Nintendo's had some reasonable weeks in the UK physical retail sales charts, with titles such as Yoshi's New Island and Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney making solid starts despite having plenty of big-budget multiplatform titles in opposition. It seems the momentum is dipping for the 3DS titles, however, with the top 40 having little in positive news for the big N.
In the all-format charts just two Nintendo exclusives make the list, Pokémon X in 35th place — Y doesn't make it — and Yoshi's New Island in 39th after falling a further eight places; unfortunately Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright's spin-off has endured a rapid departure after a satisfying opening period.
The single format chart perhaps brings more concern, however, with no games on Nintendo systems at all. LEGO The Hobbit arrived on multiple platforms last week and across all formats makes it début in second place — unfortunately neither the Wii U or 3DS version has made it into the single format top 40, while equivalent releases on Xbox 360, PS3, PS4 and Xbox One did arrive. The absence of the 3DS version is a surprise, as the LEGO games do typically perform well on the portable system.
Nintendo does have a number of major releases on the way in May — Mario Golf: World Tour and Kirby: Triple Deluxe on 3DS, with Mario Kart 8 arriving on Wii U. All three of those titles will no doubt carry expectations of strong initial sales and consistent long-term results, too.
[source chart-track.co.uk]
Comments 61
Its time for more announcements.
It won't be long now until Nintendo starts making games on the PSBOX
Nintendo is doooooomed!
Where I live in Northern Ireland most kids will call you a jerk if you like Nintendo because apparently only ps/xbox are cool. I'm in uni though and it seems like most people wise up and start learning to enjoy other games like smash and mario, lol Some of my friends even like Pokémon which is pretty rare in my experience.
I actually have an 8 year old cousin that doesn't play anything but shooters and Minecraft. He doesn't even have an interest in Nintendo. Damn shame. I just don't understand it.
I only know one person, ONE person among my friends with a Wii U. People ask me why I bought it because they think it's crap and has no games. To be honest I haven't played it that much but it's pretty fun when I do. The 3DS on the other hand is pretty popular. I want to buy more games for my consoles but I tend to be pretty skint/broke being a student and all.
Shame about Wright vs Layton but I think it's another poor advertising job from Nintendo UK. I'm sure Mario Kart will do really well, but it's the smaller games that need the marketing.
@Findonovan95 I'm from NI mate, I love Nintendo, as do my two kids and my nephews
In Australia at the moment, it seems PlayStation has most of the spotlight. It seems ever since the N64, Nintendo has been on a steep sloop downwards. :
@Peach64 Ace Attorney has never been big presence in the UK (it does not help that most fans would import the games for far cheaper...kind of happens when they are budget releases in Japan with full English text) and as for Professor Layton? Many fans never transitioned onto the 3DS (and now that Layton has ended they probably won't either). Marketing is going to get things so far really, still it technically being a Layton title it is odd there has been little push.
wasn't Lego Hobbit delayed?
Hardly surprising when Yoshi is released to rotten reviews..... That was one more title they couldn't afford to slip up over.... They did!!!! So few 3rd party games ..... They have to nail EVERY first party one!!! If Ninty can't justify owning a console from their own franchises.... it will start looking even grimmer!
The UK just is not into Nintendo. The Wii U only sold 200k-300k systems there. I bet that's mostly the people that come to this website.
No offense my UK friends, but your country just doesn't like Nintendo very much..... I think Nintendo should shower the two territories in generous Nintendo gifts that actually do buy Nintendo products.
@MAB You would see Nintendo pull out of the UK entirely before that happens.
@Starwolf_UK import it to play on their imported 3ds I take it seeing as 3ds is region locked
Nintendo is dead, no one wants Nintendo products anymore. I'm waiting big announcements from them in E3. If they don't deliver the games people want, its time to go back making playing cards i guess then.
Probably because most Game stores have all but abandoned the WiiU and 3DS, by either relegating it to one or two small shelves at the very back darkest corner of the stores, with no current / latest release titles or by not having any WiiU and 3DS stuff at all. Favouring Xbox, PS3, XBOne, PS4 and PC.
On the Isle of Man we only have Game and HMV that sell software and hardware. HMV have totally got rid of Nintendo favouring the others and Game have relegated Nintendo to the dark corner and haven't had a new release on the shelf in ages. I couldn't even get a copy of Bravely Default when it was released, and when asked if I could get one ordered I was told no as they wouldn't just order one copy! Couldnt even get a copy online from them either as they have no stock.
