Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a lovely game, and we're sure it graced the stockings of a number of North American Wii U owners in the festive season; unfortunately that wasn't the case in Europe. The title officially launched in the latter region on 2nd January - with a handful of countries having to wait until 9th January - though its UK history is particularly strange. UK retailer GAME started selling it early before Christmas, while this writer spotted copies in HMV during the festive sales. It was, essentially, a soft launch.
That was strange, anyway, and we're not sure how that sales data was tracked. The cute and clever puzzler was absent from the festive UK charts, yet has now popped up in the first update since its official release. Were sales from the soft launch accumulated for this week's top 40, or did it fail to chart in previous weeks and the latest results are just from that proper launch weekend alone? We suspect the former, as there were certainly decent numbers of UK owners tweeting and sharing their delight at pre-Christmas copies.
Whatever the case Treasure Tracker has made a respectable chart début, especially considering its release timing and history; it's claimed 16th in the all-format chart and 14th in the single format equivalent. It's currently 6th in the UK eShop chart, too, trailing behind some big-hitting discounted downloads and - encouragingly - bundled fare such as Super Mario 3D World and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.
As per the increasing trend in the UK charts there's little else to bring much cheer. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is the only other Wii U game in the top 40, grabbing 32nd in the single format chart and 20th place (alongside the Nintendo 3DS version) in the all-format chart. Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire continue to represent 3DS, with Omega Ruby narrowly ahead (30th) of Alpha Sapphire (32nd) in the all-format results.
As we've said, considering its muddled UK release and lack of mainstream marketing a top 20 finish for Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is reasonable. Hopefully it'll show some legs to stay in the top 40 for a decent period of time.
[source chart-track.co.uk]
Comments 28
I still can't find the game at major retailers around here, but it is expected to come out this Friday. I knew a January 2 release day would mess things up. Anyway, my biggest concern is... after I buy Captain Toad, what else can I buy for Wii U?! I fear another big software drought on the way. In two years, I manage to gather 64 retail Wii U games. There is no way I can keep my 32 games per year average going this year...
@shiryu I'm sure 64 games is enough to keep you busy Dude.
@KevTastic84 You are indeed correct sir. As I am about to finish "Bayonetta 2" and am looking forward to "Captain Toad", I hope to complete "Watch_Dogs" with the occasional "Smash Bros" binge. DLC packs for "Hyrule Warriors" and "Mario Kart 8" will also get me back to those games , but... It would be nice to see some new Wii U releases in the next few months.
@Robotron2084 would be good to know if they have been.
I bought my copy at Argos on December 22nd.
That's some good news I guess.
Hmv here in Dublin don't stock Nintendo since they reopened which is sad cause that's where I used to buy all my Nintendo stuff.
Captain Toad, I'm not interested in it myself, but I saw and heard a LOT of parents buying it in Smyths Toys and Gamestop here before Xmas when it launched early.
Also, when I was getting a couple Amiibo in Smyths Toys a week before Xmas this mother and daughter duo were behind me in the cue, the mother said to me 'god, those figures are expensive!. What are they for?' I said the WiiU and the daughter jumped in and said ' ah yeah that new Nintendo console that John and his mates have', I smiled and thought people know what the WiiU is and maybe 2015 will be much better for Ninty. I hope so, cause these two people I was talking to looked like they wouldn't have a first clue about gaming.
I was pleasantly suprised
This news is an interesting way to reflect on bias in journalism, since here is the headline in Game Industry: "Captain Toad fails to break UK top 10".
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-01-05-captain-toad-fails-to-break-uk-top-10
Hopefully wooly world will be the next retail game for the Wii U
Crosses fingers for March release
@shiryu I understand. As a collector I am sure it is nice to know there is plenty more for you to look forward to.
@KevTastic84 I don't see myself picking up any other home console for this generation either... I will just have to endure.
@Robotron2084 yeah very true, but Smyths still have a massive Nintendo section in Dublin. And Argos have a good amount of WiiU stuff. That's where we have to go for B&M sales here now.
Xtra Vision and HMV are run by the same big business person and he has a known grudge against Nintendo, so when they reopened he refused to buy in New Nintendo stock. They just have second-hand/rented WiiU games from the launch of the WiiU for sale, again, hidden in the back. But ps4 and xbone take up the whole floor, but that's because Sony and Microsoft sell well for HMV I guess.
Some gamestops still have a good Nintendo section, small but visable, the only gamestop I know that has given up on Nintendo is the one on Henry st, but it's one of the busyest ones. All WiiU is upstairs in the DVD section, beside the vita section, can't be seen at all, and the prices in gamestop are still at the €50 to €65 for games that are 3rd party and over 2 years old. But that's them and I chose not to shop there.
It's all Fifa Fifa Fifa here in Ireland too, ugh.
I guess the reason for Omega Ruby doing better every time than Alpha Sapphire is because of less water.
@Robotron2084 It's terrible indeed, but, at the end of the day it's a two way street, and it just seems to me that Nintendo are not talking to retail at all, while the stores are being loud and clear that it's not selling so why waste space etc.
My local Tesco never had WiiU at all, and now only stock COD and Fifa for ps and Xbox, so that tells me that games just don't sell in grocery stores anymore.
