Source: Link.

To put that figure into comparison, during the same period in its lifecycle, Nintendo's Wii hit 435,000 unit sales.

Nintendo's Wii U had a rough January, CNET has learned.

Nintendo sold only 57,000 Wii U units in the U.S. in January, a person familiar with NPD's game industry sales data has confirmed to CNET. The leading console maker during the period, Microsoft, sold 281,000 units in January.

Gamasutra was first to report that Wii U sales were sluggish in January. That publication's source said only that January sales were "well under" 100,000 units.

The Wii U's trouble in January stands in stark contrast to its predecessor, the Wii. In its first January on store shelves in 2007, Nintendo sold 435,000 console units.

That Nintendo is having trouble selling Wii U units is nothing new. The company's CEO Satoru Iwata last month characterized Wii U sales as "not bad." That came just days before Microsoft and Nintendo announced their console unit sales in December. During that period, Microsoft sold nearly one million more consoles.

The Wii U's troubles negatively affected Nintendo's earnings for the nine-month period ended December 31. The company said that it sold only 3 million Wii U units since its launch in November, adding that upcoming games, including new entries in the Legend of Zelda franchise, could "help Nintendo regain momentum for Wii U."

Still, that a console that has been on store shelves for just three months is selling so few units is shocking. It's something that gamers would expect from unknown game companies, but that it's a Nintendo issue, especially given its recent successes, is surprising.

CNET has contacted Nintendo for comment. We will update this story when we have more information.

Those numbers, assuming they're accurate, are appallingly bad. They're not DOOOOOOOOOOOMED bad, but they're objectively troubling as opposed to just tepid. Nintendo is going to need to take action more drastic than awesome Nintendo Directs, and Iwata needs to update his resume. If they have to price drop systems on short notice back to back, he should be out on his ass.

EDIT - assuming I'm remembering things right and the data I saw is accurate, the PS3 never had a month that bad at $600. So this isn't just rough, it's legitimately bad.

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I was at Walmart the other day...I'm sure it doesn't help that retailers STILL mix in Wii games with the Wii U games. They don't even have their own section sometimes.

Posted by

PogueSquadron

on: 02/17/13, 16:48

@PogueSquadron Oh yeah, this too. Target does it as well. Silly.

Posted by

Zero

on: 02/17/13, 19:51

Why not create a commercial for Nintendoland instead. I think we can all agree that Wii Sports sold a lot of systems. If they focus those thirty seconds on showing off the game, its various control types, its various franchise tie ins, and end it with "included with the ALL NEW Wii U Console", wouldn't that get more across to the consumer? Games sell consoles.

Posted by

Abdooooo

on: 02/17/13, 23:37

I am going to absolutely adore Nintendoland with four friends, Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, and almost certainly the new Mario Kart whether the Wii U flops or ends up outselling the PS2. So I'm a happy camper regardless.

Life is good.

Posted by

-JKR-

on: 02/18/13, 03:51

@NinSage
When the Wii, 360, and PS3 are phased out and Wii U is cheap in a couple years, the wii branding could be very useful. Like the wii it will be the only cheap alternative to 'standard' console gaming, and the name tells people that.

Posted by

Renjaku

on: 02/18/13, 06:20

Edited:

02/18/13, 06:40

@Renjaku

True enough.

.... although, now I'm concerned about the brand being synonymous with "cheap" =P

Posted by

Chocobo_Rider

on: 02/18/13, 07:34

@Zero Hm, looks like they used that line in the UK, but not in the US commercials. They just call it the "all new Wii U," which isn't exactly clear enough. They should have used a more similar line in the US.

Posted by

Mop it up

on: 02/18/13, 08:02

Well it's over guys. Pachter calls it.


GamesBeat said:

Nintendo may be unable to recover from its Wii U mistake, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter has told GamesBeat.

