Wii U Sales Hit New Peak After Record Christmas

Nintendo of America claims that Wii U sales across the US were higher in December than any other month since its launch in November 2012.

This feat breaks the previous record that was set the month prior, though on both occasions Nintendo decided against releasing hard sales numbers. The console's improved performance on the market was buoyed by the release of key software such as Super Smash Bros for Wii U, as well as the new amiibo figurines.

Hardware sales rose by 29 percent when compared to December 2013, the corporation stated, while software sales shot up by 75 percent. This comparatively strong end to 2014 contributed to what was the Wii U's "strongest year yet", Nintendo said, although it did not qualify this statement by explaining that 2013 was the only other 12-month period that the Wii U has passed through.

“Wii U had its strongest year yet thanks to the highly anticipated software line-up and the introduction of the amiibo platform,” said Nintendo of America marketing executive Scott Moffitt.

“Fans can anticipate another strong year for 2015, especially with more highly anticipated games like Splatoon and The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D, as well as New Nintendo 3DS XL, arriving in the first half of 2015.”

GameSpot's recent Wii U review recently described the system as "an essential purchase".

The review summarised: "Let's be honest: The Wii U, when compared to the phenomenal success of the original Wii, is a disastrous console. But that won't be its legacy. When it finally goes gentle into that good night, people will look back on it the same way they speak about the Dreamcast; a strange few years filled with the best games of a generation. Does that really sound like something you should miss out on?"