Super Mario 3D World Underwhelms on Japanese Chart Début

yes, time will tell...

Doomed.

I do hope it turn around for the wii u in japan. I am loving it here in Jamaica

I guess Cliff Bleszinski was wrong then.

These are not bad sales. At 3rd spot right after the handhelds, it's the best performing home console in Japan. And many people bought Super Mario 3D World that already had a Wii U apparently.

Worldwide coalition against the Wii U.

omg vita outsells 3DS

(but not 3DS LL) lol

Heh, If it wasn't for Lightning Returns....
Finding the WiiU forecast in Japan pretty nice so far. Obviously is isn't commanding hardware sales..... yet.

Does this include Digital release? Cause on miiverse there are tonnes of japanese players.

wow. that was disappointing. i guess we have to wait again till smash and mario kart comes out. maybe a pokemon game can turn things around in japan.

I hope these sales figures will be a different story in the west. Japan just doesn't seem to be too interested in home consoles lately. I hope the game is just having a slow start.

HOW do you mess up selling a 3D Mario?!

These results are for a single day of sales, I believe.

@cookiex
Japan isn't the biggest market for 3d mario.

Maybe people are just sick of Nintendo using Mario to sell systems when there's so many other IPs they can make games for.
The market is pretty saturated with Mario games. I mean the Wii U technically has 3 already, with no Zelda, Metroid, Icarus or any other IP you can think of in sight.

@steamhare

Galaxy 2 and 3D Land both sold more than three times that number first week.

Edit: Also this is as of the 24th, and Mario came out on the 21st.

The game itself sold well compared to other Wii U titles, though. Better than anything since NSMBU, I think.

Well let's see over what 13 million ps3's in Japan to only what a Million Wii U's. I think it did well and will continue to do well. Let's be honest though Japan for a long time now has been strongly switching over to a handheld only country. I'm more interested to see how Mario does in the west were consoles are much stronger!

FF is pretty big over there, so it being number one is pretty predictable; however, they're only counting physical sales, so 3D World may have sold a lot more units than the numbers posted here. That being said, maybe Wii U could use an actual price drop in Japan to spurn sales. Considering Wii U has a good amount of compelling software, this would actually help a lot.

@Worthy

Wii Party U sold 76k the first week in Japan. Super Mario 3D World sold 99k. So it did better, but still not very good, of course.

Ugh. There's no excuses. It doesn't matter if it was only one day. Every game in their debut week gets the same time and the debut week is always the strongest. Pikmin 3 sold 92,000 first chart and people said wait til it has a full week, but now we're over 4 months later and I don't think it's doubled that number yet. People said Pikmin 3 was niche, but here we go again with similar figures. Hardware is even worse. 20k the week your biggest game comes out is pathetic. That's soooo frustrating as now Nintendo has even more reason to make 2D 'New' SMB games instead of 3D.

Hope NA and Europe don't follow up this like they matched the Japanese Pikmin 3 and W101 performance.

@hiptanaka well spotted.

@Peach64

We can always hope for better numbers in NA and Europe.

Doesn't really matter, though. I'll just enjoy the game.

Not the sales explosion we wanted, but respectable numbers nonetheless.

This is how the first Mario Galaxy did the first week, for comparison:
Japan: 261k (264% better than 3D World)
USA: 527k
Europe: 154k
But the Wii also had a much larger install base at the time (I assume).

If history repeats, 3D World should've sold 200k in USA by now.

In other news, ouch for Vita TV.

Like someone already noted, I'll wait 'til we get other numbers before I get concerned. Japan isn't exactly the biggest on home consoles...

@Peach64 Please don't give me nightmares. O.o

I'd me more inclined to worry if these were the numbers in NA and Europe. I would gather with the holiday season coming up this week in the US, I could see Nintendo doing quite well, but we'll see.

If the game was released on the 3DS it would have sold better.
That being said, I'm waiting for my 3DS Pikmin game Nintendo! I think many people would love to have it!
That's a huge drop in sales for the PSP. Glad we got a nice bump in sales for the 3DS, even though we didn't have any huge new release games, other than that One Piece game I guess, but it didn't really seem like a system seller to me.

Wasn't it mentioned (either in relation to NSMB2 or NSMBU) that 3D Mario platformers are more successful in the west while Japan seems to be better with the 2D platformers? If that is the case, 3D World probably won't boost Wii U sales over there.

These sales are actually good. The only reason why Lighting outsold the Wii U is because it was for PS3 which was out long before the Wii U. This actually looks impressive enough seeing that Japan sales are different compared to North American sales.

Well that's just disappointing. Hopefully the story here will be more positive (I don't expect much from Europe's side though due to how horribly the Wii U has done there).

I believe we have to wait until after the holidays to get some real numbers. Not everyone is buying it now, probably saving up for Christmas time.

These numbers compared to the numbers when Wii Party U dropped, and now I am thoroughly confused about the Japanese gaming market.

I think Iwata is also thoroughly confused about the Japanese gaming market.

@CaviarMeths LOL touche'

@venomjamaica hey man, i follow you miiverse haha.

@gatorboi352 ikr! How the hell do Wii Party U perform better than Mario 3D World?!

You can shear a sheep many times, but you can only skin it once.

@X-Factor It didn't. 3D World did a better first week, but just so.

@Peach64 You just love being so negative. If you looked at the chart you can see Wii U is the best selling console on Japan that week

That's too bad. It looks amazing.

I don't find these numbers all that bad. Mario 3D World is in second place and Wii U was still the best selling console this week. 3D World was still in second place which isn't too shabby. Remember that this is Japan we are talking about here. Handhelds are king there and people may be waiting til closer to christmas

those numbers are kind of pointless when it comes to the new Mario game. you have a lot more incentive to download the game rather than buying the physical copy and that's true for every Wii U game.

unless it includes the digital buys the numbers aren't telling the full story

@Big_L91

hey bro.. what's your name on miiverse?

@hiptanaka In my book Wii Party U performed better because it's seems like the type of game that you would buy if you already had WiiU. Those number is about the same amount Party did. I was expecting atleast a 15k increase.....but it is just my opinion. Dx

@Wolfgabe Best selling console when its only real competition is the PS3, a 7 year old machine, yes. Wii U isn't selling well. Let's not try to pretend otherwise.

It will be a slow burner, probably for its entire lifespan. I think sales will pick up and it will be a modest commercial success, but they won't skyrocket in the way that PS3 and 3DS did after a rocky start.

Compared to the number of Wii U's in Japan I'd say those SM3DW numbers aren't bad. You know what's going to sell the Wii U in Japan? Mario Kart 8, SSB Wii U, X, SMT x FE... those types of games.

Furthermore, someday I will have a full Mario Kart Arcade GP DX setup is my basement! I will, indeed!

The fact that COD Ghosts and Battlefield 4 are both in that list shows that Japan's tastes are changing.

IP fatigue is to blame. Mario doesn't have the potential to actually excite people anymore. That, and the dud console itself, of course.

