Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Pokémon X & Y the Last Nintendo Games Standing in UK Top 40

I think this week is another great example of the variety in the UK gaming chart. People here like to say that all the UK gamers want is FIFA and COD in response to Nintendo games not doing well, but there's a wide range of genres right the way through this chart, and an RPG right at the top.

There's some heavy hitting stuff coming in the next few weeks. Titanfall, Dark Souls II and Infamous: Second Son, so I'm not sure how much good Nintendo news we're gonna get between now and a Nintendo-packed May, but hopefully Layton vs Wright does well.

Do we really need to note once again that this is physical only? Now whilst the Wii U has a small install base, I think a shift of 3DS owners to digital purchases isn't impossible to believe as having an impact on chart performance. I know I have never purchased a physical release for my daughter's 3DS (admittedly she games more on her iPad and I've only bought X&Y and Pokemon Dungeon), so it's not impossible that others aren't frequenting the high street for their 3DS gaming needs. Ultimately Nintendo will be the only ones with the full picture on software sales so these stories don't mean much to me.

@Sean_Aaron It's a valid point, but all the other formats will also be missing digital sales. I think it's a pretty solid guess that a higher percentage of Xbox and Playstation sales are digital compared to Nintendo due to their account systems, frequent sales and a more tech-savy audience.

Mario Kart 8 & Smash Bro won't have much of a impact like they did in the past... I guess it will be the Sonic Boom TV series + Wii U game combo of epic awesomeness that will turn this sucker around

I wish the doom and gloom boys will take a break, ofcause you cant have massive selling games if the customer base is low to begin with the interested information would be how many qty wise did the games sell against the current customer base, that woukd be good to see, plus people it takes upto 18 months or longer to get a AAA game half ready so nintendo must have plannec the next three years in advace their master plan is still on trake, however i am more interested in Zelda what the hell has happened to Zeld?

@MAB What if the ship is only turned around by a single degree, it would still be heading to the same destination.

Why does it always have to be doom and gloom? UK is practically nothing without the rest of Europe anyway and @Peach64 Nintendo has noted an increase in digital sales on their systems. I don't understand why UK doesn't give Nintendo more love though?

Well I think we all know Wii U is going to have it rough till MK8 after that who knows.

DKC has stuck around at least one week longer than I'd have thought. I must be about the only Wii U owner in the country not to have bought a copy!

@Wolfgabe the UK has zero marketing, no in store shelf space and a very brand led gaming scene. This means few people respect the Wii u, even if they would otherwise have been keen , the games are hard to find and expensive as there is little competition and the 'shop window' to sell from stores is so tiny the local game store near me has 2 shelves for all Nintendo merch including wii u/Wii&3ds in comparison to 15 for xbone/13 for ps4 and 4 each for Xbox/ps3/blu Ray. on many occasions I have gone in to buy a AAA Nintendo release and been told they have to order it in as they don't carry stock of Wii u games much. They DID put up posters and Nintendo signs a week or so ago ,AFTER the dk launch, but then ripped it all down a few days later to put in an electronic trade in department!!! Also throw in the fact that mainstream games like cod and fifa drive sales/awareness here and Nintendo have consistently knocked out inferior versions lacking features/dlc and you can see why the battle here is IMO already lost. I hope otherwise but can't see a way out now since multiplat games don't bother to put the Wii u logo on Ads and posters already!!!

Is this Ireland and the UK or just UK? And why cant we get the weekly or monthly sales of say, France or Spain or Germany rest of Europe? Also, why the hell don't Ninty Sony and M$ release their digital sales numbers? If they keep saying the numbers are so great, then show us the numbers! I think they all lie about Digital sales TBH, except maybe Sony on the PS3/Vita with their sales (only systems I buy digital downloads).

I guess the Wii U is just not grabbing peoples interest at all, I would imagine Ninty are gonna try and phase out the Wii U in a years time if it doesnt pick up in sales and just focus on the Handheld side of things, of course Ninty would rather shut down than see their franchises on other platforms.

