Earlier today we brought you the news that Nintendo had cut its profit projections due to half-year results, with the overall picture being one of disappointment if not disaster. One of the reasons for this was lower than expected 3DS sales, with six months worth of results showing around five million unit sales, leaving Nintendo with plenty of work to do to reach its target of 17.5 million units for the year. A busy Holiday season is a must for the handheld.
One thing that Nintendo has done in today's financial report is set a distinct target for Wii U's launch window sales, after a rather vague bundling of the system with Wii in previous projections. The expectation is that 5.5 million consoles will be sold this financial year, which runs until the 31st March — coincidentally the close of the rather lengthy launch window as announced by Nintendo itself. It's also targeting 24 million Wii U game sales, though that figure will in all likelihood include those bundled with the system. Even with that taken into account, that's putting a lot of faith in Wii U gamers buying four or five games each in the space of four months, which is rather high when less enthusiastic gamers are taken into account.
Of course, Nintendo is banking on the willingness and deep pockets of early adopters to hit these figures, while 3DS success is likely to rely on major releases such as Paper Mario: Sticker Star and a Holiday spike in sales. It's a big few months for Satoru Iwata and his business team.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 42
I hope they manage to sell that amount and more. I'm a bit sceptical though.
5.5 million Wii Us in only a few months? LOL, no.
Well when it comes to target sales, Nintendo often gets them. Not sure about this target; 5.5 mil in 4 or so months but one can hope.
The Wii U will get in the millions, though, that's almost certain.
Not happening. Especially with their line-up of games.
I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. Possible? Yes. Probable? No.
So on the first of November, I'll finally start my job and be able to save money towards a Wii U. I just hope that I don't have to wait a long time before more units are available. Anyone know if they'll be available again before Christmas?
I think it's completely possible. 3DS sold fast after they dropped the price but we have Christmas coming up, and a lot of people have already pre-ordered it. Plus with the great game the Wii U has to offer, I think that this is a good goal for Nintendo and could happen.
They will make that target. The Wii U is sold out in the US, and will be sold out right up to next year. If they can bring enough consoles to stores before Christmas is here, they will sell out of every single one.
@SkywardLink98 You mean the first party titles right? Yeah, it's very poor. If at least they included Pikmin 3 and Game & Wario for launch... But the launch lineup overall looks good and promising, specially all the 3rd party support, which is essential nowadays.
@SkywardLink98 i would like to know which line-up for 3ds or overall because the Wii U line-up is great. I pre-ordered 4 games plus Nintendoland bundle. What I want to know is how many Wii U pre-orders did they sell cause that might give us some idea on how they might do.
The problem is the US.
The 3DS is doing great in Japan, the problem is the Japanese hardware & software numbers we see on media create are bigger than what NPD reports for the US.
Japan > US when it comes to sales is a big problem for the 3DS.
I mentioned this before when the Wii fell apart, but I will mention again that NOA seems to really need some help! Games like Xenoblade are being treated like dead squirrels to be put in a dumpster.
It seems like NOA really can't figure out who it wants to target or how to do it.
While NOE has seen games like Wii Party, Art Academy, Brain Age, and Professor Layton sell HUGE numbers, you can look at the charts Nintendo releases and see that the same games are terrible sellers in the US!
What this tells me is that Nintendo is seen as a product for kids & adults in Europe and Japan, but in the US it is seen as a babysitter. DS & 3DS are for kids. Wii is for kids too.
NOA desperately needs to turn that image around, but they've failed to do so in large part by how they've approached the market.
Based on their focus for the WiiU there is a chance they could turn it around, but it's a tall mountain to climb and there is a long ways to go to get on top of the issue.
My money is on Nintendo making it. The world is a big place with sells strongest in Japan and NA.
The 3ds sold over 3.5 million in the first month it was released in 2011 and that was before the price drop and after the holiday season. There's also the Wii but most of us know how the sales were when it was first released (hint: in demand).
So with sold out preorders, holiday season, strong lineup, and 2 versions with its own price and features, they have a good 4 months to make their goal.
Wii U will probably do alot better outside of Japan than the 3DS
I personally think Wii U will do better then 3DS NA-wise. Because unlike Japan, most people in the US don't carry around gaming devices. They'd rather have a home console. As for reaching the sales target? I can see it happening, maybe not in 4 months, but certainly soon.
I personally expect disappointment. The Wii U is lacking that one thing (a mainstream pricepoint, a 90+ exclusive, a trendy title) that will get a few more people to by it. That said, I expect the Wii U to possibly pass the Vita in at least some regions by April. That's a start.
