Oh wow. I did not expect numbers this low and I was expecting modest numbers for Wii U. 

To put some context into this the first Wii sold 604k it's first December but it was completely sold out and heavily supply constrained. 

The $599.99 PS3 even did better its first December selling 490k compared to the Wii U. 

A price cut has got to be coming, and perhaps another Ambassador program. I think this platform is in serious trouble. 

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure these sales are lower than the GameCube for December 2001 as well (its first December). 

Im fine with this, since the GC is my fav console

I predicted it. The problem is the Wii U has no target audience. It isn't for the non-gamers like the Wii was, it isn't for hardcore gamers like PS3 or Xbox 360 owners, and even Nintendo fans are unimpressed. Nintendo fans can only carry you so far (look at the GameCube and N64).

Nintendo needs to find a market again. They did last generation with the Wii. It had a fun unique controller that took the world by storm. Nintendo made a fatal mistake however - it neglected the Wii at the end of its life. The Wii brand name fell the last 2 or so years and now people just don't care about the Wii U.

I remember when the Wii was shown, everyone was extremely excited. It won so many awards and so much positive press you KNEW Nintendo was going to win the generation. However, the Wii U has been ignored and has gained nothing but negative press pretty much.

The Wii U is a spectacular failure. I am going to go as far as to say it is a useless console. It's not even as powerful as the Xbox 360 or PS3 and doesn't have that one feature (ie a Wiimote) to set it apart. The touch screen is amazingly pointless.

I give the Wii U a 3/10 (when during 2006 I gave the Wii a 9/10!).

Yes its in serious trouble after 2 months! Really?

Hasn't it sold more in the first two months globally than the 360 or PS3 did in their first two months?

I think the price is too high, and the lack of a decent Nintendo lineup may also have played a part in the low sales. Nevertheless, a pricecut needs to happen soon and new games announced, Nintendo needs another Mario this year.

I think we should keep these discussions in the NPD thread.

I can't wrap my mind around the fact that they somehow managed to sell less than the $500/$600 PS3 did in 2006, with a new Nintendo console that has a new Mario game with it.

This is just a marketing/design philosophy disaster all around.

We don't need multiple of these threads. One is more than enough, and even that's too many when the NPD discussion suffices...

I think it's OK to have one on the specific Nintendo side to discuss because we've spent 2 years basically talking about this platform and the holiday sales are crucial to its future performance and perception amongst the development community.

SPINOFF DOOM THREADS

This calls into question Nintendo's profitability for this quarter.