Nintendo reveals seven-day sales of newly launched HD console; aging Wii system sells 300,000 over period that included Black Friday.
The Wii U launched in the United States November 18 to sales of 400,000 units during its first week. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime revealed the sales milestone to GameSpot sister site CNET today, adding that total hardware sales (Wii U, Wii, 3DS, and DS) for the week exceeded 1.2 million units. The original Wii launched in 2006 and sold more than 600,000 units during its first eight days on the market in the Americas.
In addition to the Wii U's 400,000 units, the aging Wii console moved 300,000 systems during the past week, which included the one-day shopping bonanza known as Black Friday.
Nintendo's portable devices also prospered last week, with the 3DS moving 250,000 units and DS devices shifting another 275,000 systems. Fils-Aime said the original DS line outpaced sales of the newer 3DS last week due to the numerous Black Friday deals held by various retailers.
Despite being outsold by its predecessor last week, the executive said the 6 million 3DS units sold through its first 21 months is ahead of the original DS line during the same time by one million units.
According to Fils-Aime, the Wii U's 400,000 first-week sales could have been even higher if stock had been replenished sooner.
"Wii U is essentially sold out of retail and we are doing our best to continually replenish stock," Fils-Aime said. "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."
Though the Wii U may be facing shortages right now, Fils-Aime does not foresee the drought to be on par with the original Wii in 2006.
"Wii was a unique phenomenon. You couldn't walk into a retailer and buy a Wii until spring of 2009," Fils-Aime said. "We've certainly learned many lessons from that and we are replenishing retailers more quickly this time around. We are looking to have as much product into retail as possible. It's driven by consumer response."
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
The commenters below all seem to be wannabe analysts. I think its a waiting game, the current generation sold about the same in each consoles first week. Time is the teller, it takes a while to build an install base. Personally I'm trying to find a reason to get one cause gaming is feeling cumbersome and I'd like something new (like a next gen console..). I just can't find a good reason though, there aren't any games worth getting it for
Wow, the Wii U is doing very poorly, I was expeciting it would be sold out everywhere. They should just give up like they were going to, and start making games for Sony and Microsoft.
LOL.... PS3 sold more units than this during black friday alone.......
"Hi everyone, we at Nintendo LOVE overcharging you for a system that relies on previous gen technology, costs twice as much and it's accessories costing 1/2 of the console alone! Please buy this.... why? Because we stopped making shit for the one system we didn't screw up in the last decade, forcing you to buy this if you want new shit."
@mr_azim LOL PS3 ALSO HAS A LIBRARY OF HUNDREDS OF GAMES, SOLID APPLICATIONS LIKE NETFLIX AN PSN, AND IT'S HALF THE PRICE IF NOT MORE ON BLACK FRIDAY - HERP DERP HERP DERP..Seriously, what kind of an angle do you work from? 400.000 thousand units in one country is more than fine, and if stock was low it makes even more sense. I love how hateful you are towards a console you don't own, doubt you even tried it, and if, not for a very long time that's for sure. The Wii wasn't shit, it was just drowning in shovelware, but there are games there that easily beats any experience on even an high performance PC (and i can say that owning both a great PC and a Wii... and a PS3.. and an Xbox 360). In the end it shouldn't be any of my business what you like and what you don't, but all the ignorant hatred is just making realize how much stupidity there are on this site. Instead you shouldn't dismiss something within it's first week (certainly not when it comes to gaming where firmware, patches and what not can fix most things anyway), but instead be open minded, supportive and look at the potential of things, it makes it more plausiable that you will find great experiences in things you thought never to like.. But then again, it's only your loss all the way through, even if you come back with stupid irrational argument.
Reposting this here.
Walmart, Gulf Breeze Florida... 20 in stock. at retail price no less..
Local Pensacola Gamestop has a few left too... actually its a stack of about 12 that is sitting behind the counter.
It's all hype... there was never a shortage of wii's back in the day either.
They were rationed to drive long term sales up.
The wii that we got when they finally became common had a manufacture date making it almost two years old when we got it.
I was pissed, but I was also suspicious that this may be happening... Nintendo learned from the mistakes of the "always in stock" gamecube and the insantiy that followed the PS2 release and shortages.
They also learned from their pokemon cards... rare means demand which equals sales and desire for the same stupid people who chased cabbage patch kids, iphones, furbys, tickle me elmos and so on .
@Thetylander Gulf Breeze, Florida you said?
No idea where that is...and Pensacola LOL?
But honestly, because they're in retail doesn't mean anything. In terms of online, those stores only have the consoles available under bundle packs, with original retail price available in stores only. Also, regardless of how rare an item is, someone who lives in California won't travel to Florida to buy it.
Anyone basing claim that a product isn't popular because some are still available in stores are only gloom/doom theorists. Those who want one wouldn't complain of them being found in the neighborhood and instead, actually just buy it or even if not interested, say so as helpful informants.
It isn't doom and gloom. Nintendo is scared and for good reason. It has underperformed against the wii, 360 and PS3 in black friday sales. Remember the 3DS a few years ago? Remember the troubles it caused for the company?Lay-offs, closings, firings, etc.
