Topic: Official Sales Thread

[Luigi Dude]

Actually one thing Nintendo could do to boast hardware without dropping the price right now is to make NSMB U the bundled game in the Deluxe models.  As the sales show, NSMB U is the game most people are buying the system for, so making it the bundled game would technically be a price drop to some people because they can buy the Deluxe model for $350 to get the one game they really want and not have to spend an extra $60 anymore for.

As last gen showed us, most people don't want to spend over $400 on a new system.  The 360/PS3 didn't get a boast until after both dropped below the $400 range.  While right now, the Wii U is a $400 system to most people because they only want the Deluxe model since the Basic is gimped, and the game NSMB U.  Making the Deluxe model come with NSMB U would make the system below $400, and and a more appealing purchase again.

Of course bundling NSMB U would cause them to loss the extra money they currently make off it so I'd imagine they're against it.  But if they want to increase the Wii U's userbase so other games have a better change of selling without dropping the systems price, bundling NSMB U with the Deluxe model is the only option they really have.

[regin]

They have no games coming out and they can't really drop the price. The only thing they can do right now is to give away free download codes for NSMBU if you buy it before Lego City. After that, if they know for sure they can keep up with game releases, they need to start the marketing machine for real.

[ShyGuy]

Mother 3 for the Wii U e-shop.

[Ceric]

Actually one thing Nintendo could do to boast hardware without dropping the price right now is to make NSMB U the bundled game in the Deluxe models.  As the sales show, NSMB U is the game most people are buying the system for, so making it the bundled game would technically be a price drop to some people because they can buy the Deluxe model for $350 to get the one game they really want and not have to spend an extra $60 anymore for.

As last gen showed us, most people don't want to spend over $400 on a new system.  The 360/PS3 didn't get a boast until after both dropped below the $400 range.  While right now, the Wii U is a $400 system to most people because they only want the Deluxe model since the Basic is gimped, and the game NSMB U.  Making the Deluxe model come with NSMB U would make the system below $400, and and a more appealing purchase again.

Of course bundling NSMB U would cause them to loss the extra money they currently make off it so I'd imagine they're against it.  But if they want to increase the Wii U's userbase so other games have a better change of selling without dropping the systems price, bundling NSMB U with the Deluxe model is the only option they really have.

I see a NSMBU bundle for $389.99 but like the Zombi U bundle come with Nintendo Land still AND come with a Wiimote Plus and Nunchuk Black.  Even w/out the controller its still a deal for the deluxe and with the controller its effectively cheaper then the Basic if you need all the parts.

[noname2200]

I don't see how Nintendo could even think about delaying Pikmin any more than they already have. You think people were pissed about Rayman, just think of the reaction it'd get if it got out that they pushed back Pikmin 3 because of sales concerns.

I doubt any Pikmin 3 delays will be from sales concerns. Then again, this is the company that stated it likes releasing games in threes, so...

[Ian Sane]

Do those weak Wii U sales seem at all unjustified or unfair?  What has the Wii U really done to deserve better?  No games are currently coming out for it, the touchscreen was never ever going to be the dream concept that motion control was and the marketing was been pretty much non-existent.

I want Nintendo to do as well as they deserve.  Obviously it sucks if they put out a great product that doesn't sell and finding a lot of success with an inferior product will just encourage bad behaviour.  The Wii U seems to be doing about as well as it deserves.  Hopefully that will inspire them to do better.

[Enner]

Wired's Chris Kohler has an excellent and thoughtful podcast on the Wii U numbers:

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2013/02/gamelife-podcast-episode-61/

It's a solo effort that lasts for about 23 minutes.

The statements he makes are ones I agree with.
These are very poor numbers. We have seen three systems come out over the past two years (3DS, Vita, Wii U) that have had/are having bad starts. It is uncertain that the next Playstation and next Xbox will perform the same or different. The Wii U needs a Wii Sports/Wii Fit-like piece of software to turn things around. Nintendo has a lot of cash in reserve to play around with. Panic mode Nintendo is the best Nintendo.