Steady on, it's still the biggest home console by that number, outselling PS3 and Xbox 360. Which is pretty good going.

There's no indication that XBONE will catch on in Japan next year either, leaving only PS4 and Wii U to battle it out. I'd say things are looking great for Nintendo.

To be fair if lightning returns was out here this week alongside mario,id be getting lightning returns first! Japan goes nuts for ff!

My god .. is this the end ?

It actually sold 106.000....

And it will sell very well over time and I think the new ip talk is going to be over soon enough.

@PinkSpider

Eeeh no. Ghosts will end up well behind Black Ops 2 (520k) and MW3 (about 450k) lifetime, while BF4's sales is somewhat equal to BF3.

Worst case scenario Wii U, follows game Cube, low sales great games and still more profitable than the rivals. Then they make a new console in 5 years.

I still think Mario Kart and smash are going to be the real test, if they don't shift hardware then I don't know what will.

2nd place is very good. Lets see how mario places in the uk and usa.
With the realise of next gens with lacking games and bad reviews its primetime for people to get a wiiU with Mario.

@venomjamaica same as on here, ive talked to you about rayman before on it lol.

lets see, ps3 instalbase 13M and FFXIII-LR sells 200k+ units and its a wow yet Mario 3D world sells 100k on a 1M instalbase and its doomed?ok...

Final Fantasy is way more popular in Japan than Mario, so its not surprising. If your system doesnt have an exclusive Pokemon, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest or Monster Hunter game in Japan, you can forget about winning any 'console war.' This is why 3DS is destroying the competition over there, while Wii U is struggling. I know Wii U has DQX and MH3U, but those are ports of last gen games people already own. I'm not saying Wii U is doomed in Japan, far from it, but with Japan's preferences for game genres and handhelds, I never expected Mario to help that much.

If Mario, Wii Fit U, WWHD, a $50 price drop and great new bundles dont help Wii U in NA, though, then i will start saying Wii U is doomed.

^ Final Fantasy is not way more popular than Mario. Go and look at the sales of Mario games versus Final Fantasy in Japan.

It's true what they say, home consoles are truly dead in Japan. Long live the 3DS!

I never expected this to sell a lot in Japan. They really just are not warming up to Wii U, and are really only loving handhelds nowadays. I think sales here in North America will tell a bit of a different tale.

I never expected this to sell a lot in Japan. They really just are not warming up to Wii U, and are really only loving handhelds nowadays. I think sales here in North America will tell a bit of a different tale.

Final Fantasy, One Piece and Pokemon are the direct competetors and to be honest, they have a much bigger target audience in japan, so it stands pretty good amongst them.
But who gives a flip about these numbers anyways. The do in no way affect the cycle of "doomed, not doomed, doomed etc" news.
Its a great game and that is all that matteres to me.

@Peach64 Spending time waiting for games is awful. (I should have bought my 3DS XL about now).

This doesn't seem that bad, although it's clearly not inciting an unprecedented interest in the Wii U.

@Einherjar Final Fantasy is not all that great either if you look at what Dragon Quest has done in the past. (I have been done with it past VI pretty much).

@yuwarite Yep. Dragon Quest is the one that causes obscene amounts of console sales there (Or did not sure about X).

@unrandomsam Sure youre right, but it is pretty big nonetheless. Maybe not around here, but it still hase some reputation in japan

What more do they want?

"Dragon Quest IX shipped with over 2 million pre-order sales" 300k is bad for Final Fantasy.

@Einherjar Dragon Quest VIII is the biggest selling game ever for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. Don't think Japan is bothered about Final Fantasy any more either.

I think these numbers are plenty good. A wii u exclusive debuted at number two this time of year? I think it is impressive

I dont care about japan . im in canada and i have a wii u and i love it. Back in the 64 days did the gamers give a damnnn about sells anyways ? We didnt give a doogieoopsie we enjoyed the games not the sells

_{Watch the language -Lz}

@darthmawl The games were a lot better and actually original back then tho.

These numbers are for launch weekend. That means gooooood....

@Doma whats your point ?? I said i dont care about the sells . nintendo still makes money and I still will get the game i bought the wii u for . Zelda ! People get crazy with sells .... At the end if the company makes money who gives a dogeypoopie

_{Watch the profanity -Lz}

@darthmawl

If it doesn't make money for Nintendo (i.e. it doesnt get sells) you won't get anymore games to play.....

_{We can do without the sarcastic name-calling. -Lz}

@Kodeen

I guess that is correct.

Maybe we won't have to wait quite as long now for the tablet-only WiiU Nintendo is cooking up.

@FutureAlphaMale To be fair, these are only first week sales. Mario games tend to sell well even years after their release.

@darthmawl I doubt Nintendo are making much money with anything on the system really. Wii U could be discontinued soon if these terrible sales continue... that would mean no precious Zelda for you.

This game is legendary. The Japanese not buying into a Mario game is on them. I'm in heaven. One of the BEST damn games ever! Haven't had it a week and almost have every stamp, star, and golden flag! Also great times of completion. This game is just SO addictive!

@DarkwingLz

Not so much the sales of the game, but the negligible increase in Wii-U sales. That's far below what people were predicting would happen. I think the North American system sales will get a larger boost, but will it be enough?

@Wolfgabe I don't love being negative at all, but this is bad news, no matter how much people want to spin it. Being the highest selling console means nothing (it's competition is two that are about to be replaced, one of which nobody in Japan cares about), and being second in the software chart means nothing. What you need to look at is the numbers, and the software number is poor for a AAA release in it's debut week, and the hardware number is abysmal. I don't like to see that at all because from what I gather, Super Mario 3D World is a great game, and I want it to be a success. What annoys me is people burying their heads in the sand and trying to spin it.

People saying it's only one week, and it will have legs, but look back at previous Mario numbers in their debut week and compare them to lifetime sales. The only ones that vastly improve their week one sales are ones that are launch titles. Super Mario 64 only did about 10% of it's lifetime sales in that first week, but Galaxy 2 sold about 32% of it's lifetime sales in week 1, Galaxy sold 25% of it's lifetime sales in week 1, while Sunshine did 35% of it's lifetime sales in week 1. If 3D World follows these patterns you're looking at between 300-400,000 lifetime sales, by far the lowest ever for a console Mario game in Japan.

I'm definitely not 'happy' about this, but these excuses people are coming up with are ridiculous. The Wii U is in trouble, but a lot of people on here are acting like everything will be okay if things continue as they are. Nintendo definitely can turn it around, but they have to acknowledge there are problems first.

Mario Kart and Smash don't automatically save every console, as the Gamecube showed.

This is BAD news. Hopefully it does better in the west.

@Doma dude the game is probably already done ... They will release it.even if the wii u struggles. The 3ds prints money. For example i print news paper at my job we print 7 total. And that one we print at loss but who cares we have 6 others that works great. The buisness wont stop beceause of that. Same for nintendo the 3ds works find and the games even on wii u makes.profit.