Trouble is I have over £100 worth of Game vouchers
@element187 Heh, i actually wouldn't mind that. While Nintendo's handheld is good, it's also crippled due to region locking and horrible software prices. I'd have rather imported one, tbh.
Nobody would miss their home consoles, they're too inferior.
I think Nintendolife forgot that LegoThe Hobbit was delayed on Wii U
@Nintenjoe64 - What he said. Lego Hobbit on the Wii U not due out until Apr 22, 2 weeks after every other system. At least thats what Damo told us. Hard to make the charts that way. I have no idea about the 3DS version.
Read a rumour over the weekend about W_D this fall or holiday, (months after May 27th release on every other system that we already knew) so maybe thats just the way its gonna be. Im sure Wii U will get Just Dance same day though.
Don't know what the situation is like in Europe, but here in the US I didn't see much advertising for Yoshi's New Island. If it's the same case in the UK the sales numbers don't surprise. Especially given the mediocre reviews. The good news for Nintendo is Mario Kart 8 isn't too far off.
@Laxeybobby - I feel your pain fellow IOM resident. I tend to buy all my games online these days, but it's nice to browse. Even when stores would dedicate shelf space to Ninty there was never enough of the top titles - I blame suppliers like Koch Media as I know from past experience they have been quite slow and rubbish in the past with regards to stock. The other obvious problem is that the in store prices are not really competitive with the online prices.
Hey Nintendo life,and Thomas. This is probs completely untrue,but an ubisoft rep at a game store said he heard a rumour about nintendo pulling out of the uk market? I didnt believe this for a secone but could I ask if you guys have heard anything similar? May be worthy of an investigation...
@Wolfgabe Really? I bought it on saturday
@rjejr LEGO Hobbit was in the Europe & Australia eShop update last week
@Wolfgabe The Hobbit was only delayed in North America. It came out in the UK this week and was the top selling Wii U game.
http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p/software/uk/latest/index_test.jsp&ct=110039
The 3DS version was the 6th best selling 3DS title.
@element187 The only Wii U title to be seen in the US top 10 was Pikmin 3 in the 10th slot back in August 2013. Meanwhile in the UK, Monster Hunter 3U was 7th, Pikmin 3 was 2nd, Wind Waker HD was 4th in their debut weeks. Maybe you should wait to see some Nintendo titles in the US top 10 before going on about how much people there buy Nintendo stuff?
@MAB Nobody owns an Xbox. Microsoft gave up to Sony the second they decided to block pre-owned games. Look it up and you'll see Vita and XBO aren't doing any better in the UK.
Why would Nintendo make games for an Xbox when nobody owns one? Xbox is the absolute worst choice for a system as a gamer.
Coming from somebody who hates Sony's games as well.
@Doma I actually wouldn't mind that either. Playing Zelda or Metroid on a Sony system would be great, although weird at first.
Yoshi has done well and with out the reviewers help. I good 8 which it should have had may have seen it a bit higher in the charts.
I love my 3DS so news like this is a little worrying. But I do think some announcements are needed for what will come out in the holiday season. Not that much in the pipeline.
As for the Wii U - we do own one and everyone is looking forward to Mario Kart 8 and the wife is playing the new DK game to death but other than that......
@zool I agree - I thought Yoshi was dealt with a little bit harshly by reviewers generally. I found it to be very entertaining.
@Sentinator I disagree I am pretty sure XBone is doing much better than wii u in the UK unfortunately.
Also if Nintendo ever developed games for other systems (which I kind of hope doesn't happen) chances are they would develop for Sony not because xbox sucks and nobody has an xbox but because in Japan nobody has an xbox and because they are more likely to work with a fellow Japanese company who they have been in bed with before, nobody likes change especially not Nintendo
Those software prices and Nintendo games "maintaining value" probably aren't helping.
@Excep7ional Within the coming years, i think Nintendo will gradually edge themselves for departure of the console market (it's likely what this 'QoL' stuff entails). Sadly, i don't think this will lead them into making games for Sony... They'll probably stick with handhelds for another gen, but other than that, nada.
Nintendo's relevancy in gaming is set for death, thanks to Iwata's 'we are unable to compete/meet today's standards' mentality.
@MAB Think they are more likely to go with somebody like Apple if it gets to that point.
@ReigningSemtex I'm guessing the price drop happened because it isn't selling well here. As far as I know that and Vita aren't fairing any better but I have been wrong before.
I agree Nintendo developing for other consoles is a stupid idea. Migrating helped Sega and Rare a lot.......... right???????? Wait a minute Sega have neglected tonnes of their low sellers since they dropped because they don't make for their own consoles anymore. Dropping Wii U would result in a severe shrink in resources, talent and variety. Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 would never have released last year. Monolith and Retro would close.
