Nintendo Dominated Japan During 2014, Despite A Shrinking Market

Yokai Watch 3 times ._.

That's great. But they need to make sure they have lots of titles that do well, not just a few that do very well. I hope the wii u does well this year.

Remember everyone, Nintendo is doomed! Nobody cares about their products or their games, right?

I wish the naysayers would offer a response to this. While Nintendo does have their share of issues like any other company, and they are struggling with the Wii U, the reality is that Nintendo can still produce games that sell, and an entire region pretty much belongs to them. Even Sony for all their success with the PS4 is now having to contend with a resurgent Xbox brand in the west.

Nintendo as much as naysayers might not want to admit it, is the only one of the three that has an entire region that they alone dominate. Sony is losing their hold on the Japanese market, and the Xbox has never been a factor.

This is great news for Nintendo, and proof that they are not going the way of Sega any time soon.

@Caryslan
You mean:

It is interesting how the PS4 had a launch during this year and only sold approx. 320k more

@Caryslan - "I wish the naysayers would offer a response to this."

Here ya go:

http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2015/01/yes_ps4_was_the_uks_best_selling_system_in_2014

Nintendo dominates Japan w/ 3DS, Sony dominates UK w/ PS4. I call it a draw.

It's just a shame that the one place Nintendo still seems to be popular is a small, and shrinking market. The 3DS has topped the charts all year long and does 3 million in that time, while today Sony announced they sold 4.4 million PS4s in one month over the holidays. It's also a shame as we're seeing less and less Japanese games come to consoles as mobile utterly dominates the market over there.

It's getting smaller and smaller all the time. 3DS sold 5 million last year over there, and 5.5 million the year before. The Wii U also sold 900,000 last year, down to 600,000 this year. I'm a fan of good mobile games. Monument Valley is one of my favourite games of the year, but I hope the West doesn't end up the same as Japan. They're not even spending their billions on good stuff, but it's almost all shovel ware with a few exceptions.

@rjejr are the Japanese and UK markets worth the same in terms of revenue that they generate?

I still find it sad that japan doesn't even support the WiiU, especially when it comes to RPG's, fighters, and the like that is still popular there. It's pretty obvious that the lack of appeal towards the japanese audience is a major factor in this.

@Kaze_Memaryu why do you say they don't support the Wii U? 2 of the Top 10 games are Wii u games which is pretty good considering how there is almost 15.5 mil more 3DS's than Wii U's. I'd say it's done pretty well against the other home consoles.

@Kaze_Memaryu Because they prefer to make their games appeal to Americans rather than the Japanese, which is why they support the Xbox despite it not selling well in Japan.

@ikki5, She was talking about third party developers, not the audience. The Wii U is selling well in Japan compared to the PS4. 1.5 million in the first year vs 925,000. Yes the PS4 hasn't been out for a full year yet, but I don't think it's gonna sell 600,000+ units in 7 weeks.

The interesting part is that the PS4 sold more than the Wii U but still they got 0 games in the top 10, while Nintendo's home system has 2.

I can't help but to read this article and imagine the voice of an horse race announcer that is reading it.

Even if it's good news for Nintendo, certain people will twist it into a bad thing especially when it comes to the Wii U.

@luke88 - "revenue that they generate?"

Per capita or EBITDA?

@sinalefa - PS4 console sales are insane compared to it's games, even moreso if you subtract out PS3 titles and multiplats. Yet it keeps selling. No price cuts, no exclusives (DriveClub was the last one, the only 1 I can even think of the past few months), and it just keeps selling.

I think the big question is, does it sell more when the big titles like Uncharted 4 release, or are people buying the consoles in anticipation of then? And why aren't more people buying Wii U?

Despite not being anywhere close to 3DS, it's great to see the Vita do decently well in Japan last year. Here's to another great year for both handhelds.

@rjejr Apparently the UK is the fifth largest videogame market in the world, Japan is the third.

http://ukie.org.uk/content/games-industry-numbers

@BinaryFragger
No, Monster Hunter Frontier G sold like crap for Vita in Japan. Heavy hitters were Freedom Wars (300.000+), Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster (300.000+) and Phantasy Star Nova (200.000+).

If only the Vita did as well here as it did in Japan

@luke88 - Close enough

@Caryslan

Well, you wanted a naysayer, but I'll settle for rationalist instead.

Nintendo did really well in 2014... in Japan. And only in Japan. Otherwise known as one of the smallest video game markets in the world.

Looking forward, Nintendo has almost nothing to offer for 2015. They have fewer exclusives lined up than Sony and Microsoft, and almost no 3rd party or multiplatform games, whereas Sony has almost all of them and MS has almost as many. The 3DS is shockingly barren for 2015, which is shocking considering that Nintendo is attempting to roll out new 3DS hardware (for the rest of the world) in a year with so little software.

