Monster Hunter And Price Cut Trigger Wii U Sales Spike In UK

Monster hunter 3 ultimate is absolutely awesome. I'll be playing it for a long time coming, so I hope the sales will crowd the servers with people to play with

I wonder what the reaction in the comments will be to this, considering people mocked the Vita's Japanese sales for 'only going up' from about 20k a week to 60k a week when it had a price cut and a new game (a 200% rise). It's a good sign that things are improving when the games come out, but the UK weekly sales were less than 10k a week, so going up to 22k is still pretty bad, but a move in the right direction.

I wonder if Nintendo will be paying particular interest to how much stock HMV shifts to see if a price cut would be a smart move. I know they've said they won't cut the price, but no company would ever admit they're considering it or sales would dry up instantly as everyone held off. Personally I think a price cut to coincidewith Mario Kart's release just before the new consoles come out would really bring in some big sales.

Hopefully the release of Lego City keeps some momentum going.

Hmm, apparently the whole of Europe went from sales of 6k last week to 14k this week. So... the UK sales were probably under 8k, that's still officially terrible, 125% increase or not.

Don't want to bang on and on about how terrible Nintendo's Wii U strategy was (and still is) but - why did they just remake the Monster Hunter form the Wii.

New console should = New titles. Not rehashed ones that I bought a year or two ago for the Wii.

Just like what I said about the Vita, the thing now will be consistency. i.e whether these sales figures will drop (obviously) but remain consistently higher than the pre-MH sales numbers, or whether they'll fall back to the same level.

Capcom made it...

It happened again. The internet said it and the opposite happened. They said Monster Hunter, Lego City and Pikmin 3 won't sell systems.

The bundle where I live costs 420 euros so I don't think it will sell.

The only reason I don't have one yet is because I like to buy consoles with insurance; normally for about 3-4 years worth. Only one store near me does that, so I'm kinda waiting for a small price drop there or when I get more cash; whichever comes first really.

@Peach64 "I wonder what the reaction in the comments will be to this,"
Are you officially monitoring the way we react?

Now, at least with this kind of news SOME FOLKS will be able to stop whining, and I wouldn't be surprised if most of them don't own the system, which coincides with them expecting a price drop. But quite honestly, I'm starting to think this so-called "games drought" is a utter joke, from a Wii U owner's perspective, because I'm currently beginning to have so much to do. First of all, I have all those cheap Wii games stacking on my counter to be enjoyed: mind you I didn't even finish Metroid Prime Trilogy yet. Then when it comes to the Wii U: Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros U, still unfinished and still (and forever) enjoyable, Call of Duty Black Ops II available to whoop my 360 friend in a duel, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 to mess around with that PS3 friend while wearing my Jinpachi Toad suit... And now Lego City and Most Wanted U, and I'm not counting those hundreds of hours I'm expecting from Monster Hunter (that I enjoy on my 3DS, thanks)... Oh, I forgot the indie games: two-player Nano Assault Neo is a blast, by the way. And I can't believe I forgot those 30-cent VC games: F-Zero, Punch Out...

Tell you what: this is the reason why I made the concession of buying a Wii U AT LAUNCH: so that I could experience by my own means all the LIES gaming journalism is feeding us with everyday. The reason I'm voicing myself so hard actually is because I know some here do not enjoy the same experience: but as for me, the games are here and they are coming. They actually give me too much to do.

all it needs is games and they are coming

@DePapier
I agree, even though the Wii U has performed poorly in the UK overall doesn't mean those who have the console aren't enjoying it. Like you I also bought the Wii U at launch and there hasn't been a day that I haven't used it. Perhaps my favourite features are the Web Browser, Off-TV play & Miiverse. It's great to finally have a really good web browser (very fast too!).

Anyway, I hope these sales continue to improve as more quality titles arrive. Monster Hunter is downright superb and is taking up most of my time apart from the odd Luigi's Mansion at the moment, I still think that the Wii U is an amazing console but those complaining have probably been far too busy taking in all of these doom & gloom stories to even try the console. There have been quite a lot of events since launch giving consumers the chance to give the Wii U a go, but this also goes two ways, Nintendo needs to step up their advertising for the console, its been practically non-existent up until recently.

I think they should create a new Basic NintendoLand bundle. That game will sell consoles once people (especially those in the UK as they like these type of games) try it out. I was astounded by the amount of fun I had at the Westfield (stratford) Wii U pre-launch demo.

@DePapier Same here mate there is still 10 games out now that I would have probably liked to play but time will not permit especially since MH is on heavy rotation... It might be a HD remake but that's the staying power of a quality Nintendo exclusive game 'they got legs baby' instead of being forgotton after a year like a PS360 one.

So tomorrow we can expect another article about a bro dude game not coming to Wii U

Nintendo needs to keep the games coming though obviously a lower price will always help!

@Peach64 Good comments.

