Nintendo Wii U sales surpass 400,000 units in first week

[Jos]

Nintendo's next generation Wii U system was greeted with mixed reviews. It’s a capable machine that meets the standards of modern console gaming and doesn't feel like it’s pocked with omissions, the second-screen feature looks promising, and it offers a pretty decent launch lineup of in-house and third-party games. But at the same time many questions remain up in the air regarding the console’s online capabilities and developer support in the long run, not to mention reports of bricked units following a large firmware update on day one.

Well, it doesn’t seem like any of that is affecting the company’s ability to sell the Wii U. According Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, more than 400,000 units have been sold since November 18, a number that was reportedly capped by the company's ability to get units to store shelves.

"Wii U is essentially sold out of retail and we are doing our best to continually replenish stock," Fils-Aime recently told Cnet. "Retailers are also doing their best to get the product to store shelves. But as soon as product hits retail, they're selling out immediately."

Fils-Aime was also asked about Nintendo’s decision to launch the Wii U a year before Microsoft and Sony are rumored to have new, more capable systems on the market. But the executive seemed confident that the second-screen approach is the "next innovation" in gaming and early sales will prove this point.

While the Wii U is off to a solid start, the 400,000 figure is a bit short of the Wii's first week numbers, which reached more than 600,000 six years ago. The Wii U launched at $300 for an 8GB basic model and $350 for a 32GB deluxe version. By comparison, the original Wii launched in late 2006 with a single SKU for $250.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/50904-nintendo-wii-u-sales-surpass-400000-units-in-first-week.html

 

[TomSEA]

So much for consoles losing their popularity due to smart phones and tablets.

I'm sure Sony and MS are looking at these sales numbers with great interest.

 

[BlueDrake]

So much for consoles losing their popularity due to smart phones and tablets.

I'm sure Sony and MS are looking at these sales numbers with great interest.

Very big interests. They don't want to fumble out of the gate, getting things properly setup last minute. I'm surprised by the whole bricked console thing, which could be a negative impact on the reputation. 360 has it's RRoD issues but still sold insane amounts, I'm hoping Nintendo has no major issues going forward.

People don't want to get burned with a bad console repeatedly. Bricking is mostly a self caused issue, or so I see it really to be honest. Console itself being bricked by a failed update, is likely to put a scare into those wanting one for Christmas.

 

[9Nails]

A good start for Nintendo!

I'm a little curious what tiles are going along with the system. (Hint: Looking for suggestions)

As I recall the Wii, and possibly the PS3 both had supply issues when they initially released to market. So the Wii's 600,000 first week sales might have been higher. It will be interesting to see if the Wii U will catch the same levels of sales hype as the Wii did.

 

[oldikes]

Ill buy one if it gets some fresh franchises that arent incredibly stupid and that would give me an option to play without gimmicks.

 

[St1ckM4n]

So is this thing backwards compatible? I've read the Techspot review and others and no mention of it.

If so, does it up-scale?

Also, I swear I saw Wii 'packs' very near the $600AUD mark in the first year of release ..

 

[Jcanno0759]

Yes it is backwards compatible. Upscaling..... Probably not

 

[St1ckM4n]

That's good. I'd buy a Wii for $100 just to play some of the random games that look interesting, but for $300 it might be worth it to buy the U.

The question about upscaling, was actually in regards to the standard video output it comes with in the box. Does the composite video make much of a difference?

Also, playing some of the Wii games with the Pro controller will be sweet (e.g. Super Smash Bros.).

 

[Scshadow]

About 100 of those are being offered at my local craigslist for $500. The scalper effect is in full force here. True sales are much lower. Its crap and people need to stop hyping it.

 

[Tekkaraiden]

Yes it is backwards compatible. Upscaling..... Probably not

It's backward comparable with Wii games and accessories but unfortunately it doesn't upscale.

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

Probably would of helped the Wii U if they shipped more units, alot of people couldn't find them to buy... But it's understandable, the Wii was a lil plastic piece of junk they could build a 150 million of, Wii U requires a bit more especially with that controller.

 

[Sunny87]

That's good. I'd buy a Wii for $100 just to play some of the random games that look interesting, but for $300 it might be worth it to buy the U.

The question about upscaling, was actually in regards to the standard video output it comes with in the box. Does the composite video make much of a difference?

Also, playing some of the Wii games with the Pro controller will be sweet (e.g. Super Smash Bros.).

You can't use the Wii U controller for Wii games, the Wii U enters Wii mode and completely shuts off the controllers so you need to use Wii mote and classic pro controller.

 

[killeriii]

I got one on launch day!
New SMB U edition is a great game.
The new controller is huge. More comfortable and lighter than I expected. Screen on it is nice to play on. (like a VERY large gameboy w/HD)
Still plays my Tiger Woods for the Wii too! And with sharper graphics thanks to the HDMI.
I think the future of this system will be better than the wii was, due to much higher graphics and processing power. (and HDMI finally!)

 

[St1ckM4n]

You can't use the Wii U controller for Wii games, the Wii U enters Wii mode and completely shuts off the controllers so you need to use Wii mote and classic pro controller.

Ehhh? Is the new pro controller wireless? I don't see how that would be a problem, plus it looks pretty much the same as Wii Pro controller.

I don't care much for the screen-controller, but playing Wii games on the Pro would be awesome.

 

[Sunny87]

Ehhh? Is the new pro controller wireless? I don't see how that would be a problem, plus it looks pretty much the same as Wii Pro controller.

I don't care much for the screen-controller, but playing Wii games on the Pro would be awesome.

The new Wii U pro controller is wireless but the classic controller Pro plugs into the Wii mote, When the Wii U is in Wii mode it will not use any of the Wii U controllers as the system is in a different state, a bit like when the Wii enters Gamecube mode you cannot use Wii controllers for Gamecube games.