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[Neff]

Considering the hardware's identity problem, release barely a month after the UK crawled out of a double-dip recession, lack of advertising, lack of killer apps, lack of significant graphical improvement over competitors, and mass exodus of casual gamers from console gaming to tablets/phones, I'd say Wii U sold pretty good.

 

[AzaK]

I agree.

I'm looking at Wii U's release schedule in 2013, as I'm not interested in anything out now, and I see....Pikmin 3. That's it. Seriously, what the fuck are they doing with all of the money they made on Wii? I'll pick one up for EAD's stuff once it's released, but if I get busy with life or if I didn't have as much income, I'd probably just do PC and one of the other 2 consoles.

See, I know Nintendo will be working on Zelda, 3D Mario and probably Metroid or some other core title by Retro. What shocks and depresses me is looking at the absence of Wii U in the list of platforms for most third party Western titles in 2013.

I would argue that the problem is that the Wii-U has all these 3rd party games for consoles that every harry, dick, and sally own. When the 360 launched, these were the first 'next-gen' games on the market. I think the PS3 faced a similar fate, but it may be compounded for the Wii-U based upon how established the market already is for these 3rd party titles.

TL;DR: No variety or uniqueness.

I bet they are thinking they did fine. Most units are sold out so what they had has seemed to work.

 

[pieatorium]

Considering the hardware's identity problem, release barely a month after the UK crawled out of a double-dip recession, lack of advertising, lack of killer apps, lack of significant graphical improvement over competitors, and mass exodus of casual gamers from console gaming to tablets/phones, I'd say Wii U sold pretty good.

it Sold less than the Vita's luanch in febuary which would be months before the crawling out of recession you mention and without the end of year buying boost. No amount of spin can really change the fact that these are very dissapointing results.

 

[Bidermaier]

Europe hasn't crawled out of any recession.

 

[SpoonyBard]

it Sold less than the Vita's luanch in febuary which would be months before the crawling out of recession you mention and without the end of year buying boost. No amount of spin can really change the fact that these are very dissapointing results.

Maybe, but the number of Vita consoles available for launch must have been massive, it sure didn't sell out elsewhere.

 

[mrklaw]

to me it really shows why those so bored of gaming that they need a gimmick in every title still exist

Is everyone so infected with ADHD they cannot focus on one thing at a time? Give something their full uninterrupted attention?

who wants a TV on in the room when they're playing a game? Well, now I know who. But playing on a worse screen + having distracting shit on in the background? Worst selling point of all time ever

People sharing a room with other human beings, who might be watching the TV? If I'm playing on gamepad only (as I was with NSMBU last night), I'm perfectly capable of focusing on it and not being distracted by the TV.

 

[Neff]

Europe hasn't crawled out of any recession.

We're 1% up from last month, haha

it Sold less than the Vita's luanch in febuary which would be months before the crawling out of recession you mention

That was shortly before we double-dipped. And as has been pointed out, there were more Vitas available at launch, and it was simply a hipper, more marketable product.

 

[hodgy100]

Maybe, but the number of Vita consoles available for launch must have been massive, it sure didn't sell out elsewhere.

But the wii u hasn't sold out in the UK, they have ran out at a couple of small retailers / online stores and amazon (which got more stock recently) everywhere else had loads of them!

 

[mrklaw]

This launch says nothing about the UK market, says nothing about tablets and smartphones destroying gaming, and much more about Nintendo brining a relatively weak offering at a high price at the wrong time.

Given the stretched out length of this generation, its possible that 720/PS4 could be a huge launch, there should be pent up demand

 

[Neff]

But the wii u hasn't sold out in the UK, they have ran out at a couple of small retailers / online stores and amazon (which got more stock recently) everywhere else had loads of them!

People are verifying in this thread that it did sell out. Not nationwide, but there are shortages.

I think the 'spin' is far more convincing than internet iconoclasts clinging to the magic 40k figure offering BUT BUT BUT VITA regurgitation.

This launch says nothing about the UK market, says nothing about tablets and smartphones destroying gaming, and much more about Nintendo brining a relatively weak offering at a high price at the wrong time.

It says everything. Nintendo's biggest customer in the UK over the last six years has been the casual gamer. They don't have them anymore.