@DePapier
I love my Wii U and I've played it an average of five hours every day since I bought it (end of 2012). In terms of games though, I completed NG3, Darksiders 2 and Trine 2 fairly early on. I don't enjoy Nintendoland. I have enjoyed playing several Wii games (some that I've bought for the first time, others that I'm replaying) just as you have, but I didn't need to buy a Wii U to do that so it's a redundant argument. I do believe that the Wii U launched with a good number of quality games but unless you didn't have access to any other console (like myself) or have fairly catholic tastes (such as yourself) it's pointless to suggest that everyone should be happy with the games on offer. Clearly they're not or they wouldn't complain.
I understand your frustration at the negativity that mention of the Wii U provokes (as I said, I'm a happy owner myself) but it's not helpful to lash out at constructive criticism which is what you've done here by bringing up the "number of games" issue in response to a comment which made no reference to it.

Sadly in my country, price of WiiU is above 600 euros!!! Games are 90 euros in retail!!! 3DS is 300 euros and games around 50 - 100 euros!!! I want to have both but i can not afford them So i still play my wii and my DS. And i am having a blast still! So when i finally get wiiU... OH BOY! It is going to be a blast! But the very high price is keeping me from getting it (average salary in Serbia is around 200-250 euros so do the math )

@milojica Can you import it from the UK or somewhere nearby at a better price? In Australia, there are a few decent sized websites for the Australian market selling games and consoles (and now toys) from Europe, as well as many people who also use Ebay or UK based online stores.
I saved AU$20 on Lego City as well as getting the limited edition with bonus mini-fig that I haven't even seen for sale in Aus.

I wish I'd got a Wii U last week but I couldn't find any HMV with the bundle still in stock! A thousand curses! Well hopefully Nintendo take note of this!

@wcb123 Because its not a remake of Monster hunter 3?

Legend of Zelda OoT: 3D is a remake. Star Fox 64 3D is a remake.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is, literally, more than double the game Tri was. The monster count alone is more than doubled. The weapons are exponentially increased in number, there are new areas, hundreds upon hundreds of new quests, improved online and multiplayer, HD (or 3D) visuals and several important tweaks and changes that really improve the game.

There's no surprise here. A price cut and a notable release will do that.

@MadAdam81 I got my Wii in Germany. But if i order something from outside the country (electronics for example), customs officers tend to break apart your packages to see what is inside and often keep the item for themselves. I can order books and trinkets, but wiiU would never get to me I had some bad experience with PC components that i ordered online. I will get one very soon because of my trip to Germany again

@DePapier:

Quality over quantity.
And the recent numbers are showing that it's far from a joke.

Games sells system? What a surprise. In US sales are up 196%, LCU is #4, MH3U #9, and no thanks to price drops.

Yes
#noregrets its the best yet from Nintendo

@andrea987 Where did you find that information from? Do you have a link?

@diddybeats http://www.vgchartz.com/weekly/41357/USA/

@DePapier I've had a Wii U since launch and I'm sorry but I don't quite feel the same way. I didn't buy a Wii U to carry on playing my existing Wii games on, and I didn't buy it to play ports of games I can get on either my Xbox 360 or PS3 more cheaply. There have been a couple of good indie download titles (Nano Assualt Neo, Mighty Switch Force) although the 3DS version of Nano Assault has more content, and as for the others....I didn't enjoy Little Inferno at all, Chasing Aurora really doesn't work as a single player game and I've already finshed The Cave twice. All the Wii U has offered me in terms of retail games so far is Nintendo Land (free with the console), Zombi U and New Super Mario Bros U. (as I already had and completed Assassins Creed 3, Batman Arkham City and Darksiders 2 on other consoles...Mass Effect doesn't interest me) Maybe I have more time to play games than you, but neither of the main game modes in Zombi U nor Mario lasted me past Xmas, leaving me with just the challenge mode/extra modes to try and keep me occupied. And now in March, I have an updated HD port of a Wii game I already bought 3 years ago (I've still bought it though) and Lego City. Thankfully, Lego City is awesome and full of secrets to find, but whether I'll still be playing it in a month's time, I can't say. I'd have also had Rayman Legends, but we all know what happened there.

So as a Wii U owner, I DO believe lack of games is a serious problem. But I'm a Nintendo fan and I do want the console to succeed so I will buy any decent new exclusive game that comes out, or even just any current game I like the look of in general so long as it's not launched several months after the PS3/Xbox 360 versions and costs more.

@wcb123 Every console has a port of a game once in a while, be it a Nes, N64, Xbox, Ps3.

As for the sales spike, this is pretty.... surprising.

This is reassuring, and just tells analysts and Nintendo that more games need to be released. Please Nintendo, bring forward Pikmin 3, and sales will go up even quicker

I'm currently in China working at a school... I just ordered the WiiU from a local store to my home in Denmark. Now i play the waiting game, as I have to stay in China 'till august.
Still, it's a warm feeling knowing that the WiiU will be waiting for me when I return home. And hopefully lots of new cool games will be released before I get back. So far I'm only interested in Zombie U, New Super Mario Bros. U and maybe NFS most wanted.

I honestly don't understand how people "don't enjoy" Nintendo Land. I mean, of course, not everyone can be satisfied with every game, but it boggles the mind. I guess if you only play alone? The "hardcore" argument doesn't work because those games get CRAZY hard. "I don't like THAT type of game" doesn't work because it has a wide variety to say the least.

