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Analyst: Nintendo sold 55,000 Wii Us in March, 85,000 Wiis
- Thread starter ClovingWestbrook
- Start date
TheNatural
My Member!
Nah, we're probably not going to be.
CoffeeJanitor
Member
I honestly don't think they can do anything. It's just not an attractive product.
Except in the GameCube era they hadn't previously released a console that pissed off and disconnected a bunch of longtime fans.
shinra-bansho
Member
I really don't think that's a fair portrayal of his NPD prediction performance.
I really think people are over-selling the 5-week month.
Other March's have had Easter and/or major games before and not seen rises in either their monthly total, their weekly average, or both despite the 5-week month which benefits March over February.
March/February (total)
March/February (weekly average)
Releases, etc. in the tracking period that I could find:
2009 Feb: Killzone 2, Street Fighter IV
2009 Mar: Easter, Halo Wars, Resident Evil 5, Nintendo DSi, Pokemon Platinum
2010 Feb: Bioshock 2, Heavy Rain, Wii shortages?
2010 Mar: Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver, FFXIII, God of War III, Just Cause 2
2011 Feb: Killzone 3, MvC3
2011 Mar: Pokemon Black/White, Dragon Age II, Crysis 2
2012 Feb: FFXIII-2, Resident Evil: Revelations
2012 Mar: Mass Effect 3, Kid Icarus, Resident Evil: ORC
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.
Zombie James
Banned
Wasn't Lego City supposed to push it through the roof?
There was Monster Hunter too, and Most Wanted U, though noone expected a late port to be a system seller.
Petrae
Member
I read this yesterday. 11,000 units per week, *if* Pachter is right. And that's despite two new releases in March. Until Nintendo delivers its own software-- whenever that is-- Wii U is going to only be saved from the basement by Vita.
Even when the software hits, I'm not sure that's going to be enough to spark a significant comeback... at least here in the US. I do echo Pachter's sentiment about continued and future struggles for the console. While not impossible for Nintendo to get back into the console race, the odds are very long.
Thursday night should be very interesting. If this number is anywhere close to right, Nintendo may not release data. I know I wouldn't, if I was at Nintendo.
Even when the software hits, I'm not sure that's going to be enough to spark a significant comeback... at least here in the US. I do echo Pachter's sentiment about continued and future struggles for the console. While not impossible for Nintendo to get back into the console race, the odds are very long.
Thursday night should be very interesting. If this number is anywhere close to right, Nintendo may not release data. I know I wouldn't, if I was at Nintendo.
Ninja Scooter
Member
the next Mario, Zelda and Metroid are not going to sell to people who don't already have the Wii U or at least have it on their radar. That's Nintendo's problem, is the large segment of the population (many of them who were avid Wii owners) are either completely indifferent to the Wii U or just don't care about it. Mario/Zelda won't do anything to get these people.
I think people are in for a rude awakening when those games are finally released, and sell well individually, but don't move the needle for the console itself.
I think people are in for a rude awakening when those games are finally released, and sell well individually, but don't move the needle for the console itself.
metalslimer
Member
Someone said this?
Is this kind of gaf meme?
Snake oil salesman? Exactly what lofty promises is Pachter selling? Pathetic.
Zoramon089
Banned
What does this even mean? What is a fair portrayal of his NPD prediction performance then?
DragonSworne
Banned
At this point, I'd rather Nintendo cancel their wii U games and release them on a system of theirs with no gamepad and better specs.
I don't see the point of them supporting a system that the public does not want. It makes no sense.
And the GameCube typically got superior ports when it got them. The opposite is happening with Wii U.
Okay, it's significantly worse then what a GameCube Redux would be.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
The public doesn't know they want it yet. They don't understand the value. Please understand.
MikeE21286
Member
Unmitigated disaster territory
Calling it Wii U was a huge mistake. It should have had an entirely new name.
TheNatural
My Member!
That he knows something that's worth paying for.
People don't like systems that have no games on them.
pachter was wildly off in february. 80k wii us (66k from npd), 160k ps3s (200k from npd), and 225k 360s (300k from npds).
i'm not suggesting it's an unbelievable number, but 55k in march would be the absolute end of the console. well, i suppose the holidays would just be its swan song. we're talking about fewer weekly sales than february when there were actually some high-rated games (even if two were late up-ports), and some advertising for the console to go along with one of them.
edit: i seem to have gotten my months mixed up. i always thought february was the slow one in q1 due to january following christmas and march being the end of the fiscal year for many companies.
i'm not suggesting it's an unbelievable number, but 55k in march would be the absolute end of the console. well, i suppose the holidays would just be its swan song. we're talking about fewer weekly sales than february when there were actually some high-rated games (even if two were late up-ports), and some advertising for the console to go along with one of them.
edit: i seem to have gotten my months mixed up. i always thought february was the slow one in q1 due to january following christmas and march being the end of the fiscal year for many companies.