Nobody at Nintendo wants to re-live that.
The problem with all businesses is that they cash out every time they have a success, leaving nothing in their coffers for a rainy day. Yes, bonuses need to be issued, dividends need to be paid, and the top guys need their share, but they never put any profits away in savings for a time when the economy collapses or a product fails.
Then they depend on their government to bail them out when it happens!
IF Nintendo had put away only 2% of the net profits from the Wii during it's entire lifespan, (not including games) they would have enough money to develop two completely different next gen systems and pay all their employees at their current rate for three years.
What worries me is their PR machine:
Nintendo claimed that they had 1.2 million pre-orders for the wii u. So how did they only sell 400,000?
I am not a hater of nintendo, hell, half my gaming life has been on Nintendo products. I do think they should get out of the console business and focus totally on the DS handhelds and making great nintendo games for other systems... Like sega has done since Dreamcast. I believe that in one year Nintendo would be more powerful than activision, EA, ubisoft, and Square combined.
@Thetylander @alrepairs 1,2 million could very well be worldwide, remember black friday is only in NA.
I still don't understand why they would release a 7 years late console when the new generation is just about to hit :/
@Total_mischief How could they release a console 7 years ago, when it has a GPU that was considered high end 2 years ago to PC elitists?
@alrepairs Until I see something the Wii U can do with that supposed GPU that the other consoles can't, I stand my point that it's another stupid nintendo move.
Kinda sad XBOX way outsold the WII U and the WII combined... By a ton too,..I hoped the WII u would have had some success because its good for the gaming industry.."But WHOW!, the shower curtain ring guy"....
50k is a ton? Also think about what your saying, you're comparing a 7 year old system, of which there's plenty of units to sell, compared to a brand new system that the company was only able to ship a limited amount of units. Nintendo could've easily sold a million within the first week if they were able to get a million units to stores.
The same thing happened when the 360 was released, the PS2 still outsold it by a large margin.
1 Like My Gamestop has 24? Walmart still has there 12 and the game case is full of games stuffed in there..Of course they always spin "SOLD OUT", truth is none of you know unless you go look at the store,, even if your a WII LOver...
3 Like Here is the point people.....The Wii U is sold out just face it.....and for the idiots that keep saying....the 360/vita/ps3 or whatever is outselling it......yeah they may be....BUT....how long have those systems sit on the shelf collecting dust? The Wii U just came out and they sold every single system that was available. They don't have 7 years of surplus systems laying around in hopes that one dies and someone buys it again or hoping someone sees it sitting on the shelf begging to be bought. I guarantee that if there was more Wii U systems available to be bought, guess what.....they would have been sold...period. Get over your pathetic self and quit trashing something just cause you can't afford it or truly do not want it you are not hurting no one but yourself for not being open minded and enjoying gaming for fun and not because your friends won't think you are cool if you try something because they don't like it...get over it...
4 Like
Wii U first-week sales lag original Wii, but better than Xbox 360, PS3 Reggie Fils-Aime: units "selling out immediately" once they hit store shelves.
by Kyle Orland - Nov 26 2012, 3:46pm EST
Nintendo today announced first-week sales of 400,000 Wii U systems in North America, falling short of the mark set by the first Wii, but surpassing early sales of previous high-definition systems.
American corporate president Reggie Fils-Aime told CNet sales of the new system have been limited only by Nintendo's ability to get product to stores. "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 said, gelling with reports from retailers like GameStop that explicitly noted in Black Friday ads that they had no hardware stock to sell.
The original Wii sold over 600,000 units in the Americas in the eight days following its November 2006 launch, which also overlapped with Black Friday. Indeed, the Wii was nearly impossible to find on store shelves for months following launch, selling millions of systems in that time.
According to industry tracker NPD, the Xbox 360 sold 326,000 units in its first two weeks on sale in North America in 2005. The PlayStation 3 sold 197,000 in the last two weeks of November 2006, after launching at prices starting at $500.
So go ahead and call it a failure, you are just a fanboy of whatever and a true Nintendo hater, and I pray you don't get a Wii U and then I won't have to put up with your ignorance while I enjoy mine....
You should be able to add me now on this site but yeah, I meant MiiVerse. Okay, I'll wait :D
@abHS4L88 I can't even see your profile it says only friends can see it....if you are referring to the Wii U....I won't be playing one till Christmas but I feel like hooking it up now....lol
4 Like There are so many facts Gamespot leaves out when it comes to Nintendo, which is why trolls believe they have food, but in reality they're given a box of cow testicles.
Xbox 360 only sold 326,000 units in their launch, despite opening near black friday as well.
7 year old tech sales comparison, when the same occurrence happened during the PS2 and 360/PS3 era.
Other websites mention these facts, which is why trolls don't exist in them. Thankfully other websites also notice the bias Gamespot has toward Nintendo, such as Kotaku and Gameinformer.
They better hope it doesn't worsen. That's when those black hat hackers like "Anonymous" start paying attention.
But but but, it's Nintendo! It doesn't matter if it's true of other companies, the fact that it's happening to Nintendo makes them a huge epic FAIL!
