There's been a lot of discussions on how the Wii U was a year too late system, but that truly feels like it with the Vita. If it came out in 2010(if that was anywhere near possible), and positioned itself as having phone capabilities, it would be more successful.
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Media Create Sales: Week 47, 2013 (Nov 18 - Nov 24)
- Thread starter Chris1964
- Start date
There's been a lot of discussions on how the Wii U was a year too late system, but that truly feels like it with the Vita. If it came out in 2010(if that was anywhere near possible), and positioned itself as having phone capabilities, it would be more successful.
InsaneZero
Member
Going back to the Japanese market, I'm also in the camp that the Wii U's current predicament doesn't reflect what the PS4 will do. However, the Japanese third-parties have been so badly hit by the last generation that they're still trying to tread water now. They're probably transitioning from the PS3 to the PS4 right now, but I'm not sure they'll be fully ready to support the PS4 for a while. The PS4 will most likely be a slow starter here.
Not saying that the PS4 will eventually be generally adopted (since the expectation is that the third parties will come around eventually), but I'm not expecting the same fervor at launch that the Western launches had. I don't exactly see exclusive products that would entice the audience at this early stage.
Not saying that the PS4 will eventually be generally adopted (since the expectation is that the third parties will come around eventually), but I'm not expecting the same fervor at launch that the Western launches had. I don't exactly see exclusive products that would entice the audience at this early stage.
Magicpaint
Member
How is the 3DS doing well in US but not Europe? Last shipment figures we had put The Americas at 11.43m and Others at 10.22m. That's not such a big discrepancy to suddenly lump the US figures in the same category as Japan. If anything the 3DS is doing mediocre numbers in BOTH US and Europe.
The software front is absolutely abysmal.
1st Course
Member
Magicpaint
Member
Software shipment - in Japan: 44.84m; in The Americas: 42.81m; Others: 34.76m. Again, where is this giant discrepancy? The 3DS software sales in the UK are probably closer to 'abysmal' but it's not that grim looking at the larger picture.
Pancakes R Us
Member
Probably. Plus, despite all of the fantastic reviews etc. people are probably just burned out by Mario lately. With stuff like COD, there is an expected update every year, it's not the same with Mario.
Just a theory, I have no conclusive evidence. That and the Wii U is clearly not appealing to most people, so a lot of buyers are probably just not bothering with it anymore.
Meta, but it's funny that the three threads about this week Japanese sales have already 8 pages each.
Does anyone want to make a fourth thread, about Vita TV?
Also, I think we should start a special prediction game for the PS4: "How Many Weeks Until Sub 10k?"
10? 5? 2?
Does anyone want to make a fourth thread, about Vita TV?
Please, don't...
Also, I think we should start a special prediction game for the PS4: "How Many Weeks Until Sub 10k?"
10? 5? 2?
opticalmace
Member
InsaneZero
Member
Well no, it also has Soul Sac Delta and Gravity Daze 2 coming up. But FFX is more high profile than those.
Whatever though, I'm happy with the Vita. And FFX will cement the Vita has one of my favorite handhelds. It turned out to be a awesome portable FF machine (sans FFV since that isn't on the PSN store) and a portable MGS & fightan machine as well.
Arkam
Member
I am not seeing how the Mario numbers are being looked on as poor.
Considering the WiiU install base thats pretty good.
Since we are comparing first week sales of other marios, can we get the hardware install base of each at the time of game release? Without that the comparison is less meaningful.
Considering the WiiU install base thats pretty good.
Since we are comparing first week sales of other marios, can we get the hardware install base of each at the time of game release? Without that the comparison is less meaningful.
(sorry if it was posted and I missed)
InsaneZero
Member
It's poor because what really matters is the absolute number of units sold rather than the relative amount sold to the current userbase.
Wow at those numbers. Wii U showing some life, but because of Super Mario 3D World. Considering that this is a Mario game those are actually terrible numbers. Perhaps it has legs, but the problem is that it is not a system seller, which Nintendo needs.
Lightning Returns has also terrible numbers. Seems like Square Enix is riding Final Fantasy into irrelevance. They will end up as a mobile dev only (phones and 3DS) soon. (I hope not).
Vita TV is crashing down fast as well. Well, at least Vita could hold on to stay above 20k.
Lightning Returns has also terrible numbers. Seems like Square Enix is riding Final Fantasy into irrelevance. They will end up as a mobile dev only (phones and 3DS) soon. (I hope not).