And don't get me wrong: While I think Nintendo has made a bunch of ridiculously boneheaded moves, I'm sad they're not doing well. Nintendo is behind the times, completely unwilling to change in a rapidly changing environment. They don't pay attention to the trends around them. However, this has ALSO allowed them to skip a lot of the more annoying trends of the past generations, and many of their games are better for this. However, it's also going to make them lose a lot of battles, and we're probably going to see less *great* content from Nintendo as they try(?) to get with it.
But you know, they also just make flat out bonehead moves that make no one happy. The Wii U is evidence of that.
But you know, they also just make flat out bonehead moves that make no one happy. The Wii U is evidence of that.
AZ Greg
Member
Aquamarine
Member
Right. And just look at this retail software lineup:
Wii U North American Retail Software Releases, March NPD tracking period (March 3rd - April 6th)
1. Monster Hunter 3: Ultimate - March 19th, 2013
2. The Croods: Prehistoric Party! - March 19th, 2013 (shovelware)
3. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct - March 19th, 2013
4. Need for Speed Most Wanted U - March 19th, 2013 (late port)
5. LEGO City: Undercover - March 18th, 2013
6. The Amazing Spider-Man Ultimate Edition - March 5th, 2013 (late port)
That doesn't really scream "big NPD," given lackluster advertising, confusing branding, and the continual irrelevance of marquee launch titles to push hardware adoption.
darkside31337
Tomodachi wa Mahou
Yeah I feel like he constantly overestimates on these but I'm not sure if thats true or not.
Either way its not going to be good.
Mr. Enigma
Member
Just wait for Bayonetta 2 guyz
DragonSworne
Banned
Games did release in March and sales went down.. according to Pachter.
You mean the console that didn't have a Metroid title and a single Mario platformer?
Is the N64 now retroactively a bright spot on Nintendo's history?
Petrae
Member
I don't think Nintendo did anything to make the public want a Wii U. It's not necessarily that people don't want it-- it's that nobody knows what the hell a "Wii U" is. Is it a Wii add-on? Is it portable? That's what consumers think, and Nintendo hasn't done one thing to educate anyone. People don't know that they want it. Not yet, anyway.
The amount of money to switch over and completely abandon the Wii U would seem too costly. It's best to just ride this out and release their next console sooner than expected.
Phoenician_Viking
Banned
The WiiU was abysmal in January as well. January was 5 week month.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Monster Hunter is incredibly niche in North America. You might as well have been releasing an Atlus SRPG.
At this point the only thing I can imagine is that Nintendo had some incredibly out of touch hubris and thought the Wii name had as much cache as "iPhone" or "iPad" and would sell on that alone.
TheNatural
My Member!
When nothing comes out, D tier titles like Lego City and Monster Hunter console port suddenly become system sellers in some people's eyes for whatever reason.
forknknife
Banned
Wii U don' goof
What a wreck. I feel bad for Nintendo but I really feel not compeled about their system or the games they have announced at all and I really don't see that changing anytime soon to be honest. Let's wait for E3 but I think that might be their last chance to gain my attention, specially if the steambox is going to be reveal around the same time.
What a wreck. I feel bad for Nintendo but I really feel not compeled about their system or the games they have announced at all and I really don't see that changing anytime soon to be honest. Let's wait for E3 but I think that might be their last chance to gain my attention, specially if the steambox is going to be reveal around the same time.
I know what you mean, but I feel like the constant attention towards "casuals" during the wii era made some long time Nintendo fans fall deaf. It certainly happened with the N64 when the PS1 came out, but I just feel like the actual shift in tone and marketing from Nintendo during the wii era was a bigger nail in the coffin.
redmetal86
Member
When do the NPD numbers come out?
Phoenician_Viking
Banned
Lol, bad spin is bad. There´s no way 55k sales is good for a newly released home console.
This game really is, atleast from my experiences, a system seller.
I've had 4 workmates buy a WiiU only for MH3U, 2 friends buy one and an additional two friends who also had to buy TVs as well as the console
DragonSworne
Banned
At this points it's too late. There is too much negativity and bad press for the Wii U that people who would have been interested will be hestiate to even buy the Wii U once they learn about it.
Trying to turn Wii U around is going to cost Nintendo too much money. It's better to start over new with a different brand and retire the Wii name.
Petrae
Member
Thursday evening.