 

[SmokyDave]

People are verifying in this thread that it did sell out. Not nationwide, but there are shortages.

I think the 'spin' is far more convincing than internet iconoclasts clinging to the magic 40k figure offering BUT BUT BUT VITA regurgitation.

I don't think they're so much 'clinging to it', as 'pointing it out'.

It really didn't seem to sell out in any meaningful way. If you wanted one this weekend, you could've had one.

As for the Vita, that's the benchmark for low opening sales. Failing to beat it was always going to be mentioned.

 

[Ashes]

People are verifying in this thread that it did sell out. Not nationwide, but there are shortages.

I think the 'spin' is far more convincing than internet iconoclasts clinging to the magic 40k figure offering BUT BUT BUT VITA regurgitation.

Really? Awesome for Nintendo. I was trying to find something to cheer about yesterday. But got nothing. Nothing I tell you. Nintendo didn't even bother to wade in with a PR celebrating a glorious launch.

 

[Thoraxes]

I don't write off completely that there's a chance that these new consoles might underwhelm people who are expecting "balls to the wall" powerhouses, but I don't there's any chance that they are going to go the Nintendo right and focus completely on new control innovations at the expense of a leap in hardware. Personally, I think these machines are going to be quite a technical leap over the Wii U, but they may play it a little safer than some think. Who knows? We'll find out soon enough.

That's why I love speculation! Should be a fun (and hectic) year!

I agree with nearly everything else, but will consumers (especially casuals) really care if sony offers fantastic digital services? I'm having trouble seeing how you went from 'realisation of needing new ways to play' to 'great digital distribution'.

Sorry, I skipped writing what I was thinking lol I just kinda skip around sometimes when writing.

What I mean mostly is while the Move's reception was lukewarm, I think PS+ is a good incentive for new console buyers, considering it comes out to about $4 a month for instant free games. Yeah though, this really did have nothing to do with original point though, so apologies! I think Sony will finally move from the Dualshock design.

 

[The_Lump]

I'm not claiming to be 100 percent accurate. Yet if you were truly a fan of gadgets why didn't you buy a kinect? Also, truthfully, would you have bought a Wii-U if it didn't have Nintendo games on it? And if so, again, why didn't you buy a Kinect?

It's not like i'm reaching with my statements there.

I didn't buy a Kinect because I dont have a 360, and I'm not really an active person (in my lounge at least). The idea didn't appeal to me enough to buy a 360.

Do you not believe me when I say that I like gadgets or something? Because that would still be besides the point. Point was, you can still like/intend to buy other consoles and want a WiiU, contrary to your consumer categories I guess I might be a minority or in a niche - but it's unlikely I'm the only one right?

Yeah I probably would have bought a WiiU anyway. The concept is cool, and like I say: I like new gadgets

 

[Vagabundo]

People sharing a room with other human beings, who might be watching the TV? If I'm playing on gamepad only (as I was with NSMBU last night), I'm perfectly capable of focusing on it and not being distracted by the TV.

I'm with you on this point. My slice of the main TV is pathetic, having a game that I can switch between TV and Game Pad is a big selling point for me.

 

[mrklaw]

It says everything. Nintendo's biggest customer in the UK over the last six years has been the casual gamer. They don't have them anymore.

this is a more challenging message to get across to casuals, and the pricing is less attractive to them.

One potential positive is that Nintendo will need to innovate to show how the console can really give us new ideas, and they'll need to reach out to the core gamer while the pricing is expensive.

 

[BGBW]

It's a bit odd, really. If I were them, I'd take the opportunity to rebrand as "Wii 2" and sort out a better bundle (really just drop the Basic and go £250 for the Premium or add Nintendo Land to the 8GB for £200 all-in) while the mass market has no clue about the thing.

Good thing you're not them. A price drop within a week of going on sale would be a disaster and they'd run out of GCN games to give away before people are willing to forgive them.

 

[Protome]

Europe hasn't crawled out of any recession.

The UK has only double-dipped into recessions though!

Spoiler

For now.

 

[pswii60]

People are verifying in this thread that it did sell out. Not nationwide, but there are shortages.

I think the 'spin' is far more convincing than internet iconoclasts clinging to the magic 40k figure offering BUT BUT BUT VITA regurgitation.