The Xbox brand is not necessarily "resurgent," but did well because Microsoft was incredibly smart with their holiday bundles. While you make a strange comment about Xbox now "threatening" the PS4, you completely overlooked how Sony and MS heavily trounced Nintendo for holiday sales. By the way, the Xbox One is back to full price again, or will be shortly, which likely indicates that the PS4 will continue its dominance. No surprise there, as Sony has more exclusives lined up for PS3 and PS4 than the Wii U and Xbox One combined.

So, is Nintendo doomed? Well, they still spent the bulk of 2014 with a 2nd or 3rd straight year of losses and given dropping sales of the 3DS and the continued sluggishness of the now obviously over-priced Wii U (the Xbox One was sold for only $30 more over the Black Friday weekend, and it came with two full games), the continuing drop-off of 3rd party support, and the general feeling of irrelevance about the company? It's difficult to imagine how the company will turn things around given their current state.

By the way, despite their notable success in Japan over 2014, keep in mind that the Wii U is selling worse than both the GameCube and Dreamcast--and you can independently measure that yourself. By this point in the lives of both of those consoles, they'd sold 10 million, but the Wii U has not.

I have little doubt that, this time next year, we'll see that Sony's domination of Japan in 2015, and every year after that moving forward. Beyond that, both Sony and MS are moving in to China--and Nintendo is not, despite the fact that Nintendo actually tried to sell in China first, years ago with the iQue.

Is Nintendo doomed? Maybe.

Are they irrelevant to modern gaming outside of Japan? Pretty much without question.

This looks more like a hollow victory than an actual cause for celebration.

By the way, sales for the XBO and PS4 will only go up over the next three years, as the first year is almost never the best year of a console. Last year, 2014, should have been the year for Nintendo to start turning things around, and it didn't happen. It should have been their first year to fully show off the Wii U and they failed to do so, and while the core Nintendo fans ran out to get Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros, it doesn't appear that these games actually helped the Wii U reach any truly major sales milestones.

In spite of this, I bet there's a fair number of generally wealthy third party corporations who are angry that they lost money in 2014, likely on every platform they support including mobile, and no matter what are willing go the distance to blame Nintendo for everything like they always do.

@Quorthon Irrelevant on the console front. The handheld front is a different story. The 3DS topped hardware charts in the US every month up until the PS4's release, and I'm pretty sure it's still in 2nd place every month (not sure how well it did against the Xbox One).

On the console front, I am convinced that Nintendo might not be able to reach a wider audience even if they fix the hardware and services aspects. I have a feeling that Nintendo would have to reinvent themselves in their software philosophy to reach this audience. Yes, I mean westernizing. Of course, they'd likely lose all respect from the majority of the gaming community if they did that. They have respect right now for remaining true to themselves in software, but respect doesn't sell units unfortunately.

@Quorthon tl;dr? Well not quite, but as I read it through that just seems like general bias in long paragraphs. You're going on about the Japanese market being "irrelevant" because it's small right? That's just like claiming ultimately Christianity wins because it makes up the world's religious majority compared to other religions... the Yen is still quite strong fyi, maybe not as much as the British pound, but compared to say, the American dollar, Euro, or even Russia's currency having inflated beyond measure it's just feeling the effects of other smaller island-based countries. Therefore even if Nintendo fails like the great Connectivity snafu of 2003 they can always pick up the following year.

And does a new Star Fox sound like Connectivity all over again? Didn't think so.

@IceClimbers Yes, that too! Handheld forever!

And yet if only they could combine their handheld and console markets by releasing a super console you could also play anywhere, we would't have to rely on those damn TVs to play Mario Kart and Smash in High Def.

After reading this, I do not see how Nintendo is going to hit their yearly sales projection for the 3DS.

Japan is a very different market than North America. Aside from the launch window of the PS4, Wii U outsold it on a weekly average since then. But it didn't mean much when neither console sells more than 8,000 per week. Japan is dominated by handheld systems and I think Nintendo had a very solid showing for a system that's been out for over three years and had a weaker overall software lineup than in years past. And it's still selling quite well in North America, routinely coming in second in sales up until the holiday season and the XBO price cut.

I'm not sure how Wii U will finish up - I think it will be Nintendo's lowest selling home console, personally. So far, the race in Japan between PS4 and Wii U is very close, despite the hype the former had. And it's clear that it will be a distant third in North America. But I've had great fun with mine, and there's still a number of big titles in store.

@IceClimbers

The home consoles are only irrelevant if you're looking for a way for Nintendo to "win."

The 3DS has been slowing down very visibly over 2014, and has the smallest number of known upcoming games for 2015. In Japan, the 3DS did well, in the rest of the world, the PS4 quickly overtook sales, and seems to have been the leader for the bulk of the year. NPD did not publish sales numbers of hardware much at all over the year, but most indications point to the PS4 dominating the 3DS in sales. Granted, NPD tracks US only, which is a far larger market than Japan.

