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UK Sales - Wii U game sales just 25k in February, Vita just 35k, Nintendo down by 49%

Drencrom

Member
That's 3DS. The Wii U situation is even worse. Remember the "more than 50 launch window games"? 35 games were released for the system so far - including eShop and Virtual Console releases. That's just abysmal. And Nintendo seems to know that, which is probably why they don't waste money on marketing the thing.

Ouch
 
I didn't only talk about "retail" games, I included digital-only games, etc...If you count all the game sales, I'm tempted to think the Vita players buy more digitally that the Wii-U ones.

well we'll never know as we dont get figures though some of the wii u digital only games have sold 'well' according to their developers
 

madmackem

Member
The good thing for Vita is that if I'm reading that data right, in two months it's done around 85% of what it did in YTD '12 (just over 10 months if the data was tracked from launch, and including the launch sales).

That can only mean sales are increasing - although I suppose when numbers are that low to begin with it's not a huge achievement - but it is promising at least.

They need a price cut, a price cut and more info on how its going to bring added benefit to ps4 and i can see it getting better.
 

Ollie Pooch

In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
Make you wonder how much time and money Nintendo wasted on things like the vitality sensor and other nonsense.
It's just crazy levels of incompetence. Sure, they've got stuff coming (who knows when, though) but what the fuck have they been doing the whole time? Years! I should have learned from the 3DS and jumped in later.
 

Bumhead

Banned
Vita sounds similarly disastrous. Boo!

It is, but in a weird way I don't think that's the same for the Vita as it is for the Wii U. The Vita has sort of plateaued and found its own niche in the world. I don't own a Vita, but thanks to PS+ I own 9 Vita games, at least 5 of which are games I actively want to play at some point. And that number will continue to increase. As soon as I can grab a Vita and a manageable sized memory card for a good price, I'm going to do it. Some of the responses in this and other threads suggest similar.

The Vita is dead as a mass market product, but I think it has quite an obscure but interesting life in it yet for a very specific section of the market.
 

NeonZ

Member
Well, at this point, I think Nintendo realizes that there's nothing they can do for the Wii U right now. Marketing it would be just wasting money. They'll likely attempt some kind of late marketing push when they have bigger (1st party, of course) titles ready for it, and will just leave it as an undead meanwhile.
 

PaulLFC

Member
You are reading it wrong the numbers in op are software sales
I know, but I don't think that changes the conclusion:

Units YTD '12: 95k
Units YTD '13: 80k

So that's a significant portion of YTD '12's total sold in just two months, no?

Edit: I see the YTD 12' is Jan-Feb 12, so not as promising as I thought. Still though, that included launch I guess.
 

CrunchinJelly

formerly cjelly
Nintendo really haven't helped themselves in this matter.

Look at the Amazon.co.uk reviews for Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask - over 30 people who marked it as one-star because they couldn't play it on the DS and couldn't understand why there wasn't a DS version, since the 3DS is just a DS with 3D on it.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Holy shit people are genuinely angry it is only on the '3D DS'. LOL.
 

Ollie Pooch

In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
It is, but in a weird way I don't think that's the same for the Vita as it is for the Wii U. The Vita has sort of plateaued and found its own niche in the world. I don't own a Vita, but thanks to PS+ I own 9 Vita games, at least 5 of which are games I actively want to play at some point. As soon as I can grab a Vita and manageable sized memory card for a good price, I'm going to do it. Some of the responses in this and other threads suggest similar.

The Vita is dead as a mass market product, but I think it has quite an obscure but interesting life in it yet for a very specific section of the market.
I'd hope so, I like the approach, the hardware is slick and really well thought out and I've had heaps of use over the last year.

Hopefully the Wii U finds its footing sometime as I really like the off-tv concept.
 

Usobuko

Banned
Suppose Nintendo's next console is a runaway success, a power parity console to w/e that's was already out in the market and getting relevant third party supports. Would those 3rd party softwares still do well comparatively?
 
cringe101410.gif


Oh dear.

I wonder how Nintendo is going to turn this around.
 

Cheech

Member
Jesus, just put a bullet in Vita already, so the hand wringing can stop.