My experience of buying a Wii U on Friday morning:

Asda #1: Haven't received any Wii Us yet - you sure it's out today?
Asda #2: Not got any Wii Us yet
Tesco: Don't have any Wii Us yet
John Lewis: Don't have any Wii Us yet
HMV: All Wii U stock is reserved for pre-orders
GAME: Plenty of ZombieU bundles left, all standard Premium stock gone - bought one

So, interestingly, it's not that the first four stores I visited sold out, they never got any stock in the first place - at least not by Friday morning anyway.

 

[mediapulp_wes]

The UK has only double-dipped into recessions though!

Spoiler

For now.

The triple dip will come. Probably around the same time in 2013 that Nintendo slashes the price of the Wii U.

 

[shinra-bansho]

People are verifying in this thread that it did sell out. Not nationwide, but there are shortages.

I think the 'spin' is far more convincing than internet iconoclasts clinging to the magic 40k figure offering BUT BUT BUT VITA regurgitation.

We must be reading different threads; I see anecdotes back-and-forth claiming both the Wii U is unavailable and the Wii U is readily available.

Assuming, in fairness, the sincerity of both sets of anecdotes, this would suggest the middleground: while stores aren't overflowing, there isn't severe supply constraint to attribute the lowest console launch weekend numbers since (presumably) the Dreamcast.

Similar to reports of the US situation. If one wants one, they can find one if they try. I don't see why the idea can't be entertained that it only sold 40K this last weekend because there was only demand as such; whether that be due to general apathy towards the product, a lack of awareness and a poor marketing effort or the depressed UK economy.

This doesn't appear to be a Wii or PS2 situation, where demand was palpable.

 

[PaulLFC]

People are verifying in this thread that it did sell out. Not nationwide, but there are shortages.

I think the 'spin' is far more convincing than internet iconoclasts clinging to the magic 40k figure offering BUT BUT BUT VITA regurgitation..

There are not shortages. Not unless you count a small number of the hundreds of shops stocking the console, not having stock, as a shortage.

The fact is if someone wanted a Wii U, they could walk into the vast majority of shops you would reasonably expect to sell the console and buy one with no problem.

 

[grimshawish]

Tbf I more post stock stuff to refer back to and suggest the system is continuing to sell well.

The 40k number remains true however.

We won't know the shape of things for a while yet.
But facts remain and that's all those stock notices are.

Thing to watch out for are NPD, Media Create, other EU charts and finally UK chart - Nintendo Land should gain, not drop chart position.

 

[grimshawish]

The fact is if someone wanted a Wii U, they could walk into the vast majority of shops you would reasonably expect to sell the console and buy one with no problem.

This isn't actually true. You may have to wait 1/2 days but there's enough supply that across the month nearly no one will not have the chance to get one.

This does bring us back to how much Nintendo is looking to sell in Europe, I'd demand is running in tandem with supply. But we'll see the results of that if they get close to their forecasts.

 

[pswii60]

I still think Wii U has a ton of potential and it's up to Nintendo to do something with that over the next year. Wii U could still be a huge success, but they need to keep big releases coming thick and fast and quickly work on reducing hardware costs so they can lower the price point. The fact that we know nothing beyond Pikmin 3 means it's so difficult to know which direction Nintendo intends on going with the console.

They could have geared up a Wii Sports U for launch, but then they'd have been in danger of it looking like just more of the same. Although I'm not sure Nintendo Land and NSMBU made it look like offering anything different either.

Whatever happens, let's not forget: Nintendo games finally in HD. I can't stress this enough - because for me - it was enough to hop on.

 

[Dazzyman]

Will be more of a marker this week for sales. It was released at end of the month so a lot of people don't start there shopping in the UK until yesterday with wages for xmas (which is the busiest day of the year for sales for UK). Would have been better coming out this week from that stand point.

Online easily available, physical stores for me locally all sold out. Indy got 46 on Friday and they all went as I did tradins for BLOPS 2 and FC3 (that for 360).

Got my machine from Shopto yesterday zombie premium with Mario and Sonic

As for state of UK we are in a recession, hence the 0.1% shrink this year, we have had 2 actual recessions this year with a lot of state cuts, VAT increase really hasn't helped either in recent time.

 

[E-phonk]

for what it's worth: I checked some stores in belgium today and the premium and zombiu bundles are sold out, the basic pack is available.