Yeah, going third party is best for Nintendo fans alright. Except for this Nintendo fan who wants the best output possible from them. I might be the only one but I would never play Nintendo games on other systems because I know they won't be right. See Grabbed by the Ghoulies as an example.
@Sentinator "neglected tonnes of their low sellers"
….Sounds just like Nintendo in their current form.
@Sentinator Sega still does have a good Japanese arcade division. Dunno whether that counts when it comes to them saying they only care about Sonic / Total War / Football Manager / Aliens (????). Even in the massively neglected seaside Arcade's in the UK there is nearly all Sega stuff.
@Doma Yeah i mean Yoshi hasn't had a game to himself since DS over 7 years ago. Wonderful 101 and Pikmin 3 haven't been out 12 months and X is coming out.
@element187 They won't pull out of the UK. People are paying money for 3DS games problem is Game (Nintendo's preferred partner who they give a monopoly on eshop codes to) only stocks used 3DS games. Wii U is different it is totally tanking (Like the Vita). Best Wii U games new are the same cost as a used 3DS game from 2011. Best Vita exclusives are less than stuff like Mario Party / Mario Tennis Open / Yoshi's New Island. The problem with the 3DS is that none of the money is going to Nintendo (Or nowhere near enough).
@smikey HMV are the obvious people to partner with seen as they have totally exited the used market. (With similar benefits as they get from the music / movie publishers).
@MAB - "eShop update"
Well that's good, but these charts only cover retail discs sales, so eShop sales are irrelevant for these sales charts. I think the US may have had it on eShop as well.
i actually only seen the 3ds version for sale in shops yesterday for the first time
Thing about a UK withdrawal is I think it would be gradual. More Inazuma Eleven 3: Ogre Tactics Emerald edition situations (Amazon and GAME never got stock of the physical release suggesting there were too few orders for a UK version to be printed, I would guess the version you can buy from the Nintendo UK store is not a green spine triangle UKV copy but a purple spine triangle EUR version instead).
@unrandomsam My local HMV has no Nintendo products (it is not the same store that @Laxeybobby has local to them). Unless you count Mario toys. Where the Nintendo games were there were books (who goes to HMV for these?) but now there are discounted LEGO and RC toys (who goes to HMV for these?).
So partnering with HMV seems like as bright an idea as Tesco last year (they mailshotted clubcard members who had bought Wii systems begging them to buy a Wii U, we'll give you club card points), Tesco responded by shrinking the Nintendo section down to one shelf and one chart (rather than separate handheld and portable ones).
I honestly have not bothered with the high street for years when it comes to buying games. I'll browse but rarely leave with anything.
@MAB Extreme bait
@unrandomsam I disagree about the comment of "only stocks used 3DS games", my local one has a decent collection of new copies generally at £35 each which is the same as the Nintendo online store. Wii U is a huge problem though but that's a problem everywhere, not just GAME (or the UK for that matter).
Oddly though Nintendo is selling like hotcakes here in Arizona. There are roughly 200,000 Wii U owners in our state with 4,000,000 people which means 5% of my state's population owns a Wii U. Sure it's no Wii sales-wise, but 5% is still better than GC numbers.
The news site that reported those numbers was http://www.kpho.com
I believe that if Smash and MK8 can't save the Wii U, then Nintendo should just kill it off... but I'm beating a dead horse here folks.
@Sentinator no they are still selling much better in the UK than wii u it's just that ps4 is slaughtering the XBone here even though this was a mainly xbox territory before and they wanted to get everyone hooked on titanfall so they price dropped to match ps4 price.
Yeah Sega never were the same after they exited the console business which is a shame because Sega really were great.
Rare just got bought by Microsoft and half the team ended up leaving they mainly make crappy kinect sports games now which again is a shame because rare made some of the finest games I played growing up.
@element187
But the Wii U is struggling everywhere though, I'm not sure why that's exclusive to the UK. The biggest selling console of all-time in the UK is the Nintendo DS and this list of the top 10 biggest selling (single SKU) games of all time in the UK (from a couple of years ago) doesn't exactly show a country that's anti-Nintendo: http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/feature-uk-s-top-ten-single-skus-of-all-time/095012
In sorry but why are folks getting worked up that hobbit hasn't sold on wiiu? In my opinion people who've bought Wiiu are true gamers looking for exclusive innovative games, not another generic Lego game! Give me zombie u, Mario world and wonderful 101 any day over stuff like this. The release schedule might be sparse but I've got 11 classics waiting to play through not counting what's coming over the next few months
@MJKOP Good to hear man, lol Sometimes it's easy to lose faith in gamers of the modern era, lol
They don't know what they're missing mate! Enjoy your games, I do
Who. Cares.
