sell 17,000 units.

[MrT-Tar]

Those 3DS sales surpassed even my high expectations. The marginally WiiU drop is nothing to be worried about, but sales next month probably will

[DragonSworne]

Well, it launched with the 3rd release of MH3 and with the second NSMB in half a year when even the first one comparatively underperformed. The line-up is much weaker than it looks on first sight imo, especially because the software future is uncertain. Right now there's pretty much nothing announced yet. Taking this into consideration and the console being quite a bit more expensive than the Wii at launch, I think it's easy to see why it's not selling as well. Right now it's pretty solid, imo. I don't think it was reasonable to expect the Wii U to sell comparative to the Wii to begin with, though.

Not selling as well as what?

It OUTSOLD the Wii... Given there are shortages....

[Thoraxes]

The fact is that it dropped during the week before Christmas, and that really isn't a good sign for the weeks to come. It's not that hard.

I guess I should stop looking at it in comparison to the competition then.

There was an expectation sales would increase over the previous week because this is the biggest sales week of the year. Of course it also depends on what your expectations are for a console in Japan in this day and age.

I usually play a bit more moderate in my estimations.

Read this thread and the previous one. Wii U consoles don't seem very hard to find...

I did, but I still don't see any actual shipment numbers proving this 100% the gospel. I'll gladly take my statements back if you can get them to me.

[Lord_Byron28]

For a console to drop in Week 51, it's either completely fucked or out of stock. Pick whatever you want, doesn't matter, Wii U will go down to 20k-ish in January either way. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/schedule/1301.html

While I agree with your overall point, if this were any other system(other than Vita) that 4 K drop would be seen as statistical noise and most would say it's sales were stable this week.

[test_account]

Well it also outsold psv and ps3 combined

Those systems arent really a good bar for sales success though, especially not the Vita. The PS3 is over 6 years old at this point.

But i wont say much about the WiiU yet. 122k isnt bad on its own.

[Untalkative_Bunny]

Wii U will do fine in Japan no matter what. It's perfect for that consumer base: small, low power, cheap, and you don't need a tv.

so 100k per week sounds about right, approx 1.2 million consoles per year, 6 to 7.2 million lifetime. I'm sure nintendo will be fine with that.

Especially given the moribund economy of that country. 3rd recession in 5 years, GDP to debt ratio of 220% (for comparison, Greece is 170%), a disastrous lack of young people vs # of old people, no net immigration, and no political will to change any of these things.

The rest of the world is a big question mark, however.

[Pupi18]

People decided to buy cheaper consoles/Handhelds and probably waiting for more games to show up for the Wii U. Its doing fine looking at the numbers and lets remember Japan its more of a Handheld side than consoles for most of the part.

[big_z]

Drop for Wii U this week means only one thing.

Next gen Nintendo console announced at e3. They can sweep wiiu under the rug. Most people think its a wii peripheral anyway.

[DrWong]

Nice tries but it means low sales after holidays are inevitable.

If we're not expecting Wii sales performances, low sales (lower than December) are inevitable, unless I'm missing something. By how much will it drop is the real question. Will ze Wii U be "Vitazified" in January?

[gogogow]

Wii U will do fine in Japan no matter what. It's perfect for that consumer base: small, low power, cheap, and you don't need a tv. so 100k per week sounds about right, approx 1.2 million consoles per year, 6 to 7.2 million lifetime. I'm sure nintendo will be fine with that. Especially given the moribund economy of that country. 3rd recession in 5 years, GDP to debt ratio of 220% (for comparison, Greece is 170%), a disastrous lack of young people vs # of old people, no net immigration, and no political will to change any of these things. The rest of the world is a big question mark, however.

How do they play MH3U?

[Currygan]

well this just reinforces the theory about the WiiU being a slow burner, with the occasional spike jump when big games are released. Hopefully it will have reached a good amount of units sold by the end of its lifecycle but it's too early to declare anything expecially not knowing Japan's situation as a whole

[shinra-bansho]

Holiday boost vs post-launch decline = holding. The question is how much it was propped up I suppose.

Where's the story about no shortages?

There's been talk of shortages in the US, in the PAL territories and in Japan. So where exactly is Nintendo planning to ship 5.5M systems?

On a related note, given there's:
-Just a week to go of 2012; and if I'm to understand correctly sales can fall quite dramatically that week(?) - ergo the Wii U sell-through will be below 700K (cf Wii's 920-990K)
-European response has been tepid by most accounts.

Can Nintendo realistically meet its target of 5.5M Wii U's for the FY? (Given they'd presumably need to ship and sell the majority of that in the Holiday and Launch period.)

[BowieZ]

I still think Nintendo doesn't particularly mind what sales minutiae are experienced for Wii U over the next year or so.

