Splatoon's arrival at the end of May certainly brought some hype to the Wii U, and early chart results were certainly positive for the title. As it approaches one month on the market, however, we're left to wonder how it'll fare over the summer months.
It's holding its momentum fairly well, it seems. Still shifting units in Japan, the latest results for the UK show the title holding firm in the top 10, with just a 7% drop in sales for last week. While the positions do not necessarily reflect hugely impressive sales numbers, the Wii U shooter has at least avoided a rapid tumble down the charts, securing 8th in the all-format charts.
The overall multi-platform leader this week is LEGO Jurassic World, with the 3DS version having weaker sales than the home console equivalents while being ahead of the Vita. The mystery over the release of the Wii U version in the UK (and Europe as a whole) goes on, though, with pre-orders pushed back to early July by retailers - Warner Bros. hasn't replied to our requests for clarification.
Back to the multi-platform charts, Super Smash Bros. on Wii U and 3DS climbed five places to 30th, while Mario Kart 8 climbed two places to 32nd.
[source chart-track.co.uk]
Comments 40
Splatoon is at 38k now and will probably be the first non-Mario/Smash/Zelda Wii U game to break 50k in the UK.
Screw Batman, it's all about the Splat.... man!
... I hate the UK market though. Infidels.
What's wrong with people buying Batman now? It's reviewed significantly better that Splatoon. All logic goes out the window with you guys over charts.
And yup, it will totally be just the UK buying Batman.
@Peach64 Some of the lower-scoring Splatoon reviews reminded me not to put too much stock in reviews. There are some sites that I trust, and even then I've learned it's better to read the review than just go off the score.
I guess my point is, I don't care what Batman scores, because it's less worthy of a purchase than Splatoon in my book.
Go Splatoon! I convinced someone to buy it yesterday in Game store.
Still heartbroken at Captain Toad poor sales figures though. Such a gorgeous game
@Peach64 I feel like the NintendoLife community hates way too much on the UK market. Arkham Knight's going to sell well globally (US, UK, Mainland Europe, Japan, etc.), and rightfully so: it's a truly fantastic game (and a fitting end to the trilogy). I'm a big fan of Splatoon myself, but it's blind fanboyism to hate on Arkham Knight (which is a good game) just because it'll sell well and Splatoon may not, next week.
@Peach64 I think the main cause of this is the fact Arkham Knight is not on Wii U. It's sadly very common here that if either a game is not on Wii U or a Wii U exclusive loses its exclusivity then it gets lots of hate.
@Chubblings Yeah, I have to agree. Splatoon honestly isn't on the same scale as Arkham Knight. Don't get me wrong, Splatoon is amazing, but blindly hating on Arhman Knight is absolutely ridiculous. It's a fantastic game as well.
@CaviarMeths 30k sounds unfortunately small from a sales perspective.
Warner Bros probably had to delay the release of Jurassic World on Wii U b/c they couldn't find any other way to screw over Wii U owners b/c there is no season pass or DLC to withhold. I can understand DLC skipping Wii last gen, that console wasn't really built for it, but I'm pretty sure Wii U owners have figured it out by now w/ Luigi levels, MK8, Pikmin, HW, and SSB. (Splatoon so far is just unlocking stuff on disc). We would have bought Lego Batman 3 and the season pass.
When does the Splatoon Wii U bundle release, this Friday? Hopefully the causal looking to buy it won't know enough to be put off by E3. Heck some of them may even be looking forward to ACaF.
What's the outlook for Yoshi in the UK? Is that releasing the same week as Batman there?
I bet the Wii U version of Lego Jurassic World has been delayed because Nintendo's tests have found it to be a bug-ridden pile of crap, like all other Lego games of late.
Really surprised as to how addictive splatoon is! Awesome game.
Next weeks number one (Batman, duh) will (glide)kick Splatoon out of the top 10... !!! I can't wait till midnight so i can finally play the game... so excited!!
But Splatoon did hold it's top 10 position longer than anyone thought it would anyway!
@rjejr Yes, Batman comes out tomorrow and Yoshi on Friday. As for the Splatoon bundle, it came out last Friday (19th).
@FragRed It is, but there's only like 300k Wii Us in the UK. It's a terrible market for Nintendo products in general, and has been since the Mega Drive days.
@Dr_Corndog Frankly, it wouldn't matter if the next gritty Batman game was panned critically, UK gamers would still buy it in droves.