Personally I'm going to wait a bit, I have a ps3 backlog and paper mario should arrive this week, and non of the launch games except for NSMBU interest me at the moment.
Looking forward to rayman though.

 

[pswii60]

Will be more of a marker this week for sales. It was released at end of the month so a lot of people don't start there shopping in the UK until yesterday with wages for xmas (which is the busiest day of the year for sales for UK). Would have been better coming out this week from that stand point.

Online easily available, physical stores for me locally all sold out. Indy got 46 on Friday and they all went as I did tradins for BLOPS 2 and FC3 (that for 360).

Got my machine from Shopto yesterday zombie premium with Mario and Sonic

As for state of UK we are in a recession, hence the 0.1% shrink this year, we have had 2 actual recessions this year with a lot of state cuts, VAT increase really hasn't helped either in recent time.

Pretty sure everyone got paid here (UK) on Friday 30th November, same day as Wii U released. Last working day of the month. Last weekend was crazy anywhere near shops.

Regardless, go to an Apple store and you'll know that the recession isn't the issue here. It's just a lack of compelling reasons to pull people away from 360 and PS3, especially at the price point. This will continue to change over the next year as Wii U evolves.

 

[PaulLFC]

This isn't actually true. You may have to wait 1/2 days but there's enough supply that across the month nearly no one will not have the chance to get one.

Isn't that my point though? Posters here and elsewhere have confirmed stock at local stores. Moobabe who works for one of the big games retailers (I'm sure we can guess which one) said none of the stores in his area sold out, and if that chain isn't selling out then sell outs elsewhere would seem unlikely. This isn't a PS2-style shortage, the console is relatively easy to find should someone want one.

The most disappointing thing is it not selling out despite supposed low supply. If they can't sell out when supply is apparently not plentiful, then that's worrying.

 

[Dazzyman]

A console only really has one purpose compared to an iPhone/IPad. There also different markets for the peer pressure factor.

There aint many Apple shops up North so I wouldn't know, Leeds or Hull (Hull unofficial store) which is pretty shit for Yorkshire.

Yep everyone got paid Friday but you got to make that last till after Xmas now. It's the reason why normally December is dead for games releases. Way our f* government is going next year it's going to cost double just for booze!

 

[Kosma]

Yep everyone got paid Friday but you got to make that last till after Xmas now. It's the reason why normally December is dead for games releases. Way our f* government is going next year it's going to cost double just for booze!

WUT Q4 is all about them Xmas sales, if your shit isn't being bought leading up to Xmas, your shit ain't hot.

 

[Wrestlemania]

WUT Q4 is all about them Xmas sales, if your shit isn't being bought leading up to Xmas, your shit ain't hot.

Releases, not sales. How many big games are released in December?

 

[Kosma]

Releases, not sales. How many big games are released in December?

What does this have to do with WiiU release just for Xmas?

 

[grimshawish]

Isn't that my point though? Posters here and elsewhere have confirmed stock at local stores. Moobabe who works for one of the big games retailers (I'm sure we can guess which one) said none of the stores in his area sold out, and if that chain isn't selling out then sell outs elsewhere would seem unlikely. This isn't a PS2-style shortage, the console is relatively easy to find should someone want one.

The most disappointing thing is it not selling out despite supposed low supply. If they can't sell out when supply is apparently not plentiful, then that's worrying.

Were basing low supply on low sales yet low stocks. Point isn't this is driving down demand but Nintendo haven't gone into 'full gear' in Europe yet. More a token launch so to speak.

Moobabe works for the big game retailers (and yeah) but thats for their regional area; Nintendo is obviously restocking some stores in some areas and it is selling.

Now. I don't understand why people act so oddly about supply/demand, in some places the WiiU is sold out. Heavily online; this means people are buying and shipments are selling.

Places that don't sell as many might have just regional demand variance, their own issues (play.com don't act like its a product so they can't have many sales at all frankly), or maybe even more stock off the bat. We don't really know.

Now the fact shipments are selling out (they are - thats the right term; its just not selling out in every nook and crannie) suggests a steady flow of demand. We know from Amazon that Nintendo aren't managing even a next day replinishment, and from a number of US that their shipments have gotten wider apart since Black Friday; which makes sense (the ridiculous people complaining they went to a shop the night before Black Friday and found it shockingly in heavy stock just highlights certain really bad assumptions about what selling out means; and just frankly the physical mechanics of someone going in and buying something).