Smyths are great, and I find they keeping prices the same or slightly lower than other places, Amiibo €14 in smyths, €15 in Argos, and a whooping €17 in Gamestop.
Captain Toad Treasure Tracker did better in the U.K charts than I expected, I thought it would only reach number 30 or lower, because of the Usual Suspects taking the other high spots, so I am pleasantly surprised, that’s a great thing. On a side note, how is Assassins Creed Unity doing so well, I thought that it is a broken mess.
@Robotron2084 oh yeah totally! In my village we have a mega Tesco, but feck all electronics. The tescos around Dublin city would sell a lot of ps3 and 360 games but no Wii or WiiU.
What happened with Asda last year? did they stop selling Nintendo games or all games?
Either way, I know I love the WiiU, some amazing games on it now and coming this year. But I wish retail had more faith in it but looking very unlikely in the foreseeable future.
@Grumblevolcano
Never gets old.
@Shiryu - That's funny as I feel just the opposite.
I spent the 1st half of 2012 waiting for "launch window" Pikmin 3 which only finally released in Aug, as I didn't want a single player Lego game (LCU) and Rayman got pushed back until fall.
1st half of 2013 had the delayed DKC:TF and technically MK8 which was very late May.
1st half of 2015 should have Kirby, Splatoon, Mario Maker and Yoshi. Followed by Starfox, Zelda and XCX in the 2nd half, though I still find it highly unlikely that all 3 release in 2015, but at least they are on the calendar.
From a 3rd party perspective though I do know what you mean, as next gen begins to take over and Wii U isn't getting very many of those. It will get DI 3.0 and Skylanders 5, Lego Hobbit 1.5 and a new Lego game for the holidays, preferably w/o Batman - maybe Guardians of the Galaxy or a new Lego Star Wars unless Disney keeps SW for Infinity - and probably Just Dance: On and On. But I'm clueless whats next in the AAA range. I'm actually looking forward to several PS3 (3, not PS4) games - MGS, Godzilla in July and hopefully Dragon Quest Heroes makes it's way west by years end.
I am optimistic a Nintneod Direct shows up soon with at least 1 new big release, maybe amiiboland or some such, but I don't know what the next 3rd party exclusive Hyrule Warriors or Bayonetta 2 will be. And that's why I'm already planning ahead to a PS4 in another year or so for Uncharted 4, FFXV, KH3 and whatever else the Wii U will miss.
So no, not 32 Wii U games for you this year, but for me this is starting out to be a pretty good year for Wii U. Admittedly hard to top MK8, SSBU, HW and B2 though, but this year should be a good runner up if those games can release in 2015.
@rjejr I hope so, I hope there are still more surprises coming soon, the lack of third party support is really hurting my itchy trigger finger...
@Robotron2084 yeah I try to buy in store but prices on Amazon around europe are always much better thaen in store.
I don't think the WiiU will even make GCN numbers (21million) by the end of its life. I think it's between 7 and 10 million now, into its 3 year now, but Ninty haven't given out these numbers in a long time, that's never good.
I've noticed even analysts people don't even talk about it anymore, good or bad. That's not good.
These are not good sales. They're probably even lower too, as retailers are probably including all pre-release sales.
@Takerkaneanite6 - Unity plays ok now after a massive 6GB patch on PS4. I waited until it was £25 and then took the plunge. Still prefer Captain Toad though.
@Robotron2084 yeah you are right, I have seen comments on ign of all place where people are saying they might invest in the WiiU this year since its the system with the best games. Let's hope these people follow through on this word.
@readyletsgo I hope Wii U surpasses at least 10 million lifetime sales by the end of this year. I personally see 11-12 million total Wii Us sold by the end of this year...
@Guitardude7 It's not that the U.K hates Nintendo, it's that the majority here prefer the other consoles and the 3rd Party games that appear on them, such as Call of Duty and Bloody Fifa. I for one, live in the U.K and Play Nintendo...
@DM666 6GB of a patch!!! Holy $#!τ. That's a lot. How many bugs and problems did it have? I know of the frame rate issues and some glitches, but were there more???
"Were sales from the soft launch accumulated for this week's top 40, or did it fail to chart in previous weeks and the latest results are just from that proper launch weekend alone? "
It must be the latter as charts have hard dates (usually weekly or monthly) as to when sales can be tracked, which are tracked through the UPC code. So they can't accumulate sales data from limited releases and then "chart it" during the first week of wide release.
@Takerkaneanite6 - apparently it was a bit of a slideshow, I only started it after the big patch. On XBOX 1 the patch caused a complete 40gb reinstall of the entire game. It's an alright game - just more of the same really.
For the record, it was the same in France. Many retailers sold Captain Toad starting around December 18th instead of waiting the official release date (January 2nd too). Strange !
It's a lovely game, I think the reason it didn't quite hit top 10 in the UK was because of the strange launch times. Even then, it deserves the attention, as it's incredibly well crafted!
P.S. I have a Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker series on Youtube, I'm into episode 10 with Episode 11/12 coming today, check it out if you have a free moment!
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyYetf67PFrSQVb3dyiF8-6sHHxzA0F8X
(Or channel name: mrmoltakfire)
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