One interesting, if gloomy, thought Kohler makes is that Nintendo might have to "Gamecube" the Wii U. Nintendo resigns itself to selling far less systems, expects third-party support to be increasingly poor, makes partnerships (with Japanese companies and indie developers) to insure some interesting games come out, and save resources for the next system(s).

[ShyGuy]

I'm still mad at fish-lips over his "Nintendo just announced Wii U vaporware! All unreleased software is vaporware! Durpy durpy durrr!" article

[azeke]

It is uncertain that the next Playstation and next Xbox will perform the same or different.

This.
People are quick to bury Wii U and publishers are running away from it, but... to where? Why do they think Sony's and MS horses will fare better, while from our side it looks they're trying their damnedest to destroy their own market?
I am kinda idealist and believe not all of them are dumbasses and there is some rational reason behind it. What do they know we don't?


They're comparing Wii U sales to Wii and it doesn't compare. Well duh.
They're comparing Wii U sales to Xbox and it does't compare too. Well, duh again.
Why do they think PS4/new Xbox will do even that? Main buying public will stay on their ps3/360s for at least 1 or 2 years and that where the bulk of sales will go.

[NWR_insanolord]

I think Nintendo's poised for a big Q4. You'll have the second generation of Wii U games, likely with appearances by their top two development teams in Retro and EAD Tokyo, as well as at least some third party games which will probably be the best versions of those games. The system will have likely seen a price drop at that point, going up against systems with weaker lineups that are >$100 more expensive.

Of course you have to get through Q1, 2 and 3 to get to Q4, and it doesn't look like those ones are going to be that fun.

[Luigi Dude]

I think Nintendo's poised for a big Q4. You'll have the second generation of Wii U games, likely with appearances by their top two development teams in Retro and EAD Tokyo, as well as at least some third party games which will probably be the best versions of those games. The system will have likely seen a price drop at that point, going up against systems with weaker lineups that are >$100 more expensive.

Of course you have to get through Q1, 2 and 3 to get to Q4, and it doesn't look like those ones are going to be that fun.

Yeah, it's going to be a lot like the original DS back in 2005.  Had basically nothing for software until Kirby and Meteos hit in June, but both games didn't do much to help hardware.  It wasn't until Nintendogs in August that sales finally picked up, and then Mario Kart and Animal Crossing: Wild World gave it huge sales during the holiday.  Until Nintendogs hit though, the DS had numbers similar to the Wii U in the 50k range each month for most of 2005. 

And yet in the end the DS would become Nintendo's most successful system of all time.  Hopefully more people will realize this when the Wii U numbers are terrible for the next several months.  Being bad now doesn't mean the sky is falling since the DS showed Nintendo can still turn things around.

[Louieturkey]

So does this mean the Vita is not doomed or is it because this is Nintendo with the horrible sales that we can't relate the Vita to it in any way?

[Luigi Dude]

So does this mean the Vita is not doomed or is it because this is Nintendo with the horrible sales that we can't relate the Vita to it in any way?

Nintendo actually has major franchises that are coming to the Wii U in the future that have a history of increasing hardware sales.  The Vita on the other hand has nothing at all, outside of a few niche Japanese games.

[NWR_insanolord]

The difference between the Wii U and the Vita is that Nintendo's putting their full weight behind the Wii U, while Sony's really phoning it in with the Vita. It pisses me off, as I own a Vita, and it's a really good little system that Sony doesn't seem to care about at all.

[Louieturkey]

I read an article on comingsoon.net about the Playstation event tomorrow and nearly every comment in the comment section is hoping it is not a PS4 announcement.  They want it to come in 2014 or even 2015.  I think that is the casual and general public's mindset on the new systems right now.  They don't want new systems.  They just discovered the 360 and PS3 since they had been on Wii until 2010.  I have a feeling both new systems (PS4 & Durango) will be slow burn. They may sell initially just like the Wii U did, but until it comes down in price to the $300 or less range, they will only get the gaming die hards and Sony and Microsoft fanboys to jump onto the new ships.