It has NSMB.U.
I'm confident it will meet that.
5.5 Million worldwide? Definitely. With the hype surrounding the Wii U in the respective regions it's being sold in, Nintendo should be able to hit this target without any problems.
I would play it safe though and just shoot to outsell PSVitas by April. Not a difficult feat.
It probably would happen, remember the 3DS sold 4X that in 4X the amount of time, so it's possible and considering the lineup is better then the 3DS, I say YES
The key in all of this is the 5.5 million consoles is their target number. There is no news on how many consoles they can produce in one day, one week, or one month. The pre-orders selling out is not a sign at all. There is not 1 retailer that has stated how many pre-orders they have taken. I believe this number is easily a minority of total consoles available.
Yes, the holiday season is the biggest for the video game industry, but there are some major titles arriving for other consoles prior to Wii U launch. The 4 titles per console is a good number, since most people will want new games for the new console.
I personally feel they will hit 5.5 million globally, and even if they surpass this number, it won't be much, and there the potential for shortages is still a distinct possibility.
Maybe we'll see some new Wii U games announced at Nintendo Direct tomorrow?
I see no problem with this projection and think that after the last system launch not going as well as they hoped, they will be swinging out of the gate. That usually turns out REALLY good for us
I wouldn't be surprised if it sold over a million in Japan over the course of a few days to be honest. 5.5 million in four months? Definitely possible. I think the number will be closer to 7 million come March 31st, if not higher.
Hopefully they can reach this goal, but I have my doubts considering there's been no marketing for the Wii U whatsoever. People can't buy a system if they don't know what it is.
@SkywardLink98 Yeah, who likes Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed and Arkham City anyway?
don´t forget most of the people save their money for the holidy season. they don´t by the games when they are released... especially the parents. so titles like kid icarus, kingdom hearts, new super mario bros 2 and prof.layton 5 will have a jump in sales.
@Salnax POSSIBLY pass the Vita? Pre-orders on the Wii U have already passed the Vita. Not sure what you mean on the price point- it's already selling for half to 1/3 the launch price of the PS3, and that system did ok.
They 'll make it. No worries the Wii U will be really successful.
Wish Nintendo the best of luck for the next generation........... their gonna need it
I wouldn't be surprised if that 5.5 million number represents how many consoles Nintendo can MAKE in that time frame and they are just assuming they are going to sell them all. Let's face it, they can't sell more than they can make, and they aren't going to tell their share holders that they are purposely making more than they can sell, so the sales number is simply based on the production number over that time period. Simplistically simple.
How about stepping up production so that more of us that want Wii U's can preorder them? Crazy thought that would be.
I only predict 3.7 million. 3.8 million if Pikmin 3 is out by February 3, 2013.
@SkywardLink98 Wii U has a great launch line-up.
I know for a fact that it will sale pass 2.5 million in 4 months
Ohhhh man. Nintendo trying to sell 5.5 Million Wii U consoles by April 2013 huh? I can say it's slightly possible that this could happen if lots of people continue to buy it the min. it gets onto store shelves. But as for now, I highly doubt it. Reason why I say this is because that the more and more I look at this whole picture with the WHOLE pre-order on Wii U consoles business, the more it's looking like the Wii launch all over again. Expect some struggles bound to happen soon. I just know it.
Wii U is only gonna sell 4 systems day one, then 4Billion the day after.
My Reliable Source: The Yard-O-Pikmin in your back yard.
hope nintendo dun reach the target den they will lower the price like the 3ds...
@LuigiMan200 Not really, they didn't get it with Nintendo 3DS. They said they learnt from the past. Now I know that it only means to have a New Super Mario Bros. at launch. Don't get me wrong, I love Mario, but the New series is not good and is getting worse (NSMB2).
@3DSLUIGI dont understand what you by the pre-order comment, but where i live the waiting list has gotten so many people on it they stopped adding people. soo i c this being a whole better than the wii launch.
I can see the Wii U doing well up to Christmas,and maybe a few weeks after Chrimbo,but early 2013 sales will be very slow.
I'm expecting 3.5 million.
That's....some high expectations...
@Assassin87
I only said what I said because I see the Wii U suffering due to Wii U shortages despite no matter how hard they try to get the consoles out onto store shelves. I still see it selling a lot in numbers, but 5.5 million? Srsly? I don't think so.
WOW
Well, its definitely a more reasonable goal than the Vita crossing the 3 million total sales threshold before then... ;P
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