Still, I LOVE it because of the teamwork necessary between 4 players and not everyone is in a situation to enjoy that. The family really had to work together and support each other (one is 3 years old!) and it is a blast... a Metroid Blast. It even scales in interesting ways for different numbers of players with a couple missteps (like 4 players against the end boss in Battle Quest being 4 times harder than one player and the ? block jumping the difficulty in Pikmin Adventure from very challenging right down to barely having to think.)

Anyway, if you get to play for long periods of time like on a vacation or something and you're not into mature games or have played all the ports previously I feel your pain. It has been dry as a bone. My suggestion is to give Nintendo Land and MiiVerse a try if you haven't and expand your taste to include some games you haven't previously tried like Monster Hunter and/or Lego City, Mighty Switch Force, Trine 2, Nano Assault and the retro games... maybe even pinball. Also, get some people together to try Nintendo Land with you if you can (try harder!). I find that almost everyone gets into Luigi's Mansion right away. It's a genius launch title as far as expanding interest in the Nintendo Franchises.

@milojica And I thought In my country where Wii U Basic Costs 319 euros and 3DS XL 229 were expensive (average salary for young people 500-600 euros)!
As a comparison new PS3 and Wii U releases cost 60 while Vita and 3DS 40 to 50.

@MadAdam81 If you import a faulty console you are done for. In my country you may also need to pay tax in big packages.

Don't see only UK or USA. Consoles need price cuts to sell in the rest of EU. Some consoles (including Wii U) are very expensive. Compare the retail price of Zombi U pack. It is 419 euros. Compare it to pounds or dollars and you will see that someone thinks we are fouls and charge way more. What annoys me is that only Nintendo has this problem by not setting the prices. Vita on launch retailed for 249 euros in the whole region!

@andrea987
Hey, thanks for the link on the numbers. Very encouraging to see Lego City up there on the charts (#4 in a Gears of War launch week?!) despite shipping problems and the fact that Wii U doesn't have that large of an installed base. I'm imagining that the sales for Monster Hunter are the best the series has ever had in the US, especially if you combine 3DS and Wii U, but I'm just guessing there.

As far as price drop not being part of it, I'm not so sure. Target has been running a $50 gift card promotion with the Wii U, which is VERY close to the same effect as a $50 price drop. Target is not the only one.

@Peach64 I'm guessing you are getting the 6k and 14k numbers from vgchartz? That's silly....they don't have sources, and if they do, they don't reveal them. Kind of crucial to have hard data when talking about sales. They still have Tomb Raider with just over a million sales, when it has actually sold 3.4....I don't trust them. Same goes for @andrea987....those numbers might even be under tracked like everything else. There was definitely a large boost, but until there are official numbers, we just don't know.

We all have to keep in mind that these are sales numbers from the week ending on the 23rd. Two whole days of the sale and Monster Hunter being out made a 125% difference. I fully expect this week's sales to have an even higher jump with the sale taking place in earnest and with Lego City releasing yesterday.

Good news overall, but once we see a full week of sales we'll really have something to talk about.

I'd like to see the actual number rather than the percentage. At least the Wii U's sales are picking up decently.

Wii U sales rise from 6K to 14K in Europe: Wow what amazing sales!
Vita sales rise from 20K to 60K in Japan: lol, Sony couldn't even outsell the 3DS for more than one seek.

The Wii U needs games. Or a price cut. Or preferably both, and soon.

It's certainly positive that sales have increased but I wouldn't bring out the party poppers just yet. A 125% increase really doesn't tell us much when we don't know how many it sold the week before! The real challenge will be if it can not only maintain its current momentum but continually build on it.

@aaronsullivan
Nintendoland. That would be me. You're right, I have no friends who play video games and although my girlfriend played it with me it was no more fun with two people than with one. I can see how it might be a different experience with four.

@Peach64 Uses VGChartz, expects to be taken seriously.

ok

dat HMV deal

@Peach64 Agreed but it is a start.

@Peach64 hmmm i can see where ur constantly misunderstood by sum readers but ur trying to be objective rather than subjective…u r correct and bring up sum good points but overall even though premature shows what the WiiU really needs…games and a price cut well it does add sum sprinkles to the cake if u ask me. This is though something worth paying attention too

This just proves games sell consoles

All Nintendo needs to do is release a Mario Kart, Smash Bros., Zelda, Metroid, or F-Zero Wii U bundle, and they'll fly off shelves.
They need to stand their ground. There really is no reason for a price drop whether you realize it or not.

@LuigiMan200
You can get insurance for any console - and getting it separately is usually much cheaper than store ripoff insurance. Just Google 'console insurance' (or something similar). Just looking for a minute I found accidental damge for £3.99 per month - you might get it even cheaper if you search properly.
Hope this helps!

If people didn't wanted a Wii U, how a price now it's working so well. Ah all the "amazing" analysts are getting it in their face once again.
That's why i don't call them declarations as News.