The point is that we'll see how it does across the whole month. Also in other regions.
But theres no point people denying that it is selling out places and that supply is very tight.
The fact supply is tight makes the Basic Bomba quite an issue. Can Nintendo meet its forecasts if that SKU is not selling?

We can't take 48 hours of sales and extrapolate as much as people are. Secondly theres too many people just not willing to use their heads (on all sides); we'll see how it goes.

Back in stock on UK amazon btw. So seems Nintendo replinished over Monday/Tuesday.

 

[Bumhead]

Just seen another Just Dance 4 advert, but they've changed it to include the Wii U and they're pushing the U version of the game.

I thought the advert was crap (makes it look like even more of an accessory to the Wii, especially as the bulk of the advert is no different to the Wii one) but it did take me by surprise.

 

[PaulLFC]

Were basing low supply on low sales yet low stocks. Point isn't this is driving down demand but Nintendo haven't gone into 'full gear' in Europe yet. More a token launch so to speak.

Moobabe works for the big game retailers (and yeah) but thats for their regional area; Nintendo is obviously restocking some stores in some areas and it is selling.

Now. I don't understand why people act so oddly about supply/demand, in some places the WiiU is sold out. Heavily online; this means people are buying and shipments are selling.

Places that don't sell as many might have just regional demand variance, their own issues (play.com don't act like its a product so they can't have many sales at all frankly), or maybe even more stock off the bat. We don't really know.

Now the fact shipments are selling out (they are - thats the right term; its just not selling out in every nook and crannie) suggests a steady flow of demand. We know from Amazon that Nintendo aren't managing even a next day replinishment, and from a number of US that their shipments have gotten wider apart since Black Friday; which makes sense (the ridiculous people complaining they went to a shop the night before Black Friday and found it shockingly in heavy stock just highlights certain really bad assumptions about what selling out means; and just frankly the physical mechanics of someone going in and buying something).

The point is that we'll see how it does across the whole month. Also in other regions.
But theres no point people denying that it is selling out places and that supply is very tight.
The fact supply is tight makes the Basic Bomba quite an issue. Can Nintendo meet its forecasts if that SKU is not selling?

We can't take 48 hours of sales and extrapolate as much as people are. Secondly theres too many people just not willing to use their heads (on all sides); we'll see how it goes.

Back in stock on UK amazon btw. So seems Nintendo replinished over Monday/Tuesday.

It's true that there's a lot of over-reaction, I think a lot of it stems from differing definitions of "sold out". My personal definition is that to be "a complete sell out on the UK high street" as MCV put it, it would have to sell all of its allocation for shops, which it doesn't seem it has done.

That's the worrying thing with the supposed low levels of stock to begin with (around 50k was it?). Future numbers will give a much better idea of how it's doing, but it doesn't seem like it's got off to a particularly good start over here.

 

[donkey show]

My experience of buying a Wii U on Friday morning:

Asda #1: Haven't received any Wii Us yet - you sure it's out today?
Asda #2: Not got any Wii Us yet
Tesco: Don't have any Wii Us yet
John Lewis: Don't have any Wii Us yet
HMV: All Wii U stock is reserved for pre-orders
GAME: Plenty of ZombieU bundles left, all standard Premium stock gone - bought one

So, interestingly, it's not that the first four stores I visited sold out, they never got any stock in the first place - at least not by Friday morning anyway.

Interestingly enough, saw this in the WiiU release thread.

Tesco (the 3rd largest retailer in the world) really screwed up the UK Wii U Launch.

http://casuallyhardcore.com/how-tesco-ruined-the-uk-wii-u-launch/

Tesco done goofed

 

[Opus Angelorum]

Just seen another Just Dance 4 advert, but they've changed it to include the Wii U and they're pushing the U version of the game.

I thought the advert was crap (makes it look like even more of an accessory to the Wii, especially as the bulk of the advert is no different to the Wii one) but it did take me by surprise.