Wow, even Pikmin 3 moved more hardware.

@Doma You know that would be a huge mistake, right?

Jusk ask Sega.

How digital is japan on wii u retail downloads?

That is about the only relevant question. There are three types of lies, remember: lies, damn lies, and statistics.

There are no excuses people. Wii U is not selling and it will not sell good this generation, numbers don't lie. When you have a Mario game (regardless 2d, 3d, or one of the best) and sont shift units, then you should REALLY worry. I wold love to facts shut my mouth.

@Peach64 Well said. Unfortunately I don't believe this game is going to post amazing numbers in other regions as well. The numbers won't be abysmal, but certainly not system seller worthy. Which brings me to my next point, I don't see this game being a system seller. One game isn't enough reason for most people to go out and spend a few hundred on a system. And except for the most hardcore Nintendo fans, there really isn't anything else on WiiU right now worth buying.

This system definitely looks like it'll be more in line with the gamecube in terms of sales.

It baffles me that there are people who still act optimistic after this news.

@darthmawl Already done?! lol, not a chance.

They can't live off their 3DS output forever you know. By diverting all their attention to making games for the WiiU, the 3DS will eventually suffer for it. There's no point making (much higher cost) games on the WiiU if they can't get worthwhile profit from it.

@AJ_Lethal Going third-party on consoles only would suffice. Their main focus should stay with handhelds.

@Doma are you sure?

@uneek About what point?

@Doma You know what happened to Sega when they went third party.

Barely a shadow of themselves.

These are only physical/box sales. I'm betting that download sales are much higher.

Also, "Nintendo Wii U" is still a terrible name.

DOOOOOOOOMED!

It was expected to sell this low considering the user-base of people owning a Wii U in Japan is still low, But the sad part is that how it just sold over 5,000 units... This just leave us at the conclusion that Japan is not a home-console territory anymore. Handhelds are taking over and looks like is going to stay for a while. I'm sure that even PS4 is going to sell low in Japan once it releases next year and for Xbone... well I don't know why Microsoft bothers anymore to release it there, is not going to sell anything.

FORTUNATELY, 3D Mario games tend to sold a whole lot more in America-Europe and by the amount of hype about this game over here (let's remember the past week was in #1 position on best sellers at Amazon, was sold out and when they put it on stock again, it made it to go into the top ten again), I'm sure it would do better, a lot better than Japan.

@Doma Oh really? And I think that Sony should discontinue the Vita, and become a third party developer for Nintendo 3DS.
You people continue to churn out the same non-sense. Going third-party takes an irreversible toll on a company reputation. And Nintendo is not in the same position as SEGA, it can very well afford the luxury of having an unprofitable home console. And given the company firm stance over the years on this, Nintendo would rather go bankrupt than develop for other consoles. They never give up, and they still have plenty of chips to play, because fortunately they are always very cautious on their endeavours, unlike their competitors who seems to enjoy wasting billions over the years. It's better to live to fight another day.

Oh my...

Impressive good for a Wii U game, bad for a 3D Mario game.

Fortunately the UK and US charts will be better thanks to the huge online marketing and the Black Friday deals.

@Samurai_Goroh <- this man speaks the truth. If the Wii U definitely craps out for the next 2-3 years, Nintendo can axe it and afford another shot. Sony and MS doesn't.

@Hernandez you're right. I don't know why people is being too exagerated by saying Wii U would be discontinued soon, that's not gonna happen, and this console would have great games on it's 5 year life-span. Gamecube sales-type is what we can expect now, but again, let's wait for the America-Europe-Australia numbers to form clear conclusions, in those areas is where I'm sure it would do 100x better than Japan.

nintendo should tell how many digital copy was sold. to tell some us all that it not sell poorly compare to the other mario games. because those mario games sold i think its all physical copies. and is 10% of sales in 1mil wii u, bad? but 3d words manage to boost sales. not that much but its a good thing.

I'm not sure about which bundles, if any, are coming out in Japan in the coming weeks, but it may be that people are waiting to buy a Wii U bundle, especially with Christmas coming up. Nintendo advertises its family-friendly approach, so it wouldn't be surprised if some parents are waiting until a little closer to Christmas to buy a Wii U and/or Super Mario 3D World. If that turns out to be the case, we may not see an explosion in sales in the coming weeks, but we may see more week 2/3 sales than usual, at least compared to week 1 sales.
And like other people are pointing out, we don't know the digital sales and we have yet to see what's been happening in NA and what will happen in EU starting this Friday. Things may look bad at the moment, but I think it's a little too early to conclude anything. As Thomas said, only time will tell.

Did it sold well compare to its low install base? Yes it did. Did it sold well enough for the Wii U to see a bump in sales? No it did not. Sales does matter because that is how Nintendo gets their money to produce new games. Earlier this year they said if the Wii U sales doesn't change they would start looking at the higher up management. Sales does matter people if you want the people in charge not to be in hot water. It also matters because if you truly love Nintendo then you would want everybody to experience it with positive news, not negative news (like that Ntech or whatever they are called putting the Wii U as the 4th worst electronic gift this Christmas to get).

This is the first 3D Mario platformer that launched both physically and digitally at the same time. Only the numbers for physical sales in Japan have started rolling in, with no account for digital sales or other region sales numbers yet. I think it will do just fine for sales, even if it does take a little time to accomplish.

@Peach64 First off if you read the article you would see that this is only physical and not digital copies. Plus this is only for 4 days and not the entire week, Mario games have usually been slow burners in terms of sales. You also fail to take into account the user base. Lightning Returns sold 200,000 on a system with a 70+ million user base. Mario 3D Worlds opening sales are pretty reasonable in relation to the install base. Nobody is trying to spin anything, they are simply trying to be logical here

I didn't know that there were so many analysts and marketing gurus that follow nintendo life! It sure is surprising to find out how much you people know about nintendo's current financial situation and how much "trouble" nintendo is in at any given time ( past presents and FUTURE!!!). If I were a sarcastic person i'd tell Peach64 Doma and FutureAlphaMale to fly to Nintendo's HQ and tell Iwata what grave danger his company is in. Because apparently you guys know , and Nintendo doesn't have a clue! But i'm not a sarcastic person so i won't although i must say that last time I checked nintendo games are selling quite well, and apparently unlike other companies Nintendo doesn't sell at a loss. I think the wii u is a very good console and i can't wait to buy super mario 3d world, if it's even just 1/10 as fun as critics and other people say i'm sure I'll have a blast, but then again, I enjoy playing games, not financial guru...

Not terrible but not really good, I'm more curious about how it will do in the UK as they've been showing a lot of commercials (I've seen around ten).

@Nico85

"If were a sarcastic person i'd tell Peach64 Doma and FutureAlphaMale to fly to Nintendo's HQ and tell Iwata what grave danger his company is in."

Don't worry, Nintendo brass already know the Wii-U is severely under performing at this point.

@FutureAlphaMale there was an interesting article here on NindendoLife, i think the title was" why people should stop worrying about nintendo" (i can't really remember but it was posted about a week ago) i think you should read it, it will give you a different perspective on things.

