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thismeintiel on 14 December 2012
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HappySqurriel said:
thismeintiel said:
HappySqurriel said:

I don't think there are that many scalpers in general, but I do think the combination of strong supply and (relative to the Wii) weaker demand has really undermined sales ...

To put numbers to it, with the Wii there were probably 500,000 people who really wanted a system for Christmas that couldn't find one, of which 50,000 were willing to pay a scalper and the lack of available supply resulted in 10,000 systems being for sale; and those systems sold for a large profit. In contrast with the Wii U there are probably 150,000 people who want the system for Christmas and can't find one, of which 15,000 are willing to pay scalpers, and (with a more available supply of systems) 20,000 systems for sale; and the re-sale prices are depressed.

 

 

The only problem with your numbers is that the Wii U is in stock pretty everywhere, now.  So again, low sales numbers in the charts has nothing to do with stock issues.  If you want a Wii U, you can buy one.

You do realize that the most recent sales numbers have the Wii U selling (roughly) as may as the Wii did at a similar point in the USA ... Which is (roughly) equal to the PS3 and XBox 360 combined at a similar point after launch.

 

From the (very limited) information we have, the Wii U has seen a very strong launch in North America and Japan but it is struggling in Europe. Why it is selling so poorly in Europe is unknown, but even then sales aren't that bad in Europe ...

You do realize I wasn't talking about the sales numbers or how good/bad they are.    I was only saying your numbers are wrong because there is enough supply to meet the demand.  If there were truly that many who desperately want a Wii U, and couldn't find one in stores, they would have no problems paying the exact same as, or even a little more than, retail price on eBay.  Fact is, Nintendo has shipped enough to meet demand.  How high is demand is another question all together.  We'll have a better idea in the coming weeks.