@Grumblevolcano - Thanks. I wonder if the Wii U bundle helped Splatoon keep it's #8 spot?
Yoshi vs Batman. Sounds like a South Park episode waiting to happen.
Poor Yoshi, he's got no chance against the Bat this week.....unless the Amiibo scalpers really help out. XD
@CaviarMeths That's true but Nintendo I hope would consider it foolish to ever pull out.
Yeah, I don't get the hate on Batman. Not like these games can't co-exist just fine. In fact, those games have crossed over into the Metroid territory a bit at times. We need to get that somewhere.
On reviews of Splatoon, I didn't check out too many, but I read one that I was aghast at. Just irrational to the point of getting facts wrong. That was before I had played the real game and while I already read his reviews with skepticism I am now ready to ignore them completely.
I think many people approached Splatoon as a Call of Duty or Battlefield type game and got frustrated with how the ink wasn't bullets and never bothered to give it a real try and discover what the game was. It just reinforces how different Splatoon really is in its space. It makes you think in different ways than those games and is just very fun-- for me, at least. And I go in and out of playing Battlefield seriously as I'm a PC gamer, too. I'm not hating on the genre at all.
I just think, as a reviewer, if you can't recognize something new and try to understand it on its own terms you really aren't doing your job. I'm okay if he didn't like it, but to just mischaracterize it so poorly. Ugh.
Nice to see Splatoon holding pretty well in chart. Japan sales is still doing very well and this month NPD will be interesting.
Splatoon is an amazing game. I absolutely love it. If Batman was coming to the Wii U I most likely wouldn't buy it. That being said I wish it was coming to the wii u. It would be nice to know that there are many more options. I truly believe if you haven't played Splatoon you're missing out on something very special
Splatoon doing 40k in the UK is quite remarkable, considering there can't be many more Wii Us in the country.
I maintain that the price had a lot to do with it.
As with the Witcher, I don't care if Batman takes Splatoon out of the top 10 next week. Both are great games.
But then again, of those three Splatoon is the only new IP, so it is remarkable to see it afloat for so long there.
I'm so glad to see that Splatoon is doing better than your average Wii U Nintendo game. This is definitely a game that people are going to remember.
...yay?
@RainbowGazelle Agreed. Maybe LEGO games could be fun - they used to be - but first they need to get rid of all the bugs and then actually make something new and unique for once. There was this amazing bug once in my LEGO Harry Potter, which said that I had 0% progress on a file I had been playing on for the last 6 months.
@BLPs You wouldn't believe the stigma against Nintendo where I am (in the UK). It's like Wii U doesn't even exist; I don't know anyone who (apart from a couple of people) when asked wouldn't say that the Wii U is rubbish and childish. Really gets to me sometimes.
@Peach64 Personally I don't get why people buy the Batman games and the season pass crap when it comes out. By this time next year they're going to have the GOTY edition with all dlc. Patience is a virtue.
@Calllack
Yeah, at my nephew's school only "weirdos own the Wii U".
It has a bad stigma attached to it in the UK. It is seen as childish and immature, and this is coming from immature kids.
Given the level of quality Rocksteady brought with Asylum and City I think all excitement for Arkham Knight is entirely justified. No it's sadly not coming to WiiU, but that doesn't make it not worth the time and effort, and it certainly doesn't make it a bad game or one to be dismissed.
And, equally, acknowledging Arkham Knight is a great game doesn't take away from Splatoon also being a great game. I'd urge any WiiU fan to get Arkham City for the system, it's one of the best games on it imho. Origins was good too but by a different team and had a few too many large bugs for me to recommend it. Certainly a cash in on the franchise from WB. I'd urge them to get Splatoon as well!
Plus Yoshi's getting a free ride here. If anything, it's the combination of the two that'll knock Splatoon off the UK charts.
@BLPs
By 'UK' I assume you mean 'pretty much everywhere' and by 'such things' I assume you mean 'good games on popular formats featuring major characters'?
Wait - Lego Jurassic got pushed back in the UK again!? For gods' sake! I really want to support the Wii here by getting the game on it but the fact that the game has already been released and playable on the PS4 is making that difficult!!!
Er, as a side note... Splatoon is awesome as usual. Though the glitches and physics could use some work. I hate avoiding some's attack only to blow up seconds later. Or even to shoot someone point-blank with my blaster, only for them to turn and look at me THEN die.