W-what...? I thought this is gonna be the huge turnaround... IT'S EVEN FREAKIN' MARIO! AND IN JAPAAAAN! Oh God... siiiigh

@Peach64 I'm pretty sure none of the new home consoles are really going to do that well in Japan now (barring a Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter, or Pokemon release).

They've been moving towards portables for awhile now. I'd take this as not just bad news for Nintendo but bad news for Sony as well in Japan. However, that does mean Nintendo has an uphill battle outside of Japan now that Japan is not responsive to home consoles anymore.

We also have to factor in these aren't the sales for a full week. The game has had less than half a week to sell.

Probably doesn't help that they didn't bother to implement the price cut in Japan.

@FutureAlphaMale like he doesn't know.

Didn't NSMBU get around 1.5x (160k) the sales of 3D World (nearly 100k) when that lauched, seems to me that 2D Mario Games are more popular there than 3D Mario ones, both of which had a 3 day gap between release and results. Even NSMB Wii sold over 900k, double of both Galaxy Games combined from their releases for 3 days again (over 260k for Galaxy 1 and over 300k for Galaxy 2), even though they clearly sold more than their Wii U equivalents, depite being 3 years down the road by the time NSMB Wii came out.

I've looked on VGCharts for these results, don't know how reliable it is as it's my first time checking it out.

@FuchsiaMelbaToast
Hats off to having the fortitude to wade through so many threads and topics looking for a place to put your boot in, on a daily basis, no less.

You people who gloat over every bit of news that can be twisted into a negative should be asking yourselves if you're spending your time in a worthwhile way. And where does this come from? Is it because your system of choice got trounced last gen by Nintendo, and you're still holding a grudge?

Oh, I forgot, Nintendo outsold everyone last gen. But then everyone said that hardware sales didn't mean as much as software sales. Now they're saying the opposite.

Hate to break it to you, but Nintendo's not going away anytime soon...
http://www.gamesradar.com/nintendo-doomed-not-likely-just-take-look-how-much-money-its-got-bank/
They could afford to lose almost 300 million dollars a year...
until the year 2052. That's 39 years from now, folks.

So, forget about it, and go play some games.

too easy for hardcore Japanese Gamers

@GalacticMario28 Well, next week the Family Set with Wii Fit U will be available in stores. It can only be ordered online until then, so it might move some more consoles.

Is like people need a reaffirmation that a game is "popular" like you are an idiot. Do you like the game? Buy it and enjoy it... You need that all your friends and the world plays the same game as you do, to know you are "ok", is laughable

This happens when you sell to kids and teens that have internet ( ahh everybody)... speculation is as mature as there ages.

@SirGreatNose thank you, your post shows you are not 13 and actually seeing the things as they are...

My pleasure.
And thank You.

@SirGreatNose

"You people who gloat over every bit of news that can be twisted into a negative should be asking yourselves if you're spending your time in a worthwhile way"

Like by emailing Nintendo's legal department to tell them that I couldn't find the Wii-U Deus Ex game in some Midwestern Best Buy??

Sure, Nintendo can afford to financially lose money on a console or two, but what about the loss of consumer confidence? If the Nintendo home console brand goes down the toilet, who will want to buy one in the future, let alone develop games for it? If not for the luck of the Wii catching lightning in a bottle, we would likely have seen a steady decline in Nintendo console sales from the N64 down to the Wii-U. Instead, we see a steady decline, a high, and now an even bigger drop. Nintendo is already stretched to their limits development wise as they need to produce games for two different systems at the same time, one of which has almost no third-party support at this time, and likely even less by the end of 2014.

All you guys keep rolling your eyes and saying 'Look how much money Nintendo has in the bank! They are fine!' while not taking into account the damage the brand is suffering. People don't want to invest their time or money into a console or company that doesn't appear to have a stable future. Hence why the stock value has plunged, and why people are extremely hesitant to purchase the console at this time. Can it improve its sales? Certainly. Will it improve to the point where big third part developers return and Nintendo doesn't have to single handedly carry the console on its own? Highly unlikely.

_{Not cool. Knock it off please — TBD}

@Hernandez Japanese gamers are fickle and us "core" Nintendo gamers tend to imagine that the 3D Marios are better than the 2D (and I do), but they don't sell nearly as well. The Wii U is going to get a lot of love from Nintendo over the next couple of years even if it ends up like the Gamecube, an underseller with some of the best games of the generation. There's nothing to do at this point but keep working on the key projects that are already started and hope for the best.

Also, that avatar image of Starfox as pixel art a la Mega Man is sweet!

@FutureAlphaMale lol

Yes, this is just what I wanted for Christmas, Nintendo's utter failure.

@SirGreatNose I agree with everything you said...

@FutureAlphaMale The fact that Wii U sales are disappointing doesn't mean that it isn't a good console. I don't see why people would lose trust in Nintendo, from what i see the majority of people who bought a Wii U are happy with it.

I love how NOBODY is taking into account digital sales.

they aren't tracked so just counting the physical sales is silly. since Nintendo doesn't release those numbers we'll never know.

seriously everybody needs to relax, the japanese prefer digital DLs alway. why get worried about something when the whole picture isn't clear

http://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/720/8968/original.jpg

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-11-11-the-massive-nintendo-paradigm-shift

"Yet we still worry about Nintendo, and that the sales of its hardware aren't going to be leading the pack. We shouldn't worry about the competitive picture, because Nintendo doesn't. The company is rightly concerned with making a profit, and doing that by making good games. Nintendo is back to profitability, and while it may not be the immense profitability of the Wii in its heyday, that's still a good thing. Will the Wii U become a solid seller? Maybe, maybe not... but Nintendo has had consoles before that never sold particularly well (cough GameCube cough). If the Wii U doesn't generate the sales Nintendo expects in a couple of years, the company will create some new hardware to replace it."

and...

"When Nintendo stops making games that are fun, that's the time to get worried about the company. That time is not now, nor is it any time soon"

@Nico85 that's a damn good piece.

LMFAO!!!The Wii U is so FINISHED!!!!!
Mario was supposed to be the BIG system seller and it ONLY shifs 5k more units than the previous week!!!!
Even with awesome reviews Mario World has done so pathetic in Japan and will do worldwide!!
Proves that Japan gamers really do not give a crap about the Wii U no more, and so they should Nintendo has screwed over so many Nintendo fans since last November and it is to little to late!!!
Nintendo fans keep saying Zelda and Mario Kart are coming but when they came for the Wii its fan base was over 50 Million!!!
Sorry but this just proves that the Wii U is dead, and Nintendo seriously need to think about ditching the Wii U and starting again!!!

@UgliestSoup Really? Why do you want them to fail so badly?

