Support NeoGAF

[Aquamarine]

Nintendo home console sales comparisons, January NPD:

GameCube raw numbers, NPD:

NPD Jan 2002: 61,685
NPD Jan 2003: 79,813
NPD Jan 2004: 131,000
NPD Jan 2005: 112,327
NPD Jan 2006: 66,000

Wii raw numbers, NPD:

NPD Jan 2007 (5 weeks reporting): 436,000
NPD Jan 2008: 274,000
NPD Jan 2009: 679,200
NPD Jan 2010: 465,800
NPD Jan 2011: 319,000
NPD Jan 2012: ~148,000

Wii U raw numbers, NPD:

NPD Jan 2013 (5 weeks reporting): 45,900 to 59,500


A Nintendo home console has NEVER had numbers in January so low since Iwata has become president. The 45-59K figure is unprecedented. UNPRECEDENTED.

 

[Tobor]

I don't think Nintendo was prepared/was hit with unexpected delays. Both of which were preventable. I like the Wii U as a concept, and I feel like it has a good future ahead of it, but every Nintendo console always falls into having a drought right after launch.

The concept is a dud. They told everyone that complicated controllers were dead, that the future was about motion control, and laughing and jumping and having fun...and then totally reversed course. Now the message is the same complicated dual analog controllers as the other guys with a tablet stuck in the middle. It's confusing, and convoluted, and not nearly as much fun.

The Wii U is Iwata grasping at straws, unsure what to do now that the casual market he was so proud of is happy with iPads and Smartphones, and the core is perfectly happy with Playstation's and Xbox's and PC's. They have no quarter. The Wii U is what happens when a company has a hit, squanders the good will and marketshare that hit built, and has no idea how to catch lightning a second time.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

It's ok. It will make the eventual restoration of balance all the funnier.

Anakin brought balance to the force by slaughtering the Jedi. The younglings, for crying out loud. Perhaps this is the balance you were searching for.

 

[Four_Chamber]

This is really, really premature.

If Wii U gets at least two out of (3D Mario/MK8/New Retro title/SSB4) and is still selling sub-GC numbers, then we can talk. But otherwise, there's a lot of daylight between "disappointing" and "DOA."

That's fair. I was being facetious about the WiiU- its still in it infancy and it could certainly pick up.

Unlike the Vita, I think it still has the chance to find a market in the US. The difference between Vita and WiiU is that the Vita has surprisingly been on the market for ~1 year now. I don't expect any direct numbers from Sony so we'll have to do some inferences to see where it is going but it probably was in the 40-50k range like Pachter predicted. Either way, pretty miserable in all likelihood.

 

[AgentOtaku]

Nintendo PR: Please understand.

i loled

 

[timetokill]

Just wondering what people might think of this

I can't imagine the 720/PS4 doing well out of the gate, beyond the usual holiday rush. Mainly because I can't see them coming in at a price the mass consumer will view as "reasonable."

Sure, we'll get a bunch of vaporware and "real-time we SWEAR" announcements from Sony, and Microsoft will do their song and dance about how their service is so awesome that paying $400 PLUS $60 a year is totally worth it, and hey, Halo 5 is right around the corner. People will get hyped on GAF because we're the enthusiast board. Marketing numbers will be huge, etc.

But then we'll be in for a decent game here or there for the first several months and I can't see people budging at such a high price in such a bad economy.

We'll see, but I don't think the console market can really rebound until 2014 overall, and even then it might not be the same console market we're thinking of today.

 

[airmangataosenai]

Chances of it outselling the Japanese version?

There's an outside chance that it already has. If it can keep up some modest sales over the next few months it could be a reasonably big hit, might even assist in getting us a sequel/similar Ghibli effort down the line!

 

[Spiegel]

So the 55k figure is true then. Wow. And it's a 5 week month too.

This is vita level kind of bad, actually what's the likelihood that vita outsold it in January? And considering it's worse than Vita in Europe and quickly approaching vita level in Japan, I can't help but think the WiiU will be a failed device as well. I'll give it until TGS to call it that though.

Vita did worse than the WiiU

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=47734599&postcount=432

 

[Heart Attack]

Wow 55K is insane. Ubisoft vindicated indeed.

They did the right thing. The game is gonna bomb on all platforms, they just want to ship the most units they can, so it makes sense to release all versions at the same time.

 

[Miles X]

I don't understand the Ubisoft vindicated posts...games sell systems

Er, except it's not up to ubi to sell the WiiU it's up to Nintendo.

 

[Agent Ironside]

I understand now Ubisoft. It's ok bros.

 

[olimpia84]

Those Wii U numbers are absolutely horrible and they will most certainly go down in February with no damn releases! Curious to see how March will fare with MonHun and Lego City

 

[GavinGT]

Sony will save us.

I wouldn't count on it.