"I think they misfired on the Wii U," said Pachter. "It's just not that different from the other two [existing] consoles, and the gameplay isn't as unique as the Wii. They made a mistake, it's something they probably can't recover from."

Wii U sold only 55,000 units in January across the US, whilst Xbox 360 shifted 280,000 units.

According to Pachter even Nintendo's handheld business will struggle in the face of phones and tablets.

"I think they have made a costly mistake [with the Wii U]," said Pacther. "And their handheld business can't save them in the face of cannibalization from smartphones and tablets."

However, not all experts are so down on Nintendo's chances of recovering.

"Great games, unique to the platform, would be a very good start," Baird analyst Colin Sebastian told GamesBeat.

"Games, games, and more games," IDC research manager Lewis Ward told GamesBeat. "The relationship between key releases - primarily first-party titles - and hardware sales is especially clear in Nintendo's case. The sooner they get titles like Pikmin 3 and Wii Fit U on the console side and Pokémon games and titles like Animal Crossing: New Leaf on the 3DS side on store shelves, the better."

Wii U certainly faces an uphill battle, especially with much more powerful next generation systems from Sony and Microsoft expected to hit stores this year. Sony will announce its PlayStation 4 on Wednesday.

Posted by

Stephen

on: 02/18/13, 21:55

@Stephen

So...it'll be successful, correct?

Posted by

ludist210

on: 02/18/13, 21:58

@Stephen

I love Patcher.

Posted by

missypissy

on: 02/18/13, 22:00

How is the 3DS still struggling? Isn't it doing awesome now?

Posted by

PogueSquadron

on: 02/18/13, 22:14

@PogueSquadron
3DS had a good holiday, but a weak January. A lot of titles were delayed for early 2013, like Luigi's Mansion and Animal Crossing, so this year should be very good for 3DS. Oh and Pokémon is the only announced title for Q3/Q4 2013.

Posted by

anon_mastermind

on: 02/18/13, 22:17

anon_mastermind said:

Oh and Pokémon is the only announced title for Q3/Q4 2013.

Do they even need another title in Q3/Q4 then?

Posted by

ludist210

on: 02/18/13, 22:19

@PogueSquadron

It is doing awesome. In fact, Don't Look Now, But The 3DS Has Become The Best Gaming Machine Out There.
(opinion article)

Posted by

GameDadGrant

on: 02/18/13, 22:21

Edited:

02/18/13, 22:22

Okay, whew, this indicates that the Wii U has a really good chance of making a comeback now.

The 3DS comment is quite laughable, considering that the 3DS is outpacing the DS. Pokémon X/Y is coming out later than New Super Mario Bros. did on DS, but it'll probably provide the same kind of sales boost that rockets it to great success. And it's probably not the only 3DS game for the latter half of the year, I'm sure we'll see some more at E3.

Posted by

Mop it up

on: 02/18/13, 22:24

@PogueSquadron I think it is lighting up Japan but just a tad bit slow in NA still at times.

Posted by

Zero

on: 02/18/13, 22:28

Expect Japanese Wii U sales to spike around, oh, March 30. A little game called Dragon Quest X launches that day (with a special bundle), so...yep.

Posted by

ludist210

on: 02/18/13, 22:35

@ludist210
It's time for New Legend of Zelda

Posted by

anon_mastermind

on: 02/18/13, 22:39

@ludist210 I wouldn't be too sure about that. Dragon Quest X on Wii is the lowest-selling DQ game in history, and didn't even come close to a million. I can't imagine there are very many people who skipped it to wait for the Wii U version to come out, since it's so literally the same game that it's cross-compatible with the Wii version.

Posted by

Mop it up

on: 02/18/13, 22:39

@Mop it up

It's Dragon Quest. It will sell decent (just like Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate sold on Wii U given the size of the install base) despite it being a genre that doesn't really appeal to the Japanese gaming culture. If it makes it to North American shores, it will sell well enough.

Posted by

ludist210

on: 02/18/13, 22:52