@PinkSpider The Japanese are going DUDEBRO?????
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

(Darth Vader "Where's Padme?" Meme)

@bizcuthammer
Mario games (2D ones at least) are considerably more popular than Final Fantasy in Japan (though FF is huge there don't get me wrong). The biggest selling Mario games in Japan: SMB (6.8 million), NSMB (6.5 million), NSMBWii (4.7 million), etc. The biggest selling Final Fantasy (VIII): 3.63 million. In the top 30 biggest sellers of all-time in Japan, there are 9 Mario games, there are 0 Final Fantasy games.

I am not worried about the sales of the game. I am sure overall the game will sell very well. I wish Nintendo give figures of weekly downloads but I doubt this will happen anytime soon.
What is sad is that it didn't sell any significant number of consoles but that may change over the coming weeks.
I never really considered Japan to be honest. I was far more interested in how it sells in Europe and NA and how many wii u systems it can sell until the end of the year competing with the XB1 and PS4.

@FutureAlphaMale 3rd party developers are irrelevant to Nintendo's success. They weren't going to support the Wii U either way. 3DS has decent 3rd party support at best, and its absolutely laughable compared to Sony and Microsoft's 3rd party support.

@IceClimbers

What would you rather have?

A Nintendo only console that sees 2-4 'big' releases a year, or a Nintendo console with excellent support from other developers that gets 10-15 'big' games annually? Regardless of whether you yourself buy 1 or even 8 games a year, a Nintendo console with strong support from third parties is better for business all around.

3D Mario has NEVER been a system seller. That's a fact.
Home console gaming in japan is getting more niche every year. That's a fact.
3D Mario has never been popular in japan. Fact.
2D Mario is the only type of Mario that moves systems. Case in question: NSMBU. Keep swallowing the industry's lies but NSMBU is right now the only game that makes it "interesting" enough to buy the console. That's a fact, like it or not.
3D Mario may sell good in the meantime even more in the US but it won't be the system seller it needs simply because it never did it before. It didn't moved N64s, it didn't moved Gamecubes, it didn't moved DS, Wiis and the true is that is not doing wonders with the 3DS either (the 3DS is still below DS sales).
The only game that can do this is Mario Kart (Donkey Kong Country doesn't sell systems. Only the first part 20 years ago).

In any case, we'll have to wait until february to see the bigger picture.
I really don't know what will happen to the Wii U. I have this feeling that by 2015 it will be fade in obsurity and replaced with another home console. I hope not but so far not good.

@Nico85

I never said its not a good console. I like it a lot. Maybe even love it...except for the forced gamepad controls...!

But the fact that a 'majority' of the minuscule number of owners are happy with it doesn't make it a success. I would love to only have to buy one console each generation, and I'm sure everyone else would too, but recently Nintendo has been relegated to a machine that is ONLY purchased to play Nintendo games, where as before it used to be THE place for all video games. Period.

It's basic really. The more consoles sold, the more developers jump on board, and the more games we get. I will/do enjoy the console now, but the fact of the matter is that it could be much better if we had more games available and more choices. And Nintendo would be under less pressure to keep cranking out first party titles.

I guess my suspicion comes through: People have Mario-fatigue! It's Nintendo's own fault, to much Mario milking!!

Hopefully Nintendo takes notice, and starts to make Starfox/Metroid/F-zero games again!!

@brucelebnd
as if the digital sales would boost that number much. sales were underwhelming face facts.

Why does a Nintendo fan site has so much negative feedback than it should? I did not come here for this.

@Daisaku36 It seems like everyone is trying to be an armchair Nintendo executive these days, and yet none of them get around to this point. I totally agree with you. Just this year the Vita was sitting unsold in Japan, and that's because it saw price cuts everywhere but Japan. My guess is Nintendo will drop the price and sales will be spurred. Maybe they're waiting for the right time, but I don't know what that is if not now, before the PS4 drops.

Well Lightning Returns has new boob jiggling physics, there's no way Mario could ever compete with that!

So much for getting a Wii U. The system is confirmed to be dead.

If 3d World didn't increase sales, nothing will. Better get an Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or a good PC instead.

And yet Wii U outsold the PS3 almost 2:1 and even though it posted enough sales for a game that debuted #2 on the top 20 list. But Nintendo is still doomed? Those look like decent numbers to me....Let's not forget the install base for the system is still small. And to remind people that these are only figures for the physical sales in Japan for that game, no other region or digital have been shown.

@Link41x PS4 sold 1 million in one day in NA(not even home territory)... Wii U sold only 21,000 units with its best game released that week and in its HOME territory where people go insane for nintendo games.

If you don't realize that means disaster, you never will.

@bmjy1000 They report the TRUTH here, there is not much good news for Wii U. The only good news is that mario 3D world is an awesome game, do you think they can make a full week of articles only on that? I see 3-4 per day so far only about this one game because its all that is good news on the Wii U front.

@Henmii Keeping in mind the key reason why they aren't making any new Star Fox, Metroid, and F-Zero games is because the last entries of those series sold well below Nintendo's expections. Other M was a massive flop in terms of sales, and so was the last F-Zero on the GBA.

I want those series to come back as much as anyone, but they were series that crashed and burned. Star Fox was given a chance with the remake of 64, so maybe there is hope Metroid and F-Zero will get the same treatment.

But barring Star Fox 64, and maybe the SNES and N64 F-Zero games, have those series even approached the level of sales that an average Mario game gets? Heck, even Kirby tend to sell a million copies with most of the recent games.

That's a major reason why we are still getting new Kirby games and those three series are on hiatus. Its the harsh truth, but sales talk. If 3D Word does as badly as Other M did, then maybe you have a ppoint.

But the reality is that Star Fox, F-Zero, and Metroid crashed and burned. Yes, I want to see them come back like Punch Out and Kid Icarus, but you can hardly blame Nintendo for being careful.

Agree with Doma, Peach64 and GamerJunkie

Disagree with Link41x, SirGreatNose and others fixated on drinking Kool Aid...

The facts are that the increase on WiiU units was too lackluster especially when you factor in the SM3DW, and SPorts games releases. According to this info, SM3DW won´t sell more than 350,000 units in Japan, and maybe 1MM worldwide, statically speaking.
I love my WiiU, but my 3DS, my iPad and recently my PS3 take up most of my gaming time. When there are so few games, you tend to play a game for a week and then nothing for 3-4 weeks at a time.

@Caryslan,

You do have a point! But there is a reason why they flopped, at least in Europe: No marketing!!

Mario games ALWAYS get massive marketing, and so does Pokemon (heck, even the cartoon-series can be regarded as marketing!)! But Metroid or Starfox? They never get any marketing! It's as if Nintendo never really cared about those franchises, it's a shame!!

Keep in mind that Nintendo ALWAYS uses their own homeland to plan their next move! So if they see that Mario doesn't even sell anymore in their own land, then I guess that really could be a wake-up call!!

start to panic

@maceng

Pretty much this. Wanted to get a Wii U, but decided against it right now. No way I'm putting my hard-earned money on a sinking ship. I insist, if 3D World didn't sell the system, nothing will.

Not to mention the downloads tied to hardware, demo limit usage, region lock... Better saying, the **** only Nintendo does.