For the most part, the 3DS dominated in Japan, but the PS4 everywhere else.

@MamaLuigi

Indeed, you didn't read my lengthy, detailed post, as I never said the Japanese market was irrelevant, only that it is a small market compared to all the places where the PS4 trounced everything else, and the US where the XBO dominated over November and December due to smart, though temporary, pricing.

The bulk of my point was that, despite a small 3DS-helmed victory in one region in 2014, Nintendo is on-track to fall well behind in 2015. The Wii U and 3DS have fewer exclusives, and fewer games than the PS4, Vita, and Xbox One for 2015, so this small victory in Japan is going to be quickly over-turned by this time next year.

The 3DS is selling well, but well below the DS, and the third party support there is just as bad as the Wii U. What's worse on the 3DS is an embarrassingly low number of games even from Nintendo for 2015.

I noted facts, not bias. If you saw bias, it is likely that you invented it yourself by "not reading" because it was "too long."

Fact: The Wii U is selling slower than the Dreamcast and GameCube. You can even research this yourself.

Fact: The 3DS has the fewest number of known games for 2015, and the fewest exclusives.

Fact: Japan is not the biggest market in gaming, and a win there is not representative of the rest of the world.

Fact: Sony has the most games lined up for 2015, and over 20 more known titles on the Vita than the 3DS. The Xbox One and Wii U have a similar number of exclusives, the PS4 as more than the XBO and Wii U combined. You can easily research this as well.

Fact: Sony and MS have third party support that will help sell their hardware, Nintendo has very limited 3rd party support that is unlikely to help in this regard.

Fact: The Xbox One was only $30 more than the Wii U over Black Friday and only $50 more over November and December, came with much more powerful hardware, two games, a Blu-Ray player, and 500GB of storage space.

This small win for Nintendo in Japan is nice, but it is not for the ailing Wii U, and it is highly doubtful that Nintendo will be in this position by this time next year. That's not bias (perhaps you think the word means something other than what it actually means), that's analysis based on known data and known upcoming games on all platforms. The PS4, Xbox One, and even the Vita look very good for 2015. The Wii U and 3DS do not. Your rambling comment on the strength of the dollar to other notes has nothing to do with sales numbers or future success or problems. I'm not sure what the hell your point was on that, and I never mentioned "connectivity" and am not sure what you were going for by mentioning an ill-conceived GameCube feature.

My original intention was to inject some rationality concerning a post where the implication was that "Nintendo did well in Japan, no more doom and gloom forever! Everyone who doubted Nintendo was wrong! Skeptics and rational thinkers be damned!" That's a literary allusion by the way, not a direct quote. Nintendo did well in Japan, but are still struggling badly everywhere else--they're problems are not magically over, and sadly, only look worse for 2015, despite a decent variety to the Wii U this year from them.

@Quorthon PS4 had a dream year thanks to a flawless hardware launch. I don't see sales for it showing down much in North America at all. It's really quite impressive.

I feel 3DS still had a decent year, despite its sales decline. It's understandable with a weaker overall software lineup, and the fact that it's been out over three and a half years. A system of that age can't be expected to compete with a brand new system with the reputation of Sony's powerhouse. It did though do decently with all things considered, regularly coming in second or third in weekly sales both domestically and worldwide. It'll be interesting to see how sales go when the new 3DS launches this year.

From my perspective only the hardware sales on a global level was a disappointment for Nintendo, everything else even the new Amiibo line was a superb successful for them. And when I check PS and XB numbers is the exact opposite. (except for Halo)

@ericwithcheese2

I saw an article several months ago (last time I tried to find it, I couldn't because I couldn't remember what it was titled, but I think it was Kotaku) that noted that the 3rd year of the X360 and PS3 were their strongest, setting them on a new successful trajectory. That was the point where sales and adoption rates hit a new high and they maintained that high for quite a while. I think the same was true of the DS.

What I'm disappointed in concerning the 3DS is that it's so far removed from the success of its predecessor. It being 3 years old at this point should be a great strength--there should be an incredible line-up of games still charging onto it (1st, 2nd, 3rd part, and indie), but there isn't. I'm really not sure why this is happening (I have a partial hypothesis), and doubly confused how it held up sales as well as it did for part of 2014 despite it having so few games released.

My concern here is that Nintendo can't even get support and games on a successful system and that is deeply troubling. I'm personally glad it did well, but concerned because it's difficult to tell why it did, and even more concerning that there is so little reason for it to do well in 2015, and I don't think it will do "inconceivably well" two years in a row.

@Quorthon I guess you win this argument huh? Here's why life isn't all about winning: http://youtu.be/8R7PSSdf1oU

@Quorthon I think that there were a lot of factors as to why the third year was a charm for the 360 and PS3. It may have been a combination of price breaks - remember the PS3 came out at a very high price tag, although I'm not sure when it's price began to drop. And HD TVs also started becoming affordable for the average household around this time as well. And, of course, software really began to hit it's stride here as well. I don't know for sure, so this is all speculation. But i do think all of those factors played into it.

