Do Games Really Sell Consoles?

[Soundwave]

Making your demographics happy is what sells consoles, it's not as simple as "good games sell consoles".

PS4 and XB1 are hardcore gamers and there's millions and millions of them, so they are happy with a hardware upgrade + Call Of Duty + NBA 2K + Assassin's Creed as those franchises are what they live for. That audience is tired of the long PS3/360 generation and want the excitement of upgrading now, even if things like Destiny and Uncharted IV and Halo whatever aren't coming until next year. 

Wii U is making Nintendo fans happy, the problem is there's just not that many of us that buy a console just for Nintendo games and also large portions of the Nintendo fanbase tend to be kids, and that $300 price cut presents a challenge. Not everyone has parents that will pony up $300 for a gift when there are cheaper alternatives. 

Wii U was relying on casuals to come back for Wii Sports/Fit and to jump in on Nintendo Land and Wii Party U. That's where Nintendo's problems are all rooted from. That audience hasn't shown up for them. So where they should easily be cruising past 10 million right now they're stuck at about half that.