Noticed this too, they just show the Wii U gamepad sitting on a table (I'm not sure what it's actually doing). And the tagline at the end is something like 'New ways to play'.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Were basing low supply on low sales yet low stocks. Point isn't this is driving down demand but Nintendo haven't gone into 'full gear' in Europe yet. More a token launch so to speak.

Moobabe works for the big game retailers (and yeah) but thats for their regional area; Nintendo is obviously restocking some stores in some areas and it is selling.

Now. I don't understand why people act so oddly about supply/demand, in some places the WiiU is sold out. Heavily online; this means people are buying and shipments are selling.

Places that don't sell as many might have just regional demand variance, their own issues (play.com don't act like its a product so they can't have many sales at all frankly), or maybe even more stock off the bat. We don't really know.

Now the fact shipments are selling out (they are - thats the right term; its just not selling out in every nook and crannie) suggests a steady flow of demand. We know from Amazon that Nintendo aren't managing even a next day replinishment, and from a number of US that their shipments have gotten wider apart since Black Friday; which makes sense (the ridiculous people complaining they went to a shop the night before Black Friday and found it shockingly in heavy stock just highlights certain really bad assumptions about what selling out means; and just frankly the physical mechanics of someone going in and buying something).

The point is that we'll see how it does across the whole month. Also in other regions.
But theres no point people denying that it is selling out places and that supply is very tight.
The fact supply is tight makes the Basic Bomba quite an issue. Can Nintendo meet its forecasts if that SKU is not selling?

We can't take 48 hours of sales and extrapolate as much as people are. Secondly theres too many people just not willing to use their heads (on all sides); we'll see how it goes.

Back in stock on UK amazon btw. So seems Nintendo replinished over Monday/Tuesday.

I'm not sure what your post tells us that isn't known.

Around 40K people purchased Wii U's over the launch weekend. From accounts given, some stores sold out of their stock over the weekend. Some stores did not. Some retailers had an insufficient allotment over the weekend. Some retailers had sufficient allotment.

It was not by any account, as far as I'm aware, sold out over the weekend; and by most account was available to those who wanted one.

The implication being proponed by the notion of "selling out" is that there was a large amount of unmet demand and that the low launch sales number is due primarily or solely to supply constraint. However, the information known doesn't, as far as I can tell, suggest this to be the case.

Also while there is no palpable hype around the Wii U launch, but I don't see how this amounts to a "token" launch - that would seem rather redundant of Nintendo.

 

[Psychotext]

Just having a nose around for the hell of it online. Here's how the Premium bundle is currently doing. (Basic is obviously fairly well stocked in most places)

In Stock
Amazon
Argos
Asda (Maybe, there's a warning about dispatch times)
Game
Play
ShopTo
Tesco
Very


Out of Stock
HMV
Scan
The Hut / Zavvi (it's not actually listed, only the Zombi U bundle, which is out of stock)
Toys R Us

 

[dc89]

My experience of buying a Wii U on Friday morning:

Asda #1: Haven't received any Wii Us yet - you sure it's out today?
Asda #2: Not got any Wii Us yet
Tesco: Don't have any Wii Us yet
John Lewis: Don't have any Wii Us yet
HMV: All Wii U stock is reserved for pre-orders
GAME: Plenty of ZombieU bundles left, all standard Premium stock gone - bought one

So, interestingly, it's not that the first four stores I visited sold out, they never got any stock in the first place - at least not by Friday morning anyway.

John Lewis's gaming offer has gone down the pan. I know it's not the end of the world but when I bought my 3DS I ordered it online and collected it in store a day before it launched. I was also charged the lowest price cause they price matched everyone. The price lowered again between launch and 28 days so I got that difference back too.

Now they don't bother stocking the big releases and everything they sell comes bundled so they don't have to price match. For example, Kingdom Hearts 3D was £39.99 because it came with a pack of cheap 3rd party stylus'. They goofed.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

Wait, Vita outsold the Wii U???? Um....I think Nintendo might need to step things up. That can't be good since it seems like everyone makes fun of the Vita's sales.

 

[grimshawish]

It's true that there's a lot of over-reaction, I think a lot of it stems from differing definitions of "sold out". My personal definition is that to be "a complete sell out on the UK high street" as MCV put it, it would have to sell all of its allocation for shops, which it doesn't seem it has done.