Yes I have heard all great reviews about DKCTF but I have no interest in it so thats one less sale here. So its a dry spell for the Wii U until May 30th, MK8, the big one. I would hope that sells the system, cant wait for it myself.

I am from the UK but, I am living in Finland. To add to all the the stuff said previously, why the hell does Nintendo not advertise?????? I have been living here for nearly 5 years now and in all that time ; you would be lucky if I have seen TWO tv advertisements and they were both for the 3DS. I think that they have partly themselves to blame here. They should be pushing these things out to the public. Also, don't get me started on the 3DS stuff e.g. street pass relay zones. None at all in Helsinki that I know of. They are shooting themselves in the foot as far as I am concerned. I know Finland has a small population but we get nowt over here; no Club Nintendo, nothing. OK, rant over. Well the Big N needs to advertise..... So how was your day peeps?????

Another negative story? Not surprising.

Instead of the author saying that DKC was "30th out of 40", why not be more positive and say that DKC was 30th out of 1000?

"for the 3DS in particular, this new batch of games can't come soon enough"

Can somebody honestly explain to me why Kirby Triple Deluxe and Mario Golf World Tour are both coming out May 2nd? I know they are different genres but isn't Nintendo publishing both? Shouldn't they at least be a week or 2 apart?

Considering the Wii U install base in the UK I'm surprised DKCTF still had any sales left at all.

@JohnRedcorn - "why not be more positive and say that DKC was 30th out of 1000?"

I usually agree w/ a lot of what you say but now you are just trolling.

The linked to page says:

"TOP 40 ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE"

http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p/software/uk/latest/index_test.jsp&ct=110015

Why the heck are we in a dry spell for games again? Why isn't there like 2 Wii U games coming between DK U and Mario Kart 8?!

May 30th (practically June) is a looong way off I think Nintendo is handling this the wrong way - so far, they've hoped that the release of a single game will turn things around but it hasn't so far - next time is Mario Kart, released by itself, and I fear this wont help in the big picture. They need to do a one-two release knockout punch - maybe Bayonetta 2, Smash Bros and X in the same month - THAT would get sales started.

@Blast - "Why isn't there like 2 Wii U games coming between DK U and Mario Kart 8?!"

B/C Ubisoft decided to not bring South Park to Wii U.

http://www.chart-track.co.uk/?i=1824&s=1111

Which to me is part of the bigger story. Ubi has South Park on PS3 and Xbox360 and PC and Watch_Dogs on PS4 and X1 (and Ps3 and X360 and PC) leaving Wii U high and dry. If both those games were coming out on Wii U that would be 2 big games between DKCTF and MK8.

To be fair, 3 games that are coming out between DK and MK8 are Lego Hobbit on April 8, Amazing Spiderman Apr 29, and Cablea's Big Game Hunter March 25.

http://www.gamestop.com/browse/nintendo-wii-u?nav=28-xu0,135-1b0

No big game out until end of May is to long to wait, Nintendo still aren't doing enough, VC on the Wii U is still CRAP! still no N64 or GameCube, hardly ever get any decent console updates or features added to the Wii U, whenever Nintendo do a Nintendo Direct it's nearly always a let down and to much time is spent on the 3DS.

Also I don't care what anyone says I still 100% believe no proper achievement/trophy system on the Wii U is a major loss to many, people are just used to this feature now (have been for the last five/seven years or more), the frustrating thing is I think many Nintendo games are made for this, I feel having extra things to go for in games like Mario & Donkey Kong would add so much IMO, I know already I'll miss not having achievements when Bayonetta 2 is released, I just feel Nintendo are to behind the times and they don't seem to listen or do the obvious things when needed.

@Warbeard - "They need to do a one-two release knockout punch - maybe Bayonetta 2, Smash Bros and X in the same month - THAT would get sales started."