I can't remember the exact date and time it happened, but sometime in the last 5 years being a Nintendo fan changed from "enjoying Nintendo's games" to "cheerleading Nintendo's sales like a spectator sport". Oh no people! Game A didn't make the top 20! What are we going to do! I know- let's collectively bash Nintendo for not keeping pace with the rival team! And of course, now I can't enjoy my Wii U or 3DS because my satisfaction as a Nintendo fan only exists to the extent they succeed in the marketplace. Blah!
People only hate the Wii U because it's not popular, and insecure gamers NEED to feel accepted by owning a popular gaming device. Case in point- everyone here who regularly bashes the Wii U, was doing the same exact thing when the 3DS was unpopular. Said the handheld was total garbage, they did. Once it started selling, all of a sudden it's "such a great handheld!". Popularity changed their opinion at the drop of a hat. Likewise, if Wii U were outselling the PS4, these same individuals would be praising the Wii U as "such a great console!"
Inferiority is the most irrelevant excuse for poor sales there is. 3DS is technically inferior to Vita. So why is it selling more? DS was inferior to PSP. Why did it sell more? PS2 was inferior to Gamecube/Xbox- why did it sell more? Wii was inferior to 360/PS3. Why did it sell more? Console inferiority only matters when the main appeal is multiplats that can be obtained on a, wait for it, SUPERIOR platform. When your main draw is exclusives, inferiority goes right out the window, because it's not superiority that matters, it's superiority for the GAMES YOU WANT TO PLAY. With Sony and MS, superiority matters, because they share the same libraries (with a few exceptions). With Nintendo, there IS NO ALTERNATIVE to play these games. It's like saying "Go buy a PS4 if you want voice chat". No, because I don't want VOICE CHAT. I want VOICE CHAT WITH MY NINTENDO GAMES. Voice chat in and of itself, is useless.
With that said, all people are for superior hardware. So why have 6 million people bought a Wii U and 45 million bought a 3DS? Because the superior hardware of PS4 and Vita is useless if it can't play the games those people want to play. Wii U offers Nintendo games in HD for the first time ever. Everyone loved Wii and Gamecube, so how can you not enjoy the Wii U, which is infinitely SUPERIOR to it's closest alternatives (Wii/Gamecube) in every way. I don't care what's "wrong" with the Wii U. It's better than the Wii, bar none. And considering I found great enjoyment with that console, how can I not find just as much, if not MORE enjoyment, from a superior HD console with higher quality games?
I laugh at those who claim Nintendo is doomed, the Wii U is the end for Nintendo, that Nintendo will be forced out of making home consoles, etc. Sounds slick, but in 20 years when I'm still playing home console Nintendo games, I want each and every one of you to remember your dire predictions and just how wrong they were.
ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES is on this list...
@MAB Is this sarcasm? Are we just making fun of this constant barrage of articles on this site staring down at Nintendo's sales at this point? I really hope so, because if these kind of posts are just inside jokes I'll gladly loosen up.
@JaxonH Jason. I agree with you. Slamming the WiiU is pointless and childish. But many people won't change. In their eyes it isn't cool to play on a Nintendo console. Which, ironically, is why I believe the more "mature" gamers play on the WiiU. I used to defend the WiiU to people but have stopped. But I won't stop playing Kart or Smash or Zelda or Metroid....Their loss not ours. Thanks for your post.
Honestly, I think some people are giving too much relevance to the videogame market in the UK.
Its important sure. But its not a vital market for Nintendo.
Nintendo only really needs two markets to stay afloat: The US market and the Japanese market.
Nintendo can always afford to lose the UK or EU markets. They however, cannot afford to lose the US and JP markets. That would seriously hurt them.
So seeing how they bomb in the UK is not a big deal. Seeing them bomb in the US, though? That is something to worry about.
Don't Panic!
Man, I can't believe I had to quote Douglas Adams...lol
If Nintendo didn't keep European and UK gamers guessing whether certain gams were coming this probably wouldn't be happening. I SAY worldwide release on everything to fix this. That could mean all Digital though. I think all digital with Fremium service is well on the way for Nintendo. I just hope its not too soon
@MAB your really sad you know that? hating on a video game company when they are worth more then big bussiness...
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