This, nearly never happens. Honestly.
The reason the Wii got in the situation it did wasn't just it was selling out fucking big time, but that stocks were not coming in. Customers notice these things, basically they lost confidence it was going to be resupplied and things went fucking crazy.

When I was a kid it was the Toy Story toys, my mum got a call from someone who was in Edinburgh for the day to say they'd seen a Woody/Buzz. She was just like 'get it, I don't care how much it costs'. Because it was so hard to find them yet THE thing to get.

This hasn't happened with WiiU; people are not panicing. Their going into a shop, some will find it and buy it. Some will come after those people and find it out of stock. Some of those people go to another shop and find it, but some of them carry on with their shopping as is; their confidence in getting one hasn't been hit. So theres no 'panic' to find one; their confident that theres time to keep looking.

If like the Wii they go again. None. Then we'd see wider sell outs and a general rush on the market as customers compete with one another to find a Wii U.

Personally; without supply problems. There is no reason to think we'll find different areas/shops to have different levels of stock. It just how the market place works.


a) Demand isn't the same. It just isn't. To what degree we don't know yet.
b) Stock is coming in, so even those wanting it know they'll get it. People are just casually shopping for it, no rush/panic.

That's the worrying thing with the supposed low levels of stock to begin with (around 50k was it?). Future numbers will give a much better idea of how it's doing, but it doesn't seem like it's got off to a particularly good start over here.

Yeah, its not a big start (no idea what the initial stock is so can't help there); we'll have to see how it does elsewhere.
I don't think 40k is the full picture though; just how I sort of see it. We'll see how it goes I supppose.

3DS had a great launch iirc. Week 1 means little; especially week 1 in one country.

(putting a positive spin on things)

Don't bother replying to my posts if you think their bullshit spin. Am just posting my views on it. Haven't bothered reading the rest of yours as theres little point with this comment.

 

[madmackem]

My experience of buying a Wii U on Friday morning:

Asda #1: Haven't received any Wii Us yet - you sure it's out today?
Asda #2: Not got any Wii Us yet
Tesco: Don't have any Wii Us yet
John Lewis: Don't have any Wii Us yet
HMV: All Wii U stock is reserved for pre-orders
GAME: Plenty of ZombieU bundles left, all standard Premium stock gone - bought one

So, interestingly, it's not that the first four stores I visited sold out, they never got any stock in the first place - at least not by Friday morning anyway.

Yep its like that in my neck of the woods too, either they didnt stock supermarkets or they stocked them with suck a low low number. Very strange given supermarkets are becoming huge in the games market here.

 

[Bumhead]

Wait, Vita outsold the Wii U???? Um....I think Nintendo might need to step things up. That can't be good since it seems like everyone makes fun of the Vita's sales.

Everyone makes fun of the Vita sales because since launch it has tanked world wide and continues to shamble along with dire sales in every region, approaching a full year after launch.

The Wii U might yet do the same yet, and if it does people will make fun just as much, but Day One sales are an irrelevance to that either way. We just don't know how the U will do based even on these eyebrow-raisingly bad numbers.

 

[Psychotext]

Very strange given supermarkets are becoming huge in the games market here.

I still remember the Wii. All my local (24hr) supermarkets had a midnight launch... this time is very, very different.

 

[dc89]

Yep its like that in my neck of the woods too, either they didnt stock supermarkets or they stocked them with suck a low low number. Very strange given supermarkets are becoming huge in the games market here.

I went in Sainsburys on Thursday out of sheer curiosity.

Me - "Are you stocking the Wii U tomorrow, do you know how much you are selling it for?"
Assistant - "We won't have them tomorrow, apparently Nintendo have held the stock back."

I go back in on Friday (I buy lunch from their most days I'm at work) and they have Zombi U and NSMBU on the shelf, both for around £45. The lack of point of sale was distressing. They just had a generic NEW label by the Zombi U and NSMBU display cases. No explanation that the Wii U is a new console, no advertising or marketing in sight.

Me - "Are you selling the Wii U today?"
Assistant - "Ermmm.... I think so."

Who is at fault here?! Is it the retailers themselves, or have Nintendo not sent anything to them to use as POS or marketing?!

I still remember the Wii. All my local (24hr) supermarkets had a midnight launch... this time is very, very different.