Quite simply: Nintendo is playing it soooooo safe, that they get in danger! Time to get creative again, games-wise!

@Henmii Indeed. With games like Mario 3D World, many people are wanting Nintendo to fail.

@hosokawasamurai Just like how the PS3 was a sinking ship?

@Royalblues: Then why do said "people" ask for the same stuff over and over?

Like someone else pointed out: Ghosts and BF4 are selling well in Japan. So, what´s keeping Nintendo from releasing a game such as Metroid Reckon or Star Fox Battlefield? Metroid: Othe M was not a good example for a usual Metroid game, and still was not a flop, selling more than a 1MM copies.

@DarkwingLz I do not remember saying the PS3 had a good launch. In fact, it was a really bad move by Sony.

The thing is, if I remember well, the Ps3 never sold around 10k weekly. The Ps3's big games all sold well (see God of War III and Gran Turismo 5). And, finally, the Ps3 never lost third party support.

The Wii U, however, is doing bad on all fronts: hardware sells low, first party sells low, third party sells low.

Hell, even the majorly hated Xbox 1 managed to sell in UK in 1day what Wii U could not sell in a year.

And then people badmouth EA for dropping Wii U support. If not even Mario is selling high on this console, what else will?

Like it or not, at this rate, Wii U will either be early discontinued or become a very mediocre first party-only device.

Nintendo tried to do what SCE tried to do with the PlayStation 3, use the success of the predecessor and tried to piggyback off of it. It obviously didn't work for either of them. Like the PS3 the Wii U will eventually have to try a new formula.

Nintendo's problem is everyone makes them out to be this innovative, creative company, when it comes to their designs and games. It used to be their greatest attribute, now it's doing more harm than good. People expect Nintendo to out do themselves each gen to bring something revolutionary to the table.

Before anyone accuses me of bashing I'm simply making an observation.

I don't think Nintendo is doomed at all , but they do need a lot of work.

The excuse :

Well even if the Wii U fails Nintendo still has a lot of money left unlike MS and SCE. That isn't a good thing, if the Wii U fails then the company will be seen in a different light.

You guys need to remember not everyone is a fan or fanboy of Nintendo, they won't be as a forgiving.

Another classic click bait headline from nintendo life. Only a nintendo "fan" site and its community be so unhappy with a game debuting at number two and a bump in console sales, no matter how big or small.

Still, mario games have long legs. Did the galaxy games sell 7million copies in the first week? Of course not. They sell through out the life cycle. Though if you all really want to sit and waste your time worrying wait until after christmas when we have europe, america and the rest of the worlds sales figures. Not that i think you should worry anyway, nintendo isnt going anywhere.

I heard someone say this, and I agree that 3D World will sell onwards with good sales, however FFXIII Will have a few good weeks and probably just kinda fade away.

@DarkwingLz

How many third party developers bailed from the PS3 when it was doing poorly? How many big games skipped the console when no one was buying it?

None.

The Wii-U isn't selling and nearly all the big development studios have no interest in making games for it.

In unrelated news, I'm watching a hockey game on television and I've seen the SMW3D commercial a few times and the Andre Agassi tennis ad too.

At least Nintendo seems to be going all out to promote the system for Christmas...

Okay. Okay. So... We're going to say Mario isn't selling well when we're still up to our necks in Xbox One and PS4 hype?

Once the hype dies down, the Wii U will be fine.

Personally, I don't want any system to fail because that is stupid and just blatantly ridiculous. Less competition stagnates the market. And considering the PS4 and Xbox One so far are only bringing the last gen forward with better graphics while the Wii U is changing the way you can play the game, losing the Wii U and/or Nintendo would start that stagnation within a matter of months.

Again, even if we hit GameCube level sales, the games that came out on the GameCube are memorable and still fun to this day.

@TechnoEA: "letting" the Wii U fail over the next 2-3 years is way more preferable than axing it soon.

Wii U failing is not the deal-breaker. Axing it soon is the deal-breaker. I mean, if you happen to buy the console and then you find out the next day that it will be discontinued you will feel burned, right?

How about targeting an older crowd instead of just little kids. That just might help the situation. Don't end bringing software to kids but find a way to grow with the people who have been playing 10+ years who have been there and done that. Adults have the money and they still play but they want more mature content. Nintendo doesn't really offer that

@Windy sadly nintendo is targeting kids since the gamecube, nowadays there is a console for you, it is called ps4 , having both can appeal more to you.

@jayclayx You are probably right. But, I started with Nintendo. I will end it with Nintendo I have more than likely bought my last system with my 3ds. I want a Wii-U but there is just nothing there that grabs me. I'm pretty boring these days all RPG and graphic novel types. I do have a 360 and a PS2 which I have many games on the back burner to play. I would just like to see Nintendo start to Rumble to the top with the wii-u. We know its capable

@Windy yeah you are right, so pity games like yakuza for the wii U are only in japan, some new brand resident evil like revelations for the wii U would be awesome, maybe next year some developers will do something interesting besides indie games, graphic novels and casual games.

@AJ_Lethal

True which is why most people have a "wait till the price drops and more games I want are out approach and the wait and see what happens" I mostly buy Nintendo for First Party (Second: Game Freak) and PlayStation for First, Second and Third Party.

I buy PlayStation consoles early because I consider it an investment, I know games worth-playing to ME are coming out in the near future so I have nothing to worry about. I still have a ton of games I haven't played for my PS3 and I'm transitioning to PS4 in a few days.

I've never been able to do that with a Nintendo product, I always need at least 5 games to validate a purchase beforehand.

I cannot say for sure if it will fail, hell everyone thought PS3 would fail (admittedly it didn't do THIS badly) but it pulled itself up. Hopefully the Wii U can do the same, if not, then it will be a GC repeat all over. Which is saying a lot as the GC was freaking awesome, can't remember why it was considered a failure though.

@electrolite77 No it didn't.
SMB move NES, the same for SMB2 and SMB3.
SMW moved SNES.
Heck, DKC was in many ways "SMB4" and moved software. Bceause miyamoto made a tantrum and didnt want to make SMB4 even though people was asking for it, DKC filled the gap.
SM64 was praised and loved but didn't skyrocketed the N64 sales. It didn't helped to outsold the PSOne. Have you forgot that the N64 ended up in second place?
SMS. That game had mediocre sales in the Gamecube.
SM64DS didn't helped the NDS to outsold the PSP. On the contrary...it wasn't until NSMB appeared that the DS skyrocketed.
SMG1 had good sales, but it was outsold largely by NSMBWii wich moved like 4 million consoles in the US in one month while SMG2 didn't do anything at all.

I know nintendo fans hate to hear this but that's reality. What the fandom or the message forum dwellers or the game "journalists" believe or says doesn't matter at all. Is the general audience the one that actually matters and make a console be succesful or a miss.
And it's happening right now.

What a hot topic huh?