I don't think Nintendo has enough games to do 2 in the same month (certainly not 2 in the same day like on the 3DS) but last E3 I was thinking they would repeat 2008 when they released SSBB in March and MK Wii in April. that would get the install base up and excited for B2 in June. And then E3 sets the stage for the next big list of games. I still don't expect X for a long while as JRPGs take forever to translate. Monado took 3 years from E3 reveal to release in the US.

I think Nintendo needs to find a niche. Somewhat like what the Turbo did back in the 16bit era. The Turbo was the place to go for Shmups. Maybe the Wii U could become the RPG powerhouse.

@Gso No chance of that ever happening, as long as handhelds/PS3 exist.

A powerhouse for 'simple platformers and minigame collection', perhaps.

@CliffordB

I can see Bayonetta 2 having achievements as The Wonderful 101 has them. And you need them to unlock secret characters, so they are actually useful beyond bragging, something you can do via Miiverse.

Other games like Mario and DK lack achievements, but there are tons of secrets and collectibles to look for. Sakurai seems to be the only Nintendo developer who actually cares for achievements. I think Xenoblade had some too.

@CliffordB If you're referring to the XBOX achievement system, with all due respect, that's not even a "proper" achievement system. I mean, come on, you're telling me that getting an achievement for "playing the tutorial" or for "playing level 2" on a game is a "proper" achievement? I hardly consider an achievement doing something you're bound to do eventually by default.

Even things that can be considered achievements, like beating a level in under a specific amount of time or killing an opponent in a particular convoluted way, don't reward the player with anything but a "gamerscore". What can one do with that? Nothing! What does one get from that? Notoriety? As if! In game rewards? Yeah right! Make us feel good about our selves? Please! (if "people" need an achievement to improve their self steem then those "people" need to rethink their lives)

I think that individual achievement systems like on Mario Kart and CoD, or developer-specific like Uplay, are much better achievement systems because reward us with actual in game rewards like points to unlock new gear and exclusive skins (CoD/Uplay), levels (Uplay), and characters/vehicles (MK).

I rather not get a "proper" achievement system if is only going to give me a gamer score without real rewards for something I'm going to do anyway (beat the game).

@Sean_Aaron Nintendo will be less affected by that than e.g Football Manager 2014 (The physical is basically just a code and totally worthless once it is used).

Seems like business as usual, first party is the only thing that sells on the 3DS and not too much out of that (consider it was the best selling hardware in 2013 too, maybe that is overstated as there are far more owners of other systems). People have thoughts of reasons including £40 software and the young demographic only gets games twice a year.

As for the thought of fans shifting to digital. I was under the impression that was unpopular due to how Nintendo implement account systems (and the perception of such) and pricing (which is endemic across all hardware really).

Donkey Kong hanging around for so long is the main surprise I'd say as Wii U games tend to be bought at launch by the hardware owners (with such low demand and supply the prices may not drop) and don't drive hardware much (Nintendoland did rise in the charts but the £5 GAME offer may have done that).

@readyletsgo These charts are UK so probably including Northern Ireland. Ireland was on the chart-track website but has not been updated since November.

France is here (note is behind by a week but the latest release):
http://www.sell.fr/top
I can't remember when more detailed charts come out (there were overall 2013 ones a few weeks ago with actual sales numbers).

Other countries come out later in the week but include Italy, Germany and Spain.

Silly UK...

@electrolite77 "Or you know, the platform holder could release some games. Just a thought."

I wish somebody would pass that thought on to Nintendo. They're about as involved w/ Wii U as Google is w/ Ouya.