The DS was such a monster runaway hit that it would be impossible approach those numbers, especially now with smartphones and tablets. I do think the 3DS has a rockier road ahead of it though.

I also think Nintendo launched both the 3DS and Wii U without being properly prepared, with bad promotion, bland games and horrible marketing. They've been playing catch up ever since then. Even though they have had some really amazing games the part couple years four both systems, it's always harder to compete when you're fighting from behind.

@ericwithcheese2

Price cuts no doubt helped things, but Sony was also working their asses off to right the PS3, which was ailed badly for two years. The CrossBar menu is still terrible, but they started to improve a lot of things around then.

The other thing to consider is the end of the second year and start of the third was when developers really started churning out the biggest and most impressive titles for both consoles. They'd learned them, they understood them, and the biggest hits and sellers started rolling out around then, that being the 2008~2009 era, which was also the height of the Wii, with the exception that the Wii dropped off rather drastically over the next 3 years, and the X360 and PS3 did not because they had the hardware for then current-gen multiplatform support.

I agree it would be nearly impossible for the 3DS to approach the insurmountable sales of the DS, which was a juggernaut. What's disconcerting is just how far below it is, especially in terms of software, which will likely lead to an unfortunate and early demise.

And yes, it's much harder to fight from behind. And the further Nintendo allows themselves to fall, the harder (and more expensive) it'll be to regain lost ground, let alone aim for true success.

Personally, I would prefer Nintendo stop talking or hinting about "new hardware" and start talking about great software and taking drastic measures to reverse the fortunes of the Wii U, and maintain the fortunes of the 3DS. If they let either of these machines fall off in terms of success or relevancy, they'll be fighting from even further behind next time.

@MamaLuigi

Winning is irrelevant. Having correct information and rational analyses is what matters.

For instance, Anti-vaxxers spent many years "winning," but with terrible information, emotional hokum, and dangerous nonsense that put countless children and other people in real danger. The rest of us who had correct information and actually cared about our kids, vaccinated them.

What this tells me is that we probably are quickly approaching a point where there will be only one Nintendo console and it most likely will be a handheld. Nintendo just is not capable of supporting two consoles anymore. Looking back to the launch of the 3DS it has been in a constant state of putting out fires.

Since about then the cycle has been 3DS ailing, shove everyone on that. Console ails, rush back to console and fix it while the 3DS is ignored. Rinse and Repeat.

Lots of ways to look at the same facts and numbers, but it appears Nintendo has returned to making a profit and that was the obvious and immediate goal of this year. Now it's time to build on the good reputation and buzz earned from Mario Kart 8 and SSBU. The recent YouTube visits are smart marketing but much more is needed, IMO.

Nintendo has stated that it's going to target more serious gamers as the casuals abandoned Wii for the mobile/facebook combo.

• I'm thinking a Splatoon and SSBU tie-in promotion for starters. No idea what, but I hope it involves a free multiplayer demo of Splatoon or a limited beta test of some kind. Maybe a SSBU tourney that wins some players a pre-release copy of Splatoon? Together with MK8 they make a good set of games to attract competitive gamers without Wii U consoles.
• Project STEAM looks like a very good and deep game so some smart marketing to sell people on the over-the-top steampunk theme is going to be needed. Maybe a series of short videos featuring the world and its characters? How do you get the Fire Emblem fans to take notice?
• A big task over the year is to reel in Ocarina fans and other Zelda fans who have abandoned Nintendo with the new Zelda game.
• Star Fox has a tough road ahead in marketing, IMO. How do you get non-fans interested in this game? All that comes to mind is some promotion featuring "do a barrel roll!" just to remind people it has historical relevance in gaming. I'm skeptical of how attractive it will be with constant dual screen play and a fast development time table. Sounds like a marketing nightmare.
• Metroid is still SO important for Nintendo if they want to attract serious gamers. Hoping for a big reveal at E3. It's time.
• On top of this, Nintendo has to make people feel good about their Amiibo purchases and keep stoking that fire with different types of Amiibo products besides the figurines. This could be the secret for 3DS success in 2015 (along with the obvious New 3DS release): Anyone for Pokemon Amiibo Tradable Card Game?

Myself, I couldn't be happier with the Wii U. I guess I'd be happier if more people were happier with it.

I want to go out of my own way by saying I just want to play some freaking Nintendo games this year ok?? None of this "Nintendo Fail: 2015 Edition" nonsense. Enough.

Sadly the console sales in the west represent much more the people's minds than the actuall quality of the products at this point.

But Nintendo might sell less Wii Us, it's still gonna get the most revenue compared to the Sony and MS Gaming sectors in the end!
The MS and Sony drive a way more risky course with their pricing of the hardware and must look out to get out of the red numbers first!