Vita TV is crashing down fast as well. Well, at least Vita could hold on to stay above 20k.
zenosparadox
Member
This is correct. Also, the attach rate is less important the smaller the user base is (e.g. 50% of 100,000 is 50,000). With a small user base, having a high attach rate would show the Wii U following is dedicated albeit small.
I do Nintendo has a break out hit in Japan. Would a more overtly-Japanese title such as X help very much (assuming the game doesn't suck)?
Arkam
Member
Sarcasm? If not I would appreciate some reasoning.
Sales vs potential sales is one of the main ways to project and then review sales success.
I would also add that things heavily improved in Europe this year on the software front. Much more titles appearing in UK top 40 and other charts. That's obviously due to many more titles released, but it's not just that. Last week in UK, 3DS had 8 titles in the All Formats top 40 chart, the one where, usually, it's very difficult to chart for titles exclusive to specific platforms. Despite a major console launch. Moreover, in Germany, now we're about 8-10 titles in top 40/50, when last year there were 10 as highest result possible in the entire top 100. There are big signs of improvements in Europe (where, still, the situation has never been abysmal, not at all). There are improvements in US as well, but less pronounced.
Come on: there's been such an unbelievable amount of PS4 titles announced since TGS: it will TOTALLY!!!
It's still 0
NCL can quite easily fix this by a £29.99 price tag for 3DS games. I personally think that's the biggest hindrance for the handheld.
I don't really see the reasoning in claiming there's still a viable console marketplace when essentially all consoles are failing. Sure Wii U and Vita TV have their own unique issues, and PS3 is long in the tooth so not the best to judge from, but when pretty much nothing seems able to do well I think that also indicates larger problems with the marketplace. Consoles declined last gen and that trend seems well poised to continue and accelerate looking at where things sit now. PS4 and Xbox One are coming into the market in weaker positions and with less upfront support than their predecessors did. I'm not expecting a magic turnaround to happen there either.
Handhelds aren't looking to great now either really, there's just one indisputably healthy platform and another that may skirt along as a niche option. I don't see much issue in raising questions about the future of closed games platforms in Japan. It's the reality of the situation.
InsaneZero
Member
Sarcasm? Nintendo has put on record that this game would be the one of the key games that would allow the Wii U to reach 9 million this FY. That strongly implies that this game has a stronger first week than just ~100k to make that happen.
If you look at their shipments for those 6 months, with the launches of Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion, Fire Emblem, Donkey Kong, Mario & Luigi, and so on, overall, they only managed to ship/sell 6.95 million units of software, as opposed to over 10 million in the US and Japan.
There is growth over the last year, but nowhere near as pronounced as it was in the US.
Not to mention that hardware shipments fell hardest in Europe over this year.
My point is how anyone can point to Mr. Shibata for clear success, yet lambast NoA for being more successful.
Arkam
Member
hmmm ok.
I can see where you are coming from I suppose.
I was speaking more to the fact that many are comparing the first week sales against previous marios. Of which in that comparison I feel install base numbers matter.
InsaneZero
Member
As they should.
Saying that Mario is limited by its install base is like saying that Nintendo has completely failed in their goals with the game, since Mario is supposed to be increasing said install base.
DarkLordMalik
Member
It can be even worse. Lets see what happens next week.
Horrible drop for God Eater 2 IMO. I expected a bit better hold. VITA TV sales also disappointingly low. Mario numbers are okay since it was released on a dead platform. There was never any hope for Wii U.
I am glad Lighting Returns bombed hard. Square Enix should realize how much they have damaged the FF brand with these crappy spin-offs. Time for them to start working releasing more info on FF XV.
It's a nice dream, but they have barely figured out their internet strategy yet. Could they actually put together a competitive console and go up against Sony and MS with more iterations of Mario, Link, Mario Kart, etc? I'm not so sure.
Imagine instead if SM3DW had been released for the PS4 and XB1. I wonder how much it would have sold?
Cygnus X-1
Member
I think that beyond the actual Wii U performance, that 9 million consoles sold target elucidates how the business handling is ridiculous and amateurish within Nintendo.
There is no logic reason to hope getting even close to the half on that number, but yet the financial board insists to wait for the end of Q3 for revising it down. I wonder what they hope to achieve with this strategy...
Otakumegane
Member
Well that's way lower than I expected. I guess the fatigue is really setting in.
They needed some more variety a lot sooner.
They needed some more variety a lot sooner.
Otakumegane
Member
bah
Can someone please tell me why killing of the Wii U early would hurt Nintendo? They have already killed of 2 consoles (well 1 really), the Virtual Boy which didn't sell more than 300k and the N64 DD which didn't break more than 600k. I know that 3.5 million is a lot but it's not going to sell more than 10m LTD in the next 4-5 years or so. Isn't it selling like 100-150k a month worldwide?
