Despite Nintendo's bosses putting a brave face on things, all is not well with Wii U sales numbers. According to a new report, in the US, only 64,000 units were sold throughout the whole of February. Considering the gamepad sporting console hasn't even been out six months yet, this is worrying news.
The problem seems to stem from the fact that there just aren't any real system selling games on it yet and there have been big releases on other consoles and the PC, like Starcraft II's Heart of the Swarm, Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider – these are all great games available on platforms people already own. Comparably, the Wii U has ZombiU, which isn't hugely unique, Super Mario Bros U, which while a strong title is nothing particularly new. The rest of the lineup is mostly available elsewhere. Call of Duty, Mass Effect 3, Assassin's Creed III. There's little reason to buy a Wii U for these.
The numbers for the Nintendo console are so poor in-fact, that Gamasutra is reporting that the PS3, Xbox 360, PS2, Xbox and Wii, have never had such low sales.
While we don't have the UK sales numbers to hand, it's likely that the Asda and Amazon price cut we saw yesterday, can also be blamed on people simply not buying the little console.
KitGuru Says: Now Nintendo has to be hoping that a new release will save it. But what? Perhaps the new Monster Hunter game? Even that's just an HD rehash of Tri with some new monsters thrown in. Perhaps Lego City Undercover? Somehow I'm not convinced.