This thread started out as a Wii U vs thread. With the rest of next gen approaching and the impending end of Q1 where Wii U will not meet the forecasted goal, I thought it would be prudent to upgrade the thread to full home consoles comparison for their respective first year.

I wanted to track the overall sales of the consoles. Please see my data below from rounded VGC. I will continue to update this through the end 2014.

In case anyone is curious, I am using Google Docs for this.

Monthly Summary

Weekly Raw Data by Quarter (x1,000)

Poll History:
"Will Wii U sell 5.5m by March 31?"
POLL SNAPSHOT AT WEEK JAN2: (est was still 5.5m)
Yes = 233 (40%)
Maybe = 163 (28%)
No = 187 (32%)

"Will Wii U sell 5.5m by March 31?"
POLL SNAPSHOT AT JAN3: (just before investor's meeting)
Yes = 20 (17%)
Maybe = 25 (22%)
No = 71 (61%)

"Will they meet the revised 4m by March 31?"
POLL SNAPSHOT AT MAR2: (when obvious was obvious)
Yes = 76 (34%)
Maybe = 36 (16%)
No = 112 (50%)

NOTE: Nintendo shipped 3.45m Wii U units (March 31, 2013). Goal is 9m more for next fiscal year (March 31, 2014)

"By the end of Q2, will Wii U be..."
POLL SNAPSHOT AT APR4: (when WiiU was clearly going below PS360)
above PS360 = 36 (22%)
above PS3 below 360 = 9 (5%) (this one was funny as it was impossible LOL)
above 360 below PS3  = 21 (13%)
below PS360 = 100 (60%)

"With many games coming in May, will Wii U break 200k for month?"
POLL SNAPSHOT AT MAY5: Only about 134k sold.
Yes = 19 (22%)
No = 67 (78%)

"Will XBone @$499 beat WiiU's Launch (Nov & Dec only)"
POLL SNAPSHOT AT JUN4: (Full month post E3)
Yes = 15 (18%)
No = 58 (71%)
Statistical Tie = 1 (1%)
Depends on MS delivery = 8 (10%)

NOTE: Xbone ~3m and Wii U ~2.3m

"Will PS4 @$399 beat WiiU's Launch (Nov & Dec Only)"
POLL SNAPSHOT AT JUL5: (just end of month)
Yes = 43 (58%)
No = 15 (20%)
Statistical Tie = 5 (7%)
Depends on Sony Delivery = 11 (15%)

NOTE: PS4 ~4.2m and Wii U ~2.3m

"Can Wii U break 200k for August?"
POLL SNAPSHOT AT AUG2: (when clearly wasn't going to make it)
Yes = 12 (39%)
No = 19 (61%)

"Can Wii U break 300k for September?"
POLL SNAPSHOT AT SEP3: (when clearly wasn't going to make it)
Yes = 48 (49%)
No = 50 (51%)

"Where will Wii U hit for October?"
POLL SNAPSHOT AT OCT2: (when Wii U was at 152k for Oct)
200k = 15 (34%)
250k = 9 (26%)
300k = 6 (17%)
350k = 4 (11%)
400k+ = 1 (3%)

NOTE: Wii U sold ~290k in October. (when poll was closed, it was heavily overtracked)

"Who will sell more in November?"
POLL SNAPSHOT AT OCT 5: (before Nov starts)
Xbox One + X360 = 12 (9%)
PS4 + PS3 = 102 (76%)
Wii U + Wii = 21 (16%)

NOTE: Wii Family ~700k, Xbox Family ~2.5m, PS Family ~3.2m

"Who will have the best first 14 months?"
POLL SNAPSHOT AT JAN 9TH 2014: (PS4 was showing dominance)
Wii U = 72 (18%)
PS4 = 304 (77%)
Xbox One = 20 (5%)

NOTE: PS4 beat Xbox One which beat Wii U. Poor Wii U.

"When will Xbox One beat Wii U globally?"
POLL SNAPSHOT AT MAR4: (End of March 2014)
Q1 2014 = 8 (6%)
Q2 2014 = 8 (6%)
Q3 2014 = 16 (12%)
Q4 2014 = 29 (21%)
Q1~Q2 2015 = 17 (13%)
Q3~Q4 2015 = 7 (5%)
2016 = 6 (5%)
2017+ = 2 (1%)
Never = 43 (32%)

NOTE: Xbox One passed Wii U's global sales in Q4 2015. (this was YTD global not aligned launch)

"Will PS4 be able to beat Wii's first 14 months? (Wii = 19.5m)"
POLL SNAPSHOT AT MAY2: (just before PS4 fell below Wii)
Yes - Over 1m of Wii = 14 (25%)
Less than 1m difference = 16 (29%)
No - Under 1m of Wii = 26 (46%)

NOTE: PS4 did NOT beat Wii's first 14 months. PS4 18.3m and Wii 19.5m

This thread is going to be very depressing for Wii U fans. I feel that there's simply no way the U is going to hold a candle against the Wii.

It's going to be a long time until any system does. A more interesting comparison might be to the prior generation's HD systems, and of course to the upcoming consoles. Although I'm not sure those comparisons will be too much heartening!

It was funnier when we're just speculating.
Which games to be ambassador's next year?

:(

I'll add PS360. Good idea. :)

tagging...

The Wii/DS duo was like the NES/Gameboy back in the 80s, at least for some time...odds are that won´t happen again (anytime soon).

Honestly, I´m not sure we´ll ever see 'another Wii' or 'another PS2'...again, not anytime soon, at least.

I've got faith Nintendo can pull it off and will sell well and consistently, once people get their hands on the Wii U Gamepad. I expect however that when we see the crap sales of the more expensive PS4s and Nexboxes, the Wii U wouldn't look so bad. Remember how the 3DS sales looked bad until we saw the Vita's.

...and if things really do begin to look bad, all they gotta do is drop the price! That worked in the pass.

I'd like to know your opinion Superchunk? I think Wii U will sell its forecact of 5.5 million Wii U's; however, I am scared of what the system will offer after launch period as it is very vague almost non excistent. I bought a Wii U, got New Super Mario Bros U, Sonic, and Call of Duty and will satisfy my needs until the end of the year. Nonetheless, I'm hearing plenty of people that want to buy a Wii U but are waiting for 'good' games, do you think that Nintendo has something under their sleeves for 2013 or are we repeating the 3ds pattern? :s

ok updated it to include PS360. Puts it into a much clearer perspective.