I still think Wii U will end up selling ok in the end once the games get out there. My neighbor actually bought one over the weekend, and I'm getting the bum scoop tonight on what him and his kids think of it.

I know, I know. Anecdotes are meaningless, etc., but I know dozens and dozens of families and he's the first to actually take the plunge.
 

xandaca

Member
The numbers are terrible enough, but the worst part is that they aren't even surprising. Nintendo has been dead in the UK for a while and it seems Nintendo have accepted that, given the complete lack of marketing. If Lego City or Monster Hunter do chart this month, and it's a very small possibility at best, it'll be at the tail end of the chart. Need For Speed has absolutely no chance. Maybe Nintendo are waiting until they've got some new first party games out before they start a promotional campaign, but given how they couldn't even get one together for launch, I'd be pretty amazed.
 
The ship has sailed for Nintendo. They are two years too late, with one of the most unappealing lineups I can think of, and are being already outhyped by machines that haven't even been shown so far.
Nintendo literally has nothing coming for WiiU that could save the console in Europe. At least not from their IP catalogue. Unless they strike Gold with a new IP again, which is totally possible, their complacent arrogance has made sure that they basically did too little too late. It coming back to bite them in the ass now is sweet swet justice, and even as a Nintendo fan myself I can't help but feel a weird sense of glee over their complete and utter failure of trying the same exact trick twice.

Personally I am convinced, the WiiU will be respinsible for a huge contraction of the game market by failing to keep the imploding audience the Wii brought in. PS4 and Xbox3 should do comparably to this gen, but the WiiU will be lucky to even reach 30 Million WW.

Mario has lost it's insane selling power which is all too obvious in the horrible sales of NSMB2 and U, as well as the lack of hardware drive from MK7.

And while ACNL sells gangbusters in Japan, I don't see it selling anywhere near as good here.

But it serves to highlight my point, Nintendo will only be able to save the WiiU from being a complete financial disaster through a new IP or one that is able to comunicate clearly why the WiiU is worth buying and why it's enjoyable.

I think in terms of market impact, the ship has sailed two years ago. Nintendo will never be able to make the WiiU a relevant player in the market and should first and foremost focus on returning to profitability and sustained revenue. I don't see them achieve anything more than that with WiiU.
 
I know, but I don't think that changes the conclusion:

Units YTD '12: 95k
Units YTD '13: 80k

So that's a significant portion of YTD '12's total sold in just two months, no?

Ah yeah sorry it was me misreading you, yeah thats what the numbers mean but taking full 2 months to equal just the launch week (Vita release was feb 22 in EU) I wouldn't consider a big deal.
 
Thanks for the clarification.

I thought this was funny, an article from March of last year:

Sony Computer Entertainment boss Andrew House said:
PS Vita was designed to deliver the ultimate portable entertainment experience, and we couldn't be more thrilled with the reaction we're seeing from consumers and the pace at which PS Vita is selling."
 

PaulLFC

Member
It's YTD, meaning from Jan to Feb for both years 2012 and 2013. It's actually down.

Ah yeah sorry it was me misreading you, yeah thats what the numbers mean but taking full 2 months to equal just the launch week (Vita release was feb 22 in EU) I wouldn't consider a big deal.
Yeah I see that now, I'd assumed '12 was Feb-Dec last year. I guess the picture will be more clear when we have a couple more months' data considering Feb last year was the launch month.
 

TL4E

Member
Jesus, just put a bullet in Vita already, so the hand wringing can stop.

I still think Wii U will end up selling ok in the end once the games get out there. My neighbor actually bought one over the weekend, and I'm getting the bum scoop tonight on what him and his kids think of it.

I know, I know. Anecdotes are meaningless, etc., but I know dozens and dozens of families and he's the first to actually take the plunge.

I've been to 100s of houses (due to my job) where 60% of them have Wiis (and no other console usually) and maybe 3-4 games each. None of them have a Wii U. It's anecdotal, yes, but it's still useful in that the obvious sheer popularity of the Wii in the everyday all American home will likely be a one time thing. I realize these are UK numbers, but still.