 

[Version 3.0]

I talked with my colleagues as well and it's quite possible that Wii U actually moved a negative amount of units in January.

Well, that makes sense. All those people returning it when they found out it wasn't a Wii controller.

 

[jetjevons]

I don't understand the Ubisoft vindicated posts...games sell systems

Not Rayman.

 

[verbum]

Sony will save us.

Sony is having a good February so far. I bet they wish they were at a poker table somewhere. They'd be pulling flushes and full houses all night.

 

[allan-bh]

Satoru Iwata, Former Nintendo CEO

Reggie Fils-Aime, Former Nintendo of America president

 

[Father_Brain]

Another question for anyone: So far in their lives, which had/has better third party support - the GCN or Wii U?

GCN, no question. Had bigger third-party exclusives (if only from Capcom), and it continued to get a large percentage of multiplats until late in its lifespan.

 

[javac]

Interesting.

Would Sony and / or MS let Nintendo make games for their systems if they dropped out of the hardware market or would they let them rot ?.

Not exactly what I had in mind . By expanding and partnerships I was talking about how Nintendo had a lot of money and didn't use it to buy or partner up with 3rd parties, and expand their portfolio during the stagnant years of Wii in preparation for Wii U. But at the same time, I'm sure they have unannounced projects up their sleeves.

 

[Amir0x]

I can't imagine the 720/PS4 doing well out of the gate, beyond the usual holiday rush. Mainly because I can't see them coming in at a price the mass consumer will view as "reasonable."

Sure, we'll get a bunch of vaporware and "real-time we SWEAR" announcements from Sony, and Microsoft will do their song and dance about how their service is so awesome that paying $400 PLUS $60 a year is totally worth it, and hey, Halo 5 is right around the corner. People will get hyped on GAF because we're the enthusiast board. Marketing numbers will be huge, etc.

But then we'll be in for a decent game here or there for the first several months and I can't see people budging at such a high price in such a bad economy.

We'll see, but I don't think the console market can really rebound until 2014 overall, and even then it might not be the same console market we're thinking of today.

Yeah I have a feeling you're right, that the market just won't be ready for a complete turn around for a few years more. But I think these next few months will be extremely interesting... in what Microsoft decides to focus on for their marketing and brand (will Kinect dominate branding, for example?), and in how Sony decides to allocate its resources as the company continues to be in problematic financial times.

 

[Gahiggidy]

The advertising for wii u in the U.S. is horrific. They've failed to create any sort of identity for the product. That's the first, most immediate, thing Nintendo needs to correct.

Besides the boring case design, it's good hardware.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

being a nintendo fan is like a wonderful roller coaster of emotions, which is great because the crippling social and emotional stuntedness usually leaves me devoid of both joy and sorrow

 

[MrDaravon]

I talked with my colleagues as well and it's quite possible that Wii U actually moved a negative amount of units in January.

Isn't NPD supposed to account for that as well though?

 

[metalslimer]

Nintendo home console sales comparisons, January NPD:

GameCube raw numbers, NPD:

NPD Jan 2002: 61,685
NPD Jan 2003: 79,813
NPD Jan 2004: 131,000
NPD Jan 2005: 112,327
NPD Jan 2006: 66,000

Wii raw numbers, NPD:

NPD Jan 2007 (5 weeks reporting): 436,000
NPD Jan 2008: 274,000
NPD Jan 2009: 679,200
NPD Jan 2010: 465,800
NPD Jan 2011: 319,000
NPD Jan 2012: ~148,000

Wii U raw numbers, NPD:

NPD Jan 2013 (5 weeks reporting): 45,900 to 59,500


A Nintendo console has NEVER had numbers in January so low since Iwata has become president. The 45-59K figure is unprecedented. UNPRECEDENTED.

*faints*

 

[Y2Kev]

Remember when we used to have like Lord of the Rings gifs?

I present to you: Your Mom Hates Wii U Sales (I got this from the Dead Space 2 ad)

 

[GavinGT]

I don't understand the Ubisoft vindicated posts...games sell systems

It's not the duty of third parties to put out games to hopefully sell systems.

Isn't NPD supposed to account for that as well though?

They do. I was joking, though. I don't actually have any colleagues.

 

[javac]

The advertising for wii u in the U.S. is horrific. They've failed to create any sort of identity for the product. That's the first, most immediate, thing Nintendo needs to correct.

Besides the boring case design, it's good hardware.

At least the US has advertising. In the UK, nothing!

 

[Wildstar75]

I have to say, I called it at E3 back in June 2012. People were saying Microsoft had the worst press conference, but I argued that they had more games people wanted to buy in 2012. Plus the ESPN deal. Sony had a bad conference. because all of Sonys best exclusive PS3 games were coming in 2013. And COD and Killzone were no shows on Vita at E3. And Nintendo had a disaster following up the joke of the previous E3 with nothing to show off the system. It was clear they had a crap lineup and I am proud to say I called it.