Personally it's upsetting that 3D World didnt break any release records or help move more WiiU consoles and the reason is because this is a game of the generation……regardless if it sells a ridiculous amount the sheer amount fun im having playing this game i truly havent felt since Super Mario 64…

The level design, the soundtrack, the ridiculous amount of content and secrets…i dont believe we'll see an entire game like this for years…

Everyone has a right to state their opinion. We can all agree Nintendo needs to step up their WiiU marketing but 3D World is reason enough for me to be thankful i have a WiiU…and anyone who is playing the game will agree while u cautious buyers will feel silly when after all ur fussing u get this game and quietly take back every negative thing u say about this game

@FutureAlphaMale Oh I'd love more 3rd party support if it was possible. However, I'm going to be realistic and accept the blunt truth that not even Nintendo will accept: 3rd parties for the most part will NOT support Nintendo systems, even in the face of blatant success (3DS' 3rd party support is laughable and would be on par with Wii U's 3rd party support if it weren't for the fact that the 3DS actually has good 3rd party exclusives instead of half donkey ports), regardless of system specs, online services, or anything else they've used as an excuse. Bethesda said that Nintendo's time to rake in 3rd parties for Wii U is over. That however is a lie - there wasn't one to start with.

There's no use in Nintendo going after 3rd parties when 3rd parties won't open their doors to Nintendo. The fact that 3rd parties purposely sabotage their Wii U sales is proof enough of this.
_{Please watch the profanity — TBD}

Nobody likes the WiiU except for the MAB... Just goes to show that we can't have all our pots and break them at the same time

@SkywardLink98 Japan has never been Mario crazy like America. I wasn't predicting it to do anything in Japan. But it did sell more than Pikmin 3.

Of course this is only physical copies. 3D Mario games are something I want at my finger tips at all times. Who knows how many people would prefer Mario digitally, I know I went for it.

@Hardy83

I agree with you. I wait for mario kart and that will be the last Mario game for me. There is to much mario now. Nintendo should focus on other IP's so people can see there is more than just Mario when you buy Nintendo stuff.

@Hardy83 Metroid? The last two Metroid games BOMBED.... HARD.

Yeah, Nintendo should just give up the mascot of the company because a few people might want to play a new Metroid. As much as I enjoyed the prime series, It won't sell consoles. It's a niche franchise. F Zero bombed on its last outing as well. Consumers speak with their wallets, they told Nintendo that they don't like those franchises anymore. Mario and Zelda still sell several million a piece, so why are you surprised that these two franchises have the priority right now at the beginning of the consoles life?

I love Fire Emblem, but I understand why a new one for Wii U isn't here yet, because it won't sell systems. Ninty always concentrates on their biggest franchises at the beginning of the generation to build an install base so they can sell their niche titles they love to make to a larger audience. Those niche titles usually bomb.

@Tsuchinoko shigeru already said they attempted to make a handheld Pikmin, and they weren't satisfied with the results. So we won't see one on 3ds

Sorry to spoil the party but you are all worrying for no reason, this game is designed to sell big over the next 3 weeks up to xmas, not on one day.

This game is easily the most critically acclaimed game for years in any platform and it will sell millions of WiiU consoles, just come out of the panic room and relax.

(and Im buying the digital version so it wont show up on the sales record)

The recent Japanese charts produced two very different headlines:

1) Headline seen at Nintendo dedicated websites:

"Super Mario 3D World underwhelms on Japanese charts!"

As a result, the headline sparks typical "Nintendo is DOOMED" discussions.

2) This is the Headline everywhere else:

"Lightning Returns has the LOWEST debut in the entire FF XIII series!"

As a result, people discuss the bleak future of Final Fantasy and the "death" of JRPGs and Square-Enix.

Such is life.........

@Peach64
Really can't blame Nintendo here. To me, it's one of those situations where you just shrug your shoulders in wonder. Nintendo has a great console, with a pretty decent library of great games now. It doesn't sell, it doesn't sell. Not sure what else Nintendo can do. They can keep throwing boatloads of cash at marketing, and of course they'll continue releasing top notch software, but sometimes you just have to accept reality, even if you don't understand it.

Reality is (my perspective, anyways), Japan just isn't interested. I don't know why. It's a no-brainer to me, but hey, what are you gonna do? As long as Nintendo doesn't go under, life for me as a gamer goes on. Regardless of whether Wii U never makes it past 2 million consoles sold in Japan or easily surpasses 10 million, I'm going to continue enjoying my Wii U every day to the fullest extent.

@Paperluigi

My thoughts exactly. We should wait until Xmas to see the real impact of Mario. Right now people are saving their money for the big day, but I'm confident when it's time for family fun Mario will be well-placed.

There's barely anything in that list that I would find even remotely interesting..
Super Mario 3D World should be absolutely flogging anything there ..

How is that even possible??

If you are experienced gamers you will not play Mario as its difficulty level is for kids. If you are new gamers you may not grow up with Mario. Nintendo does rely too much on Mario to sell its platform (e.g., Mario U), which eventually wear out the attractiveness of the brand. Unless you are a hardcore Nintendo fan (I know you are but most of gamers are not), you don't care just Mario.

I'm sure Mario 3D World sales will do better in the west. At least I hope they do!

@element187
I think Japan is very much Mario crazy. In the top 30 best-selling games of all-time in Japan you have: At 3. SMB, 4. NSMB, 11. NSMBwii, 14. SML, 17. MKds, 20. SMB3, 21. SMK, 24. MKwii, 30. SMW.

I think it's just 3D Mario that they've never been crazy about. But then that isn't too different to the west, where 2D Mario has also always sold more than 3D Mario, though perhaps not to the same extent.

@maceng How many of the millions of copies were after Other M had its price slashed? In its debut month Other M sold very poorly and Nintendo openly admitted the game sold well below their exceptions. There is likely an article on Nintendo Life about it.

Even if Other M did sell 1 million in the end, does it really mean much if it was after a $59.99 game's price was slashed to $29.99 or $19.99 due to lagging sales? Other M's price was slashed in half almost a month after the game came out, which is very rare for major first-party Nintendo titles.

I think people are reading way too much into this. The Home Console market in Japan is a far cry from the days of the Famicom & Super Famicom or even a few years ago when the PS3 and Wii arrived over there. Handhelds have taken over as the systems of choice in Japan,, all the major system sellers like Monster Hunter & Dragon Quest are now mostly on handhelds, and most of your major third-party developers over there are mostly focused on handheld development.

I'm going to be brutally honest, at this point hardly anything will sell the Wii U in Japan. Smash Bros won't really do it since there will be a 3DS version with the same roster, and Mario Kart 8 might make a dent, but that's about it. Short of the Wii U getting Monster Hunter 5 or Dragon Quest XI, there is nothing that will make the Wii U explode in sales.

Now, before everyone dismisses this as blind Nintendo bashing, I would say the same thing for the PS4. At this point, the PS4 would have trouble getting its foot into the market place. Why does everyone think Sony launched the PS4 in the west first? because they likely have the impression they will have more trouble selling the PS4 in Japan then the US.