[Fatty The Hutt]

One interesting, if gloomy, thought Kohler makes is that Nintendo might have to "Gamecube" the Wii U. Nintendo resigns itself to selling far less systems, expects third-party support to be increasingly poor, makes partnerships (with Japanese companies and indie developers) to insure some interesting games come out, and save resources for the next system(s).

As if that was some sort of contingency plan. Just cuz sh*t happened along the way in history does not make it planned.
Saying that Nintendo might have to employ it's Gamecube "strategy" is just ludicrous.

[Enner]

Top-seller: Dragon Quest VII: Warriors of Eden (3DS) - 184.993 / 1.012.916

Nintendo 3DS sales: 31.832 | Total sales:  8.003.111

Nintendo 3DS XL sales: 66.139 | Total sales: 2.609.016

PlayStation Vita sales:  8.044 | Total sales:  1.220.408

Wii U sales: 10.744 | Total sales: 781.373

Media Create Sales: Week 7, 2013 (Feb 11 - Feb 17)

01./01. [3DS] Dragon Quest VII: Warriors of Eden <RPG> (Square Enix) {2013.02.07} (Â¥6.090) - 184.993 / 1.012.916 (-78%)
02./02. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf # <ETC> (Nintendo) {2012.11.08} (Â¥4.800) - 78.178 / 2.591.602 (-4%)
03./04. [3DS] New Super Mario Bros. 2 # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2012.07.28} (Â¥4.800) - 11.784 / 1.922.492 (+1%)
04./06. [WII] Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: Super Deluxe Edition # <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.11.29} (Â¥5.040) - 10.076 / 396.225 (+14%)
05./05. [3DS] Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Best Price!) <ACT> (Capcom) {2012.11.15} (Â¥3.800) - 9.138 / 227.235 (-13%)
06./03. [3DS] Fantasy Life <RPG> (Level 5) {2012.12.27} (Â¥5.800) - 8.751 / 230.471 (-34%)
07./09. [3DS] Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigi na Orb <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.07.12} (Â¥5.040) - 7.331 / 423.364 (-2%)
08./12. [3DS] Paper Mario: Sticker Star <ADV> (Nintendo) {2012.12.06} (Â¥4.800) - 6.847 / 524.944 (+6%)
09./10. [3DS] Tousouchuu: Shijou Saikyou no Hunter-Tachi Kara Nigekire! <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.07.05} (Â¥5.040) - 6.614 / 427.429 (-10%)
10./16. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 <RCE> (Nintendo) {2011.12.01} (Â¥4.800) - 5.817 / 1.978.257 (+3%)
11./14. [WIU] New Super Mario Bros. U <ACT> (Nintendo) {2012.12.08} (Â¥5.985) - 5.671 / 466.457 (-3%)
12./00. [PSV] Sakura-Sou no Pet na Kanojo # <ADV> (Kadokawa Games) {2013.02.14} (Â¥6.804) - 5.472 / NEW
13./13. [3DS] Inazuma Eleven Go 2: Chrono Stone - Neppuu / Raimei <RPG> (Level 5) {2012.12.13} (Â¥5.500) - 5.348 / 419.554 (-13%)
14./00. [PSP] Sakura-Sou no Pet na Kanojo # <ADV> (Kadokawa Games) {2013.02.14} (Â¥6.279) - 5.115 / NEW
15./18. [PS3] Call of Duty: Black Ops II - Dubbed Edition <ACT> (Square Enix) {2012.12.20} (Â¥7.980) - 4.828 / 128.939 (-3%)
16./19. [WIU] Nintendo Land <ETC> (Nintendo) {2012.12.08} (Â¥4.935) - 4.199 / 290.677 (-6%)
17./07. [PSV] Demon Gaze <RPG> (Kadokawa Games) {2013.01.24} (Â¥6.090) - 4.083 / 47.993 (-50%)
18./23. [NDS] Pokèmon Black 2 / White 2 <RPG> (Pokèmon Co.) {2012.06.23} (¥4.800) - 3.966 / 2.966.056
19./08. [PS3] DmC: Devil May Cry <ACT> (Capcom) {2013.01.17} (Â¥6.990) - 3.938 / 168.627 (-47%)
20./20. [PS3] Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 # <ACT> (Koei Tecmo) {2012.12.20} (Â¥8.190) - 3.527 / 235.577 (-18%)


