padib said:
You're comparing the launch Christmas to the 2013 christmas and expecting higher sales? How does that even make sense? When people say games and price will strengthen WiiU sales, they mean beyond the week sales seen in slump periods. This holiday should be stronger than 2013's, because 2013 was not a launch year and 2014 will have both MK8 and SSB. |
Why doesn't that make sense? All console sell more in their second holiday season, the PS3, 360, DS and Wii beat the initial launch holidays easily, only the 3DS stands out in this crowd and sold about 10% less in its second holiday (but wasn't released during holidays either).
Wii sold about 2.95 million from launch week (Nov 25th 2006) and till last of December, it sold 4.3 million in the same weeks the following year. Supply constrained? Sure, but they stockpile for holidays regardless, so a proportional amount of consoles should be available at both times.
PS3 sold about 1.25 million from launch week (Nov 11th 2006) and till last December, it sold 3.2 million the following holiday (counting the same weeks, naturally). No supply issues here. There was the matter of not launching in Europe until March 2007 but it almost tripled its numbers, hardly solely due to Europe, whose launch hype would have died down in the previous 7-8 months at any rate.
The 360 sold, as the sole 7th generation machine on the market, from launch week (last week of Nov. 2005) till last December, about 1.18 million, it sold about 2.05 million the following holiday with no sales in Japan at all and two competitors stealing thunder, not too far off a double there.
The DS sold from launch week (Nov 27th 2004) till last December about 2.85 million units, it sold about 4.55 million the following holiday.
Like I said; the 3DS is the odd man out, outpeforming your launch holiday the following year is more or less a rule of thumb for consoles, how is this comparison faulty? The fact that 2013 was not the Wii U's launch year should mean its sales should increase, a great deal if history is anything to go by, the launch of the PS4 and One clearly stole most of the attention but the above example shows the lumbering 360 in its early, fumbling years almost doubling its sales despite the launch of the PS3 and the record breaking Wii. I guess some would claim that "well, the Wii didn't compete for the same customers anyway" and I'd be inclined to agree to some extent, but then we would have to make the same claim about the Wii U vs. One/PS4 and things are looking bleak again.
