Conversely, the WiiU doesn't actually have to do what PS3 has had to do to recoup losses. The PS3 was and will always remain financial ruinous and this was during a much less choked era of gaming with only the on-set of tablets and smart phones. Had the PS3 come out now, Sony would go belly-up rather than just teetering on the edge of imploding. (Which, oddly enough, may happen to the Xbox brand.)

I think when people speak about blooming they mean that the WiiU is slowly recouping on its expenses and will ultimately end up profitable even with lower sales, and may help Nintendo rebuild its core, focus from here on out, and build up a new "rep" with gamers. Certainly anyone who thinks its going to end up with some crazy sales figures is... more than a little off.

WiiU is a system that is going to sell 15-17m units lifetime. Why compare it to systems that both sold over 80m+ units?

Look above you.

He asked why compare wii u to the ps3 or 360, you are the one who has posited that the wii u will be a late bloomer like the ps3.  I merely answered his question.

As far as your theory is concerned I doubt it will come to pass, trends and history are against it, but I acknowledge the slim chance.

I'd be willing to bet on that.

What's with those threads lately? What does people need to prove so badly?

*face palm*

And this, right here, is why this site is ridiculous.*

The games are not a "consolation prize", they are the *entire point* of the system's existence. Coming in first in units sold is *not* the grand prize, it should be the consolation prize, *if that*, because you don't play userbases, you, in theory (if you're sane), play *games*.

(This not being a sane world, however...)

*Oh yes, I get that this site fixates on sales, but please spare us all the lame justification why anyone would think sales #s are the primary measure of a system's success in the a player's eyes.

I think where this fails is that Nintendo traditionally does a higher percentage of their business in November and December as compared to playstation and xbox. So excluding it provides a skewed view.

I'm not sure that stating that because there aren't clear examples of the late bloomers in the past that the wiiu can't be a late bloomer. It clearly will be. Coming into this generation there was a general rule that the most powerful console never wins a generation. PS4 appears to be going against that history. It's a new day and anything is possible. It's about delivering. If Nintendo continues to deliver more and more great exclusive content I think you'll see the Wiiu continue it's upward movement on the sales charts.

Let me see if I understand your logic...

Both Wii U and PS4 saw significantly stronger sales in its second full year than in its first full year. The Xbox 360 did see a lower lowest-month in its second full year, but otherwise, it did better in its second full year, too. But that's not at all a sign of late blooming. And of course, we shouldn't at all look at later years... like PS3's top month outside of Holidays, September 2009, or 360's September 2010. And somehow, the fact that second-full-year sales are stronger than first-full-year sales isn't at all an indication of it being a "late bloomer". (of course, Wii also had a similar situation, but it was affected by supply shortages for the first year)

Wii U 2013 January-July sold 1.08 million units. In the same period in 2014, it has sold 1.5 million units. And with August only having 3/4 of the month's data, it has already outsold August 2013 by 70%. Indeed, if you restrict attention to post-MK8 release period (June-August), you find that 2013 saw 334k of sales, while 2014 has seen 809k, a boost of more than 140%... and that's with August not even completed yet. Even if we remove June due to early effects of MK8, it's already up 86%, and with the last week of August it'll be over 100% up. If a doubling of sales holds for the remainder of the year, then it will sell more than 4 million units between now and the end of the year. Which would put it at 5.73 million units sold, compared with 3.1 million in 2013.

I also can't help but notice that you didn't pay any attention to the case of the DS. January 2005, it sold 427k units. January 2008, it sold 1.92 million units. February 2005, 291k and February 2007, 1.84 million. I could keep going, but the point I'm making here is that DS saw far stronger sales in later years than it did in 2005.

This doesn't mean the Wii U will be like that. But it's ignorant to proclaim that it can't.

A new Wii Sports still hasn't happened.

How can you say PS3 wasn't a late bloomer? It sold 32% better in 2008 over 2007 AND sold 8&% better in 2011 (14.7 million). While WiiU will likely never see Wii levels of success, it's very possible for WiiU to start selling 6 million units+ annually. In fact, since WiiU has been consistantly selling 100% better in 2014 oer 2013 (due to Mario Kart), I can say it will almost certainly sell 5+ million in 2014, and will likely sell better in 2015 with Mario Kart & Smash Bros giving a boost to sales for all 12 months.

While 5/6 million isn't crazy, it will put WiiU above Gamecube and if the generation lasts long enough, it could put it above Sega Genesis and N64.