I remember getting Halo 3 at a midnight release at Tesco, it was organised and I was in and out in 30 minutes including queuing time as I got there early, good job too as they only had 30-40 copies. Since then I got FIFA 12 at midnight too at Sainsburys. Things are really weird.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Don't bother replying to my posts if you think their bullshit spin. Am just posting my views on it. Haven't bothered reading the rest of yours as theres little point with this comment.

I don't see how the phrase "putting a positive spin on things" amounted to calling your post bullshit... Perspective may have been a better word to use.

If it bothers you, I retract said statement and I'll edit it out of the post.

I read through the post and others made in the thread, and the conclusions drawn. I simply disagree with said conclusion.

 

[zomgbbqftw]

So I heard back from a couple of people I contacted yesterday about their sales and stock. Both wish their chains to remain anonymous, but both are quite large.

Retailer A had decent sales on Friday and Saturday, but ran out of stock late on Sunday. On Saturday PS3 and 360 had higher sales than Wii U, on Sunday also, but they say it would have been closer had they been given a bigger stock allocation. They have been very, very disappointed with Nintendo's marketing and supply "shortages". He said that Nintendo have been trying to create artificial shortages to make headlines like they did with the Wii. According to his sources, the UK received 55k units over the launch weekend with dedicated retailers being prioritised over non-traditional ones (supermarkets). They are now back in stock, but again, they say that both 360 and PS3 have higher sales than Wii U, and they have had more inquiries for PS3 12GB+Book of Spells than for Wii U (probably reflecting Sony's massive advertising push) but again, they don't have much stock for that bundle either. He says all the manufacturers need to get their arses in gear. The ~ £150 12GB PS3 is their pick for top dog this year, and Vita is their pick for worst in class.

Retailer B is totally different, they had very strong launch day sales, but then the weekend was barely better than sales they had for the Wii with both PS3 and 360 outperforming it. They also said any supply shortages have been artificially created by Nintendo because there is no way that they could only ship 50k in a weekend of something without new or complicated hardware. He says Nintendo expected sales of 60-80k for the first weekend and in that way the 50k shipment makes sense as it would have made headlines with people queueing outside of GAME or HMV on Sunday trying to get one. However, sales are well below expectations which is why they have a lot of stock in their warehouses and stockrooms, they are thinking of postponing their reorders for a while. He added that Nintendo expect to ship 80-90k by the end of this week. Again, adding to the idea that Nintendo wanted the headlines with people queueing up outside stores for at least one weekend and that they have tried to force a shortage situation. Their pick for top sales is the £150 12GB PS3 as well and they also expect Vita to be worst seller.

I am still waiting on one more contact to reply, I think he will be less gloomy than these two.

All in all it's a mixed picture, but all three have said Friday was the only day where Wii U was out in front of PS3 and 360 for hardware sales. I think that points to Nintendo selling to their core fanbase and completely missing the casuals they captured last time around as the core fans will all have pre-ordered and picked up on Friday (thereby bookig the sale in for Friday) and the midnight sales would have been to core fans too. Middling to poor sales on the weekend is not a good sign, but it is still early days and Nintendo can fix it by changing their marketing and cutting the price (and also welcoming a whole new raft of ambassadors!).

One of them is carrying out a survey with customers right now on why they don't want to get a Wii U or have picked a PS3 or 360 instead, and he said he will forward me the results so that will be interesting. Essentially he said a few locations are going to be doing questionnaires with PS3 12GB and Xbox 4GB buyers as to why they purchased those systems over a Wii U and asking Wii U purchasers why they bought a Wii U over a PS3/360.

 

[grimshawish]

I don't see how the phrase "putting a positive spin on things" amounted to calling your post bullshit... Perspective may have been a better word to use.

If it bothers you, I retract said statement and I'll edit it out of the post.

I read through the post and others made in the thread, and the conclusions drawn. I simply disagree with said conclusion.

I'm maybe being a bit sensitive
Just sounded like you were saying I was spinning things; I probably read it too harshly.

Will edit here to add in comment on your original post.
EDIT: So yeah I mean all I'm saying is its too early for some of the posts in this thread, or for the UK market to be used as a 'wider' point.
I agree my posts aren't saying anything new; am more just trying to keep clear facts/perspectives in the thread whilst giving my own view on things.