@cornishlee

Buy. The. Game. You will not regret it [stare into the pendulum> tick, tock]. You will enjoy it [tick, tock, tick, tock]. You want to play DKC Tropical Freeze [tick, tock]. You are heading to the store right now to buy the game [tick, tock, tick, tock]

@rjejr

That's not entirely fair. Nintendo is very involved in Wii U. In just a little over one year, we've seen

Nintendoland
New Super Mario Bros U
Ninja Gaiden 3 (published)
Lego City Undercover (published)
Game & Wario
Pikmin 3 (and 3 packs of DLC)
New Super Luigi U
Wonderful 101
Zelda Windwaker HD
Mario & Sonic 2014 Sochi Olympics
Wii Party U
Super Mario 3D World
Wii Fit U
DKC Tropical Freeze

Not to mention VC releases such as Super Metroid, Super Mario World, Zelda Link to the Past and Earthbound, as well as eShop exclusives such as NES Remix, Dr Luigi and Pokemon Rumble U.

Nintendo's putting in overtime on the Wii U. The absence of many 3rd parties is what's keeping the lineup sparse, not an absence of Nintendo titles. People complain about a 3 month gap between releases, but tell me any other publisher out there in the world who releases so many games that a 3 month gap is considered a long wait. Even EA and Ubisoft can't release that many games. Not to mention Nintendo is supporting another platform entirely with IT'S own exclusives, on top of the Wii U. We all want games but let's not get carried away here. One game takes years to develop. Years, just for one game. The 1st party games are coming just as consistently as any given past generation. In fact, Nintendo will likely surpass the grand sum of 1st party titles the Gamecube had, in just half the time on Wii U.

I'm just keeping it real here, that's all. I know we all want games but we can't expect Nintendo to work magic. Especially considering how much longer HD games take to develop than 3DS titles. 10+ games a year from Nintendo per console is pretty good if you ask me.

This is abysmal for Nintendo.

@Peach64 agreed. it would be Ireland that rules out Nintendo!

• Will things turn around for the Wii U? ...Maybe
• Will they turn around by tomorrow? ...NO.
• Will speculating and picking over daily analysis of region by region chart placements give you anything more then a limited snapshot? ...NO.

What I'm saying is...less focus on weekly sales minutia please. It's okay to look at sales trends and be concerned over market share, but this almost minute by minute obsession over every market and chart placement is not just unhealthy, It's console war foolishness.

@JaxonH - "Not to mention Nintendo is supporting another platform entirely with IT'S own exclusives, on top of the Wii U."

Yeah, I know, that's why I'm consistently saying they should dump home consoles entirely and make either just handhelds or a hybrid. Or simply a 2DS w/ HDMI out. Even Nitneodo probably knows w/ it's 3DS line-up if the 2DS had HDMI out the Wii U would really be in trouble.

It actually occured to me just 15 minutes ago that maybe Nintnedo made the Wii U so weak - compared to the X1 and PS4 - so that in 3 years it could jam that much power into a handheld that can output to a tv. (Yes I'm still on my 3DU kick.) Sounds crazy but tablets are getting pretty powerful. Obviously a handheld can't play discs, but most Wii U games would fit on a 8GB memory card.

So yes, I am being unfair and unreasonable, but I think it's a natural reaction for somebody who owns a Wii U but not a 3DS. Those other companies you mention didn't make their own hardware. Nintendo made their own hardware, knowing it was weaker than the other 2 big systems, knowing it wouldn't get a lot of 3rd party support, knowing they were using all their talent to save the 3DS, so I'm not willing to give them a complete pass on the slow trickle of Wii U games. They have my $350, I want some games.

@rjejr

Depends how often you play games. I mean, 10 games a year from Nintendo is enough for me, especially given the mileage I'm getting off their releases. I'm over 100 hours into DKC Tropical Freeze. You got main game, red KONG letters, puzzle pieces, temples, hard mode, blue KONG letters, time trials (with video uploads), collectible figures/dioramas... it's exhaustive. In all honesty, I may end up playing DKC til Mario Kart 8 releases, and even then come back to it afterwards. I have the exact opposite problem- TOO MANY Wii U games, so many that I don't even have time to finish 3DS games like Zelda Link Between Worlds or even M&L Dream Team, which has been backlogged for half a year due to Wii U releases.