Nintendo seized a very sizable casual audience with the Wii, and they're going to need nothing short of a miracle to attain a fraction of that success with the Wii U.
 

Replicant

Member
Jesus, just put a bullet in Vita already, so the hand wringing can stop.

I still think Wii U will end up selling ok in the end once the games get out there.

LOL. Delusion of grandeur. They both are flops. Except in that part of the world, Vita is actually the one that flop less.
 

Hystzen

Member
Also factors like a new Pokemon coming out for DS probably kept the DS alive longer and didn't exactly help the 3DS. But I'm not worried, because both the 3DS and Wii U have had really lackluster retail releases recently in the UK. We've not been treated well. March is set to change that.

It would also be nice if Nintendo stopped doing their little Japanese only third party Nintendo Directs and realised that the rest of the world is very much in need of a boost.

It be nice if they even bother to advertise it in UK that would help shift some units at least I suspect most of the public have no clue what it is. Ever since that 1 ad got blocked for not mentioning that not all games have off screen play they been sulking and not bothered to even try advertise it.
 

Jezbollah

Member
As fcked as the Wii U is in the UK, they really haven't been helped by the fact that the Wii U + games aren't really stocked anywhere other than game specific (i.e. game....) stores.

The supermarkets, which I'd imagine a lot of people by there games from, just aren't stocking them, at all.

I had a look in my local big Tesco at the weekend - The Wii U was taking up just as much shelve space as the Wii.

I think it's in a lot of supermarkets. It's just not needed by the same casual demographic which made the Wii such a big system seller up to the start of last year.
 
Battle of the flops. Wii-U vs it's tiny arch nemesis Vita. The Vita has a year of flopping upper hand, but the Wii-U is countering with even more terrible sales.
 
They had Mario game on launch, why does it bomb so hard?

The public has to know your console exists first before they buy it. Nintendo are doing virtually nothing in the way of advertising at the moment, presumably waiting until a steady flow of games comes first before they do so.

That, or they decided they would never need to advertise it because it was called the "Wii" U. Which sounds like something they'd do.
 

ascii42

Member
My god. This is a portmanteau consisting of the words 'Nintendo', and 'Doomed'. That's really clever. It might appear like some sort of typo at first glance but it's actually a cleverly and deliberately engineered linguistic bombshell. Truly, I am staggered by the ingenuity of humanity.

Don't blame him. Sega started it.
 
The public has to know your console exists first before they buy it. Nintendo are doing virtually nothing in the way of advertising at the moment, presumably waiting until a steady flow of games comes first before they do so.

That, or they decided they would never need to advertise it because it was called the "Wii" U. Which sounds like something they'd do.


Should have called it Wii 2 then if they were going to go the non marketing route. The Wii U name alone needs tons of marketing dollars spent just to explain what it is.

Incompetence
 
Not surprised by those WiiU numbers. I'm the only person out of all my friends that has one. nobody else is showing any interest at all.
 

SmokyDave

Member
It be nice if they even bother to advertise it in UK that would help shift some units at least I suspect most of the public have no clue what it is. Ever since that 1 ad got blocked for not mentioning that not all games have off screen play they been sulking and not bothered to even try advertise it.
I can't shake the feeling that you'd be advertising to an awful lot of people that remember the 'Wii' brand as that funny little fad a few years back. People that have since moved on and have no intention of buying back in.
 
Sony needs to hurry up and drop vita price worldwide, ditto for memory card prices.

It's finally got some games worth playing, it just needs a lower barrier to entry.
 

ymmv

Banned
They had Mario game on launch, why does it bomb so hard?

Franchise fatigue.

Same thing could happen with another Smash Bros or Mario Kart game. The Wii U desperately needs a new major IP from Nintendo for the Wii U, not the umpteenth release in series that have been going since the N64. At least Pikmin games haven't been done to death - but then again, they've never been system sellers too.
 
I can't shake the feeling that you'd be advertising to an awful lot of people that remember the 'Wii' brand as that funny little fad a few years back. People that have since moved on and have no intention of buying back in.

The fad they all got burned by no less since they only turned the Wii on a few times then it sat there doing nothing since Nintendo had better things to do than release games for it.
 