Mobile gaming is huge in japan. I think it has something to do with commuting and small living areas, but that's just what I heard, no facts to back that up. Makes sense the 3DS would be the king. I wonder how it's usage compares to phone and tablet gaming there.

Nintendomination.

Good for the Wii U.... in Japan. Why does MS even bother with Japan?
They don't need it. Europe and NA is where the battleground and the big money is.

Japan pales to further insignificance every year where home consoles are concerned.

@TRON It's more to do with their community and culture. . Everyone seems to have a 3DS. .

@Quorthon Fact: We don't know of every game coming in 2015 for the 3DS.
Fact: Nintendo has released games like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. which will continue to sell the system to people along with the new games that come out this year.
Fact: We don't have all of the exact data of Nintendo's hardware and software sales for each region so it's impossible to say exactly how well they did.
Fact: The Wii U has a pretty good lineup of games for 2015 on top the great games it already has, which should be enough to push the Wii U's sales past the Dreamcast's. There's no way Nintendo would release a new console this year with all of the games scheduled, and if they release a new one in 2016 the Wii U will have already outsold the Dreamcast.
Fact: Sales of several Nintendo games outside of Japan have been great this year. Nintendo is still relevant outside of Japan.
Fact: It's not about winning. While Sony and Microsoft are losing money, Nintendo is making a profit.

@Quorthon Fact: You talk too much,Fact:you like hearing yourself talk,Fact:Anyone can write a wall of text,but it doesn't mean they're right.

@ikki5 I'm not talking about sales figures, but the game library. There's not even a handful games that appeal to the japanese main audience, and we still don't have a single RPG on the entire system!

I wonder how big PC gaming is in Japan? I'd love to see series like Persona and Yakuza on the PC. It would kind of be a nail in the PS4 coffin though, seeing its stalwart Japanese titles go to PC.

@PokeMario

Ahh, I see posting facts (which was done to explain how I did not use bias) has sparked copycat responses. How very droll.

Your first "fact" is beyond pointless (though handily your only actual "fact"), and I'm frankly surprised that you don't realize the folly of such a comment. No, of course we don't know every 3DS game coming this year, nor do we know every PS4, Wii U, XBO, or Vita game coming this year. Your comment is self-defeating, like using a rifle where the barrel is curved to hit you in the chest. But, quite literally any amount of even half-donkeyed analysis or extrapolation could inform you that the outlook is still unsettlingly poor for the 3DS. Low numbers of games we do know about reflects on low numbers of games we don't know about. It'd be irresponsibly stupid to assume that there are magically more 3DS games in development than PS4, XBO, or Vita games given the known data.

Your "we don't know exact sales data" comment is also pointless because we know relative sales data. For instance, there is this noted Black Friday data that puts Nintendo squarely on the bottom: http://www.dailytech.com/New+Report+Sony+PS4+Microsoft+Xbox+One+BOTH+Had+Record+Black+Friday+Weeks/article36969.htm

So one of your "facts" so far is utterly pointless and self-defeating, and the other is just wrong based on known data.

Shall we examine more?

The Wii U has a pretty good line-up for 2015? This can be readily argued. It has a decent variety, but the numbers are shamefully low--far, far lower than the XBO and PS4. If we're going to say that the Wii U has a pretty good line-up for 2015, then logically we should concede that the XBO also does, and the PS4's looks fantastic.

Sales of several Nintendo games have been "great" outside of Japan. What kind of metric is that? If you're using facts, they need to be measurable, not relative terms. That does not make it a fact. I know this is semantics, but learn this lesson now, and you'll be better for it in the future.

Funny, Nintendo actually is releasing a new console this year, the New 3DS. It even has "new" in the name. But I suppose you were referring to some kind of successor to the Wii U, which literally no one said is coming this year, so I'm not sure what your point was. You clearly missed mine.

You're last fact is just plain wrong. Not on the first part, that's just nonsensical hyperbole, and I can't help but wonder if we were talking Wii or DS sales, you'd suddenly switch gears and claim winning in sales matters, because yes, I've encountered that very argument on this very site. Now, on to Microsoft and Sony, they've both been very clear that they are profitable with their new consoles, while Nintendo's last quarterly financial report basically said they were clawing at their first almost profitable quarter in nearly three years.

http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/23/5744344/ps4-already-profitable-for-sony-ceo-says

Microsoft struggled a bit, but the consoles themselves are profitable and it's boosting revenue considerably: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/216199/Xbox_One_increases_Microsoft_revenues__but_its_cost_cuts_into_profits.php

You can't just throw around word "fact" willy-nilly without knowing what it means. It has a specific meaning, like "theory." "Theory" isn't something you just pulled out your behind after a night of hard drinking, it is a method for describing a process, such as the theory of evolution explains the method of evolution, or the theory of gravity. The things you stated run the gamut of rambling opinions, blind guessing, and factually incorrect statements that took me little to no effort to refute.