XD
In an easy to find article,,,NINTENDO claimed they had $400,000 systems preordered.....,,,ummm,,,, that means they didn't sell anything, except the preorders...LOL!
@alrepairs i guess not very many people wanted it...thats alot of preorders no one picked up...LOL,,Only 1 out of 3 people picked it up...My gamestop has 24 sitting on the shelf, Walmart still has their twelve..
1 Like @XspidervenomX Again, facts debunked.
Gamestop mentioned in an earlier they had 1.5 million pre-orders, ALONE. This didn't even include Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, meow, purr, wolf....tits.
So nah, they only calculated sales my friend.
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XD, I'm sorry Burger King, I grew up with you but the Wendy's much closer to me has me sold.
4 Like Nintendo is fuc't because they lost Wii U consumers to the 3ds
LMAO, what?
Oh, Vita you said?
http://gamasutra.com/view/news/181594/3DS_outsells_Vita_47to1_in_Japan.php
Stop talking in run-on sentences...you'll make me go blind quicker with your text versus my own sex drive.
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4 Like Though you are disgusting, I for one am looking forward to Ground Zeros.
Stop trolling though...don't you have a life?
WiiU is actually not incredibly difficult to find in Canada, especially the Basic which is available in many stores right now. Another thing to consider is returns, a lot of people who thought they were going to make money reselling will be returning their units in then next couple weeks. There's no way to know how many of the sales were intended resales and how many will be returned, but judging from things you can read in forums, it could be substantial. Unfortunately such numbers, if even reported outside of retailers, will probably never be revealed to the public.
3 Like Nintendo shouldn't have advertised the old Wii at all, now consumers are getting confused and Nintendo's old console is competing with the new one. You'd think Nintendo would learn from Sega?
1 Like 400k Because the delux version is sold out in all retails, I called to 5 walmart local store, 2 gamestop and 3 best buy, and there are sold out. So please if some one know a place where are in stock, tell me. Because I'll travel to LA this week to buy a wii u.
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2 Like @wcwj26 @foxfacer2d2 The Wii U wasn't sold out. I was litterally (and still am) able to go into 3 different stores in a 5 mile radius and get one RIGHT NOW.
That's just Nintendo's excuse for why the previous generation of console is massively outselling its 'new hotness'. They don't want to admit the system is cumbersome and not as innovative as they think.
@Thetylander Them being in stores doesn't mean anything dude. Those vendors will keep the consoles in stores to protect their inventory. The Online website of those stores are either sold out, or are selling them as bundles for more than retail price.
We are all grown up here, this is common sense. Being in stores doesn't mean the console isn't popular. Someone isn't going to drive 300-900+ Miles to buy a Wii U.
WOW Overpaid a bit?
Walmart, Gulf Breeze Florida... 20 in stock. at retail price no less..
Local Pensacola Gamestop has a few left too... actually its a stack of about 12 that is sitting behind the counter.
It's all hype... there was never a shortage of wii's back in the day either.
They were rationed to drive long term sales up.
The wii that we got when they finally became common had a manufacture date making it almost two years old when we got it.
I was pissed, but I was also suspicious that this may be happening... Nintendo learned from the mistakes of the "always in stock" gamecube and the insantiy that followed the PS2 release and shortages.
They also learned from their pokemon cards... rare means demand which equals sales and desire for the same stupid people who chased cabbage patch kids, iphones, furbys, tickle me elmos and so on .
.
@jenovaschilld One guy actually got stabbed for his PS3 after being accused of skipping lmfao.
I heard they told the line of the SKU shortage last minute, and it caused hysteria in the line.
Though I laughed, hope the guy/girl is okay.
2 Like @alrepairs Yeah, I remember reading all the horror stories sony had during the ps3 launch - worst in history many feel. Shortages of materials, transportation problems, several confusing sku's muddle everything.
And launch events where 60 people fighting over 10 consoles.
Took me a month before I could get one.
Now for me the best launch was the dreamcast- great games, midnight sale of console, big jump forward for gaming hardware, and alot of really awesome gamers as i waited in line.
2 Like Same thing could've been said about the 360 when it first came out, seeing is how the PS2 sold more units during that time.
Funny that idiots are making these comments that are have occurred to basically every major company but only using it to target Nintendo.
4 Like Sold out.
Exactly, the EXACT same issue has happened with the Wii U. ONLINE RETAIL stores are sold out everywhere, with a few store retail having the Wii U consoles available. The problem is that you have to travel far to buy it, which ALSO didn't happen for the xbox 360.
People are waiting until general stock or local retail is once again available.
You know a store that has the Wii U? Post it on craigslist and help those who want one to obtain it.
I'm bidding on my 2nd Wii U i've purchased, the first console at a winning $800 and this one going up to $650.
They're selling kid, whether you like it or not.
4 Like I have to remind myself to stop coming here..
The comments you people spout make zero sense, everytime.
Xbox 360 only had 326,000 sales its' first week. PS3 had a disaster of a launch.
Please stop being dumb, gentlemen. 400,000 units sold is phenomenal.
Tom Mc Shea explains why Nintendo's latest game announcements fail to muster much excitement.
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