After two months on shelves, the Nintendo Wii U is still finding its balance. Sales of the console have been disappointing to analysts, but at 890,000 sold worldwide inside of two months, that’s not too terribly shabby. Nintendo’s problem, however, isn’t that no one is buying the console. It’s that nobody is buying the games just yet.
On Jan. 7, as Nintendo and others began to discuss holiday sales details, a number of analysts including Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter and Stern Agee’s Arvind Bhatia expressed concern about the Wii U’s attach rate, or the number of games people buy when the purchase the console itself. Bhatia merely said Wii U software sales have been “low.” Now Cowen & Company analyst Doug Creutz is providing a more detailed perspective on Nintendo’s worrying software sales.
“Software sales for the Wii U remained well behind launch levels for the original Wii and Gamecube in December,” said Creutz in a research note to investors, “Totals for the November-December period were -43 percent lower than software sales for the Wii [during the same launch period] and -50 percent lower than those for the Gamecube.”
There are mitigating factors to consider when looking at the Wii U’s low attach rate. Unlike with Wii and Gamecube, all Nintendo Wii U games available at retail are also available as downloadables through the Nintendo eShop, so Nintendo is selling games not factored into the retailer checks that analyst data comes from.
Still it’s clear that the Wii U didn’t release with a game that readily appeals to the gaming enthusiast audience that Nintendo relies on for early console sales. The Nintendo Wii debuted alongside The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess in 2006 and the Gamecube saw the release of Super Smash Bros. Meleewithin month of releasing in 2001, and both franchises have enormous pull with core gamers.
New Super Mario Bros. U, a new entry in a series that has been enormously successful for Nintendo in recent years, sold just 580,000 copies in December. The Wii’s Twlight Princess, on the other hand, sold 1.5 million copies in December 2006 (albeit with the help a version for Gamecube as well.) NintendLand and New Super Mario Bros. U simply weren’t the first-party Nintendo games that tend to draw in the company’s usual early supporters. The same problem caused slow adoption of the Nintendo 3DS when it released in March 2011.
I bought a Wii U over the holidays, I can say that I didn’t purchase many games because of the following reasons
1. Same titles for Xbox 360 and PS3 (which I have both) were as much as $45 cheaper than the Wii U version.
2. There just wasn’t that many good launch titles. The Wii U needed a Zelda or a 3D Mario version at launch. The titles made by nintendo were good but didn’t warrant a $60 price tag.
3. Because of having an iPad, I just don’t spend as much time playing console games.
2 months later? Gamecube had Smash Bros after one month. That would explain it.
Meh I seen this coming. U got a console that looks like the wii. So I’m sure most struggling parent prob didn’t see this as a worthy console to spend much money on. Then the games are games you can get on the wii. Call of duty is on the wii, Mario’s are on the wii. I’m sure they looked similar from screenshots so parents probably said meh not worth it as this time blasting Mario all over the place want cut it. They should of put donkey kong, Pokemon, metrosexual prime, star fox into the launch mix then 4 months later release Mario all over the place, but people are use to getting ,Mario games released every few months so it’s not like anyone really checking for Mario
Please don’t belittle the greatest female gaming character with your potty talk.
The Metroid Prime series is one of the most well crafted in all of video games today.
If an inexpensive console like Nintendo is too much for a struggling parent, what is that same struggling parent going to think when the next playstation costs twice that amount? My guess is they will purchase the Wii U at the first price drop.
Trash…
We got the Wii U Deluxe of the holidays. We use it for all kinds of things besides gaming. My two kids (22 and 7) along with myself play Nintendo Land together. I downloaded ZombiU and that alone got me hooked on what the Wii U gameplay/experience has the potential of doing. But we also use it to watch our Netflix. If we did not have just basic cable, the Nintendo TVii feature would be highly used. But the MiiVerse community is great to chat with as well. I have a 360 and it’s a great console too. I love playing Skyrim on it and just completed the Dragonborn DLC. But in all honesty, the Wii U is more widely used in our home for all kinds of functions besdies gaming.
Since many Wii U owners went with the Deluxe model, and that comes with the Deluxe Digital Promotion, many people have an extra incentive to download games that just doesn’t exist in any other console.
I personally am a huge advocate of physical games due to the ability to lend and borrow to friends. Despite this I only have two physical games for my Wii U out of the six games I own. At this rate I will get a free game just by downloading my games rather than buy physical copies.
Had Nintendo not offered such a promotion, I may not have downloaded anything yet.
The other factor that needs to be addressed is the number of games that have been delayed. I’m personally stoked for MU3U, Rayman, and Cloudberry Kingdom.
I have the regular 8gb console, and I still download games. SD Cards are cheap and when you run a game off an SD card it can load the game 12 times faster into memory…. IF COD was a downloadable title, those with it copied on an SD card would load the map faster than everyone else and would have the opportunity to run to the other spawn point and start picking off players as they enter the map (probably way Treyarch doesn’t want to distribute it on the eShop)
I have the White model, but its not limiting in anyway, I have plenty of 32gb SD cards laying about….
Buying physical and digital both have their advantages.. With digital downloading, the game will load into memory 12 times faster than the opitcal drive can..
The SD card slot only works with the Wii mode, not Wii U games. :-(
You have to use USB, but I do agree that since you can use so much non-proprietary external memory, the initial Harddrive size is pretty inconsequential.
I think they need to do the extra research and find out what the online sales were for the eShop. I personally purchased ZombiU and Madden 13 from Nintendo’s eShop and the comment trends in MiiVerse are the same. Many are purchasing the games from the eShop. I think they need to factor this in if they want to get a more accurate data.