Surely, you can do better.

@Darknyht

Oh man, that's a really good analogy. "Constant state of putting out fires."

And I say this without any sarcasm, but that almost perfectly describes how Nintendo's releases have felt, particularly on the 3DS , over the last couple years. It also largely follows the very obvious pacing of their releases, targeting roughly one per month at best, but more frequently spaced out to stave off consumer apathy.

It makes sense, then, why Smash 3DS was released ahead of Smash Wii U.

@Quorthon
Ah, yes, your comment definitely did not contain "bias". You said Nintendo has almost nothing to offer in 2015. That would be like me saying Sony had nothing to offer in 2015. They have The Order: 1886, Bloodborne, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, and Persona 5, among others. They definitely have a lot to offer. With games like The Legend of Zelda, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Devil's Third, Yoshi's Woolly World, and many more, Nintendo has more than "almost nothing" to offer. They have enough games to have at least one exclusive every month.
Yes, the PS4 is making Sony profits. It's pretty much what's keeping them alive. I said Sony was losing money. I never said it was on the PS4. As for Microsoft, I honestly don't know how well Xbox has been doing for them, though that article you posted was from April. They cut the price again and had loads of bundles and deals during Black Friday, which makes me think they had to have taken losses from that (and I honestly wish I had waited until then to buy the Xbox One, I jumped on board during the Summer because of the indies and my hype for Sunset Overdrive.) Still, Microsoft as a company has taken losses.
Of course I don't know every game that will come out for every platform. E3 is in June, and I expect each company of the big three to have a strong showing (though I don't have very high expectations for Ubisoft and EA).
If you care that much about specific sales numbers, here:
Mario Kart 8 sold almost 3.5 million as of October http://www.polygon.com/2014/10/31/7133147/mario-kart-8-sales-wii-u-owners-attach-rate-half
Subtract the Japanese sales which are stated in this article and you have pretty good sales.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/482694/nintendo-reveals-us-pokemon-smash-bros-and-amiibo-sales/
Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire sold 1.5 million in its first ten days in the US. Smash Bros. for 3DS also sold 1.5 million at the time of the article. Smash Bros. for Wii U sold 710,000 at that point.
http://mynintendonews.com/2014/10/29/hyrule-warriors-sales-exceed-expectations-outside-japan/ http://press.nintendo.com/articles.jsp?id=42131 While there were no specific sales for Hyrule Warriors, it sold 190,000 in its first weekend and exceeded Koei Tecmo's expectations.
And besides (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-super-saturday-20141223-story.html) the Saturday before Christmas sees more revenue than Black Friday, so saying that the Black Friday sales numbers will suffice is inaccurate.
I mentioned a new console when talking about the Wii U selling worse than the Dreamcast. It may be selling worse, but unlike Sega, Nintendo doesn't constantly release a new console and then drop it for a new one soon after. That's what lost Sega a lot of money. The Wii U is actually making Nintendo a profit, just like the Gamecube did.
Nintendo has been making a killer off of their amiibo figures, so I don't see how they would end up barely making a profit. And no, my statement was not a hyperbole, I stated the facts. Sony and Microsoft are losing money, maybe not on their systems, but I never said their systems, I just said money period. And I honestly never made any accounts on any game media sites until this generation, so I never made the Wii and DS having better sales argument to anyone. However, I would not brag about their sales, because the PS3 and Xbox 360, and heck, even the PSP all sold well. I think the PSP just looked bad because the DS sold so well. In fact, I'd say last generation was a success, every system sold well. But still, if someone tried making the old "Nintendo is doomed" statement, I'd mention that they were making a profit.
But in reality, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft aren't going anywhere anytime soon, and I will continue to enjoy all of their systems.
Please take your negativity somewhere else.