@Collinhall
Oh I think it is. And I own all five platforms (Wii U, PS4, X1, 3DS and Vita). I have Arkham Knight pre ordered- in fact it just shipped out today. And believe me I'm absolutely stoked for it! But I've played the other games in the series and I absolutely think Splatoon is as good a game if not better. The game doesn't have to be super complex to be really really fun. Some of the funnest and most addictive games in the world have been the "less complicated". Which is another reason I don't understand people who only play AAA games- just because the game has a $50 million budget doesn't mean it's funner than the game with a $5 million budget.
You know; I really wanted to love Splatoon but I just can't because the controls are fundementally broken imo, and I'm extremely surprised and disappointed that not a single professional review I've seen has pointed this out.
If you do not believe my assertion then I ask you to try this very simple experiment:
Go into the weapon trial mode--just use a normal splatter shot--then line yourself up in front of one of the practice dummies and aim the reticule over it. Now; simply try to start moving the cursor slowly, on and off the target...and experience for yourself how as the cursor nears the edge of the dummy it jumps about an inch off/on the dummy. Try lining up two dummies roughly in front of each other, such that you can still see maybe half of the dummy that's at the back of the two. Now, again, try moving your cursor slowly back and forth from one dummy to the other... See if you can actually manage to do something as fundemental in a 'shooter' as just slowly, smoothly and precisely aiming back and forth, back and forth, from one target to the other--without the game automatically jumping and overshooting the cursor by about an inch. Try it a few times... Try moving smoothly and slowly from one target to the next, back and forth and observe what happens. Also try it with youself positioned in such a way that by moving the cursor around it would naturally be transitioning across different surfaces like the floor and a wall, while still having a dummy in front of you...
It is basically impossible to actually have proper control over where you are aiming, because the cursor is blatantly jumping on and off the target you are actually trying to aim at, inches at a time, completely outside of your control.
Imagine how this is affecting you when you're trying to run around in multiplayer, battling against other human players that are also quickly running around, when you are simply trying to aim for them and get that precise shot that could mean the difference between victory and defeat in your little tussle...
In Splatoon you're not just fighting against the enemy during the heat of battle--you're also fighting against the controls.
One of the key control elements to nail in a game where you are aiming a cursor to shoot at things, is actually being able to quickly and precisely aim your 'shot' exactly where you want and when you want, especially during the heat of battle. In this game it is quite simply, broken imo--if you want to consider anything you do as actually mattering and any win as actually being based on your genuine skills, and not just slightly randomly flailing around and very roughly pointing the cursor somewhat it the general vicinity of the other player and hoping you hit them.
There's no true satisfaction in victory if it's ultimately based somewhat on randomness and luck; which if you're not really doing the precise aiming to determine the kill, then it is often just going to be a bit of randomness and luck.
Now, I'm sure some people are actually going to try and defend this somehow but it is a fundemental flaw in the design of the controls imo, regardless of whether you do or don't fully grasp that this IS a shooter (regardless of it being paint you're shooting and the main objective is to actually paint the ground), and imo it's actually a slightly broken game as a result. It's still playable, but if you never actually have precise control over where you are aiming then you might as well just be randomly flailing around and just lying to yourself that what you are doing actually matters at all.
I 100% could never play this game competitively because how could I ever feel like I actually won or lost fair and squarely when I know the actual aiming was/is never really properly in my full control.
I don't know what Nintendo's thinking was on this but any time I'm supposed to be competing against someone else I know the very last thing I would want is to not have proper control over how I am performing. If I win I want to know it was because I was better and if I lose I want to know it was because I did something wrong and need to improve--In the case of competitive video games, I don't ever like to feel that it was because of bad, clunky, imprecise controls and game design. That's basically bad game design 101 imo.
It's so frustrating, because with this one issue addressed, I think the game would be utterly brilliant because in every other way that I can see, it is
uhhh. i dont think the controls in splatoon r broken. =/
Why is this being compared to Batman? They're not on the same console or even the same genre. Me personally I'll be playing the Witcher today until my copy of Arkham Knight arrives 😀
As for Splatoon I've still yet to try it mainly because I'm not that into online shooters but may yet give it a go
Feck Splatoon and Batman! I'm loving Lego City on the WiiU right now. I urge everyone to go out and get a copy. Such a fun and extremely funny game.
Wish it sold better on release so we could get a sequel on the WiiU (or even on the other systems), but I guess with Lego Dimensions coming, that's never gonna happen
@Calllack The biggest bugs I've found include:
For these reasons, I'm done with Lego games.
That's great! Good for you guys.
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