On the first week Pikmin 3 in the U.S., the Wii U sold about 6,000 more units than the week before. On the first week Pikmin 3 in EU, the Wii U sold about 1,000 more units than the week before. On the first week Pikmin 3 in Japan, the Wii U sold about 14,000 more units than the week before. That's a combined 21,000 unit boost from Pikmin 3 WW. The Wii U sold 22,000 WW the week before, so if it launched WW I'd guess the Wii U would have sold 43,000 that week. Pikmin's US preorders were 85,633 the week before it launched.
By comparison, U.S. preorders for Mario Kart are currently at 175,476 with three weeks to go. Mario Kart 8 is launching almost simultaneously, as opposed to Pikmin 3's scattered release. Mario Kart 8 will probably have at least 240,000 preorders in the U.S. during it's final week. The Wii U is currently selling about 30,000 units.
240,000. vs. 86,000
That's three times as many preorders.
Let's be brash and guess that the Wii U sell three times as many units opening, even though consoles sell better in the spring, Mario Kart is an exponentially more mainstream and popular franchise than Pikmin, and there may be more or less days to account for.
63,000 unit bonus first week world wide. So around 93,000 units sold the first week if you add that to what the Wii U is currently selling. That's a gargantuan boost. That would put it in third place, behind the PS3 and 3DS if everything else stayed the same. (And it will, because most anyone who was buying systems for Watch_Dogs did so last year before the delay)
So yeah, Mario Kart 8 will boost Wii U sales a lot. Will it start the momentum that will "save the Wii U?" Lol, that all depends on what Nintendo shows at E3, and if they can release a steady stream of big Wii U games from then until the Wii U takes off. My guess? Nope.