 

[bomma_man]

Yeah, I can't wait to see what Retro is doing though. Maybe they'll be making just the type of attention grabbing game I'm talking about?

Now, just for a moment I think an exercise might be interesting:

Do we think this state of Wii U is purely going to be representative of the failings of Nintendo, or do you think PS4 and Xbox 720 might do the same? Might we be seeing the first true sign of what awaits the industry in a few months? Why or why not?

I've always maintained I hate system launches and their "launch windows" because generally speaking we might get ONE good game at best and two mediocre ones, and then eleven-twenty atrocious ones followed by no games for 3-6 months. And I still suspect the same will be true of Xbox 720 and PS4. Games take a long time to develop, and there's generally never enough time to ensure your game is in a healthy state by the time devs got the final dev kits and modified their vision and content to make it on time.

What type of games do we think Xbox 720 or PS4 might have to change the game in their own way? I certainly feel Sony is in a much better position in terms of game development than Nintendo is, given that they've put out tentacles all over the place this gen and have experience with it now. But I don't know if it'd be enough... because it's clearly probably going to launch at $399.99 along with Xbox 720, and that's a lot of money for people these days coupled with a terrible launch window and experiences they've already had before.


Just wondering what people might think of this

i don't think Nintendo could've done things much worse, but it certainly doesn't bode well.

I think it's inevitable that the two new consoles will crash in Europe (because austerity retardation and Microsoft's apathy) and Japan (because handheld land and Microsoft's apathy).

America is certainly up in the air. It would appear that MS has the ascendancy but that rumoured no used games shit could backfire stupendously. It's also easy to forget that without the Wii the console market didn't really grow this gen, they seem to have reached some kind of apex.

No matter what happens, though, I think this will be the last gen as we know it.

 

[Version 3.0]

How can any gamer take pleasure in any console doing bad? That's inconceivable in my mind.

I'm a huge Nintendo fan, which is to say, I love them about as much as I hate them. They make such ridiculous, ass-backwards decisions sometimes. This is simply a product selling as well as it deserves to sell. I'm not worried. They'll stick it out and produce some good games. But I am enjoying this, yes. They deserve it, and they need to learn what they used to know: games sell systems. Always. Gimmicks only sell them sometimes.

 

[bigtroyjon]

At least the US has advertising. In the UK, nothing!

There hasn't really been any US advertising since 2013 started.

 

[RedSwirl]

What exactly was Nintendo doing between the Wii abandonment and the WiiU launch?

Banking on the NSMB franchise.

 

[PopcornMegaphone]

I'm honestly sitting here shocked right now about those WiiU numbers. They're so bad we're not even bothering to troll Vita. I mean, GAF has moved on. That's how bad WiiU is doing.

 

[fse]

Is retro doing DKCR 3D?

 

[BassForever]

Without 3d Mario, smash 4, or Mario kart u out I can't say Doa for wiiu. If all 3 of those release and the system doesnt pick up some steam then itll be time to cut the loses. It really is an embarrassment and maybe it is time for some reality to sink in at Nintendo HQ.

Honestly the 3ds, vita, and wiiu have all gotten off to horrible starts. God help us if the nextbox and ps4 start of poorly as well. We really could see the market crash again which would be mind boggling

 

[metalslimer]

At least the US has advertising. In the UK, nothing!

I haven't seen a Wii U ad in months.

I'm honestly sitting here shocked right now about those WiiU numbers. They're so bad we're not even bothering to troll Vita. I mean, GAF has moved. That's how bad WiiU is doing

haha, vita probably hit its lowest month ever (in the 30s) and no one cares. Bravo Nintendo. bravo

 

[toddhunter]

Yeah, I can't wait to see what Retro is doing though. Maybe they'll be making just the type of attention grabbing game I'm talking about?

Now, just for a moment I think an exercise might be interesting:

Do we think this state of Wii U is purely going to be representative of the failings of Nintendo, or do you think PS4 and Xbox 720 might do the same? Might we be seeing the first true sign of what awaits the industry in a few months? Why or why not?

I think there is a good chance we are seeing low WiiU sales in part for two reasons not related to hardware/software. Firstly a lot of people got burnt early on the 3DS, but I don't think there is too much to say about that. More importantly I think people may be taking a "wait and see" approach with the PS4 and 720 soon to be announced.

Picking a console these days is more than just buying some hardware. It also involves making a commitment to an online store, friends list, all those sorts of things that might give people pause.

I have no doubt one or more of the consoles will do well and I don't even expect that much of a slow start unless they are rushed out the door. Just looking at the NPD results suggests people are not yet tired of the COD type games which come very regularly and they will need to play them on something. But which console? I think we will have a fair idea soon. If Microsoft and Sony both drop the ball, they could end up in no better shape, however I'm thinking at least on Sony's part that looks (hopefully) unlikely.