@Quorthon
Ah, yes, your comment definitely did not contain "bias". You said Nintendo has almost nothing to offer in 2015. That would be like me saying Sony had nothing to offer in 2015. They have The Order: 1886, Bloodborne, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, and Persona 5, among others. With games like The Legend of Zelda, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Devil's Third, Yoshi's Woolly World, and many more, Nintendo has more than "almost nothing" to offer. They have enough games to have at least one exclusive every month.
Yes, the PS4 is making Sony profits. It's pretty much what's keeping them alive. I said Sony was losing money. I never said it was on the PS4. As for Microsoft, I honestly don't know how well Xbox has been doing for them, though that article you posted was from April. They cut the price again and had loads of bundles and deals during Black Friday, which makes me think they had to have taken losses from that (and I honestly wish I had waited until then to buy the Xbox One, I jumped on board during the Summer because of the indies and my hype for Sunset Overdrive.) Still, Microsoft as a company has taken losses.
Of course I don't know every game that will come out for every platform. E3 is in June, and I expect each company of the big three to have a strong showing (though I don't have very high expectations for Ubisoft and EA).
If you care that much about specific sales numbers, here:
Mario Kart 8 sold almost 3.5 million as of October http://www.polygon.com/2014/10/31/7133147/mario-kart-8-sales-wii-u-owners-attach-rate-half
Subtract the Japanese sales which are stated in this article and you have pretty good sales.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/482694/nintendo-reveals-us-pokemon-smash-bros-and-amiibo-sales/
Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire sold 1.5 million in its first ten days in the US. Smash Bros. for 3DS also sold 1.5 million at the time of the article. Smash Bros. for Wii U sold 710,000 at that point.
http://mynintendonews.com/2014/10/29/hyrule-warriors-sales-exceed-expectations-outside-japan/ http://press.nintendo.com/articles.jsp?id=42131 While there were no specific sales for Hyrule Warriors, it sold 190,000 in its first weekend and exceeded Koei Tecmo's expectations.
And besides (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-super-saturday-20141223-story.html) the Saturday before Christmas sees more revenue than Black Friday, so saying that the Black Friday sales numbers will suffice is inaccurate.
I mentioned a new console when talking about the Wii U selling worse than the Dreamcast. It may be selling worse, but unlike Sega, Nintendo doesn't constantly release a new console and then drop it for a new one soon after. That's what lost Sega a lot of money. The Wii U is actually making Nintendo a profit, just like the Gamecube did.
Nintendo has been making a killer off of their amiibo figures, so I don't see how they would end up barely making a profit. And no, my statement was not a hyperbole, I stated the facts. Sony and Microsoft are losing money, maybe not on their systems, but I never said their systems, I just said money period. And I honestly never made any accounts on any game media sites until this generation, so I never made the Wii and DS having better sales argument to anyone. However, I would not brag about their sales, because the PS3 and Xbox 360, and heck, even the PSP all sold well. I think the PSP just looked bad because the DS sold so well. In fact, I'd say last generation was a success, every system sold well. But still, if someone tried making the old "Nintendo is doomed" statement, I'd mention that they were making a profit.
But in reality, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft aren't going anywhere anytime soon, and I will continue to enjoy all of their systems.
Please take your negativity somewhere else.

@Quorthon As I feared at the end of 2013, that year was when the 3DS peaked. Every system reaches it's peak year in terms of sales at some point in it's lifetime, and 2013 was that year for 3DS. It was quite clear from Nintendo's financial briefings during that time that they feared the exact same thing, and those fears have been realized.

If you think about it, the 3DS's pace actually makes sense. It's targeting 55-60 million lifetime sales, which given it's audience makes sense. My point in a sort of timeline:

-The GBA sold 80 million units and it had the core Nintendo fans, the kid audience, and the Pokemon audience (the people who buy a Nintendo handheld only for Pokemon and will never even look at any other game, including Mario and Zelda).
-The DS then sold over 150 million and had all of the audiences that the GBA had, but also brought in the massive "blue ocean" casual audience.
-Smartphones and tablets become a thing.
-Now comes the 3DS, and the blue ocean audience and a large chunk of the kid audience are now gone because of smartphones and tablets. 3DS sells 55-60 million lifetime.

Basically, the 3DS has pretty much hit max market exposure. The fact that it has sold even this much in Japan this year shows how crazy they are about handhelds (or how explosively popular Yokai Watch is )

@Quorthon blah blah blah that is all I hear from you. Thinking you are always right and others wrong. Stay far in the high clouds of jumping into conclusions dream land.

@Quorthon Sony is making profit on the PS4 but everything else they are losing money. With MS and their xbox one they are making a profit yet you call it a success story for them. But when Nintendo is making cash on their products even on Wii U yet its a mission failed for Nintendo. So I guess not making profit does not matter to you what actually matters is outselling your competition even if you have not made a profit. Yeah way to go on that front. Also MS cut the price for the Xbox one so they can match the sales of the PS4 that got them to take losses and got their shareholders angry. But of course to you what matters is selling more units than making actual profit but why bother since you believe you are always right and others are always wrong,wrong,wrong. Lastly releasing a new console now is a pretty crappy idea given it has lots SEGA tons and tons of money and it could cause Nintendo to lose tons of money which would be really bad.

I love how the Xbox One and PS4 having good 2015 lineups somehow diminishes the Wii U's good lineup for the year. Can't we agree that all 3 have a solid 2015 ahead of them?

I really wish that Japan would fall back in love with consoles...just so I can get my JRPG fix on the big screen. Still good strides for the big N.

@PokeMario

Where you mention the small list of Sony exclusives announced so far for 2015 in a mocking tone, you are conveniently leaving out the dozens of multi-platform third party titles which will be gracing that console and NOT the Wii U.