AHA-Lambda

Member
Char-track covers around 90% of the retail market, but it doesn't include digital sales.

Wait? These things don't cover amazon? Can I ask how truly representative they are when they don't cover such a huge part of the market?

Speaking personally, I get all my games online, mostly from amazon.
 

Hystzen

Member
I can't shake the feeling that you'd be advertising to an awful lot of people that remember the 'Wii' brand as that funny little fad a few years back. People that have since moved on and have no intention of buying back in.

Which is why they should be marketing the shit out of the console calling it the future and usual PR buzzwords being thrown in your face. Instead they just curling up not even trying to break the thoughts that is just that Wii again it like they already given up. At least Vita even bother to advertise and still not sell, I still want one though hoping we get the colour versions that Japan got recently
 

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
About the only upcoming thing that they could advertise that also points to the purpose of the GamePad and WiiU as a "new thing" is Game & Wario, and that seemingly has no western release date and is also that particular brand of "too Japanese" that the mass-market pretty much avoids at all costs.

Its hard to understand what the fuck Nintendo has even been doing in regards to WiiU and making that GamePad seem an indispensable new direction for videogames. The new 3D Mario probably wont even use it much (Mario Galaxy was a traditional game with waggle tacked on for instance), it'd be gimmick town for Mario Kart or Smash Brothers, so it seems its solely up to Retro to show the point of this doohickey. Imagine that, all of Nintendo Japan have failed to even prop up their new hardware. A far cry from the days of "Miyamoto said he wanted an analog stick for Mario 64, so in it goes!"
 
Sony needs to hurry up and drop vita price worldwide, ditto for memory card prices.

It's finally got some games worth playing, it just needs a lower barrier to entry.

With how loaded holiday/christmas shopping season is in the west they know that it's better to just wait it out until then. Get the hype of a pricedrop along with whatever they scrape together for the end of the year will probably be better long term than any minor mid year bump.
 
Wait? These things don't cover amazon? Can I ask how truly representative they are when they don't cover such a huge part of the market?

Speaking personally, I get all my games online, mostly from amazon.
I think he specifically means digital sales from online storefronts like Steam, PSN, XBLA, eShop.

Although, I don't know whether online retailers are included.
 

Berg

Member
No games in February. If we get the same numbers, hell even a smidge better numbers, i'll be worried. I think MH will help. Then once some more first party games come out, hopefully they'll bite.
 

Biggzy

Member
I'm kinda amazed by the Xbox 360 numbers... :O

If you told me at the beginning of this gen that the 360 would be the top dog console this gen, I would have laughed at you.

Why would anyone want to spend close to £400 (once you factor in extras and a couple of games) in 2013 on 2005 era tech.?

The actual specs of the console are not the main problem - people brought the Wii at the end of the day - it is that the gamepad doesn't have the same mass market appeal that the Wii remote had back in 2006.
 

madmackem

Member
The fad they all got burned by no less since they only turned the Wii on a few times then it sat there doing nothing since Nintendo had better things to do than release games for it.

Thats what i said a few weeks back and got grilled for it, wii was a fad those people stopped buying the games and just looked at it as a big expensive mistake that they got little joy from. That was always going to bite nintendo in the arse when the next consoles rolled around.
 
Wait? These things don't cover amazon? Can I ask how truly representative they are when they don't cover such a huge part of the market?

Speaking personally, I get all my games online, mostly from amazon.

I assumed by digital they mean downloaded games; Nintendo EShop, Steam, PSN, Xbox Live downloads. Purchases through online retailers though (such as Amazon), are, I think, included.

Be-be-be-be-be-beaten.
 

wsippel

Banned
Battle of the flops. Wii-U vs it's tiny arch nemesis Vita. The Vita has a year of flopping upper hand, but the Wii-U is countering with even more terrible sales.
Again, to put it into perspective: There have been two Wii U game releases in January and February: Razor's Edge and Spiderman. Two ports of old games, that's it. And Razor's Edge has only seen a very limited print run, it was nearly impossible to get the retail version. Software sales are terrible, but there really wasn't any software to sell in the first place.
 
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