 

[serplux]

Nintendo home console sales comparisons, January NPD:

GameCube raw numbers, NPD:

NPD Jan 2002: 61,685
NPD Jan 2003: 79,813
NPD Jan 2004: 131,000
NPD Jan 2005: 112,327
NPD Jan 2006: 66,000

Wii raw numbers, NPD:

NPD Jan 2007 (5 weeks reporting): 436,000
NPD Jan 2008: 274,000
NPD Jan 2009: 679,200
NPD Jan 2010: 465,800
NPD Jan 2011: 319,000
NPD Jan 2012: ~148,000

Wii U raw numbers, NPD:

NPD Jan 2013 (5 weeks reporting): 45,900 to 59,500


A Nintendo console has NEVER had numbers in January so low since Iwata has become president. The 45-59K figure is unprecedented. UNPRECEDENTED.

I'm worried, but will stay calm until all of Nintendo's big hitters have come out, and then I'll hopefully proceed to laugh at this thread in about a year.

 

[Kung Fu Grip]

How much did Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch sell?

I feel really bad for Nintendo but they brought this on themselves.

 

[jay]

The continued fight over which system is definitely more dead than the other in this thread promises to make this an eventful Valentines Day for me.

 

[1-D_FTW]

They did the right thing. The game is gonna bomb on all platforms, they just want to ship the most units they can, so it makes sense to release all versions at the same time.

This is gaf without context, though. Bomb? Why? I was under the impression the first one made money. These are not big budget games. You don't have to sell 5,000,000 copies to break even on small budget games. So, yeah, sales will "bomb", but that doesn't mean it won't be profitable. If only more games took this approach of reasonable budgets and realistic sales expectations. They'd be more middle ground games like this released.

 

[KungFucius]

I don't understand this number. It comes from 1 source saying that the WiiU total LTD numbers are 38% behind the Wii in 2007. Is it confirmed anywhere? How does anything drop so sharply? From over 400k to < 60k in 1 month. That's some serious suckage.

 

[javac]

There hasn't really been any US advertising since 2013 started.

Even at launch, I had seen more vita COD and Wonderbook adverts then Wii U. And it didn't help that the Wii U adverts were bad.

 

[DasMarcos]

A Nintendo home console has NEVER had numbers in January so low since Iwata has become president. The 45-59K figure is unprecedented. UNPRECEDENTED.

Pretty sketchy stuff for Nintendo then. Having this love for them is hard to handle sometimes. So many ups and downs bros.

 

[Version 3.0]

GCN, no question. Had bigger third-party exclusives (if only from Capcom), and it continued to get a large percentage of multiplats until late in its lifespan.

Most definitely. People have selective memory about the Gamecube, but the fact is, it had very good 3rd party support for the first few years. Almost everything was PS2/Gamecube/Xbox - even listed in that order back then, most of the time.

 

[Instro]

I have to say, I called it at E3 back in June 2012. People were saying Microsoft had the worst press conference, but I argued that they had more games people wanted to buy in 2012. Plus the ESPN deal. Sony had a bad conference. because all of Sonys best exclusive PS3 games were coming in 2013. And COD and Killzone were no shows on Vita at E3. And Nintendo had a disaster following up the joke of the previous E3 with nothing to show off the system. It was clear they had a crap lineup and I am proud to say I called it.

Hate to burst your bubble, but most people were saying the WiiU presentation last year was very bad.

 

[SolarPowered]

Hindsight is 20/20, but I wish Nintendo had just released a Wii follow-up with better motion controls and better graphics. They'd still need to correct the software problem, but I think a machine with big leap forward in graphics and motion control would be doing better than the Wii U is right now.

Anything would be doing better than Wii U right now.

 

[GavinGT]

I don't understand this number. It comes from 1 source saying that the WiiU total LTD numbers are 38% behind the Wii in 2007. Is it confirmed anywhere? How does anything drop so sharply? From over 400k to < 60k in 1 month. That's some serious suckage.

It hasn't been denied yet. The longer the number stands without being challenged, the more likely it is to be true.

Wait until creamsugar wakes up if you want confirmation, but I bet the number is accurate.

 

[evangd007]

Wii U bad, Vita worse.

...

I'm surprised that there was a yearly bump, even considering 5-weeks vs. 4-weeks.

And I agree with timetokill. The slumps we are seeing are not transitional slumps nor generation fatigue slumps. They are the retail and home console market contracting.

 

[Scum]

Now, just for a moment I think an exercise might be interesting:

...

Just wondering what people might think of this

I think the only thing that will screw things up for Microsoft & Sony will probably be both launching within weeks of each other with near enough the same games, at the same price. This will probably mean fine holiday sales but slow figures whilst the market tries to figure "what's best".