Well, the Wii U has been on the market for the shortest time in Japan, so that's the figure most skewed by inflated launch week sales. PS3 still seems weak there though. It seems a lot of the console market has migrated to handhelds. Still, late-cycle consoles outselling a just-launched console is nothing new or unexpected.

I remember in 2006/2007 how it was an ongoing joke that the long since replaced GBA continually outsold the PS3 which was even more insulting than this comparison.

360 was outsold by older systems (vastly) when it launched. So was PS3. This is nothing surprising. The only valid comparison is how WiiU launched compared to other systems with is: far better than 360/PS3 but not as good as Wii.

However, fanboys and techies will buy up any system early - so I'm waiting until March to really access if the WiiU will be a success or not.

The problem for WiiU is its short-term strategy : minimal price that doesn't make room for competitive cut, impressive line up in which Ninty already fired 2D Mario, MH in Japan, BLOPS2, AC3 + a couple of smashing (timed?) exclusive announcements (NG3RE, Rayman, Bayonetta2) and all-out communication in every possible media.

Even with all this they couldn't top the competition. Now the holidays are over the pace will only diminish, and the lack of enthusiasm from 3rd parties will only make it harder for WiiU after spring.

sorry I fell asleep, I´m awake now

Of course; WiiU was the highest priced console on the market with the smallest library of games. I think come holiday of this year WiiU sales will tell a different story in regards to the PS3's, and where it may lack in Europe it'll make up for in Japan.

I guess it shows that good launches from the sequel to winning hardware doesn't necessarily represent all is well. We've had strong starts from the PS3, 3DS, Wii U and Wii with the first two requiring severe price cuts to maintain sales whilst the 3rd was a fantastic success and the fourth is an unknown.

Strong start for the WiiU compared to ps360 launches, older consoles with cheaper prices and more games are expected to do better at the time of the newer consoles launch.

are you talking about PS3 launch numbers vs the WiiU or current PS3 2012 inventory?

I think this was expected...the Wii U is the most expensive console atm and have fewer games. There was a thread with an article saying very few consoles have manage to outsell the old ones and I can definitely see why. The case of Europe is worrisome though, Nintendo most do something about it.

What about Wii? It did quite well for it having almost no support this year.