They just sent it out into the wild with Mario and Monster Hunter in time for some decent Christmas sales, while they put all their might into 3DS, which has now successfully killed Vita (unless Sony goes into overdrive resuscitation mode, which they are unlikely to do), and is battling on against iOS/iPhone, its biggest competitor.

Meanwhile, Wii U has a good 12 months, possibly 18-24 months to build positive word of mouth before PS4 threatens it (and 720 in the West), at which time they will have the software line-up and advertising budget (and probable price cut, colors and bundles etc) ready to go, to stifle the PS4.

Nintendo is doomed with a 4K drop this week = embarrassingly short-sighted, or trolling.

Having said that, I may be wrong, and if a Wii U heavy Nintendo Direct is announced for this weekend, that could mean they are sweating bullets.

[SgtCobra]

The 3DS is king and dominating everything combined wow.
And the Vita..yeah.. It's over I guess, Sony really screwed themselves by not having a better third/first party support but this is common sense.

time to engage panic mode Sony, ASAP

[chertipros]

Dragon Quest X Wii U beta comes out in FEB correct? Well, at least there's that. Still, nothing releasing in January is worrying. Not even eshop games....

[test_account]

Wii U will do fine in Japan no matter what. It's perfect for that consumer base: small, low power, cheap, and you don't need a tv.

You will most likely need a TV in the long run. Not every game supports on-controller play, and other games will use the TV/controller combo (some games in NintendoLand already does this for example).

[Chris1964]

If we're not expecting Wii sales performances, low sales (lower than December) are inevitable, unless I'm missing something. By how much will it drop is the real question. Will ze Wii U be "Vitazified" in January?

The story for Wii U sales at first quarter is written so clearly that I fail to understand how anyone even with zero experience in Japanese sales can't see it. We are looking at sub 50k numbers already from January, maybe even lower, with zero software releases soon that can slow down the continued hardware drop.

[BowieZ]

You will most likely need a TV in the long run. Not every game supports on-controller play, and other games will use the TV/controller combo (some games in NintendoLand already does this for example).

Would be cool if the eventual second GamePad could be used as the second off TV screen!

[maabus1999]

Not selling as well as what? It OUTSOLD the Wii... Given there are shortages....

What shortages? Source please because their are a lot of in person reporting that says the opposite.

[mugurumakensei]

Read this thread and the previous one. Wii U consoles don't seem very hard to find...

Except in the one prior to the previous thread, Wii U's were easy to find despite confirmed 90% sell through.

[Thoraxes]

There's been talk of shortages in the US, in the PAL territories and in Japan. So where exactly is Nintendo planning to ship 5.5M systems? On a related note, given there's: -Just a week to go of 2012; and if I'm to understand correctly sales can fall quite dramatically that week(?) - ergo the Wii U sell-through will be below 700K (cf Wii's 920-990K) -European response has been tepid by most accounts. Can Nintendo realistically meet its target of 5.5M Wii U's for the FY?

I would see January with some major drops (the post-launch lull), followed by a period of small growth once a release schedule actually begins outside the launch window, so March on. Most companies tend to over-promise on sales estimates, and despite maintaining rather realistic forecasts in the past generation (because honestly who the hell expected that kind of popularity), Nintendo has not yet changed with the Wii U and 3DS (I would assume it's hard for anyone to guess accurate proliferation for anything that's brand new though) and misjudged the difference in marketplace.

I think they definitely over-estimated projections in EU and NA, but think they will probably be the most near their forecasts for Japan (once we see those reports at the end of FY).

It's a pretty fine line though, and lines up with a lot of opportune moments, while at the same time is going to go through the cycle every new console does.

[Untalkative_Bunny]

You will most likely need a TV in the long run. Not every game supports on-controller play, and other games will use the TV/controller combo (some games in NintendoLand already does this for example).

Of course you will need a tv for some games. But off tv play is still a great selling feature for densely packed urban dwellers. & I believe you can own and use the console without ever hooking it up to a tv, you just cant play every game.

[Beysus]

Can Nintendo realistically meet its target of 5.5M Wii U's for the FY? (Given they'd presumably need to ship and sell the majority of that in the Holiday and Launch period.)

With Europe paying it dust? No way.
Unless there's a major pricedrop and Nintendo gets their WiiU marketing on different level.

I still think that NSMBU has the potential to sell a lot of WiiU consoles. But everything about the WiiU has been handled so poorly...

[Celine]

Doomed. I's sold out on Amazon, not sure how wide spread the situation is.

MH (and bundles) for WiiU is for sure.

[Sadist]

Everybody is expecting low sales for Wii U in January.

The real question is will it fall down to Vita levels of low?