The Home Console market in Japan is very weak right now. This is not really the fault of Sony, Nintendo, or anyone else. All the major games Japanese gamers want to play(Pokemon, Monster Hunter, Dragon Quest) are all major handheld franchises. Handhelds are the main systems of choice over there, and as a result home consoles suffer.

I would not even say this is a reflection of Mario's lack of popularity over there. If 3D World were a 3DS game, it would have sold much better in Japan. About the only home console that still has a decent showing is the PS3, but its a much older system that was established before handhelds took over the market.

Short of getting a new Monster Hunter or Dragon Quest, it looks like both the Wii U and PS4 will struggle to sell. Its a handheld market in Japan now.

On a rather unrelated note: Bloom-lighting overload on Cat Mario.

Something went very wrong here...

@Caryslan The good thing about the PS4 though is that it will sell great in North America and do it's best sells in Europe. The Wii U in and the PS4 are not in the same boat. The Wii U is in a worse predicament. At least the PS4 still has 3rd party support when their 1st party titles are being developed. That's what's going to keep the PS4 ahead. Unfortunately the Wii U still needs some good 3rd party support.

I hope Nintendo doesn't find any excuse like what some fans did in the comments. There is no excuse no matter how you compare the number, if you really compare the numbers (without empty assumptions), WiiU is dead in Japan, this is concluded, even Mario Kart can't save it. It doesn't worth any other tries. Nintendo should either just focus on western market, like XO, or prepare their next generation.
Btw, bring Mario 3D world to 3DS, and Nintendo will have my money.

@Henmii

By that logic they would've killed Metroid a long time ago since all three of the Metroid Prime's did squat in Japan.

LOL the Wii U is dead wake up people!!!
Iwata bragged that Super Mario 3D World was a SYSTEM SELLER yet in Japan it has failed so badly ONLY moving 5k more than last week!!!
Iwata is the reason the Wii U has had a epic fail year, his ideas and mistakes have nearly ruined Nintendo!!!
Im sorry but to launch Mario on the same day PS4 launches worldwide and in the 2nd week of Xbox One is commercial suicide!!!
NOBODY cares for the Wii U no more Nintendo had their year head start and blew it big time!!
Nintendo need to ditch the Wii U and just focus on handhelds.

We'll see. It's still an increase, and that game is so fun that we might see word-of-mouth get this one out there a bit more appropriately.

@Kruger85

2/5

Troll harder will ya?

Well, even though we all had high expectations for this game, if you really look at it, this isn't all that surprising. As we've seen from the previous sales charts, portable gaming is the "in" thing now in Japan with console gaming taking a back seat. Also releasing it around the holidays helps them, but it certainly doesn't help with making quick sales. Since we are so close to the holidays, people prob. put it in their Christmas list or something and some simply haven't got the chance to buy it yet. I know if it wasn't around the holidays, I would probably already have this game in hand. It will probably do better in America, but I wouldn't be surprised if those numbers don't meet our expectations as well.

@electrolite77 Your statement speaks to the level of gaming experience you have.

@electrolite77 Really, 25 years and still so poor at games?

@electrolite77 lol... you must suck in every classic NES games if you think Mario U is "very difficult"...

Iwata said Mario 3D World would be a system seller the Wii U needed and it sold pathetic first week Japan and just shifted 5k more units than the week before!!
3D Mario has NEVER sold really well in Japan so they decide to release 3D World first there?and then you wonder why it sold so crap?
The PS4 is not released in Japan until next year and box has always been irrelevant over there so there is no excuse and even with ZERO competition it still fails.
The MAJOR problem for Nintendo is that they play it to safe they looked at what sold great on the 3DS and thought yeah lets make a similar game for the Wii U and the same with 10 year old Windwaker!!!
The first NEW Mario game for the Wii U should have been all new crazy 2D Mario game, for the past year it has just been rehash after rehash, stick HD at the end of a game and act like it is a brand new game!!
Plus the PS4 and Xbox One has just been released and Mario World will also fail around the world due to all the hype around the next gen.
Nintendo should just scrap the Wii U and start again, why wait until mid next year and have Mario Kart and Smash Bros also fail?
The Gamepad is a massive problem and what NOBODY wanted, the price and the fact that in over a year ZERO games fully utilise it and then you wonder why 3rd party will not jump on board?

The Wii was so popular as it introduced motion control gaming, it came with a free game that UTILISED the Wii controller and shown you different ways in how to use it and was AT LEAST $250 cheaper than the PS3!!!
The fact that the Wii U came with an utter crap Nintendoland and not the HD Wii Sports everyone wanted bundled in, and a ridiculous $350 price tag was a joke!!!
A year later and still so Wii Sports type game!!!
Iwata is the reason the Wii U has failed and be needs firing, the name is the worst mistake in console history and all they had to do was name it WII2 what a 10 year old could have come up with!!!
Ditch the Wii U Nintendo as you are just making yourself look like fools to Billions trying to revive it and start again and release something in 2015!!

Ofcourse it's not selling good in Japan, they all have a 3DS, they are playing the 3DS in school, hunting monsters together, street passing with other people, playing 3DS in parks and in trains, why even bother with the WiiU when all the freinds have a 3DS system.

@GreatPlayer

I do think the NSMB line of games shouldn't exist. However, I play tough platformers like Super Meat Boy and Spelunky for the challenge, whereas I play 3D Mario for the immense creativity and 'fun factor'.

So, I think you're kind of missing the point of why people play games there..

@doctor_doak Creativity is important, but no one is going to play a creative toy made for a one-year old. Among common platformers in Wii U, Mario U and 3D are the easiest. Both Sonic and Rayman Legends are harder. Mario U is geared towards a younger audience, while they try to make getting those coins hard (but really, are they really that hard?) People have been complaining the final browser boss is creative (but easy) in 3D World. I don't know. Perhaps for people who want to finish the game easy (but still pretend they have overcome a challenge), Mario U and Mario 3D World are for them.

@electrolite77 I will be ignoring amateur gamers from now on.

@GamerJunkie
I was talking about the comment section. Negative opinions are okay,but not when they are absurd.

@Peach64 Yeah I'm also worried about what this will mean for their development standards. If games like this don't sell enough will we get more and more party games? I hope not.

Maybe they just got tired of all the Mario. I know I have.

I saw an article about the first week sales of Galaxy that someone posted and it read basically exactly like this one. I don't know from which site it was though.

It is definately too early to draw any conclusions.

@cookiex With massive isntall bases that dwarf the Wii U's current Japanese numbers.

Japan's current Wii U numbers are just over a million.

@cookiex,

I didn't know that the Metroid Prime games did sell so bad in Japan!

As for the people who think it was a bad idea to release the new Mario around the time that the new consoles arrived: Of course they could have easily released the game in October! There really wasn't a good reason to wait any longer! But it would not have changed a thing!! People who definitely wanted a PS4/XboxOne at launch would have bought them at launch anyway, totally ignoring Mario!!