64DD was an extension of their current home console and the Virtual Boy was a different beast altogether. Wii U is supposed to be the second major moneybringer for Nintendo, replacing the Wii. With that you have years of R&D, money put into development and partnerships managed that killing off a console early won't just be money thrown into the ocean, but a ton of costumer faith lost. The video game business isn't as insular as it once was.
Nintendo has to toughen it out for however long it takes for it to bear some fruit, even if insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Recoup and try again once the dust settles. That said, it's likely that Wii U will have a shorter life than it's predecessors. I expect Nintendo's next console some time in 2016 unless a miracle happens.
Time is not on their side...errr....this time. We're all easily distracted nowadays with just about everyone trying their best to grab our little attention that they'll kill the little consumer confidence they have left.
I don't think the killing of Wii U would hurt Nintendo, since it's killed itself pretty easily. The problem is that a console is a long-term investment; it should be well-designed to appeal to its customers. It should not be rushed out of the door as a quick fix to a problem.
If Nintendo killed the Wii U to instantly release a new console, it would just fail again. They need to do some serious R&D and that will take some time.
I don't think that's really the case. 3D Mario has always sold less than 2D Mario. The only things that sell at all on Wii U are very familiar faces.
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If Nintendo killed the Wii U to instantly release a new console, it would just fail again. They need to do some serious R&D and that will take some time.
I don't think that's really the case. 3D Mario has always sold less than 2D Mario. The only things that sell at all on Wii U are very familiar faces.
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That happened long ago, killing a platform in around 1 year after it's release sets a precedent that I do not think or hope that any of the major hardware makers are willing to make:
Why buy a console if you could release a better model or even a new one 1 year or 2 later.
Hell, why even develop for that hardware if a new one could be released so soon. Generations happen for a reason and i'm sure that the industry in general is not ready or willing to submit to the same problems that plague the mobile (cellphone) industry when it comes to this sort of thing, specially because consoles are much more expensive than cellphones (because of plans) and consoles aren't seen as somewhat of a status item (having a latest model cellphone is something you can show off to friends if you are that kind of person).
So yeah, also not only that but it would kill consumer trust. People paid for this thing and expect to get an amount of games in return, cancelling the whole thing makes sure that those same consumers won't come back in the future and might go towards the competitors.
Really, they are in bad shape, but killing the Wii U is not an option if they are looking in the grand scheme of things.
Consumer confidence will plummet harder than the Wii U's sales. Why would someone buy their next console without thinking "they may discontinue this console too."
The Virtual Boy was not the next iteration of one of their product lines (home consoles and handhelds), it was an experimental stand-alone product. The N64 DD is just an add-on, not a new console, and we've seen many times that the Big 3 don't support their add-ons.
The console is a sunk cost at this point and they're going to have to make do with what they have and try to alleviate that cost by doing things. They should plan for their next console and fix ALL of their mistakes so they can have a more successful launch next gen.
Dr. Feel Good
Banned
Haven't read the whole thread but has the topic of the sales for 3D World and Pikmin 3 been compared? In hind sight I cannot believe that Pikmin 3 managed to debut at the numbers did.
Glass Rebel
Member
The only way Nintendo could kill off the Wii U right now would be if they price their next console on the very low end. Like very very low end. Like $149 low.
Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the Virtual Boy recalled because of concerns of eye strain? Not a comparable situation.
The N64 DD seemed to have development issues even before its limited release; Ura Zelda became Master Quest, Mother 3 was cancelled, etc. You couldn't even buy the thing normally, if I recall. Also not really comparable.
The N64 DD seemed to have development issues even before its limited release; Ura Zelda became Master Quest, Mother 3 was cancelled, etc. You couldn't even buy the thing normally, if I recall. Also not really comparable.
ArchedThunder
Banned
They shat the Virtual Boy out before it was done to buy time for the N64, so they didn't care about it really, and the 64DD was just an attachment.
Aquamarine
Member
New Super Mario Bros. U - 170,563 first week, 638,755 total
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate - 110,149 first week, 218,831 total
Super Mario 3D World - 106,697 first week
Pikmin 3 - 102,188 first week, 201,000 total
Super Mario 3D World will undoubtedly have better legs than Pikmin, though.
I assume that's one of many key factors. The console just wouldn't sell even with a plethora of price cuts and some games announced for it. Virtual Boy didn't even get a European release before it got called off.
Games on their other consoles.