And also, remember how I said there are games, just no games we're interested in? Well, that's the case for any console. Like I said, I'm waiting 10 months between Tomb Raider (which was a port in the first place) and Arkham Knight. That's almost a full year just waiting on another game to buy I'm interested in. You're going to be waiting for games no matter which console you buy, unless you buy a past gen console with a full library. But this is how it goes when you buy a new console. Libraries take 6-8 years to develop. Naturally, the games are going to be spaced out. And not just on Wii U.

In the end, it's not about how many games are being released, it's about how many games are being released that are worth buying. And I gotta be honest here, the Wii U is getting the most games worth buying, at least to me. I know you want games, but we just got a game. I mean, there's a 10/10 masterpiece in stores right now for you to buy (DKC TF), a game that you haven't ever played before. I could understand if you'd played every single game they've released and are fresh out of games to play, but if you're not buying the games they ARE releasing, what good is more going to do? I'm just saying, there is a game right now that you can go buy- and it's one of the best games ever made (imho anyways).

I don't feel Nintendo should narrow their products to one gaming device. Again, USUALLY there are 3rd parties filling the gaps (not necessarily AAA multiplats, but rather quirky exclusives and the like). If the status quo is going to stick around awhile, I feel we would be best served if Nintendo simply doubled their workforce, and granted each studio 2 teams instead of one, allowing for each studio to work on two simultaneous games. That would fill the void left by the recent exodus of 3rd parties, and set the stage for a legitimate 1st party content-only console (which is where it's heading anyways- might as well just step up to the plate and make more games to compensate).

@rjejr - What I would like to see is a "2DS player" much like the "Super Gameboy" or "Gameboy Player" built for the Wii U, that allows you to plug a DS/3DS game into a USB device and play on your TV and Wii U Gamepad.

Sony is making Vita TV as a standalone, and if they bring it to North America and it remains at the suggested price of $100, I I'd go for it.

There are so many great games for 3DS, and TBH, I don't have much opportunity to play while on the go, so my 3DS is like a mini console for the livingroom and bedroom.

I'd LOVE to play Link Between Worlds, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Liberation Maiden, Pokemon X, and especially Fire Emblem Awakenings on a big screen!

@Action51 - I have to say, I dont get Vita TV at all. It plays Vita games on the tv but it works w/ a PS3 controller but you cant control it w/ a Vita? Why not just make a donlge like Chormecast to allow Vita to play on tv?

W/ all the SD and USB ports on the Wii U itself I wonder every day if Nintendo will put out an adaptor to get 3DS games on my tv. Of course I'm always staring at my Wii ethernet adaptor plugged into my Wii Us USB port so I'm aware those ports are there and waiting.

@JaxonH - 100 hours in DKCTF? Man. When we get it I expect like 10 hours for a playthru once, I'm not big on completing anything. It's where Nintendo has a friend in me b/c I have no use for Trophies or Achievements. Play a game, enjoy it, move on.

I know you spent a lot of time on that post yesterday w/ all the Wii U games, and you're right, there are a bunch of games, but I still feel this 100 days between games is a bit much. (I already vented on PS) But in my own defense I went to look at the first 18 months of Wii games compared to Wii U games, based on both consoles releasing in Nov., I didnt count days, and I think you would agree Wii wins hands down.