Top 20

3DS - 10
PS3 - 3
PSV - 2
WIU - 2
NDS - 1
PSP - 1
WII - 1

HARDWARE
Code:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|System | This Week  | Last Week  | Last Year  |     YTD    |  Last YTD  |     LTD     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3DS # |     97.971 |    127.695 |     94.667 |    832.247 |    744.479 |  10.612.127 |
|  PS3  |     16.934 |     17.004 |     21.993 |    177.406 |    216.158 |   9.037.490 |
|  WIU  |     10.744 |     12.185 |            |    154.086 |            |     781.373 |
| PSP # |     10.501 |     11.056 |     14.824 |    133.930 |    173.291 |  19.762.941 |
|  PSV  |      8.044 |      8.762 |     12.309 |     89.583 |    138.826 |   1.220.408 |
|  WII  |      1.655 |      1.945 |      7.874 |     17.301 |    109.167 |  12.656.137 |
|  360  |        506 |        593 |        983 |      6.100 |     10.584 |   1.619.934 |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|  ALL  |    146.355 |    179.240 |    155.640 |  1.410.653 |  1.418.484 |  55.690.410 |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 3DSLL |     66.139 |     89.050 |            |    518.645 |            |   2.609.016 |
|  3DS  |     31.832 |     38.645 |     94.667 |    313.602 |    744.479 |   8.003.111 |
|  PSP  |     10.501 |     11.056 |     14.824 |    133.930 |    173.291 |  19.586.954 |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nothing out of the ordinary from last week. The new release is The Pet Girl of Sakura-sou, an adventure game based on a light novel and animated series for the Playstation Vita and Playstation Portable.

[Louieturkey]

Interesting that the PSP outsold the PSV this week and yet the PSV version of Sakura-sou did better.  I guess Vita owners really are just starved for anything.

[noname2200]

The announcement of the upcoming price drop may also help explain the difference, although I think similar situations have occurred in the past. Also, next week (this week) is going to be brutal for the poor Vita...

[smallsharkbigbite]

They want it to come in 2014 or even 2015.  I think that is the casual and general public's mindset on the new systems right now.  They don't want new systems.  They just discovered the 360 and PS3 since they had been on Wii until 2010.

Up until this gen, the game systems had always hit the $99 price point.  Obvioulsy, more people will jump on with a lower price point.  I think the Xbox 1 only hit $150 but that was essentially killed off becuase of the Microsoft lawsuit.  Then this gen comes around and xbox 360 and PS3 have only officially hit $200.  I know specific sales they've been cheaper, but it hasn't been MSRP below that.  I think that holds alot of would be buyers out. 


I really wish that Nintendo would have brought out a couple of AAA games in the first 6 months to get people excited about the system.  But at one point their was a rumor the PS4 would be $300.  Alot of people were waiting for the PS4 and Xbox 720 announcements before buying a Wii U.  If the new rumor is true (don't know if they've confirmed it yet) that the "best" PS4 will be $529, I can't see it selling well initially.  Game consoles are a luxury device.  That's a lot of dough to drop especially with the economy still faltering. 

[noname2200]

In light of the tech Sony just showed, I have a hard time seeing them hit $300.

[Sarail]

Totally $450 to $550. There's no way it's cheaper than that price.

[NWR_insanolord]

Totally $450 to $550. There's no way it's cheaper than that price.

The rumor/leak is two SKUs, $429/$529.

[Sarail]

Well, then I'm really close. And sheesh. I think I'll be ok with just my Wii U.

The new inFAMOUS game is the only thing that really caught my eye, as I really enjoyed the first game. But I can live without it. No big deal.

[Louieturkey]

I can't see it selling well initially.  Game consoles are a luxury device.  That's a lot of dough to drop especially with the economy still faltering. 

Especially with there being no physical BC on the system.  So whatever games come out initially are all that will work on the system unless PS Cloud is available immediately upon launch and even then, most people are still scared of cloud gaming.