When you see rehashes of the same game that people are starting to tire of very quickly, then you need to change your game plan and quick. Obviously, if you can’t get your games to even download from your own store without difficulty not to mention that the updates are updating slowly, then again I mention you need to see the other competition from a unbiased viewpoint a change what’s wrong, because clearly isn’t getting what Sony and Microsoft are doing… Wake up Nintendo before it’s too late to do something about it!!
That’s 580,000 copies of Super Mario Bro’s U in the states only… Thats 890,000 units sold by Dec end in the states only… Somthing which the author of this flame bait article has failed to acknowledge. Then there’s you, jumping into the deep end with little in the way of a complete picture, lol.
The other popular Wii U sellers Black OPs 2, AC3 and Zombie U all have really great reply value through multiplayer and you begin to see a larger truth to the situation. Of course I know a hater when I see one, and don’t expect it to resonate with your ultimate understanding of the matter… Again LOL.
Nintendo sales both Hardware and Software continue to be quite profitable in fact. If there is any great meaning to a comparison between Wii U and Wii sales after considering the those facts, then I’d like to hear them…
The Wii U is a rehash of the original Wii, will th improved HD graphics and a tablet-like controller which will cost if needed a replacement not to mention that only one player can use it and the other poor chaps that play it will have to resort to a Wii Remote!/Controller and you’re bound to have jealousy in that room especially if kids can’t have the same thing..
That’s not true. Nintendo has stated that their system will support two control pads at the same time further down the line. There is no jealousy about who uses what controller. Example, in Metroid Blaster, I use the wii pad controller to fly around in my ship and give air support while my son uses the wii mote for his ‘samus’ character. He doesn’t care if he is not using the control pad because his role in the game is different from mine. Same goes when we play the Pikman Adventure. He uses the wii pad controller to play Olimar while I use the remote to control my Pikman mii. The role of the player defines what controller is being used. That’s why it’s called asymmetric gaming.
Nintendo does have a pro controller that feels close to the xbox controller…. but letting the truth rain on your hate parade is a bummer, contine onwards. I know you Sony fanbois have butthurt because the Wii U is the fastest gaming console available today.
Funny thing is that I’m not a Sony fan boy and I don’t have a PS3, I have an XBox that I waited just to purchase one that the revised Jasper board/Slim design to avoid the RROD they had so much trouble. Point is that I’m cautious when they say they’re gonna do something and we wait forever for them to surface if they ever do surface. I’m sorry to be on the negative side, but I don’t see Nintendo being the video game giant they used to be, and I absolutely loved their consoles, specifically the Nintendo 64. Once Microsoft joined the console race though, things were going to change drastically and they have, especially on the online side of things, and Nintendo has yet to catch up on that and I hope that they do, but it seems too little too late for these guys…
Haha, the Wii U is a joke. It’s more expensive than consoles that are over six years old and perform very closely(specs-wise), its tablet controller is very low-quality(480p, LCD, resistive touchscreen, 3-5 hours of battery life), it doesn’t have a hard drive or even an internal hard drive bay(I’m not interested in externals cluttering up my space) and Nintendo’s online infrastructure is by far the worst in the industry, they’re five years behind Sony and Microsoft.
You’re the butthurt one. I find it hilarious that you’d brag about the technical specifications of the overpriced Wii U when the PS4 and next Xbox are around the corner, and I guarantee they’ll outperform the Wii U by miles at a similar price; why? It’s because that low-quality tablet controller eats half the hardware budget for the entire system, so Nintendo’s Wii U is a sickeningly weak platform and the TRUE next-gen systems are gonna be great. Enjoy your six minutes in the spotlight, the Wii U’s gonna get wrecked. For the record, I grew up a Nintendo gamer. I stuck with them for over a decade, but the 3DS’ low quality was where I drew the line. The Wii U is just a repeat of that, Nintendo’s clearly okay with holding technology back and being a whole generation behind the competition. If they don’t care about their hardware quality, why should we? Of course complacent fanboys like you will continue to support their mediocrity, enabling their crappiness even when the opposite would benefit them more. Hopefully if the Wii U bombs Nintendo will either take their hardware seriously next time or drop out of the hardware market altogether. Seriously, they’re making a mockery of the industry as a whole, leeching off it because of nostalgia and lots of marketing money. Screw Nintendo.
First off, I am assuming you do not have a Wii U, so I understand why you would have this kind of outlook. First off, the tablet controller is excellent quality. Yes, it is a resistive touchscreen, but I prefer this over the tablet screens because a special type of stylus is required for tablet screens. Where with the Wii U, ANY stylus will do because it is not dependent upon ‘static electricity’. That’s why just any old stylus will not work with tablets. Second, the color quality of the screen is excellent. I watch Netflix on it when my wife ‘confiscates’ the TV and it is great quality. Plus, being able to play my games on the Gamepad screen is a big advantage. Third, the battery life leaves much to be desired. I get about 3.5 hours of nonstop play before the battery let’s me know it is low. I have no problem plugging into the charging cord. I don’t miss a beat doing this as opposed to say the wii mote getting ready to die on me. Now I have to replace the batteries or try to charge it and I have stop my game. I also have a 3DS. It’s an awesome little machine. It’s quality is not like that of the Vita, but that is not how Nintendo does things. And the fact that I can play 3DS games and go backward compatible with my DS games only strengthens the selection. The Wii U is either going to bomb, or it will light a fire under Sony and MS again. Or maybe you forgot how those two scrambled to get their own version of the Wii Mote on the market? Kinnect and Move? The fact, that the Wii U now has the capability of 5 player Coop and adding a new dimension with that gamepad of having 2 player online coop without having to share a screen is great. Either way, this is good for the market because it causes the competition to step it up. But the success of the Wii U will be dependant upon the 3rd party developers. It’s up to them to utilize the full power of this console and what it is capable of doing.