Complete list on wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wii_games
you can sort by year

Wii Nov 2006
2006, basically launch
Wii Play
Wii Sports
Wario Smooth Moves
Zelda Twilight Princess - admittedly a port but still a new(er) game
Madden 07
Elebits - one of my personal favorites, a bloodless FPS
2007 - first full year
Madden 08
Endless Ocean
Mario Strikers Charged
Mario Party 8
Metroid Prime 3
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Paper Mario
Wii Fit
Zak and Wiki
2008
March SSBB
April MK Wii
Aug Mario Super Sluggers which could still happen

There was also a lot more 3rd party support back then, a Tomb Rider game each year, Resident Evil 4: the ultimate super directres cut edition

It may be not be overwhelmingly more support for Wii than Wii U, there is a 1 to 1 match-up for a lot of games, but Wii still has a clear cut win for the quantity of quality games (a lot more shovelware) its 1st 18 months. So its party Nitneod's fault that I have expectations of getting good new games on a regular basis w/ Wii U b/c thats what they gave us w/ Wii despite it being 2 Gamecubes duct-taped together.

@rjejr

I doubt you'll beat DKC in ten hours. Unless you've got super-DKC skills or something. I'm pretty good, routinely running time trials 10 seconds or more ahead of the gold threshold. And even I couldn't do a vanilla run in 10 hours I don't think. But you're gonna want to at least get the KONG letters as you go, because you unlock a temple in each world you collect them all. And you wanna find the 2 extra stages per world via secret exits. Oh, and you'll wanna beat all 6 temples to unlock the 7th world (well, half a world really, but it's extra).

Yeah, I think the 1st party lists match up pretty close. I mean, if we count 3rd party games you can add at least 20 more to the list of available Wii U games- and all of them are solid, GotY type games too, like Arkham City and Darksiders 2 (the benefit of catching up on ports of the top 7th gen AAA games). If there is a difference in games, it can't be by much. But what I was saying is all systems have 100 days between releases. 3DS had one from Zelda to Bravely Default. Like, ZERO games. PS4 has a 275 day gap from Tomb Raider (a 7th gen port) to Arkham Knight. Sure, there's other games (garbage), but there's other games for Wii U too, in fact one comes out this month even.

I guess it all comes down to the fact that again, it's not how many releases you get, it's how many you get worth buying. We could have every single PS4 game ported to Wii U, and I'd still be waiting til Mario Kart 8 to buy a game. But whatever, it is what it is. All I know is I gotta go run some time trials in DKC right now, so I'll ttu later

@rjejr

I doubt you'll beat DKC in ten hours. Unless you've got super-DKC skills or something. I'm pretty good, routinely running time trials 10 seconds or more ahead of the gold threshold. And even I couldn't do a vanilla run in 10 hours I don't think. But you're gonna want to at least get the KONG letters as you go, because you unlock a temple in each world you collect them all. And you wanna find the 2 extra stages per world via secret exits. Oh, and you'll wanna beat all 6 temples to unlock the 7th world (well, half a world really, but it's extra).

Yeah, I think the 1st party lists match up pretty close. I mean, if we count 3rd party games you can add at least 20 more to the list of available Wii U games- and all of them are solid, GotY type games too, like Arkham City and Darksiders 2 (the benefit of catching up on ports of the top 7th gen AAA games). If there is a difference in games, it can't be by much. But what I was saying is all systems have 100 days between releases. 3DS had one from Zelda to Bravely Default. Like, ZERO games. PS4 has a 275 day gap from Tomb Raider (a 7th gen port) to Arkham Knight. Sure, there's other games (garbage), but there's other games for Wii U too, in fact one comes out this month even.

I guess it all comes down to the fact that again, it's not how many releases you get, it's how many you get worth buying. We could have every single PS4 game ported to Wii U, and I'd still be waiting til Mario Kart 8 to buy a game. But whatever, it is what it is. All I know is I gotta go run some time trials in DKC right now, so I'll ttu later

@JaxonH - "PS4 has a 275 day gap from Tomb Raider"

Thanks, thats the biggest laugh I had all day.

I don't think I'll unlock that 7th world in DK, I'll probably break all my controllers before I get there. Maybe the Easter bunny can bring us the game though, I'm really itichin' to play it now. I shouldn't have read my kids all those reviews saying it's difficult b/c now they don't want it. Which I finally realized is the addictive quality in Mincecraft, create mode.