Nintendo is still making a small profit while not taking too many risks, which is good, but I know that Nintendo wishes they were doing much better, especially globally

@MasterBlaster
Not sure how it was a mocking tone. I was simply stating the great exclusives it has this year. I said it kind of as if I were recommending it to someone. When I do that I usually mention the exclusive games since I don't think it's worth it to buy a console if the games you want to play are already available to you somewhere else. Plus, I have a PC and most of the third party games I get are on there.

@PokeMario

"When I do that I usually mention the exclusive games since I don't think it's worth it to buy a console if the games you want to play are already available to you somewhere else."

That's your personal opinion though. You can't counter someone's factual point (that the Wii-U doesn't have that many games coming out in 2015) by responding with a small list of PS4 titles, ignoring the dozens of other games it is getting that you personally don't count.

Fact of the matter is the PS4 has more games coming out for it in 2015 than the Wii-U and this point isn't even debatable. If you want to cherry pick which games 'you' want to count, this is irrelevant and just avoiding reality.

@MasterBlaster
Except I never said the PS4 didn't have many games coming out. I said that saying the Wii U had basically nothing to offer would be like me saying that about the PS4, which is wrong since they both have plenty of games coming out. I simply listed some big ones and said "among others". You're misinterpreting what I said.

I don't care much about the console wars and I'm happy with my Wii U. I see a bright future ahead since missteps usually lead to learning and innovation and that is one thing Nintendo provides in spades. However, If N never made a new console/handheld again I have 6 generations of consoles and 5 generations of handhelds full of fantastic games to play and more money in my pocket. Obviously, I'd prefer Nintendo succeed since it's the brand that has the games I prefer playing.

At the same time I have no issues with Xbox and Sony but they remind me of DC/Marvel after their relaunches and I'm just not their target audience. I'm happy they offer things that others want to play but why do people have to fight about it? It's like people who fought over WCW and WWE. One died and the one that was left is a much worse product with the lack of competition. Is that really what people want?

@Caryslan Did you even read the news? 3DS console sales are down 36 % (1.8 million consoles) despite New 3DS, Smash Bros. and Youkai Watch. Wii U console sales are down 32 % despite Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros. Meanwhile, the PS4 is closing in on 1 million consoles sold, while Japan is still in transition period between PS3 and PS4.

Worldwide, the situation is a nightmare for Nintendo. 3DS and Wii U are dying.

Now that I reread the article, I will say this. I was kinda off with my comments, and some other posters pointed some good things out.

So, I kinda withdraw some of my points, although I will still say Nintendo did a good job of winning Japan.

@PokeMario Comparing the Wii U to the Dreamcast is tricky at best. Sega and Nintendo are in completely different situations in almost every measurable way. Sega burned consumers with poorly supported consoles (32X, Saturn, Dreamcast), put a console out that was notoriously difficult to program for (Saturn), angered retailers by entering into an exclusive distribution deal, and by the time the Dreamcast was released was too short on cash to stay afloat and fight against the PS2 DVD drive juggernaut.

Nintendo is similar in that like Sega, Nintendo no longer has much third party support for their console (although for slightly different reasons). Nintendo is also attempting to push consoles in different and hopefully innovative ways. And they both put out consoles that I would say are mostly loved by those that have bought them.

There are things that Sega did right that could have saved them (had Sega of Japan been willing to take the huge financial risk), and they are not that different from what Nintendo needs to do. It will not win Nintendo the console war, but it will provide a positive experience for someone that invests in the console. At this point the best they can do is figure out a lot of the things they didn't get right during this console and implement them into the next.

But first, they need to figure out how to bring some stability to both console's first party releases. Especially on the Wii U. There needs to be at least 12 new titles in a year for each (retail, bargain, eShop) from Nintendo.

It's pretty cool that Smash bros and Mario Kart on wiiU made it into the top 10. It just goes to show that it's true that well made Nintendo games that have mass appeal have tremendous staying power in the charts. How many weeks did we see games like call of duty rocket to the top of the chart and then drop off a week or two later while Mario Kart 8 stubbornly remained on the chart for months.

@theBluntKnight
Yep, Nintendo games do have good legs unlike games on the other consoles. They stay in the charts forever.

Ultimately if a game sells 5m in a week or 5m in a year it is still 5m sales. Personally if I was a publisher I would rather take the income in a week rather than a year but that's me. After a few months the price drops.

But as a gamer it's good because they are always a fresh batch of players coming online.

The 3DS has sold 17.8m units in Japan alone... That really is incredible!!!! I remember the room and gloom 6 months after launch. What a turnaround!

While you all argue about total sales and semantics and other stuff, I'll just casually sit back this year and play the games that come to me as well as clear my backlog.

I tried to keep up with all of this nonsense through 2014 and in the end... It didn't matter. As long as the Wii U continues to get new and exciting games, I'll be happy whether the Wii U has 8 million units sold or 18 million units.